The matter of Kong Taichang’s youngest daughter’s suicide caused quite a stir in the capital, but soon it was forgotten by everyone. Because everyone’s attention shifted to the events happening in Yangzhou.
During this period, the situation in Yangzhou can be described as "wind and crane cry."
The mon people were frightened and uneasy by the situation. Fortunately, the court dispatched troops in time to calm them down.
Grandmaster Liu secretly went to Yangzhou and joined forces with Song Dekang to swiftly clean out Yangzhou’s officialdom.
The two coordinated extremely well and caught the Yangzhou noble families off guard, capturing them all at once.
All of Yangzhou’s noble families and wealthy merchants were caught, not leaving a single one.
In recent days, Song Dekang has been leading people to raid the homes of these noble families.
The wealth confiscated from these noble families and wealthy merchants shocked Song Dekang and his team greatly. Although they had anticipated that Yangzhou’s noble families would be wealthy, they did not expect the gold and silver jewelry in these families to be piled up like mountains.
Song Dekang has been by the emperor’s side since childhood, and over the past two or three decades, he has seen all sorts of scenes, but he has never seen so much money before.
He finally understood why the emperor wanted to eliminate these noble families of Yangzhou.
"Where did these noble families get so much money?" Song Dekang sat across from Grandmaster Liu, his face full of confusion, "In the previous dynasty, didn’t Emperor Xia Ling rob these noble families of their wealth? Are these assets pilfered after the establishment of Great Zhou?"
Great Zhou has only been established for a little over ten years, yet these noble families in Yangzhou have accumulated such wealth... Song Dekang gasped in shock.
"No, this wealth was accumulated over generations." Grandmaster Liu seemed unsurprised by the wealth of Yangzhou’s noble families.
"During Emperor Xia Ling’s reign, didn’t he frequently rob these families? How e he didn’t take everything?" Emperor Xia Ling was known for his greed, often plundering from noble families. Many noble families in the capital had not escaped Emperor Xia Ling’s exploitation.
"These families have existed for hundreds of years, with very rich foundations, so it’s not easy to rob them pletely." Grandmaster Liu had been auditing the accounts of Yangzhou’s noble families these days, "Historically, Yangzhou has been a land of abundance, and these noble families have accumulated wealth over centuries, reaching a wealth parable to that of a nation, which is hardly surprising."
"Oh dear..." Song Dekang was so shocked he didn’t know what to say.
"With the money from Yangzhou, the court can do many things."
Hearing Grandmaster Liu’s words, Song Dekang suddenly thought of something and his eyes lit up: "Grandmaster, with so much money, can we attack Shu now?"
He rubbed his fists eagerly and said: "This group of beasts in Yangzhou has always been associating with that beast Han Zhong, I’m sure there’s quite a bit of money on Han Zhong’s side too. We should attack and raid Han Zhong’s home."
Grandmaster Liu glanced at Song Dekang and said, "Han Zhong will be alert when he learns of the situation in Yangzhou, so we cannot attack for now."
"What’s stopping us from attacking?" Song Dekang said indifferently, "Although the terrain of Shu is plex, it doesn’t mean it’s impregnable. We can conquer it."
Grandmaster Liu looked at Song Dekang without saying a word.
"Now that we’ve confiscated so much money and grain from these noble families in Yangzhou, it’s enough for us to attack Shu." Song Dekang was eager to invade Shu, "Once we conquer Shu, we’ll have even more money and grain."
"It’s no use telling me this."
"How can it be useless?" Song Dekang leaned over the table, "As long as you and Lao Her agree to attack Shu, the emperor will surely agree."
"I can agree, but Prime Minister He will never agree." Grandmaster Liu squinted at Song Dekang as he said, "As long as Prime Minister He doesn’t agree, the emperor won’t consent to attack Shu."
"When I return, I’ll pester Prime Minister He along with Lao Hu and the others until he agrees. I refuse to believe Prime Minister He won’t agree." Song Dekang confidently said, "Prime Minister He used to say we had no money or grain, but now we have both. He no longer has any reason to oppose us attacking Shu."
At that moment, Song Dekang’s deputy general came in, first saluting Grandmaster Liu and Song Dekang, then immediately reporting: "Grandmaster, General, the Guangling County Magistrate requests an audience."
Song Dekang raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly: "Ah, the chief’s father-in-law."
Grandmaster Liu said to Song Dekang’s deputy general, "Let him in."
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