Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 531 Finding Wealth in Danger

Liu Bo's words immediately aroused Li Hu's interest. He immediately asked what the method was and how many people he could bring at most.

Liu Bo told Li Hu that the method was simple, which was to pretend to be a government official.

The Fan family had a very good relationship with the local government, especially the nearby Jiexiu County and the Taiyuan Prefecture in the north. After all, the Fan family's ancestral home was here, and businessmen were always good at dealing with people. It would be impossible to do such a big business without getting in touch with the government.

Without the support of the government, the Fan family would not have been able to prosper over the years. Collusion between officials and businessmen has existed since ancient times, and this is especially true for the Fan family.

Previously, Shanxi Governor Geng Ruqi was imprisoned and executed for a mutiny. After Geng Ruqi's death, Emperor Chongzhen appointed Beijing official Xian Kejin as Shanxi Governor and asked him to handle Shanxi military affairs after the mutiny.

But Xian Kejin had no idea how to solve the problem. What's more, the Shanxi army had already dispersed. He had no soldiers or people. He had just taken office and was completely in the dark about the situation in Shanxi. How could he have the ability to deal with the Shanxi army?
In desperation, Xian Kejin could only pretend to fool Emperor Chongzhen, thinking that if he delayed for some time, the matter would gradually calm down and perhaps Emperor Chongzhen would forget about it. But who would have thought that Emperor Chongzhen not only did not forget about it, but was very concerned about the situation of the Shanxi Army. Especially when he received news not long after that some of the escaped Shanxi Army soldiers had joined forces with the rebel army and turned into rebels, Emperor Chongzhen was immediately furious.

Emperor Chongzhen sent someone to inquire about Xian Kejin's situation, but how could Xian Kejin answer? He could only reluctantly give an answer that he was dealing with it. After learning of Xian Kejin's reply, and with someone in the court impeaching Xian Kejin for dereliction of duty, Emperor Chongzhen, in a rage, dismissed Xian Kejin from his post without a second thought. In a blink of an eye, this dignified governor of Shanxi not only lost his position within less than three months after taking office, but also had his official status stripped. It was really pitiful.

After Xian Kejin was removed, the position of Governor of Shanxi became vacant again. After much deliberation, it was finally decided to appoint Song Tongyin as the Governor of Shanxi.

Song Tongyin is a man of both civil and military talents. He used to be a military governor and is now the Shanxi Censor. He is very familiar with the situation in Shanxi, so it is naturally appropriate to let him serve as the Governor of Shanxi.

In less than a year, the governor of Shanxi Province changed three times. One lost his head, one lost his official status, and another didn't know how long he could stay in this position. At present, the imperial court had just issued the appointment, and Song Tongyin had just been transferred from the position of provincial governor to the position of governor. The officialdom of Shanxi Province had been shaken three times in succession, and the personnel adjustment was not small.

Liu Bo was Zhou Anmin's confidant and a key member of the Shanxi Jinyiwei. He was naturally aware of the court's appointment changes in Shanxi. He was much more informed than the local officials in Shanxi. Whenever there was a little movement in the capital, the Jinyiwei had the information first. Therefore, before Song Tongyin's appointment as the governor of Shanxi arrived in Shanxi, the Jinyiwei knew it first.

Liu Bo's method was very simple. He took advantage of the changes in the officialdom in Shanxi to pretend to be an official who came to Shanxi from the capital to take up a post. On the way to Taiyuan Prefecture, he passed by Zhangyuan Village and used this as an excuse to stay overnight in Zhangyuan Village, thus entering the Fan family compound.

The official rank cannot be low. If it is only the sixth or seventh rank, the Fan family can only simply entertain one or two people at best, and it is not certain that they can live in the Fan family compound. Besides, the family members and followers of the sixth or seventh rank officials will not be many, at most only four or five people, and it is even more impossible for them to be accompanied by soldiers.

So Liu Bo's idea was to pretend to be the newly appointed Censor of Shanxi, because after Song Tongyin was transferred to become the Governor of Shanxi, the position of Censor of Shanxi became vacant. The Censor was one of the three local officials and a third-rank official with a high status. If the newly appointed Censor of Shanxi arrived, the Fan family would certainly give him a warm reception and invite him to stay in the Fan family compound for a banquet.

According to court practice, officials of the rank of Censor can bring not only their families but also guards, which number about 10 or so people. As for more, reasons can be found, but in order to avoid alerting the enemy, it is not appropriate.

Therefore, Liu Bo's plan was for him and his group to go to Zhangyuan Village in the name of Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, with the number of people controlled within fifteen. Among these fifteen people, Liu Bo and his brothers would naturally go. They were originally Jinyiwei, and as long as they restored their Jinyiwei dress and attire, and carried their badges as proof, it would be legitimate for them to escort the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner to take office.

Apart from Liu Bo, there are Li Hu's men. Li Hu's men can pretend to be the entourage and guards of the Shanxi Censor.

Listening to Liu Bo's words, Li Hu thought about it carefully and felt that this was a good idea. If he were a member of the Fan family and knew that the new provincial governor was coming, he would definitely invite him into the Fan family compound and give him a warm reception.

As for the number of people, Liu Bo said it was about fifteen, and Li Hu thought it made sense. First, these numbers were reasonable, and second, if there were more people, the Fan family might be on guard. Fifteen people was not too many, but not too few either. After these people arrived at Zhangyuan Village and revealed their identities, the Fan family would not think too much.

Li Hu disagreed that the fifteen people Liu Bo proposed were too few, and that they would not be of much use even if they entered the Fan family. Don't forget that Li Hu was leading an elite new army this time, and they were the elite of the elite drawn from the new army. Li Hu was naturally very clear about how strong the new army was, and this new army was actually no different from Qi Jiguang's Qi Family Army. In infantry combat, the formation was the Mandarin Duck Formation, which was most suitable for complex terrains. More importantly, a squad of the Mandarin Duck Formation was exactly twelve people. With this twelve-man formation, Li Hu was still somewhat confident that once he went into battle, he would be able to win.

"I think this is a good idea!" Li Hu thought about it and agreed immediately: "Then, I will take thirteen brothers with me to pretend to be attendants and guards, and Brother Liu can send one person, so that there will be fourteen people in total. But there is a problem, who will serve as this official? I can't do it. Even if I wear a dragon robe, I don't look like a prince. I will be exposed as soon as we meet."

"Brother Li, are you confident with such a small number of people?" Without answering Li Hu's question, Zhu Qiuqi asked anxiously.

Li Hu smiled and said easily, "I can't guarantee that I am completely sure, but I have about 70% confidence. Besides, my people will hide outside the village. As long as we launch the attack at the right time, we will guard the gate immediately and prevent the Fan family from closing the gate. When the reinforcements arrive, no one in the Fan family will be able to escape."

"Seven or eight points? Are you sure, Brother Li?" Zhu Qiuqi was very surprised, and even Liu Bo was extremely shocked.

After all, the Fan family is a big family with a lot of money. There are hundreds of people in the Fan family compound, including servants and guards. Even if half of them are old, weak, women and children, there are at least a hundred young and strong people. Can you resist the counterattack of the Fan family with only fifteen people? Does Li Hu have such confidence? You know, if it fails, these people will all be trapped, and their lives and deaths will be unpredictable.

Li Hu did not give a direct answer, but looked confident. Seeing how confident he was, Zhu Qiuqi immediately gritted his teeth and agreed, and decided to do it this way.

"Eighteenth Master, the key is to get in. The person pretending to be an official is the most important. We can't be careless about this!" Seeing Zhu Qiuqi agreed, Li Hu reminded him again.

"This is easy!" Zhu Qiuqi had already thought about it, and pointed at himself: "Neither of my two brothers is suitable, and I am the only one who is most suitable to take the position here..."

"Eighteenth Master, this..." When Zhu Qiuqi said this, Li Hu and Liu Bo were suddenly shocked. They never thought that Zhu Qiuqi would take the initiative to volunteer and be willing to take such a risk.

Just as he was about to persuade Zhu Qiuqi to give up this idea, Zhu Qiuqi said sternly: "I have made up my mind on this matter. Can you find another suitable candidate? Besides, I think someone has told you before you came out that you should follow my arrangements this time. In this case, my words and decisions are orders. Just prepare according to this. No more words!"

Li Hu and Liu Bo looked at each other, not knowing how to persuade them. Zhu Qiuqi was right. They had been told before they set out that they would follow Zhu Qiuqi's command in everything, so Zhu Qiuqi was the leader of their group.

In addition, what Zhu Qiuqi said was also true. It was not so easy to impersonate an official, especially a high-ranking civil servant like the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. Ordinary people could not impersonate him at all, not to mention the soldiers and Jinyiwei. No matter whether Li Hu or Liu Bo put on official uniforms, it was obvious that they were not the same from the inside out. But Zhu Qiuqi was different. Zhu Qiuqi was a member of the royal family. Although Zhu Qiuqi's status as a member of the royal family was not high, he was a member of the royal family. The temperament that came from his bones was something that ordinary people could not learn.

Moreover, Zhu Qiuqi had a dignified appearance. Although he was sitting there in ordinary clothes, one could tell at a glance that he was not an ordinary person. He was pretending to be a civil servant, and neither his behavior nor his conversation would arouse suspicion. He was indeed an excellent candidate.

But the problem is that this is a risk! Although Li Hu patted his chest and said that he was 70% to 80% sure, even if he was 100% sure, there was still a chance of one. Going deep into the Fan family compound, there were people from the Fan family everywhere. Once they started fighting, there would be a scene of swords and blood flying everywhere. Zhu Qiuqi's identity was not ordinary. If he had any accidents, how would he explain to his superiors?
"No need to say more, it's settled!" Seeing the two people hesitating, Zhu Qiuqi made the final decision.

Of course, he knew how risky this matter was, but Zhu Qiuqi had been brave since he was young, and he knew the importance of this matter. Zhu Qiuqi was not stupid, he knew very well that the Fan family matter was a test given to him by Zhu Shenzhu, and this test would not come again. Once the test was passed, the future would be bright. If he backed down when the time came, Zhu Qiuqi also knew what the result would be.

For Zhu Qiuqi, this matter can only succeed and cannot fail. This is the so-called "wealth and honor are sought in danger". In such a situation, it is worth taking any risk. Isn't it true that the old saying goes: "If a man dies, his eggs will be exposed to the sky. If he lives for thousands of years, how many times can he fight for this in his life?"

(End of this chapter)