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Han Zhang received a secret decree from Xiao Jue in Jiangnan.

The secret edict contained only one sentence: "Do as you say." Han Zhang carefully put away the edict and the next day led his men to the Cui family's estate outside Suzhou.

Zhuangzi's steward, surnamed Cao, was a robust man in his forties with a short beard and sharp eyes; he was clearly no pushover.

He stood at the entrance of the manor, with dozens of guards behind him, each with their hands on the hilts of their swords, glaring menacingly.

Han Zhang, mounted on his horse, looked down at him and said, "Steward Cao, you've received the ultimatum. You know how many people need to be laid off."

Steward Cao sneered and said, "Lord Han, the servants in this estate are all servants of the Cui family, not soldiers of the imperial court. If the imperial court wants to reduce its military, it won't be able to do so to the Cui family."

Han Zhang did not argue with him. He took out the secret edict from his bosom, unfolded it, and showed it to him.

Manager Cao's gaze fell on the secret edict, and when he saw the bright red imperial seal on it, his expression changed slightly, but he remained defiant.

These servants all had contracts with the family for life; the Cui family had supported them for decades, and they couldn't just be laid off like that. Han Zhang nodded and said, "Fine, you can be unreasonable."

The imperial guards behind him unloaded several large chests from their horses, opened them, and found them filled with silver ingots, neatly stacked, gleaming white in the winter sun.

Han Zhang said that the imperial court would provide severance pay based on the number of people, ten taels of silver per person, which could be received after signing the document.

Those willing to return home will have their travel expenses covered by the imperial court. Those willing to stay and farm will be allocated twenty mu of land outside the city, with no taxes levied on them for the first three years. Steward Cao's expression changed drastically.

The guards standing behind, upon hearing Han Zhang's words, began to whisper among themselves.

Someone peered into the box and stared wide-eyed at the sight of the gleaming silver.

Ten taels of silver is enough for a family to eat and drink for two years. Twenty acres of land is enough for a family to eat their fill and stay warm.

Working as a servant for the Cui family meant toiling away all year round for a mere few hundred coins a month, with frequent deductions, beatings, and even a decent coffin upon death. Anyone could do the math.

Manager Cao sensed the commotion behind him, turned around and glared at them. The guards fell silent for a moment, but it wasn't a silence of obedience.

Han Zhang dismounted and walked to the servants. He had his attendants place the silver ingots one by one on the table. Then he picked up an ingot, weighed it in his hand, and said, "This silver was confiscated by the court from corrupt officials and treacherous merchants."

Some of you may have heard of Zhao Mancang. He hoarded grain in Jiangning, driving up prices and causing countless people to starve to death. You know how many people that happened.

The imperial court confiscated his property, distributed the grain he hoarded to the disaster victims, and confiscated the silver he embezzled into the national treasury. Now the imperial court is using this silver to settle you; it is not charity, but something the imperial court owes you.

That afternoon, the servants of Cui Family Manor began to receive their silver.

First, a few of the bolder ones sneaked into the Imperial Guard's camp, signed the papers, received their money and land deeds, and left without looking back.

Then more people came in groups of three or five, lined up, signed and sealed their documents, received their silver and land deeds, and left quickly and decisively, without even saying goodbye to Steward Cao.

By the third day, more than half of the servants in Cui Family Manor had left. The remaining ones didn't not want to leave, but they couldn't—they were all Manager Cao's confidants, too closely tied to the Cui family, and even if they took the money, they had nowhere to go.

Manager Cao stood in the empty manor, looking at the messy bedding and deserted rooms, his expression as if he had swallowed a live fly.

The Lu family's estate in Huzhou was the second to be shut down.

The steward of the Lu family was much more shrewd than the steward of Cao. As soon as the ultimatum arrived, he took the initiative to report the number of farmhands, saying that the estate originally had more than 500 farmhands, but after verification, 300 should be laid off, and 300 were laid off. The list had been prepared and was presented to Lord Han for his review.

Han Zhang took the list and looked it over. He said, "Three hundred people aren't enough. Add another two hundred."

The steward of the Lu family twitched his face and said, "Sir, if we add another two hundred, there will only be a few dozen people left in the manor, not even enough to guard the gate."

Han Zhang said, "Then you don't need to guard the gate anymore." The Lu family steward remained silent for a long time before finally signing the layoff list.

The Zheng family's fortified village in Songjiang was the most difficult to deal with. The Zheng family's steward, surnamed Shen, was a tall, thin man in his fifties who had worked for the Zheng family for half his life. He was loyal to the Zheng family and was not the kind of person who would be swayed by a few taels of silver.

He stood on the city wall of the fortified village, looking down at Han Zhang and his imperial guards, and said, "Lord Han, this fortified village is the private property of the Zheng family, and the people in the village are all servants of the Zheng family. The imperial court has no right to interfere."

Han Zhang stood under the city wall for a while, then turned and left without saying much.

After he returned, he had someone retrieve the salt release records of Songjiang Prefecture for the past five years and reviewed them overnight.

The Zheng family's salt business in Songjiang received more salt permits each year than any other salt merchant in Songjiang Prefecture. However, the Zheng family did not own any salt fields or saltworks. After obtaining the salt permits, they would resell them to other salt merchants, making several times the profit with each transaction.

Han Zhang wrote these questions in a secret memorial and sent it to the capital.

A few days after the secret memorial was sent out, Xiao Jue's reply arrived. The reply contained only one sentence: "The relevant authorities are to conduct a thorough investigation." The relevant authorities were the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review.

On the day the officials from the Three Offices went south to Songjiang, Steward Shen disappeared from the city wall of Zhengjiawu Fort.

He received a secret letter from the Zheng family, which said that things had come to this point and could not be stopped; they should save as many people as they could.

Manager Shen stood on the empty city wall, watching the guards packing their belongings in the distance. He remained silent for a long time before walking down the wall, opening the gate of the fortified village, and welcoming Han Zhang inside.

The day the fortified village was dismantled, it was snowing heavily. The snow was heavy, falling like goose feathers, enveloping the entire fortified village in a white expanse.

The farmhands lined up one by one, signing and affixing their fingerprints, receiving their silver and land deeds.