Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 215: Excuse me, have you ever felt despair? [Seeking monthly votes]

"Prince, what does this mean?"

Suppressing the shock, anger, and murderous intent in his heart, Cui Renshi stared at Li Chengqian with a gloomy face and asked word by word.

"literal meaning."

Li Chengqian said calmly and indifferently, "If you're interested, I can give you some guidance. Just follow it!"

"absurd!"

Li Zhen was furious: "You are robbing us by force! We will not agree to this!"

"presumptuous!"

As soon as Li Zhen finished speaking, Cen Wenben stood up from his seat.

Soon, a group of armored soldiers rushed in from outside the door.

Each of them held a sharp knife, ready to kill someone if they had a disagreement.

The heads of the five surnames and seven families couldn't help but twitch their eyelids.

Wang Gui hurriedly tried to appease Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Highness, please calm down. This matter is too serious for us. Please allow us to go back and discuss it, and we will give you an answer later."

"Yes, Your Highness, although we are the heads of the family, we cannot have complete control over family affairs!" Zheng Shanguo echoed, and then frequently exchanged glances with other heads of the family.

Although the other family heads were furious, this was Li Chengqian's territory and they could not act recklessly.

However, Li Chengqian didn't let the other family heads speak, and continued on his own: "I just mentioned the first point. There are two more points, and I will tell you as well. This will save you from having to discuss them incompletely when you go back!"

"Yes, yes, please let me know, Your Highness!" Wang Gui nodded repeatedly with a forced smile.

Now he wanted nothing else but to leave the territory of this 'mad prince' as soon as possible.

He even regretted coming here.

It was obvious that they would not cooperate with Li Chengqian on the first point, let alone the second and third points.

Because giving up the family's land is tantamount to letting them dig their own graves.

Even if they rented their own land to tenants, it would be an insult to their ancestors.

In their minds, tenants were no different from domestic slaves.

Allowing tenants to be self-sufficient is to allow slaves to be in charge.

How could they possibly accept this?
Therefore, they would never agree to Li Chengqian no matter what.

But then Li Chengqian added, "Secondly, in order to promote the growth of the country's population, I propose reducing the number of slaves in the major families, allowing them to return to society, marry, and have children."

"Third, to ensure the development of social science, I propose that arbitrary marriages between aristocratic families be prohibited. Those who are related by marriage within three generations are prohibited from marrying!"

"What!?"

When the family heads heard these two points, their eyes widened.

They couldn't believe their ears!

They never imagined that Li Chengqian would be so cruel!

You know, the reason why aristocratic families have been prosperous for a long time is largely due to the huge population they control and the intermarriage between their families, which creates a strong alliance.

If the number of slaves in their family is reduced, it would be equivalent to weakening the population controlled by their family.

If their family is forbidden from freely marrying, even those who are related by marriage within three generations are not allowed to marry, it would be equivalent to cutting off the vitality of their family.

It is well known that since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the dominant position of aristocratic families has been mainly due to the selection of filial and honest people.

Because all the power to select filial and honest people fell into the hands of officials.

Officials naturally hope that their descendants will also become officials, but those in power do not want this to happen, so they prohibit officials from promoting their descendants.

However, every policy has its own countermeasures.

Since you cannot support your own descendants, then you support my descendants, and I support your descendants, and then we can bind each other through marriage.

In this way, after several generations of officials, they became a prominent family.

The aristocratic families of the Wei and Jin dynasties became the mainstream in the court.

The situation was not so bad during the Wei Dynasty. They just controlled the power of selecting officials and used the Nine-Rank System to control the descendants of the aristocratic group from entering the court as officials.

By the Eastern Jin Dynasty, all power of the court had basically fallen into the hands of the aristocratic families.

The Wang family and the Xie family in the old days were typical aristocratic families in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Among them, Wang Dao, Xie An and others are representatives of aristocratic families.

They always firmly controlled the power in the court, and the imperial power suffered unprecedented damage.

This was the time when the dispute between imperial power and the aristocratic families was the greatest.

It was not until Liu Yu ended the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty that the practice of aristocratic families ruling the country was temporarily put to an end.

However, this is not the end of the aristocratic families' rule.

Although the aristocratic families during the Northern and Southern Dynasties were no longer as rampant as they were during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, they were still active in politics.

Especially the Guanlong Group during the Northern Zhou Dynasty became the leader of the country.

Yang Jian and Li Yuan, who founded the Sui and Tang dynasties, were actually representatives of the Guanlong Group. They were typical representatives of aristocratic families.

However, during the Tang Dynasty, it was not Yang Jian and Li Yuan who effectively suppressed the aristocratic families. Even Yang Guang and Li Shimin failed to effectively suppress the aristocratic families.

But the one who truly and effectively suppressed the aristocratic families was actually Wu Zetian.

The prohibition of arbitrary marriages among aristocratic families proposed by Li Chengqian was actually proposed by Wu Zetian.

However, although Wu Zetian proposed this method, her execution was poor.

Because the aristocratic families would rather let their daughters become concubines of other aristocratic families with no status and no title than marry them to common people.

This largely breaks the method of prohibiting aristocratic families from marrying freely.

However, since Li Chengqian dared to propose this method, it means that he had already thought of how to counter the execution ability of the aristocratic families.

As long as the noble families dare to break his methods, he will use more severe methods to deal with them.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Do you really want to fight us to the death?!" Cui Renshi was so angry at Li Chengqian's three suggestions that veins bulged on his forehead and he gritted his teeth.

But Li Chengqian remained calm. "Master Cui, you're being too serious. What's the point of a desperate struggle? I'm just suggesting you cooperate with me. Aren't you supposed to go back and discuss this? You can go back now!"

"Oh, right!"

After saying that, he slapped his forehead, as if remembering something, and added: "If you have discussed it, don't tell me. As long as you don't stop me, everything will be fine!"

"Humph!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chengqing snorted coldly, then said with a gloomy face: "Your Highness the Crown Prince has forced us into a desperate situation, and you still want us not to stop you. You are really domineering!"

"That's right!"

Li Zhen angrily echoed, "Even His Majesty wouldn't dare treat us this way. You're just the Crown Prince, not the Emperor. Why do you treat us this way?!"

"Oh! Prince, do you think that we are really afraid of you because we took the initiative to seek peace with you?"

Li Shushen sneered, "If the Crown Prince really thinks so, I advise him not to make a mistake. Our family has lasted for hundreds and thousands of years, and it's not something that anyone can control! What about Yang Guang? What was his final fate?"

"The Li Tang dynasty has only been in power for a little over ten years. Do you really think you can secure the throne?"

"Oh?" Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows, then said with a hint of amusement, "Are you threatening me? Or do you have the ability to rebel?"

"you!"

The family heads were choked by Li Chengqian's words.

In terms of ability, they are indeed unable to rebel, but apart from the ability to rebel, they lack nothing.

Therefore, the moment Li Chengqian finished speaking, although they had nothing to say, they completely broke off relations with Li Chengqian.

Cui Renshi took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and then stared at Li Chengqian with a stern gaze, saying in a stern tone, "We originally thought that we could coexist peacefully with the Crown Prince, but now it seems that we were overthinking it."

"Peaceful coexistence can only happen when both parties are willing and mutually agree. What makes you think I'm willing to coexist peacefully with you?"

Li Chengqian glanced at the other family heads with a strange look, then continued, "Or do you think the power you hold can make me compromise with you?"

"Ah!"

Cui Renshi sneered, then without saying a word, he led the family heads to the door.

Just as they were about to leave the gate, Li Chengqian suddenly asked, "Excuse me, Patriarchs, have you ever felt despair?"

"."

The heads of the families all had black lines on their foreheads in an instant, and then they left without saying a word.

Cen Wenben, Liu Rengui and others who watched them leave looked at each other in bewilderment, their hearts filled with turmoil and shock beyond words.

You know, the Five Surnames and Seven Families are like giants in their hearts.

Even though they knew that Li Chengqian was going to suppress the Five Surnames and Seven Families, and even other aristocratic families, they didn't expect him to be so ruthless. It can be said that this was no longer a suppression in the traditional sense, but a devastating blow.

If it weren't for a deep hatred, they really couldn't understand why Li Chengqian did this.

After all, the fact that the heads of the five surnames and seven families came to bow to him personally proved that he was very successful.

However, is it really a good thing to strike such a blow against the aristocratic families?

In other words, is it really beneficial to him as the crown prince?

As if seeing through the confusion of Cen Wenben, Liu Rengui and others, Li Chengqian smiled faintly but did not explain to them.

Because it is not the thinking of the same era, it would be futile to explain it to them.

So, instead of explaining to them, it is better to let them follow your instructions and do everything well.

After all, everything requires a process, not just a result.

"Alright! The fun is about to begin, so hurry up and do what I tell you to do!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand impatiently.

Everyone looked at each other. Although they were confused, they never delayed following Li Chengqian's instructions and quickly got down to work.

At the same time, Henan Road, Weizhou.

As time went on, the grain merchants of the Five Surnames and Seven Families found that not only did they fail to purchase all the grain sold at low prices, but they were losing money every day. Finally, they stopped buying the low-priced grain.

When the grain merchants from other aristocratic families heard the news, they were dumbfounded.

You know, in order to be able to sell grain at high prices in the disaster area, they not only emptied their family's granary, but also bought a large amount of grain at high prices from local grain merchants.

Not counting the transportation costs, even if they pay a high price for the grain, if they sell it at the current price, they will definitely lose money.

If food prices cannot continue to rise, they will lose all their money.

At one time, all the grain merchants from the aristocratic families found the grain merchants from the Five Surnames and Seven Families, hoping to discuss a way to make money with them.

Even if you can't make money, you must never lose money.

But then the Pei family's grain merchant said in a heavy voice, "We can't let them destroy the market like this anymore. We have to stop them!"

"We don't even know which family's grain merchant they are from, how can we stop them?" said the grain merchant of the Fu family.

"Then what should we do? We can't just sit there and wait for death, right?"

"This"

The grain merchants from the aristocratic families were speechless for a while, and then they all looked at the grain merchants from the five surnames and seven families.

All the grain merchants from the five surnames and seven families had solemn expressions and flickering eyes.

It is obvious that not only the grain merchants from these aristocratic families are in trouble, but they are also in trouble.

Although they have stopped buying low-priced food, as long as the low-priced food is sold normally, they will have no market for the food in their hands.

Once the low-priced food allows the people to survive the disaster, when the harvest comes next year, the food in their hands will be even more worthless.

Therefore, they must sell all the food they have before the disaster ends.

Thinking of this, a ruthless look flashed in the eyes of the Cui family grain merchant: "Since they want to sell grain at a low price, we will let them sell as much as they want!"

“Once they’re sold out, we’ll sell them at a higher price!”

"But."

The Li family grain merchant hesitated and said, "We've been buying their grain at low prices for so long, and we haven't bought out all the grain they have. Who has the financial resources to buy grain at all costs?"

"No, I'm not talking about us grain merchants buying their grain, I'm talking about the disaster victims!"

The Cui family official shook his head and laughed, "The needs of the disaster victims far exceed the food we all have. As long as we stop selling food, the disaster victims will definitely flock to their grain stores!"

"Even if they have mountains of food, they will be bought up by the disaster victims!"

"This"

When the grain merchants heard this, their eyes lit up.

"Great! As long as we work together and don't sell any food, the disaster victims will definitely buy up all their food!"

The Lu family grain merchant slapped his thigh excitedly: "When the time comes, there will be no more low-priced grain on the market. We can sell grain at a unified high price. Isn't that great?"

"Not enough! This is far from enough. Based on my understanding of them, the food they have is not enough for the victims in Weizhou to buy up. It would be better to lure the victims from other disaster areas to Weizhou as well, so that we can buy them out sooner!"

"But the imperial court has already promoted locust eradication measures throughout the country. I see local officials gathering victims and eradicating the locusts. They shouldn't let the victims flee to other places!"

"Oh! Most of the local officials are vassals of our family. Let's see if they are willing to offend the court or offend us!"

"That's right, they don't have the guts to do that!"

"Alright, it's settled. Each of you will go back and inform the head of your family to use your existing connections, including the power of the government, to suppress those low-price grain merchants!"

"it is good!"

The grain merchants immediately agreed and returned to the grain store, closed the door and contacted the owner.

the other side,
A grain store called "Xingxing" is counting the grain trucks that have just arrived.

I saw a young man in plain clothes, listening to the report from the accountant while sipping the wine in the glass.

Only after the accountant finished reporting on the grain carts did he smile and say to the other young man, "Rengui, this time it's all thanks to you, otherwise our grain would have been bought up by them!"

"Oh, don't worry, Commander Su is already on the way. This time he has 100,000 dan of grain. Let's see how much money they have to buy the grain!" Xue Rengui said with a smile and waved his hand.

Ma Zhou nodded in satisfaction, then personally poured a glass of wine for Xue Rengui and said with a smile: "In fact, in my opinion, the time is ripe. Selling grain at a low price any longer makes no sense!"

"what?"

Xue Rengui just picked up the wine that Ma Zhou poured for him and asked in surprise, "Then we won't sell them grain at a low price?"

“It’s not that we don’t sell, it’s that they don’t buy!”

"Then, what should we do next?"

Ma Zhou thought for a moment and said, "According to the short-selling method His Royal Highness the Crown Prince told me, when we are sure that grain prices will fall, we can first sell the grain at a low price to lower the price. When the price drops to the lowest point, we can then reverse-purchase and use this grain for disaster relief!"

"But after selling at low prices for a while, I feel that the situation is not developing as we expected, so I plan to change another approach!"

"In what way?"

"Divert the victims!"

"Ok?"

Xue Rengui was slightly stunned, as if he didn't understand.

But Ma Zhou patiently explained, "How much food can your big ship carry in one trip?"

"This"

Xue Rengui thought for a moment and said, "According to the current situation, we can transport at least 30,000 dan of grain in one trip!"

"So when you go back, will it be an empty ship?"

"It must be an empty ship, otherwise what would it carry back?"

"How about pretending to be someone?"

"What!?"

Xue Rengui was surprised and asked, "When you say diversion, do you mean transporting the victims to Jiangling?"

"Yes! We can provide them with food for free, as long as they are willing to go to Jiangling with us!"

Ma Zhou smiled and nodded, saying, "Once we get to Jiangling, we can divert them to other prefectures and counties. That way, wouldn't the difficulty of disaster relief be reduced?"

I rub!

How dare you think!
Xue Rengui raised his hand to support his forehead, and couldn't help but admire Ma Zhou's imagination. He could actually come up with such a method.

However, there was one thing that Xue Rengui was worried about.

"Will the local authorities agree if we do this?"

"I don't know about other states, but the governor of Weizhou is said to be eager to advance. All I have to do is show him the prince's token, hehe."

"Uh, you're awesome!"

Xue Rengui couldn't help but give Ma Zhou a thumbs up, then said thoughtfully, "It's a good idea, but we can't take all the victims away from Weizhou. Otherwise, who will farm the land in Weizhou in the future? Without the people, Weizhou will be finished!"

"Don't worry, I will only divert part of it, not all of it!"

"Hahaha! If we do this, those aristocratic families will probably collapse on the spot. No one will buy their food!"

Ma Zhou raised the corner of his mouth slightly, playing with his wine glass while saying, "Actually, I also want to make progress!"

　[Please give me a monthly ticket, the 10,000-word update has been completed! Please give me a monthly ticket]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)