"How could this be? How could this be?!"

The six ministers gathered together, their faces filled with anger and frustration.

Jiang Chen's actions had completely caught them off guard.

What made them even more uneasy was that those ministers who had previously shown dissatisfaction were the ones who received help from the dark guards!

In other words, Jiang Chen had used the lottery incident to determine which ministers were not on good terms with them!

And those ministers they valued had all been "neglected."

If this continued, their power would slip away!

Mo Lan, Minister of Justice, said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, there is no need to worry so much."

The other ministers looked at Mo Lan. The situation was already developing in the direction they least wanted to see, and he was telling them not to worry?

When should they worry then?

Mo Lan then explained his reasoning.

"Gentlemen, I am in charge of managing punishments, so I naturally know to what extent some people will go for the sake of profit!"

"Rest assured, there will be the first to strike back."

"When that time comes, I want to see how His Majesty will end this show!"

In the Hall of Diligent Governance, Jiang Chen looked at the series of good news reports, a satisfied smile on his face.

These gentry and wealthy people were truly base; he had to resort to harsh measures to get them to cooperate.

"Jing Yue, the dark guards did a good job this time. You deserve the most credit," Jiang Chen praised.

Jing Yue didn't speak, but her face, hidden in the shadows, had turned crimson.

Continuing to read through the reports, Jiang Chen's face instantly darkened when he saw one that was stained with a bit of blood.

At this moment, Jing Yue's voice also rang out.

"Your Majesty, an official who was recovering land in the Northwest was killed!"

Bang!

Jiang Chen slammed his hand on the dragon desk, his face full of killing intent.

This was a provocation against him!

"Summon Yao Shouxin to an audience!" Jiang Chen roared angrily.

Soon, Yao Shouxin hurried over.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Yao Shouxin bowed.

Jiang Chen went straight to the point: "A rebellion has occurred in the Northwest. I will give you ten thousand soldiers, and you must quell the chaos!"

Yao Shouxin was shocked and quickly said, "This subject will certainly not fail to live up to the imperial grace!"

Half a day later, a troop of soldiers set off in a mighty formation.

This scene shocked all the ministers who were paying attention.

What was going on?

The several ministers who learned of Yao Shouxin's dispatch to quell the rebellion were so shocked that they trembled all over.

Was it necessary to react so drastically just because one official had died?

"A mountain out of a molehill, this is a mountain out of a molehill!"

Han Kanglin, Minister of War, quickly came to a conclusion.

At the same time, his heart was filled with unease.

So was Du Guangsheng, Minister of Revenue.

According to custom, whenever a rebellion occurred, they would both be summoned to discuss the matter together.

One was responsible for logistics, and the other was responsible for troop deployment.

But this time, Jiang Chen directly summoned a vice minister from the Ministry of War, which meant that he was already very dissatisfied with both of them!

The other ministers also remained silent for a long time.

Everyone could see that Jiang Chen was serious this time!

The news of the army quelling the rebellion shocked the entire Great Wei.

Many gentry and wealthy people who were originally still observing, or even had ideas in their hearts, were so frightened that their souls flew away. They tallied up their land overnight and voluntarily handed it over.

As for those people in the Northwest, they were scared out of their wits.

Hadn't they agreed to just test His Majesty's attitude?

How could an army be mobilized so easily?

Before they could figure out whether to surrender now or wait for the army to arrive and then surrender, a group of men in black wiped out their entire families.

When Yao Shouxin led ten thousand soldiers to the area, the local magistrate presented the results of the complete extermination of the rebels.

Yao Shouxin was very surprised and quickly reported the results to Jiang Chen.

Looking at the report, Jiang Chen frowned.

He had thought it was the local gentry acting recklessly, but now it seemed that there was someone else behind it all!

"Jing Yue, have someone investigate to see who those people in the Northwest were in contact with!"

In the following days, good news poured in from all over the country.

The gentry and wealthy people in all regions "cooperated" very well, handing over all the land they had seized to the government.

Looking at the reported figures, even Jiang Chen couldn't help but be amazed.

No wonder so many dynasties in history ended up with so many uprisings; the root cause was that the common people couldn't even afford to eat!

As the incident came to an end, the ministers gradually returned to the capital.

Many ministers who returned to the capital didn't even have time to rest before they all gathered at the residences of the six ministers.

"Lord Minister, this time, we have suffered heavy losses!"

One official wailed that the nearly thousand acres of fertile land that his family had worked so hard to acquire had all been "spit" out.

Without the land, the lives of their large families immediately became strained.

The other ministers echoed his sentiments.

Among those who stood in the court, how many dared to say that their relatives were completely clean?

The ministers were also very distressed.

After seeing Jiang Chen's determination, they had immediately sent letters to their families, telling them to hand over the land to the government, and naturally received letters of complaint from their families.

Now, hearing the ministers' complaints, they were very unhappy.

"Isn't it just a little bit of financial difficulty? How many of you here haven't come from hard times?"

The ministers all rolled their eyes in their hearts.

Easier said than done!

As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Having become accustomed to a life of luxury, how could they possibly live a hard life again?

Seeing what the ministers were thinking, the ministers softened their tone and said, "Gentlemen, don't be anxious. The land has now been taken over by the imperial court, but it will eventually be distributed to the people."

"Since everyone was able to take the land from the people once, they will be able to take it a second time!"

The ministers' eyes immediately lit up.

That's right!

How could they not have thought of that!

The ministers immediately smiled and began to flatter them: "The lords ministers are indeed far-sighted!"

"Alright, go back now. Be careful to appease His Majesty during this period. Also, when you plot to acquire land again, make sure to clean up any traces!"

"Understood, understood."

The ministers dispersed with smiles.

The next day, Qianqing Palace.

After a suspension of nearly a month, the court meeting was held again today.

Jiang Chen sat on the dragon throne, looking at the ministers.

Some of the ministers had weathered faces, obviously having spent a lot of effort to persuade the gentry and officials.

And some of the ministers had not changed much.

Jiang Chen silently made his judgments in his heart.

"Now, much of the land has been returned to the imperial court. This number surprises me greatly."

Jiang Chen said in a deep voice.

The ministers did not speak. They all had a share in this land.

Jiang Chen did not intend to make an issue of this matter.

He said lightly: "Gentlemen, what do you think should be done with the land that has been collected?"

Hearing this question, the ministers perked up.

Thinking that these lands would soon return to their families, they could not help but feel excited.