You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 64: Fifty Million Taels!
Prime Minister's House.

A prime minister and three ministers held a secret meeting for half a day.

Then, the three ministers left the Prime Minister's residence.

As the leading figures of the powerful families within the imperial court, the secret meeting of these four was essentially a secret meeting of the powerful families within the imperial court.

No one knows the specific outcome of their talks, but the political situation in the court is expected to become even more turbulent and unpredictable.

After the three ministers left, Prime Minister Yuan Bo remained silent for a moment, then summoned his steward and instructed, "Have the young masters and ladies pack their things. Once the city gates open, send them out of Luoyang first!"

Preventing problems before they arise is an essential means for the survival of aristocratic families.

No matter how the situation changes, we must prepare for the worst.

That way, if something really happens, the whole family won't be wiped out.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo knew very well that no one in the court could remain in power forever. No matter how many dynasties they served, very few people could truly remain unshaken.

The current political situation is strange, and two of the four regents have already fallen.

Therefore, Chancellor Yuan Bo had to make preparations in advance to guard against unforeseen circumstances.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo believed that the Ministers of Revenue, Justice, and Works would likely make similar precautionary arrangements after leaving his Prime Minister's residence.

……

Luoyang, the capital of China.

For three days in a row, there was a sense of unease and fear.

Inside the city, the Imperial Guards, led by the Imperial Household Department, went around arresting people. In just three days, countless people were arrested.

Although Zhou Chen did not implicate others, quite a few people were still arrested because of the matter involving General Wu Jin.

Within three days, the prison was already overflowing with people.

It wasn't until three days later that Luoyang returned to peace, the martial law was lifted, and the city gates were opened wide.

However, compared to the past, the checks at the city gates are still very strict.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen opened his eyes and slowly exhaled.

A series of cracking sounds came from inside his body.

"Seventh rank!"

Zhou Chen's eyes flickered, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Aside from handling some important matters, Zhou Chen spent most of his time cultivating over the past three days.

Although he had the protection of the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Household Agency, and Cao Zhengchun, Zhou Chen believed that no amount of protection could compare to the safety of his own strength.

In just three days, Zhou Chen broke through from the ninth-rank martial artist to the seventh-rank, just one step away from entering the middle third-rank Qi Refining stage.

This cultivation speed is undeniably fast.

This is all thanks to Zhou Chen's success in taking down Empress Wu Ying and the Grand General's faction.

After taking down these people, eliminating the influence of the maternal relatives' faction in the court, and consolidating power, Zhou Chen's imperial fortune improved considerably.

When you start cultivating, it will naturally be much faster and more efficient.

To be honest, even Zhou Chen himself didn't expect that eliminating the influence of the Empress and the Grand General's relatives in the court would allow him to cultivate so quickly.

"If I were to consolidate all power and restore the Great Zhou Dynasty to its former glory, I wonder how fast my cultivation would progress?"

"Can we ascend to the heavens in one step and break through to the 'Celestial Realm' where one can roam freely between heaven and earth?"

Zhou Chen thought to himself.

at this time.

Sudden.

Cao Zhengchun walked in silently.

"Your Majesty, this is a record of the confiscation of the property of the Grand General, the Grand Tutor, and more than twenty other officials."

"Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Cao Zhengchun handed a memorial to Zhou Chen.

"Oh, is the search and seizure complete?" Zhou Chen knew that high-ranking officials like these in the imperial court would likely have considerable wealth.

It will be difficult to thoroughly investigate and seize the goods in a short period of time.

But now, in just three days, Cao Zhengchun has already completed the search and seizure.

It seems that the Eastern Depot truly lives up to its reputation as an expert in confiscating property and exterminating clans; its efficiency is indeed quite fast.

Zhou Chen took the memorial from Cao Zhengchun's hand.

turn on.

The memorial was filled with densely packed records of the property of the officials whose homes had been confiscated and whose families had been exterminated.

The one ranked first was General Wu Jin.

"Fifty million taels?"

Upon seeing the number following General Wu Jin, Zhou Chen couldn't help but gasp in shock.

How much tax revenue can the entire Zhou Dynasty generate in a year?
It's only twenty or thirty million taels of silver, isn't it?
However, in the General's Mansion, the home of a minister who was assisting the state was found to contain 50 million taels of silver, which was equivalent to two years' worth of taxes from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

This doesn't even include the property deeds for shops and land; it's just money.

If you include those real estate properties, the General's mansion's assets are estimated to reach over 70 million.

It is evident that General Wu Jin had embezzled a great deal of ill-gotten wealth, both openly and secretly.

Zhou Chen calmed himself down and continued reading. The second person was Grand Tutor Yan Hua.

Previously, after Grand Tutor Yan Hua was imprisoned, Zhou Chen did not rush to confiscate his family's property. This time, he handed it over to Cao Zhengchun to confiscate the property and exterminate the entire clan.

Forty million taels of silver were also found in the home of Grand Tutor Yan Hua.

Although not as much as the Grand General, it was still quite a lot, making him a notorious corrupt official.

Next came the family assets of officials such as the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites.

After Zhou Chen finished reading the records of the confiscation of the properties of various officials, he let out a long sigh of relief.

No wonder everyone wants to be an official.

Everyone was scrambling to climb up.

The assets of these officials whose properties were seized amounted to at least two or three million taels of silver.

As expected, he was a clean magistrate for three years and earned 100,000 silver coins.

Zhou Chen was envious. He, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the ruler of the world, was actually not as rich as one of his officials.

This has to be said to be a kind of irony.

Zhou Chen closed the memorial and glanced at Cao Zhengchun; "Half of the money confiscated will go into my private treasury, and the other half into the Ministry of Revenue's national treasury."

"Have the imperial guards keep an eye on the Ministry of Revenue."

"I'd like to see how many rats can be caught by putting such a big piece of fat in."

Zhou Chen said with a cold laugh.

The national treasury is now empty, and Zhou Chen's personal treasury is also stretched thin.

Previously, the imperial court had not had enough money and grain, which was why the severe drought in the four northern prefectures had not been able to provide comprehensive disaster relief and rescue to the people.

This led to civil unrest in the four northwestern prefectures, the areas most severely affected by drought, resulting in the current dire situation.

Now that so many officials have had their homes and families exterminated, and so much money has been seized, it's just the right amount to replenish the national treasury and Zhou Chen's private coffers.

At the same time, it also allows Zhou Chen to act as a fish, to catch the rats in the Ministry of Revenue.

Let's see just how many rats are hiding in this Ministry of Revenue.

Upon hearing Zhou Chen's words, Cao Zhengchun immediately bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Now the Eastern Depot has stepped into the limelight and made a name for itself.

Although the number of people was not large and there had been considerable losses before, Zhou Chen had managed to sign in and gain 500 more Factory Guards in the past three days.

This not only made up for the losses of the Eastern Depot's previous guards, but also more than doubled the Eastern Depot's manpower.

It shouldn't be a problem to assign some personnel to keep an eye on the Ministry of Revenue.

(End of this chapter)