Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Chapter 34: The Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai River!

Inside the Majia residence in Junzhou, filled with cries of anguish, Ma Jinzhong personally oversaw the counting of Ma Wensheng's family members.

All relatives within Ma Wensheng's three degrees of kinship were to be shackled and taken away on the spot.

The gold and silver treasures seized from the Ma family were countless; the boxes upon boxes of silver were so dazzling that people couldn't even open their eyes.

Ma Jinzhong had to send people to various parts of Junzhou to find wagons capable of carrying the goods.

But the most valuable items were not the mountain of silver, but the Ma family's land deeds.

A full 120,000 mu of land, while the entire cultivated area of Junzhou was only 500,000 mu.

Equivalent to a quarter of the land being occupied by the Ma family.

It was simply lawless!

However, the land occupied by Ma Wensheng was nothing compared to Xu Jie of the Jiajing Dynasty, who was the official who seized the most land.

The Xu family occupied as much as 400,000 mu of land; seven or eight out of ten of the fertile fields in the Songjiang Prefecture area fell into the hands of the Xu family.

The Western Depot's agents went in and out of the Ma residence, efficiently packing the gold, silver, and valuables, and driving Ma Wensheng's clansmen onto prison carts.

However, Ma Jinzhong was still somewhat dissatisfied with the speed of the Western Depot's asset seizure.

"Hurry up, His Majesty has only given us five days!"

"Tonight, all members of the three degrees of kinship must be found, and the gold, silver, and valuables must be filled to the brim; not one can be missing!"

"If we delay His Majesty's time, none of us can bear the consequences, understand?!"

"Understood!"

The Western Depot's agents quickened their pace.

After tonight, the Ma family of Junzhou would cease to exist!

…

Under the same night sky, Pingliang Prefecture was also in a state of chaos.

Wearing flying fish robes and embroidered spring knives, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, led by Zhuque and Xuanwu, were vigorously arresting members of the Qiu Yue's nine degrees of kinship in Pingliang Prefecture.

"Lord Zhuque, this is the Qiu family's genealogy."

"The people of Qiu's nine degrees of kinship are all recorded in the register."

Zhao Ping, the prefect of Pingliang Prefecture, respectfully handed the Qiu family genealogy in his hand to Zhuque.

The Qiu family was a prominent clan in Pingliang Prefecture; since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, after Qiu's ancestors were enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xianning, they had lived in Pingliang Prefecture for generations.

Unfortunately, the Qiu family's direct line of descendants was not prosperous, otherwise they would not have allowed Qiu Yue to impersonate Qiu Li's son and inherit the title of Marquis of Xianning.

Although the Qiu family's direct line had few people, there were still many collateral branches.

For five generations, they had branched out and multiplied, and there were more than a hundred people in the nine degrees of kinship.

At this time, they were standing in front of a branch family of the Qiu clan in Pingliang Prefecture.

The family had few assets; the total gold and silver treasures seized amounted to only two large boxes.

But there were quite a few family members, a total of seven people in the nine degrees of kinship.

When the seven were taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, they were first astonished, then frightened.

Then came the usual weeping and wailing, plus kneeling and begging for mercy.

But in front of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, these tricks were useless.

Who told them that the one who gave the order was His Majesty the current Emperor?

The Qiu family of Pingliang Prefecture never expected that Qiu Yue, whom they had arranged to impersonate Qiu Li's son and inherit the title of Marquis of Xianning,

would bring the disaster of extermination of the nine degrees of kinship to the entire Qiu family of Pingliang Prefecture!

After the Embroidered Uniform Guards arrested the seven people, they tied up everyone's hands and feet and locked them all in an enlarged prison cart.

Zhuque took the Qiu family genealogy and looked through it: "Besides this family, where are the rest of the Qiu family members?"

"Reporting to Lord Zhuque, there are still some living in the countryside; I have already assigned the magistrate to lead Lord Xuanwu there."

"Prefect Zhao, His Majesty has only given the Embroidered Uniform Guards five days; if you can't arrest all the people of Qiu's nine degrees of kinship on time, do you know the consequences?"

Zhao Ping wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said in a low voice: "I know, I know, this official certainly knows."

"This official will definitely fully cooperate with the Embroidered Uniform Guards; not one of Qiu's nine degrees of kinship will be able to escape."

"Mm." Zhuque nodded, flipping through the Qiu family genealogy in his hand.

"Let me see, the next one is Qiu Yue's wife's two elder brothers."

"Fortunately, Qiu Yue's wife is also from Pingliang Prefecture, which saves a lot of trouble."

"Let's go, continue seizing the next family."

"Yes, Lord Zhuque!"

Led by Zhao Ping, the prefect of Pingliang Prefecture, the Embroidered Uniform Guards set off for the next family.

Time was tight, the task was heavy, and there was no time to waste!

…

Southern Zhili.

Yangzhou Prefecture.

Willows and painted bridges, wind curtains and emerald screens, markets lined with pearls and jades, households filled with silk and embroidery, the sound of the Qiang flute in the clear weather, the songs of water caltrops on the night river, appreciating the misty clouds.

Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times, with hundreds of thousands of households.

The prosperity and wealth of Jiangnan cannot be compared to the north.

The water and soil of Jiangnan are also extremely nourishing; the women here are as delicate as water.

The slender horses of Yangzhou are the best in the world.

Yangzhou has produced beauties since ancient times, and it is naturally an important selection place for the current nationwide talent show.

In the back hall of the Yangzhou Prefecture Yamen, a large group of people gathered at this time.

Zhang Wenshao, the governor of Yingtian, brought eight carefully selected women to Zhang Cai, the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

"Secretary Zhang, these are eight slender horses that this official has carefully selected and painstakingly cultivated; they are unparalleled in both beauty and talent, and they are the most beautiful in Yangzhou."

"In your opinion, will they be able to catch His Majesty's eye?"

Zhang Cai looked at the eight beautiful women in front of him, each of whom was indeed incomparably beautiful, surpassing the crowd, and extremely captivating.

For a time, Zhang Cai was stunned and did not speak for a long time.

Zhang Cai was the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of selecting talents for the emperor this time, and also the chief official of the talent show in Southern Zhili.

Since the imperial palace announced the launch of the nationwide talent show a few days ago, the common people, princes, and generals have stopped all marriage activities.

All unmarried women aged 13 to 16 must stay at home and wait for special personnel to select them.

The scope of the talent show is very wide, and the main target is the daughters of good families among the people.

But the most concerned about the talent show are the officials, gentry, and wealthy merchants.

In order to allow the chief official of the talent show to select their own daughters, these people often have to bribe the chief official.

In addition, the governors of Jiangnan and other places also love to offer specially raised courtesans, among which the slender horses of Yangzhou are the most loved by the emperor.

Chang generally refers to performers of songs, dances, and acrobatics, while Ji refers to women with professional knowledge and skills.

Both Chang and Ji have the "person" radical, and originally refer to women with both beauty and talent, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and singing and dancing.

And the slender horses of Yangzhou are beautiful women who have been cultivated since childhood.

Not only must they be familiar with women's training, but they must also be proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting, playing musical instruments, and singing and dancing.

Seeing Zhang Cai stunned in place, Zhang Wenshao could not help but feel a little proud.

"Secretary Zhang?"

"Ah? What?"

Zhang Cai came back to his senses, took a sip of tea, and concealed his embarrassment just now.

"In your opinion, will these eight women be able to catch His Majesty's eye?"

Zhang Wenshao asked again.

Zhang Cai was already overjoyed, but pretended to be a little hesitant on the surface.

"These eight women are good, very good."

"But… the primary condition for the imperial palace's talent show must be that they are innocent women…"

"Innocent! Absolutely innocent!"

Zhang Wenshao quickly patted his chest to guarantee: "These eight women have been raised in their boudoirs to learn art since they were bought."

"Not to mention leaving the pavilion, they have not even seen a few men."

"Really?"

Hearing this, Zhang Cai was even more overjoyed.