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Chapter 949: Wealthy as a Country
What was the emperor doing? He went to the Ten Princes' Palace almost every day, where the university was located. The imperial examination would be held next spring, and it would be held together with the university examination. This was an absolutely novel situation, and countless scholars were waiting to see the results.

Although there were only 31 students in the first batch, they were all sparks in the emperor's eyes. As long as one of them could pass the exam and become a Jinshi, it would be a great victory.

31:1, this probability is a bit low, more than twice lower than the admission rate of the imperial examination, but it is of great significance. In other words, from now on, the path of entering a new school from childhood, then entering a university, and finally passing the imperial examination can be taken.

This will make those who want to embark on a new path of learning full of confidence, those who were previously hesitant will make a decisive choice, those who want to start a new school will take action immediately, and those who have already started a new school will be proud of themselves.

Every move and attitude of the government would have a great impact on the people. The first example of a person passing the imperial examination from a university would make thousands of people think about whether they should send their children to the new school to have a good future.

It's not that it's impossible to take the imperial examination, but the problem is that it's too difficult. Now there is another way to choose, which is a good thing. The most important thing is that this road can also lead to the destination, and it has been proven.

Of course, as long as the first precedent of someone passing the imperial examination from a university appeared, the imperial examination would be kicked off the altar and would no longer be the only channel for common people to change their class attributes.

This is also the purpose of Hong Tao in establishing a university. Only by getting rid of the mythical attributes of the imperial examination system can the education cause begin to take off. Otherwise, it will never develop.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month, and the emperor suddenly issued an edict to inform the world. In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his accession to the throne, every citizen of the Ming Dynasty could go to the local government with his identity card to receive a five-cent silver gift, which was regarded as a red envelope for the emperor and all the people to celebrate together.

The Ministry of Rites' proposal to hold a celebration was rejected. There was no ceremony. The court officials also received five cents of silver each, and they were not allowed to refuse it. How dare you complain that the red envelope given by the emperor is too little! Okay, then wait for the thunder to strike, it's all God's grace anyway.

In fact, most people with ID cards would go to collect it. 5 cents may not sound like much, as it can only buy 2 jin of new rice or 1 jin of charcoal. But if a family of 5 can get 25 cents, they can buy 5 feet of fine cotton cloth, which is enough to sew new clothes for the children.

I have only heard of the people paying taxes to the emperor, but I have never heard of the emperor giving money to the people. At most, he would exempt taxes. This is something I have never seen before.

Now many people of the Ming Dynasty are secretly praying that Emperor Jingyang will live a few more years, to see what he can accomplish after 30 years on the throne. It should be more than 20 years!

Why was Hong Tao so generous? Because it was free money and he didn't feel bad about spending it. And even if he didn't give it to the people, the money couldn't be saved, and it would all be taken away by the Ministry of Rites in the name of congratulations.

At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Jiaqing and Yuan Keli sent two official documents, one clear and one secret, respectively, listing 22 charges against Duke Mu Rui of Qian and his clansmen for alleged usurpation of power, instigating murderers to assassinate imperial officials, encroaching on farmland, forced purchases and sales, raising private soldiers, hiding weapons and armor. The entire clan had been arrested and escorted back to Beijing, where they were handed over to the three judicial departments for trial and conviction.

More than 300 farms of the Mu family in various prefectures in Yunnan and the Duke of Qian's Mansion were also confiscated and recorded in the accounts. The farms and fields were taken over by the Governor-General of the Southwest, and the gold, silver, jewelry and other valuables were escorted to Beijing by the navy and handed over to the inner treasury.

How much property was found in total? Excluding real estate, there were more than 3 million taels of silver, more than 200,000 taels of gold, and countless gold and silver jewelry, jewels and jades, calligraphy and paintings, and silks and satins, filling more than 30 rooms. In addition, there were various types of furniture made of precious wood, but because of the large number and size, they could not be transported over long distances, and they could not be sold at a suitable price locally, so they could only be temporarily placed in various properties and slowly disposed of by the Governor of the Southwest.

It is no exaggeration to describe the Mu family's accumulation over the past two hundred years as rich enough to rival a country. The Ming emperor's treasury was no more than seven or eight million taels of silver at most, but the gold and silver confiscated from the Mu family alone, plus gold and silver jewelry, jewels, jade, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, were valued at more than nine million taels.

This did not include the more than 20,000 hectares of land and more than 300 manors owned by the Mu family. In addition, the Duke of Qian had many wives and concubines, as well as more than 100 eunuchs and palace maids. This confirmed the charge of usurpation.

Although during the reigns of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, the Mu family was allowed to keep eunuchs and palace maids, and even rewarded them several times, it was not written down after all, and there was no relevant imperial edict to prove it.

When the emperor was doomed to great power, it was customary to walk around the yard in a dragon robe. It didn't matter whether anyone reported it or not. But if the emperor wanted to make a fuss, it would be a serious crime if the robe was not worn correctly!

When the emperor announced the list of confiscated property of the Duke of Qian at the grand court meeting, the ministers who had wanted to plead for the Mu family immediately shut their mouths.

Without having to look at Emperor Jingyang's livid face, everyone knew that the Mu family was completely finished this time. There was no need to list all the unforgivable crimes, just based on the astonishing amount of wealth, there was no hope.

This emperor had been on the throne for 20 years, but he didn't even repair the three burned-down halls in the palace, and he stayed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation to rest and work. Apart from repairing the mausoleums for the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, his own mausoleum has only remained on paper, with not a single shovel of earth dug.

The Ming dynasty was established by being stingy and thrifty, and giving all the money to the navy and the army. Then, the ministers made money everywhere, became rich enough to rival a country, and lived more lavishly than the emperor. How could they ask for mercy?

In fact, it was too late to beg for mercy. Less than half a month after the ship loaded with confiscated valuables set off from Annan, another ship carrying Mu Rui and the main members of his family also set off.

The result was that the valuables arrived in the capital, but the prisoners did not. It was estimated that after the first month of the lunar year, the navy would send an urgent report that the ship had sunk in a hurricane in the Gulf of Tonkin, and no one on board had survived.

At that time, not only will the emperor be relieved, but all the civil and military officials in the court will also secretly praise the hurricane for coming at the right time. Otherwise, once Mu Rui was taken to the capital, whether it was to the Ministry of Justice or the Jinyiwei prison, he would definitely expose many court officials.

The Mu family had been stationed in Yunnan for more than 200 years, so it was impossible that they had no connection with the court officials, and they had expressed sincerity to each other. If they were exposed at this moment, it would be too difficult to explain clearly, and there was a high probability that their property would be confiscated and they would be forced to do hard labor.

Now a hurricane has perfectly solved the problem. The emperor does not need to bear the infamy of killing meritorious officials, and the ministers do not need to worry. Just pretend that the Mu family does not exist and do what you need to do.

(End of this chapter)