Transmigrating into Murong Fu, may you have many children and much happiness.

Chapter 229 Asking the Father-in-Law to Step Down

There were actually many reasons why Murong Fu declared himself emperor.

Firstly, he witnessed too much of the hardships of ordinary people in the world of Divine Condor, and seeing the so-called royal relatives and nobles made him feel disgusted with their stupidity.

Secondly, Murong Fu also discovered that only by becoming the monarch of the country, or even the ruler of the world, could he continue to increase the exploration progress without having to exert himself excessively.

Thirdly, only by becoming emperor himself, becoming the sun that never sets, can he truly achieve a stable life.

Otherwise, if Jinting rises today and Mongolia unifies tomorrow... it would be better to just bring them all under one rule and solve the problem completely.

As it happened, Zhao Xu ran right into the line of fire, and after some deliberation, Murong Fu became emperor.

But Murong Fu didn't become emperor to create trouble for himself. Once he had built a system that could operate on its own, he could continue to be a hands-off ruler.

This world is made up of individual homes, and of numerous villages and settlements.

Once good rules are established, the system will naturally function properly.

Therefore, Murong Fu planned to first find some people among these "honest officials" who could agree with his political ideas.

After Murong Fu finished speaking, all the ministers looked at each other.

The old man with the unibrow said, "The Northern Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties all implemented the equal-field system... but, but they all failed."

I think this land equalization system... won't work!

Murong Fu, naturally, had to answer the normal questions, saying:

"That's because they were too lenient and indulgent with the policies of powerful families, local tycoons, and even local officials!"

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, powerful families took over pastures and wastelands under the guise of "common land". In order to maintain tax revenue, the government tacitly allowed the powerful families to collect taxes, which was a disguised recognition of land privatization.

After the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, military governors converted their assigned land into private property and even used it to reward their personal soldiers.

Once I unify all the kingdoms, the established rules will be immutable.

Under heaven, all land belongs to the king; all land is nationalized, and the concept of private land no longer exists.

All subjects under the rule, upon reaching the appropriate age, can claim a sufficient share of land in their village for self-cultivation based on their status.

You only need to pay about 20% of the taxes to the government each year, but the exact amount needs to be calculated in detail...

"No!!! How could this be?!"

Suddenly, a young official interrupted Murong Fu, continuing:

"You scoundrel! By seizing all the land in the country for the state, you are going against all the powerful families and gentry!!!"

You are threatening to destroy the very foundation of my Great Song Dynasty!

Murong Fu ignored him and instead asked Tong Guan, "Whose family does this person belong to?"

Tong Guan knew the details of these officials like the back of his hand and immediately reported them truthfully.

Murong Fu nodded and said, "No wonder he's not greedy for money. His family is a prominent clan; he doesn't need to embezzle it himself."

After he finished speaking, an invisible sword aura split the official in two.

He then said, "You can raise your opinions, but I will not accept this kind of stupid insults and defamation."

As I said before, those who didn't leave just now can't leave now.

Anyone standing here now who doesn't agree with my reforms will die.

Murong Fu's reforms will not be implemented until the unification of the several countries.

He could already foresee the backlash from powerful families, landlords, and gentry, and he could also foresee the countless heads he would be slaughtered.

But the land system is a stubborn problem that requires drastic measures.

There are ready-made examples from past lives.

Some things are only truly yours if they aren't meant to be. Conversely, if something is truly yours, it might not actually be yours.

After all, medical conditions are poor nowadays, and natural disasters are frequent.

Ordinary families simply have no ability to withstand risks; once they fall ill or suffer a disaster, they will inevitably have to sell their land.

Landlords would also take advantage of such times to relentlessly drive down prices and complete mergers.

Murong Fu was a landlord in Gusu, owning vast tracts of fertile land. Their market rate was that they would charge farmers 50% of the land rent, and even 60% for the best land.

The rent from the Murong family was slightly lower, and the tenants felt incredibly fortunate to be able to rent land from them.

"Sow a single grain in spring, reap ten thousand in autumn; though there is no idle land under heaven, farmers still starve to death." This is no joke.

Murong Fu also gave instructions that rent would be reduced or even waived during famine years, but other families did not have such kindness and even relied on this time to make tenants sell their property and children.

To Murong Fu's surprise, after he cruelly killed a hothead, there were still six people who strongly opposed the equal distribution of land.

Murong Fu then granted their wish for a swift death.

Instantly, the entire courtyard was covered in blood, and the stench of blood made the remaining people dizzy.

As the saying goes, a wise man keeps away from hiring a cook.

They considered themselves gentlemen, superiors, and pillars of the nation, so naturally they had never seen such a scene. The gentlemen were kind-hearted; if they wanted to kill someone, they would tell their subordinates and have them killed from a distance.

But in front of Murong Fu, they were as weak and helpless as lambs to the slaughter.

Murong Fu stood before the corpses strewn across the ground and said:

"I know that some of you agree with my ideas, some are afraid of death, and some are hesitant, but as long as you live, there is hope, and you can change and improve."

Since you knew about the national policy in advance, it was impossible for you to leave before the policy was announced.

This is a good opportunity for you to personally participate in the investigation and formulation of this policy.

The minister with the unibrow pondered for a moment and then said, "Your Majesty..."

May I ask if this policy will be implemented first in a certain area?

Murong Fu looked at him, somewhat surprised.

The other party's attitude was initially very arrogant, but now they're addressing him as "Your Majesty." They've even taken the initiative to inquire about his policies, perhaps indicating their agreement with them, or perhaps just feigned agreement.

But no matter what, it didn't matter to Murong Fu, so he said:

"I do indeed have this intention, and it lies in Suzhou."

The officials present also knew that Murong Fu was the wealthiest man in Suzhou, and could be considered the local emperor of Suzhou.

Unexpectedly, he started by targeting his ancestral farmland, which showed his determination.

This earned the secret praise of some of the ministers present.

Subsequently, Murong Fu also placed life-or-death talismans on them, since they were originally from the anti-Murong faction and Murong Fu still didn't quite trust them.

When the guards came in again, they took all the ministers away, and then quickly carried out the corpses that covered the ground.

Murong Fu said to Tong Guan, who was waiting nearby, "Tong Guan, you heard what I just said, didn't you?"

What are your thoughts?

Upon hearing this, Tong Guan said with trepidation, "Your Majesty, this humble subject..."

Murong Fu said, "Speak freely."

Tong Guan hadn't known Murong Fu for long, but he knew to some extent that Murong Fu wasn't a traditional emperor, nor was he the kind of person who was suspicious. As long as he didn't speak recklessly, he would be fine.

Now that Murong Fu had asked him to speak, he naturally couldn't refuse, so he said, "Unifying the world, from the Bohai Sea to the Great Snowy Mountains, is a great achievement unprecedented in history..."

If Your Majesty completes this task, you will naturally be the greatest monarch in history, the strongest emperor in all time.

That equal distribution of land was even more virtuous than a saint's...

"

At this moment, Murong Fu raised his hand and said, "Alright, no need to say anymore."

It was only then that Murong Fu realized that once he became emperor, he would never hear a single truth from the people around him.

He was also glad that he had made the choice not to move his family into the palace. After the ceremony, Murong Fu had his family members take a boat back to Canhezhuang in Gusu.

Murong Fu then remembered something and said to Tong Guan:

"Find some relevant experts, put them together, and teach them the relevant knowledge properly."

"Give us a generous resettlement allowance, and don't let me bring this up again."

Tong Guan nodded in agreement and then left the courtyard.

Murong Fu felt that after becoming emperor, he had to consider many more things than before.

I keep telling myself that things will get better after these two busy years...

Half a month later, Murong Fu, along with his wife Li Qinglu and daughter Murong Bao'er, went to the Western Xia palace...

The family of three arrived at the palace and, after being guided, saw a man with a large beard. Murong Fu knew that this was his father-in-law, Li Qianshun, who was also the current emperor of Western Xia.

His eyes were sharp, his face was heroic, and when he stood up, he was about the same height as Murong Fu, exuding an aura of dominance.

Li Qinglu was deeply loved by Li Qianshun from a young age and was given the title of "Princess of Yinchuan" at an early age. When she was to marry Murong Fu, her father was very angry. If Li Qiushui hadn't nodded, forcing him to comply, there might have been a conflict between him and Murong Fu.

But even with the very cute Murong Bao'er by his side, they couldn't ease the tense atmosphere today.

After all, Murong Fu's identity has changed; he is now the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

In Chinese chess, there is a term called "Kings cannot meet," which originally meant that the two generals should not face each other directly. Later, it often refers to the leaders of two groups being unable to get along properly due to their respective power.

Murong Fu and he were emperors of two great nations, and under normal circumstances, they would never have met in their entire lives. However, because Murong Fu was Li Qinglu's husband, they had more interactions.

Although the two did not have much of a father-in-law/son-in-law relationship, it did influence Murong Fu's behavior to some extent.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have entered through the main gate with his wife and children today; instead, he would have led Little Bee and tens of thousands of jade bees directly into the palace.

They knocked Li Qianshun to the ground, or even beheaded him, and installed a puppet emperor, waiting for the right moment to annex him.

But regardless of the method, it doesn't affect Murong Fu's goal, whether it's Western Xia or Dali...

Murong Fu gently cupped his hands and said to Li Qianshun, "It's been a long time. How are you, father-in-law?"

He then took out some gifts from the Central Plains from his personal storage space, such as: Suzhou embroidery, Ru ware celadon glaze, Luoyang brocade belt, Xinyang Maojian tea, Cizhou ware child-shaped pillow...

The Western Xia people present were startled and secretly alarmed when they saw Murong Fu casually conjure up several large boxes.

They wondered if this was some kind of magical technique or demonic method.

Li Qianshun was somewhat prepared, because his mother had told him about Murong Fu's miraculous abilities twice. In fact, his mother's face, which had been disfigured by cuts, was healed under Murong Fu's treatment.

According to intelligence, the Murong family has had only one son per generation for over ten generations, and they have always dreamed of reviving the Yan Kingdom, which was destroyed more than six hundred years ago, but they have not done anything useful for over ten generations.

Until this Murong Fu....

After marrying his daughter, his son-in-law became the leader of the martial arts alliance in the Central Plains, and then, in the blink of an eye, he suddenly declared himself emperor...

Since the conflict with Murong Fu during their last wedding, he had only returned to Xixia once, for their second wedding. She wondered why her son-in-law had suddenly returned this time...

So, after embracing his adorable granddaughter, he asked in a deep voice:

"My dear son-in-law, what brings you to my palace today?"

Murong Fu said calmly:

"Then I'll get straight to the point: please, father-in-law, hand over Western Xia."