Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 705: Kill the tiger in its mouth, butcher the tiger and knock the pig out (Part )

"Xie Zhen, we have found out clearly that the spies are from the "Le" business in the city. They have been here to kill Hukou for four years." Early the next morning, Wang Yuan, the guard at Hukou, came to the Xie Town Yamen to ask Sha Yaoke According to the report, Zhang Hongjun, the deputy envoy of the Shanxi Prosecution Department and the missionary of the Qing Army Post, was also at the Xie Zhen Yamen.

Sha Yaoke proudly patrolled Zhang Hongjun and said: "Zhang Daotai, please advise me to enlist the guards of various shops in the city to assist the guards. I said that many of the guards hired by those shops are Mongolians, and there may be spies of the Guards hidden among them. Not only can they not We need to step up patrols to prevent night-time disturbances. How are we now?"

"Oh, I didn't investigate for a while, thanks to Xie Zhen's wisdom!" Zhang Hongjun praised repeatedly.

"Haha, what happened last night is not a bad thing. Not only did we annihilate the spies lurking in the city and eliminate hidden dangers, but we could also use the name of searching for spies to attack major businesses. Do you understand what I mean?" Sha Yao? Ke said with a smile.

"Understood! I will ask the major merchants to provide food and salary for the army. Anyone who refuses to pay must be a spy of the Guards." Zhang Hongjun's voice was much louder this time.

"As long as you understand," Sha Yaoke picked up the tea bowl with a smile.

"I'll take my leave," Zhang Hongjun left with excitement on his face. Since ancient times, wealth has attracted people's hearts, and the tiger's mouth is a place where gold and silver are made every day. Although it is wartime now, it still cannot shake the determination of the officials to make money.
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"Shopkeeper Fan, Zhang Daotai, under the guise of catching spies, asked major merchants to give out one million taels of silver to the labor force. These days are chaotic and chaotic, and business is not open much. Where do you get these silver taels? Even if you have them, you hand them over without the owner's consent. We don’t want to be the shopkeeper any more. You have to come up with an idea for us,” Jin Yunyi, the shopkeeper of Jin’s Company stationed at Hukou, said to Fan Laifu, the shopkeeper of Fan’s Company.

"Yes, Shopkeeper Fan, please come up with an idea. Everyone will listen to you." The shopkeepers of other major shops also said the same thing. There are many large and small shops in Shahukou, fifty or sixty in number. The most powerful one is Bada Shanyou Trading Company in Zhangjiakou, Xuanfu Town. Among these eight families, the Jiexiu Fan family is the main one, so they always want to hear Fan's attitude when encountering problems.

Fan Laifu had seen the world, thought for a while and said: "People have to bow their heads under the eaves. It is impossible not to pay a little money. Let me make the decision. Each small business will pay five thousand taels of silver, and the big business will pay each other five thousand taels." The family has 10,000 taels of silver, so we can collect 300,000 taels for them. We and the other eight families will visit Shaxie Town and Zhangdaotai to reveal the background of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, hoping that they will show their respect."

"good!"

The eight shopkeepers came to the Xie Zhen Yamen and asked to see Sha Yaoke, the deputy general who killed the tiger's mouth. They were rejected, saying that Xie Zhen was busy with military affairs and had no time to see him. In the era of war and chaos, if you have soldiers, you will be the King of Caotou. No matter how good the Ministry of Internal Affairs is, when it comes to killing tigers, Lieutenant General Sha is the king.

Zhang Hongjun met them and was very polite when they mentioned that they were working for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But when it comes to money, Zhang Daotai is not easy to talk to. "Everyone, the guards are approaching the city. The soldiers guarding the city need food and pay. If you ask me to be accommodating, I'm afraid the soldiers won't agree. Besides, there was a spy incident last night and many soldiers died. The soldiers are holding fire in their hearts." He smiled. say.

"Master Mingjian, we are all decent businessmen and have nothing to do with the spy-making Le brand," Fan Laifu said with a grimace.

"That's not necessarily the case. The Le brand has been doing Shahukou Trading for four years. It seems to be in good order, but it's actually the opposite. I will send someone to your shop tomorrow to see if there is any No one hides weapons or has evil intentions," Zhang Hongjun sneered.

Shops taking the west exit may encounter horse bandits on the road. It is necessary to hire a guard, and it is normal to have weapons. Seeing Zhang Daotai making irresponsible remarks about this matter, all the shopkeepers panicked, fearing that they would be labeled as spies.

Fan Laifu raised his heart and held out five fingers, "Five hundred thousand taels. If you can't afford one more tael, please treat the younger one as a spy."

Seeing his resolute attitude, Zhang Hongjun felt that this might really be the lowest price for these businessmen. Officials in the Qing court, especially civil servants, would never dare to really offend the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After thinking about it for a while, he sighed and said, "You will collect the five hundred thousand taels first, and then I will discuss it with Shaxie Town to see if we can accommodate."

"Thank you, sir!" All the shopkeepers felt like they had been granted amnesty.
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"Has the tunnel been dug?" Sumur asked the third-class Saiyin Noyan Bertas Shibu at the guard camp outside the city. The previous efforts to build fences and dig trenches outside the city were actually just a pretense. Secretly, he planned to dig tunnels and destroy the city using the method of bombardment.

"The general spent ten days digging a tunnel leading to the north gate of Shahukou. Now the explosives have been deployed, but is this method really feasible?" Tashib was a little worried.

"It can be done. This method has been used by our army during battles. It is of no use against a fortified city like Datong, but it is still useful against a small city like Shahuguan. I sent people to check before. There was strong wind and sand in the north, and the foundation of the north gate wall was seriously damaged. , It should not be able to withstand a violent explosion. Please be prepared and let it explode early tomorrow morning."

"Yes".

In the early morning of the next day, while the defenders were still sleeping, the guards had quietly gathered outside the north gate. Sumur watched quietly as a guard warrior entered the tunnel, ignited the fire, and quickly emerged again.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" There was a loud noise first, and then smoke and dust rose into the sky in the city. With one sound after another, the city walls and gates collapsed one after another, leaving a big gap.

"Kill!" Sumur's fourth son, fifteen-year-old Qiaoji, roared and was the first to rush towards the gap.

"Kill~kill~kill~" The guard warriors followed closely and poured in like a tide.

In a panic, the North Gate guard Sha Hukou Zhongying guerrilla Ai Shi was hacked to death by Qiao Ji, a young general who had been robbed into the city. Qiaoji cut off Ai Shi's general flag with another sword, firmly controlling the gap, allowing more and more troops to enter the city.

"Quickly, follow this association to drive the enemy out." Sha Yaoke got the news and rushed over with more than 500 soldiers in an attempt to drive out the guards who rushed into the city. However, there were too many guards entering the city. No matter how hard they fought, they could not be driven away. Instead, their men became fewer and fewer.

"Brother, look, there seems to be a sand flag that kills the deputy general at Hukou," Ben Bashxi said to Ben Tal. "That's right, second brother, you and I will surround that guy one behind the other and make a head start." Bental laughed.

The two led more than 900 warriors from the Kalkha Tuxie Tu tribe to quietly surround Sha Yaoke. "How dare you, thief!" Vice General Sha, who was also a member of the Tiger General, leaped on his horse and charged towards Bentar with a sword. Bentar leaned down on his horse to avoid the knife, raised the lance in his hand, and pierced his abdomen accurately and cruelly.

"Uh~" Sha Yaoke covered his abdomen with his hands, his face turned pale. Bentar threw away his lance again, switched to a knife and struck, and his head fell to the ground with just one blow.

The Qing army collapsed and fled in all directions like headless flies. Wang Yuan, the guard at Shahukou, was hacked to death in the school yard; Zhang Siyi, a guerrilla from the right camp, died in a street fight; Liu Guoqin, the imperial commissioner and supervisor of Shahukou, who was also responsible for the taxation of Hebao and other departments, and a member of the Ministry of Household Affairs, found a rope and planned to hang himself to die for his country, but in the end he could not bear it. After his death, he obediently became a prisoner of the guards. Zhang Hongjun, deputy envoy of the Shanxi Prosecution Department and preacher of the branch patrol post, was a discerning man, so he simply raised the flag and lowered it.
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"Are you the Qing Dynasty household official who wanted to die but was reluctant to do so?" Sumur asked, looking at Liu Guoqin who was tied up with five flowers.

Liu Guoqin was so embarrassed that he couldn't speak, but Sumur was happy, "Writing is a matter for military generals and has nothing to do with your civil officials. Besides, you are a Han, so why should you die for the Manchus? How about surrendering to me, David?"

"I am willing to surrender," Liu Guoqin's voice sounded like a gnat.

"That's right. He who knows the current affairs is a hero. Come here, untie him." Sumur smiled slightly and looked at Zhang Hongjun, another demoted official who knew the current affairs. "You two will kill the tiger's mouth tax." The details of taxes, storage of grain, and wages were detailed in Guting."

"Your Highness, the Shahukou Hubu Yamen now has a total of 230,000 taels of commercial tax money," Liu Guoqin spoke first.

"In the Tongsi Yamen warehouse, there is a saying that Yancha Station has 80,000 taels of silver in it," Zhang Hongjun also said.

Sumur suddenly remembered that his brother asked him to slaughter tigers and knock pigs, and asked calmly: "I heard that there are many businesses in Hukou, especially the eight families in Shanyou who are the richest?"

"It's bad, the King of Liao knows about our extortion of the company." Zhang Hongjun and Liu Guoqin looked at each other, their faces pale.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Daotai decided to give up his wealth to save his life, "Your Highness, there is still money. Sha Yaoke had previously ordered us to collect 500,000 taels of silver from Shahukou Trading Company. The subordinates were unwilling to help the tyrants, and the money has not yet been handed over to Sha Yaoke. , all exist in the back hall of Daotai Yamen."

"Oh", Sumur glanced at him with interest and said with a smile: "It's rare that you understand the righteousness and use this money as my David's military pay."
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When His Highness the King of Liao entered the Killing Tiger Pass, the first thing he did was to invite his old friends, the shopkeepers of the eight major merchant houses in Shanyou, to dinner. As soon as they heard about eating, Fan Laifu, Jin Yunyi and others suddenly frowned. In this era, businessmen are the talk of officials, and they are afraid of the Hongmen Banquet. But he had no choice but to go, so he had to come to the guard camp in fear. The Mongolians are very hospitable, and there are all kinds of barbecued meats and kumiss in the camp. No one dared to eat first, so they sat down and waited for King Liao to arrive.

Sumur came and roared to the sky when they met, "I, David, have always been a businessman. Over the years, you have never treated me badly when you came to David to trade. But why should I help the Qing army and fight against David?"

"It's unjust, Your Highness, we have always respected David, how dare we help the Qing Dynasty to defend itself?" Fan Laifu was the first to cry out.

"Yes, Your Highness, we are just businessmen and have never dared to participate in military affairs. How can we stand up to David?" Jin Yunyi also shouted.

Everyone was talking and shouting that they were wronged.

"Huh huh~" Sumur sneered, "What you say is nice. But why did you actually give 500,000 taels of silver to help the Qing army defend the city when our army attacked Shahu Pass?"

"Oh, this fact is a big misunderstanding. A few days ago, there was an uprising of martyrs hidden in the Guan army, but unfortunately they were put down by Sha Yaoke. Sha Yaoke forced us to give out the labor force, and if we didn't, he said we were spies. We had no choice but to donate 500,000 taels of life-saving silver. Your Highness is merciful. You should know the hard work of our merchants and please return the silver." Fan Laifu cried.

"Please, Your Highness, return the money extorted from us by the Qing army," everyone requested in unison.

"Okay~Okay~you guys can say it. It's clear that you are funding the Qing army to fight against me, David, but it can be said that you are being blackmailed by the Qing army. Those grains and wages have been used by the Qing army to defend the city, how dare you go to Gu Gu Yes. Very good~very good~someone is here, tie them all up, and confiscate all the store's supplies." Sumur roared, his eyes widening due to anger.

"Your Highness, have mercy on me," everyone was so frightened that they kowtowed.

The guards in the tent couldn't help but drag them away.

"If Your Highness is willing to forgive us, we are willing to pay 500,000 taels of silver for labor." In desperation, Fan Laifu shouted.

Well, that's enough. My brother only asked me to knock the pig, but he didn't say he wanted to kill the pig. Sumur thought in his heart and said with a sneer: "In that case, I will wait for you for ten days and send fifty taels to Gu's camp within ten days."

(End of this chapter)