Within a day, Hai Rui had already investigated a prince and three dukes.
The imperial court was shaken, the officials were shaken, and the officials who were related to the clan were uneasy and anxious.
In the Second-rank Prince's Mansion of Anwei, Zhao Ning had been in a state of panic for the past few days. He had been reflecting on himself for three days. What was the Emperor doing?
He had discussed with the aides of the Prince's mansion for a day and came to a conclusion. The Emperor wanted land and money.
The next day, Zhao Ning had already written a memorial. Half of the land was gone-160,000 mu, and the money was one million strings.
On the third day, Hai Rui arrived and rejected the memorial.
"Your Highness, His Majesty wants you to reflect on yourself, not for some land and money. The emperor is rich and has boundless virtue. How can he allow you to pretend to be ignorant? The Minister of Justice, Mao Jingyu, and the Minister of Rites, Xu Lirong, have both been executed. You have been friends with them for many years and violated the ancestral system. Take him down!"
The Royal Guards swarmed forward, and not only did they capture Zhao Ning, but they also took down everyone in his residence, totaling 312 people.
Following that, Duke Anle Zhao Rong, Duke Fulu Zhao Can, and Duke Zhengrao Zhao Si were all raided on the same day.
The Minister of Justice, Mao Jingyu, and the Minister of Rites, Xu Lirong, were also raided. The entire court was flabbergasted, and this time, it was even fiercer than before.
Prime Minister Sima Guang and cabinet member Wen Yanbo all wrote to Zhao Xu, asking the emperor to show mercy in front of his relatives.
In the imperial court.
Zhao Xu stood up and walked down from the throne. He stood in the middle of the row with his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice,"Ever since the founding ancestor, the clan relatives have received generous gifts. There is no lack of fertile land and wealth. After a hundred years, the power of the clan relatives has already exceeded the limits set by the Imperial Court.”
The court was silent. Prime Minister Sima Guang bowed and said nothing.
Wang Anshi bowed and said,
"The imperial court is in need of money. As a relative of the imperial family, you don't think for the imperial court. Instead, you go even further and prey on the people, forcefully buying and selling the people's land, and breaking the ancestral system to make friends with the ministers of the court. I request Your Majesty to deal with these blasphemies according to the laws of our ancestors.”
Hai Rui, tell me." Zhao Xu said to Hai Rui.
Hai Rui took out a scroll and said,""Yes! I've already found out that Zhao Ning not only annexed the fertile land of the people, but also befriended the officials of the court. He also had dealings with the Liao Kingdom. He is unpardonable and deserves to be killed!”
"As a king, you interfered with the Ministry of Revenue and took money to help others get people out of the Ministry of Justice.”
Hai Rui's generous speech shocked everyone in the court. This was the first time they had heard Zhao Ning collude with the Liao people.
Very quickly, Hai Rui found the letters between Zhao Ning and the Liao merchants. They were all solid evidence from the Prince's mansion.
Zhao Xu pointed at Hai Rui and said,"
"This person must be expelled from the Imperial Family, expelled from the Imperial Family, and handed over to the Supreme Court for trial. The other three dukes must be handed over to the Imperial Family Supervisor for punishment.
"This lowly subject obeys the decree!" Hai Rui bowed.
Zhao Xu walked up the jade steps and sat down on the throne. He said,"
"From today onwards, the entire country will begin surveying the land. This matter will be led by Wang Anshi and Zhang Juzheng.”
It was extremely important to investigate the land in the country. Not only could it increase taxes, but it could also find out the fertile land occupied by the clan relatives and gentry.
……
Winter arrived, and the first snow fell in Kaifeng City.
Winter was a lull in farming. Because of the snow, the corvee in various places was not sent out. Zhao Xu began to reduce the redundant soldiers according to the plan.
The veterans who had gone through the war to destroy China were basically left behind. The ones who were eliminated were the old, weak, sick, and disabled. After the old, weak, sick, and disabled were eliminated, they would receive a sum of money to go back and maintain their lives.
This was specially approved by Zhao Xu. It was to ensure that the lives of retired soldiers were placed in a higher position, completely reversing the entire national policy of valuing literature over martial arts.
Yue Fei also made a small reduction in the number of soldiers on the Liao front line. Yue Fei dismissed 100,000 people according to their combat effectiveness.
After dealing a blow to the clan relatives and despotic gentry, the national treasury suddenly had an extra 20,000 strings of money and an extra 30 million mu of fertile land.
This money had satisfied the expenses of the court in an instant. Although there was not much money in the national treasury, it was much more abundant than before.
The entire court had already experienced the Emperor's thunderous methods. In the fishing boats, the officials privately felt that the Great Song was changing. The sky that valued literature over martial arts had changed, and the sky that was filled with corruption had changed.
The most obvious change was that more people wanted to join the army! They would be able to make contributions and have ample food and clothing. Not only would they be rich in war, but they would also have high honors.
In November of the first year of Xining, the entire Song Dynasty was covered in snow, and the work of surveying the land had been put on hold.
Zhao Xu was drinking warm wine and eating stewed meat in the palace, looking at the system's minimap.
On the mini-map, with the destruction of the Xixia Empire, the Great Song Empire had expanded greatly. The west was connected to the Gaochang Uighurs, the north was the Liao Kingdom, and the south was Jiaozhi. Although it was eyeing them like a tiger, it did not dare to easily invade the border.
The warmongers in Liao started to gain the upper hand, and Yelu Hongji started to accumulate his strength, preparing to start a war with Great Song in the spring.
Just as Zhao Xu was about to think about how to defeat the enemy, Wang Yong walked in and whispered,""Your Majesty, the envoy of the Goryeo Wang Dynasty is here to see you!”
"From land or sea?" Zhao Xu asked.
"The Liao people are very strict on the sea and on land.”
"Call him in." Zhao Xu said.
"Yes!"
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