Dugong

Chapter 121 The Destruction of a Powerful Family
Guanyun County.

Originally an obscure little county town, it gradually became an important town in Jiangnan as the Li family prospered.

Over the centuries, the family has continuously merged and expanded, and the 300,000 mu of farmland under the jurisdiction of the county town all belong to the Li clan.

The people of Guanyun County appear to be under the rule of the imperial court, but in reality, they are tenants, retainers, and slaves of the Li family.

Li Ping'an raised an eyebrow as he looked at the intelligence gathered by Eunuch Xia: "The Li family only collects 50% of the land rent?"

Eunuch Xia replied, "In a good year, it's 50%; in a bad year, it's only 30%."

"They're even more benevolent than the Bodhisattvas in the temple! If our family had been born in Guanyun County, we probably wouldn't have ended up working in the palace!"

Li Ping'an chuckled a few times and glanced at the neatly planned field ridges on both sides of the official road.

In the warm spring of March, farmers, barefoot, wade in ankle-deep mud and water, bending over to plant tender rice seedlings, the wind blowing across the paddy fields creating ripples.

Li Ping'an sighed, "My family owns two acres of land under Guan Yun's control; how can we possibly wear the golden seal of the Three Supervisors?"

"Sir, you jest. The Li family's fields are not easy to cultivate."

Eunuch Xia took out a booklet from his sleeve, opened it and found a long list of crimes written on it, mostly those listed in the law, all of which were committed by Li.

For example, in the late years of the previous dynasty, the Li family raised an army to rebel, then surrendered to the puppet regime in Jiangnan, and later secretly pledged allegiance to Emperor Shizu, becoming a traitor to the puppet regime.

For example, in the internal strife, the current head of the Li clan had an affair with a close relative, and the son born was raised under the name of a cousin. It is said that the son is mentally challenged, but last year he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar.

Other acts such as immorality, filial impiety, discord, and injustice are common among the thousands of members of the Li clan.

"What an utterly wicked family! Our family has done a service to the people!"

Li Ping'an chuckled strangely, drew his sword, pointed at the faintly visible city ahead, and loudly gave the order.

"Beat the drums, charge! The first to reach the top will be rewarded with a fortune!"

The war drums beat loudly, and the eunuchs, on horseback, recited the military orders of Eunuch An, while the vanguard officers waved their flags.

Five thousand soldiers from the Beijing garrison and five thousand civilians, totaling over six thousand infantrymen, charged toward the county town.

At this moment, on the city wall, hundreds of soldiers looked fearfully at the overwhelming enemy army, their hands trembling as they could barely hold their swords.

The leading adjutant, surnamed Li, shouted sternly to his men: "Hold out for three days! The young master has already gone to the prefectural city with the clan chief's warrant, and the prefectural troops will arrive to reinforce us soon."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers suddenly felt a surge of courage. The Li clan had ruled Guanyun County for hundreds of years, and the clan chief's words carried more weight than those of the emperor.

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen figures darted out from the county town and used their lightness skills to climb the two-zhang-high city wall.

As the blades and hidden weapons flashed, the adjutant who had just spoken died on the spot.

Taking advantage of the chaos and confusion among the soldiers on the city wall, they slaughtered dozens of guards behind the city gate like mowing grass, quickly lowered the gateposts, and opened the horizontal bolts and iron locks.

The city gates were opened wide, and thousands of soldiers poured in like a tide.

The defending troops were slaughtered in an instant, the north gate fell into the control of the Beijing garrison, and then marched in a mighty force toward the Li family's ancestral home.

Along the way, civilians would occasionally launch surprise attacks, causing only a few deaths and injuries, but they could not stop the army's advance at all.

The Li family ancestral home is located in the center of the county town, covering an area of ​​several dozen acres, resembling a city within a city.

The inconspicuous county government office next door resembled the gatehouse and side courtyard of the Li family's ancestral home, and in fact, it was just like that.

When Magistrate Guan Yun judged cases, he always considered the patriarchal clan system first and then the national law.

On the gate tower of the Li family's ancestral home, stood a densely packed group of retainers and servants, numbering at least two or three thousand, wielding knives, spears, and clubs, glaring fiercely at the imperial army.

Li Ping'an stood on his horse at a distance, gesturing to the view: "We underestimated the military strength of the aristocratic families. Six thousand soldiers might not be enough to take them all down."

These servants guarding the ancestral home were all strong and robust, some even skilled in martial arts, and appeared to be even more elite than the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison.

Eunuch Xia suggested, "My lord, there's no need for a direct assault. Cut off our water and food supplies and besiege us for a few days, and we'll naturally achieve a great victory."

Zhao Lian shook his head and said, "When the ancestral home of the aristocratic family was built, it was already planned to be besieged. There are grain and running water stored inside, so it is not a problem to hold out for three to five months!"

"It must be pressed as soon as possible."

Li Ping'an said in a deep voice, "The relationships between aristocratic families are very complex. The Li family must have already sent people to the capital to contact and persuade high-ranking officials in the court."

If we're willing to spend the money, we might just sway His Majesty's mind! Only by quickly eliminating the Li clan can we win over the court officials, who won't speak for the dead. As for the repeated memorials impeaching them, Eunuch An is already used to it.

A eunuch who is not impeached by the officials cannot be considered a true powerful eunuch!

Zhao Lian suggested, "Then there's only one way: fire attack."

"I trouble you, Your Highness, to gather all the oil and wood that can be burned in the city. If that's not enough, go outside the city and cut down trees. Our house needs a fire that will burn for ten days straight!"

Li Ping'an continued to instruct, "Eunuch Xia, Eunuch Kang, and Xiao Chenzi, each lead a thousand soldiers to surround the Li family ancestral home. No living creature in our family is allowed to escape."

"As ordered."

The men obeyed and left. Four thousand soldiers surrounded the Li family's ancestral home, while more than a thousand militiamen began demolishing houses and shops in the city.

The people in the city had no reason to stop them, because all the property deeds belonged to the Li family, and they were just tenants.

Of course, there were also some mentally unstable tenants who tried to stop the soldiers from demolishing the house, only to be hacked to death.

For daring to obstruct the imperial court's suppression of the rebellion, not executing nine generations of his family was already an act of mercy by Eunuch An.

There was no shortage of burning, killing, and looting during this period, but Li Ping'an turned a blind eye to it.

"Pass down the order: break into the Li family's ancestral home, and keep all the loot!"

Upon hearing the news, the villagers worked even harder, busy from dawn till dusk. At Grandpa An's command, raging flames rose fiercely, and burning oil cans were thrown into the ancestral home, igniting the pavilions and towers.

During this time, Li's troops attempted to break through the encirclement, but were met with several volleys of arrows, leaving behind more than a hundred corpses as they retreated back into the courtyard in disarray.

The Beijing garrison may not be as good as the northern border troops, but it is still the regular army of the imperial court. They have practiced in formation many times on a daily basis, and their fighting skills are far superior to those of scattered soldiers.

The fire burned for three days and three nights, exhausting the entire county's oil and timber reserves.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky, obscuring the sun, and the smell of burnt meat filled the entire city.

The Li family ancestral home, with a history of nearly a thousand years, was transformed from ornate buildings into ruins in the blink of an eye. On the first day, there were still shrill screams, but on the second day, more people died than lived.

Li Ping'an looked at the dust flying everywhere and waved his hand.

"kill!"

Thousands of soldiers rushed into the Li family ancestral home from all directions, knocking down the scorching hot courtyard walls and searching for any living creature that was breathing.

Like a locust swarm passing through, leaving no survivors.

Turn over the floor tiles, drain the well, cut the earthworms in half, and scald the ant nest five times.

Such a thorough search did indeed find quite a few living people, such as the master hiding in the well water and the young master hiding in the chimney.

Following military orders, finish them off with a single blow.

The master and his son divided up all their gold, silver, and valuables, even taking their gold teeth, pulling them out alive, wiping the blood off, and stuffing them into their pockets.

The Li family's ancestral home, accumulated over a thousand years, holds countless treasures, enough to make thousands of soldiers rich.

Prince Cheng's son, Zhao Lian, lived up to his noble birth, looking down on scattered gold and silver, and led his soldiers to excavate two silver vaults.

Inside were huge gold and silver balls, too heavy for three or five people to lift, hence the saying "no way to move them".

Li Ping'an rode by and instructed, "According to past practice, 30% goes to the heir apparent and 70% goes to the thieves."

Zhao Lian immediately beamed with joy: "This humble servant thanks the Commander-in-Chief."

Arriving at the Li Clan Ancestral Hall, the only remaining building amidst dozens of acres of ruins, its exterior is blackened by soot, but overall it remains intact.

The door had been burned down, and inside were several old men and a dozen or so young people, surrounding the 22nd generation Li clan patriarch.

Seeing Eunuch An riding over, Li Guangjun said angrily, "You eunuch, do you really want to destroy my Li family?"

Li Ping'an ignored the fellow's shouting and turned to look at Eunuch Xia.

"Have you found the Li family genealogy? Arrest everyone according to the order, make sure no one is missed!"

(End of this chapter)