Fu Shanhe

Chapter 297 Dividing the spoils
Compared with the disputes in the court, the changes in Jinan city were not even worth mentioning.

A large amount of evidence was laid out on the table, and the Shanxi merchants who had originally cooperated with them chose to cut ties immediately.

Senior officials from the court intervened, and after private communication among all parties, they directly sold out all the gentry in Jinan.

It was obvious that he was just cooperating with Shanxi merchants to sell stolen goods, but in the case files, it was described as him joining the Northern Tartars for profit, engaging in smuggling trade, and acting as a spy for the Northern Tartars.

Upon seeing such an investigation report, Emperor Yongning was naturally furious.

Without any hesitation, all the sons of these families who were officials in the court were thrown into prison and transferred to the Sansi Yamen for trial.

The Sansi Yamen, which had always been inefficient, was efficient for once this time and directly put the blame for the invasion of the northern barbarians on them.

It's not that everyone is heartless, it's just that the court needs a scapegoat now to give an explanation to the people of the world.

During this process, the Shanxi merchants were the most ruthless in taking advantage of others' misfortunes.

Fearing that he would be implicated, and in order to solve the case as quickly as possible, even Li Mu received a generous gift.

With the joint efforts of all parties, a group of Jinan gentry whose properties were confiscated were directly sentenced to immediate execution.

He didn't even have a chance to appeal and was directly dragged out and chopped off.

Even the distant branches of the family received a large gift package of exile.

……

"My Lord, please take a look at these confiscated accounts.

Unfortunately, a large amount of treasure was given to the Northern Tartars by these traitors, and most of what was seized were rare books, antiques, jades, and real estate.”

Li Mu said with a look of regret.

Confiscating property and destroying the entire family is not the goal; dividing the spoils is the key.

As the specific executors, the army that supports the king should get a share.

The commander-in-chief Wuyang Hou, who came forward to stir up hatred, certainly cannot work in vain.

During this process, court officials who made great contributions also had to share a share.

As the capital of Shandong, Jinan is home to a large number of literati families.

It seemed that the action was directed at the gentry in Jinan, but in fact all the powerful civil service families and merchants in Shandong were involved.

The Kong family, descendants of the sage, are also involved in this case.

However, in order to reduce the political impact, the court handled them in a low-key manner.

The emperor bestowed three feet of white silk on the people involved in the case to give them dignity.

“They actually confiscated so many fields?”

After taking a quick look at the accounts, Marquis Wuyang couldn't help but exclaimed.

He was naturally aware of the serious problem of private land annexation, but he never imagined it to be so serious.

Just by confiscating more than a dozen families, more than 30 million acres of land were contributed, which is more than the land of some provinces.

“My Lord, among these 30 million acres of land, more than half was contributed by the Kong family.

They are not only distributed in Shandong, but also in several neighboring provinces, where they have fields.

We got this approximate number by interrogating members of the Kong family.

If we dig deeper, perhaps the final number will be even larger.

As for the land of other families, not all of them are their property, most of them are registered with private individuals.

It seemed that only a dozen families were searched, but in fact each family had many branches, and there were nearly a thousand gentry and officials involved.

The imperial court only executed the main culprit, and there are still a large number of collateral branches that have not yet been eliminated. "

Li Mu began to explain.

In the clan society, what matters is that if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

The imperial examination system also has loopholes that can be exploited.

Officials are also human beings, and they all have descendants to take care of.

When someone in a family becomes a high-ranking official, the number of people in the entire family who gain fame and honor will increase rapidly.

Generally speaking, as long as one's academic level reaches a certain level, one can be guaranteed a place in the imperial court.

After passing the imperial examination and entering officialdom, one can also be taken care of by his clansmen and his career will be much smoother than that of ordinary people.

As long as the family tradition is strict and there are no problems within the family, it will grow like a snowball.

Even if a clan member has limited abilities and cannot pass the imperial examination, he or she can still enter officialdom as a juren or scholar.

Although the position is slightly lower and the ceiling for development is not high, it is still an official position.

It is not difficult for an official to accumulate thousands of acres of land after serving for decades.

The higher the official position, the more wealth one accumulates.

There is no need to deliberately embezzle money. The daily profits from the government and the income from personal relationships can be used to build up these businesses.

As long as you hold power, people will give you gifts.

Many times, it is impossible to refuse, especially when you are working in a local position. Merchants will not feel at ease if you do not accept gifts.

Most people who are able to develop in officialdom for a long time will eventually become ordinary people.

With the addition of self-operated businesses, the actual profits will only be greater.

Wealth accumulation is a snowball process. The richer you are, the easier it is to make money.

Especially when wealth and power are combined, you can make a lot of money in any business.

When you have money, buy land.

With accumulation from generation to generation, any official family would own tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.

If we include those affiliated with private enterprises, the number will be even larger.

This shows that he knows the rules and does not abuse his power to levy heavy taxes.

If you are a little greedy, you may be able to harvest hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land once you have power.

There is no doubt that these guys that Li Mu is investigating now are all greedy.

Obviously, they all have a fortune and don't need to do anything anymore and can live a comfortable life.

Under the temptation of profit, these greedy guys still went to hoard goods to make a fortune in the national crisis. "The number is too large to report directly, otherwise it will cause a big disaster.

If this is the case in Shandong, then the situation is probably similar across the country.

Your Majesty cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. Once he knows that the people below have accumulated such a huge wealth, he will definitely be furious.

Now that we have broken this window paper, our days in officialdom will not be easy in the future.

It is correct not to include cash and bulk commodities on the list, otherwise it would be even more troublesome.

I won’t ask how many there are exactly.

Keep one year's salary aside for emergencies, and you can distribute the rest yourself."

Marquis Wuyang thought for a moment and said.

Sometimes too much wealth can also be a huge trouble.

Compared with previous house searches, this time it was the army that was responsible for defending the king, and there were no middlemen to make a profit from the difference.

If it were the local government that took action and divided the spoils up layer by layer, it would be considered good if one tenth could be kept.

"My Lord, if you can't report it, then you can sell part of it for cash.

Although Shandong has experienced war, it is close to the capital and the land is still easy to handle.

Especially for land close to the capital, the discount will not be too serious.

There are too many antiques, calligraphy and paintings to deal with in a short time, so it is better to use them to bribe officials in the court.

I will select some rare copies and send them to Your Majesty as a token of my appreciation."

Li Mu thought for a while and said.

He is best at selling stolen goods, and there are so many sons of nobles in the army who are ready-made connections.

Antiques, calligraphy and paintings are difficult to value, but the value of land is recognized by everyone.

Although land prices have fallen due to the war, the overall fluctuation will not be too large.

Grain prices in the north are currently high, and land that used to take more than a decade to recover costs can now be recovered in just a few years.

As long as people's hearts are stabilized and there is an opportunity for publicity, people will buy land.

"Um!

Let's do as you say.

The northern barbarian army has begun to retreat, and now it is the turn of the government troops to counterattack.

The various armies that have come to support the king have not performed well in previous battles, so they must all perform well in the next ones, and we cannot be absent.

Although the main force of the enemy has left, there are still 30,000 troops left outside the city, which may be difficult to deal with."

Compared with dividing the spoils, Marquis Wuyang was more concerned about the upcoming war.

As long as you hold power, opportunities to make a fortune are always there.

He has already completed the initial stages of his journey from being a relative of the emperor to becoming a military noble, and all that is left is the final step of enthronement.

The more times like this happen, the greater the psychological pressure.

Logically speaking, he should play it safe now, as avoiding mistakes is a success.

But he couldn't help but express the emperor's nephew's earnest hope.

We don't expect to completely annihilate the enemy, but we must at least make some noise and prevent the enemy from escaping unscathed.

"My Lord, those outside the city are all Guifang cavalry, and their fighting power is inferior to that of the Tatars.

Judging from the retreat sequence, their position should mean they should be the last to evacuate.

If there is cooperation from other government troops, there is indeed a certain probability that they can be kept.

However, the situation between the imperial court and Liaodong Town was very tense, so even if they were willing to join the war, they would not be able to work hard.

The other troops lack cavalry and may find it difficult to achieve complete success.

In my opinion, it is better to wait and see the situation first, and look for the enemy's weaknesses before taking action.

In a sense, the Northern Tartars kept them here as scapegoats.

Whether or not to inflict severe damage on them, or even annihilate them, involves complex political issues.

Why not report the problem to His Majesty first and see what he thinks."

Li Mu hinted immediately.

Although military achievements are good, they also attract attention.

In this battle to support the king, their performance has been very impressive.

If you make any more great achievements, you will become the target of public criticism.

The smartest thing to do is to bring people over and share the pressure.

If the war was ordered by the emperor, then they could take advantage of the situation and put the credit on the emperor.

Not only can we get closer to the emperor, but everyone's rewards will not be reduced.

Anyway, in the eyes of all parties, they are all direct descendants of Emperor Yongning, so it is nothing to bypass the Ministry of War and contact the emperor directly.

"Are you really sure that you can keep the enemy troops outside the city?"

Marquis Wuyang asked with concern.

If you want to get closer to others, the prerequisite is to win a great victory.

If we lose the battle, it will be counterproductive.

“It’s unrealistic to keep them all, but if we inflict severe damage on them, there is still a chance.

The main force of the Northern Tartars had already left, and the nearest grassland cavalry was more than two hundred miles away from them.

And this distance is getting farther and farther.

The enemy troops outside the city have essentially become isolated.

I have already ordered the navy to enter the Yellow River. If necessary, we can..."

(End of this chapter)