Chương 296: A Bountiful Harvest

Zhou Cang laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry! As long as you behave yourself from now on, our 'Yellow Turban Army' guarantees we won't 'bother' you again!"

Master Gao nodded repeatedly, saying, "I will definitely be honest! I will definitely be honest!"

As Zhou Cang and his group walked away, Master Gao smiled subtly.

...

Wei family of Julu.

Master Wei was stubborn by nature. Upon hearing that the Yellow Turban rebels had arrived, he not only refused to surrender but also organized his clansmen to reinforce the walls, preparing rolling logs and stones, and declaring, "My Wei family is a prestigious clan, loyal and virtuous for generations! These mere bandits are nothing to us! The imperial army will arrive soon and will surely annihilate you!"

The Wei family is a tough nut to crack.

Master Wei was stubborn and felt that as a member of a prestigious family, he had integrity and could not be as cowardly as the Cui family, much less as spineless as the Gao family.

He ordered his people to keep the gates tightly shut, organized them to reinforce the walls, prepared rolling logs and stones, had all the guards on the walls, and prepared bows and arrows. He even stood on the gate tower and shouted:

"My Wei family is a prestigious clan, loyal and virtuous for generations! How could we bow down to bandits? These mere brigands are nothing to us! You must retreat at once, or when the imperial army arrives, you will surely die without a burial place!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cang laughed and said, "Oh ho? There's someone else who's not afraid of death?"

He waved his hand and shouted, "Set up the ladders! Attack!"

The Yellow Turban Army instantly changed formation, with shields in front, crossbows for cover, and ladders erected. Their movements were so skillful that the Wei family guards on the wall were dumbfounded.

These aren't just bandits; they're clearly an elite siege force!

The "Yellow Turban Warriors" raised their shields and scrambled up the stairs.

The Wei family guards put up a fierce resistance, but they were no match for the regular army.

A moment later, the door was opened from the inside.

Master Wei tried to draw his sword to fight back, but Zhou Cang kicked him to the ground and put a large knife to his neck.

"Still being stubborn?" Zhou Cang glared at him.

Master Wei's face turned red as he looked at the smashed furniture, the emptied storerooms and study, and the terrified eyes of his clansmen. Finally, he sighed and said:

"I... I surrender... General, please spare my life... I'll never dare to do it again..."

Zhou Cang sheathed his sword and had a line of large characters painted in red on the wall of the Wei family compound:

"This is the fate of those who resist!"

Then he walked away.

Mr. Wei sat on the ground, looking at the mess, and thinking about his "bold words" just now, he realized that he had lost his money, his books, and his face.

Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, he coughed up blood with a "whoosh".

...

Over the next two months, more than a dozen top-tier powerful families in Jizhou were "entertained" one by one.

Some of the gentry families who were robbed cried out in despair, some gritted their teeth and endured it, and some wanted to report to the authorities, but who could they report to?

With the governorship of Ji Province vacant and the prefects and magistrates barely able to keep their positions secure, what about the imperial court? The imperial court is already preoccupied with the troubles in Liang Province; how could it possibly care about the "banditry" in Ji Province?

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao led a large caravan to Youzhou to transport spoils of war. Hundreds of carts were filled with gold, silver and jewels, and there were so many copper coins that they had to be pulled by oxcarts.

The grain was piled up like mountains, enough to feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers for several years; there was also a considerable amount of military equipment and armor, although not as good as those produced in Youzhou, they could still be used after some refurbishment.

The most precious items were books—bamboo slips, silk scrolls, and paper scrolls—which filled hundreds of carts. Liu Ce specially built the "Jizhou Library" to store them.

In early September, Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao returned to Zhuo County to report back.

Liu Ce wandered around the newly built warehouse, looking at the room full of spoils of war, grinning from ear to ear.

He held the list compiled by Lu Bing in his hand, marveling at it:

"Hundreds of thousands of taels of gold, copper coins... tsk tsk tsk... over a billion coins!"

"food......"

"A fine horse..."

"Armor and weapons... Hmm, we'll melt these down and reforge them later."

"Books... Haha! These are the real priceless treasures!"

Liu Ce said, "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, the bones of those frozen to death lie... The ancients were truly right."

He handed the list to Fang Xuanling and others.

The strategists passed it around and were all amazed.

Fang Xuanling shook his head and said, "I never imagined that these powerful families would be so wealthy... No wonder they can influence the local political situation."

Du Ruhui sneered, "It was taken from the people, but not used for the people. Now it's being used to replenish the treasury and provide relief to the displaced people, which can be considered making the best use of it."

Ju Shou exclaimed in shock, "This... this is just the wealth of a dozen or so aristocratic families? The wealth of the aristocratic families in Ji Province is simply astonishing!"

Tian Feng smiled bitterly and said, "The Han Dynasty's treasury is empty, and taxes are increased every year. It turns out that all the money has gone into the pockets of these people."

Xun Yu looked at the list, remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed, saying, "Although the methods were... the result was indeed to rid the people of a scourge."

Guo Jia leaned over to look at the list, whistled, and said, "Good heavens! My lord, shouldn't you give me a raise? My wife is very strict, and my allowance isn't even enough to buy wine..."

Liu Ce ignored him, sat in the chair, looked at the list, and suddenly sighed.

Everyone was stunned: Why are you sighing when you have so much money?

Liu Ce sighed, "Sigh, to be honest, who exactly invented this thing that makes it so easy for aristocratic families to make a fortune?"

He counted on his fingers, "Running out of money? Go to the powerful families. Need manpower? Go to the powerful families. Out of books to read? Go to the powerful families. They're practically walking treasure troves!"

Everyone stifled their laughter.

Liu Ce continued with a sigh, "Disagree? No problem! Just send Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao to their residence with the Yellow Turban warriors. After Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao personally persuade them with 'reason and emotion,' which is basically holding a knife to their throats, they'll obediently and willingly hand over their money. Then Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao can bring them back."

"This skill is so refined, it's almost heartbreaking."

Liu Ce thought to himself with delight: This isn't just a powerful family; it's a walking ATM!

The council chamber erupted in uproarious laughter.

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao scratched their heads and chuckled foolishly, saying, "It's our duty to share the burdens of our lord, it's our duty."

After laughing enough, Liu Ce said seriously, "Alright, we have the money, the grain, and the books. Now it's time to get down to business."

He ordered, "Lu Bing, arrest people according to the list. Leave no corrupt officials in Jizhou untouched."

"Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui selected outstanding students from Youzhou Academy to prepare for taking up official positions in Jizhou."

"Xun Yu, formulate detailed rules for governing Ji Province, conduct a thorough survey of land, implement work-for-relief programs, and construct water conservancy projects, and implement them as soon as possible."

"Xu Da, send a troop to Ji Province to maintain order and prevent anyone from resorting to desperate measures."

The group accepted the order.

Liu Ce added, "By the way, those noble families who were robbed... send someone to 'appease' them. Tell them that the court is aware of the banditry and that His Highness the Prince of Yan is doing his utmost to suppress them, so they should remain calm. Also, hint that if they cooperate with the new policies in Ji Province, we can return some of what was stolen after we finish suppressing the bandits."

Guo Jia raised an eyebrow and said, "Is our lord giving a slap on the wrist and then offering a sweet treat?"

"We have to give them a way out," Liu Ce said with a smile.

"If we rob them everything, they'll really fight to the death. Giving them a little back will give them hope, and they'll behave. Once we've established ourselves in Jizhou... hehe, more to come..."

Everyone understood immediately.