Chapter 1575

Soon, under Xu Que's promotion, major merchants and wealthy families began donating en masse.

One batch after another of silver flowed from the hands of the rich, surging across the land.

Led by the wealthy, commoners also spontaneously donated, contributing their own share to build schools.

Yet the world is never entirely beautiful—some are willing to donate, and naturally, many are not.

In the Imperial Study.

"What's this? The Five Surnames Seven Clans say they won't donate?" Xu Que frowned at Gong Qiwei, who had come to report.

Eastern Tang exists in a society bound by status, where powerful aristocratic clans hold lofty prestige and status; among them, five surnames are strongest, two of which each command two commanderies, hence the name Five Surnames Seven Clans.

If these Five Surnames Seven Clans lead by refusing to donate, it will set a terrible precedent.

When the imperial authority is undermined, other clans will surely follow suit, openly defying the throne.

This is bad!

"Your Majesty," Gong Qiwei knelt below, his voice grave, "the heads of the Five Surnames Seven Clans have subtly requested that Your Majesty first purchase the grain they've hoarded, then continue being… your…."

Xu Que's fury surged: "These old bastards dare claim they have no money? Do they really think I don't know they're selling grain at inflated prices from their granaries?"

Amid famine, the wealthy clans did nothing to relieve suffering—instead, they hoarded grain, waiting until even the imperial court could no longer control the crisis, then sold it at exorbitant prices, forcing countless commoners to sell their children.

In the mansions of the rich, wine and meat rot while corpses freeze on the roads—such scenes are everywhere.

The splendor of the Five Surnames Seven Clans was built atop countless corpses; even Xuan Yuan Wanrong, when she once held power, had relied on the strength of these clans.

Gong Qiwei, now regarded as a trusted confidant, had begun actively offering strategies.

"Your Majesty, the heads of the aristocratic families have subtly proposed that you first buy their hoarded grain, then continue being your…."

Xu Que's gaze sharpened: "Go on."

Gong Qiwei hesitated, then finally spoke: "They say… let you remain your carefree emperor."

"Hah! What a brilliant plan!" Xu Que burst out laughing in rage.

He had originally planned to stay here a long time, preferring calmness over arrogance.

But now the Five Surnames Seven Clans are even more arrogant than he is!

Who can tolerate this?

Do they really think I'm the same pathetic emperor I used to be?

"Carry my imperial decree: send men to the gates of the Five Surnames Seven Clans to collect donations," Xu Que narrowed his eyes, coldly smiling. "Tell them I will erect a Merit Stele in the Imperial City, proclaiming to the entire Kingdom the amount each family donates!"

Gong Qiwei initially didn't grasp it, but after a moment's thought, he understood Xu Que's intent.

"Your Majesty, this move is brilliant—it's cutting the fuel from under the pot!"

"What kind of education do you have? This is moral blackmail!"

Hmph, you don't want to donate?

Fine. I'll publicly announce how much each of you donates—let the entire Kingdom know. I want to see if you Five Surnames Seven Clans have the face to donate less.

…

Within days, under Xu Que's promotion, a Merit Stele was swiftly erected in the Imperial City.

The Five Surnames Seven Clans instantly panicked.

Their noble houses had stood for centuries, sustained not by wealth, but by unbroken reputation.

Money was merely a byproduct of time; what they truly pursued was fame across the Kingdom.

Now, with the Merit Stele in place, if they refused to donate, they'd be roasted alive on a fire—every commoner would spit on them!

"That dog emperor is cruel!"

"Who's advising him? How could he think up such a despicable trick?"

"Do we donate or not?"

"Donate my ass—I, the Liu Clan, swear I won't!"

"You're full of shit, Old Liu—I just heard you sent tens of thousands of taels already."

"Oh? Then I must be getting old—my memory's failing!"

"Come on, hurry up and donate—I, the Li Family, will claim first place on the Merit Stele!"

"Pfft, first place belongs to my Wang Family!"

…

Suddenly, donors flooded in—especially the Five Surnames Seven Clans, frantically outbidding each other for top rank, which completely eased the pressure on the Imperial Treasury.

After all, silver was needed everywhere—though Xu Que had developed new crops, crops still require time to grow.

The fastest relief method remained purchasing vast quantities of grain to continue aid.

Xu Que diverted a large portion of the donations to the disaster zones.

With that settled, Xu Que began thinking how to take the Imperial Seal from Xuan Yuan Wanrong.

After all, they'd eventually die together—he wanted to avoid offending her if possible.

After thinking, he decided seeing was believing.

No matter how much he talked here, Xuan Yuan Wanrong wouldn't believe him—better to take her to see it herself.

"Come with me to the disaster zones. Under my rule, they're now stable and prosperous. You'd better hand over the Imperial Seal willingly!"

Xuan Yuan Wanrong remained calm: "Right and wrong lie in the hearts of men. How do I know you're not putting on a show?"

Hey, this woman is utterly impervious!

Xu Que suppressed his impatience, fell silent for a moment, then said gravely: "I understand. You're afraid that seeing my outstanding achievements will make you fall in love with me—after all, I'm handsome and talented; falling for me is only natural."

Xuan Yuan Wanrong: "？？？"

This bastard's brain short-circuited?

Xu Que put on a self-satisfied expression, leaned close, and spoke with deep emotion: "I know you've always been talking out of anger, just to get my attention. I admit—your little tricks have succeeded. But woman… you're playing with fire…"

"Enough, shut your mouth. I'll go with you." Xuan Yuan Wanrong's eye twitched violently; she finally couldn't bear to listen any longer and chose to compromise.

This guy is too disgusting, too much of a good-for-nothing, utterly shameless to the extreme.

"Wouldn't it have been fine if you'd done this earlier?"

Xu Que revealed a smug smile.

A greasy man, Invincible under Heaven!

……

Before long, the two of them, under the protection of guards, made their way along the road to a disaster-relief settlement outside the Imperial City.

"Look, this is what I, this Emperor, have developed… what's going on?"

Xu Que saw the scene before him and was instantly stunned.

The entire settlement was littered with starved corpses; bodies lay strewn along the road, too many to count.

Vast numbers of disaster victims, starved down to skin and bones, lay by the roadside, shivering, clearly not long for this world.

A nameless fury surged up in Xu Que's heart, and he roared: "Gong Qiwei! Get your ass over here! Didn't you say the relief funds had been delivered? Why is there still a situation like this?!"

Gong Qiwei scrambled over on hands and knees, knelt before Xu Que, and said in a trembling voice: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this matter I was just about to report to you. According to my investigation, the relief funds totaled Ten Million taels of Silver, but in reality the Silver that actually reached the ground was no more than Number Three Hundred taels, and even the grain that was purchased…"

After hearing Gong Qiwei's Report, Xu Que's face darkened like ink: "Take me to see the grain that was purchased."

Under Gong Qiwei's lead, the group arrived at the Granary, where large piles of grain were stacked inside.

Xu Que casually tore open the packaging of one bag; rice trickled down, mixed with a large amount of pebbles.

He grabbed a handful at random—there were more pebbles than grains of rice.

Xu Que stared silently at the handful of rice in his hand. After a long while, he spoke: "These… who sold them?"

"It was… the Five Surnames Seven Clans, who voluntarily sold them at a low price." Gong Qiwei said in a low voice.

"Heh… Five Surnames Seven Clans, you have quite the nerve… This is the first time I've been played like this."

Xu Que's heart was burning with great fury at this moment.

For so long now, this was still the first time anyone had dared to openly play him like the Five Surnames Seven Clans did.

As for the seven million taels of Silver that had vanished, Xu Que knew where it had gone without Gong Qiwei needing to say.

The commoners' money is split three-seven, the gentry's money is returned in full—such has been the collusion between officials and merchants since ancient times, nothing more than this.

"How dare they act like this?"

At this moment, Xuan Yuan Wanrong was also enraged. She then swept her gaze toward Xu Que and said in a deep voice: "Is this the so-called ability you intended to show me? You can't even keep the Five Surnames Seven Clans in check—how can you Talk of governing the entire Kingdom?"

"Mm, you're right!" Xu Que nodded.

Xuan Yuan Wanrong was instantly taken aback.

This was still the first time Xu Que had agreed with her words, leaving her somewhat unable to react.

"If I can't even keep the Five Surnames Seven Clans in check, how can I, this Emperor, govern Eastern Tang?"

Xu Que grinned, revealing his clean white teeth, yet his tone was filled with a chilling menace: "I really want to see just where they got the nerve to treat me like a puppet to control and toy with!"

Let alone this being an Illusion Realm—even on Immortal Yuan Continent, an Immortal Emperor wouldn't be qualified to toy with this Saint like this!

You Five Surnames Seven Clans, what hair are you even counted as?

……