Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

That paper document was just a formality.

Wu Zetian reached out and gently tapped the top holographic film of the document.

Swah——

A thick holographic electronic file popped open above the temporary desk.

On the semi-transparent light screen, countless asset details were densely listed.

At the end of each asset.

They were all stamped with a glaring red seal of extermination.

That's the symbol for forced confiscation issued by the highest authority of the Tian Shu system.

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Wu Meiniang took half a step back and placed her hands together in front of her lower abdomen.

"This was something His Highness did casually after cleaning up all the dirty code."

Li Shimin's eyes, which were still somewhat tired, lit up as he scanned the light screen.

It slowly widened its eyes.

"The Cui family of Qinghe... a branch of the Li family of Longxi... the Wang family of Taiyuan..."

Li Shimin recited the names of those old aristocratic families that had been deeply entrenched for hundreds of years, clinging to the very fabric of the Tang Dynasty like leeches.

Behind these names are long, dizzying lists of assets.

"Thirty-six large spirit stone veins in Jiangnan Road, with actual mining rights and land deeds..."

"One million mu of top-quality paddy fields in Jiannan Road..."

"Four hundred and seven heavy-haul ocean-going merchant ships are docked in Guangzhou Port..."

It's all gone.

This rebellion, or rather, this collective suicide in the name of "the pursuit of immortality," was a rebellion.

The hidden capital of all the old powerful families, both in reality and in the virtual world.

Those private properties that they thought were so well hidden that even the Embroidered Uniform Guard couldn't find them.

Faced with Li Chengqian's unreasonable and dimensional reduction computing power, it was uprooted.

Like plowing a field and sweeping a hole, it was cleaned up thoroughly.

"These all went into the national treasury?"

Li Shimin pointed at the light screen, his voice somewhat dry.

He felt that he might have been too traumatized in the past few days, and his eyesight was failing him.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wu Zetian spoke calmly, as if reporting a trivial matter.

"Those family heads who participated in the illegal uploads have been identified by the system as 'non-carbon-based life forms'."

"And according to Article 1 of the Virtual Reality Security Law."

"All physical assets within the territory of the Great Tang must be controlled by living people."

"Since they have given up their physical bodies, it is equivalent to automatically giving up all property rights."

She stretched out her finger and swiped it across the light screen.

The final summary data has been scrolled to the top.

"In addition to the black market banks that were previously shut down and the funds of those so-called longevity funds."

"The total value of the physical assets is approximately 170 billion Datang Credit Points."

"It was forcibly changed by the Tian Shu system at 3:45 AM this morning."

"Now, their only legitimate owner is the Tang Dynasty's national treasury."

Quiet.

The Taiji Hall was deathly quiet.

Cheng Yaojin sitting on the steps, rubbing his back.

Yuchi Gong is applying wound medicine to his wound.

And then there's Fang Xuanling, who's holding a deformed incense burner and staring blankly into space.

These veteran officials, who had followed Li Shimin throughout his life, were all staring blankly at the dossier with their mouths agape.

170 billion.

It's still a physical asset.

These are not the numbers on a virtual trading platform that could plummet at any moment.

These are real farmland, mines, blast furnaces, and ports.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Those privileged classes that have monopolized power for hundreds of years.

Those powerful clans that even the emperor dared not easily touch.

All because of a foolish dream of immortality.

He played himself to the point of exhaustion, and was physically wiped out.

The wealth of the Tang Dynasty.

At this moment, a perfect yet violent redistribution was completed.

The funds were concentrated in the hands of the imperial court and will soon flow to the lowest-level commoners through spring plowing and the resumption of work.

"This...this unfilial son..."

Li Shimin's lips trembled.

He picked up a calligraphy brush from the desk.

He usually held this pen steady as a mountain when reviewing official documents.

But now.

He looked at the long string of numbers that belonged to the Tang Dynasty.

My hand holding the pen was trembling slightly.

The ink from the pen tip dripped onto the table, spreading out in a black pattern.

All he has to do is sign his name on this paper document.

The imperial seal was affixed.

This list of confiscated properties in the cyber era is legally binding.

The Tang Dynasty was about to usher in an unprecedented era of absolute centralized power, free from the constraints of powerful clans.

A Tang Dynasty that truly belonged to all the people.

Isn't this exactly what he's dreamed of achieving since becoming emperor?

Wu Zetian stood to one side.

Seeing the emperor's trembling hands, she did not urge him.

She knew that this temptation was too great for any emperor.

"Your Majesty, please sign it."

Fang Xuanling whispered words of advice from below.

"The aristocratic families are now a thing of the past; the future of the Tang Dynasty needs this money."

Li Shimin took a deep breath.

He hung the ink-stained brush above the signature area of ​​the document.

stopped.

He looked at the dark yellow age spots on the back of his hand.

Then I remembered what happened in the underground palace last night.

That high-voltage crown that nearly burned his brain.

I recall the distorted face of Changsun Wuji before his death.

The old man suddenly realized...

Sign a document and the money will be put into the national treasury.

This is too easy, and too boring.

The world is won through struggle, not through the schemes of others.

"Smack."

Li Shimin slammed the writing brush heavily onto the desk.

Ink splattered.

He did not sign it.

"His Majesty?"

Wu Zetian was stunned.

If this windfall had been to Li Shimin in the past, he would have been grinning from ear to ear.

What's wrong with me today?

Li Shimin did not explain.

He walked around the desk.

Walk to the center of the main hall.

on the ground.

Lying there was the Tian Ce Blade, chipped with seven or eight nicks and stained with dried blood.

Li Shimin bent down.

The old bones emitted a faint grinding sound.

He reached out and grasped the cold, rough hilt of the knife.

He picked up the knife.

He did not look at the old ministers filling the hall.

He didn't even look at Wu Zetian.

He was carrying that broken sword.

Stepping on the broken tiles and glass shards scattered on the ground.

His steps were a little unsteady, but his spine was very straight.

Facing the blinding morning sunlight.

Alone, he walked out of the main hall.