Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

As the emperor and his ministers were talking, a eunuch from the corridor came in to report that Duke Pei, Zheng Yuanshou, and Minister of Justice, Zheng Shanguo, requested an audience.

"Duke of Pei? Summon them in."

Zheng Yuanshou was a veteran official, and Zheng Shanguo was his nephew. Both of them were members of the Zheng clan of Xingyang.

The two men immediately knelt down upon entering, their emotions running high.

"Your Majesty, our Zheng clan of Xingyang has been......... wiped out by the King of Qi!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this momentous news, Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling all stood up.

"Your Majesty, you must stand up for the Zheng family and for the gentry of Shandong!"

Zheng Yuanshou cried out, tears streaming down his face.

Is this true?

"It is absolutely true. King Qi incited tens of thousands of rioters, turning them into tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals, who would devour anyone they chose. The entire Xingyang region is now utterly ravaged. Of my Zheng family of over three thousand people, less than one-tenth remain..."

The emperor touched his head.

Oh no, my head is starting to hurt again.

This is an outward manifestation of high blood pressure.

Li You, you're incredibly bold!

The Zheng family of Xingyang is one of the five surnames and seven noble families, and one of the most powerful clans in the world today.

It's unbelievable that it just vanished right before our eyes.

Could it be that a golden-armored deity really appeared in that rebellious son's dream?

Changsun Wuji was also extremely surprised. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Xingyang has a large population and the Zheng clan has accumulated wealth for hundreds of years. I'm afraid the number of rebels who have been incited at this time is quite large... I believe that sending only 30,000 troops will be insufficient to quell the rebellion!"

Li Shimin nodded, feeling that what Changsun Wuji said made sense.

"Duke of Pei, what happened to your family's land? Has it been divided up by bandits?"

"They...they were all divided up by King Qi...all gone..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling quickly exchanged a glance.

They've all been distributed... This is... This is another good thing.

As one of the five surnames and seven prominent families, the Zheng family of Xingyang possessed far more land than the Xi and Wang families combined.

If all this land could be converted into government-owned land for tax collection, then...

Li Shimin's thoughts were complicated. On the one hand, he hated the Prince of Qi for daring to rebel, and on the other hand, he hoped that the Prince of Qi could continue his efforts and preferably wipe out a few more powerful clans in Shandong.

That's just how people are; they never want more after getting what they want, and they're insatiable.

Even though he was the emperor, this was still the case.

"Duke of Pei, such a tragedy has befallen your family... I am deeply saddened."

"That rebellious son of the King of Qi...sigh!"

"Order Li Ji to lead 50,000 troops to Xingyang immediately to quell the rebels!"

……

The King of Qi's atrocities in Xingyang quickly spread throughout Chang'an.

Officials and scholars from all walks of life were greatly shocked.

At that time, the Zheng family held a very high position in the minds of scholars.

Nowadays, the five surnames and seven prominent families have become four surnames and six prominent families. The Langya Wang family and the Gaoping Xi family have also suffered the calamity of extermination. All officials from aristocratic families sigh with regret.

Meanwhile, the sons of Shandong noble families residing in Chang'an urgently gathered together, and those with official positions all took leave. They joined forces, led their servants, and, armed with weapons, rode towards Tongguan. They were to rush to Shandong overnight to protect their ancestral homeland.

The renowned general Li Ji received the emperor's order, and carrying the fish-shaped tally, he rushed to the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Palace to mobilize troops at top speed.

The soldiers of the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Palace were all central imperial guards, and their combat strength was extremely formidable.

In addition to these elite troops, Li Ji also needed to mobilize the local troops from various prefectures in Guanzhong. Only by combining the two forces could he form an army of 50,000.

In addition to troop deployment, the government troops' supplies, provisions, and vehicles were also allocated at the same time.

The Tang Empire's war machine was once again running at high efficiency, heading straight for Shandong.

……

Prince Li You of Qi was completely unaware of what had happened in Chang'an.

He was extremely busy at that time.

Changsun Wuji's prediction was correct; the fall of the Zheng family of Xingyang did indeed bring the rebels a massive amount of wealth and resources.

With the support of various factors, the number of rioters under Li You's command expanded once again.

The people of Xingyang did indeed receive land from the Zheng family.

Some received more, some received less.

But no matter how much, I still got a share.

Li You didn't care how exactly they divided it; he let them divide it however they wanted, the more chaotic the better.

He is currently concerned about three main things: money, food, and troops.

Meanwhile, a crazy plan gradually took shape in his mind.

Using his 21st-century brain and historical records of various rebellions, Li You calculated the future course of the rebellion and his own response.

To accomplish one's plan, among money, provisions, and troops, money seems to be of the most important importance.

This is not to say that the other two things are not important, but rather that if you have to choose one of the three, money is more important!

The money, or currency, during the Zhenguan period can be mainly divided into three types.

The first type is naturally gold and silver. In classical society, these two items were absolutely the hardest currencies.

Gold and silver are not naturally currency, but currency is naturally gold and silver.

The second type is copper coins, mainly Zhenguan Tongbao.

The third type is rather special; it is made of cloth.

The term "cloth" refers to hemp cloth woven from ramie; the term "silk" refers to silk made from silkworm silk.

Of these three currencies, gold and silver are the least common, followed by cloth, and copper coins are the most common, but this is only relative.

The Central Plains region has historically lacked copper, and although copper coins were legal tender, they were still insufficient. To compensate for the inadequacy of copper coins, the Tang Dynasty used cloth as a supplementary currency. Compared to precious metals, cloth was lighter and could also be used to make clothing, making it highly practical. Generally, large transactions were often conducted using cloth, while small transactions were settled using copper coins.

Bai Juyi's poem says, "Half a bolt of red silk and a length of fine linen, tied to the ox's head to pay for charcoal," which is a true reflection of how people used cloth to trade at that time.

Fortunately, the Zheng family in Xingyang had a complete set of three types of currency, and in considerable quantities.

The Zheng clan had a workshop specializing in weaving brocade, from which they seized as many as four or five hundred thousand bolts of silk and satin—undoubtedly a huge sum of money. The amount of copper coins was also considerable, but gold and silver were relatively rare.

Unlike previous methods, Li You did not distribute the huge sum of money as rewards. Instead, he assigned his most trusted personal guards to keep a close watch on it. The female workers and managers in the weaving workshop were treated the same way.

Li You also ordered his soldiers to collect other supplies, such as grain, livestock, and horses, at the same time, as much as possible.

In an instant, the wealthy families near Xingyang suffered calamity; while the tenant farmers and common people from all walks of life called upon their friends and were overjoyed. Some ran to join the Qi King's army, while others fought endlessly for land.

The King of Qi then issued another order, stating that his righteous army was only targeting the powerful families of Xingyang, and that as long as the wealthy households obediently handed over their money, they would not be bothered. For the sake of their families' safety, they had no choice but to comply.

Meanwhile, the troops in Guanzhong had been assembled. Fifty thousand Tang soldiers, led by the famous general Li Ji, rushed to Tongguan.