Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 132 Curfew (Bonus Chapter by Silver Alliance Leader Nuanyang 1314)

"Master, whether we go or not, you should make up your mind!"

Faced with Liu Rushi's coercion, Qian Qianyi was at his wit's end, realizing he couldn't leave.

"Madam should know that everyone in and around Jinling City knows that I have a close relationship with Lin Zihou."

“Even his Jubao Tower was something I personally worked hard to secure.”

"Now that things have come to light," Qian Qianyi said with shame, "there's no way I can escape it now."

"Don't even mention that you can't leave the city. Even if you do leave the city, you'll be arrested as a traitor when you get to other places."

Not all the officials in Jinling City were arrested.

Qian Qianyi and others were not arrested, but were placed under house arrest.

"Master." Liu Rushi stepped forward, her almond-shaped eyes wide open. "Are you going to become a thief?"

"Don't talk nonsense."

Qian Qianyi waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "Zihou only ordered people to guard the gate; he did not recruit me."

"He has more important things to do," Liu Rushi sneered. "If he were to offer to recruit him, would you, sir, agree to join the bandits?!"

Qian Qianyi was about to argue when he heard the steward calling from outside the door.

"Master, the soldier outside said that Master Lin invites you to the Duke of Wei's mansion."

"well."

Qian Qianyi hurriedly went out, but was stopped by Liu Rushi: "My lord, you are a subject of the Ming Dynasty, you must not follow the rebels!"

"Okay, got it."

After giving a few perfunctory replies, Qian Qianyi, feeling a slight itch on his scalp, scratched his head and hurriedly left.

"What loyalty can I, a dismissed third-rank official, possibly offer to the Ming Dynasty?"

"The Ming Dynasty still has an emperor; who remembers this old man?"

The entire city of Jinling has been placed under curfew.

No household is allowed to leave their homes, or they will be arrested. If they resist, they will be left to die.

Qian Qianyi's carriage, escorted by a group of soldiers, traveled along the quiet streets.

This somewhat eerie silence made Qian Qianyi feel uneasy.

'I wonder if Lin Zihou still acknowledges our previous friendship.'

'Since they didn't just kill me and lock me up, I guess they're still willing to accept it.'

If they were to actually recruit me, would I politely decline, or would I maintain a degree of reserve?

The commotion coming from the street ahead startled Qian Qianyi awake.

Pushing open the window, Qian Qianyi leaned out and saw a dozen or so men dressed in short clothes fleeing in a disheveled manner along the street ahead.

A troop of armored soldiers were chasing after them.

The soldiers next to Qian Qianyi's convoy quickly stepped forward to stop them, and in a one-sided massacre, more than a dozen men were all cut down to the ground.

The soldiers grabbed these men by the hair, exposing their necks, and then slashed them down with their swords.

Soon, poles were erected along the roadside, with more than a dozen severed heads hanging on them.

"master."

The butler accompanying the vehicle explained in a low voice, "They are thugs from a local gang."

"Judging from the bulging of their clothes, they must have been robbing their neighbors and were being chased by government troops."

Sure enough, the soldiers found a lot of valuables on the thugs.

One of the most important purposes of the curfew is to prevent those who take advantage of the chaos to loot.

Whenever a major disaster strikes, there are always those reckless individuals who jump out hoping to make a fortune.

Kind words are useless when dealing with these people; only the word "kill" can deter them.

After a delay on the road, by the time Qian Qianyi arrived at the Duke of Wei's residence, Ruan Dacheng, Ma Shiying, and others had already arrived ahead of him.

The three met, and there was some awkwardness and sighs.

No one expected that Mr. Lin would make such a big mistake.

This really put them in a very difficult situation.

Ma Shiying was in the most awkward position.

He was also one of those seeking to restore order, and he played a significant role in the process of incorporating Jianghuai Guard and Jichuan Guard into Yongwei Camp.

Unexpectedly, news came from the capital that he might be appointed as the governor of Fengyang.

Before the news could be confirmed, Jinling City had already changed hands.

They really have no future now.

When the imperial court investigated afterward, they found that they had all worked for Lin Dao.

At that point, not only will Qifu be affected, but the whole family will be playing Candy Crush too!
This is truly a helpless situation.

Led by soldiers, the three entered the Duke of Wei's mansion, passing through walls and houses to reach the back garden.

According to the Ming dynasty system, the area occupied by a duke's government office was 100 mu.

In reality, the entire Wei State Duke's Mansion covers an area far exceeding one hundred acres.

Over the past two hundred years, it has continuously annexed its surrounding neighbors, and its area has expanded considerably.

Moreover, the back street has two whole streets, all of which are lined with the various branches of the Duke of Wei's mansion.

After more than ten generations, the family has become extremely large.

"If this were a rallying cry..."

Lin Dao joked, "That would be a huge problem."

The Duke of Wei may be willing to surrender the wild boar skin, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's willing to surrender himself.

If they are unwilling to surrender, then they must harbor thoughts of resistance.

Lin Dao never had any expectations of these people.

The only plan is to squeeze them dry.

Just like soybeans, once they're squeezed dry, the remaining soybean pulp can be used to feed livestock.

In front of Lin Dao were boxes of gold and silver ingots, and even overseas silver dollars and gold coins.

However, these things were nothing more than a drop in the ocean for the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Their real wealth lies in those stacks of land deeds, property deeds, and house deeds.

You can browse through the forest trails at will; they're found all over the country.

Estates, shops, caravans, fleets of ships.

Some belonged entirely to the Duke of Wei, while others were held as shares with interest.

"Mr. Muzhai has arrived?" Upon seeing Qian Qianyi and the others, Lin Dao smiled and handed them a thick stack of IOUs. "Take a look, this is the backbone of the Ming Dynasty."

Printing money was also an important source of income for nobles.

"This is only a small part."

Lin Dao casually remarked, "Even the most prominent servants in their household own their own mansions and estates, have shares in many shops that generate interest, and countless IOUs."

"We haven't had time to check all the houses on the back street yet, but there are likely to be more."

Qian Qianyi and the others looked embarrassed.

Everyone knows this, and that's how it's done.

What do you want us to say?

"Instructor," a soldier reported, "we've found a treasury, but there are too many copper coins inside, and we can't move them out in time."

"Let's go," Lin Dao called out. "Let's go take a look."

It was called a vault, but it was actually a cellar.

The inside was stuffed with countless copper coins, piled up to the brim, looking like a copper mountain at first glance.

Because they had been piled up for so many years, many of the copper coins had long since oxidized and fused together.

Lin Dao picked it up and examined it. "Hey, it even has copper coins from the Xuande period."

"People always say that the Ming Dynasty is facing a money shortage, but the money is just piling up like this. It really is a money shortage."

There are three such cellars in the entire Duke of Wei's mansion.

In addition, there are all kinds of jewelry, precious medicinal herbs and furniture, various spices, rare books, antiques and paintings, silks and satins, and rare treasures from overseas, so many that they cannot be counted.

This is only what's in the manor; who knows how many more are hidden outside.

"Gentlemen."

Lin Dao summoned Qian Qianyi and others, saying, "I would like to ask you gentlemen to establish a committee for the recovery of stolen assets."

"Mr. Muzhai is the chairman of the committee, and the two of you are the vice chairmen."

"My job is to specifically recover the assets of these people."

"I would be grateful if you gentlemen could assist me."

Qian Qianyi lowered his head subconsciously; he really didn't want to get involved in something that would offend people so badly.

Ruan Dacheng responded without hesitation, "Since Zihou trusts us, we will repay him with all our might!"

"Zihou, rest assured, we will definitely recover all the money and wealth that these scoundrels have embezzled from the people!"

"Good." Lin Dao nodded in satisfaction. "In that case, you should cooperate more with Director Zhao of the interrogation committee."

Ruan Dacheng and the others were still wondering about Director Zhao.

Then Zhao Zhilong ran over with a big smile. "General, that old bastard Xu Hongji has confessed."

"He had a shop in Suzhou, and he dug a cellar under the shop to hide more than two hundred of them, but he had no choice."

The so-called "no other choice" was to melt down the silver and recast it into a large silver ball weighing one thousand taels.

This thing is so heavy that even if a thief finds it, he can't do anything about it, hence the name "helpless".

"well done."

Lin Dao nodded in satisfaction and even patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically, saying, "Keep working hard."

"By the way, just record these things outside Jinling City, and bring them out after we recover the area."

Zhao Zhilong was so shocked by the filming that his bones felt like they were melting.

Everywhere they looked, there were fawning smiles. They bowed and repeatedly said that they would do their utmost to serve the commander-in-chief until their dying breath.

Qian Qianyi and the others standing nearby were dumbfounded.

Are these still the nobles of the Ming Dynasty?
Especially Ruan Dacheng, who thought he was already being obsequious enough, but compared to the Earl of Xincheng, he couldn't even catch up.

"Don't just focus on these big shots."

Lin Dao continued to instruct, "Every merchant in the city, the officials of the government and the court, and even the tax collectors at the city gate, must be thoroughly investigated and examined."

"Leader!"

"You all know each other." Lin Dao finally introduced the two sides. "We should work together in the future and get closer to each other."

The men greeted him with forced smiles, their embarrassment barely concealed.

They were unaware of Lin Dao's true strength, believing he had only won Jinling City by chance.

If the imperial army marches south, it will be difficult to succeed.

Therefore, it wasn't that I genuinely wanted to do things for him.

It's simply the way things are now; they have no other choice.

During the awkward conversation, a soldier came to report that "students from the Imperial Academy are causing trouble in the streets."

The Imperial Academy held a very high status, and its students were considered reserve officials.

Furthermore, Lin Dao himself also held the identity of a student of the Imperial Academy.

Upon learning that Nanjing had been occupied by rebel forces, they quickly banded together and went out to cause trouble.

The Ming Dynasty's consistently generous treatment of scholars made them fearless.

Furthermore, even if dynasties change, the country still needs scholars like them to govern.

Lin Dao frowned slightly. "Why are you asking me about something like this?"

"Don't you know what a curfew is?"

A curfew is in effect, prohibiting any activities at night.

Anyone who leaves the house without permission will be arrested; anyone who disobeys will be killed!

Regardless of your status, without special permission, everyone will be treated the same.

The soldier accepted the order and turned to leave.

Qian Qianyi became anxious and hurriedly advised, "General, the students in the Imperial Academy are all promising scholars."

"so what?"

Lin Dao looked at him with suspicion, "He doesn't even understand how to abide by the law. What use is such a seed? He'll only grow up to be a deformed gourd."

"General!" Qian Qianyi was so anxious he almost stamped his foot. "To govern the country, we cannot do without scholars."

"Mr. Muzhai is mistaken."

Lin Dao simply shook his head. "In this world, it's hard to find a three-legged toad, but people who want to be officials are everywhere."

"Alright, since you're so concerned, then go and persuade them to go back and stay there."

"Otherwise~~~"

Qian Qianyi quickly bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your magnanimity, General. I will go and persuade them to go back."

(End of this chapter)