Chapter 119 Datong Wife
"Mr. Duo, Mr. Duo?"

This time, even Zheng Yi was a little surprised.

What the hell.

The total tax revenue of Dayu in a year is only about 40 to 50 million taels.

Simply by copying the Wang family and the eight major merchants, it was possible to copy the total tax revenue of Dayu for nearly twenty years!

This……

At this time, Zheng Yi's mind was full of thoughts on how to take over the remaining aristocratic families!

How much money should he have at that time?

Let alone training 100,000 new troops, it is only a matter of time to train 1 million!
Liu Chengen didn't know what Zheng Yi was thinking, but said to himself:
"Yes, Your Majesty, this is just the amount of silver found in their cellars and shops."

"Other assets like gold, jewelry, pearls, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, land, and land deeds have not yet been calculated. If we were to complete the calculation of all these assets, it would take at least half a year."

"According to preliminary estimates, the amount of property seized from the house is between 1.8 billion and 2 billion."

"Among them, the Wang family has the most wealth, with over three million acres of farmland and countless gold, silver and treasures..."

"hiss……"

This time Zheng Yi was really shocked. With more than three million acres of land, how many refugees would they have to feed?

And most importantly, these more than three million acres of land are tax-free!

How much tax revenue does Dayu lose every year from these noble families and officials?
This is true for the Wang family alone, let alone other aristocratic families.

Especially the southern families, there will only be more, not less, than the northern families!

"anything else?"

Liu Chengen took out an account book from his arms and handed it over respectfully.

"Your Majesty, this is the account book that this old servant compiled. It records all the property that has been confiscated from the Wang family and the eight major merchants, but it does not include their land, houses, etc."

Zheng Yi opened the account book and checked it. After a while, he suddenly laughed and said, "I heard that you tricked them all into the military camp in the name of celebrating your 60th birthday?"

Liu Chengen said embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, in order to prevent alerting the enemy and let them prepare in advance, this old servant has to resort to this last resort to catch them all in one fell swoop."

"Otherwise, if we directly confiscate their homes, it will not only cause strong resistance from them, but may also lead to a series of incidents."

"Almost every one of the eight major merchants built high walls and thick fortresses, saying that they were to defend against bandits and robbers, but in my opinion, they were completely prepared for rebellion."

"Almost every household has a large amount of weapons and armor stored in their warehouses. It would be very difficult to take them down unless extraordinary measures are used."

"After all, the eight major merchants have been developing in Bingzhou for many years, especially the Wang family. They have infiltrated almost all of Bingzhou's borders."

“If General Xu Mujun hadn’t come to support us, an accident might have happened at this moment.”

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "It's hard for you."

"Some of these treasures are gifts from the Eight Great Merchants for your fiftieth birthday."

"Since it's for you, I won't take away what's good from others. I'll give it all to you!"

Liu Chengen was stunned for a moment, and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I am loyal to Your Majesty, and it is not for these material things..."

Zheng Yi shook his head and said, "If you have made contributions, you should be rewarded. You have made great contributions to me. If I don't reward you, how will others view me?"

"Will there be anyone who will work loyally for me in the future?"

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty! I am so overwhelmed..."

He hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"I, I ...

Zheng Yi casually threw the account book onto the table, looked at Liu Chengen with a half-smile and said, "I thought you wouldn't tell me."

With a "thump", Liu Chengen quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, please spare me! My eyes are blurry and I did such a foolish thing. Your Majesty, please spare me, Your Majesty, please spare me!"

"Old Liu, you are still lying."

"His Majesty?"

Liu Chengen looked up, his eyes strange, and asked, "Old, old servant, don't you know...?"

"It is true that you took in the thirty-two wives of the Wang family and the eight great merchants, but the other two should have been snatched from the Wang family during the house search."

"Those two people should be the concubines of Wang Zhonghe and his descendants. Am I right?"

"Besides them, there seemed to be two other women. Did you get them from the Royal Guards?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Liu Chengen knocked his head hard against the ground, making a series of "dong dong" sounds.

"I am an old fool! I am an old fool! I was bewitched by that woman and did this..."

"That's all."

Zheng Yi said: "The thirty-two Datong women are all pitiful people. Ask them where they are going. If they are willing to follow you, they can stay."

"But if anyone does not want to follow, give them a certain amount of silver and let them go free."

Liu Chengen pressed his forehead to the ground and said in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty!"

"As for the other two, find out whether they are pregnant. If they are, throw them into the prison and we will deal with them later."

Zheng Yi said coldly: "For those who are not pregnant, the Jinyiwei will find out their identities and deal with them in the same way as above."

Liu Chengen's body trembled, and he kowtowed repeatedly, saying: "Your Majesty! I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong..."

"You are loyal to me, I know that very well, but I don't want to leave any evidence against my people, do you understand?"

"I know!"

"Go down."

"Your Majesty, those two women from Datong that I asked for from the Imperial Guards are presented to Your Majesty by this old slave!"

Liu Chengen knelt down and said, "Those two women are the best among the women of Datong. They were trained by a special person and were originally left behind to win over high-ranking officials. They were obtained by this old slave."

"Although these two women were born in poverty, their looks and figures are first-rate, even better than the concubines in the harem..."

"Alas... I really can't bear to see these poor children, so let them stay in the palace."

Zheng Yi waved his hand and said, "After you have dealt with your personal affairs, come back to serve me."

"promise!"

Liu Chengen kowtowed hard again, then knelt on the ground and kept backing away like an old dog.

He retreated to the entrance of the hall, kowtowed a few more times, then slowly stood up and staggered out of the hall.

"Liu Chengen..."

Zheng Yi murmured, "After all, he is just an ordinary person, and he is already fifty years old. He doesn't have many years left to live."

"Let him enjoy his old age in the palace." That night.

Zheng Yi visited two women from Datong in Baiyujing.

It has to be said that the woman from Datong, who is known as the 'first of the four famous prostitutes', is more passionate and more charming than ordinary women, making Zheng Yi linger.

New Year's Day, the seventh year of the Shoei era.

The emperor led all officials to offer sacrifices to heaven in the Taimiao. It snowed heavily that day and the people were all jubilant.

Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, which is a good omen!

In the seventh year of Zhengyong, it was the tenth day of the first lunar month.

Liu Cheng'en, in compliance with the Emperor's order, confiscated the property of the Wang family of Datong and their eight major businessmen.

Seized were 860 million taels of silver, 30 million taels of gold, and countless antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold, silver and jewelry.

The order stated that there were still a large number of fields, forests, properties, shops, etc. waiting to be confiscated.

The Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Rites dispatched more than 60 officials to conduct the search and confiscation, and they were monitored by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It was estimated that it would take about three months to complete the search.

The fifteenth day of the first month in the seventh year of the Shoei era.

On the Lantern Festival, the emperor personally granted the Lantern Festival so that he could enjoy the festival with the people.

That night, a total of 72 fires broke out in the capital, burning down 235 military and civilian houses and causing 52 casualties among the residents.

The emperor was furious and reprimanded the Five Cities Military Commander and the prefect of the capital, and ordered a thorough investigation.

At the same time, he ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to repair residents' houses and provide relief to the victims.

The 30th day of the first month in the seventh year of the Zhengei era.

Great dynasty.

Twenty-one officials of the fifth rank and above impeached Liu Chengen, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, accusing him of accepting bribes, suppressing dissidents, and harming loyal officials.

Moreover, in the case of the merger, he accepted bribes from seven women, enriched himself, and embezzled domestic resources. He should be executed immediately!
Liu Chengen looked angrily at the twenty or so ministers standing in front of him, his eyes almost murderous.

He is working for Your Majesty!
His Majesty has already promised to give those treasures to our family.

And those seven women all followed our family voluntarily. We are good people.

If we let them go back, they have no skills and can only serve men. Won't they end up in brothels?

In this case, why not follow him and live a leisurely and stable life?
Although I am unable to do anything, I am very nice to them.

How come in the mouths of these officials it turned into taking advantage of a decent woman?

It’s really... unfair!

"His Majesty……"

Liu Chengen looked back with difficulty, his life and death were in Zheng Yi's hands.

If Zheng Yi wanted to kill him, it would only take a word.

Only at this moment did he understand the horror of power.

Zheng Yi said calmly: "I already know everything Liu Chengen has done, and it was also my idea."

In one sentence, these officials' words of impeachment against Liu Chengen were suppressed.

Many officials had no choice but to retreat.

At this time, Xu Mujun suddenly turned sideways and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"Oh? What's the matter, Lord Xu?"

Xu Mujun said: "I have been back to the capital for more than a month. Now the two states of Manghuang have been initially settled, but there are also a large number of Wu Kingdom spies and bandits in the states. I am willing to return to the two states of Manghuang long ago to suppress the unrest in the two states."

Zheng Yi said: "Don't worry, Mr. Xu, I still have something important to discuss with you."

He didn't want Xu Mujun to leave the capital so soon as the issue with Xu Xuanwu had not been resolved yet.

Xu Mujun asked, "I wonder what is the important matter, Your Majesty?"

Zheng Yi's mind moved, and he said, "I intend to establish the Dayu Military Academy, select suitable young soldiers and scholars who are interested in military development to study in the academy, and teach young soldiers like the Imperial Academy."

"what?"

Not only Xu Mujun, but even other ministers were confused by Zheng Yi's sudden attack.

Military Academy...

What is it?

A place dedicated to training soldiers?
But my Dayu has already occupied two states of Wu, and the rebels in Dayu have been suppressed, so there is no place to fight.

Why does Your Majesty still want to train military generals?

"As the saying goes, be prepared for danger in times of peace. We, Dayu, have occupied two states of Wu State. Wu State will never let go of this vengeance."

Zheng Yi said: "Once the new king of Wu is settled, he will definitely counterattack the two states of Manghuang. For this reason, Dayu should focus on training young military generals to strengthen the army."

"Dear ladies, do you have any comments?"

This……

Many ministers were talking about it, with strange expressions on their faces.

Establish a military academy?

On the same level as the Imperial College?

Wouldn't that group of warriors who only knew how to fight be compared with their civil officials?

The eyes of many ministers were all looking towards the cabinet in the front.

Now, there are only three people left in the entire cabinet, and their power is not as strong as before.

Lu Xiangqing hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, all the scholars in Dayu are proficient in the six arts of a gentleman, and are proficient in ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics."

"In my humble opinion, when the country is in danger, we civil servants can also go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. I hope you will consider this matter carefully."

Li Yuanhao also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, what Lord Lu said is very true."

"Our top priority is to complete the Five-Year Plan that Your Majesty has established."

"The construction of the Yongzhou Grand Canal has not started yet due to the rebellion, and the Jing'an Grand Canal has just started. These two projects will require the use of millions of civilians."

"The energy of the imperial court is really limited."

Another assistant minister, Zheng Zongbing, did not speak, but was thinking about something.

"Uncle Bing Wang, what do you think?"

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(End of this chapter)