The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 496 Return and Completion
"We are willing to return the public lands that we purchased unknowingly."

Liu Ji proposed a solution.

"Then those who bought it knowingly won't return it?"

Hu Zun asked back.

Liu Ji quickly said, "We never knew about the purchase."

Representatives from the other major clans also nodded in agreement.

Hu Zun sneered, "Whether you know it or not, the public land must be returned. I checked the number of public land in previous years, and since the time of Emperor Wen, the number of public land has been wrong! You must make up for it!!"

"what?!"

Before Liu Ji could speak, the others couldn't help but speak.

Why don't you just start counting from the time of Emperor Wen of Han?

At that time, the world was in chaos due to war, and farmland in various places lost its ownership. The Cao Wei regime led the people to reclaim land and integrated a large amount of farmland as public land, allowing the people to cultivate it for the temple.

It was not until the reign of Cao Pi that the constraints were gradually loosened. Although this improved the quality of life of the people, it also allowed the big families to encroach on the arable land.

Hu Zun's proposal was about the amount of public land during the Cao Pi period, which the big families naturally would not accept.

"General, since Emperor Wen, public land has been abandoned and good farmland has disappeared. This is a very common occurrence. How can we make up for it?"

"We are willing to return the farmland out of respect for you!"

These big clans will not be too afraid when facing Hu Zun collectively.

Especially those who have powerful backing in the government.

They believed that the emperor would not take action against them.

Hu Zun looked at Hu Lie standing aside and said, "This is the envoy sent by His Majesty. He will remember everything you say! It will definitely reach His Majesty's ears!"

Those big clans immediately shut their mouths.

Even though there are people in the temple, they cannot betray their own people at will.

After all, the purchase of public land is true. If such a hat is put on him, the people in the government will feel threatened and may come back to clean up the mess first.

Seeing that everyone fell silent, Hu Zun also released his trump card.

"This case of public land can be pardoned according to what you just said, by returning the purchased farmland."

"Then let's talk about the murder of the princes."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji reacted greatly.

"General, this is entirely Gong Shahong's behavior. What does it have to do with us? My clansman also received his orders and was used by him. How can this be..."

Hu Zun looked at him and said coldly, "That's hard to say."

"The current Zongzheng has arrived here. He is investigating this matter thoroughly. Murdering the princes is a serious crime!"

"Gong Shahong has already confessed. He said this was a decision made after consultation with you. He is responsible for the execution, and you are responsible for the support."

“You are slandering me!!”

Liu Ji finally lost his composure.

The reason why the old man was not afraid was because he felt that his crime was not serious. Even if he was involved in the public land case, he would not be sentenced to death. However, if he was involved in the case of killing the king, the problem was different.

Even the big families around him were no longer calm at this moment.

They all have someone to protect them, but killing the king can easily send their protectors to jail as well.

For example, if someone in Wang Su's family purchased public land, the emperor might just talk to him, but if someone in his family murdered a prince, then the Ministry of Justice would probably talk to him.

In minor cases, the official title will be dismissed, and in serious cases, the offender will be executed.

This cannot be taken lightly.

"General, this matter has nothing to do with us."

When they spoke, Hu Zun looked at Hu Lie again, indicating that these words were to be told to the emperor.

This almost shut them up.

Hu Zun looked at their faces turning pale with frustration and chuckled, saying, "Actually, you don't have to worry. His Majesty is magnanimous and won't make things difficult for you because of something like this."

"But, to conquer Wu and Shu, we still need food. There are too few public fields, and the income of the temple is constantly decreasing."

"It would be difficult for me to achieve any results while I'm in office."

Hu Zun spoke.

Everyone was very angry. Hu Zun's behavior was no different from robbery.

This is to cut into their flesh and eat their flesh in the name of replenishing the public land.

They are very familiar with this; after all, they do it too.

It’s just that the big families are more secretive and elegant so as not to let the common people feel that they are being robbed.

But this warrior from the northwest was not as tactful as the scholars from the Central Plains, and he talked about everything openly.

Hu Zun began a fierce negotiation with everyone.

Hu Zun’s idea was simple.

These people are impossible to kill, so if they can't be killed, then let them be killed! The local arable land situation cannot withstand investigation during the Wei and Jin dynasties. It is understandable that there were no poor people among the people during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and no cases of starvation occurred.

The self-cultivating farmers were almost wiped out. Everyone became tenants and serfs, with no income of their own. They farmed for the powerful, the wealthy, and the government. These three parties had to ensure that their private property would not be starved to death before they could continue to farm for themselves.

The amount of arable land owned by the wealthy families was staggeringly huge. They often owned tens of thousands of acres of land and had tens of thousands of servants.

This is comparable to the small countries in the Spring and Autumn Period!
Hu Zun was determined to compete with the young man from Hebei, and the meat cut from the big families would all go into the pockets of the government, so it was rare to have such a good reason.

None of these big clans are clean.

If they are to be thoroughly investigated based on the Wang murder case, it is hard to say whether there is any connection with the Wang murder case. In any case, their lives will not be peaceful, and it is possible that some dirty deeds will be uncovered.

For them who are wealthy and powerful, cutting some meat to protect the clan is still acceptable.

In any case, these public lands will slowly fall into their hands, but they will just pass through the hands of the government.

During this period, Cao Yan visited the mansions of several large families, and he brought the King of Jibei with him.

Even towards those people he had friendship with, Cao Yan's face did not show any kindness. He looked very angry and kept expressing his position.

This time he came for the princes, and he scolded these people for their treasonous behavior and great disrespect for His Majesty the Emperor.

He needed to make this matter a big deal so that everyone in the world would know that he was a good clan leader who was willing to stand up for the princes, and was no longer the kind of person who was just a decoration or someone who specifically found fault with the princes.

His behavior unintentionally helped Hu Zun.

The big families originally thought that they had a good relationship with Cao Yan, and even if they were thoroughly investigated, they could still have a say in him. However, seeing Cao Yan's attitude, everyone gave up their original idea and decided to hand over the farmland to save their lives.

Cao Yan and Cao Zhike were different. When he started to scold them, these arrogant nobles just lowered their heads and sincerely confessed their guilt.

In front of Cao Yan, they bowed to Cao Zhi again and again, begging for his forgiveness.

Cao Zhi couldn't help but say to Guo Ze beside him: Today I know how noble the princes are.

After taking Cao Zhi around for a few rounds, Cao Yan prepared to return to the temple with Cao Zhi.

If it was just a dispute over farmland, Cao Yan could still resolve it himself, but now that it has gotten to this point, it is no longer something he can resolve. He has to take it back for His Majesty to decide.

Hu Lie protected them and headed all the way to Luoyang.

Hu Zun won the game.

He protected the King of Jibei, prevented the king's murder, solved the public land case, and in the process dealt with a large number of corrupt officials. He also cut a lot of meat from the hands of the big families and recovered a large amount of public land.

It can be imagined that once these public lands fall into the hands of local officials, they will definitely improve everyone's political achievements.

Hu Zun was particularly proud of this.

It's not that I want to be the general, but these people are helping me to become the general. I have no choice but to do so.

That young boy from Hebei, how can he compare to me?!

No!

This matter must be told to the young man so that he can see the difference clearly!
"Yes!!"

"Public land!"

Yang Hu slapped his forehead suddenly and looked at Pei Hui beside him.

Pei Hui looked at him blankly, "General, what are you doing?"

At this moment, the two were reading a letter. Of course, the letter was not sent to Yang Hu, but to Pei Hui, the governor of Jizhou.

Hu Zun and Pei Hui had a friendship. When Hu Zun followed Sima Yi to pacify Liaodong, Pei Hui was responsible for their logistics, and the two knew each other at that time.

Pei Hui focuses on building connections. He has friendships with many people. He likes making friends and never looks down on others because of their identity or appearance.

Hu Zun wrote a letter to Pei Hui, informing him of his actions and finally advising him to be careful about the problem of misusing public land for personal purposes.

It seemed that Hu Zun was kind-hearted and reminded his colleagues, but in fact, he was just showing off to Yang Hu. He knew that Pei Hui would definitely show the letter to Yang Hu.

After reading the letter, Yang Hu immediately thought of something.

After Pei Hui asked, Yang Hu looked at him with a smile and said, "During the rebellion in Hebei, a large amount of farmland was not consolidated in time. There may also be problems with the amount of public land."

Pei Hui suddenly understood.

"Perhaps it is so."

Of course, Pei Hui knew it, he just didn't want to know.

But Yang Hu obviously had nothing to fear.

The emperor asked him to come to Hebei in order to rebuild the local area. The powerful families here had been killed once and their power was relatively weak. The resistance they faced was even smaller than that of Hu Zun. The reason was also ready-made. He just needed to thoroughly investigate the cultivated land destroyed during the rebellion and check the number of public fields.

Yang Hu was overjoyed at this moment.

"I have to thank General Hu. If it weren't for him, I don't know how I could do this. How many people can these farmlands feed?"

Pei Hui just smiled and didn't say anything.

Yang Hu looked at Pei Hui standing aside and said, "We shouldn't be selling off public land here, right?"

Pei Hui remained the same, "I can go and conduct a thorough investigation, and then gather the great clans to inquire about this matter."

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. I still have some things to do in Bingzhou."

(End of this chapter)