Chapter 175: This Day, Finally Clean!

"This book isn't bad."

Lin Dao raised his hand and tapped a copy of *Donglin Dianjianglu* on the table.

He gestured to Wu Sangui: "The people above, I've already dealt with a batch."

"Take this book and deal with the remnants in Jing City whose homes are in Beizhili."

"As for Kang Xiang, start with these Donglin Party members."

Wu Sangui stepped forward, picked up *Donglin Dianjianglu*, and responded, "End Commandant will certainly do my utmost."

"Be quick."

Lin Dao instructed, "There isn't much time to waste on them."

"In method, you needn't worry too much; use whatever tricks you have."

"These people may be cunning and cruel toward others, but when it comes to themselves, they'll be worthless goods."

"On this, I have some experience."

"You can arrange those jailers and yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture to do the work; they're experienced in this area."

He added a clause: "As agreed before, half of Kang Xiang goes to the Guan Ning Army."

"I keep my word; I'll never shortchange you."

"But only silver."

Wu Sangui saluted respectfully: "Thunder and rain are all the Marshal's grace."

"The Marshal gives the Guan Ning Army an opportunity; all in the Guan Ning Army are grateful to tears."

Lin Dao nodded: "Bring all the families of the Guan Ning Army over; I'll arrange for them to live in various places in Jiangnan."

Wu Sangui was stunned, then lowered his head: "Thank you, Marshal, for your grace~~~"

A mix of joy and anger.

The anger was that these would henceforth be hostages.

The joy was that the Marshal had preliminarily recognized their Guan Ning Army, proving they were still useful.

Otherwise there'd be no need for such trouble; they'd all have been dealt with.

"Marshal," Wu Sangui saluted again, "a Traitorous Minister has found me, saying he has important news to report to the Marshal."

"Traitorous Minister?"

"Who?"

"Zu Dashou."

"Hey~ it's him."

"Traitorous Minister Zu Dashou." Wearing a monk's robe, with a bald head, Zu Dashou entered and kowtowed: "I kowtow to the Marshal~~~"

Once an official of the Guan Ning Army, defeated and surrendered to the Tatars, and the kind who surrendered with his whole family.

Lin Dao looked at his bald head, completely bald, the thin Wujin Shouwei at the back of his head was gone, presumably shaved off.

He asked gently, "Tell me, what's the situation with the Tatars now?"

When useful, Lin Dao was always courteous.

Zu Dashou buried his head on the ground, not lifting it.

It seemed that with the Tatars, he had already cultivated the art of kowtowing to perfection.

"After the defeated soldiers returned to Liaodong, Dorgon and Dai Shan contended for the position, and Dorgon won."

"And purged Dai Shan's faction."

Lin Dao stood up and stepped forward: "What a lucky life, he really managed to escape back."

"Is Dorgon staying in Shen Yang Cheng, or did he flee back to Hetu Ala?"

Zu Dashou kowtowed again: "Still in Shen Yang Cheng."

"Before the Traitorous Minister left, I heard the Tatars were quarreling incessantly."

"Aobai and others advocated for Huang Taiji's last will, saying they should return to Hetu Ala."

"The younger generation led by Dorgon all refused."

Naturally they refused.

The younger generation raised in comfortable environments had long grown accustomed to prosperous and lively comfortable lives.

Letting them flee back to the desolate, cold, poor Hetu Ala was no different than going from a first-tier city back to a county.

If Dai Shan held power, perhaps he could still suppress them.

But Dorgon~~~

The most important reason he could squeeze out Dai Shan and successfully ascend was that these younger Tatars supported him.

Given that, he couldn't possibly give up prosperous Shen Yang Cheng and flee to Hetu Ala; otherwise, those Tatars who supported him would first take him down.

"I heard Dorgon has already sent an envoy."

The increasingly shiny-bald Zu Dashou continued reporting, "With Hong Chengchou as the envoy, coming to discuss peace talks with the Marshal."

"Peace talks?"

Lin Dao couldn't help but smile: "Peace talks with him?"

"What status, what position, what strength?"

"Also worthy!"

A band of bandits beaten to a pulp wanting to peace talks with him—truly laughable.

Waving his hand, Lin Dao called out, "Get up and speak."

Zu Dashou was delighted in his heart, but his face remained unmoved; he slowly stood up, yet still kept his head lowered.

Lin Dao carefully surveyed him.

Perhaps after surrendering, under house arrest and supervision in Shen Yang Cheng, he ate and drank without worry.

Zu Dashou looked full-faced with horizontal flesh, big-headed and big-eared, quite amusing.

Amusing, big-headed and big-eared man-eating demon!

"Zu Dashou."

Lin Dao smiled, showing white teeth, "Are you willing to work for me?"

Zu Dashou suddenly threw himself to the ground, kowtowing heavily, "Willing to die for the Great Commander!"

The next day, the troops and horses heading to Xuan Da Shanxi and other places set out in turn.

Lin Dao saw off the great army outside the city.

Setting out with the righteous army were also Zu Dashou and five thousand Guan Ning Army foot soldiers.

"Restore Yu."

Lin Dao, with a kind expression and smiling face, instructed Zu Dashou, "Once you get there, all the Jin Merchants on the list are entrusted to you."

"Great Commander, rest assured!"

Zu Dashou, who had tossed between Great Ming and Great Qing and actually made a name for himself in the new dynasty, expressed excitedly, "Those profiteers earning blood silver, End Commandant will not let a single one go!"

"The black-hearted money they earn, even if it's the last copper coin, will all be dug out!"

After seeing off Zu Dashou, Lin Dao summoned Liu San Dao, who was leading the troops this time.

Compared to his previous beaming smile, Lin Dao's face had sunk at this moment.

"Are the people arranged?"

"Great Commander, rest assured, people have been assigned around Zu Dashou's family to act when they cross rivers."

Lin Dao lowered his head slightly, his voice somewhat low, "After Zu Dashou's matters are finished, arrange people to cook him."

"Received the order!"

In the fourth year of Chongzhen, when defending Dalinghe Fortress, Zu Dashou survived by eating people.

In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, when defending Jinzhou City, Zu Dashou again ate all the city's commoners.

But every time he ate all the commoners, killed those who resisted firmly, then ran to surrender to the Tartars.

Such a man-eating demon, how can he be tolerated!

The grain price in Jing Shi finally dropped.

And it dropped with a plunge, from the sky-high price of nearly ten taels per dou before, falling to less than a hundred wen per dou.

Commoners inside the city swarmed out to buy grain at various grain stores.

Still limited purchases, each household could buy at most one dou per day.

At the entrance of every grain store, there were many smiling commoners lining up to buy grain.

In sharp contrast to their smiling faces were the rows of wooden cages hanging on wooden poles on both sides of the street outside the grain store.

Inside the wooden cages were one fierce head after another.

"Dad~"

The young man tugged his father's sleeve beside him, raised his hand pointing at a wooden cage not far away, "That looks like the Young Master of Gao Sheng Chang?"

The father and son were of lowly caste actor households, and had once seen this person at their workplace, a Young Master who often spent a thousand gold at a throw.

Their family had a Noble backing them, selling rice at high prices and earning countless black-hearted money.

The father shook his head, signaling his son not to speak.

After buying grain, the father carried the grain bag, leading his son home.

While walking on the road, wooden poles and bamboo poles standing in rows could be seen from time to time along the way.

Wooden cages were hung above them, most containing pickled heads.

The father and son recognized many of them.

The arrogant thugs in the beating gang, the city foxes temple rats who extorted and committed all evils, the child-kidnapping beggars who abducted women, etc.

"Eh?"

The young man exclaimed in surprise, "Dad, it's Hua Niang~~~"

The father saw the head of the Madam from his workplace.

"Hua Niang was a very good person."

The youth said somewhat nostalgically, "She used to give me leftover food from customers, it was so delicious~~~"

The father, accustomed to the dark affairs inside the building, twitched the corner of his mouth.

A good person?

The women tortured to death by Hua Niang for refusing to the death surely had something to say.

The women abducted and sold, whose lives were ruined, if they heard what the son said, would they bite the son to death?

The father stopped in his steps, reached out and pressed his son's shoulder.

"Remember this."

"The heads in these cages."

"Are all beasts!"

"There! Are! No! Good! People!"

Dense footsteps came, a squad of soldiers escorting many crying men and women advancing.

The father and son hurried to the corner, pressing against the wall root with heads lowered.

"Eh~~~"

The peeping youth clearly saw an acquaintance again.

After the crowd passed, the youth impatiently spoke, "Dad, it's Wu Dashanren~"

"What a good man!"

Father's face was full of disdain, clearly knowing more: "He's just a beast!"

"He likes to defile good families, buys beggars to kidnap who knows how many, and has killed who knows how many!"

A girl he once admired in his youth was destroyed by this Wu Dashanren.

Later he heard she was tortured to death and thrown into the Burial Mound outside the city; he once risked searching among the wild dogs, but found nothing.

On the way home, Father looked up at the sky.

On the azure sky, white clouds drifted.

One of the white clouds seemed to transform into the smiling face when Baozhu Jie gave him maltose in his youth.

"This day, it's finally clean!"

The lives of the people of Jing Shi were constantly changing, overall getting better and better.

But the Nobles and Officials, and their Eagle Dogs, were gradually stepping into the abyss.

At first, it was the misfortune of the City Foxes Temple Rats and Beating Gang Beggar Gang in the city.

Arrested, punished, interrogated, executed.

Next were the officials of Ying Tian Fu and its two subordinate counties.

Arrested, punished, interrogated, executed.

After that, the unlucky ones were members of the Donglin Party.

Arrested, punished, interrogated, executed.

Now it was the turn of the various ministries, temples, offices, courts, and directorates in Jing Shi.

Dali Temple, Tongzheng Si, Guozijian, Imperial Physician Hospital, etc., had people arrested every day, and more and more were being arrested.

When arresting City Foxes Temple Rats, some Civil and Military Officials sneered, saying what use was it to deal with these low-class scum, all things unfit for the table.

When Ying Tian Fu and its two subordinate counties met misfortune, the Civil and Military Officials comforted each other.

Jing Shi was the foremost place; it was right to replace them with one's own people, and being purged was deserved.

When the Donglin Party met misfortune, some cheered and applauded; this bunch of bastards should have met misfortune long ago!

When the Guan Ning Army's arrest scope expanded further, many were already terrified all day long.

Gong Dingzi, a presenting official of the Ministry of War, returned home with a dazed expression.

His beloved concubine Xu Shanchih held a tea bowl and stepped forward: "Master, what's wrong?"

Gong Dingzi looked at her with a complex expression.

"At today's gathering, Elder Brother Duan and I had words."

Xu Shanchih, holding the tea bowl, asked curiously: "What did Chen Hanlin say?"

"He said, he said~~~"

Gong Dingzi had a difficult expression, as if he had a thousand words but couldn't speak them.

Xu Shanchih slightly furrowed her willow brows: "Master, what exactly is the matter, speak freely!"

She had previously been named First of Southern Tunes, often cross-dressing as the Young Male Role to perform with Dong Xiaowan, naturally possessing a Chivalrous Spirit.

She was generous and straightforward, unable to stand such twisted and reserved behavior.

Gong Dingzi sighed and finally spoke.

"Elder Brother Duan said that Marshal Lin has already gathered seven of the Qinhuai Eight Absolutes in the Jiangnan Region."

Now Xu Shanchih understood.

Her pretty face turned pale, her hand loosened, and the exquisite tea bowl fell to the ground.

End of Chapter