Nie Dingnan listened to the old man's words, and they were all silent.

Li Qiufeng hid under the bed in the inner room, and thought to himself that this old man was indeed a great person. He commanded the Nie family, did not try to be famous, hid behind the Lu, Zhao, and Du families, not only grasped the real power of the four families in Fengmen Village, but also used the other three families as a shield to block arrows. Nie Lao Wu and the others couldn't see the stakes, they were really stupid.

He was thinking about it, only to hear the old man continue: "Over the years, although our Nie family children have worked hard, firstly, they have no worries about their lives, and secondly, they have never owed everyone in terms of money. In addition, there are two houses in Kaifeng, where you teach and drink tea every day, and enjoy the mountains and rivers. I'm afraid that the governor of Henan, who is in Kaifeng Mansion, is not as carefree as you. ”

I only heard Nie Lao Wu laugh and said, "Uncle Nie is right." It was your old man who took care of the little nephew and added 4,000 taels of silver to the little nephew every year. ”

The old man said, "Silver is still a small matter. For example, the fifth child became a private school teacher, the sixth child sold peanuts, the seventh doctor and horse, the eighth opened a brick kiln, the ninth child sold livestock outside the Guanwai, the eleventh opened a woodware shop in Fenglingdu, and the twelfth opened a dyeing house in Ruyang. The children of the other generations also have a livelihood. Because of this, in the past few years, when we sent to various places to inquire about the whereabouts of the Xu family, the children and nephews of the Dingzi generation avoided the past, and the Lu, Zhao, and Du families couldn't find anything wrong. By the time of the decisive battle in Haizhou, although our Nie family sent the most people, they were all the children of some distant side branches. Lu, Zhao, and Du are elites. The fifth, sixth, and seventh, you might as well think about it, if it weren't for the fact that you don't show up on weekdays, just making a small living, but becoming an official and making a fortune, all of them have unlimited scenery, and the battle of Haizhou, can you not participate?"

Nie Lao Wu and the others were silent, obviously having no objection to what the old man said.

The old man continued, "Each of you has more than 10,000 taels of silver per year, and if you have a son in your family, you will have to add 3,000 taels. In the past few years, each of them has a lot of money, and they can eat and drink spicy food. Looking at the Lu, Zhao, and Du families, although there are forty or fifty of their sons who have come out to become officials and make fortunes, the remaining one or two thousand people are not running around for a living? Their example of silver is only a few hundred taels per person per year, and they have to fight with the Xu family for life and death from time to time. If I can swap with a few of you, I don't know how happy they will be. Even if Hu Kun, Han Qusi and others are in high positions, they look beautiful. However, the annual silver they pay to the Thousand Yin Cave is 30,000 taels and 20,000 taels respectively, and the rest of the silver in their hands is not much more than yours. Old Five, what else can't you think of?"

Nie Lao Wu smiled and said, "Uncle Nie has taught me a lesson, and the little nephew should remember your old man's teachings. It's just that the little nephew was not dissatisfied, but he was not used to the appearance of the children of the Lu, Zhao, and Du families. Last year, when we were at the Fengmen Village Conference, in addition to the Du family's being quite polite to our Nie family, Uncle Lu, Hu Kun and others were all arrogant when they spoke. The little nephew thought that the four of us had prospered over the years, all because Uncle Nie was far-sighted and well-planned, so that we could have this situation. Not to mention anything else, Uncle Nie bought land and mulberry fields in Jiangnan more than 20 years ago, and now he has an annual income of more than 200,000 taels of silver from a single field rent, not to mention mulberry fields and weaving factories. In the past hundreds of years, our five families confronted the Xu family, bribed our fellow people in the rivers and lakes to do things for us, and the birth, old age, sickness and death of the children of the five families, and their daily food and clothing, most of them relied on the silver money in Qianyin Cave. Although the ancestors of the past dynasties for the sake of the livelihood of their descendants, they also bought land, set up pawnshops, silk and satin villages, but the descendants of the five families multiplied, and there were more and more places to use silver, and at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, only relying on the gold and silver jewelry of Qianyin Cave was actually beyond their means, and they had to sell some jewelry, calligraphy and paintings. Until Uncle Nie, your old man was in charge, not only did he make up for the deficit over the years, but the silver accumulated in the Thousand Yin Cave was also huge. This battle in Haizhou was of course a clever plan by the big brother Dingzhong, but if Uncle Nie hadn't taken out 500,000 taels of silver to buy pirates to help, how could he wipe out the Xu family in one fell swoop?"

When Li Qiufeng heard this, his heart was shocked, and he secretly thought that in order to deal with the Xu family, the Nie, Lu, Zhao, and Du families actually spent a huge amount of money to buy pirates to help them. When he was on an errand in Jinyiwei, he heard Jinyiwei, who was sent to the southeast coast to inquire about the military situation, mention that most of the pirates along the coast secretly colluded with the Japanese and accepted the orders of the Japanese invaders. No wonder the Japanese invaded the Central Plains, and it was related to the fact that Nie, Lu, Zhao, and Du bought pirates to encircle and suppress the Xu family. But what kind of hatred did these five families have with the Xu family, and they did not hesitate to collude with the Japanese Bandits? There must be a great conspiracy hidden behind this matter.

I only heard the old man sigh, and then said: "The fifth man's words are to the point. Whether it is rivers and lakes or temples, in fact, the principles are the same. The five of us have been fighting with the Xu family for five or six hundred years, and it is no different from fighting with the two countries. Not only do you have to face the enemy on the battlefield with dignity, but you also have to use means such as intermittent use, assassination, and bribery. And if there is no silver for all these things, it is impossible to think about it. When there is a war on the field, it is silver that is fought. We are fighting with the Xu family, and we also have to rely on silver. The Xu family is insidious and vicious, and extremely cunning. Since our Nie family became the leader of the five families, the Xu family lost their armor and was embarrassed. After these murderers fell into a desperate situation, they actually colluded with the Japanese and did not hesitate to be traitors, and they also wanted to destroy the five of us. I asked myself that I had indeed done some things against my will in order to eliminate the Xu family, but in life, there was one thing that I could never do. Do you know what's going on?"

Nie Lao Wu said: "I am willing to listen to Uncle Nie's teachings." ”

I only heard the old man say word by word: "You must not be a traitor!"

Nie Dingnan and the others said in unison: "Yes, let's follow the teachings. ”

Li Qiufeng didn't have a good impression of this old man, but when he heard his words say righteous and awe-inspiring, he was quite shocked in his heart. Secretly thinking that although this old man is cunning, he has not forgotten that he is a descendant of Yan and Huang, and he is not at fault in the big festival. It's just that when he thought of this, he suddenly remembered that Nie Lao Wufang said that the old man had spent 500,000 taels of silver to buy pirates to deal with the Xu family, and he couldn't help but be suspicious of this old man again.

I only heard the old man say: "After we found out about the collusion between the Xu family and the Japanese Kou, we know that we have reached the critical point of life and death. Although we have a centuries-old hatred with the Xu family, after all, we are all Han people, and no matter how we say it, we can't be cheap. Once the Xu family introduces the Japanese into the Central Plains, the two sides should cooperate with each other, and it is not only our five families who will suffer, but I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will not be able to live in peace from now on. After I consulted with Dingzhong, I decided to plan and use the Japanese to deal with the Xu family. Those Japanese robbers are extremely greedy, not only to get involved in the Ming Dynasty, but also to plunder the silver of our Han people. It was because I spent 500,000 taels of silver that the leader of the Japanese invaders was moved, and at the critical moment, the Xu family did not expect that the Japanese would suddenly turn their faces and panic, so they fell into our trap and ended up exterminating.

"Now that the Xu family has been wiped out, the Japanese are not enough to swallow elephants, not only took our 500,000 taels of silver, but also wanted to expand their power to Henan. Hehe, it's just that although they did a good job of Qingqiu Dream, they didn't know that we had already figured out how to deal with them. This time, the Japanese invaders rushed to Henan, thinking that they could accomplish it. And we have already laid a trap, but because the big leader of the Japanese has not yet arrived, we have not yet forbeared. It's just that these Japanese robbers are too vicious, and they don't know where Wujiguan, Xiaoyaoguan, and Kongming Temple offended them, and they were burned to the ground by the Japanese invaders. At present, the Japanese have gathered inside and outside Xiuwu County, although they are under our surveillance, but we need to guard against these Japanese robbers with other plans, and we must not be careless for a moment. After the big leaders of the Japanese invaders, we will wipe out these Japanese bandits, and then we will be able to sit back and relax. ”

The more Li Qiufeng listened, the more frightened he became, and finally understood why the Japanese invaded the Central Plains. It turned out that these Fusang people wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to help the five families in Fengmen Village eliminate the Xu family and enter the Central Plains in a big way. If this conspiracy is realized, these Japanese robbers will cause chaos in the Central Plains and the southeast coast at the same time, and they are afraid that the Ming Dynasty will never have peace. Fortunately, the Nie family did not really want to cooperate with the Japanese Invaders, and was preparing to eliminate the Wolves in one fell swoop. From this point of view, no matter what kind of hatred the Nie family and the Xu family have, he must help the Nie family and get rid of the Japanese first.