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

"Your Majesty may not know this, but the hundreds of officials in Xiangzhou Prefecture have not received their salaries from the imperial court for seven or eight years. Governor Liu had no choice but to follow the example of other prefectures and take a portion of the land and commercial taxes collected locally, and borrow another portion from the Ministry of Revenue in Chang'an, to form the capital of the Xiangzhou Prefecture government, which was then handed over to Luo Yuyang to operate as a government loan business..."

Under Li You's interrogation, the monk Yuanjue described a very bizarre business that existed within the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

In simple terms, the government would provide a sum of money, which would then be handed over to "money-collecting officials" or "clerks" who would then take the money to the people and lend it out at high interest rates, thereby obtaining high returns.

The government did this in order to pay salaries to officials at all levels and maintain the daily expenses of government offices at all levels.

Because the financial situation in the early Tang Dynasty was not optimistic, it was very common for situations like Xiangzhou to be in arrears with officials' salaries.

At that time, all the officials were quite capable; if you didn't pay them a salary, they had plenty of other options.

"Zhuoqian Lingshi" was the title of an official in Chang'an who ran a usury business.

"Dianli" refers to the title of an official in a local prefecture or state that engaged in usury.

Luo Yuyang, who colluded with the monk Yuanjue, was the official in charge of "public funds" in Xiangzhou City.

According to the way officials were addressed during the Tang Dynasty, Luo Yuyang was "Luo Dianli".

Upon learning of this bizarre system, Li Youzhen was both annoyed and amused.

What's infuriating is that the Tang Dynasty actually came up with such a treacherous method, openly plundering the people's wealth for the government's use.

What's laughable is the state of the Tang Dynasty's finances; it seems to be just so-so, with officials' salaries barely covered by high-interest loans.

Suddenly, I felt that my path of rebellion had become much wider.

It's not an exaggeration to say that the Tang Dynasty government openly exploited the people.

At least that's the case in Xiangzhou City.

Look at the kind of house that Luo Dianli lived in, look at the kind of women that Monk Yuanjue taxed, and then look at the lives of the common people at the bottom of society. You will know how outrageous the "public funds" system is.

It's also possible that the phrase "excessive taxation" didn't sound very appealing, so they invented the method of "public funds."

Speaking of which, the guy who invented this system must have had a genius-level brain.

Even if you gave Li You a hundred heads, he still couldn't come up with such a good idea.

……

An hour later, Jing Song arrived at Li You's side from Yunju Temple, looking very excited.

"Congratulations, my lord. The cellar beneath the Buddhist hall is quite spacious. A total of 50,000 strings of copper coins, ten gold bricks, dozens of boxes of fine Shu brocade, and 70,000 bolts of cloth were unearthed."

"Very good, those four monks of the Hui generation are also under control?"

"They arrested them all, without exception, and they also had a considerable amount of private savings."

Upon hearing this, Monk Yuanjue's face instantly darkened.

This group actually used a two-pronged approach, attacking from both sides simultaneously, and captured them in one fell swoop.

Yuanjue had been hoping that Yunju Temple could buy him some time, but now it's all over.

"Know when to stop, and move all these things out of Xiangzhou City tonight!"

"promise!"

The following days were very lively on Laojun Mountain.

The wealth from Monk Yuanjue's three private residences, the capital he used to open his money exchange shop, and the assets of his four disciples, when put together, seemed to pile up like a mountain.

In Yuanjue's residence and Buddhist hall, a number of account books and letters were also found, which Li Youyi also lured up the mountain.

These account books and letters, if used properly, can be a considerable fortune.

As for Monk Yuanjue himself, he was incorrigible, and Li You had no intention of letting him go.

Li You summoned Jing Song and gave the scoundrel a rather swift death.

That's considered letting him off easy.

The four monks, Huizhen, Huiru, Huijing, and Huikong, were spared by Li You.

Although they were accomplices, there was no reason to kill them, so we let them live for now. We could ask them some questions about business matters.

Of course, with the death of the monk Yuanjue, some secrets will remain secrets forever.

……

The more than thirty beautiful women rescued from the cellar were first taken to the mountain and questioned one by one.

Among them were innocent women who had just been abducted, and others who had been sold several times, their plight extremely tragic.

Li You arranged for people to be sent home.

The problem is that there are seven or eight girls here who don't seem very willing to go back.

This included a woman named Yan Jiu.

Why don't you want to go home?

Yan Jiu gritted her teeth: "I...I ran away from home. My family treats me very badly."

Li You laughed and said, "No matter how bad things are at home, can they compare to these evil spirits outside?"

Yan Jiu sighed, "My lord, you don't know this, but some people around us are more terrifying than evil spirits. I heard that you killed Yuanjue, which was a relief for that person. I'll die anyway when I go back, so I might as well die sooner rather than later. I only beg you, my lord, for your mercy, and grant me relief as well!"

The woman spoke in a calm and even tone, yet it conveyed a sense of ambition and determination.

Li You's smile faded: "You really don't want to go home?"

Yan Jiu nodded.

"Do your companions share the same thoughts as you?"

"Yes, some of them are even worse off than me. Rather than being sold and resold by their families, they might as well end it all themselves. That way, it's cleaner."

"I understand, you were sold by your family."

Yan Jiu nodded blankly once again.

Li You sighed and said, "Go and call them all here."

Yan Jiu ran over and called the homeless women to Li You's side.

"To tell you the truth, my men and I are all from the mountains. Your tragic backgrounds are truly pitiful. There aren't many women in the mountains, so I often have to help those bachelors find wives."

"If you are willing to come into the mountains with me, you will definitely have food to eat, but you will have to get married. But don't worry, if your future husbands treat you badly, you can come to me anytime, and I will find you better ones."

These words caused the girls' pretty faces to blush slightly, while Yan Jiu covered her mouth and laughed.

"Fine, as long as someone stands up for us and we don't have to serve those savage and brutal scoundrels, we'll be satisfied."

"You all feel the same way? You're willing to come into the mountains with us?"

"...Please wait a moment, my lord, let me discuss this with my sisters."

Yan Jiu then gathered the seven or eight people aside and started chattering away.

Li You could tell that this girl named Yan Jiu was quite prestigious and was considered the leader of their group of women.

"My lord, we've reached an agreement and are willing to go with you, but you can't go back on your word."

"Don't worry, there are plenty of great young men in our army, enough to make you dazzled by the choices."

Yan Jiu smiled again: "May I ask your name, sir?"

"My name is Li You. From now on, you should call me Lord."

"Yes, my lord."