Chapter 322 The action begins, the Fan family’s road to survival

At late ten o'clock in the morning, Zhangjiabao gradually became lively, and a group of fast horses came running from Xuanfu to Zhangjiabao.

As a port for mutual trade between Mongolia, Zhangjiabao is also unprecedentedly large, with one fort almost as big as a county seat.

At this time, Fan Yongdou and his son Fan Qiantong were at home eating ham sausage, roasted egg soup, and canned braised beef with boiled potatoes that they bought at a high price from the Royal Merchant Company.

The taste was so good that both of them almost fell off their tongues. Although they had eaten it many times, they still couldn't help but want to eat more.

"Dad, the Royal Army is gradually reducing the distribution and transportation of disaster relief food, and there are fewer and fewer victims."

"They are getting less and less. They are almost gone. They have been forced to build roads. Those military households have also begun to sign up to open up wasteland. Our emperor is not simple. This is due to the guidance of experts."

Fan Yongdou squinted his eyes and said, of course he knew what it meant about the changes in Xuanfu. Their Fan family's grain business had been completely put on hold, so Zhangjiabao could still be sold.

Of course, the disaster relief food will not be distributed to Zhangjiabao. After all, Zhangjiabao is a place where there is a mutual market. The people who live here are representatives of various business houses and grassland people.

They are all rich people, and they have all kinds of food stores and so on. The royal merchants have stabilized commodity prices two months ago. The military households and ordinary farmers in Xuanfu are not much happier than the people in Datong.

"Reporting to the master, Fan Wu, who went to the county government office to inquire about information, is back.

The county magistrate went to the military camp with Xinzhi County yesterday and has not returned this morning. On the way back, I heard that the Royal Army in each garrison was mobilizing and the Royal Army was gathering troops."

"Well, Qian Tong, it seems that the emperor's son is going to make some big noise. I always feel that he is coming for us."

"Huh? Dad, why do you say that? How could these sergeants be ordered by the emperor?"

After hearing Fan Yongdou's words, Fan Qiantong put down the soup bowl in his hand, with fear on his face, and he couldn't even finish the meal.

Xuanfu was the place where Zhili directly began to provide disaster relief, and it was also a military town, so the degree of suppression was not as obvious as in places like Datong Zhending.

Except for the killing of an unlucky hereditary general on the first day, there was almost no big impact. The magistrate was very honest and did not dare to mess with the Royal Army.

Zhangjiapu is also a businessman, and they usually rely on the official guard office for reselling. Since the food at the guard office has been strictly monitored, they can't get it, so it's impossible to rob it, right?

So it was nothing. This is why the Fan family is still in good order now, because they can't resell the food if they can't get it in the middle. In addition, the county and county are closed, so they can't transport it away if they buy it.

, buying it will only increase your worries.

"I say this because the county magistrate sent me a letter yesterday, saying that if Fan Wu doesn't come back today, it means that he was left behind by those emperor's military households."

"Why do they keep the county magistrate? The county magistrate hasn't made any mistakes recently. Isn't the disaster relief provided by the Xuanfu very good? I haven't seen anything like this in many years."

"Yes, it's because the Xuanfu's disaster relief is very good. The military households and their families are full, the victims are full, no one rebels, no one makes trouble, the army is idle, and the emperor has to find something to do.

"

Fan Yongdou gently pried the piece of large ham sausage in the bowl with his hand and slowly crushed it. What he said made Fan Qiantong turn pale.

"Dad, you mean, these military households are really here for us? But why?"

"Why, why do you think it is? I immediately went to invite Shopkeeper Chang and Shopkeeper Qiao. I want to see if they have contacted the capital."

"Okay daddy."

"Xiao Wu, you immediately tell Baoding to go and watch two miles around the fort. If you see an army arriving, report back immediately. At the same time, go feed the horses and move the cannons to the fort."

Fan Qiantong left very quickly, and both Chang De and Qiao Wannian came to the house at exactly eleven o'clock in the morning.

The two big shopkeepers and the Chang family's agent gathered at the same table. After a while, Fan Yongdou asked Qiao Wannian about the royal army's banquet with the county magistrate.

"I don't know about this. When the group of military households from Yanqing Prefecture passed through Xuanfu three days ago, they had already sent people to completely block the passage to Datong.

The passages between Xuanfu and Shuntianfu have also been sealed for a long time, and the guards have been replaced by pure Royal Army troops. No news from the capital can be transmitted, and it always feels like something is wrong."

"I also feel that something like this has never happened before. The emperor has already defeated Huang Taiji in Jinzhou and the grassland has surrendered. Why should he start to strictly control the garrison?"

"Master Qiao, Master Fan, I have news. It is said that the emperor is preparing to redistribute the fields."

"What!!!"

Qiao Wannian received the least news. Hearing the news, his eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. To divide the fields, for the current Ming Dynasty, this is tantamount to making an enemy of the world.

"I have heard about this. Look at those Royal Army troops. After they took control of Xuanfu, the first thing they did was to start inventorying the property.

It's just Shopkeeper Chang, I'm afraid this guess is wrong, right? The news that our family came back from the capital is that His Majesty is planning to re-collect taxes after measuring the land and divide the land, which will force the world to rebel."

Fan Yongdou's information was more comprehensive and more convincing, but at this time, they were all talking in surprise.

After all, they didn't just rely on digging in the soil for food. Chongzhen's move to the fields was not a fatal threat to them.

"Then what if this ban is to catch us all?"

"The shopkeeper's fault is bad! The shopkeeper's fault is bad!"

"You bastard, why are you talking? I'm good, please explain to me clearly what's wrong?"

As soon as Fan Yongdou finished speaking, before Qiao Wannian and Chang De had time to speak, Fan Wu rolled over and crawled over.

"Shopkeeper, there are many military households outside the fort, many of them. They ride bicycles that are faster than horses, and use guns to kill all of us who reported the news.

Now they have surrounded our Zhangjiakou Fort, and there are people guarding every exit five hundred steps away, making some propaganda."

"What!!!"

Qiao Wannian still performed steadily, and his soul asked questions, making Fan Yongdou even more confused.

"What did they say? Quickly inform the Fort to prepare for the battle, prepare all the firearms, and gather our hidden artillery behind the Fort.

Also, Royal Company, go immediately and take the people of Royal Company as hostages, don’t let those people escape.”

"Most of the people outside are guard sergeants from Wanquan's left and right guards, and a small number are from the Royal Army. They have pulled out the artillery carriages."

"Tell everyone not to panic. Organize our servants in the fort to prepare. If the Royal Army dares to surround our Zhangjia Fort, prepare to feed the horses and rush out from the north of the fort."

Fan Yongdou gave orders calmly and looked at Chang De, who was still calm.

"Shopkeeper Chang, what do you think we should do now?"

"The situation is still unclear, but I think the thirty-six strategies..."

Before Chang De finished speaking, Fan Yongdou understood that no matter whether the people outside were coming for them or not, if a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall, they must stay away first.

"It's the shopkeeper! It's the shopkeeper! It's not good!"

The Royal Army outside the city called out. They said they were going to arrest the remnants of treasonous slave-building and asked everyone in the city not to panic.

Everyone is asked to go home and close the door, waiting for the inspection to come, and anyone who appears on the street will be killed by public opinion."

"Could it be that we have gone astray?"

"What????

Oh, it should be, then don’t worry, just tell everyone to close the door and go home to wait. The style of the Royal Army is still very good. I also said goodbye to those two, so as not to be accidentally injured."

Qiao Wannian breathed a sigh of relief, as he was not the one who caught him. He immediately said goodbye to Fan Yongdou happily and prepared to go home and wait.

As soon as Qiao Wannian left, Chang De smiled disdainfully.

"Has Mr. Qiao, the shopkeeper, been living like a dog for so many years? The emperor's dog slave is clearly here for us, but he actually said that he believes in the emperor's dog slave."

When Fan Yongdou heard that Zhangjiabao was already in chaos outside, he knew that a disaster was coming. He knew exactly what these people had done over the years.

Therefore, as soon as the Qing Dynasty was defeated, Fan Changqiao and his family were actually preparing a retreat and planning to flee to the grasslands. Zhangjiabao had already bought thousands of war horses and was waiting to leave directly through the pass.

But before their plan could be implemented, Chongzhen issued an order for epidemic prevention and disaster relief. The blocked passage prevented him from mobilizing Shanxi's resources, and the family members could not gather together.

He was not willing to flee to the grasslands even with the little wealth he had in Zhangjiakou, so he missed the best time to escape. Otherwise, if he had broken through the epidemic prevention and control ban at the beginning, there would really be no way to stop him.

"Shopkeeper Chang, do you think Qiao Wannian is really going to go back and wait?"

"Huh? Shopkeeper Fan, what do you mean???"

Outside Fan Mansion, Chang De, who came out slowly, suddenly became ugly. He ordered his servants to go back to Chang Mansion immediately to collect gold and silver, and then meet him at a Mongolian merchant shop in the north of the fort.

.

That place is another hiding place for him.

The appearance he put on just now was just to avoid exposing his whereabouts. If his whereabouts were exposed, he would be arrested.

In the Fan Mansion, Chang De came to his senses after hearing Fan Yongdou's words. They are all bastards who have been around for thousands of years. How can they not see what they are doing in Liaozhai?

"Then Shopkeeper Fan, shouldn't we do the same now?"

"First send people to look around. The Royal Army's defense there is weak. It is definitely unrealistic to break through the border from Zhangjiakou. They are definitely on guard.

In this way, I have a passage to the east of the fortress. You can go to my cloth shop over there and wait for me, and we will meet there."

"Hey, okay, okay, I'll go over first."

As soon as Changde went out, he eagerly called his servants and asked him to take him to the north of the city. Yes, he didn't believe Fan Yongdou's words at all.

The reason why he obeyed Fan Yongdou's words was to make Fan Yongdou confused and give him the wrong address when he was caught, so as to buy him time.

A Zhangjiakou fort is only one and a half kilometers from north to south and two kilometers wide across. At this distance, different directions are of little significance, but people always have a sense of luck.

After Fan Yongdou waited for Chang De to leave, he ordered his servants to go to the back house to arrange for the servants to prepare for resistance, and then went upstairs with Qian Tong who had rushed back.

"Dad, what should we do? What should we do? The court is here to arrest us. I don't want to die, dad."

"Why are you panic? As a father, of course I have a solution. I have already made arrangements in the Mongolian market in the north of the city. Some of the valuables are left there, and there is a group of Mongolians who are taking orders from me. This is the trump card that the emperor has left for our family.

, now we have to make some changes.”
To be continued...