In the imperial study room of Chengguang Hall, Taishi Liu and Song Dekang were reporting to Emperor Wu of Zhou in detail about events in Yangzhou.
Yesterday afternoon, Taishi Liu and Song Dekang returned to the capital from Yangzhou. Emperor Wu of Zhou asked them to rest at home for a few days, and then report to the palace after they had rested.
It is impossible for Taishi Liu and Song Dekang to rest at home for a few days. After resting for most of the day, they entered the palace to attend court the next day.
Just in the morning meeting, Taishi Liu and Song Dekang reported briefly to Emperor Wu of Zhou about the affairs in Yangzhou. When the other ministers heard their reports, they all gasped in shock. They didn't expect that things over there in Yangzhou were even more shocking than they knew. No, shocking.
Previously, the head of an aristocratic family in Yangzhou was taken to the capital for execution. At that time, their crimes were listed one by one, each one more serious and terrifying than the last. It is best to describe them as too numerous to describe.
The civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty only knew the crimes of the people in Yangzhou, but did not know what Taishi Liu and Song Dekang did in Yangzhou. They didn't know what the situation was like in Yangzhou at that time.
Now after listening to the reports from Taishi Liu and Song Dekang, they realized that the situation in Yangzhou at that time was very dangerous. If Song Dekang and Taishi Liu hadn't gone there, they wouldn't have been able to control those people in Yangzhou.
The situation in Yangzhou is dangerous and complicated. If the plan hadn't been planned well in advance, it would have been impossible to completely eradicate the aristocratic families in Yangzhou within a month or two.
From this point we can see that Emperor Wu of Zhou laid a big plan to eradicate the group of aristocratic families in Yangzhou. Not only that, he also deliberately indulged those aristocratic families in Yangzhou.
When they thought that the eradication of those aristocratic families in Yangzhou was a plan arranged by Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty, the civil and military officials felt their hearts go cold and their scalps went numb.
The emperor has long known what those wealthy families in Yangzhou have been doing over the years, but he has always pretended not to know anything. There is also Dong Jin. The emperor has long known that the aristocratic families in Yangzhou are cooperating with Dong Jin and have been protecting Dong Jin. The emperor also knew that the Yangzhou aristocratic families had the intention to rebel, but he kept it secret.
In order to completely eradicate the Yangzhou group of aristocratic families and purge Yangzhou, no, the entire Jiangnan officialdom, the emperor has been secretly planning, waiting patiently for the Yangzhou group to fall into the trap.
The most terrifying thing is not the emperor's layout, but the emperor's patience. After the Yangzhou group fell into the trap, the emperor was not in a hurry to get rid of them. Instead, he continued to put bait in the trap, tempting the Yangzhou group to fall deeper and deeper.
The people in Yangzhou were completely unaware of the trap laid by the emperor. They fell into the trap step by step not only unaware of it, but also complacent. Just when the Yangzhou aristocratic families thought they were going to succeed, they were all killed by the emperor. I'm afraid that when the Yangzhou group was arrested, they didn't know what happened.
Being guessed by the ministers, the Yangzhou aristocratic families did not react at first and had no idea what was going on. It was not until they were imprisoned that they later realized that they had been deceived, but by that time they had already been It's too late.
Emperor Wu of Zhou was not only a master of layout, but also a patient hunter.
The ministers in the court were somewhat aware of Emperor Zhou Wu's methods, but in the case of Yangzhou, they found that Emperor Zhou Wu's intentions and methods were even more unfathomable than they imagined.
They guessed that the emperor had long wanted to eradicate the wealthy families in Yangzhou, but the situation in Yangzhou was too complicated, and the families in Yangzhou were very vigilant, and they would alert the enemy if they were not careful. In order to plunder the powerful families and wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou in one fell swoop, the emperor had probably made plans a long time ago, but they didn't dare to think how early.
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty knew that the emperor's elimination of the wealthy families in Yangzhou was just the beginning. As for the beginning, of course it is the beginning of suppressing or weakening all the aristocratic families.
Although the aristocratic families in Yangzhou are not as good as the aristocratic families in the capital, they have existed for hundreds of years like the aristocratic families in the capital. Their power has long been rooted in Yangzhou and is deeply rooted.
These aristocratic families, which had existed in Yangzhou for hundreds of years and controlled the sky with one hand and controlled the wind and rain, were easily eradicated by Emperor Wu of Zhou. Why didn't the civil and military officials in the court feel frightened.
The most fearful and uneasy people are the wealthy families in the capital. They knew in their hearts that the collapse of the Yangzhou family was the emperor's warning to all the families in the world and to them.
If they are as lawless as the people in Yangzhou and do not take the court into consideration, then their fate in the future will not be better than that of the people in Yangzhou, and I am afraid it will be worse than that of the aristocratic families in Yangzhou.
All the aristocratic families and wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou had their homes confiscated. Most of the people in the clan were beheaded, and the remaining half were either exiled or imprisoned. Although Emperor Wu of Zhou did not kill them all, it was impossible for them to make a comeback.
The powerful families in Yangzhou have turned into dust in the past month or two. They will not be able to return to their former glory in at least the next few decades or hundreds of years, and may even never return to their former glory. Can't recover.
The fate of those wealthy families in Yangzhou is a warning to all the wealthy families in the world, a cold and dangerous warning.
The wealthy families in the capital are respected by the Xie family, Wang family, Xun family and Yuan family. Needless to say, the Xie family has always been the leader of wealthy families in the capital, and even in the entire north.
If you want to choose one top family among all the families in the world, it would be the Xie family. There is no objection.
Although the Xie family's vitality was severely damaged during the previous dynasty and has long since lost its former glory, there is a saying that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. There is also a saying that the tallest among the shortest. The Xie family is still better than other aristocratic families and is still a top-notch family.
The previous head of the Xie family, the Duke of Lao Zhen, was a very smart man who knew current affairs. After experiencing the turmoil in the previous dynasty, he knew that the Xie family would not be able to return to its former prosperity in a short time. If the Xie family wants to restore its former glory, the Xie family must fully support the prince and help him successfully ascend the throne. In this way, the Xie family will have a queen again. Not only that, the Xie family will also have an emperor again.
Although the emperor's surname is not Xie, half of the blood of the Xie family flows in the emperor's body. As long as this continues, the Xie family will definitely return to its former glory.
In the previous dynasty, although the Xie family also had daughters entering the palace, unfortunately there was no queen. The emperors of the previous dynasties seemed to be very afraid of the Xie family and were unwilling to allow the queen to be born into the Xie family. Most of the queens at that time were from the Wang family or the Xun family.
The daughter of the Xie family was not very favored when she entered the palace and became a concubine. She finally gave birth to a prince successfully, but she either failed in the attempt to win the rightful son or died of illness at the youngest age.
The princes and emperors of the previous dynasty all had one problem, and that was their short lives.
After the princes were born safely, most of them died at a young age. There are many causes of premature death, the most common of which are death from illness and accidental death. The princes who managed to survive grew up smoothly, but most of them died of illness in their twenties or thirties, and most of them died suddenly. The sudden death was not due to poisoning, but due to illness.
The lucky prince successfully ascended the throne and became emperor, but within a few years the emperor also died suddenly, leaving behind a young queen and young son.
Although the queen and the mother clan support it, the emperor's uncles are not fuel-efficient lamps. Many emperors in the previous dynasty had uncles usurping the throne from their nephews, which was very confusing.
The emperor's uncles took the throne from their nephew, and the emperor died of illness within a few years. Before he died, he passed the throne to his son. As a result, his son was too young or too young to sit on the throne, and then the throne was taken away by his uncle.
In the previous dynasty, it often happened that the emperor's uncle snatched the throne from his nephew. In fact, this is also a competition between the families behind them. One moment the Wang family came to power, another moment the Xun family came to power, and another moment the Xie family came to power.
At that time, the fighting between the aristocratic families was very fierce. The previous dynasty's court was so smoky, it was all the fault of these aristocratic families.
The last emperor of the previous dynasty, Emperor Xia Ling, was not the son of the late emperor. At that time, the late emperor had no sons. In fact, he had several sons, but they all died. The royal relatives who were close to the late emperor also had no sons, and their sons also died one after another.
The people all said that it was God's punishment and that God wanted to destroy the royal family. Emperor Xia Ling was the son of the late emperor's cousin, and he was separated by two generations.
Emperor Xia Ling was the longest reigning emperor in the previous dynasty. He was ruthless and very smart when he was young, and he had the family at his fingertips. Later, he secured the throne and used various methods to deal with the aristocratic family.
He didn't mean to target the noble family, but the noble family went too far and always pointed fingers at him. The most important thing is that when Emperor Xia Ling ascended the throne, the treasury had little money, but the aristocratic families were extremely rich.
Emperor Xia Ling thought that he was an emperor, but he was living a poor life. He wanted to do something but couldn't do it because he had no money. And those aristocratic families live a life of luxury and fine food, and they can do whatever they want. Why, why are these ministers richer and better off than him, the emperor?
Since the aristocratic family has money, they should give it all to him. If you don't give it to him, he will die.
Emperor Xia Ling directly asked the wealthy families for money. Of course, the good name is to let them pay tribute. If a wealthy family didn't give them money, he would never let them off lightly.
The wealthy families headed by the Xie family were all snatched away by Emperor Xia Ling. Seven or eight floors of their family property were robbed by Emperor Xia Ling.
At that time, the Xie family and the Wang family thought about it and resisted, but to no avail. They were unable to deal with Emperor Xia Ling, and instead were dealt with cruelly by Emperor Xia Ling.
There is no doubt that Emperor Xia Ling is a cruel tyrant, but it is undeniable that he is a man with scheming intentions and means. At that time, the Xie family, Wang family and others were unable to defeat Xia Ling Emperor at all through their scheming and tricks.
They could calculate Emperor Xia Ling's next move, but Emperor Xia Ling was better than them and could tell their next five or even ten moves.
Emperor Xia Ling spent all his intelligence on enjoying himself and playing tricks on the ministers of the aristocratic families. If he had used his wisdom in governing the country, the previous dynasty might have survived for decades more.
Having said that, the powerful families in the capital were severely damaged by Emperor Xia Ling's "torture". Afterwards, the world was in chaos, rituals and music collapsed, and the wealthy families suffered another blow.
The Duke of Laozhen was very smart. He took a fancy to the late emperor's abilities at a glance and took the initiative to make good friends with the Zhao family and form a marriage alliance. At that time, the Xie family placed all their treasure on the Zhao family. The Wang family and the Xun family also laughed at the Xie family for this, but later they saw that the Zhao family was conquering cities one after another, and they realized that the Xie family had a vicious vision. After that, they also imitated the Xie family and took the initiative to make friends with the Zhao family, providing money and food for the Zhao family.
After the late emperor established the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Xie family became the official residence of the Zhenguo Government and once again became the leader of the powerful families in the capital. However, the Xie family did not regain its original glory.
The Duke of Laozhen knew that with the temperament and methods of the late emperor and Emperor Wu of Zhou, it was impossible for aristocratic families to control the court, let alone the government.
He also knew that the late Emperor and others were born peasants and had always hated and feared their aristocratic family, and could not always rely on them. With the temperaments of the late emperor and Emperor Wu of Zhou, they would definitely deal with the aristocratic family in the future and severely weaken the power of the aristocratic family, so that the aristocratic family could no longer influence the court and government affairs.
When the Duke of Laozhen was alive, he always acted in a low-key manner, unlike the Wang family who were as high-profile and arrogant as before.
He often told the current Duke of Zhen that if he wanted the Xie family to regain its former prosperity, he must keep a low profile before the prince ascended the throne, and he must never do anything to anger Emperor Wu of Zhou. Don't be greedy for immediate benefits, but consider the long-term interests of the Xie family.
The current Duke of Zhen is also a shrewd and wise man. He listened to the words of the old Duke of Zhen and has been supporting the prince in the past few years, but he will never do anything to offend Emperor Wu of Zhou.
Although Duke Zhenguo and Marquis Xuanping fought fiercely and kept placing their own people in the court, these people were not idiots, they were all capable people. He also strictly required his own people not to do anything that would violate Emperor Wu of Zhou's bottom line.
People from aristocratic families in Yangzhou came to cooperate with him and offered very good conditions, but Duke Zhen Guo refused. Even if Emperor Wu of Zhou had not dealt with the aristocratic families in Yangzhou at that time, Duke Zhen would not agree to cooperate with them. It's not because he looks down on the aristocratic families in Yangzhou, but because he has some understanding of what the aristocratic families in Yangzhou do. He knew in his heart that even if Emperor Zhou Wu would not deal with those people in Yangzhou now, he would definitely not let them go in the future.
He could not put the town government in danger for the huge benefit before him. Furthermore, the emperor has always been afraid of Zhen Guo Gongfu. If he really agreed to cooperate with those aristocratic families in Yangzhou, it would give the emperor a reason to punish the Zhenguo government.
Facts have proved that his decision was right. Now it seems that the emperor's scheming and methods to deal with the Yangzhou family are even more incredible than he imagined.
Duke Zhenguo sighed: "The emperor is really getting more and more scary."
Xie Jun, the eldest son of Zhenguo Palace, also lamented: "The emperor's methods are really terrible. Fortunately, we did not go against the emperor." After the Yangzhou incident, he found that those who go against the emperor will not end well.
"The emperor's scheming is really unpredictable." Zhen Guogong said happily, "Fortunately, we have never tried to be clever with the emperor on important matters."
"Dad, the emperor has already eliminated the aristocratic families in Yangzhou. Next, it should be the turn of the wealthy and aristocratic families in the capital, our Xie family..."
Duke Zhen Guo knew his son's worries and comforted him: "As long as we are honest, the emperor will not deal with our Xie family." As he spoke, his expression suddenly became very solemn, "We should not provoke the prince until he successfully ascends the throne. emperor."
"Yes." Xie Jun thought for a while, but was still very scared, "Dad, the emperor is really scary."
Zhenguo Gong said: "What does this mean? You haven't seen the most terrifying thing about the Emperor."
Xie Jun hurriedly asked: "Dad, have you seen him?"
"I'm afraid what I saw back then was not the most terrifying thing about the Emperor." Zhen Guogong suddenly laughed and said, "Fortunately, the Crown Prince is not like the Emperor." If the Crown Prince had the same unpredictable palaces and methods as the Emperor, he would never Will support the prince.
There will be another update in the evening.
Emperor Wu of Zhou: Playing with scheming and tricks, I advise you not to do anything in front of me, otherwise I will kill you.
Author: Zhao Yao is in danger!
Zhao Yao: (′｀) What’s wrong with me?
Author: There is a saying: Your dad is still your dad.
Zhao Yao: What do you mean?
Finally, I still ask for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
