The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 92 Confiscating the house
The torches lit up the front of the Duke Shanguo's mansion red.

On both sides of the gate stood the imperial guards in helmets and armor.

The door was wide open, and at first glance, the whole yard was brightly lit.

The gate was already filled with the stewards and housekeepers of the Duke of Shanguo's mansion, each of them waiting there with an indifferent expression.

In front of the open red-lacquered and copper-nailed gate of the Dadaoxia Cave, the commander of the imperial guards, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, stood in the middle.

The open space in front of the gate was crowded with families of the soldiers who died in the battle, looking towards the gate with hatred.

At this time, Li Hu was standing next to a tall and mighty stone lion, staring at the two corpses covered with white cloth in front of the crowd in a daze.

In addition to the widowed mother, before Li Hu arrived, another officer's relative was killed in the chaos at the gate of the Shanguo Mansion.

I don’t know if there are people behind this who are fanning the flames.

The area around the Shanguo Mansion was under martial law by the Imperial Guards. The last news came half an hour ago. Now, not only the upright officials from the Censorate, Hanlin Academy and Imperial College were impeaching the Shanguo Mansion, but many civil servants from the six ministries and nine departments also began to submit impeachment memorials.

"When a wall falls, everyone pushes it; when a drum is broken, everyone beats it." This is the naked human nature!
The four kings and eight dukes jointly submitted a memorial, requesting the court to thoroughly investigate the matter and give an explanation to the dead and the living!
This is the best they can do.

This incident caused such a huge stir that the confiscation of the Duke of Shan's mansion was a foregone conclusion, and everyone was waiting for the emperor's order to confiscate the property.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps, followed by hundreds of guards from the Imperial Household Department running from the east, escorting a large sedan chair.

Shi Ding quickly led the imperial guards to meet them.

Li Hu also walked over.

The sedan stopped, the curtain was lifted, and Dai Quan came out holding an imperial edict.

Everyone saluted: "Minister!"

Dai Quan nodded, then turned his gaze to the red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department beside him.

The eunuch in red understood and waved his hand.

Several fierce guards carried ladders and ran forward. Under the gaze of everyone, one of them took down the plaque on the main gate, which read "The Mansion of the Duke Built by Imperial Order".

Deathly silence!

Then there was a loud "bang" and there was a commotion in front of the door.

Someone shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The families of the fallen soldiers shouted in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The housekeepers and stewards of the Duke of Shan'guo's mansion all looked as pale as death.

The eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department have lined up in front of the palace gate.

Dai Quan slowly walked to the steps in front of the door, stopped, and said, "Gather all the family members in the courtyard of the Madam, and do not disturb them. Wait for my decision. All property will be confiscated and all must be recorded and reported. I will personally deal with the inner and outer study rooms. After all the books and letters are collected, they must be handed over to me. Not a single piece of paper can be left behind! Do you hear me?"

The eunuch in red repeated loudly: "Did you hear everything?!"

All the soldiers shouted in unison: "I heard it!"

The red-robed eunuch: "Copy!"

"Yes!" All the guards ran in together.

Dai Quan glanced at the still excited family members and said slowly: "The court has laws. It will not let any bad person go, nor will it wrongly accuse a good person. The confiscation of the Duke of Shan's mansion shows the court's attitude and determination. As for how to deal with it, the court will send the Imperial Household Department to Yulin to investigate and find out the truth. We can discuss it after the people from the Imperial Household Department come back and explain it clearly."

At this time, someone in the crowd responded, "The Second Prince clearly stated it in the military report. Why do we have to wait for the people from the Imperial Household Department to come back before taking any action?"

Dai Quan searched the crowd with his eyes flashing, and as a result, many people started shouting.

There was immediately another slight commotion in front of the door.

The red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department stepped forward and shouted, "Silence!"

The crowd in front of the door soon became quiet.

Dai Quan: "The law of nature is clear, good and evil will be rewarded. Even if they are to die, they should die clearly, right? The court has laws, even for ordinary death row prisoners, there must be solid evidence, and the court must review and verify them before the final decision can be made. Why are you so impatient to urge the court to deal with the Shi family? Explain to me!"

Everyone was silent.

Dai Quan: "I still say the same thing. The court has laws. It will not let any bad guy go, nor will it wrongly accuse a good guy. In addition, no matter what the truth is, as the commander-in-chief, Duke Shan Guo has an unshirkable responsibility for this matter. His Majesty has ordered that all the property confiscated from the Duke Shan Guo's mansion be compensated to everyone, and it will not be included in the pension and burial expenses."

The silence was only for a moment, and then the crowd erupted in a passionate response!
Someone shouted, "The Emperor is as merciful as the sky!"

The family members followed suit and shouted: "The emperor is as kind as the sky!"

Shit, there is a helper! Li Hu looked at the man hiding behind the stone lion.

Dai Quan raised his hand and looked at the two bodies covered with white cloth again: "The emperor was very sad when he heard about it. The emperor has already notified the Ministry of Internal Affairs to not only give the two elderly people a grand funeral, but also to choose one of their relatives to carry on the incense and give them land and oxen for farming."

The man spoke again: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The family members followed suit and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Dai Quan turned to Shi Ding and said, "The emperor has ordered that the imperial guards escort everyone home safely."

"Your subject Shi Ding complies with your orders!"

Shi Ding saluted, then led the imperial guards to escort the families away.

It was quiet in front of the door again, and the sound of people crying could be faintly heard from inside the mansion.

Li Hu sighed, then walked up to Dai Quan and said, "Prime Minister, it's okay. I'm going home to eat."

"Go home for dinner?"

Dai Quan was not in a good mood and handed over the imperial edict: "Take a look."

Li Hu was stunned for a moment, took the imperial edict with both hands, unfolded it and was stunned again.

Dai Quan said sternly, "It's obvious that someone is behind this, and it's fermenting very quickly. More than 100,000 troops from the Beijing camp are on their way to help Datong. The emperor can only order the confiscation of the Duke of Shan's mansion."

After reading the imperial edict, Li Hu handed it back to Dai Quan.

Dai Quan: "In addition, the emperor is also worried that someone will attack the family of Shanguogong."

Li Hu nodded.

Dai Quan continued, "Whether it's the Ministry of Justice or the Northern Prison, the emperor is worried. I didn't expect that the emperor would agree after I just mentioned it. It shows that you are deeply trusted by the emperor."

Li Hu: "It's ok for men, but how can women enter the military camp?!"

Dai Quan stamped his feet and said, "The situation is urgent now, let's not waste time here. Before the truth comes out, no one can die in the Shanguo Mansion. The military camp is the safest place now."

Li Hu had nothing else to say, so he nodded.

Dai Quan: "You wait here, I'll go in and announce the decree." After saying that, he walked straight in.

Li Hu suddenly remembered that now that the imperial guards had withdrawn, who would escort the family of the Duke of Shanguo?

It’s not that Li Hu looked down on these Silijian guards. A charge of twenty or thirty scouts could beat the shit out of them.

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly, and then hundreds of soldiers holding spears came running quickly from both ends of the street.

Li Hu's eyes flashed. This was the spearman under his command.

Zhang Cheng ran over with several officers.

"Greetings, General!" Zhang Cheng and others knelt down on one knee in unison.

Li Hu first glanced at the spearmen who had formed several rows of battle formations, and then said to them, "Get up."

Zhang Cheng walked up to Li Hu and whispered, "General, the emperor's order to mobilize troops was sent directly to the military camp. I was afraid of causing trouble for you, so I dare not refuse to accept it." He took out the emperor's order from his arms and presented it to him.

Li Hu glanced at the handwritten note, then folded it and put it into his sleeve, then said: "You did a good job."

Zhang Cheng felt relieved when he heard this, and then said, "Everything has been arranged at the military camp."

Li Hu nodded.

At this time, the shouting and crying from all over the place became louder and louder.

Li Hu sighed and turned to look.

Dai Quan came over, supporting a white-haired old woman, who was Shi Guangzhu's mother.

Behind them were the Shi clan members with grim faces, and the women were crying with every step.

This is considered polite. This place is dozens of miles away from the main camp. If they put on shackles, not to mention Shi Mu, the women and children won't be able to bear it. There is no prison car to sit in when their house is searched.

"Madam!" Li Hu clasped his fists and bowed.

Shi Mu: "Thank you for your help, General Li."

Li Hu didn't say much, he just leaned to the side and extended his hand to make a gesture of giving way.
(End of this chapter)