The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

While Liu Mu was enjoying the gentle beauty of spring, summer, autumn and winter, the wealthy businessmen who had already left the meeting felt increasingly uneasy and gathered at Boss Xu's house!

After all, these days, those who become incredibly wealthy are not people with low IQs. If you think about it carefully, it's impossible for such a good thing to fall from the sky.

Boss Xu is very wealthy. His family owns 30% of the money shops in Jiangbei alone. Even after being taken over by the Qing Dynasty, they are still worth millions. Their temporary residence in Yangzhou is built in an extremely luxurious manner.

Seeing everyone's distress, he patted the table.

"I believe His Majesty will not let us suffer losses. After all, over 100,000 Han troops have already gathered north of the Yangtze River. If he really wants our lives, it's just a matter of dealing with a dozen or so bandit raids. So we can just wait patiently!"

Mr. Xu's words immediately silenced most of the gentry and wealthy merchants, because they were indeed the truth.

There are still a large number of rebels in Jiangbei who have not yet surrendered. Their hometowns are all in county towns or prefectural cities. As long as the Han army lets them off the hook, how difficult would it be for a few hundred rebels to wipe them out!

Just when everyone was about to give up and wait and see, the three Chen brothers who had previously donated the Fujian boat stood up and seemed to have a different opinion.

"Gentlemen, my Chen family has transported grain northwards and learned that the Han court is waging war against the areas north of Liaodong. The Jurchens have turned those areas into desolate wastelands, and the counties they won't grant us are just those icy, snowy wastelands?"

Upon hearing the three Chen brothers' words, the gentry began to panic again. Many of them had sold their assets to acquire the marquisate.

Even Boss Xu was stunned. After all, they had nothing to say about what the emperor did. Back then, the Liaodong Garrison, even if there were only a few people left now, was still a standard county.

The former head of the Cheng family tentatively said:

"Since we didn't pay, let's just pretend we didn't know anything!"

Upon hearing this, everyone rolled their eyes. They had already signed the papers, and if they didn't pay, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor, who could then openly confiscate their property.

For a full quarter of an hour, no one spoke. The entire living room was eerily quiet. Even the maids serving tea and water dared not breathe. Just then, the Xu family's steward rushed in.

"Master, Minister of War Zhou Peigong of the Imperial Court has arrived and is almost at the guest hall!"

Upon hearing that Zhou Peigong had arrived, everyone knew that the emperor's men had come to confront him, so they all stood up, bowed their heads, and greeted him, creating a very awkward atmosphere.

As soon as Zhou Peigong entered the guest hall, he saw that these gentry were using the welcoming ceremony to vent their frustrations. He didn't care and went forward to sit down in the main guest seat, which was next to the Xu family's main seat. After all, in Chinese tradition, guests should not take advantage of their hosts.

"Please sit down, everyone!"

"I know what you're thinking. You probably feel that the court will send you to a harsh and cold place like Liaodong, and all the money and supplies will be wasted!"

"But you're all wrong!"

Upon hearing this, all the gentry's eyes lit up. Could it be that they had misunderstood? If His Majesty intended to establish counties in the interior, that would be wonderful. So they all bowed towards the direction of the Yangzhou government office.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"A wise ruler! This is a wise ruler!"

"Nonsense! It's clearly the Holy Emperor who reigns!"

The gentry were full of praise, but Zhou Peigong looked gloomy. So, if I give you benefits, you're a holy emperor, and if I don't, you're a tyrant?

After things quieted down a bit, Zhou Peigong quickly coughed twice.

"Gentlemen, this is indeed not the harsh and cold region of Liaodong, but rather the area west of the Altai Mountains in the Western Regions, closest to Tsarist Russia. Our Great Han Dynasty will soon expand its territory and establish prefectures and counties there!"

Most of the businessmen present were knowledgeable, especially the wealthy merchants from the north, who all gasped in surprise upon hearing this.

West of the Altai Mountains lies the western region.

It is even more desolate than Liaodong, which is much smaller than Biyao.

Why are you going over there?

Is it blowing a northwest wind?

Mr. Xu believed he had some connection with Zhou Peigong, so he quickly bowed and smiled obsequiously, but his words began to be sarcastic, after all, he had already spent real money.

"Lord Zhou, that place is all wild and undeveloped land. What's the point of us spending so much silver?"

"Why not just donate it to the imperial court?"

Boss Xu undoubtedly spoke for everyone: it's better to enjoy life in Yangzhou than to suffer in such a place.

Zhou Peigong had come prepared this time, and after hearing what Liu Mu had said, he immediately stood up.

"I know more about the area west of the Altai Mountains than you do. There are many rivers and abundant rainfall there, which can produce a large amount of grain and livestock every year!"

"Once you establish a foothold in this area, your entire family, with so many members and descendants, will all have their own territory. From then on, apart from His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, you will be second only to the Emperor!"

"Besides, His Majesty the Emperor has already said that those Western countries are free to buy and sell slaves, and their populations are sparse. Why don't you go and buy slaves? When the county becomes prosperous, you will be the rulers of your fiefdom!"

After Zhou Peigong finished speaking, he returned to his seat and closed his eyes to rest. What he had just said was all that Liu Mu had told him.

These are all true facts. It is indeed possible to grow crops in northern Kazakhstan and southern Siberia, and these areas later became granaries.

But none of that matters. What matters most is the saying "second only to the emperor." This saying has been ingrained in the Chinese people since Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uttered the famous line, "Are kings and nobles born with special privileges?" in Dazexiang.

Now that we can legally and legitimately obtain the fiefdom, what does it matter if it costs money? We can always earn more later.

As expected, the head of the Xu family was already tempted.

Having reached this point in his business career, he had lost much of his motivation, because he had more money than he could ever spend. All he wanted was to become an official.

After Zhou Peigong said this, their going to the Northwest to develop was in accordance with the emperor's wishes, and they also managed to get a marquis title along the way.

Moreover, the Han Dynasty's defeat of the Manchus and unification of China was a foregone conclusion. With the Han Dynasty's military capabilities, the Western Regions were also within its grasp. It seemed that there was potential there.

Anyway, the whole county belongs to the Xu family. Once the population increases, the Xu family will be local tyrants, and they can do whatever they want.

Upon thinking of this, the head of the Xu family immediately beamed with joy.

"Lord Zhou, please don't overthink it. Our donation this time is all for the benefit of the people of our great Han Dynasty!"

Among the others, there might be some who hadn't quite grasped the situation, but since the head of the Xu family had already nodded, these minor figures had no psychological burden and readily bowed.

"Our donations are entirely selfless!"

"Everything is for the people of the Han Dynasty!"

Zhou Peigong was also very surprised. He was waiting for the gentry to refuse and then tell them to capture slaves, but he didn't expect them to figure it out on their own.

But this is ultimately a good thing.

Thinking of this, Zhou Peigong patted the main hall and took out a list from his pocket, which contained the titles and ranks of these people.