Chapter 469 Funding
Wang Shaoqing and Lord Li fell to their knees with a thud, their foreheads touching the cold floor tiles, unable to even utter a proper plea for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! I have failed to properly educate my son... I am guilty!"
The smile on Huo Lin's lips did not disappear; instead, it grew even colder.
"You failed to raise your son properly?" His voice was calm, yet carried immense force. "He rode his horse recklessly, destroyed fields, injured civilians, and uttered arrogant words. Minister Wang, Minister Li, what a fine son you have raised! What a show of power!"
With each word he spoke, Wang and Li's faces paled further, cold sweat poured down their backs, almost soaking through their heavy court robes. They wished they could faint on the spot, but dared not.
Huo Lin looked down at them, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Ah, I'm afraid that if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too; such is the family's character!
They are used to indulging in extravagance and pleasure, and their children are allowed to run rampant. Do they really think this capital city is their backyard?
Perfect, this is a good opportunity to get rid of these parasites who have been entrenched for years, along with the other parasites that have been sucking the people's blood and sweat. It will also help build up her school.
This achieves multiple goals at once, which is excellent.
Huo Lin stopped looking at the two limp men and turned his gaze to the officials in charge of supervision and the Minister of Justice.
"With witnesses and physical evidence, and the facts of the case clear, the three judicial departments are ordered to conduct a joint trial and investigate the case strictly and swiftly. Anyone involved, regardless of their official rank, will be thoroughly investigated and dealt with without any leniency!"
"Your Majesty, we obey!" the ministers replied solemnly.
In the following days, the entire capital was in a state of panic.
Huo Lin had been patient for many years, but now that he had made his move, he acted swiftly and decisively, showing no mercy.
Under the guise of thoroughly investigating corruption and purging officialdom, he used the case of the Wang and Li families as a breakthrough point to follow the clues and wield the butcher's knife against a group of aristocratic families who had long been seriously corrupt and even had close ties with the Empress Dowager.
The first to be affected were those powerful families who had repeatedly challenged the young emperor in court and relied on their deep-rooted influence.
Confiscating property, sealing assets, imprisoning, interrogating, exiling... imperial edicts were issued one after another like snowflakes, swift and decisive, without any hesitation or delay, giving the other side no chance to coordinate or react.
The once grand mansions, with their vermilion gates and embroidered doors, now completely surrounded by soldiers.
Boxes upon boxes of heavy gold and silver ingots, rare and precious calligraphy and paintings, and countless land deeds and shop documents symbolizing wealth and power were continuously carried out from those high walls and deep courtyards, registered, and all deposited into the national treasury.
The once arrogant officials and their families are now either ashen-faced or wailing and lamenting, stripped of their official positions and fine clothes, imprisoned, and awaiting their fate.
The entire government and the public were shaken. Those officials who usually relied on their seniority and held their positions without doing anything were now terrified and walking on thin ice. Their behavior instantly became much more restrained, fearing that they would be the next to be purged.
The national treasury, which had been somewhat depleted due to projects such as disaster relief, border defense military pay, and border trade construction, is now rapidly replenished, much like rain after a long drought, greatly alleviating the fiscal pressure of recent years.
That evening, the autumn wind had already taken on a slightly chilly feel.
When Huo Lin returned to Weiyang Palace, his brows showed the weariness of days of hard work, but his eyes were sharp and clear, like a sword that had been tempered.
Jiang Huan was holding a charcoal pencil, sketching and drawing on paper, planning the layout of the girls' school. When she saw Huo Lin enter, she put down her pencil and went to greet him.
"You're back? Have you finished everything?" She naturally took the outer robe he had taken off; it was slightly cool to the touch, carrying the chill of the autumn night.
Huo Lin hummed in response, his voice low and hoarse.
He raised his hand and rubbed his tense brows vigorously. When his gaze fell on Jiang Huan, his sharpness quietly melted away.
[Finally, we've cleaned up those biggest and fattest bookworms. The buzzing noises in the court should finally quiet down for a while.]
The confiscated items were truly shocking; enough to fill several holes in the national treasury.
[It's a bit tiring, though. I don't even feel this exhausted after a whole day of reviewing memorials, but just having her around makes it all worthwhile.]
Hearing his heartfelt words of encouragement, Jiang Huan reached out and hugged him, gently patting his back.
"Are you tired? I've had some hot water prepared. Why don't you take a soak to relax?"
Huo Lin shook his head, but didn't let go of her. Instead, he put his arm around her and walked to the edge of the couch to sit down. He pulled a booklet out of his sleeve, waved it in front of her with a little pride, and then handed it to her.
"Here you go." He said casually, as if he were just handing over an ordinary trinket.
Jiang Huan took it with some doubt, opened it and saw that it was a copy of the list of confiscated property, which listed gold, silver, land, shops and other items, the amount of which was staggering.
At the end of the list, a line was written in red ink: "Allocate 200,000 taels of silver to establish a girls' school. The Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Revenue shall cooperate in handling all necessary matters."
Jiang Huan's eyes widened as she looked up at him, her voice rising slightly in surprise: "So many?"
This is no small sum; it's enough to build a sizable school and keep it running for a long time.
Huo Lin looked at her surprised expression, a slight smile appearing on his lips. The gloom of the past few days was dispelled by her vivid expression.
“Since we’re going to do it, we should do it properly and properly so that it can be passed down for generations.” He was stating a very simple fact, but the strength and support behind it were unquestionable. “From now on, you don’t need to worry about the money anymore. You can leave everything to me.”
Look at her surprised little face, her eyes wide open, so cute! It was worth it, these past few days of hard work weren't in vain.
[Moreover, the money I obtained from confiscating property... no, from reforming the bureaucracy, can be spent however I want. Let's see who dares to utter a single word of dissent!]
[Now she can use it freely, right? Otherwise, she'll always be scheming to cut back on her allowance, or thinking about which lady to ask for money from.]
[My Empress, if you wish to do something for the women of the land, must you have to be subservient to others and beg for handouts?]
Jiang Huan felt a mix of emotions upon hearing his nouveau riche-like words, finding them both amusing and touching.
Although those aristocratic families were extravagant and corrupt, and deserved their punishment, behind such enormous wealth lay countless amounts of hard-earned money from the people.
She closed the booklet, looked up at Huo Lin, her eyes clear and earnest: "With this special fund, the establishment of the school will proceed much more smoothly. Thank you, Huo Lin, but..."
She paused, leaned closer, and said with some concern, "Cleaning up the bureaucracy is a good thing, and those corrupt officials should be eliminated, but we also need to be careful not to involve too many people or cause too much of a stir, so as not to give some restless people the opportunity to stir up trouble, and... also to reduce the amount of bloodshed."
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