xymnovel Chapter 23 What to do? Only kill!
Chapter 23 What to do? Only kill!
To be fair, although Huang Yi was neither good at literature nor martial arts, he could sometimes really serve as a catalyst for improvement.
At his prompting, Yuan Yao suddenly came up with a solution to the financial predicament.
"We can wipe out those powerful clans in Huainan!"
Meanwhile, in the midst of the chaos at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, bandits and thieves rose up in droves, the central government was weak and powerless, and people in various places had to form strongholds to protect themselves, giving rise to one separatist force after another.
In general, however, these minor forces are only concerned with self-preservation and have no other intentions. They are willing to pay grain and taxes as long as no one goes too far, regardless of who rules the prefectures or counties.
Lujiang County was no exception; the local people, whether willingly or unwillingly, were basically dependent on the powerful local lords and magnates of the surrounding area.
Yuan Yao had his sights set on these powerful figures.
It should be noted that the powerful clans of the Eastern Han Dynasty were already known for their wealth and influence. Now, with the social upheaval, they made even more money from the war, annexing countless ordinary people and becoming extremely rich.
Simply extract money from these people one by one, and the financial problem will be solved.
"No!"
Unexpectedly, Yan Xiang and Liu Ye immediately offered their advice.
Yan Xiang said, "The powerful clans of Lujiang have been operating locally for hundreds of years, and their influence is deeply entrenched and intertwined. A rash attack could easily trigger a chain reaction, causing the entire prefecture to rebel!"
Liu Ye put it even more bluntly: "Young lord, these powerful clans often rely on strategic locations for defense and live in clusters, so they should not be underestimated. Our army, on the other hand, appears strong but is weak inside. Once a battle breaks out, the outcome is unpredictable, and the losses will outweigh the gains."
Both of them were being very realistic.
Everyone knows these powerful figures are rich, but getting gold coins from them is no easy feat.
Back when the Eastern Han Dynasty was founded, even a figure like Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu clashed with powerful clans over land surveys, ultimately ending in a dismal failure. What makes Yuan Yao think he can solve such a century-old problem?
Moreover, although the Zhong family nominally claimed the title of emperor and acted as the Son of Heaven, no one actually recognized them. The true nature of their regime was still that of a powerful clan with the Yuan family of Runan at its core—essentially a powerful family plus.
Therefore, in Yan Xiang and Liu Ye's view, Yuan Yao's move was undoubtedly shooting himself in the foot, and he was absolutely asking for trouble.
But Yuan Yao doesn't think so.
Firstly, based on his experience from his previous life, he naturally dislikes the backward production organization of powerful families and will definitely strike back against them sooner or later.
Secondly, who said that Yuan Yao planned to declare war on all the powerful clans in Lujiang?
Yuan Yao: "Don't misunderstand, I just want to pick a few typical cases and bleed them dry to strengthen myself."
After all, the Zhong family's finances were not yet in dire straits and could still hold out for a few more months. Yuan Yao did not need to make any grand plans. He only needed to earn some temporary extra income to get through the most difficult period. Once Huainan was back on track and able to be self-sufficient, this financial crisis would naturally be resolved.
"Therefore, we only need to select a few notorious and typical lawless tyrants, collect sufficient evidence of their crimes, and then launch a campaign against them under the banner of speaking up for the people. Others will naturally have nothing to say, and the people will even praise us for acting on behalf of Heaven."
Yan Xiang still looked troubled: "This..."
Liu Ye was more accepting, but also a little skeptical: "This matter sounds easy, but it's actually not easy to handle."
That's absolutely right.
No matter how Yuan Yao disguises himself, what he is doing is essentially taking action against powerful and influential forces. Any mishap at any stage could lead to unpredictable and serious consequences.
Therefore, it is necessary to send a highly skilled, professional, and reliable person to handle this matter from beginning to end.
Yuan Yao himself is definitely not up to the task. Given his status, his departure would inevitably cause a stir, and if something goes wrong, it would be difficult to manage the situation.
Yan Xiang and Liu Ye were equally unsuitable; the former genuinely disagreed with Yuan Yao's approach, while the latter chose to protect himself and was unwilling to get involved in the mess.
As for the remaining Huangyi... let's look at the Yangtze River in the distance, family.
Cao Xing, who had been idly observing for a while, looked around and found that no one could share the burden of his young lord. He sneered and stood up with a sigh.
"Young Master—"
"General Cao," Yuan Yao nodded and smiled, "I was just about to call you."
Cao Xing cupped his hands in a fist salute: "Young Master, please give your orders."
Yuan Yao was satisfied with this attitude: "In that case, General Cao, obey my command!"
"Here you go!"
"Go and fetch Zhang Kai for me!"
"Yes, ma'am—huh?"
Yuan Yao urged, "What are you all standing there for? Our plan was to plunder these powerful families. Do you think you're as professional as Zhang Kai at this kind of thing?"
Cao Xing: "...Yes."
The next morning, Zhang Kai, having received the notification, came before Yuan Yao.
Zhang Kai gave a curt bow: "Grand Commander, you wanted to see me?"
"Exactly." Yuan Yao gestured for Zhang Kai to sit down, then revealed his idea to him: to arrest a few typical powerful figures, confiscate their property, and bleed them dry.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhang Kai slapped his thigh and stood up: "I knew it! Grand Commander, you're just my type!"
Zhang Kai was extremely agitated: "These rich, shrewish beasts, I've had my eye on them for a long time! Grand Commander, you decide who to do, and I'll do them!"
Yuan Yao, looking tense, tried to calm him down, saying, "Don't worry, this isn't that simple. Let me finish explaining."
After saying that, Yuan Yao took out a bamboo scroll from under the table. It had a long list of names written on it, numbering twenty or thirty.
Yuan Yao explained, "This is a list I compiled overnight based on the opinions of the local people in Lujiang. It contains a list of powerful families with many illegal activities. Your task is to further investigate and verify the list, select the most outrageous families, collect evidence of their crimes, and finally submit it to me."
In this way, Yuan Yao could carry out a righteous act of punishing the guilty and honoring the people. He could first publicly expose the crimes of these wealthy and powerful people in front of everyone, and then, under the banner of upholding justice for the people, conduct a just trial against them, thereby justly seizing, no, confiscating and appropriating their accumulated wealth.
Zhang Kai, beaming with excitement, took the order and left.
He returned a few days later.
He also handed Yuan Yao a bamboo slip.
Yuan Yao opened it and was immediately enraged.
Because the contents were exactly the same as what he had given to Zhang Kai, with no difference whatsoever.
Has this guy not done any work?
Yuan Yao looked at the other person with displeasure: "What's going on?"
Zhang Kai, however, asked matter-of-factly, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Yuan Yao stared into the other man's eyes: "You remember what I asked you to do, right? There are twenty or thirty names on this list. Did you collect evidence of all their crimes?"
Zhang Kai: "Yes."
Yuan Yao: "Huh?"
After careful questioning, Yuan Yao realized that he seemed to have made another mistake based on assumptions.
In Yuan Yao's stereotype, these local tyrants, as local bullies, should behave like this:
Yuan Yao: "Someone reported that you are suspected of multiple crimes, including murder, kidnapping, and illegal land acquisition."
Haoqiang: "I'm innocent! This is all a frame-up by troublemakers. I'm clearly a well-known philanthropist."
In reality, at this point in the second century AD, they actually looked like this:
Zhang Kai: "Did you kill this person?"
The tyrant: "It's me! What, you're not happy about it?"
Therefore, Zhang Kai didn't need to deliberately collect evidence; he only needed to go over and walk around, and the evidence would just jump out at him.
Once Yuan Yao realized this, he understood what he had to do.
Yuan Yao: "Wait a moment, I'll pick out a few easy targets, you get ready and we'll get started right away."
Zhang Kai grinned maliciously, "Rest assured, Grand Commander, I have nine ways to kill them, nine ways!"