Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 223 Look at His Majesty's actions since ascending the throne, does he show even a hint of fear?
In front of the city gate of Songjiang Prefecture.

That newly built "treason's tomb" is like a scar that reeks of lime and blood, constantly reminding everyone of the shocking massacre that happened yesterday.

The newly appointed prefect of Songjiang and a group of officials who had been promoted on the spot stood in front of the city gate, their faces ashen and their legs trembling like leaves.

Behind them, rows of fully armed new army soldiers stood like sculptures, their cold gun muzzles and gleaming blades forming the boundary between order and death.

The crowd was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Just as the oppressive atmosphere reached its peak, two rows of Imperial Guards officers emerged from the government office.

Following closely behind were Tian Ergeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and a solemn-looking eunuch holding a bright yellow imperial edict scroll.

They ascended the high platform and faced the people, and an invisible aura of imperial power instantly enveloped the entire square.

"Imperial edict has arrived!"

The chief eunuch's shrill voice pierced the sky.

"Pfft!"

In the square, whether it was the trembling officials or the thousands of ordinary people, they all instinctively knelt on the ground, a dark mass, their heads pressed tightly against the cold ground, not daring to make the slightest movement.

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:!"

"The foundation of a nation lies in the hearts of its people. The people's livelihood depends on the land. The traitors, such as the Dong family of Songjiang, have exploited the local people, extorting and plundering them, causing countless people to be displaced and fields to lie fallow. This has aroused the wrath of both gods and men! Yesterday, I punished them, and today, I will restore justice to you!"

“But every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. I do not wish to harm the innocent with my thunderous might, nor do I wish to create further injustice with a vague approach.”

"Therefore, I hereby decree: a 'Grievance Drum' shall be set up in front of the government office, and an 'Investigation Office' shall be established! Anyone whose family has had their land seized, whose relatives have been murdered, or who has been wronged may step forward and beat the drum! My Embroidered Uniform Guard and the newly appointed officials shall use the confiscated account books and land deeds as evidence to conduct an on-site investigation! Once the facts are verified, the land deeds shall be returned immediately, and the injustice shall be redressed!"

"I hereby swear in the name of the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty: all grievances will be redressed, and all complaints will be heard! The justice of Heaven is clear, and the Emperor's grace is boundless!"

After the imperial edict was read, the square remained deathly silent.

The people knelt on the ground, raised their heads, and their faces were full of bewilderment and disbelief.

Should we appeal for justice by beating a drum? Should we conduct an on-site investigation? Should we return the land?

This...how is this possible?

Throughout history, it has always been the case that people who sued officials were beaten to death; there has never been a case of an emperor standing up for the common people and making a decision on the spot.
Could this be another trap?
After all, the seventy-three bloody heads from yesterday were still there; the emperor's methods were far too cruel, terrifying them to the core.

Time passed slowly, and no one dared to be the first to try something new.

Tian Ergeng, standing on the high platform, remained expressionless, coldly gazing down at the crowd. The newly appointed officials were sweating profusely, fearing that the lack of response would incur the emperor's wrath.

In the midst of this awkward stalemate, a piercing cry suddenly rang out from the edge of the crowd.

"I am wronged!!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old woman with gray hair rushing out of the crowd like a madwoman, tumbling and crawling toward the newly erected "drum of grievances".

The old woman rushed to the drum, picked up the drumsticks, and struck it down hard with all her might!

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!!"

The deep, forceful drumbeats seemed to strike the hearts of everyone present.

The old woman dropped her drumsticks, knelt down, and kowtowed towards the high platform and the empty dragon throne, sobbing uncontrollably: "Your Majesty! I beg Your Majesty to do justice for this humble woman!"

"Who are you here? What grievances have you suffered? Report them immediately!" An official, emboldened by Tian Ergeng's signal, demanded.

"I am Zhao Sanniang, a resident of Wujiang County!" The old woman raised her tear-streaked face and cried out in a hoarse voice, "Five years ago, the traitorous Dong family coveted our only five mu of dry land and tried to forcibly buy it. My husband refused and was beaten to death by Dong's vicious servants! Our land was taken, my husband died tragically, leaving us, a widow and orphan, to survive by begging... I beg Your Majesty to give my husband justice and return our land!!"

Upon hearing this, a suppressed sob rose from the crowd.

Clearly, Zhao Sanniang's experience was not an isolated case.

Tian Ergeng remained expressionless, only whispering a few words to a Jinyiwei centurion beside him.

The centurion immediately turned around and instructed the Imperial Guard captain to quickly search through boxes of account books.

A moment later, the centurion stepped forward with an account book in his hand and loudly read aloud from the edge of the platform:
"Upon investigation, in the autumn of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign (1625), Dong Fu, a servant of the Dong family, dealt with Wang Erniu's household in Wujiang County. After the matter was completed, he was rewarded with five taels of silver and given five mu of land. This matches Zhao's account of the people, events, and land one by one! The evidence is conclusive!"

unambiguous evidence!

These words resounded throughout the square!

Tian Ergeng glanced coldly at the newly appointed prefect who was terrified and out of his wits.

The prefect, as if waking from a dream, shouted repeatedly, "Guards! Quickly retrieve the official seal of this prefecture! Re-establish the land deeds!"

Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, a brand-new land deed was written on the spot and stamped with the bright red seal of Songjiang Prefecture.

An official trembled as he stepped down from the platform and personally handed the thin, yet incredibly heavy piece of paper to Zhao Sanniang.

"Third Sister Zhao, by the Emperor's boundless grace, your family's five acres of dry land have been returned to their rightful owner today! Furthermore, by His Majesty's decree, the mastermind behind this case, Dong Zuchang, has been executed! Three shi of rice will be allocated from the official granary to alleviate your and your son's distress!"

Zhao Sanniang held the land deed blankly, listening to the official's announcement. Her cloudy eyes were first filled with confusion, then burst forth with an incredulous light. Suddenly, she turned around and kowtowed heavily towards the empty dragon throne.

"This humble subject...this humble subject Zhao Sanniang thanks Your Majesty for your divine grace! Thanks Your Majesty for your wisdom! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!!"

That hoarse cry sounded like the ecstatic joy and gratitude of returning to the world from hell.

That sound was like lighting the fuse of a powder keg.

"It's true! The Emperor really did redress our grievances and returned our land!"

"I'm also innocent! The second young master of the Wang family seized my family's paddy fields and tarnished my daughter's reputation!"

"And me! The steward of the Li family drove my father to hang himself!"

“Your Majesty is wise!!”

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

The crowd erupted in cheers!
Yesterday, they were terrified by the bloodshed, but now, because of the tangible justice and benefits, they erupted in worship and praise ten times more fervently than yesterday. They rushed towards the grievance drum, and the square briefly descended into chaos. "Silence!"

At Tian Ergeng's shout, the new soldiers immediately stepped forward, forming a human wall with their rifle butts and knife sheaths to forcibly maintain order.

"Line up! One by one! Anyone who has been wronged will receive an explanation today!"

……

The ceremonies for returning farmland and hearing wrongful convictions proceeded in an orderly manner under the strong supervision of the Imperial Guards and the New Army.

But that's clearly not all.

Those properties with clearly identified victims and complete chains of evidence were, after all, only a portion of the vast amount of confiscated land.

More often, the lands that have been acquired over decades or even centuries are so chaotic that it is impossible to return them all.

In particular, the core farmland properties that the Dong family and other wealthy families had managed for many years were so intertwined that they had become a messy account that was impossible to calculate.

What to do with this most succulent piece of pastry is on everyone's mind.

Just after the first wave of land redistribution had won the hearts of the people, another powerful eunuch, under the protection of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, once again ascended the high platform with an imperial edict in hand.

The square fell silent again, and everyone held their breath.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor issues another decree!"

"For all lands where no victim can be found, or where the evidence of wrongdoing is complex, I have considered this carefully and have reached a decision! All such lands shall be confiscated and transferred to the Imperial Treasury and designated as—Imperial Estates!"

The moment the words "Imperial Estate" were uttered, the faces of the newly appointed officials, which had just begun to calm down, turned deathly pale again!

Royal Estate!

That's not a nice word!
Since the Ming Dynasty, imperial estates have been synonymous with the encroachment on farmland and the competition for profits from the people. They were often managed by eunuchs and became local tyrants, whose reputation was even worse than that of corrupt officials!

The emperor wanted to establish an imperial estate in Songjiang, the granary of the nation?
Is this a case of going back to the old ways?

The imperial edict, as if it knew their thoughts, continued to be read aloud in an unquestionable tone:

"The tax on imperial estates shall be set at 30%! Of this 30%, one portion shall go to the national treasury to fund the military expenses in Liaodong; two portions shall go to the imperial treasury to train a new army and manufacture firearms, so as to create an invincible imperial personal army for the Ming Dynasty! And the last portion shall be retained entirely in Songjiang to establish the 'Songjiang Xingye Jimin Shantang' (Songjiang Prosperity and Benevolence Hall), which shall be jointly managed by the government, local elders, and the military, and used exclusively for the purpose of repairing local water conservancy projects, providing relief to orphans and widows, and supporting the families of fallen soldiers!"

One part for the nation! One part for a strong military! One part for the people's well-being!
Clear! Definite! Stunning!

The people were completely bewildered, but they understood the last sentence—the emperor was going to take a portion of the collected money to help them repair water conservancy projects and support the elderly and widowed! This…this wasn’t a royal estate; it was clearly a charitable institution run by the emperor!

The officials were stunned into a complete blank by this unheard-of idea!
This is clearly a financial system that completely bypasses the entire civil service and gentry class!

Based on swift and violent confiscation, with the vertical jurisdiction of imperial power as its core, and then using the "three-part method" to gain legal legitimacy and public support!

The prototype of an independent kingdom exclusively for the emperor, which took Songjiang Prefecture as a pilot and integrated military, financial and civil affairs, was thus declared born on the blood and fire through an imperial edict!
The imperial edict concluded with the emperor's powerful declaration, like a tidal wave crashing against the shore:

"I want the rice from Songjiang to feed the soldiers and enrich the people of the Ming Dynasty, not to fatten up a bunch of traitors who only know how to fight amongst themselves! So be it!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

After a brief silence came a roar that was more intense and more genuine than ever before!
……

Outside the crowd.

Having already arrived in Songjiang, Yang Sichang and Hou Xun stood side by side.

The two of them saw everything.

"Brother Wenruo..." Hou Xun's lips were dry, and he swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

His gaze shifted from the frenzied crowd, his face filled with a dazed and bitter expression, as if struck by lightning.

"We...we were ordered to go ahead and spent nearly a month in Songjiang Prefecture. In order to promote the 'unified tax payment' policy, we wore out our lips and trudged through the doorsteps. We saw countless arrogant faces and endured countless sarcastic remarks...it can be said that we could hardly move an inch."

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, a laugh that was more painful than tears.

"I foolishly thought that when His Majesty arrives in person, he will surely support us, gather those officials and wealthy families, reason with them, appeal to their emotions, and have a proper 'chat' with them."

Hou Xun's teeth chattered when he said the words "let's have a chat".

"Who would have thought...who would have thought His Majesty would actually come to 'chat'! He's letting those soldiers' swords have a real talk with those seventy-three bloody heads!"

Yang Sichang's expression was extremely solemn, his eyes fixed on the "treason's tomb" as if trying to see through it.

Hearing Hou Xun's words, he shook his head heavily.

"Brother Hou, we were wrong. We were wrong from the very beginning."

He muttered, “We thought ‘collective tax payment’ was a math problem, a set of rules and strategies. As long as our reasoning was sound and the accounts were clear, they would consider the bigger picture. But we forgot that in their eyes, this is not reasoning at all. It’s tearing their flesh out and taking their lives! You can’t get anything out of talking to a bunch of wolves who value money over life.”

Yang Sichang's voice carried a hint of complete denial of his previous thoughts and a sudden realization of the violence of imperial power.

"His Majesty never intended to talk to them from the beginning."

Yang Sichang's eyes suddenly sharpened, and his thoughts became clearer than ever before: "Look! Killing to establish authority is breaking the deadlock! This is the first step! He used seventy-three heads to tell everyone that the old rules are gone!"

"Erecting the 'Drum of Grievance' and distributing land back to the people is the second step to win their hearts! He has completely bound the most impoverished people to his chariot, letting them know who the true benefactor is!"

"Having gained authority and the support of the people, His Majesty has finally issued this 'Imperial Decree'! This is His Majesty's true trump card!"

Yang Sichang took a deep breath, his voice extremely low, yet filled with shock:

"This is hardly just about collecting taxes. We've gone to great lengths just to get them to cough up some of the embezzled tax revenue from this murky swamp. But they've drained the entire pond, even dredging up the silt at the bottom and leaving it to dry in the sun! This method... this method..."

Yang Sichang couldn't find the words to describe it for a moment, and finally only managed to utter a few words: "It's really too effective!"

Hou Xun gasped, muttering, "But... this is tantamount to completely tearing off the mask of civility. This is to make an enemy of all the gentry in Jiangnan, and even the whole country! Isn't he afraid... afraid of provoking a backlash from all over the country?"

"Afraid?" A complex, almost worshipful fear flickered in Yang Sichang's eyes. "Look at His Majesty's actions since ascending the throne. Has he shown even the slightest fear?!"

(End of this chapter)