Steel Dynasty - Chapter 630

[Chapter 629: The Problem of the Rich Family]

“Your Highness has a keen eye, and I really can’t hide anything.”

Fiji and Pang Yukun looked at each other, the wrinkles on their faces crowded together because of the smile.

Fei Yue’er was taking Lu Luo, Zi Wan and Xiao Huan to try on clothes for him. Seeing this, they walked away from Xiao Ming and went elsewhere to avoid suspicion for the time being.

Fiji glanced at Fei Yue’er, with a hint of appreciation in her eyes. The harem was not allowed to participate in government affairs on formal occasions. She was about to become the queen, so she should remember this by heart.

After the four people left, Fiji said loudly: “Your Highness, the wealthy families from the Thirteen Prefectures are also coming to Qingzhou with me this time. They are all living in the inn in Qingzhou City in order to come and pay tribute to Your Highness. Congratulations.”

“A wealthy family in the Thirteen States?” Xiao Ming frowned. The events of four years ago were still fresh in his mind, so he was still wary of wealthy families.

But he also understood that it was impossible to kill them all by killing. After all, the wealthy families in the Great Yu Kingdom had lasted for thousands of years, and each wealthy family represented local clan power.

There used to be more than 20,000 members of the Wang family in Qingzhou, and the Wang family was nothing compared to the wealthy families in Wei. When he dealt with the Wang family at that time, he only punished the culprits.

The other members of the Wang family were dismantled by him and distributed to various parts of the feudal country, and then the wealthy families in the six states were completely eliminated.

Fiji was keenly aware of the change in Xiao Ming’s expression. He said: “Your Highness, order has basically been restored in the thirteen states, and taxes in various places have been collected as usual. This is all due to the support of these wealthy families.” Fiji explained.

Xiao Ming nodded, his expression suddenly became relaxed, and he said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Fei Ge. Since the king has issued a new decree, it will naturally not change.”

Xiao Ming’s purpose in conquering Wei was Taxes, otherwise his occupation of Wei would be the same as the American occupation of Iraq. It would consume huge resources, and the Dengzhou Army of the Southern Expeditionary Army would also be dragged into the long-lasting counter-insurgency quagmire of Wei. This is undoubtedly for him In catastrophe.

After all, Dayu is not a modern society, and it is not easy to find the men of a wealthy family if they dig deep into the mountains and forests. As a result, a chaotic and tax-free Wei land will not only bring no benefits to him, but will become a burden.

At the beginning, he simply believed that force could solve everything, but the various intelligence Li San collected from the Thirteen States made him gradually realize that this was just his wishful thinking.

Li San’s information mentioned that many villages in Wei are based on clan surnames, and hundreds or thousands of people in a village all have the same surname.

During this time, his production team was established, but the captain elected by the people in the village was still a person with high prestige in the village.

This kind of information is different from the situation among the people in Qingzhou. The reason for this difference is that at that time, the wealthy families in Qingzhou were already very weak due to repeated barbarian invasions. All the children of the wealthy families with some property hid in Wubao and prefectures and counties, while the poor The people had no choice but to stay in their villages.

Only then did he understand that running a big country is like cooking small dishes, and the heat must be controlled appropriately, otherwise it will be a mess.

“This will make the old minister feel at ease. Your Highness. In fact, for the wealthy nobles, they don’t care who rules them. For them, as long as they can protect their own interests, it is enough. Now that your Highness and the wealthy families of Wei are in peace, these news Spreading it to other places will make it easier for His Highness to seize the world.”

Pang Yukun was convinced. He said: “Your Highness, what Mr. Fei Ge said is very true. It is precisely because of the change of dynasties that these wealthy families are still living freely. “

Is Pang Changshi praising their shrewdness, or mocking their selfishness?” Pang Yukun’s words had a double meaning, and Xiao Ming couldn’t help laughing.

“Your Highness, this is just nonsense from a lowly official.” Pang Yukun sighed, now his mood was as complicated as Xiao Ming’s.

The wealthy families in the six states have been exhausted, and he has been able to handle government affairs very well in the past four years. He does not have to deal with some wealthy families, but now that there is another Wei land, he has to meet the people he hates again.

Xiao Ming naturally understood how Pang Yukun felt, but if a massacre was carried out against wealthy families in the Thirteen Prefectures, the population of Wei would probably be reduced by one-third.

And in the process of his slaughtering the wealthy families, these cornered wealthy families will definitely massacre the common people, and by then this number will continue to rise.

If the entire Chongqing Kingdom were to be killed all the way, I am afraid that the Chongqing Congress and the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the late Sui Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty would directly lead to the loss of two-thirds of the country’s population.

He cannot afford this price, because the West has risen, and by then his feudal country will inevitably lose a lot of troops. Doesn’t this give foreigners the opportunity to invade?

So in the end he will choose to compromise first and then The method of governance is to first disarm the wealthy families, and then completely eliminate the disadvantages of the wealthy families monopolizing educational resources through popularization of education.

As long as the people at the bottom have channels to advance to the court, the wealthy families will not be able to control the court. This is just like Li Shimin’s implementation of the imperial examination.

“You have to bear with me if you have emotions now. Now I have to take care of the overall situation and not the six states.” Xiao Ming reminded Pang Yukun, lest he relapse into his previous bad temper.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Pang Yukun nodded in response.

Fiji showed a look of relief at this time and said: “Your Highness, these wealthy families have arrived in Qingzhou. Do you want to take some time to meet them?”

“Of course you have to meet them, and you have to meet them in a beautiful way, otherwise This will put their minds at ease,” Xiao Ming said sternly.

Xiao Ming’s mood changed when he put on his dragon robe. He now began to think about how to govern this country and how to lead this devastated country to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Western powers, or even surpass them.

For him, this is a difficult task. Although he has mastered advanced technology, he cannot master everyone’s heart.

In addition to worrying about being watched by wolves, he is also anxiously waiting for the consequences of universal education. People will no longer be ignorant, which will mean that they will actively participate in politics.

It will be unknown whether his imperial power will be challenged by Western democratic politics at that time, but although he understands it, he cannot stop.

Because this is a contradictory issue. If you want to lead the country of Chongqing to develop into a modern country, you must open up the people’s wisdom. On the contrary, you must continue to fool the people and stay in the feudal dynasty.

Sometimes Xiao Ming also asks himself whether he can put down his power and choose to give in. His answer is no.

He had to admit that power was an addictive thing. Although he had countless knowledge, he was still unable to avoid it. Moreover, he knew that once he gave up his power, he would end up either dead or in jail. This was inevitable.

He had to work so hard in his second life that he wouldn’t be stupid. He had to be a lifelong emperor no matter what.

(End of chapter)