Chapter 58 Search of Liu's Mansion
Before Li Ji finished his words, an old man walked out of the round door in the backyard.
The old man shouted loudly: "Please spare his life, sir."
When Li Ji saw this old man, he seemed to have seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
The old man walked in slowly, and Li Ji was shocked when he saw him.
"Old man, why are you here?"
The old man wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke after a while.
"You are now rich, can you forget the conversation by the canal?"
Li Ji suddenly realized that this old man was none other than the old man he met by the canal.
At that time, Li Ji wanted to watch the dragon boat race, but he was beaten black and blue by the river patrol soldiers. Fortunately, he met an old man who helped him.
Li Ji bowed and saluted, feeling a little overwhelmed.
The old man said with tears in his eyes:
"Sir, I know you are the fairy from the mountain temple. It has been several months since we last met."
Li Ji looked ashamed and asked doubtfully:
"Old man, is this your home?"
The old man said in a tearful voice: "I am the steward here. The disaster that befell the Liu family today was not accidental."
"As the saying goes, trouble always comes from within. The Liu family father and son did not listen to my advice. They are rich enough to rival a country, but they don't know how to spend their wealth to pray for blessings."
"I followed my grandfather and Emperor Wen in his campaigns. Emperor Wen treated my grandfather well, and that's how the Liu family established its century-old foundation."
The old man looked at the mess in Liu's house and said sadly, "Good and bad things can happen at any time. It's hard to predict the future!"
Li Ji felt indescribable regret in his heart.
When old friends meet, it turns out to have such an ending. This has always been a difficult thing to achieve!
He asked, "Do you mean to keep these people?"
The old man begged, "Your Majesty kills and annihilates his entire clan at will; the saint establishes his authority by killing one person to warn the rest."
He looked at Li Ji with pleading eyes and said:
"These are helpless people. You should let them go. I am old now and can no longer fight on the battlefield, but I can protect your home."
Li Ji suddenly understood.
"Well, I'll let him go. You will continue to take care of the Liu Mansion."
Li Ji looked at the trembling servants and boys and said sternly:
"You all have to thank this old steward. I'm letting you go today. I hope you'll take good care of the assets here and obey the old man's arrangements. Those who disobey my orders will be executed."
All the servants and boys knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
Li Ji thought that his old nest, the Mountain God Temple, needed manpower, so he might as well select a group of strong and healthy men and send them to the Mountain God Temple to look after the farmland.
After a while, Yucheng also returned to Liu's house.
Li Ji said to him, "According to what the housekeeper Li Ai said, these people will be sold. I think we should send the servants to the mountain temple in Liang County this time."
Yu Cheng said hurriedly: "The temple there still needs to be repaired, and the farmland and orchard need to be taken care of. I will arrange for someone to send them over."
Li Ji ordered: "Register all the gold, silver and jewelry in the Liu Mansion and take them all to the Xun Mansion."
Yu Cheng knelt on one knee and said loudly, "Yes, sir."
It was not until nightfall that Liu's mansion was completely searched.
Cartloads of gold, silver and jewelry were continuously transported into Xun Mansion.
Li Ji was about to return to Xun Mansion when suddenly a cry was heard from the backyard of Liu Mansion.
He walked slowly to the backyard and came to the inner house of Liu's mansion, where he saw hundreds of women confined in a large house.
They are all handsome, with light makeup and gorgeous clothes.
Li Ji said to Yu Cheng: "Liu Er and his son have many wives, and they are still having affairs outside, bullying men and women."
Yu Cheng smiled and said, "The Lius like this, but they have no choice but to keep concubines for a while."
Li Ji suddenly thought of Yang Guang, who had built palaces and gardens in Xijing, Dongdu and Jiangdu, and had displayed beauties from all over the world to him for his day and night pleasure.
Which is more important, the country or the beauty? It is a pity that the emperor had such a muddle in his mind!
Yu Cheng asked: "These people should just disband. They will be a burden if they stay."
Li Ji pondered for a while. He considered that so many soldiers had not yet started a family, so it would be better to divide it among them. Is this also a way to boost morale?
He said to Yu Cheng, "Keep him locked up for now. Wait for the housekeeper Li Ai to come back and let him handle the matter."
At dawn, Li Ji brought Yu Cheng back to the yamen.
Yu Cheng asked: "How to deal with Liu Er and those servants?"
Li Ji was silent for a while, then his eyes flashed with ferocity.
“When the sun rises, pull down the old neighborhood intersection and cut down everything.”
When Yu Cheng heard this, he immediately got goose bumps all over his body.
He thought to himself, Lord Li was really cruel. Dozens of men were beheaded, which would definitely cause a shock in Xingyang.
When the sun rose to three o'clock in the afternoon, Li Ji swallowed a Hercules pill.
The personal guards escorted Liu Er and the Liu family servants to Xingyang Old Street.
The road was about a mile long, and people along the way were watching with great interest.
The intersection had already been surrounded by Jihua's Ji Camp.
Liu Er and thirty-six servants had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths were all sealed with tape.
Li Ji stood in the center of the roundabout at the intersection, looking around with a stern look.
The citizens watching were all trembling with fear, their legs shaking.
Yu Cheng's personal guards forced the thirty-seven men to their knees on the ground.
Liu Erkou couldn't speak, but could make a "wuwuwu" sound.
Several servants were so frightened that they fainted on the spot. If the soldiers hadn't supported them, they would have collapsed to the ground.
The trouser legs and crotches of a dozen servants were already wet, and a fishy smell was floating at the intersection.
Li Ji saw that the time had come, he waved his hand, and then fell down suddenly.
At this time, Yu Cheng's loud voice came, "Start killing!"
All that was heard at the scene was "crack" and "crack". After dozens of crisp sounds, all thirty-seven people were beheaded and their bodies were separated.
Li Ji ordered: "General Ji, take your Ji Battalion to clean up the scene."
Ji Hua knelt on his knees and loudly declared his promise.
At noon, Li Ji returned to the yamen.
He was just about to make a cup of tea and take a rest when suddenly, someone outside the yamen asked to see him.
Yucheng ran out in a hurry and saw six or seven businessmen in robes.
"What do you all want? Do you want to see an adult?"
A 16-year-old boy with a ruddy face said loudly: "We are here to donate."
As he spoke, he handed over a big red paper.
Yucheng opened it and saw the following:
500 taels of gold; 1,200 taels of silver; 500 dan of fine rice.
When Yu Cheng saw that these were wealthy people from Xingyang who came to donate to the government, he hurriedly led them into the lobby.
Yu Cheng reported to Li Ji: "Sir, these are the wealthy families in Xingyang. They came to donate on their own initiative."
Li Ji laughed heartily, looking very happy.
"My dear gentlemen, I am very pleased that you have taken the initiative to donate."
At this time, the young man said loudly:
"Lord Li has the responsibility to defend the land. Since Lord Li took charge of Xingyang, our area has been peaceful and the banditry has disappeared."
Li Ji nodded slightly and asked all the businessmen to sit down and talk.
An old man with a crew cut said with a smile:
"Just now, what my nephew Zheng Shan said was well-reasoned and well-founded. The people of Xingyang all praised you for your good governance of the county."
When the young man saw Zheng Baiwan, the second richest man in Xingyang, agreeing with what he said, he suddenly became interested.
The young man clasped his hands together and knelt on the ground.
Li Ji was startled, and the young man said loudly...
