The invasion of the abyss begins with the Laughing at the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 34: Winning over some and suppressing others

"Brother Liang, they are all fellow villagers from Jingbianbao. Please give them a chance to start a new life."

Looking at the scene in front of him, Shitou touched his head, feeling a little reluctant. He pursed his lips and began to persuade.

As the local tyrant in southern Liaoning, the Wang family recruited many servants and guards who were childhood playmates of Shitou, Shen Yuanliang and Shouhou, and they had some friendship with them.

"Don't judge by the monk, judge by the Buddha. Since the stone is begging for you, I will give you a chance."

"Whoever commits crimes on a daily basis, please stand up!"

"If no one admits it, then I will have no choice but to kill you all to prevent future troubles. You can think about the consequences yourself."

Shen Yuanliang pinched his chin, narrowed his eyes, and spoke almost coldly and ruthlessly.

Shen Yuanliang is now penniless and wants to recruit a group of people, but not everyone can join. He still has some moral bottom line, although it is not much.

"He, Li Ergou, kicked Widow Zhao's door the night before yesterday and even scared her daughter half to death, thinking there was a ghost!"

"You went there too. You were involved as well. Last year, eight-year-old Abao said bad things about you behind your back. When you found out, you threw him into the river and drowned him. Don't think I don't know."

"Zhao Sanmu, two years ago, you secretly dug up the Liang family's ancestral grave in the middle of the night. You were so ungrateful."

Seeing that Shen Yuanliang was not joking, all the servants and guards were silent for a moment, then their faces suddenly turned red and they started to expose each other's past, even their childhood embarrassments.

Kicking a widow's door, digging up graves of children with no descendants, beating the blind and scolding the dumb, and drinking milk from a woman who has just given birth were the four most immoral things in ancient times. They challenged people's moral bottom line, and anyone who did any of them would be despised by the world.

For a moment, the area outside Wangjiawu Fort was like a vegetable market, filled with noise and smoke.

"You only have two choices now."

"Either Li Ergou, Zhao Sanmu and the others die, or you die. It's your choice!"

Taking out a silk handkerchief from his bosom, Shen Yuanliang slowly and methodically wiped the bloody sword, and spoke without raising his head.

Faced with nearly seventy or eighty people, Shen Yuanliang chose to win over one group, divide one group, and suppress another group, making them suspicious of each other and unable to work together.

After a cup of tea, only a few bloody corpses were left on the cold snow. The remaining servants and guards looked at each other, their eyes full of vigilance.

"From now on, you are all members of my Shen family. Don't do immoral things, otherwise their today will be your tomorrow."

"Did you hear that clearly?"

Looking at this scene, Shen Yuanliang was quite satisfied. He divided one group and suppressed another group, and the effect was quite good. He would show them kindness later and win over the hearts of the people. He was not afraid that they would rebel.

"Listen clearly!"

The sparse and weak responses made Shen Yuanliang frown and shout, "Louder."

"Listen clearly."

The deafening sound echoed throughout Wangjiawu Fort. No, it should be Shenjiawu Fort, Shen Yuanliang’s property, his home.

"Shitou, take twenty people to guard the suspension bridge. Don't let anyone go in or out at will unless I give the order."

"Shouhou, take the rest of the people with me to the Wang family's residence. Before mother and the others come, clean the house and don't leave any hidden dangers."

Under Shen Yuanliang's arrangement, the noisy servants and guards finally got in order, the chaotic fortress calmed down, and the looters were swept away by the skinny monkey. The property, medicinal materials, grain, etc. that originally belonged to the Wang family and now belonged to Shen Yuanliang were sealed up and stored in the warehouse, waiting for unified inventory and registration.

As the sun rises, the warm sunlight shines into the majestic and magnificent fortress, and curls of smoke rise up. Everything seems like yesterday, except that the owner of the fortress has changed, and everything seems different.

"Wan'er, how much grain, cloth, gold and silver does the Wang family have?"

In the magnificent hall, Shen Yuanliang, who had not slept all night, looked at Li Wan'er, who had also not rested, and asked with dark circles under his eyes.

"Brother Yuanliang, according to statistics, the Wang family has stored nearly 30,000 shi of grain, of which 20,000 shi are high-quality rice, and the remaining 10,000 shi of grain is moldy and stale, and it has been three or four years."

"As for the cloth, after counting, there are 1,000 pieces of fine silk and about 10,000 pieces of other coarse cloth."

"As for the gold and silver, there was not much gold in the cellar, less than a thousand taels. The silver was all cast into silver winter melons, eighty in number, round and slippery."

"The loose change and the banknotes add up to eight thousand taels."

Flipping through the account book in her hand, Li Wan'er forced herself to stay awake and report everything in detail, recording every item clearly.

The situation was settled last night. After cleaning the house, Shen Yuanliang sent someone to pick up Shen Chen and the others. Skinny Monkey's mother, Aunt Chen, was also there.

In order to count all the supplies as quickly as possible, Li Wan'er, with the help of Dongmei, Aunt Chen and others, worked diligently and busy all night. This was just a rough count of the food, cloth, gold and silver.

There are other materials that are sealed and stored in the warehouse, waiting to be counted and recorded later.

"My Lord, what should we do with the fertile fields outside the fort, and the shops in Jingbian Fort, Yongning City, and other places?"

The "skinny monkey" Chen Chongwen, who took a sip of tea, his eyes bloodshot and the whole body excited, interrupted and said.

The Wang family is the most prominent wealthy family in the vicinity, owning tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and at least forty or fifty shops and restaurants in the city. It can be said that they have a huge family business.

After the Wang family fell, Shen Yuanliang was well-fed, or even overfed, and still does not have enough manpower to take over these businesses.

"It is the middle of winter now, so there is no need to worry about the fertile fields outside the fort. As for the shops and restaurants in the city, we can abandon them for now."

"Shitou, post a notice. The Shen family is recruiting 300 servants. The salary is generous."

Shen Yuanliang's mind was very clear at this time, and he knew what to do and what not to do.

After the Battle of Sarhu, the entire southern Liaoning region was abandoned by the imperial court and became a lawless area. Just because Shen Yuanliang defeated the Wang family does not mean that the Wang family’s property belongs to him.

At this moment, outside the fortress, various forces were inquiring about the situation, preparing to get a piece of the pie, and even wanted to swallow Shen Yuanliang and his men skin and bones.

If he is not careful, Shen Yuanliang will be making things difficult for others and his efforts will be wasted.

"Skinny Monkey, recruit a few smart people to keep an eye on the thousand households in Jingbian Fort, the military preparations in Yongning City, and the bandits in Huya Mountain to see who makes unusual moves."

"For the next month, close the gates of the fortress, and everyone should try to stay out as little as possible. Focus on training the servants. Don't forget to practice martial arts and strive to enter the rank as soon as possible."

Pinching his chin, Shen Yuanliang paced back and forth, thinking quietly to see if there was anything he had missed.

A thousand miles begins with a single step.

From today on, the era belonging to Shen Yuanliang is about to begin, and new challenges are about to begin.

(End of this chapter)