"Your Majesty, you don't know that under Yan Hanyu's rule, the Yi Kingdom was already in dire straits, with widespread grief. Then, Yan Hanyu launched this final war and increased taxes by another 20%... Now, those four Daoists are truly experiencing a tragedy where there's no smoke from cooking fires for a hundred miles, and people are cannibalizing their own children!"
Zhuo and his party stayed in Tailin City for a while. Even in a capital city like Tailin City, the people were all in a daze and no one had a happy look on their faces.
They seemed to have become numb. Guan Xiaoxi said that when the army entered the city, these people not only did not resist, but also welcomed the army with all their might.
At that moment, smiles appeared on their faces and hope seemed to appear in their eyes.
Therefore, in Zhuo and his group's view, these four paths are particularly in need of help.
Fu Xiaoguan thought for a moment and said, "Then the Ministry of Revenue will have to buy more food, no matter what kind of food, to save their lives first."
"There are two roads in Jingdong and two in Hebei. To overcome this crisis, we have no choice but to build roads. These roads will have to be built sooner or later anyway, so let's take advantage of this opportunity and let the people in these four roads earn some money first."
"The Ministry of Chancellery will issue a letter to the prefects of the four provinces, instructing them to recruit workers on a county basis and build roads according to our road network standards."
Building roads is of course the best solution, but where is the money?
Meng Changping looked at Fu Xiaoguan with a lecherous look. Fu Xiaoguan was silent for a moment. "The Ministry of Revenue will pay from the national treasury first. I will transfer 30 million taels from Nanjing."
Your Majesty, does Jinling have a secret treasury?
The three old men's eyes lit up again, and Fu Xiaoguan glared at them, "What are you thinking? This is money I made in the stock market! It's my private money!"
Fu Xiaoguan's heart was bleeding. It was such a shame to be the emperor.
…
…
Jinling City.
The patriarchs of the three major clans of the former Wu Dynasty gathered together in Chen Shi’s mansion.
They have sold all their properties at the cheapest price.
I had thought that if I won this battle, everything I had lost would naturally come back. But I never expected to lose! And lose so quickly and so miserably!
Now that we have lost, there is of course no way to get it back.
"What should we do now?" Zhou Xun, the patriarch of the Zhou clan, looked ten years older.
"What's strange is the little emperor's attitude towards us. The dynasty has changed, and he seems to have forgotten us."
Chen Shi sneered, "Now that the five countries have united, we are nothing in his eyes."
He took a deep breath. "Now it's all right. We don't have to think about returning to the Wu Dynasty anymore. We're all in the Xia Kingdom anyway. What are you going to do next?"
It is impossible to rebel anymore. It would be better if the little emperor could forget about them. His neck is still cold now. It is hard to say when the little emperor will remember them. Maybe the butcher knife will fall. After all, they all participated in this rebellion.
These days have been so uneasy!
The Lu clan leader, Lu Feng, had dark circles under his eyes.
"Building a ship is impossible. It requires a huge amount of silver! I'm thinking... after this great chaos comes great order. I should start some small business. The tribe can't afford to support them anymore. Tomorrow I plan to go to Yao County and let them fend for themselves."
"I, like Patriarch Lu, have sold all the mines. All I have left are some iron ingots and ironware. I'll sell them for some silver and start some business to make a living."
Chen Shi was dejected. After the defeat in this battle, his old father, the old patriarch, hanged himself in the main house, leaving them only one sentence: You have seen the vicissitudes of life, but the wealth and honor are gone. Don't be obsessed with them, as they are all just clouds and smoke.
The old father saw through it.
With the unification of Great Xia, under the leadership of Fu Xiaoguan, Great Xia will surely prosper. Seeking revenge is a dead end, so it is better to let it go. Being able to live a good life and pass on the family bloodline is a great blessing.
Chen Shi no longer had any desire for revenge. He was simply afraid of Fu Xiaoguan to the core.
"My Chen family only has a little salt left, but we can only exchange it for silver and find another way to make a living."
At this moment, Jinling Prefecture Governor Jin Haozhi walked in with dozens of guards.
He stood in the main courtyard and grinned, "It's all done. It saves me a lot of work."
As soon as these words were spoken, the three clan leaders were so frightened that they fell to their knees with a plop, their faces pale and sweating profusely - was this retribution?
Are you going to lose your head?
Did the little emperor remember them?
Yes, they had originally promised the young emperor to act secretly in the Yu Dynasty, control these three major industries, and wait for the young emperor's next orders.
But they should never have believed the instigation of that Xianyunshan man!
They rebelled against the young emperor, swore allegiance to Emperor Yuan, and stood against him.
How could Fu Xiaoguan possibly forget such traitors!
They couldn't even leave the city gate of Jinling. This was house arrest. They had been waiting for this moment. The little emperor had freed up his hands and it was time to deal with them.
"Get up, what are you kneeling for? There's no imperial decree."
"I dare not. I deserve death. Please release my family members!"
Jin Haozhi was stunned. He didn't know what the Jingzhe Plan and the Chunlei Plan were, but he knew that these three families had lost money on stocks and sold their properties.
"No, what crime deserves death? You were righteous. You used the money from selling your property to redeem the stocks and put an end to the riots of the people of Jinling. Speaking of this, I should thank you. Stand up. I have other business to attend to."
When Chen Shi heard this, he thought, isn't it going to chop off their heads?
As long as he didn't chop off his head, he would be happy. He raised his head and asked, "May I ask what's the matter, sir?"
All right, kneel down if you will. Jin Haozhi then said, "Governor Yan invites the three family heads to the Governor's Mansion to discuss important matters. Hurry up, don't keep Governor Yan waiting for too long!"
After saying this, Jin Haozhi turned around and left, leaving the three family heads kneeling on the ground looking at each other in confusion.
"Governor Yan?" Lu Feng frowned, then quickly opened his eyes and smiled. "Let's go, it might be a good thing!"
Not having your head chopped off is already a great thing. Could it be that... Chen Shi and the other two seemed to have thought of something. The three of them traveled together, and the carriage quickly headed towards the palace.
The Governor's Office is located in the palace and was converted from the former Menxia Province.
Yan Shidao has been very busy these days, and Dong Kangping, the Minister of Revenue, has also been very busy.
There are so many things.
The new policies need to be communicated to the county level, and the new laws need to be known to the entire population. This year, three of the five provinces suffered from severe droughts. The people still have food now, but this food will not last until next year.
"Your Majesty said that grain has been mobilized from Guangnan East Road and Mozhou Road and is already arriving by ship at the Yaoxian dock. The Ministry of Revenue must complete the population census, and also consider the construction of water conservancy projects..."
Yan Shidao was discussing with Dong Kangping and Minister of Works Bi Dong when the three clan leaders walked in nervously under the guidance of the doorman.
"You guys sit down for a while..."
"From the Ministry of Works, send everyone in the court to these three roads now, the sooner the better, so the people have something to do and can earn money...!"
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