The Li family mansion was very lively that day, with forty or fifty members of their main family, and they all behaved quite normally.
However, the beggars and vagrants who were invited to impersonate family members ate heartily at the table, their eating manners quite unseemly.
This scene further convinced Zhu Yunwen that these people were indeed refugees.
A smile spread across his face as he thought to himself, "Eat as much as you can. This might be a rare opportunity for these refugees and ordinary people to eat such good food."
Overall, everyone had a great time at the gathering, and Zhu Yunwen was particularly happy because he could tease the Li family.
The refugees were happy because they had good food and clothes, while the Li family was happy because their Crown Prince had come to visit.
Each has its own satisfaction.
After finishing his meal, Zhu Yunwen showed no intention of leaving, saying he planned to stay at the Li family's residence for a few more days.
This made the head of the Li family very happy, believing that the Crown Prince had taken a liking to the Li family and that the Li family would surely rise to even greater heights in the future.
Therefore, they could not obtain it.
That very evening, the head of the Li family sat in the living room, a smile on his face, and said to the butler:
"His Highness the Crown Prince will stay a few more days. We must buy the best food for him during these days and make sure he eats and drinks well."
The butler hesitated for a moment and said:
"Sir, what about the beggars, vagrants, and ordinary people we invited?"
Upon hearing this, the head of the Li family frowned, and then said:
"It would indeed be a considerable expense to involve them. However, they are nominally members of the Li family now. If we don't let them participate, it would be bad if things were exposed."
The butler said, "So what the master means is that they should continue to eat, drink and use the same things as us, just like our own family."
The head of the Li family nodded and said, "That's settled then. It's only for a few days anyway. Although there will be huge expenses, it's a good thing that His Highness the Crown Prince is staying at our residence."
Besides, we might find a way to get more land through these beggars and refugees in the future. Either way, we won't lose out.
Since the master has said so, the steward nodded and said:
"I understand, I'll get on it right away."
The head of the Li family even smiled and said:
"This time, not only will we be able to obtain more land through the land distribution decree, but we are also fortunate enough to have His Highness the Crown Prince stay in our residence for so long. From now on, in Luoyang Prefecture, my Li family can be considered one of the top families."
Thinking of this, the head of the Li family became even happier, completely unaware that he had been tricked by Zhu Yunwen.
They were still very willing to continue spending money on those homeless people and beggars.
And for the next few days, Zhu Yunwen did indeed stay at the Li family mansion.
The Li family held lavish banquets every day, with more than 400 people in total, including the main family members, the more than 300 beggars, vagrants, and ordinary people they invited to impersonate family members.
Every day, forty tables of sumptuous fish and meat dishes are prepared, and the family members invited are provided with fine clothes and accommodations.
Such an expense is considerable.
Even though the Li family is a large clan, they were struggling to keep up with such expenses after just a few days.
Fortunately, Zhu Yunwen left the Li family with a smile on the fourth day. After leaving the Li family, the beggars and refugees who had been impersonating members of the Li family were still somewhat reluctant to part with him.
After all, they had never eaten such good food in their lives, and they ate it every day for several days in a row.
As soon as Zhu Yunwen left the Li family, the ordinary people, refugees, and beggars who had impersonated members of the Li family suddenly found themselves unable to get any good food.
Every day returned to a simple life of coarse tea and plain food, but Zhu Yunwen did not stop his petty tricks.
So he went to another prominent family and stayed there for a few more days. This family treated Zhu Yunwen in the same way as the Li family, and was forced to treat those refugees, commoners and beggars who were pretending to be family members as their own.
Over the course of a few days, this also caused them to suffer significant financial losses.
In this way, Zhu Yunwen spent half a month staying at several aristocratic families for several days at a time, causing each of them to bleed heavily.
It also allowed those refugees, commoners, and beggars to experience a few days of true aristocratic life.
Afterwards, Zhu Yunwen went to the government office in Luoyang. He had already swindled those powerful families.
Now it's time to use our trump card.
Upon arriving at the prefectural government office, Zhu Yunwen said to the prefect:
"The prominent families in Luoyang Prefecture are all very sensible. I am very satisfied with their hospitality."
The prefect smiled and said, "They are all nobles in Luoyang Prefecture, so we cannot neglect His Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said, "Furthermore, I am quite satisfied with the support these aristocratic families have for the court's policies."
However, these imperial decrees also have shortcomings, so I need to make some temporary adjustments.
The prefect, unaware that Zhu Yunwen was setting a trap, quickly smiled and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Your Highness, the issuance of this series of decrees demonstrates great wisdom and foresight, which I greatly admire. I only wonder what changes Your Highness intends to make to these decrees this time?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled without saying a word, took out a booklet, wrote some things in it, stamped it with his seal, and handed it to a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, saying:
"Hurry up and send this order back to Nanjing to the Ministry of Revenue. This order is a supplement and improvement to the land distribution decree, which has not yet been implemented. I think this supplement should be timely."
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