A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 295 Your Majesty
One day and night.

The world then completely changed color.

The people of Chang'an were unaware of what had happened, only hearing that His Majesty had been unwell for some time and that Dong Zhongshu, a close minister of the central court, intended to emulate Li Si of the Qin Dynasty by forging imperial edicts in a rebellious act. However, this was discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who rushed to escort the Emperor back to the palace that very night. Seeing that things were hopeless, his accomplices, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, launched a mutiny, intending to assassinate the Emperor. However, they were killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and His Majesty returned to the palace unharmed. The Grand Marshal and General Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Chancellor Gongsun Hong, and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Chen Mo uncovered the entire conspiracy, and the rebel leader Dong Zhongshu and his followers were successively executed or captured.

The news shocked the entire nation.

The world was shocked by Dong Zhongshu's audacity and recklessness, who was considered the "patriarch of Confucian scholars," and he was subsequently subjected to countless scornful curses.

What a pedantic scholar! He actually thinks the Han Dynasty is the tyrannical Qin Dynasty?

Just as spring was in full bloom, memorials from 144 prefectures of the Han Dynasty poured into the capital, demanding severe punishment for Dong Zhongshu and a purge of Confucianism.

The latter one was clearly the work of the various schools of thought during the Warring States period. However, with the Grand Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, Gongsun Hong, who was considered a cradle of Confucianism, standing in the way, it was clear that a purge was unlikely.

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Hall.

Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Gongsun Hong, Chen Mo, and Zhang Tang came to pay their respects.

The "Plan to Welcome the Emperor" has been successfully completed. His Majesty has lost all means of control and entered the Divine Dragon Palace. He fell ill while trying to cleanse the blood of his relatives and has been ill ever since, far from being cured.

Families of founding fathers, officials and powerful clans, wealthy merchants, wandering knights and thieves... all those who participated in the restoration were recorded.

News of the deaths of members of the Yuan Gong family, such as Hou and Hou, came one after another. Officials and powerful families in the court were all killed by bandits and thieves on their way out of the capital. Families of wealthy merchants also suffered from the ravages of bandits and thieves, and countless families were wiped out. The court issued an edict to severely crack down on bandits and thieves. With the cooperation of local prominent families, the effect was remarkable. Within the territory of the Han Dynasty, wandering knights and thieves almost disappeared.

The world was in turmoil, yet there was no visible turmoil. Most ordinary people were oblivious, working day and night to cultivate the land. After the land ban was lifted, the Han Dynasty presented a vibrant scene of life.

Spring has arrived, and spring plowing is about to begin. At this time, even an extra bit of land will result in a larger harvest in autumn. Apart from chatting over tea and after meals, who has time to care about the changes of the wealthy?

Even if a bloody incident occurs nearby, without witnessing it firsthand, one can only lament that too few people died.

Why aren't all those corrupt officials and unjustly wealthy people dead?

The wealthy and powerful no longer resisted migration, or rather, dared not resist it. It was impossible to completely hide the demise of those powerful merchant families from everyone. Everyone knew that theft in Guanzhong and Guandong could not have been so rampant. Most importantly, many of the thieves in the vicinity were "raised" by wealthy families. As for me personally taking action, how could I not know it?
There is only one true "culprit," and that is the imperial court.

However, no powerful official was willing to offend the court over the death of a merchant, nor was any of them willing to grieve even a little. They were so terrified that they dared not disregard the court's orders.

His Majesty has lost the possibility of restoration, and the wealthy families have lost the possibility of resistance. If we delay further on the migration route, are we afraid that the "bandits" roaming the land of Han are not rampant enough?
The Hua Mansion, built on the original sites of Jianzhang Palace, Gui Palace, Bei Palace, and Mingguang Palace, and valued at three hundred taels of gold, is being sold off rapidly.

Some astute nobles, looking at the already soaring taxes of eight out of ten, had some suspicions: even if their families didn't openly engage in business, or even did not engage in business at all, they might still lose their wealth.

To put it more bluntly, the imperial court could easily lose everything if the Crown Prince issued an edict or decree. Rather than waiting for the Crown Prince to come and cut them down, it's better to take the initiative and convert family wealth into tangible assets. The Crown Prince's mansion is worth buying.

Buying the Crown Prince's mansion is, in a sense, paying money to His Highness the Crown Prince. I don't expect the Crown Prince to remember me; I only hope that, in a good mood, His Highness will lift the knife from my neck a little.

That's impossible. When it comes time to behead someone, the blade will be faster than others, so they won't suffer as much pain.

Furthermore, after the relocation order, Chang'an City became the true center of power and economy of the Han Dynasty. The Hua Mansion, which costs 300 gold coins, may be expensive now, but it may not be expensive in the future.

Their foresight led countless wealthy individuals to exchange their personal wealth and family fortune for luxurious mansions. Even if they couldn't travel to Chang'an themselves, they would send trusted stewards and servants to Chang'an to purchase mansions.

Eighteen thousand mansions are clearly not enough.

"Your Majesty."

Gongsun Hong changed his form of address and said respectfully, "During this great 'catastrophe' of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court recovered a total of 14 million gold. Of this, 3 million gold came from gifts from meritorious families, 5 million gold came from the expenses of the wealthy Hua family, and 6 million gold came from wealthy merchants and the ownerless wealth of the imperial court in its crackdown on wandering knights and thieves."

Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Zhang Tang all turned their heads in disbelief.

It should be noted that after the Crown Prince took over the country, the annual tax revenue of the Han Dynasty had skyrocketed from 500,000 gold coins, which had remained unchanged for many years, to more than 1.2 million gold coins, and the treasury gradually became full.

Fourteen million gold coins would take twenty-eight years to collect, longer than His Majesty's entire reign, and even the current tax revenue of the Han Dynasty would probably take ten years.

The Battle of Hexi, the Battle of Dai, the Battle of Nanyue, the Battle of Dongyue... The Han Dynasty launched a full-scale war. In the past two years, hundreds of thousands of infantry and cavalry have fought, but only spent a little over three million gold. This amount of money is enough for the Han Dynasty to launch four more full-scale wars of this scale.

Huo Qubing couldn't even imagine how far he could fight with so much money.
Wei Qing was more composed, knowing that this was the money paid by the Yuan Gong family for their services, the protection money paid by officials and powerful clans, and the money paid by wealthy merchants, wandering knights and thieves.

Is it too much?

It cost me my life.

They take the lives of wealthy merchants, chivalrous thieves, and bandits, and gain their wealth in return.

Even Wei Qing felt it was a bit too little, after all, such methods of plundering the wealth of the world could not be replicated.

Furthermore, after the prosperous reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, the Han Dynasty had accumulated tens of millions of gold coins. In the past twenty years, His Majesty had squandered them through extravagance and military expansion, but gold, silver, and copper cannot be consumed. Wei Qing did not believe that money could simply disappear into thin air; it must have flowed somewhere else.

Wei Qing would always read the monthly reports on state affairs sent by the Prime Minister's office, no matter how busy he was. Gradually, he gained a deeper understanding of political, economic, and other matters beyond military affairs.

The money is definitely still in the hands of the living wealthy families!
(End of this chapter)