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Chapter 972 Jade Cabbage
The Qiu family of Dashengchang, the mortal enemy of the Qiao family in Qi County, was also frightened. They were really worried that the rebellious Ningyuan army would suddenly rush into their house and loot.

"Cui Mingjiu, what's the current situation at the Qiao Family Compound?" Old Master Qiu asked Cui Mingjiu with his gray beard trembling.

"To return to my old employer, the Qiao family has the same attitude as our Qiu family. They are both closing their doors and refusing to cut their braids." Cui Mingjiu is the vanguard of the Qiu family in dealing with the Qiao family, so naturally he has been paying attention to the situation in the Qiao family compound.

"Hmph! I didn't expect the women of the Qiao family to be so extraordinary." At this moment, Old Master Qiu couldn't help but comment with deep emotion.

"Old boss, do you think it was Qiao Zhiguang who made the decision?" Cui Mingjiu naturally looked down on women. Instead, he thought that it might be the order of the terminally ill Qiao Zhiguang.

"Even if Qiao Zhiguang is not dead now, he should be very ill. Such a big thing will not alarm him." Although the Qiao family has kept Qiao Zhiguang's death a secret, Mr. Qiu still noticed something unusual about the Qiao family.

"Old Boss, do you think we can encourage Qiao Dawang and his gang of Qiao family members to cause trouble at the Qiao family, and then let the Qiao family members fight among themselves?"

"Idiot! What time is it now? Are you still thinking about the grudge with the Qiao family? Maybe we won't see the sun tomorrow."

"Eh? Boss, I'm sorry! I was inconsiderate."

"Cui Mingjiu, we must prioritize everything. The sword hanging over our heads right now is the mysterious Ningyuan Army. If we fail to handle our relationship with the Ningyuan Army well, it will be a disaster for our entire Shanxi merchant group."

After all, Mr. Qiu had seen many storms and realized that this rebellion in Qi County would be a disaster for the Shanxi merchants.

Even if the rebellion in Qi County was eventually suppressed by the imperial army, it is impossible for the rebels to appear in Qi County for no reason.

At that time, the entire Shanxi merchant group might be held accountable by the court. You know, the court has long been coveting the Shanxi merchants, who are the richest in the world.

"The old boss is right! Mingjiu will definitely remember it." Cui Mingjiu also realized this problem at this time. After all, the imperial court might use this as an excuse to make things difficult for the Shanxi merchants.

"Well, tell everyone in the Qiu family not to go out on the streets for any reason."

"Yes! Old boss."

As we all know, Qiao Family Compound was first built during the Qianlong period and has now become a huge complex of buildings. There are almost countless descendants of the Qiao family living here.

So even if Grandma Cao Yuezhi ordered that the Qiao family was not allowed to go out, there were still some people who did not believe in it and sent servants out to buy things.

You have to know that the food stored by the Qiao family can guarantee the daily supply, but fresh vegetables and meat still need to be purchased outside.

"Woooooooo..."

Soon, the shrill cries alarmed Cao Yuezhi, the eldest grandmother of the Qiao family. Cao Yuezhi asked her personal maid in a distraught manner, "Guixiang, what happened outside?"

"Reporting to Grandma, Master Qiao Wu's family disobeyed your orders and forced two servants to go out to buy fresh vegetables and meat. As a result, they had their braids forcibly cut as soon as they walked out of the Qiao family compound." Guixiang, the personal maid, briefly introduced the situation.

"What? Damn it! It's really too damned! Will I die if I don't eat fresh vegetables for a meal?" Qiao's eldest grandmother Cao Yuezhi slammed the table angrily, realizing that the Qiao family's children were really disappointing.

"Grandma, those families from the side branches have always been secretly disobeying the master. This time we should teach them a lesson." Guixiang, the personal maid, said disapprovingly.

"Hmph! What do you know! Now the entire Qiao family is in a state of shared prosperity and adversity. If a servant's braids are cut, the blame will fall on our Qiao family." However, Qiao family's eldest grandmother Cao Yuezhi scolded them, saying that this disaster would need to be faced by their entire Qiao family.

"Grandma, what should we do?" Guixiang also realized it belatedly and looked at Cao Yuezhi and asked.

"Guixiang, go tell the old fifth family to give more compensation to the two servants whose braids were cut, and then send them out of the Qiao family compound directly." Cao Yuezhi soon made her own arrangements helplessly, believing that the Qiao fifth family would not continue to make things difficult for them.

"Yes! Grandma."

Looking at the hurriedly leaving figure of her personal maid Guixiang, Qiao's eldest grandmother Cao Yuezhi felt extremely frightened.

After all, her husband's body is still lying in the inner house. It is really difficult for her to maintain such a large family by herself. She is particularly looking forward to Qiao Zhiyong, the second son of the Qiao family, to come back soon.

When Qiao Wuye's family heard what Grandmother Cao Yuezhi had Guixiang convey, they suddenly realized that the situation was so urgent that they could not delay.

"Changfeng, Changsheng, you heard it too. Since the eldest grandmother has spoken, you two can only leave the Qiao family compound temporarily." The fifth grandmother of the Qiao family said as she looked at the two servants crying bitterly in front of her.

"Fifth Grandma, it's okay! There are people with their braids cut everywhere outside, and nothing bad has happened." At this time, the servant Changsheng stopped crying and looked at the Fifth Grandma in front of him with an innocent face and defended herself.

"Hmph! Then who are you showing off to by coming back crying? Aren't you still worried about being blamed by the court?" At this time, the fifth grandmother of the Qiao family retorted with disapproval.

"This……"

"Alright! I promise I'm only sending you away temporarily. Once the situation calms down or your hair grows back, I'll accept you back into the Qiao Family Compound."

"Thank you, Fifth Grandma."

"Go!"

Seeing that the two big troubles in front of them were finally sent away, everyone in the Qiao family couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and no longer dared to disobey Cao Yuezhi's orders and run into the street.

……

The shocking changes in Qi County naturally shook many places in Shanxi. Not only did the wealthy businessmen in Qi County hide at home in fear, but even the people in the nearby Taigu and Pingyao counties were thinking of fleeing.

The Lu family of Taigu.

Lu Dake, known as Shanxi's best dunker, looked at his daughter with heartache, then reluctantly explained his plans. "Yuhan, the events in Qi County this time are very unusual, so I'm arranging for you to flee Taigu and Shanxi at night, and then flee all the way to the capital, right under the Emperor's feet."

"Dad, that's not possible! We in Shanxi have General Suiyuan and the Taiyuan City Guard. We will definitely wipe out this group of rebels soon." At this time, Lu Yuhan asked back with some disapproval, feeling that his father Lao Kou was making a fuss too much.

"I firmly believe this! But I'm worried that before the rebels are eliminated, our Taigu Lu family will have been completely slaughtered."

"Oh no!"

"Yuhan, you're my only daughter, so I naturally don't want to see you in danger. Hurry and take your jade cabbage to the capital!"

"Dad, your daughter wants to stay in Taigu with you. Even if I die, I want to die with you." At this time, Lu Yuhan was reluctant to leave her father alone, and then she pulled Lu Dake's arm and said stubbornly.

"Silly child! Maybe I, your father, am worrying too much. You don't need to worry about my safety." Lu Dake was naturally moved by his daughter's thoughtfulness, but he was clearly aware that Taigu County was already in danger.

"Dad, why don't we flee to the capital together." At this time, Lu Yuhan suddenly suggested that Lu Dake go with him to escape.

"No! I can't let go of our Lu family's wealth. Even if I die, I want to die with it." Lu Dake, who valued money as his life, naturally refused without a second thought. Even if he died, he wanted to die with his family's wealth. "Uh..."

Seeing that his father was so willing to sacrifice his life but not his wealth, Lu Yuhan had no choice but to flee Taigu County.

Of course, there were many wealthy families who had the same idea as Lu Dake at this time. They all chose around four in the morning when everyone was sleeping soundly.

However, just when this group of refugees had left Taigu County not far away, they found that Taigu County had been surrounded and all the people were taken under control as expected.

"Marshal, what should we do with these people who escaped from Taigu County?" A robot soldier walked up to Suning and asked.

"Cut off the braids of all the men and let them go." Then Suning announced how they would be dealt with.

"Yes! Marshal."

Lu Yuhan, who was hiding in the carriage in fear, couldn't help but curiously lift the curtain to look, but happened to meet the eyes of a young man with wide-open eyes.

Lu Yuhan immediately lowered the carriage curtain with a pounding heart, but the other person's eyes were already deeply imprinted in Lu Yuhan's mind.

The Ningyuan Army soldiers acted very quickly and decisively. They quickly cut off the pigtails of these people and did not bother to pay any attention to their pleas and howls.

After cutting off the braids of everyone present, the Ningyuan army no longer paid any attention to them. Instead, they re-formed their troops and marched towards Taigu County.

After the Ningyuan Army left, the servant who had lost his braid looked at Lu Yuhan with a sorrowful expression and asked, "Miss, are we still going to flee to the capital?"

"Why are you still going? Your braids have been cut off. You may be arrested as traitors before you even reach Taiyuan." Lu Yuhan refused in frustration, realizing that they had no way out.

"Miss, what should we do next?"

"Let's go back to Taigu! I want to see how this group of rebels attack the city."

"what?"

Then, many wealthy families who fled from Taigu County miraculously followed the Ningyuan Army from a distance, knowing that it was meaningless to flee anywhere.

Of course, there will be some foolish people who refuse to give up and still flee towards Taiyuan, but the end they will face will definitely be tragic.

At this time, Suning had led his army to the gate of Taigu County, and the county magistrate and county lieutenant of Taigu County had already organized the defense. They all stared at the mighty army under the city with wide eyes and trembling bodies.

"Sir County Magistrate, these rebels under the city are not simple!"

"Captain Kong, the rebels are holding firearms, right?"

"It should be a firearm! But the style is really strange, even Western firearms don't look like this."

"Strange! It's really strange."

A "rebel" walked out of the Ningyuan army formation, carrying a long cylindrical firearm on his shoulder, and fired a cannonball directly at the Taigu County gate.

With a loud "boom", the city gate of Taigu County shattered into sawdust as the Taigu defenders looked on in amazement, and the Taigu defenders on the top of the city were also shocked and fled in panic.

Just as the magistrate and lieutenant of Taigu County had calmed down, they were horrified to find that the muzzle of the cannon was aimed at their position in the city gate tower.

"Captain Kong, hurry! Hurry! Raise the white flag! We surrender!"

"Ah? Mr. County Magistrate, this is a serious matter. Would you like to discuss it?"

"Captain Kong, are you crazy? Can't you see that the cannon is pointed at us?"

"This……"

"What are you talking about! If you want to die, don't drag me and the people of this city with you."

"..."

Soon a white flag was hoisted on the gate tower of Taigu County, and then the magistrate and lieutenant of Taigu County knelt on both sides of the road at the gate to welcome the Ningyuan army into Taigu County.

Lu Yuhan and others who were hiding behind and watching were completely stunned. They did not expect that the Ningyuan Army could capture Taigu County so easily. At the same time, they also realized that this group of rebels of unknown origin was definitely not simple.

After the Ningyuan Army entered Taigu County, they still adopted the strategy of not harming anyone, but all men who appeared on the street had to be forced to cut their braids. As for those who did not want to cut their braids, they had to hide in their homes forever.

"Yuhan, you silly child! Why are you back again?"

"Dad, your braid?"

"Alas! These damned rebels cut off my braids without asking for my permission. How am I supposed to face the imperial army from now on?"

"Dad, we encountered the Ningyuan Army outside the city. They forcibly cut off the braids of all the men in the caravan. Although they quickly let us pass, I feel that if we flee to Taiyuan, we will be treated as traitors."

"Hey! Yuhan, you're right! Fortunately, the Ningyuan Army won't enter the houses. I heard that as long as Qi County closes the gates, everything will be fine."

"Oh? Could it be that the Qiao and Qiu families in Qi County were also saved?"

"Yes! That's the news from Qi County. It seems these rebels still have some conscience."

"Dad, I just saw the Ningyuan Army blast open the gate of Taigu County with just one cannon. It seems that the Qing court will find it difficult to withstand the Ningyuan Army's attack."

"It's hard to say! Let's see if the Ningyuan Army can withstand the armies of General Suiyuan and the Taiyuan City Guard."

"..." At this moment, Lu Yuhan couldn't help but think of that look in the morning again, and couldn't help but feel his heart beating fast as he hoped that Ning Yuanjun would win.

At the same time, the Ningyuan Army used the same method to control the nearby Pingyao County, and the next target became Taiyuan, the largest city in Shanxi.

……

(End of this chapter)