Chapter 268: Penetrating Everywhere
The underground palace, the peak of bliss, was now plunged into deathly silence.
Even though Qin Zhaoyue was a broad-minded person, he probably knew how terrifying the aristocratic families were.
But after listening to the story of the God of Wealth's skull, I still felt a chill.
The trouble caused by the aristocratic families is not only in the local area, but has also taken root in Fengjing and is deeply intertwined!
Chengyuan is only a part of it, and can even be regarded as the "obvious" part.
Controlling Fengjing's gambling industry and spying on the secrets of the powerful and wealthy is the duty of the Nine Gates.
As for dealings with the powerful and bribery, they are merely means to maintain control.
The family's establishment in Fengjing did not happen overnight; it took at least several generations of management.
Grain transport, rice, cloth and silk, money shops, pawnshops, carriage and horse-drawn carriages...
These basic industries for people's livelihood are the foundation for the aristocratic families to take root in Fengjing.
After countless years of operation, it is no longer possible to tell how many of them belong to aristocratic families.
It may not be noticed during times of prosperity, but if it is a time of chaos, it is entirely possible to affect prices, manipulate the market, and even block the court's supplies.
It may sound counterintuitive, so Caishenlu gave an example.
How many men make a living from the grain transport business, rice shops, cloth shops, and carriage and horse shops, which are found in every market town?
When it really comes to affecting their life and property, each of them will be those eyes and those hands.
This is the root system!
It is not difficult to imagine Fengjing's huge underground gambling industry, brothels, intelligence, and gray transactions.
The sex-hungry ghosts and those who are obsessed with money laundering and debt collection have screened out a group of people.
What wouldn't these people do for money and sex?
He targeted middle and lower-level officials, fallen nobles and businessmen who were in trouble or greedy for pleasure, and he hit them all.
Don't look down on these people. The first thing that came to Qin Zhaoyue's mind was the city gate guards, or even the palace gates...
Going up a level, the aristocratic families have lasted for hundreds of years, and countless of them have married into the officials and noble families of the capital.
After generations of reproduction and intermarriage, many of the relatives are not on the family tree or are not related at all.
In-laws support and protect each other, forming a complex circle.
Second, students and former officials.
Not to mention the local ones, there are also many in Fengjing.
Cai Shenlu doesn't know much about this aspect and can only guess.
In order to control the aristocratic families, the imperial court would not allow the core descendants of the four major families to occupy important positions in the court.
The aristocratic families also have only bachelors, and would never send their core children to the court.
It seems that none of the four major families holds a position of authority in the court, but this is not the case.
Let’s not talk about recommendations and favors, and just talk about the imperial examinations.
Are there any local students who are dependent on aristocratic families, have they received favors, or have they been secretly cultivated by aristocratic families?
The God of Wealth’s skull is not sure, but he can guess that it will definitely not be a small amount.
Could the imperial court thoroughly investigate every official who passed the imperial examination? Could it identify which of them were from aristocratic families?
No one knows how many there are in the six ministries and the capital's government offices.
Third, support scholars and staff.
He secretly provided generous treatment to his retainers, staff and advisers. The best of them entered the capital through various means and served as staff to important officials and even the royal heirs.
This is more difficult to investigate than the imperial examination. They have no official titles, but they may directly influence decision-making and spy on secrets.
Upper, middle, and lower, this is how the aristocratic families have penetrated Fengjing deep into its bones.
Damn it, Qin Zhaoyue slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.
Fortunately, the original body was not worthy of assistance and did not leave her with any staff or counselors.
The only rebellious maid was dealt with early on, and now her grave is probably covered with weeds.
In fact, Cai Shenluan did not come into contact with many family affairs, and most of these were his guesses.
After all, there was the lesson of Guiya, so it was normal for him to spy secretly and want to keep some tricks up his sleeve.
But this is just his perspective. Qin Zhaoyue suspects that the truth may be even more terrible than this.
To sum it up in one sentence: penetrating every pore and deep into the bone marrow.
She couldn't help but wonder, it seemed that operating on Chengyuan wasn't particularly useful.
Of course, controlling the opening of the gambling industry in a short period of time, spreading public opinion to encourage talented women to join the game, and even confiscating a large amount of property, these are all benefits, but...
With His Majesty's fickle character, is this really the case?
Qin Zhaoyue always felt that it was not that simple.
But to throw such a major issue as dealing with the aristocratic families to an inexperienced princess as a test?
Tsk, who would believe this?
I guess he already had a comprehensive plan, and she was just a runner-up.
Thinking of this, he glanced at the person beside him.
Dou Zuan received a meaningful look, but didn't hear any sound transmission, and was completely confused.
Qin Zhaoyue sighed inwardly.
It's only been a short time since we traveled through time, but the strength has increased so quickly.
When I thought about Sui Mo, who had just been promoted to the fourth rank, being by my side, I felt a little nervous.
As a Dragon Nation soul, she understood that this was entirely due to insufficient firepower.
A blacksmith must be strong himself. I originally thought of accumulating merit points slowly, but now I feel a little urgent.
The sooner you enter the realm of divine martial arts, the sooner you can feel at ease.
After a brief thought, no matter how much deeper meaning is hidden behind it, just grab the merit points first.
So he immediately sent a message: "Can I make the decision here?"
Thinking of what the boss said when he left, Dou Zuan replied, "Okay."
He thought that if the Sixth Prince made any unreasonable requests, such as taking the treasures in the secret room, it would not be too late to refuse.
Otherwise, her mouth...
After receiving a positive answer, Qin Zhaoyue immediately gave the order:
"First, order all underground casinos in Fengjing to temporarily suspend the issuance of all gambling chips.
Anyone who disobeys will be arrested immediately.
In addition, the recalculated interest already paid cannot exceed nine out of thirteen."
What casino gamblers fear most is compound interest, the snowball will only get bigger and bigger.
Anyone who does not have the initial determination to take drastic measures will basically fall into the trap and end up being at the mercy of others.
The interest rate of nine out and thirteen back can really be considered conscientious. Qin Zhaoyue did not even think of waiving the interest for a group of addicted gamblers.
In one word, deserve it!
"Secondly, underground funds will no longer be circulated through that old auction house. All funds will flow directly through the Nine Gates. For the time being, they will only be collected and not released."
The God of Wealth's skull has a great function, that is, all the gray industry funds within the radiation range of the Nine Gates are actually controlled by him.
If we just hold it back and don't let it go, at least we can cut off one of their arms, or a hand or a finger will do, but we can't let them have an easy time.
"Third, Chengyuan will be closed from tonight and will no longer accept guests.
Gather all the slaves and place them in a safe place, provide them with food and water, and don't delay the treatment of those who are injured or sick."
"Fourth, the Nine Gates must have a certain amount of business intelligence about human traffickers and slave traders. Tell them everything and shut them down."
Regardless of whether Xuanjiwei originally had such an intention, Qin Zhaoyue has now made it known, so she must take part of the credit.
Dou Zuan nodded. There was nothing unusual about these four points.
"As for the fifth point..."
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