The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 316 My Neighbor Stores Food, I Store Guns

Compared to the arduous task of creating gods, it is far more fulfilling to slay and kill gods with one's mortal body and bring them down from their pedestals.

Niu Su was like this right now, looking at He Qi who was so close, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

It should be noted that the person standing in front of him was He Qi himself, a true nobleman with a noble family background, a Han Dynasty official position, and the title of Marquis of Shanyin.

In the past, Niu Su would have found it difficult to even meet such powerful figures, let alone curry favor with them.

But now, the once high and mighty nobles are surrounded by him. With just one order, they will immediately turn from nobles into prisoners. The thrill of that is even greater than that of a lecherous wolf ravaging a beautiful woman. Niu Su tried to control his facial expressions to keep calm, but tragically found that he couldn't control himself at all.

In contrast, He Qi had a completely different feeling. Upon hearing Niu Su introduce himself, his face immediately fell, and he said unhappily, "Chief Qu, Xie Chong only sent a mere chief Qu to arrest me?"

There are risks in everything you do. He Qi was prepared to be exposed when he returned to Kuaiji, so he was not surprised when he was discovered and surrounded by Prefect Xie Chong.

But no matter what, he is the General of Andong and the Marquis of Shanyin of the Han Dynasty. Even if you, Xie Chong, don't come to arrest him in person, you can at least send a captain. What's the point of sending a mere squad leader? Are you looking down on me?

Niu Su heard the contempt in He Qi's words, and with a cold laugh in his heart, he clasped his hands and bowed again, saying, "General He Qi, as the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands. You and your personal guards are highly skilled in martial arts, but you can't withstand our numbers. So, do you want to surrender or fight us to the death?"

As they were talking, Shen Chong and Zhang Ling rushed in and walked up behind Niu Su, saying, "Chief Niu, our men are in position, and the courtyard is completely surrounded. Please give your instructions."

Niu Su nodded to them and continued, "General He Qi, our manpower has increased again, and more brothers are on their way here. What do you think..."

He Qi sighed and said, "Since things have come to this, I am willing to accept defeat. However, I, He Qi, am the Marquis of Shanyin, who has been officially conferred a title by the imperial court. I must maintain my dignity. I want to see General Guan."

Niu Su laughed and said, "Of course, Prefect Xie has no right to deal with you. Your matter must be decided by General Guan and His Highness the King of Hanzhong."

He Qi threw away his sword and sighed, "Then let's go."

The rest was simple. Niu Su searched the manor and found a carriage, then personally drove it, escorting He Qi to Shanyin to report to Xie Chong. He did not put shackles or chains on He Qi along the way. After all, He Qi was a marquis, and he had to maintain the proper decorum. Besides, he did not believe that He Qi would escape.

He Qi really didn't intend to run away. If he didn't run away, he would still have a chance to see Guan Yu or even Liu Bei, and perhaps in the future he could be granted an official position by Liu Bei and continue to serve the Han Dynasty.

After all, he was not a traitor like Mi Fang or Fu Shiren, but a subject of Eastern Wu. His actions against Guan Yu were a matter of serving their respective masters. He had no personal grudges against Guan Yu or Liu Bei. After accepting defeat, Liu Bei would only try to win him over, not kill him.

But if he runs away now, Niu Su has the right to shoot him on the spot. If he doesn't run away, he still has a bright future. If he runs away, he will die at the hands of Niu Su, a minor bandit leader whom he used to be too lazy to even look at. He Qi is not stupid, so he naturally knows what to choose.

Of course, the more important reason is that his loyalty to Sun Quan was far from being to the point of sharing life and death with Sun Quan. He was the head of a powerful family, not a commoner like Zhou Tai who was promoted by Sun Quan. Returning to Kuaiji and inciting the gentry to rebel was already doing Sun Quan a favor. There was really no need for him to risk his life for Sun Quan.

With this in mind, He Qi was exceptionally cooperative on the way back to Shanyin, agreeing with everything Niu Su said without ever arguing.

Inside Shanyin City.

Thanks to the strategic planning of Prefect Xie Chong, the riots by the gentry last night had little impact, and the city quickly returned to calm after dawn.

After Xie Chong sent all the members of the aristocratic families on the list into specially built cells, he began to interrogate them one by one, mainly asking about the wealth they had hidden.

In addition to seeking to acquire the hidden wealth of the aristocratic families, they also wanted to completely cut off their source of income.

No matter when, doing things always costs money. If the gentry want to rebel, they have to prepare weapons, food, and even military pay. Without these things, who the hell would do dangerous work with you?

Whether you're from aristocratic families or a commoner, you can't get anywhere without money.

Therefore, as long as the financial resources of the aristocratic families are cut off, they will naturally lose the ability to cause trouble.

Although there were righteous and loyal members of the aristocratic class, they were a minority. Most aristocratic sons were more afraid of death than ordinary people. Therefore, when they met Xie Chong, all the aristocratic sons on the list spoke up and cooperated actively. Before Xie Chong could ask them, they took the initiative to reveal the location of the treasure vaults of the others, which made Xie Chong's interrogation go very smoothly and also broadened Xie Chong's horizons.

This group of aristocratic families was incredibly adept at hiding their wealth, employing a multitude of methods. Some built secret chambers in tombs, others dug warehouses beneath shops, and still others constructed underground palaces in the mountains. These secret chambers, warehouses, and underground palaces were all used to store supplies, primarily grain and weapons, with gold and silver jewelry being relatively rare.

This is the last resort for the aristocratic families. With food and weapons, they can raise troops, and with troops, they can plunder others. Gold and silver are different; they cannot be eaten or drunk. In chaotic times, even if you have a mountain of gold, it is difficult to buy food. Therefore, stockpiling food is the safest option.

It seems that even the aristocratic families understood the principle that if their neighbor hoarded grain, they should hoard guns; their neighbor was their granary.

As for whether the grain would rot and mold if stored for a long time, the gentry knew it would, but they didn't care, because this was their last lifeline, and no one wanted to have to use it.

This is similar to nuclear weapons in later generations; nobody likes to use them, but you have to have them.

Xie Chong chuckled as he took statements from everyone, then took Quan Shang's statement and came to Yu Shao. He turned to the part about the Yu family that Quan Shang had given and said with a smile, "Old Yu, Quan Shang has already told me the location of your family's secret room. I could have found it even if you hadn't told me. It would have just been a waste of time. Are you sure you don't want to take me there?"

After reading the transcript, Yu Shao launched into a tirade of curses, offering friendly insults to all the ancestors of the entire Shang Dynasty. Only after his throat was dry from cursing did he sigh in defeat and say, "Alright, I'll take you there."

Xie Chong followed the same method, using other people's statements to trick the parties involved. He quickly figured out the locations of all the clans' secret vaults, then seized the stolen goods. The grain and weapons he captured made Xie Chong so happy that he almost laughed his teeth out.

After all this commotion, around 3 PM, Prefectural Magistrate Cheng Li arrived from Zhuji to pay his respects.

That's right, Cheng Li, the old man, has been promoted again. He is now the Sima of Kuaiji and the magistrate of Zhuji, Wushang, and Shanxian. As the Sima, he is in charge of the military and the magistrate is in charge of the people's peace. He is responsible for all the military and political affairs of the entire Jinqu Basin.

When Cheng Li arrived at the prefect's residence, he found that Xie Chong was not there. After inquiring around, he went straight to the jade shop in the east of the city. When he entered the backyard, he found that Xie Chong was leading people to dig a pit, turning the originally clean and tidy courtyard into a mess, like a crime scene. Cheng Li looked bewildered and walked up to Xie Chong, asking curiously, "Prefect, what are you doing?"

Xie Chong pointed to the large pit in the courtyard and said, "This jade shop belongs to the Yu family. Although we searched it carefully when the shop was confiscated, we found nothing. Today we learned that the Yu family built a secret room under the courtyard, and there was no entrance or exit. To be precise, the entrance and exit are in this pit right in front of us, which they have buried deep in the soil."

"The reason for this is that the supplies inside are reserved for the family's life-saving purposes and are never used under normal circumstances. Therefore, there is no need to put the entrance and exit in the open. Instead, they are buried deep and manually dug out when needed. Although this takes more effort, it is safer."

Cheng Li exclaimed in astonishment, "Building a secret chamber underground and then burying it with soil, and then building shops on top of the chamber for people to walk on, who would have thought that they were standing on a secret vault? Damn Yu family, they really spare no expense."

Cheng Kantou had never imagined that it could be played like this, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "In the end, poverty still limits imagination."

You'll never know how outrageous these vulgar people can be until you've been to high society.

If Guan Xing were here, he probably wouldn't be so shocked, because such things are too common. In later generations, civil engineering and infrastructure projects often unearthed such secret vaults. When an excavator scooped up the shovel, the bucket was full of rusty copper coins, dating from the pre-Qin period to the Qing dynasty. Where did these coins come from? They were hidden by aristocratic families like the Yu family.

There is a saying that has been passed down through the ages: "When Heshen fell, Jiaqing was fed." But many people don't know that when Jiaqing renovated Heshen's mansion after it was ransacked, more than ten million taels of silver were found.

It must be said that the aristocratic families were very good at hiding money; they hid it for so long that they even forgot about it themselves.

Xie Chong gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn aristocratic families! During the famine, the common people didn't even have tree bark to eat, yet they piled up large amounts of grain and fodder in the warehouse to let them mold. They deserve to die! By the way, Elder Cheng, what brings you here?"