Sign In a Lu Bu Fengxian at the Beginning

As Zhou Chen's decree to abolish the tax-free privileges of aristocratic landlords and take back the private soldiers of wealthy aristocratic families spread, an uproar arose among the wealthy aristocratic families.

None of the wealthy families expected that Emperor Zhou Chen would issue an order to abolish their land tax-free privileges, make them pay taxes, and take back their private soldiers.

You must know that this privilege of aristocratic families has been in existence since the founding of the country by Taizu, and has been maintained for thousands of years. How can it be abolished?

Especially private soldiers, this is the power that wealthy families rely on most.

If it is taken back, the strength of the wealthy family will be weakened by not only one layer but two layers.

But the wealthy family also knew that once the imperial edict came out, there would be no room for maneuver.

No matter which dynasty it is in, if the emperor issues a decree, it means that things have reached an irreversible level.

In other words, no matter how much their wealthy family objects, the decree issued by the emperor can never be taken back.

Therefore, after hearing such a decree from the court, the wealthy families began to discuss urgently.

No matter whether they are aristocratic families or powerful landowners, they are not willing to let the court abolish their tax-free privileges and take back their private soldiers.

An undercurrent began to flow among the wealthy families.

…

Luoyang Sili Nei.

This was the first place the imperial court took action to rectify.

For all the wealthy families in Luoyang Sili, the day after Zhou Chen issued the order, the patron king Zhou Zhan led the people from the Ministry of War and began to collect their private soldiers.

Not only wealthy families, but also relatives of the emperor and distinguished officials are also within the scope of taking back private soldiers.

The imperial court took action so quickly that the wealthy families in Luoyang Sili were caught off guard.

Before these wealthy families in Luoyang Sili had time to discuss, patron king Zhou Zhan had already arrived with the intention of taking back his private soldiers.

Faced with the patron king, a veteran of three dynasties, and the power of the imperial court, many wealthy families had no choice but to obey orders and obediently hand over their private soldiers.

Although these wealthy families are unwilling in their hearts, the situation is stronger than the people.

They have no choice.

When the imperial edict was issued, the Twelve Shenwu Guards had already organized their troops to prepare for war.

If they don't act according to the order and hand over their private soldiers, they all know what the consequences will be.

After all, Luoyang Sili was the central divine capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the most powerful place in the imperial court.

There are also twelve divine guards guarding it.

To resist the imperial edict within Sili is undoubtedly no different than seeking death.

Of course, not all wealthy families are willing to obey the order and hand over their private soldiers.

There are also wealthy families who cannot clearly see the situation and are unwilling to hand over their private soldiers like this.

As a result, these wealthy families who were unwilling to hand over their private soldiers were found guilty of many crimes by Dongchang.

Taking advantage of common people's land and taking human life lightly...

These heinous crimes directly became the death talisman for these wealthy families.

It also became the target of the imperial court to kill chickens to scare monkeys and establish authority.

For a time, the entire Sili family was in turmoil.

In just three days, more than a dozen wealthy aristocratic families who did not comply with the order were found guilty of numerous crimes by Dongchang, and were uprooted and disappeared from the list of wealthy aristocratic families.

Other wealthy families all know the real reason why these dozen or so families were taken down by the imperial court.

It is nothing more than disobedience.

Therefore, with these dozen or so families acting as a warning to the monkeys, the other wealthy families in Sili no longer dared to resist, and could only obey the orders obediently.

…

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen looked at the news sent by Dongchang.

Sili is the center of Zhou Dynasty.

It is also the place where Dongchang’s strength is strongest.

In the entire Sili, any slight disturbance can basically not be hidden from Dongchang.

Zhou Chen saw that there were more than a dozen wealthy families who were unwilling to hand over their private soldiers and wanted to join forces to resist the imperial decree, but they were all captured.

Zhou Chen couldn't help but sneered; "There are really some people who are not afraid of death!"

“However, it’s a pity that only these dozen families resisted.”

"It seems that these wealthy families are much smarter, less afraid of death, and know the trade-offs of pursuing advantages and avoiding disadvantages."

Zhou Chen said to himself.

Originally, Zhou Chen thought that many wealthy families in Sili would resist his will.

After all, Zhou Chen's decrees have weakened the power of the wealthy families too much. From the beginning, there will definitely be many wealthy families who will come forward to oppose it and want to test the court's determination.

But he didn't expect that in the end, only a dozen or so were taken down, which made Zhou Chen a little disappointed.

"Your Majesty, some of these wealthy families turned some of their private soldiers into slaves and only handed over some of them. Do you want to capture them all directly?"

Cao Zhengchun, who was standing next to him, said.

Faced with the imperial decree to take back their private soldiers, the wealthy families secretly turned some of their private soldiers into their slaves.

Such actions of the wealthy family could not be hidden from Dongchang.

Zhou Chen shook his head; "No, the rope is too tight and it will break."

"If these wealthy families are forced too hard, these wealthy families will really cause turmoil."

"As for them turning some private soldiers into slaves, it won't affect the overall situation. Let them turn into slaves forever!"

A sneer appeared at the corner of Zhou Chen's mouth.

If a wealthy family wants to use this method to hide some of their private soldiers, it is tantamount to fantasy.

As long as he gets the whole head started and takes back most of the private soldiers of the wealthy families, the wealthy families will no longer be able to make any big waves. Zhou Chen has many ways to slowly control these wealthy families.

As soon as Zhou Chen finished speaking, a house guard came in and reported, "Your Majesty, the patron king is asking for an audience outside the palace."

"The King of the Mountain of Propagation comes in."

Zhou Chen glanced at the house guard and said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The house guard and factory guard bowed and retreated.

moment.

The patron king Zhou Zhan walked into the Yangxin Hall.

"I have met His Majesty."

The patron king Zhou Zhan walked into the Yangxin Hall and saluted Zhou Chen who was sitting on the dragon throne.

"Uncle Emperor, there is no need to be polite."

Zhou Chen put down the news about the Eastern Factory and raised his eyes to look at his backer king Zhou Zhan; "Uncle Emperor, how are the private soldiers of the wealthy family doing?"

The patron king Zhou Zhan immediately raised his hands and said, "Reporting to your majesty, I have collected the private soldiers of the wealthy families in Luoyang Sili."

"This is the specific situation of the private soldiers of the wealthy families in Luoyang Sili. Your Majesty, please take a look."

As the patron king Zhou Zhan spoke, he took out a memorial from his sleeve.

Upon seeing this, Cao Zhengchun immediately stepped forward to take the memorial from his patron king Zhou Zhan and presented it to Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen opened it and glanced at it.

The number of private soldiers in the memorial actually reached 50,000, which made Zhou Chen's brows twitch.

The number of fifty thousand does not seem to be much, but if such a force breaks out in Sili, it will cause a lot of trouble.

Moreover, this does not include the private soldiers who were turned into slaves by wealthy families.

Zhou Chen closed the memorial and looked at his patron king Zhou Zhan: "Uncle Emperor, these private soldiers have been handed over to the Ministry of War!"

The patron king Zhou Zhan nodded; "Yes, Your Majesty."

"These private soldiers have been handed over to the Ministry of War."

"Subsequently, these private soldiers will be added to the Shenwu Guard or other armies."

Backer King Zhou Zhan said.

These private soldiers recovered from the wealthy families can not only weaken the power of the wealthy families, but also supplement the strength of the armies of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It can be said that it achieves multiple things with one stone.

Zhou Chen nodded when he heard this; "Since the private soldiers of the wealthy families in Sili have been taken back, then let's collect the private soldiers of the wealthy families in various places!"

"Let's start with the four gates. I will ask Cao Zhengchun to cooperate with you."

Zhou Chen knew that it was not as easy as in Sili Nei to recruit private soldiers from wealthy families in various places.

After all, Sili is the center of the imperial court, and the imperial court has the strongest power in Sili.

But it's different in every place. Every place is where wealthy families are entrenched, and they are deeply rooted in every place.

It can be said that recruiting private soldiers from local wealthy families will be the biggest test for the backer king Zhou Zhan.

Especially top aristocratic families like the Four Gates, which have many private soldiers, are the least likely to compromise with the court.

Therefore, Zhou Chen wants Cao Zhengchun to cooperate with his backer king Zhou Zhan.

As long as the private soldiers of the four powerful families are captured.

Then, it will be much easier and lighter to act next.

"I obey the order."

The patron kings Zhou Zhan and Cao Zhengchun both bowed to receive the order.

Originally, the backer king Zhou Zhan was also worried that he would be unable to do what he wanted in the future.

After all, aristocratic families like the Four Gates are deeply rooted in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even if the patron king Zhou Zhan is a veteran of three dynasties, he will not have much advantage when facing a family like the Four Gates.

But now it's better. With Cao Zhengchun cooperating with him, the backer king Zhou Zhan has nothing to worry about.

"besides."

"Pass the order to all the border troops from all directions and send them to me to prepare troops inside the pass."

"I want to see how many wealthy families in various places dare to resist and disrespect the decree."

Zhou Chen spoke again.

When Cao Zhengchun and his backer Wang Zhou Zhan heard this, their eyes flashed inexplicably.

Apparently.

Cao Zhengchun and backer king Zhou Zhan both understood Zhou Chen's intentions.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cao Zhengchun bowed again.

…

Lingnan.

Song family.

In the meeting hall.

The head of the Song family sat on the main seat, glanced at the leaders of the various branches of the Song family sitting below, and said, "I believe you all already know the imperial court's decree."

"The one in the palace issued an order to abolish the tax-free privileges of aristocratic landowners and to take back the private soldiers of wealthy aristocratic families."

"The private soldiers in the hands of the wealthy families in Luoyang Sili have been taken back. Anyone who does not respect the imperial will has been found guilty by Dongchang and captured."

"What should our Song family do next? What do you think?"

The head of the Song family looked at the leaders of each branch below.

This matter was not a small matter, even the head of the Song family had to immediately summon the principals of the Song family to discuss it.

Don't dare to make decisions easily.

"I knew that the imperial court had no good intentions when it measured our land."

"Now it's really come true."

"The imperial court wants to abolish our tax-free rights and make us pay taxes per acre. It also has to accept complaints from the people and investigate the misappropriation of the people's land. Isn't this going to deal with wealthy families like us?"

A person in charge of the Song family said with an ugly face.

Let’s not talk about the abolition of tax exemption rights and paying taxes per acre. Let’s just say that accepting complaints from the people and investigating the encroachment of the people’s land is enough to make a wealthy family drink.

No matter which wealthy family it is, it has happened to some extent that it has used shady means to annex some people's land.

Even the four great families like the Song family are no exception.

There are also such situations.

If this is found out, the Song family will not be allowed to drink from it!

"Yes! The more land there is, the tax will double. This is simply appalling and has never been justified."

"The most important thing is that the one in the palace wants to take back our private soldiers."

"If we hand over our private soldiers, will our Song family still be the powerful Song family?"

Another person in charge of the Song family said with an ugly face.

Whether this is abolishing land tax exemption privileges, changing the tax system, or taking back private soldiers.

For ordinary landowners from aristocratic families, the impact is nothing.

But for a top family like the Song family, the impact is huge.

Because they can afford to raise many private soldiers, those who occupy a lot of land are wealthy families like the Song family who occupy the top of the pyramid.

The average aristocratic family cannot afford to raise too many private soldiers, and the land they occupy is limited.

The imperial court issued an order to abolish the tax-free rights of wealthy families, change the tax system, and withdraw private soldiers. This has undoubtedly weakened the wealthy families standing on the top of the pyramid the most.

The other heads of the Song family also looked ugly.

They all knew what the two heads of the Song family meant. If they followed the imperial court's will, the strength of the Song family would definitely drop a lot.

"Clan chief, the tax-free rights and private soldiers of wealthy families were decided when the Zhou Dynasty was founded."

"So far, it has been maintained for thousands of years. How can it be abolished and withdrawn at any time?"

"Besides, our four great clans are different from other wealthy families. Our four great clans have an agreement with the royal family, the Zhou family."

"I don't believe that the royal family dares to violate the agreement and deal with our four great clans in such a tyrannical manner."

A gray-haired person in charge said in a deep voice.

The gray-haired person in charge is the senior and oldest among those present.

He also knew some things about the four great clans and the royal family.

Therefore, the gray-haired person in charge did not believe that the Song family did not obey the order, and the Zhou royal family really dared to deal with their four powerful families.

"That's right, our four great clans have already made an agreement with the royal family."

"The royal family should not dare to mess around. I'm afraid that His Majesty in the palace doesn't know these things yet. After all, he has only been in power for a few years."

"In this matter, it's better to find a way to get the person in the palace to take back his will."

Another elderly person in charge spoke.

Among the heads of various branches of the Song family here, only these two elderly heads know some of the secrets of the Song family.

None of the other principals knew anything about it.

7017k