The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 702 No Need to Say More
Ministry of Punishment.

Wei Shu took a sip of tea and then looked at the guest in front of him.

These days, more and more people come to see him.

It's not that I came here to ask him for someone.

Even Wang Chang didn't dare come here to ask for someone the emperor wanted to deal with.

Almost no one dared to bribe Wei Shu.

This is all because one thinks his life is too long.

After so many years of rectification by Cao Mao, these people finally began to become normal.

A few years ago, they might have been able to get someone from the Ministry of Justice, or buy off Wei Shu through intimidation or bribery.

But they don't dare to do that now. They appear here mainly to find out some information.

The big families had too close interactions with each other and were all relatives. Take Xun Xi for example. If Xun Xi was dealt with, it would not only be Xun Xu, Xun Yu, Xun Biao and others who would be in trouble, but Guanqiu Jian would also be in trouble.

Because the wife of Guanqiu Jian's son, Xun, was Xun Xi's cousin.

How can these big families be related? Cao Mao and Sun Hao might even be related in some way.

This time, more than ten major clans were implicated, and eighteen officials from their clans alone were implicated, with salaries exceeding two thousand shi.
Not to mention those small fry below the fifth grade.

This is only the case when there is no verdict yet, and no one knows how severe the verdict will be for these people.

If it involves the extermination of the entire family, then these relatives of more than ten families will suffer a lot!

Cai Mu's relatives included the Yang family, the Xin family, and the Sima family.

Wei's relatives include Liu and Zhang Hua.
Zhang Hua married Liu Fang's daughter, and Wei Lie's son married Liu Fang's son Liu Xi's daughter.
The situation is similar for the other major clans. You are in me and I am in you. If we really talk about it, something big is going to happen.

This is actually a protection measure among the big families. The closer the connection between them, the less likely the emperor will dare to touch them easily.

But the target cannot be the founding monarch.

After they were arrested one after another, these people were in an uproar and came to inquire about the situation, just wanting to know whether they would suffer with them.

Wei Shu said softly, "Xin Gong, don't worry."

"Except for the ringleader, the rest of the people should be fine."

Hearing Wei Shu's words, Xin Chang breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's just exile."

Wei Shu's next sentence made Xin Chang worry again.

"Duke Wei, what about their in-laws' families?"

"I don't know about that. Anyway, nothing serious will happen. Please don't worry."

Wei Shu gave a few instructions and asked someone to send the guest away.

Xin Chang thanked him and left with a heavy heart.

After Xin Chang left, laughter suddenly came from the side.

"Hahaha, this Lord Wei has become Duke Wei in just a few days! I remember that Xin Chang was your former chief officer, yet he's so polite to you now."

Yang Zong walked out from the side with a smile on his face.

Wei Shu glanced at him and said, "Mr. Yang, someone from your clan has also come."

Yang Zong shook his head, dismissive.

Yang Zong's clan declined with the tragic death of Yang Xiu. By the time of these people, they were no longer able to compete with those big guys. They used to be a super clan, but now, they are just an ordinary clan.

Yang Zong sat next to Wei Shu and asked the officials to leave first.

There were only two of them left in the house.

"In the past two years, Yongliang has been greatly governed."

Yang Zong suddenly talked about something completely unrelated.

"After the Qiang and Hu people there were resettled, public security improved greatly, and there were no more bandits on the roads. Guo Ze was appointed the General of the Central Guard to protect the Qiang people, and he was deeply respected and loved by the Hu people."

"Zhuge Xu, Sima Wang, and others have done a remarkable job in the area. Even before the imperial court issued any orders, they had already reclaimed farmland, repaired cities, and built roads. The area is thriving, and areas previously damaged by war have been rebuilt."

"The people have a surplus at home, and the cities are filled with merchants from the Western Regions, Bashu, and other places, making them particularly prosperous."

"Tax revenue alone is more than four times higher than before. The governors of the three regions have all received generous rewards from His Majesty."

Yang Zong raised his head and asked with a smile, "Do you know why this is happening?"

Wei Shu stared at him blankly, not saying a word.

Yang Zong was used to it; this guy had always been like this.

He always looks a bit dull and has a dull expression, but he is the type of person who does things without saying much.

During the years that the Ministry of Justice has entrusted him with this task, not a single problem has occurred.

Even Zhong Hui couldn't find any fault with him!

This is not something that an ordinary minister can do!
Yang Zong knew that this guy must have understood what he meant.

He did not explain and continued, "Yanzhou is a good place."

"The land here is fertile, considered the most fertile and prosperous in the entire Central Plains. When Deng Ai was governor, he developed water conservancy projects and vigorously cultivated the land. In just a few years, Yanzhou's tax revenue was several times that of other provinces, making it the undisputed leader in Wei."

"However, as soon as Deng Ai left, this grand occasion disappeared." "I don't know what kind of natural or man-made disaster happened, but after Deng Ai left Yanzhou, a large amount of arable land disappeared, the people fled, the population and arable land began to shrink significantly, and tax revenue was even more unimportant."

"The difference between when Deng Ai is here and when he's not is so huge."

As Yang Zong was speaking, he suddenly looked at Wei Shu.

"I have a feeling that those who oppose the Land Reward Order this time are not just these people. There may be accomplices in Yanzhou. What do you think?"

Yang Zong seemed to have said everything, but also seemed to have said nothing.

The Great Wei destroyed Wu and Shu.

In Yang Zong's eyes, the only enemies of the Wei Dynasty now are the aristocratic families!
As long as these guys are still around, the Wei Dynasty will never be able to develop well. The so-called wealth is only the wealth of the big families, and has almost nothing to do with the government and the people at the bottom.

You don't need to look at other places, just looking at Yanzhou will make it very clear.

During the period of Sima Shi, Deng Ai served as the governor of Yanzhou. Yanzhou was well governed and extremely wealthy, attracting a large number of refugees and becoming the de facto number one state.

In the second year after Deng Ai left, famine began to occur in Yanzhou.

How is this done?

Is there a food shortage in Yanzhou?
The cause of famine is not necessarily lack of food.

Yang Zong wanted to use this incident to severely rectify Yanzhou. Now, only Yongliang has been half-rectified. At the beginning, Yang Zong used the excuse that they raised Hu soldiers to kill many local big families, uprooted them, and sent them to Nanzhong overnight.

This led to a major change in the local situation. The large amount of confiscated farmland and tenants provided Yongliang with great development opportunities.

At this moment, Yang Zong has set his sights on Yanzhou, and he would like to make a big move in Yanzhou if he can.

Judging from the scale of the large families involved now, the rectification can be more thorough than Yongliang. By then, Yanzhou may really be able to usher in great development.

If we don't get rid of these termites and just focus on farming, we will only be serving as fertilizer for these people.

These people must be treated as fertilizer so that the crops can grow better.

Wei Shu remained silent, and Yang Zong also fell silent.

The emperor's favorite was promoted from among his close ministers, and he himself did not come from a super powerful family. He should not refute him at this time, right?

"Mr. Yang."

Wei Shu took out a document from the side and handed it to Yang Zong in front of him.

"These are all people involved in the case."

Yang Zong picked up the document in some surprise and looked at it with his head down. It was a list filled with names of people.

Yang Zong read it carefully.

He found that there were not only those who were arrested, but also some people from Yanzhou.
Yang Zong laughed, "Hahaha, it seems that I have done something unnecessary."

Wei Shu still didn't say anything, just looked at him stupidly.

Yang Zong said no more, did not continue reading, returned the things to Wei Shu, and left.

This guy has obviously done all these things, but he still made me say so much, which is a waste of effort. However, this guy can indeed be used. No wonder His Majesty said that there will be no shortage of people in charge of the three platforms in the future.

It really is.

When Yang Zong returned to Taiji, Cao Mao was competing with Man Changwu.

Man Changwu is a very serious person, a bit like Wei Shu but completely different.

At this time, the two men were fighting with sugarcanes in their hands.

Cao Mao's family is a hereditary sugarcane sword master. It's hard to say if he can use a sword, but if he can use sugarcane, even Dian Wei and Xu Chu would not take him seriously.

Man Changwu was tall and had long arms, while Cao Mao was agile and accurate. When the two fought, Cao Mao still had a great advantage.

After defeating his opponent several times, Cao Mao stopped with a smile.

Yang Zong then approached, "Your Majesty, I have returned from the Ministry of Justice."

Cao Mao was stunned. "Oh, you went to see Wei Shu. How's it going? Did you convince Wei Shu?"

"Your Majesty, Wei Shu is already prepared. There's no need for me to say anything more."

Cao Mao laughed and said, "I have already told you that there is no need to look for him. Even if you don't trust me, I am quite good at judging people."

Cao Mao followed Yang Zong towards the West Hall. Zhang Hua was sent by Cao Mao to contact the governors, and now Yang Zong was accompanying Cao Mao again.

It’s a good thing that they are in a hurry to show up, so that we can kill these people openly.

With these people in Yanzhou having fallen into such a state, the other big families in other places probably wouldn't dare to cause trouble easily.

But Cao Mao was not in a hurry, knowing that he would find an opportunity to deal with them sooner or later.

None of these people can escape.

The two men walked into the East Hall. Memorials sent from various places had already been placed on the table, but Cao Mao was not in a hurry to look through them.

After sitting down, he asked, "Mr. Yang, when do you think the great clans of the Central Plains can begin migrating south?"

The two had discussed how to deal with these people in the past, and the conclusion they came to was to relocate them, moving those in the Central Plains to the south and those in the south to the north.

Forced migration has already begun in Wu, but it has not yet begun in the Central Plains.

"I thought that since Your Majesty had rewarded Tian Ling, he would no longer want to move them south."

"Heh, when we can kill them, we can't just cripple them. We need to use all the means we can. The harder we hit them now, the longer the prosperity of the Wei Dynasty will last."

(End of this chapter)