Yangzhou had changed greatly in the past year. The entire Yangzhou was under the control of the Wu family. What was even more unimaginable was that Wu Tian had invented the printing technique and the paper-making technique. Moreover, the quality was high. A large number of low-cost newspapers were born, and the Wu family's Mass Daily appeared in human history, more than a thousand years earlier than real history.
Moreover, Wu Tian's application of newspapers had reached perfection. He beautified the Wu family's ruthless attack on hostile forces, especially Cihang Jingzhai, which had become the target of public newspapers. After revealing the hypocrisy of Kind Boathouse and describing and evaluating its actions since the establishment of this mysterious sect, even Buddhism was implicated and suffered merciless neglect and attack in the whole Jiangnan area. The eyes of the common people lit up and they learned to think, to consider these so-called gods.
Anyway, in Wu Tian's mind, the commoners were just a blank piece of paper. Their minds were rigid, and he needed to reform their souls and minds in a way that was beneficial to the Wu family. Every time the newspapers were printed, they were targeted at the enemy forces. On the other hand, they beautified themselves as the incarnation of a god who saved people from distress.
In the beginning, Yang Jian thought that this kind of newspaper that was selling at a loss would not pose much of a threat. However, one year later, under the influence of Wu Tian, the Mass Daily had become a demon. They were the incarnations of a group of vixens and belonged to the political prostitutes. They liked to use their beauty to charm all living beings and harm the world like Su Daji.
In order to gain the trust of the people, Wu Tian took control of all the land in Jiangdu Prefecture and rented it to the poor. The tax was very low, only 20% of the land was rented per mu, and the rest of the food was owned by the people. He also signed a ten-year contract. Fortunately, Wu Tian controlled it well and did not spread it to the surrounding counties. He only implemented his tax reduction policy in Jiangdu Prefecture.
The Wu family's reputation had shot to fame. It could be said that the Wu family's status in Jiangdu Prefecture was equivalent to that of a local emperor. Their prestige had reached its peak. The commoners might not know about the imperial court or the other aristocratic families, but even a three-year-old child knew that there was a benevolent Wu family in Jiangdu. Moreover, Wu Tian's portrait had become the only object of the longevity plaque. They all hoped that the Wu family would continue to rule over Jiang Du Prefecture. Only when the Wu family ruled over Jiang Du Prefecture would Jiang Du be able to live a prosperous life forever. Only then would the exorbitant taxes of the past dynasties no longer appear in Jiang Du Prefecture.
The Wu family was the only voice in Jiangdu Prefecture. Even Li Shouren had to admire Wu Tian's methods. Moreover, the local officials had become members of the Wu family. They were almost manipulated by Wu Tian and pushed out. All the aristocratic families withdrew their hands. The Wu family's methods were too brilliant. They had a big stick in one hand and a carrot in the other. Those who were obedient were carrots, and those who were disobedient were big sticks.
The entire Jiangdu Prefecture was ruled by the Wu family. Other forces could not enter at all. Even the Song family could only watch from the side. However, other than the land being a mandatory requirement of the Wu family, the business was very loose. Although the tax was very high, the merchants not only did not lose money, but also made more profits than in their later years. Even the overseas market was the main sales channel of the Wu family. The Wu family had no less than 500 warships or merchant ships in total. Even the Song family was ashamed of their inferiority when they formed a commercial fleet. All the aristocratic families were shocked and tongue-tied. They could not believe that business could be operated like this.
Ever since Wu Tian took over Jiangdu Prefecture, the Guanlong Group's Li family had been having a hard time. Other than getting a share of the profits in the northern Turkic region and Koryo, the Jiangnan region had been squeezed out by the Wu family. The Li family of Jiangdu Prefecture had already become a vassal of the Wu family. Although Li Shouren wanted to resist, Wu Tian's methods were too ruthless. There was a trend that those who followed him would prosper and those who opposed him would die. However, although Wu Tian took back the land, he opened up many products for the Li family to operate.
Luoyang, the capital of the east, was a place of power and loyalty in the Sui Dynasty. Yang Jian was furious in the palace today. He could not believe that Wu Tian had such a great talent. Originally, Wu Tian was a chess piece that he used to fight against the Guanlong Group and the Buddhist Sect led by Kind Boathouse. Unexpectedly, Wu Tian wiped out the influence of Kind Boathouse in Jiangnan. Except for some aristocratic families in Jiangnan who still did not give up, they were still flirting with Kind Boathouse. Most of the aristocratic families saw that the aristocratic families who followed the Wu family were making money every day. They were jealous and bowed their heads.
Wu Tian knew that this was just a show of submission. After all, he did not have the courage to unify Jiangnan yet. After all, the relationships between the aristocratic families in Jiangnan were complicated. It was impossible to uproot them, at least not now. After all, the Great Sui was not in chaos. Moreover, the Black Flag Army that Wu Tian personally trained now had 100,000 elites. More than 10,000 of them would be the place where he would train the officers and officers in the future. They would receive cruel training and talent cultivation in the secret mountain.
Wu Tian was different from any aristocratic family in the world. He was not afraid that the talents he nurtured would run away. After all, he still had the slave token. Using the slave token to control these people would not cause any trouble for him. Although Wu Tian's actions were indeed shocking, even Yang Jian felt that Wu Tian was a threat. However, Yang Jian could not bear to sacrifice the Wu family. After all, the Wu family was too rich. Half of the tax revenue of the Great Sui Dynasty came from the various industries of the Wu family. Moreover, the Wu family had colluded with the Nanbei Family and had built a huge business network and relationship network.
Yang Jian brought Yuwen Shang, Dugu Feng, and Li Yuan into the study room for a discussion. However, Yang Jian knew that the Yuwen family and Dugu family had already colluded with the Wu family. Yang Guang was also involved. After all, Yang Guang's current enemy was the powerful families such as the Guanlong Group in the north. Wu Tian seemed to be a big threat, but no one saw the biggest drawback of the Wu family. It was also the most fatal place. The Wu family's foundation was too weak. The only real disciple of the Wu family was Wu Tian. The rest of the talents were recruited from outside.
Among the four influential families in the world, the Li family was the one who hated the Wu family. The Li family had sacrificed the most in the two operations to destroy the Wu family. The Li family had lost half of their experts and their vitality had been greatly damaged. Now, Li Yuan did not dare to act rashly. He could only lie in his old nest and lick his wounds, hiding his strength and biding his time. It was because of this that the Li family had escaped the disaster.
Wu Tian could only sigh at Li Yuan's extraordinary luck when he saw that Li Yuan had managed to escape a calamity. He was like a cockroach that could not be killed. At the critical moment, he could always avoid disaster. No wonder he was able to take over the world, sit on the throne, and establish the Tang Empire.
Yang Jian's face was gloomy, and no one knew what he was thinking. However, Li Yuan knew very well that Yang Jian did not want to make a move on the Wu family of Jiang Du. Moreover, the Guanlong Group was too powerful. If they lost the Wu family, the Yang family would not be able to control the siege of these aristocratic families. He had taken the Yuwen family's territory, and if he could take it, why couldn't the other aristocratic families take the Yang family's territory?
No matter what, although Li Yuan knew that the possibility of failure was very high, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would smear the reputation of the Wu family. He said like a loyal minister,"Your Majesty, if this continues, the Wu family will rebel in less than ten years.”
Yang Jian raised his head and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. Li Yuan had been very obedient this year. He looked like a good baby. When he mentioned the Wu family, his courage came back. It was as if he would not stop until he trampled the Wu family to death.
Yang Guang sneered." The Wu family doesn't have such courage. Moreover, if the Wu family rebelled, they wouldn't have to pay taxes to the imperial court every year. Father, ever since Wu Tian's reform, the Wu family's taxes have soared this year. It has doubled compared to previous years. In my opinion, it is better to appoint Wu Tian as the general manager of Jiangnan. Of course, the condition is that Wu Tian must double the taxes of Jiangnan. If he can't do it, the imperial court will hold Wu Tian responsible. I think Wu Tian will be a good general manager of money and grain. Moreover, he can be transferred to Jiangnan to be the general manager of the navy. Cousin can also be the deputy general manager of Jiangnan. He Ruobi will be the general manager of Wuzhou and supervise the military affairs of Jianghuai.”
He Ruobi, Li Yuan, and Lai Hu 'er would not be in the same boat as Wu Tian. It was like letting Wu Tian slowly swallow up the local wealthy families in Jiangnan. It was better to put a shackle on Wu Tian. If he did not manage well, he could attack the Wu family. Destroying the Wu family would be justified and stop the world from saying anything. Secondly, Li Yuan and Wu Tian were mortal enemies. He Ruobi was from Xianbei, while Wu Tian was Han. They were divided in terms of race, which made Wu Tian, Li Yuan, and He Ruobi evenly matched. He Ruobi controlled the army and was not afraid of Wu Tian rebelling. Li Yuan would not let Wu Tian off easily and would always find trouble with Wu Tian. In this way, Wu Tian could only rely on the royal family. To protect his son as the navy chief, commanding the Jiangnan navy, he could control the Wu family's water route and seize the Wu family's lifeline.
Yu Wenshang and Dugu Feng clapped their hands and praised the Crown Prince Yang Guang's brilliant idea. In fact, everyone knew that Yang Guang had appointed these people because Yang Jian and Yang Guang had already confirmed the candidates. He had only sent them here to cover up his autocracy and let the world know that he was a wise ruler who was good at listening to advice. Without Yang Jian's tacit approval, Yang Guang would not dare to propose such a plan to drive the wolf and swallow the tiger. He would have ruthlessly hit the Wu family in the waist.
Wu Tian had no choice but to obediently obey the imperial court's orders. Otherwise, the Wu Clan would be rebelling, and the imperial court would be able to mobilize all the experts and armies to encircle the Wu Clan. The reputation of Kind Boathouse had been ruined by Wu Tian. Yang Guang still wanted to get the printing technique from Wu Tian. He had already seen the power of the fishing wheel that the newspaper published by the printing technique could bring. This fishing wheel method must be controlled by the royal family to be safe.
That night, Dugu Feng returned home and reported what happened in the study to his mother, You Chuhong. You Chuhong sneered and said disdainfully,"The emperor and the crown prince are too presumptuous. Does the Wu family lack money? With Wu Tian's methods and wisdom, he would definitely satisfy the court's request. "However, if the Li family wants to participate, I'm afraid the Li family will be even more miserable. We shouldn't participate. It's enough to manage the salt and iron industry well. Don't be greedy. The Emperor was throwing out a piece of fat meat for the various aristocratic families to fight over. He wanted to sow discord between the Guanlong Group and the Jiangnan Group. If there were benefits, there would be conflict.”
You Chuhong didn't know what Wu Tian was thinking. With Wu Tian's intelligence, he wouldn't act so rashly. He must have some ulterior motive. She did not know that Wu Tian was actually planning to lead the Black Flag Army trained by the Wu family to the Northern Expedition after Yang Guang ascended the throne. Only Wu Tian knew about the changes in the world. Moreover, when Wu Tian was digging the Grand Canal, he wanted to get out and not participate. He would never be a scapegoat. If the Li family or the Yuwen family were to do it, it would be the best and perfect candidate in his heart.
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