The entire Tang Dynasty produces a certain amount of copper, silver, and gold every year.
Even if there is some loss, it is still limited.
Moreover, a large amount of gold and silver flows into the Tang Dynasty every year from the export of porcelain, tea, silk, paper, brocade and other commodities.
Even if a considerable part is used to make utensils and be buried with people, there is still a surplus.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty is actually not Those who are short of money, but the court still has no money, and the people also have no money.
Where does the money go?
Yes, most of the money goes into the pockets of a few people.
They are the royal relatives, noble families, aristocratic families, and officials.
Moreover, Chinese people have a tradition since ancient times.
After making money, they hide it and don’t like to spend it.
Especially the rich peasant landlords, many people like to bury their money underground, so that the person who buried the money dies, and no one knows the whereabouts of the money.
Therefore, in fact, Datang did not lack money, but the money went into the pockets of a few people.
Zhao Ziliang knew this very well, which was one of the reasons why he wanted to vigorously crack down on corruption.
He used the name of punishing corruption to seize money from the hands of those royal relatives, nobles, aristocratic families and officials, and then used it in the name of the court.
Spend it to vigorously develop the economy, build water conservancy projects, strengthen embankments, reorganize armaments, and build roads.
This time, the homes of a large number of court officials including Pei Mian, Yuan Zai, Cui Youfu, etc. were searched, and the total value of the seized property reached 1.6 billion guan.
This figure shocked both Zhao Ziliang and the officials of the Regent's Palace.
Strings of copper coins filled the entire treasury warehouse.
There was still no warehouse to store more than half of the copper coins.
The officials of the treasury had to organize people to build a large number of tents on the open space of the warehouse and pile these copper coins in the tents. , and sent heavy troops to guard it strictly.
The money was withdrawn from the basement of each prisoner's home or stored in a bank.
In order to preserve the remaining copper coins and other gold and silver, treasury officials had to apply to the Prince Regent's Palace to expand the treasury warehouse and increase the space of the underground vault.
In addition, fixed assets, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, rare stones and jades, jewelry, etc. are all sold to the private sector through auctions.
In this way, a large amount of money can be obtained.
Among all the officials who were raided, the Cui family had the most raids, followed by the Pei family, and then Prime Minister Yuan Zai.
Although the Cui family and the Pei family are rich, they are not very ostentatious.
After all, they are well-established aristocratic families.
When the officials from Yushitai inspected these two families, they found nothing outstanding except for their larger courtyards.
But Yuan Zai's home was different.
Wu Sun reported to Zhao Ziliang: "Yuan Zai built two luxurious residences in the north and south of the city, one in Daning and one in Anren.
The houses are magnificent and magnificent, ranking first in the world today, and even the imperial palace is not as good as them.
The fertile soil in the south of the city is There are dozens of land, villas and boundaries connected to each other, and there are more than a hundred maids and slaves in the palace.
These people are indulgent, illegal and extravagant without limit.
In addition, he also has a large house in Luoyang."
"In addition to these houses, Yuan Zai also collected many treasures.
We will give just a few examples.
The first is Yunhui Hall.
Yunhui is a kind of vanilla produced in Khotan.
It does not rot in the soil.
When it was crushed and painted on the walls, it would emit a peculiar fragrance, so it was called Yunhui Hall.
This Yunhui Hall also used gold and silver to make windows and agarwood to make beams.
Even the emperor's palace did not use these materials.
So extravagant; secondly, it is a beautiful jade screen.
It is said that this thing was Yang Guozhong's favorite treasure at that time.
It is engraved with pictures of beauties and prostitutes from the previous dynasty.
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In addition, crystals are used as decorations to hold down the curtains, and blue gemstones are strung together for decoration. .
It is exquisitely and ingeniously made, and its craftsmanship is unrivaled in the world.
Third, the purple gauze tent was originally made by the chief of Nanhai Xidong.
I don’t know how he got it, but it was made of twisted yarn.
It was light and very thin, and it looked like nothing was hanging there, even in the cold weather. , the wind can't blow into the tent, even in the hot summer, the tent is naturally cool.
Fourth, the dragon's beard whisk, it is said that this thing was owned by Zhang Zhihe, a Taoist priest of Dongting Lake, and it uses water.
The dust handle is made of spar, and the ring is made of carved ruby.
When it is windy, rainy, and dark, or when you go to the water and wet it, the light will sway, and the dragon's beard on the whisk will stand up like an angry figure. .
Put it in the hall.
At night, mosquitoes and gnats will not dare to come near it.
Zhao Ziliang didn't care much about other treasures.
After hearing that Wu Sun rated a concubine as a treasure, he couldn't help but said curiously: "Wait a minute, you said that Yuan Zai had a concubine named Xue Yaoying.
She is also a treasure.
This woman is very precious."
Is it beautiful?”
Wu Sun couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Your Majesty, this girl is not only beautiful, her body naturally emits a strange fragrance.
It is said that her parents fed her spices since she was a child.
Jia Zhi, the only friends of Yuan Zai, and others commented on her.
When it comes to beauty, it is said that even the beauties of the Yue Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period swirled and moved.
Even Zhao Feiyan in the Han Dynasty and Luzhu in the Jin Dynasty were not as beautiful as her.
After Yuan Zai was arrested and imprisoned, Xue Yaoying immediately took a huge sum of money and passed it on to an ordinary family in the village as a wife.
The minister is about to ask the king for instructions whether Yushitai wants to recover this huge sum of money."
Before Zhao Ziliang came to power, Tang law stipulated that the female family members of prisoners sentenced to death would not be beheaded, but would only be thrown into the palace to do menial labor.
After Zhao Ziliang came to power, some laws and regulations were revised, and the family members of prison officials would not be punished.
She was implicated, so Xue Yaoying remarried immediately after Yuan Zai was arrested, and the government ignored her.
Zhao Ziliang waved his hand and said: "That woman has been Yuan Zai's mistress for so many years.
It's normal for someone to ask for breakup fees.
Besides, it's her private money.
Why should you go after it and let her do it?"
"Yes" Wu Sun agreed, and then said: "Yuan Zai and others will have an operation in a few days.
Before he died, Yuan Zai asked to see his young wife Xue Yaoying for the last time.
Wei Chen thought that the person who was about to die after all "It's better to try our best to meet his request, but Yuan Zai is the first offender, so we still need to ask the king for instructions on this matter."
Zhao Ziliang said: "I can agree, but Xue Yaoying has remarried now.
After all, she is already his wife.
It's hard to say whether she is willing to come.
You can just send someone to bring the message.
It is up to her to decide whether she comes or not.
No I'm curious now.
Yuan Zai is about to die.
He doesn't want to see his first wife, but before he dies, he asks to see his little wife one last time.
Has he lost his mind or is he obsessed with this little wife?"
Wu Sundao: "Of course he was poisoned by this little wife.
Xue Yaoying's father Xue Zongben and brother Xue Congyi often went in and out of the prime minister's house.
As middlemen, they asked for bribes from those who wanted to buy and sell officials.
After receiving the money, they instigated Xue Yaoying to follow Yuan Zai wants to be an official, Yuan Zai dotes on this little wife and agrees to all her requests."
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At this time, Du Fu came over and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, General Wang Zhen is here and waiting outside the door."
"Wang Zhen" Zhao Ziliang was stunned, and then asked: "Why did he suddenly come to Chang'an if he was not on duty at the Xinjing Military Academy?
I didn't issue an edict to let him come?"
Du Fu was surprised and said: "Don't your Majesty know that Wang Yunxiu, the wife of Yuan Zai, is the daughter of Wang Zhongsi?"
Zhao Ziliang really didn't know about this.
He suddenly realized: "Is Wang Zhen Wang Yunxiu's elder brother or younger brother?"
"elder brother" "So Wang Zhen is here because of Yuan Zai," Zhao Ziliang said, and said to Du Fu, "Go and let him in."
"yes" Soon, Wang Zhen came in with a lady in her mid-thirties.
Zhao Ziliang knew just by looking at this woman that she must be Wang Yunxiu, the royal wife of Yuan Zai.
The two men stepped forward to salute Zhao Ziliang: "Meet the king."
Zhao Ziliang raised his hand and said: "Without courtesy, Wang Zhen, why did you come to Chang'an if you didn't stay at the Military Academy?"
Wang Zhen saluted again and said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me.
It is related to my brother-in-law Yuan Zai, so I have to come.
I have already applied for leave to Commander Chu and Commander Li before coming."
Zhao Ziliang looked at Wang Yunxiu and asked, "You are General Wang Zhongsi's daughter Wang Yunxiu and the wife of Yuan Zai."
"It's the slave family" Zhao Ziliang asked: "Did you two brothers and sisters come here today to plead with me or for other matters?"
Wang Zhendao: "Your Majesty, I know that your Majesty has always been fair and strict, and I don't expect Yuan Zai to be released unharmed.
I only have one sister, and I hope that I can exchange my official position and title for Yuan Zai's life."
Zhao Ziliang was furious after hearing this.
He slapped the desk and angrily said: "Can you exchange for this nonsense?
Yuan Zai committed a crime.
It's not the crime that I want to punish him.
It's because the laws of the Tang Dynasty cannot forgive him.
Then you say you are General of the Western Qin Dynasty, Yuan Zai is the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, can he exchange it?"
Zhao Ziliang was furious, stood up and walked out from behind the desk angrily, "The reason why the Tang Dynasty became like this is because the powerful people always ignored the national laws.
These people, even the emperor, repeatedly challenged the bottom line of the law with their own rights.
Should they kill them or not?"
people who should be killed, and pardon the people who should be killed.
Now, you have become a powerful person, so you also Do you want to challenge the bottom line of the law?
How did your father, General Wang Zhongsi, die?
He was forced to be dismissed from office.
The emperor took his life with just one word.
This is the huge drawback brought about by absolute rights.
Do you rely on your own authority?
Conscience says, should Yuan Zai die?
If he does not die, how will I explain to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and how will the imperial court explain to the people of the world?"
Wang Zhen and Wang Yunxiu both lowered their heads after being scolded by Zhao Ziliang.
"According to Yuan Zai's crimes, the nine tribes should have been exterminated.
I have ordered people to amend the law so that the family members and tribesmen of the offending officials will not be implicated in the future.
This is my best effort.
We must keep the law fair and equitable.
Oh, you are all right. , I still want Yuan Zai to be fine, I can’t be too greedy, I can’t be too Selfish, I tell you that Yuan Zai must bear the responsibility for the crimes he committed.
No one can save him.
Wang Zhen, you have nothing to do here.
You can return to Xinjing tomorrow.
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If you let me The king knows that you will still be staying in Chang'an tomorrow, so you, the general, don't have to do the business of seeing off guests
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