You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 65
The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen put down the report he was holding, which detailed the confiscation of family property.

The final total on the report made even Zhou Chen's heart skip a beat.

Zhou Chen never expected that this confiscation of his family's property and extermination of his clan would yield a staggering 150 million taels of silver.

With so much silver, Zhou Chen could spend it lavishly for a while.

With this money, the severe drought in the four northern states can be resolved.

Zhou Chen felt little anger towards these ministers who had embezzled so much of the court's money.

No matter how corrupt these officials were, they have all been brought down by him.

And all that ill-gotten wealth obtained through embezzlement eventually ended up back in his hands.

Zhou Chen isn't afraid of corrupt officials like that; what he fears are petty corrupt officials who cause trouble when things are too clear.

Confiscating property and exterminating the entire clan is not enough, but not doing so would be like a thorn in my side.

It's stuck in the middle, making you uncomfortable.

Such a corrupt official is exactly what Zhou Chen wanted.

Once the houses were confiscated, the national treasury was filled.

It comes faster than taxes.

After putting down the closed document, Zhou Chen looked at Cao Zhengchun and asked, "Have the amounts of money confiscated from the other people whose homes were searched and who were arrested been tallied?"

Zhou Chen knew that, apart from General Wu Jin and the Minister of Personnel, more than twenty officials had their homes confiscated and their families exterminated.

In the past three days, many people have been implicated, their homes and families have been confiscated, and they have been thrown into prison.

Although these people did not have as much wealth as officials like General Wu Jin, they had a lot of people!
Added together, it's quite a sum.

"Your Majesty, not yet."

"Because there are too many people whose homes have been raided, and the manpower of the Imperial Guards is somewhat insufficient, it is estimated that it will take several more days to fully compile a detailed count."

Cao Zhengchun replied immediately.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen's eyes flickered, and he said to Cao Zhengchun, "Once the statistics are completed, just send them directly to the Ministry of Revenue's treasury."

There were too many fish.

Only then can the mice feel at ease.

Zhou Chen didn't believe that the rats could resist being tempted by so many fish.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cao Zhengchun nodded.

At this moment, a palace eunuch entered.

"Your Majesty, Minister Fang requests an audience," the eunuch from the Imperial Guard reported as he entered.

Fang Xuanling?
Zhou Chen was stunned for a moment.

Since Zhou Chen appointed Fang Xuanling as Minister of Personnel at the morning court session three days ago, Fang Xuanling has not come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to pay homage to the emperor.

"Let him in."

Upon hearing this, the eunuchs and guards immediately bowed and withdrew.

moment.

Fang Xuanling then entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Your subject Fang Xuanling pays his respects to Your Majesty." Fang Xuanling, who had just entered, knelt down and performed a grand salute.

"Get up!" Zhou Chen looked up at Fang Xuanling; "Have the missing officials in the court been replaced?"

"Your Majesty, that is precisely why I have come."

"This is a list that I have selected. In addition to filling the vacancies in the court, I have also prepared some extra lists."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

As Fang Xuanling spoke, he took out a list.

Upon seeing this, Cao Zhengchun walked over, took the list from Fang Xuanling's hand, and placed it back in front of Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen didn't say anything more and casually opened the list to look at it.

It must be said that Fang Xuanling was very meticulous in his work.

This register not only records a name, but also the background of these people and some of their usual deeds.

To Zhou Chen's surprise, the list actually included members of prominent families.

This made Zhou Chen frown.

Did Fang Xuanling not know what he was thinking? Fang Xuanling below seemed to have seen through Zhou Chen's thoughts and immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, although aristocratic families are a cancer, not all members of aristocratic families are like that. There are also upright and capable pillars of society."

"Your Majesty is right to eliminate the malignant tumor of the aristocratic families, but that does not mean exterminating all of them."

"Even if the emperor wipes out all the powerful families in the land now, new powerful families will emerge in a few years."

"Noble families cannot be eradicated."

"As long as power exists, there will be powerful families."

"This is my advice, Your Majesty. Please consider it carefully."

Fang Xuanling bowed and said.

After hearing Fang Xuanling's words, Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, closed the list, and looked at Fang Xuanling, saying, "You're right. As long as power exists, there will be powerful and influential families."

"Powerful and influential families cannot be eradicated."

"I have read your list, and it is very good."

"Let's do it your way!"

Zhou Chen returned the list to Fang Xuanling.

Zhou Chen knew that Fang Xuanling was right.

He wanted to deal with the powerful families, but not with all of them.

Even noble families have loyal and virtuous members, just as the royal family has treacherous and wicked individuals.

We cannot generalize and condemn an ​​entire group of people based on a single example.

For the first time, Zhou Chen, as an emperor, felt that there was still so much he needed to learn.

……

at the same time.

The situation in the four northwestern prefectures has changed dramatically.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, leading the most elite of the Great Zhou, the Twelve Divine Martial Guards, with 30,000 troops in each guard, should have been able to quickly quell the peasant uprising, eliminate the rebels, and recover the entire territory of the four northwestern prefectures.

However, the result was a crushing defeat at the hands of the traitors, with heavy losses.

Xi'an Prefecture, city walls.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong stared at the densely packed rebel army outside the city, his face pale and grave.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong never expected that his 30,000 troops, sent to the four northwestern prefectures to quell the rebellion and provide disaster relief, would ultimately fail to quell the rebellion and instead be defeated by the rebels.

Of the 30,000 elite troops, less than 10,000 remain, and even the Grand Tutor himself is seriously injured.

Not only have they lost cities and suffered defeats, but they are now trapped in the isolated city of Xi'an Prefecture, while the other four prefectures in the northwest have all been captured by the rebels.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong had never suffered such a crushing defeat before.

Even more critically, Princes Zhou Qian and Zhou Qi also fell into the hands of rebels outside the city.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong didn't know how to explain this to the royal family or the emperor.

"Grand Tutor, this is a conspiracy."

"A blatant conspiracy."

"Of the 30,000 troops, less than 10,000 retreated into the city, and seven of the ten Grandmaster Captains were also lost."

"They did not die on the battlefield with real swords and spears, but they died in the midst of conspiracy and scheming."

"This humble general is unwilling."

“Look at these rebels outside the city. They’re not just rioters; they’re clearly a disciplined army.”

A middle-aged general beside Grand Tutor Wen Zhong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pointed angrily at the densely packed chaotic army outside the city.

This middle-aged general is the commander of this guard among the Twelve Divine Martial Guards.

The Twelve Divine Martial Guards consist of twelve Guard Masters, each commanding 30,000 Divine Martial Guards.

Now, the 30,000 Divine Martial Guards under this middle-aged general have suffered such heavy losses, with more than 20,000 dead or wounded.

This was something the middle-aged general could not accept.

To die a dignified death on the battlefield.

He won't say anything.

Judging from the current situation, this is clearly a targeted conspiracy.

(End of this chapter)