Playing dead was the only option Yan Zhenzhi had left; he clearly knew what he should do.

While this might cause some loss to their family's interests, it wouldn't mean the court would seize all their wealth at once. At most, it would just mean a slower pace of wealth accumulation and a smaller amount of wealth.

As for military merit, many people were actually eager to take it. These people all owned a lot of land and obviously did not want to pay more taxes.

However, if they dare to stand up at this time, Xu Huizu of the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion might start to consider 'expelling' some people from the Xu faction.

Chang Mao, the Prince of Kaiping, exudes an imposing aura. If any military officer dares to oppose him, he is unlikely to resort to violence in court, but after court, he is absolutely capable of causing trouble and creating problems.

Since that's the case, it's best not to say anything more. You can't fight city hall, so don't try to fight a losing battle; that's obviously not a wise move.

Seeing Yan Zhenzhi feigning death, Zhu Yunying couldn't help but laugh. Ru Chang was also feigning death at this time. The official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel actually owned quite a bit of land, but it was more important not to say anything at this moment.

The civil officials were frustrated. Ru Chang and Yan Zhenzhi weren't taking the lead, even though they were the emperor's confidants. As for Yu Xin and Bao Zhao, these two were clearly less influential, and they obviously didn't have much power to command a large following in the court.

As for other military ranks, they were insignificant. They had to follow the emperor's will, even if they didn't quite agree with it, they couldn't go against the emperor's wishes, that was the way of life for military officers.