Zhou Jian raised his sword high, motionless like a sculpture. The head was gone, and the blood on his neck was still gurgling outward. It looked particularly terrifying. His head rolled two feet away, staring at the sky with deathly eyes.
The bows and arrows of the Zhou family lost their effect, and they drew their swords and fought with the heavy-shielded soldiers. At this time, the troops of Yang Zaixing and Liu Cui rushed up like a flood and surrounded more than a hundred Zhou family disciples. In just a moment,
All the Zhou family's descendants were slaughtered, leaving no one alive.
The bloody killings frightened the people on the mountains on the north and south sides. They ran back to their homes and closed their doors tightly.
The soldiers rushed into the gate of the courtyard and began to search for the Zhou family members in the room. Chen Qing stood in the courtyard and watched groups of men and women being escorted out. At this time, Liu Cui walked forward quickly and whispered: "
We found Zhou Xin, but he has hanged himself, what should we do?"
"Cut off his head, be careful not to damage his face!"
"I understand the humble position!"
"Not long after, Zhou Xin and Zhou Jian's family members were all escorted out, and they knelt down in the yard. Most of them were women. Zhou Xin and Zhou Jian each had two sons. Zhou Xin's eldest son was in Bianliang, not here.
Jian's eldest son Zhou Qingze was killed. There were five adult men, four minors, and more than 20 others who were wives and concubines.
"All adult men will be executed, and all others will be pardoned!"
Chen Qing gave the order and turned around to go to the warehouse. Soon there was a sound of begging and crying in the yard.
The warehouses of Zhoujiapu are divided into public and private warehouses. They are actually the property of the Zhou family, but the materials stored are different. The public warehouses are filled with grain, wood, ironware, bronzes, armor, kerosene and other materials.
There are six thousand shi of grain, but a lot of it is old rice and wheat that has been harvested for many years.
When Yang Zaixing handed Chen Qing a property list, Chen Qing was shocked. There were 90,000 taels of silver, 5,000 taels of gold, 150,000 guan of copper coins, 30,000 pieces of silk and satin, 200,000 pieces of cloth, and
Lots of jewelry and jade.
An accountant said tremblingly: "These properties include the Zhou family's savings for decades, as well as valuable items looted from the homes of 1,700 households."
"How to tell the difference?"
"It's impossible to tell the difference, but the property taken from people's homes was mainly copper coins, cloth and jewelry. Silver jewelry and copper jewelry were basically stolen, but there are no records."
Of course, it is impossible to return the jewelry, but it can be rewarded to the soldiers, and some money, food and cloth can be distributed to the people to make them settle down.
Chen Qing nodded and ordered Yang Zaixing and Liu Cui to lead the soldiers to go door to door and gather all the people at the foot of the mountain to collect money, food and supplies.
The people who had closed the door and refused to come out all changed their minds and took their families down the mountain when they heard that they could receive money, food and cloth, for fear of missing the opportunity.
Half an hour later, the open space at the foot of the mountain was filled with people from Zhoujiapu, about 1,540 households, more than 13,000 people.
Thick crowds of people filled the open space. It was already dawn, and the gorgeous morning glow filled the sky.
Chen Qing stood on a large rock, surrounded by five hundred soldiers on each side. He saw tens of thousands of people, all in ragged clothes and with haggard faces. Almost all the children looked disheveled. All the prisoners of war had returned to their homes, and only the families with people killed in the battle were only
Can cry secretly.
"All the folks, listen to me!"
Chen Qing raised his hands high, and more than 10,000 people fell silent for an instant.
"Zhou Xin and Zhou Jian rebelled against the imperial court and attempted to rebel and establish themselves. They have been executed. The Zhou Family Fort will be closed and all the people must return to their homes in Chengji County!"
As soon as this request was announced, tens of thousands of people were like a pot exploding, and there was a buzzing and noisy discussion.
Of course Chen Qing knew that the people were not homeless. Qinzhou was located in the east of Longxi, and most of the rural people here lived in cave dwellings. The cave dwellings were abandoned at most, but they would not collapse easily.
After waiting for about a cup of tea, the people's emotions were almost vented. Chen Qing winked and Liu Cui shouted, "Move up!"
The soldiers brought bags of grain, cloth, and copper coins. This was more effective than anything else. Everyone fell silent, and countless pairs of eyes stared at the money, grain, and cloth.
Chen Qing continued: "While you can still plant corn now, when everyone goes back, quickly plant all the abandoned land. The wheat fields at the foot of the mountain will also continue to be cultivated. The food will finally belong to you. Considering that there are still several months until the harvest, I
I will give everyone some money, food and cloth."
More than 10,000 people were silent. Almost everyone held their breath and did not dare to cough for fear that they would miss some news.
Chen Qing pointed to the pieces of cloth and money and grain and said: "Distributed according to households, each household will be given two stones of grain, ten guans of money, and five pieces of cloth!"
When the news came out, there was a burst of cheers. Everyone was extremely excited, much more than they expected.
Chen Qing said loudly: "Everyone, go back and pack your things. Come down the mountain to collect money, food and cloth, and then go home. I hope it will be over today."
With hope and motivation, tens of thousands of people went up the mountain to pack their belongings.
Chen Qing sent someone to find Zhao Xiaoyi again. Not long after, Zhao Xiaoyi hurried over, cupping his fists and saying, "Please give me your orders, Commander!"
"Immediately take a few brothers and rush back to Chengji County with the heads of Zhou Xin, Zhou Jian and their families, hang the heads on the top of the city, and ask Lao Zheng to arrange for a group of large trucks to come over to carry money and food."
"I humbly obey orders!"
Zhao Xiaoyi turned around and was about to leave when Chen Qing thought of something and quickly called to stop, "Wait a minute, you can bring more brothers and bring back all the heads of the 500 Zhou children and hang them on the city wall."
Now that it has been done, it must be publicized and let everyone know that Zhoujiapu was massacred, so that it will have a deterrent effect.
Chen Qing arranged for more than a dozen literate soldiers to be responsible for registering the roster and distributing money and food, including the surviving women of the Zhou family. This work started in the early morning and was busy until it was almost dark.
All the money, food and supplies had been carried back to the Chengji County military camp. Chen Qing handed over the follow-up matters to Zheng Ping. He led two thousand cavalry and continued to rush west...
At noon the next day, the Zhou family fort was breached, and the news that all the Zhou family members were killed spread to Chengji County, which immediately caused a sensation among the people in the city.
Everyone in the city was farming outside the city. When the news came, everyone had no intention of farming anymore. They ran to the city wall and looked at the heads that had just been hung up. The military notices were also posted. Notices
The front was crowded with people craning their necks.
During the lunch break, people all over the county sat in the fields and discussed the matter in low voices.
The general judge Wang Huai's face was extremely ugly. He found an excuse and returned to the city.
The Wang family's house was also empty. The servants and maids had all left the city to farm. Only two cooks were cooking. Wang Huai quickly came to the back house and saw his father planting winter melons in a field with a small hoe.
, several grandsons were watering the water beside them with water bottles.
"Hey! Why are you back?" Wang Yu asked with a smile.
"Take a break at noon and come see father!" Wang Huai smiled reluctantly.
Seeing his son's eyes filled with anxiety, Wang Yu smiled at his three little grandsons and said, "Aunt Sun has already prepared the meal. You go quickly!"
The three children bowed to their uncle, turned around and ran away.
Wang Yu washed his hands and asked with a smile: "It seems like something big has happened!"
Wang Huai nodded, "The news just came that Chen Qing had breached the Zhou Family Fort yesterday and massacred all the Zhou family members!"
Wang Yu was startled, "Didn't you say that he led his army to Xining County?"
Wang Huai's face was full of bitterness, "He told us this. Soldiers from Xining County came to report the news, which was known throughout the city. He also notified the state government officials to discuss urgent matters and explained the follow-up matters. He also praised Zhou Xin for his sincerity.
, we all believed it to be true, but in the end we were all tricked by him!"
"Did he trick you too? I don't think so!" Wang Yu said with a smile.
Wang Huai sighed and said with some dissatisfaction: "This is the truth, I know nothing about it!"
"Think about it again. Did he not say anything to you alone before or after the meeting?"
Wang Huai frowned and thought for a moment. He suddenly remembered those strange words Chen Qing said to him before leaving. Could it be...
"Did you remember something?"
"He said some strange words. He said that Director Li was a little abnormal and asked me to pay close attention to him these days."
Wang Yu laughed and said, "He has explained it so clearly to you, but you still don't understand?"
Wang Huai finally came to his senses, "Father, are you saying that Inspector Li is Zhou Xin's brother-in-law?"