RPAGF Chapter 188 The money all ended up in the pockets of the aristocratic families
Chapter 188 The money all ended up in the pockets of the aristocratic families
The Ministry of Revenue had one layer, local government offices had another, and the canal supervisors had yet to be skinned alive.
Of the amount that actually reaches the people and river workers, less than one in ten survives.
But who pocketed the largest portion of it?
It was in the hands of these local powerful families who had established themselves along the canal.
The emperor is far away and the sky is high.
Even the supervisors sent by the imperial court had to bow down to them when they arrived here.
Otherwise, the canal could not have been built.
“It’s already low enough,” another scion of a prominent family said hesitantly, “and if we reduce it any further, there won’t be any left.”
"What does it matter to us if it's gone?" Shen Faxing glanced at him, his tone impatient.
"That's because Yang Guang was unwilling to pay, yet he wanted the people to work. If the people have something to blame, blame Yang Guang, not us!"
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
"That's absolutely right!"
"Brother Shen is right!"
The laughter echoed through the night sky, sounding particularly jarring.
What do the lives and deaths of ordinary people have to do with them?
They only care about whether their own warehouses are full enough and whether their own power is great enough.
The lower the wages, the angrier the people are at the court, and the more silver they have.
Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Xu Maogong looked at these laughing aristocratic families and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Although this will cause hardship for the local people, those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles.
Once the Sui Dynasty is overthrown and a new dynasty is established, the people will naturally be able to live a good life.
As for now, let's just endure the hardship for now.
"In that case, I'll take my leave."
Xu Maogong cupped his hands in greeting.
"Where is Old Master Xu going?" Du Fuwei asked.
Xu Maogong looked southwest, his gaze deep: "I shall go and search for the descendants of the Western Liang emperor."
After leaving Wagangzhai, his first stop was the Li family in Taiyuan.
Li Yuan was a man of deep thought, and after meeting him, they had a very pleasant conversation.
However, given the current situation, the Li family still dared not make any rash moves, and only told him to make contacts everywhere and wait for the right time to make a plan.
He then volunteered to travel to various places to persuade established families and rebel armies.
Du Fuwei was not the first, nor were the descendants of the Western Liang emperors the last.
Before long, he will spread the flames of war throughout the entire Sui Dynasty.
One place after another, generation after generation, they burned this corrupt country to the ground.
A glint of light flashed in Du Fuwei's eyes.
The Xiao family, descendants of the Western Liang emperors!
This branch of the Xiao family has a distinguished lineage and is the legitimate successor of the Southern Liang dynasty.
Although the Southern Liang dynasty had long since fallen and the Western Liang dynasty had been destroyed by Yang Jian, the Xiao family's influence in Jiangling was still not to be underestimated.
What these rebels lacked was a legitimate reason to rise up.
If we can support the Xiao family to restore the country, under the banner of restoring the Liang dynasty, we will surely be able to unite the people of Jianghuai and establish a powerful force that can rival the imperial court.
"If the Xiao family also rises up in rebellion," Du Fuwei said slowly, "it will be a fatal blow to the Sui Dynasty."
"Exactly." Xu Maogong nodded. "Therefore, this matter is of utmost importance and cannot be taken lightly."
He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "I, Xu, wish Chief Du a swift victory in conquering Jiangdu and achieving great success."
"Thank you for your kind words." Du Fuwei returned the greeting with clasped hands. "Old Master Xu, I wish you a safe journey."
Xu Maogong said no more, and with a few followers, he turned and disappeared into the night.
Du Fuwei watched him leave, then summoned a trusted aide: "Bring a wooden box, put Song Hao's head in it, and also put the letter left by Xu Laodao in it. Send it to Luoyang immediately."
"yes!"
The trusted confidant accepted the order and left.
Du Fuwei stood in the center of the camp, gazing at the twinkling stars in the night sky.
Xu Maogong is right. It won't be long before the world is in complete chaos.
How long can the Sui Dynasty last then?
As the year draws to a close, Luoyang, the eastern capital, is bustling with activity.
Inside the Prince Shuo's mansion, Lü Xiao was enjoying a rare period of leisure.
Having not led troops into battle for a long time and not having to travel around, he was in excellent health and vitality.
He stood on the city wall, his hands behind his back, dressed in a black brocade robe, watching the endless stream of people outside the city.
Beside him, Yang Ruyi and Yang Yu'er stood on either side.
One was bright and beautiful, the other was dashing and spirited, making the officials who came and went extremely envious.
"There are far fewer foreigners this year."
Yang Ruyi suddenly spoke, her tone tinged with emotion.
"There are far fewer," Yang Guang's voice came from the side.
The decrease in merchants from the Western Regions was unrelated to his suppression of envoys from foreign states.
The real reason was that too many people in the Northwest were starting uprisings.
With bandits rampant and roads cut off, merchants who wanted to come to the Eastern Capital had to take much greater risks than before.
"It's alright. It won't be long before I wipe out these traitors and restore the glorious scene of all nations paying tribute."
Lü Xiao's voice was calm and resolute.
He could sense the unease hidden in Yang Guang's words.
Although the emperor remained tough, he couldn't help but waver in the face of the rising flames of war across the land.
Yang Guang remained silent for a moment, then turned his gaze into the distance.
Outside the city, the camel bells of the last Western Region caravan had disappeared into the twilight, leaving only the empty official road and endless desolation.
"Have I... been too harsh on the aristocratic families?"
His voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying a rare hint of self-doubt.
With uprisings constantly breaking out in various places, he simply couldn't believe that there weren't powerful families behind them fanning the flames.
Those powerful families dared not act openly, but secretly supported the rebels, used them as pawns to kill, and fueled the flames.
If he hadn't been constantly suppressing them, perhaps the situation wouldn't have gotten so bad.
Lu Xiao turned his head slightly and looked at the emperor.
Yang Guang's face was etched with fatigue, his eyes were sunken, and a few more strands of white hair seemed to have appeared at his temples.
"I don't think it's cruel."
Lu Xiao's voice was flat, yet it carried a chill.
There was a time when he also felt that Yang Guang was too ruthless, suppressing the powerful families to the point of being unable to raise their heads.
For a monarch to directly clash with aristocratic families is a rare occurrence throughout history.
But lately, he has been receiving more and more messages and reading more and more case files, and he feels that the crackdown is still too lenient.
Yang Guang's reputation has deteriorated to its current state largely due to those major engineering projects.
The construction of the Eastern Capital, the excavation of the Grand Canal, and the widening of the imperial roads—which of these was not a great achievement that would benefit future generations?
However, the imperial court did contribute funds to these projects.
The silver allocated by the national treasury was transported to various places by truckload and shipload.
But how much of this money ultimately ends up in the hands of ordinary people?
almost none.
Layer upon layer of exploitation, every step of deduction.
From the Ministry of Revenue to local government officials, from supervisors to local powerful figures, every layer of officials had to be skinned alive.
Of the amount that actually reaches the people and river workers, less than one in ten survives.
The largest portion of these funds ended up in the pockets of local powerful families.
The people worked hard, sweated profusely, and even lost their lives.
But what about the wages?
They get so little that sometimes they can't even afford a full meal.
Curses, resentment, and hatred all fell on Yang Guang.
Meanwhile, the truly bloodthirsty aristocratic families hid in the shadows, coldly watching all of this.
They even added fuel to the fire, sowing discord and making the people hate the court even more.
Therefore, Lü Xiao felt that the suppression was still too lenient.
We should carry out a thorough purge, just like Huang Chao did.
Kill all those bloodsucking parasites and let this world be a clean and peaceful place.
However, given the current situation, this purge won't be long.
"I also feel...it's not enough..."
Before Yang Guang could finish speaking, he suddenly began to cough violently.
He quickly pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, his shoulders shaking violently for a while before he stopped.
He put down the handkerchief and glanced at it.
On the snow-white silk, there was once again a glaring stain of blood.