Liu Yanzong slaughtered the Wang family in one fell swoop, leaving countless heads rolling.

Before dawn, Liu Yanzong led another thousand men and rushed towards Wenshui County.

The Wang family ancestral hall was located in Wenshui County. Liu Yanzong, who wanted to save his life, strictly followed the emperor's order: to completely eliminate the Wang family!

Of course, Liu Yanzong sat in the pavilion outside the city, eating watermelon and drinking iced beverages, enjoying himself immensely.

The Central Army rushed in, and regardless of whether anyone was inside the Wang Clan Ancestral Hall, they threw in thunderbolts.

Several terrifying explosions were heard, causing screams to erupt inside.

Immediately, the Imperial Guards, clad in iron armor and silver helmets, rushed in, killing anyone they saw, and finally burned the Wang Clan Ancestral Hall to the ground.

Not content with that, Huangfu Chen then carried out a large-scale arrest of people in Taiyuan City who had close ties with the Wang family, sending them all to the Imperial City Guard prison for a thorough "treat."

Meanwhile, Zong Ze in Longde Prefecture began his campaign to suppress bandits.

Similarly, in Hedong, Qin Hui completely let himself go.

Unlike the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Cui family of Hedong seemed to be somewhat hidden.

The Cui family lived in Caijia Village, Yaoshan County, Xinde Prefecture, Hebei Province.

It's called Caijia Village, but that's actually what it was called a hundred years ago. A hundred years ago, the Cui family bought land here and started accumulating wealth again.

Now, half of the people in Caijia Village are surnamed Cui, and two-thirds of the fields in Yaoshan County belong to the Cui family.

Moreover, their people began engaging in business and accumulating wealth at the very beginning of the founding of the nation, and each generation has had members holding important positions in Hebei Road.

For example, Cui Wuji was the registrar of Chen Changyuan, the prefect of Zhongshan City.

These official positions were generally not high-ranking, but they were very important. They allowed one to avoid direct control of the imperial court while still being able to do many things one wanted to do.

Before entering Caijia Village in Yaoshan County, Qin Hui encountered resistance on the way.

It turned out to be Cui's private army, numbering over four thousand, and they were well-equipped and highly trained.

There was actually a private army hidden among the people!

However, they were facing Han Shizhong's army, so Qin Hui didn't need to know how to fight. In fact, Qin Hui knew nothing about war. He only needed to refrain from interfering and giving orders, and Hu Yantong directly crippled the four thousand Cui family private troops.

Then they headed towards Caijia Village.

After the four thousand private soldiers were decimated, someone immediately went back to report the news.

Inside the Cui Clan Ancestral Hall, the clan elders gathered together.

Chief Cui Yunhong said solemnly, "The tyrant's claws are too sharp. For now, we should retreat to advance, submit first, and wait for the Northwest to be in turmoil. The tyrant will surely have no time to look east, and then we can make further plans."

Elder Cui Yunyi said, "The tyrant is ruthless. To preserve our family line, we should retreat completely!"

“It’s too late to retreat now,” Cui Yunhong said. “Money can make the devil turn the millstone. Qin Hui is a despicable and shameless villain. As long as we give him enough money, we can let this matter drop for now and make a plan when things start to change in the Northwest.”

For a family as powerful and deeply rooted as the Cui family, money is never a problem. They have centuries of savings and countless fertile fields.

Qin Hui led his elite troops and advanced all the way to Caijia Village.

The vicious dogs at the village entrance, usually very arrogant, were terrified by the murderous aura of the Imperial Guards today and hid in a corner of a big tree, trembling there.

Many villagers came to the village entrance to watch the excitement.

For the local people, a town supervisor is considered a high-ranking official, a county magistrate is a big shot, and a prefect is someone they only occasionally hear about when the blind man tells stories at the village entrance.

Today, however, I have come across the Emperor's elite central army, the Imperial Guards!

Of course, they didn't know what status this army held in the Song Dynasty. To them, this army, clad in armor and exuding a sharp aura, was like the heavenly soldiers and generals of mythology.

Children and the elderly couldn't help but come over to watch.

Qin Hui asked, "Does anyone know how to get to the Cui Clan Ancestral Hall?"

The ordinary people around looked at each other, some wanting to speak but too afraid to utter a word, while others remained silent.

Qin Hui took out a string of coins and said, "Who can tell me that this string of coins belongs to him?"

Immediately, a young man pointed in the direction: "Go three miles that way and you will arrive."

Qin Hui sent someone to deliver the money, but Hu Yantong shouted, "The imperial court is arresting serious criminals. You must leave immediately, or you will face the consequences!"

The people immediately retreated a considerable distance, waiting for the Imperial Guards to pass.

Soon, Qin Hui saw the Cui Clan Ancestral Hall.

Hu Yantong said to Qin Hui, "This Cui family is really cunning. They are clearly a powerful local clan, but they are hiding in Caijia Village, making them hard to find."

Qin Hui said, "No matter what they say later, kill them without mercy."

Hu Yantong said, "Don't worry, Lord Qin, killing is something I'm most skilled at."

"After killing them, find out the Cui family's treasures, take one-third, divide it among the brothers, and hand over the remaining two-thirds to the imperial court."

Hu Yantong seemed even more excited and said nothing, indicating his tacit agreement.

Han Shizhong's army differed from Yue Fei's army. Han Shizhong tacitly allowed some soldiers to make money in this way, as long as it wasn't excessive.

As Qin Hui said, Hu Yantong was perfectly acceptable.

But if Yue Fei had said that, anyone who dared to say it would have been punished according to military law.

As the saying goes, like attracts like. Han Shizhong was originally a troubled youth in a village in Northwest China. Although he appeared calm and composed due to his age and the hardships he had experienced, he still had a strong wildness in his bones.

Zhao Huan was aware of these things, but he never said anything, which can be considered as tacit approval of Han Shizhong's way of managing the army.

Yue Fei was a true-blue peasant boy, raised by his mother-in-law to be well-behaved.

Moreover, Yue Fei is now the emperor's brother-in-law, and countless eyes are watching him.

The princess reminded him more than once that, as a member of the imperial family, being able to serve in the army was a first since the founding of the Song Dynasty, so he had to be careful in everything he did.

At Huyan Tong's command, the ten soldiers in the front row stepped forward.

Immediately, someone ran out of the ancestral hall, paused for a moment, and then said respectfully, "Gentlemen, this is the Cui Clan Ancestral Hall. May I ask who you are looking for? I will go and inform them."

As he spoke, Cui Yunhong and the others inside were all listening intently.

Huyan Tong spat out a single word: "Kill!"

One of the soldiers pulled the trigger of his crossbow, and the bolt shot out with a sharp crack, embedding itself in the center of the man's forehead. The man died without uttering a sound.

Then, five more soldiers came out, each holding a shield in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. They ignited the thunderbolt and threw it inside.

Bang bang...

The loud tremors startled the villagers. Many wanted to come and see, but were afraid of the noise and dared not approach. They just watched from a distance, trembling with fear.

Screams came from inside; it was unclear how many people had been killed in the explosion.

The five soldiers carrying shields drew their swords and rushed inside.

Then five more soldiers carrying crossbows rushed in.