A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Wei Zhao pressed the list onto the imperial desk.

"copy."

Hua Jieyu's fingertips paused on the page as she looked up at him.

Su Qingyun didn't speak immediately.

Nie Yinniang was the most efficient, having already tucked her short blade half an inch into her sleeve, as if she could go out and kill someone at any moment.

Wei Zhao's eyelids twitched when he saw her make that gesture.

"It wasn't a complete copy."

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

Su Qingyun asked softly.

Wei Zhao looked at the account books on the table.

"The four great families of the capital don't need to be forced to their deaths."

Upon hearing this, Hua Jieyu's eyebrows twitched.

"The Wang family has already sent people to Chenqiao, aren't they going to force them to their deaths?"

"If we force them to their deaths, who will transport grain for me? Who will open trade routes for me? Who will reopen those shops in the capital for me?"

Wei Zhao tapped his fingers on the imperial desk; the sound was not loud, but very steady.

"I am short of money now, but not so short that I have to smash the pots and pans and sell the iron."

Su Qingyun's eyes brightened slightly.

She understood what he meant.

Even if the four major families were corrupt, they were still among the strongest pillars in the capital's commercial network.

If insects infest the beam, you can scrape them off, nail them in, or replace it.

But the house is still drafty, and Han Dashan, Zhou Laodao, and the Holy Fire Sect are all waiting to see the New Martial Dynasty make a fool of itself. If they set fire to the beams, it will be comfortable, but the people will freeze to death.

Wei Zhao knew exactly what was going on.

That's how Lu Song smuggled the world.

In the end, the treasury was empty, the people's hearts were broken, the noble families resented it, the army hated it, and he himself was dragged off the imperial carriage.

If Wei Zhao were to emulate Lu Song's first move after ascending the throne, what would be the point of his new martial arts competition?

Hua Jieyu pushed another stack of names over.

"Those officials up there are rolling in money."

Wei Zhao turned two pages, his expression growing colder and colder.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue embezzled 40% of the disaster relief funds allocated to Qingzhou.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works was involved in the illegal sale of iron materials from the Arsenal.

Two senior officials in the Ministry of War were receiving salaries from the Imperial Guards without actually working.

A high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice sold prison positions.

The Censor of the Censorate also took over the land owned by the people.

That's all there, damn it.

He originally thought Lu Song was bad enough, but he didn't expect Lu Song to be just the biggest piece of the rotten mud pit.

These people below have all been entangled in corruption more than anyone else.

"Choose the fattest ones."

Wei Zhao threw the list back onto the table.

"With the evidence confirmed, the crime will be decided in court tomorrow morning, and the property will be confiscated."

Su Qingyun said softly, "Just a few?"

"A few will be enough."

Wei Zhao looked at her.

"What I want now is money, but also the sound of heads rolling. Kill too many, and the court will collapse. Kill too few, and they won't be afraid."

He paused.

"The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, the two officials in the Ministry of War who were receiving salaries without working, plus the one in the Ministry of Justice who sold prison positions. Five families."

Nie Yinniang remembered it very quickly.

"Five establishments, are they to be sealed off tonight?"

"Seale the tent tonight, judge the crime tomorrow."

Wei Zhaodao:

"Don't kill them yet. I want all the civil and military officials to see their crimes read aloud and to see their families bring out chests of silver."

Hua Jieyu's eyes were filled with laughter.

"Your Majesty is about to slap us in the face."

"Can you make a living by slapping someone in the face?"

Wei Zhao pointed to the account book in front of Su Qingyun.

"It has to be exchanged for silver."

Su Qingyun finally burst out laughing.

That's more like Wei Zhao.

Ruthless, but not recklessly ruthless.

Every cut carries a curtain.

She lowered her head and adjusted the abacus beads.

"If we confiscate all the supplies from these five families, plus what the four major families have returned, we'll have enough money for the expedition. As for provisions, we'll have to rely on the Cui family's grain and the Zheng family's ships, but that should be enough to sustain a quick battle."

Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

Enough for one game.

That's enough.

If we win the first battle, the money and provisions will flow to the capital on their own.

The powerful families will kneel, the state government will offer gifts, and those who were watching will regroup.

People are the most pragmatic in the world.

When you're short of money, everyone says it's tough; when you win, money will grow legs and run to your pocket.

"The silver obtained from confiscating property should not all go into the army's tent."

Wei Zhao suddenly spoke.

Su Qingyun was stunned for a moment.

Even the flower-speaking expert looks over here.

Nie Yinniang was even more direct.

"No war?"

"beat."

Wei Zhao stood up and walked to the stack of former officials' names on the imperial desk.

"But fighting alone isn't enough."

He picked up a roster, flipped through two pages, and then closed it.

"There is not a single capable official in the court. I cannot allow these parasites to govern the country while I am fighting Han Dashan."

Hua Jieyu's eyes flickered.

"Does His Majesty wish to replace him?"

"think."

Wei Zhao smiled.

"Therefore, I will use the money from confiscating property to hold a talent recruitment conference."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Su Qingyun's pen stopped in mid-air.

Hua Jieyu squinted her eyes.

Nie Yinniang frowned.

"A talent recruitment...conference?"

These four words sounded particularly awkward coming from Nie Yinniang's mouth.

Wei Zhao almost burst out laughing.

The kind of person Seventh Sister-in-law is better suited to talking about killing someone, not about a large meeting.

"Yes, a talent recruitment event."

Wei Zhao walked back to the imperial desk.

"Originally, I would have preferred to establish the imperial examination system."

Su Qingyun asked, "What is the imperial examination?"

Wei Zhao looked at the three of them and suddenly felt a little dazed.

I almost forgot.

There was no imperial examination system in this world.

Here, officials are selected based on family background, recommendation, family prestige, and connections with teachers or old friends.

For those from poor families, getting ahead is harder than crawling out of a pile of corpses.

It's not that they lack talent, it's that they don't even have the chance to be seen.

This is the root of the old dynasty's complete rot.

Official positions were controlled by powerful families, as were funds and provisions, and even the law was interpreted by them.

When commoners complain to the county government, the magistrate may be a relative of a powerful family; a poor family may study for ten years, only to end up copying documents for the sons of wealthy families.

It's no wonder that a court like this is corrupt.

"The imperial examination was a system in which the imperial court set the questions, and all scholars in the country could take the exam."

Wei Zhao said slowly:

"They did not ask about social status or background; they tested candidates on their writing, political skills, legal knowledge, mathematics, and agricultural and water conservancy skills. Those who passed the tests were appointed to official positions in the court."

Su Qingyun's eyes lit up immediately.

She knew all too well how ruthless those words were.

Regardless of social status.

These four words are tantamount to slapping the aristocratic families in the face.

Hua Jieyu's smile faded, and she gently tapped the paper with her fingertips.

"If that's the case, then people from brothels, sons of merchants, poor scholars, minor officials in the border army, and even accountants all have a chance?"

"have."

Wei Zhao said, "As long as you have the ability."

Nie Yinniang remained silent for a moment.

"Where is the assassin?"

Wei Zhao glanced at her.

"You want to take the exam?"

Nie Yinniang thought for a moment.

"In no mood."

Wei Zhao's lips twitched.

"If you don't want to, then don't join in the fun."

Hua Jieyu couldn't help but laugh.

Su Qingyun didn't laugh for long; she quickly suppressed her emotions.

"Zhao'er, this method is good, but it's too ambitious."

"So it can't be done now."

Wei Zhao nodded.

"The imperial examination system needs regulations, examination venues, questions, measures to prevent cheating, grading of papers, and arrangements for successful candidates. Right now, Han Dashan is in Chenqiao, the Holy Fire Sect is in Qingzhou, and the granaries in the capital are still in short supply. There's no time to deal with it."

This is the truth.

The imperial examination system was a powerful weapon, but not one that we can wield today.

What he needs now is to find a group of capable people, people who can get started immediately, people who can patch up the holes in the tattered net of the new Wu Dynasty.

"Therefore, we first issued a recruitment notice."

Wei Zhaodao:

"In the name of the new Emperor Wu, I hereby proclaim to the world that anyone with talent in governing the people, leading the army, managing water resources, calculating grain, casting weapons, medicine, criminal justice, or agriculture, regardless of their background, may enter the capital to apply for the position."

Su Qingyun added a sentence.

"Spending a fortune to buy bones?"

Wei Zhao looked at her and smiled.

"No, it's about spending a fortune to bring talented people to the capital."