The road to Jianghu started from the martial arts hall

Chapter 519 Confiscating the family and exterminating the clan
Ten days later, Dongting Prefecture, Zhangjia Town.

Then a battalion of soldiers surrounded the Zhang family mansion.

"The prince has issued an order! The Zhang family has no regard for the law, deceives their superiors and subordinates, hides people and land, and should be confiscated and exterminated as a warning to others!"

After the order was given, the soldiers rushed into the Zhang family mansion. Although they did not kill people indiscriminately, they arrested anyone they saw.

"No, sir. My family accepts the punishment. We accept the punishment. It's ok to take away all the land. My Zhang family is a family of Jinshi, so it's more than that!"

In the mansion, Mr. Zhang, who usually would tremble if he stomped his feet, had a face full of despair. When the time came, he finally felt regret in his heart.

He easily fooled around with the land survey more than four months ago, and there was no movement from the government afterwards, which made Mr. Zhang think that it was just a lot of noise with little action.

But now facing this group of ferocious soldiers, he finally realized that the Prince of Yue’s Mansion was serious!
"How could the King of Yue do this? How dare she do this? Isn't she afraid of the criticism from the scholars of the world?!"

"Humph! Still stubborn!"

The leading soldier snorted coldly, waved his hand and ordered his men to rush forward. Mr. Zhang and a group of young and strong men were quickly captured.

The Zhang family is the local tyrant in the town. All the farmers in the surrounding area are tenants of the Zhang family. Even if they are not, they still have the surname Zhang.

Normally, Mr. Zhang could easily gather thousands of young and strong men with just a wave of his hand.

But at this moment, facing the soldiers from the Prince of Yue's Palace, no matter how brave these young men were on weekdays, they could only tremble in fear and hide in their homes before the power of the officials.

Soon, all the members of the Zhang family were tied up and taken away, and boxes of silver, money, cloth, medicinal materials and other valuables in the mansion were counted out.

The leading soldier was amazed: "The Zhang family is so rich, no wonder the Marquis loves to confiscate property."

Outside the Zhang family mansion, the two clerks in white uniforms that Fang Xun had seen a few months ago were also present.

Among them, the man surnamed Zhao looked at the figures of more than a hundred people being escorted away from the Zhang family mansion, and felt indescribably relieved.

"Fortunately, I am usually very alert, otherwise I would be like Brother Hu."

Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at the burly man next to him, and saw that the other person had a stern face and looked like he didn't allow anyone to come in.

This made the man surnamed Zhao feel cold in his heart, and he felt that this was not the person he knew at all.

I still remember that three days ago, this friend of his who he spent every day with seemed to have changed into a different person overnight.

Not only the burly men, but most of the people in the yamen, including the county magistrate and legal advisors, are like this.

When they were in contact, their personalities seemed to have not changed much, but when it came to official business, they all became ruthless and impartial.

Although it seemed like a good thing to the man surnamed Zhao, this strange change made him feel a chill in his heart.

As his thoughts raced, the man surnamed Zhao glanced at the several young men who were accompanying him.

These teenagers look about 15 or 16 years old. They are all trainees who have just started working for more than two months after graduating from primary school.

The man surnamed Zhao felt sad and didn't dare to think too much. His eyes turned to the crowd that was called in front of him.

These were common people from the surrounding area, most of them tenants of the Zhao family.

"Your Highness has ordered that the Zhao family has deceived their superiors and subordinates and flouted the royal law. Their houses and property will be confiscated, and their land will be taken over by the royal palace!"

The man surnamed Zhao spread out a roll of official documents and read aloud.

"You are all tenants of the Zhao family, and you all owe them a lot of money."

Immediately the crowd became agitated and everyone looked at each other anxiously.

Could it be that this official wants them to pay back the debt immediately?

Although the Zhao family fell, the debt was transferred to the hands of King Yue, and they could not escape in any way.

The man surnamed Zhao shouted, "His Highness has ordered that, considering your hard life, he will show some leniency. All previous debts of all children in our family who attend public schools will be forgiven!" The crowd exploded in an uproar, and many people immediately had a look of regret on their faces.

A few years ago, when the public school went to various villages to recruit new students, it said that all tuition and miscellaneous fees were free.

But they all felt that it was pointless to send their children to school, and it would be better for boys to work in the fields.

Girls are money-losing goods anyway. Even if they get some education, they will still get married. It is better to get rid of this burden as soon as possible and earn some dowry to supplement the family income.

But now when I heard that sending my child to a public school could waive my previous debts, I felt so regretful. If I had known this benefit, who would have taken the public school enrollment so lightly?

And someone who reacted quickly immediately thought of something, and one of the braver farmers asked.

"Sir, if I send my son to public school this year, this debt will be..."

The man surnamed Zhao nodded and said, "Of course, as long as there is a child of school age in the family who is enrolled in a public school, not only will the previous debt be written off, but the output of the land will only need to be sold three times."

Someone immediately asked, "Sir, besides the 30% rent, is there anything else?"

This refers to the various exorbitant taxes and forced labor. These miscellaneous items are the mountains that make people breathless.

The man surnamed Zhao patiently explained, "Except for 30% of the rent, all taxes and corvée labor are exempted. From now on, when the government asks you to do work, you will be paid!"

All of a sudden, many people showed joy on their faces, and perhaps because they saw that the man surnamed Zhao was easy to talk to, another person immediately summoned up the courage to shout.

"What about the rules for families who don't have children in public schools?
I only have one girl in my family. Sir, what's the point of her studying? It's better for her to find a family."

Suddenly, the eyes of the man surnamed Zhao became sharp, which made the man who was speaking turn pale and swallow the rest of the words.

"Thirty percent of the families with no children will be charged. As for those who have children but do not want to send them to public schools, the rate will be calculated accordingly."

Having said this, the man surnamed Zhao paused before continuing.

"Before March next year, any family with school-age children who have not yet been enrolled in a public school will have their children forcibly taken away by the government to attend school, and the rent will be increased by 90%!"

Suddenly, the crowd was about to explode again, and the man who asked the question turned even paler.

What does 90% of the rent mean?
Generally speaking, if you calculate based on 70% of the rent and add in all the other exorbitant taxes and levies, it would only leave people struggling on the line between life and death.

If they get sick or encounter any problem, they have to borrow money or sell their children. They have no ability to resist risks at all.

And 90% of the tenants simply don’t want to give people a way to live!

The man surnamed Zhao saw that the group of people were about to make a fuss, and immediately looked at the man who asked the question and sneered.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. If your daughter gets married, not only will you no longer have to support her, but you can also earn some dowry, right?
People like you, and others who don't care about their children's future, deserve to pay 90% of the rent!"

In an instant, the crowd fell silent, and everyone was thinking about sending their children to public school as soon as possible.

Seeing that everyone was stunned, the man surnamed Zhao nodded with satisfaction and continued to explain other policies in the document in his hand.

Not only Zhangjia Town, but all the counties and towns in Dongting Prefecture were bustling with activity. Countless landlords, wealthy people, and prominent families suffered.

But although the scene was huge, not many people died.

In the underground palace where Fang Xun is.

clang--

As the bells ring, it penetrates the soul.

Then, figures were seen walking back and forth, pouring buckets of blood into the blood pool. These figures, at first glance, were all gentry whose homes had just been ransacked.

Now he looks peaceful, as if he has finally attained enlightenment.

(End of this chapter)