Emperor Liu's order was issued, and the palace was shocked, especially those stakeholders involved, those palace servants and officials who relied on the imperial power and parasitized the palace.
Emperor Liu's original intention was known only to himself, but he could not prevent the speculation and interpretation of the people below. Those with evil intentions in their hearts were even more unprepared. Suddenly, the Han Palace began to be shrouded in a solemn atmosphere, which was worse than before in the Central Plains. It’s even more depressing when there’s a flood.
Of course, Emperor Liu's attention was not yet focused on the chaos within the palace. After seven consecutive days of careful inventory and inspection, the internal funds, treasury reserves, and royal properties managed by the Young Master finally came to a rough conclusion.
The results of the inventory are gratifying and astonishing. In terms of money, it is indeed less than 7 million yuan, but if other wealth is exposed, it will definitely be staggering.
There are 110,000 kilograms of gold lying in the palace treasury alone. If it were only used to make gold ornaments and gold objects, given the digestion capacity of the current palace, it would not be used up in fifty years;
There was less silver, which could barely sustain the daily consumption of the palace. In the past, there were hundreds of thousands of kilograms of silver, but due to the reform of the money system, it was all lent to the court to mint silver coins;
There are more than 90,000 pieces of fine silk from Sichuan, Sichuan and the southeast. Just turning and sorting it every year requires a lot of effort. During this inspection, it was even found that many were rotten and damaged due to improper maintenance;
Rice, millet and other grain supplies are stored in the imperial city and warehouses controlled by the Shaofu, with millions of stones stored in them. These can be regarded as the last strategic reserves of the royal family and the court;
The above is only a part of the royal family's property and can be directly converted and used. As for other real estate, the amount is also astonishingly large.
As Yantuo described, the pearls, jade, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain, and treasures were not only piled up in mountains, but also filled several warehouses. Emperor Liu went to see it in person. Even Emperor Liu, who had seen everything in the world, couldn't help but be surprised.
If we really want to estimate the value of the wealth owned by the royal family, according to the current market conditions in the Han Dynasty, it is not difficult to exceed 100 million.
Such a huge fortune gave Emperor Liu a sensational feeling. What was even more absurd was that Emperor Liu himself had not had much awareness before. After all, the world belonged to him, so how could he care about these yellow and white things? .
However, quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes, but when wealth has been accumulated to this extent, Emperor Liu's current mentality can't help but cause ripples.
It took more than 20 years to accumulate such a large amount of wealth. When divided equally, it does not seem so amazing, but the overall situation of the Han Dynasty during these 20 years must be taken into account.
He didn't engage in plunder, exploitation or exploitation in a very ugly way, which Emperor Liu disdained. However, under the imperial system, at the pinnacle of power in this world, things like wealth will consciously go to the imperial city and the warehouse of the young master. This is almost a principle...
Of course, a man is not rich without windfall, and a horse is not fat without night grass. Among them, there are also contributions from a large number of enemies and surrenders. Take gold as an example. In order to negotiate peace with the Han Dynasty, Li Jing, the central leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty, provided no less than fifteen thousand gold to Emperor Liu during his envoy exchanges before and after the war. Like Meng Chang, after breaking through Panyu, the Nanyue Palace also gained a huge harvest. Coupled with the excavation and smelting of gold mines across the country, 110,000 kilograms was still a small amount. After all, the imperial court also got a large piece of meat.
It can be said that the huge amount of wealth that the royal family now possesses is largely due to the contributions of the separatist regimes of Jiangnan, Houshu, and Southern Guangdong.
When Chengdu was defeated, the Han army looted and caused a great uproar, which even caused the Shu people to rebel and surrender repeatedly. The notoriety was carried by the arrogant and powerful generals, but in fact, Emperor Liu and the court were the ones who ate the meat. The wealth of the Shu Palace could completely enrich the Han regime in Tokyo.
The same is true for the Southern Guangdong Kingdom. When it comes to looting and exploiting, Liu Yuan and his shamans are all experts, and Guangdong and Guangxi are indeed treasure lands capable of producing rare things. After Pan Mei entered Panyu, she seized it and used it for hundreds of ships before the transportation was completed.
Not to mention Jinling, in terms of wealth, there is no one like him in the world, with a collection of more than 100,000 volumes of books, not to mention other wealth.
Even in Wu Yue, before Qian Hongchu surrendered, Emperor Liu showed mercy and allowed the Qian family to leave a considerable amount of wealth, but the rest should not be underestimated.
Even Jiangling provided a lot of trophies. The only place that had little to gain was Jingnan. When the imperial court recaptured Changsha, it was already dilapidated and impoverished. After all, the land was plowed three feet by the Tang army in the early years. However, after going round and round, after Jiangnan surrendered, it was imported into the Han Palace. Among the belongings, it is difficult to tell how much was looted from Changsha by the Tang army.
Opposite to wealth is beauty. Li Jing, Li Yu and his son, as well as Meng Chang, are all romantic. Many palaces in southern Guangdong are also full of beauties. Of the tens of thousands of palace ladies and beauties, Emperor Liu certainly did not take all the orders. Yes, a lot of the essence has indeed been collected. Otherwise, why would the Han Palace be so crowded today?
Six palaces of pink and white, three thousand beauties, they are no longer just adjectives, but there are actually so many people...
These countless wealth and treasures can be said to be the trophies of Emperor Liu's pacification of the world and his conquest of heroes. They can be occupied and enjoyed with peace of mind.
However, behind every brick of gold and every pearl, behind that bright and colorful yellow and orange color, isn’t there the people’s wealth and support?
Emperor Liu didn't bother with these things in the past, and he didn't have so much compassion. After all, the sins were all committed by others. He just harvested the fruits as a conqueror and winner, even if he was beautiful. There is too much power and exploitation in its fruits.
However, when Emperor Liu faced these gains again and faced those fascinating wealth and treasures, his mentality could not help but waver.
It's not that I'm confused by these external things, I'm just inexplicably a little scared and a little unsteady. It's not the wealth itself, but the meaning that these wealth represents.
However, Emperor Liu is Emperor Liu after all. No matter how much wealth he has, he can throw it away. What can really intoxicate and corrupt him is power.
...
In the Chui Gong Hall, a young official stood respectfully, wearing green clothes and looking very humble. This is Lu Mengzheng, last year's Enke No. 1 Scholar. He originally served in the Ministry of Household Affairs to observe government affairs and performed very well. Emperor Liu specially assigned several personnel from the Ministry of Household Affairs to participate in this inventory of royal property, and Lu Mengzheng was one of them.
The number one scholar is always a little special, and he also got the opportunity to report details to Emperor Liu. Standing not far from Lu Mengzheng was Ze Yantuo. At this time, the eunuch had his head lowered and could already feel the unusual atmosphere in the palace.
Even Lu Mengzheng, who was not familiar with Emperor Liu, also felt this strangeness, and a kind of fear grew in his heart, and this fear obviously came from Emperor Liu who was standing at a high level.
"I really don't know if I don't check it. I'm shocked when I check it. Today, my eyes are opened again and I am amazed!" Emperor Liu sighed calmly in a cold tone: "The person who holds the tea and wine is enjoying the tribute tea. Those in charge of the kitchen enjoy the royal food; those in charge of medicinal materials eat ginseng and deer antlers as normal food; those in charge of the warehouses smuggle in secrets and guard against theft..."
What Emperor Liu was talking about was naturally that during the asset inventory, some people and things were exposed incidentally. Although it was not the focus, it inevitably aroused Emperor Liu's idea and ordered a thorough investigation.
"Okay! There are so many thieves and thieves in Ziwei City, and there are so many rat thefts?" Emperor Liu's voice was unnaturally high, as if he wanted to shake the palace, and his tone was very penetrating. : "I said how could the palace expenses be so huge? It turns out that I am not the only one spending the money! It turns out that these people who serve me are also enjoying it for me! Huh?"
"Your Majesty, calm down!" Lu Mengzheng now possesses the basic qualities of a courtier. Seeing Long Yan's rage, he almost instinctively bowed and asked.
"Calm down your anger? I am furious now, soaring into the sky! Tell me how to calm down!" Emperor Liu immediately responded.
Such a reaction caught Lu Mengzheng, a newcomer in the officialdom, completely off guard. His status as the number one scholar did not give him more confidence to face the furious Emperor Liu.
"Reporting to the officials, all the perpetrators have been arrested and are waiting to be dealt with?" Seeing this, Yantuo took a step forward and reported.
"Do you still have to wait for my instructions?" Emperor Liu replied coldly: "One of these people counts. If they are really enlightened, do they still have to wait for the magic sword to be added to their necks?"
"I have always thought that there are many corrupt officials in the imperial court who need to be rectified, but now it seems that the inner court of the imperial palace should also undergo a thorough cleanup!" Emperor Liu's unemotional eyes fell on Yan Tuo, and he could see that My neck felt cold.
"What the officials said is..."
