Chapter 196: Prince Lu

Su Zhenzhen asked very sincerely, and Hu Wen couldn't doubt that she was joking with him.

"Miss Su, do you know that stealing from people is illegal?"

Su Zhenzhen didn't quite understand the term, so she turned her gaze to Chunzhi, who was sitting at the head of the table.

“The term ‘stealing people’ refers to illegally transferring people from one place to another. Although such people can have a new household registration in their current place of residence, their household registration in their old place of residence is not cancelled. They can live without problems in the new place, but once they are found out, not only will these people be reduced to a lowly status, but even the officials involved will be punished by being torn apart by chariots.”

Chunzhi stroked the book in her hand. “The Chronicles of the Jiang Dynasty records that during the reign of Emperor Feng, the head of a minor aristocratic family wanted to rebel. Unfortunately, he did not have many members, so he attracted people from other counties to flock to the area by offering high prices for grain and money. He also joined forces with the local government to register the newcomers’ households. However, before they could start their rebellion, they were reported by the local officials’ political enemies. Therefore, the court strictly prohibited the theft of people.”

Su Zhenzhen looked at the books on the table. "Is the Chronicles of the Jiang Dynasty that you're reading now, sister?"

The Chronicles of the Jiang Dynasty sounds like a history book of the Jiang Dynasty.

Chunzhi nodded. "The county government has another copy. Do you want to see it?"

Su Zhenzhen waved her hand, saying that she couldn't read traditional Chinese characters and didn't want to misunderstand the meaning by guessing.

Seeing that Chunzhi had explained things clearly, Hu Wen glanced at Su Zhenzhen, his meaning quite clear: what else do you want?

Su Zhenzhen smiled at him in a friendly manner, "I wonder if the Prefect knows why those lowly noble families rebelled?"

Hu Wengang wanted to say that greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, but when the words came out, it seemed like he was also cursing himself, so he changed his tune and said something different.

"Perhaps forced by circumstances, they had no choice but to do it in order to make a living."

This statement seems to be an attempt to justify himself. Back then, Hu Wen kept the gates of Yangcheng tightly closed, preventing disaster victims from all directions from entering, which indirectly led to the deaths of the Hu brothers outside the city. It was a last resort.

Su Zhenzhen glanced at him lightly. This matter should have been over when Hu Wen was frank and open, but judging from his current words and actions, he was probably still afraid of being held accountable later.

The saying "the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked; the bird is gone, the bow is put away" is something that emperors have always loved to do, not to mention that Hu Wen was initially an enemy.

"Your Excellency, according to your guess, that lowly aristocratic family only thought of rebelling because they were forced to make a living. Then how could they promise high interest rates to people from other places? And where did they get the money to bribe the local government?"

This was the first thing Su Zhenzhen thought of after hearing the story: a person without money would never be able to afford to do something that burns through money.

To rebel, one must recruit a large number of people, and the money and food spent on this would be enough for a minor aristocratic family to prosper for several more generations. If the rebellion fails, one will die. This is a calculation that one cannot fail to understand.

Hu Wen had just given a casual answer, thinking the topic would be dropped, but he didn't expect it to be investigated further, so he lowered his eyes and pondered.

After about ten breaths, Hu Wen raised his eyes again, his expression serious. "Perhaps this lowly family is being controlled by someone behind the scenes. This person wants to seize the world but is afraid of being exposed, so they put a puppet in front of them."

Before Su Zhenzhen could ask any more questions, Hu Wen had figured out the whole story.

"The reason why some low-ranking families are willing to act as puppets is either because they have something on someone else, or because they are all in the same boat. For example, if the woman in their family is the bedmate of the person behind the scenes, the person behind the scenes will also be implicated if the matter is exposed, so they might as well take a risk."

After listening, Su Zhenzhen nodded thoughtfully, "How long ago was this?"

"Emperor Feng was Emperor Chang's father, and the three reigns lasted for nearly 150 years."

After Chunzhi finished speaking, Hu Wen immediately added a sentence.

"Because during the reign of Emperor Feng, some people attempted to rebel, so the court strictly controlled household registration. People had to stay in the land they were born on until they died."

Su Zhenzhen had another question, "Then what about the rebel army formed by southern refugees twenty-two years ago? Aren't ordinary people not allowed to leave their birthplace?"

Hu Wen's expression was rather complicated. "When the late emperor was still the crown prince, he pitied the disaster victims who had no way to survive. He advised Emperor Chang to allow them to go to other places to beg for food. The officials of the Jiang Dynasty obeyed the king's order and let them pass all the way."

Without a doubt, this person is Jiang Yichun again. We don't know about his competence in doing serious things, but he's definitely adept at stirring up trouble.

In order to provide relief to the disaster victims, the national treasury was emptied, and the disaster victims were personally sent to the disaster sites to distribute aid. However, they were unable to attend to everyone and thus the problem was not scarcity but inequality.

In terms of personal morality, in order to consolidate his position as crown prince, he took advantage of a secret visit to meet Jiang Sijin's biological mother, and then cuckolded his own father.

Later, they persecuted refugees and threatened Li Xuanji to create a horrific zodiac luck-changing array.

As for Song Anbang, that number one ingrate, Su Zhenzhen didn't even want to talk about him. Jiang Yichun was born a prince and wandered all over the country after he grew up. He had met quite a few people. How could he have misjudged him and let such a troublemaker into the officialdom?

Su Zhenzhen was lost in thought, her expression shifting between sunshine and rain, making Chunzhi think she had gone mad.

"What's wrong? Although the last emperor's actions have not always gone as planned, his intentions were good after all."

Chunzhi was unaware of the Zodiac Fortune-Turning Array.

Su Zhenzhen had no intention of dragging the dead out and whipping their corpses.

Jiang Yichun's reputation was so-so, but people like General Huo, who were loyal to the emperor and loved his country, naturally believed that he was a wise ruler.

His fervent supporters, including Li Da, and some ordinary people who had actually benefited from his policies, considered him a good ruler.

But other ordinary people at the bottom of society will probably blame him for every little thing that goes wrong.

In the eyes of powerful families, Jiang Yichun was probably just a complete fool. After all his fussing, he ended up beheaded and even stabbed by his own family, without even receiving a posthumous title.

"I was just thinking about who the Prefect was referring to as the mastermind behind this." Su Zhenzhen waved her hand, indicating that she wasn't thinking about Jiang Yichun. "Besides his legitimate son, does Emperor Feng have any other sons?"

“Yes,” Chunzhi answered quickly, taking a book from the table. “This is the genealogy of the Jiang Dynasty’s royal family. It records the relationships between the emperors of the Jiang Dynasty. Emperor Feng also had a son born out of wedlock, who was twenty years younger than Emperor Chang. Emperor Feng did not favor this son much when he was alive. On the contrary, after Emperor Chang ascended the throne, he made this younger brother a king, and his fief was in Bianzhou.”

Su Zhenzhen's brow twitched. "Could this prince be the Prince of Lu?"

"How did you know?" Chunzhi asked in surprise. "You've also seen this booklet? But there are only three copies of this booklet in the world."