The lands, scattered across the nation, ranged from thin soil worth a few coins to an ounce and five coins of silver, while fertile land started at five taels.
To acquire one hundred and twenty million mu, at least two hundred million taels of silver would be needed!
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "I will dispatch the Shadow Guards to arrange donations nationwide, for now, we shall use these forty million taels to tide us over!"
Donations?
The ministers exchanged glances: "How much can be raised this way?"
In their view, if they were to donate money to the state for land repurchase, why wouldn't they buy land themselves?
Xiao Qing pouted, "After all, repurchasing farmland is also so that the farmers can have the opportunity to cultivate a few more mu. There are always those with patriotic hearts in the country! How will we know without trying?"
Whether people donated or not was not important to her; what mattered was the rationalization of her "little treasury."
At worst, she could fabricate a few deeply hidden, sacrificing-for-the-nation great merchants and magnates!
Furthermore, the state could also use this to gauge the attitude of the wealthy in various regions, thus avoiding harming the innocent during future purges.
For example, the Wu family of Yanzhou, the Li family of Jinling, and the Lu family of Qiantang had all donated significant supplies during several wars between Da Gan and the Barbarian Lands, especially cotton and grain, which the state urgently needed!
Cotton was used to rush-make cotton armor, and grain was used for disaster relief in the Jiangnan region, negating the need to transport grain from the north. The northern grain could then be used as military rations.
The Duanmu family, known as the wealthiest in the world, had, from the founding of the dynasty, been almost entirely ungenerous. Liang Xiao had no reservations about dealing with them…
The matter of屯田 (tún tián - reclaiming wasteland for cultivation) was thus decided.
Ouyang Ping returned home, crestfallen.
With Ouyang Ji's death, even if the Ouyang family did not collapse, losing tens of millions of taels in assets meant they were in precarious straits!
"Should I resign and go to Jiaozhou to seek refuge with the Southern King?" Ouyang Ping murmured to himself.
Ouyang Hong's expression changed, and he reminded him, "If we don't get rid of these books, even if we resist the tyrannical ruler in the future, these books will become the tyrannical ruler's property!!"
Ouyang Ping let out a long sigh, then burst into laughter: "Liang Xiao, Liang Xiao! You want to trap my Ouyang family with these books, don't you..."
At this moment, a chill ran straight to Ouyang Ping's heavenly spirit.
The Gongyang clan at least had a chance to escape, but the Ouyang family had to hesitate even when considering fleeing and rebelling!
And now, the Ouyang family's books were still slow-selling!
The Da Gan realm was in turmoil.
The existing structure of aristocratic families and powerful clans within the country had already begun its first round of shuffling, with the Ouyang family taking the lead in losing power and their demise imminent.
The Gu family, Mu family, Jiangnan He family… these aristocratic families did not replace the Ouyang family in their downfall to become new powerful clans. Instead, they strictly ordered their clansmen to change their mindset, forbidding any clan-based thoughts or actions, and in the future, they would only be "families."
Especially the Gu and Mu families, who were closest to Liang Xiao, knew that in the future, Da Gan would select the virtuous and capable, rather than relying solely on aristocratic clans to provide talent. The imperial examination system was about to be revitalized!
This was the vision of Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing. Although the imperial examination system had its drawbacks, as long as it was improved properly and supervised, it was at least far better than the former era of numerous powerful clans.
In the remote, cold lands of the Northeast, the long-term dwelling place of the Xianbei people.
The Xianbei King and his generals, warming themselves by a brazier in the yurts, shivered.
"Duowu Neng was betrayed by the Barbarian people, and his ten thousand men were wiped out!"
The Xianbei King, understanding the truth, was furious but did not dare to easily invade the northeast of Da Gan.
"Your Majesty! The strength of the Da Gan army is unprecedented, and there is a killing god like Liang Xiao. The Xianbei cannot contend with them, especially since the Barbarian Lands suffered such a crushing defeat. For self-preservation, we may really have to cooperate with countries like Izumo!" an old minister advised.
"The Barbarian people have been severely weakened and are absolutely no match for our Xianbei. We should first march into the northern desert and annex the Barbarian Lands, turning them into our vassals!" the Xianbei King stated in a deep voice.
Just then, a minister rushed in from outside.
"Your Majesty! Scouts sent to the northern desert discovered that the new Chanyu of the Barbarian Lands, Attila, is leading millions of Barbarian citizens, reverting to the name 'Xiongnu,' and has left the northern desert, heading southwest!"
Everyone was shocked!
The Barbarian people were actually abandoning the northern desert of their own accord?
"Let's go and occupy the northern desert first. Until we have absolute certainty, let's not provoke Liang Xiao..." The Xianbei King shivered.
Duowu Neng's ten thousand men died at Liang Xiao's hands, yet the Xianbei did not retaliate militarily. Instead, they swallowed their pride and blamed everything on Attila.
As a result, Attila had fled!
"Your Majesty, to the west of the northern desert, there are said to be the Tianri people, who are not to be trifled with!" a general reminded him.
The Xianbei King's eyes lit up: "Then forging a good alliance with them would be perfect! Mobilize immediately! Remember! Do not enter the southern desert region, lest the Marquis of Anguo of Da Gan find an excuse to bring troops to pursue us..."
Upon hearing this, everyone present thought of the tens of thousands of Barbarian cavalry completely annihilated and felt a chill creep up their spines.
From the remote north, a new crisis was brewing.
Today was Zhuo Zifang's birthday, and Gongsun Ye, a guest at the Zhuo family in Jinling, appeared relaxed.
Donating twenty million taels was indeed a significant blow, but not entirely unacceptable, as it was an ancestral instruction left by Gongsun Wuji.
If necessary, sacrifice the family for the nation.
Generations of descendants did not fully understand Gongsun Wuji's intentions, but they still followed them and proactively took all measures to avoid suspicion, as the wealth of the Dingguo Marquisate was bestowed by the High Ancestor of Da Gan.
As long as the Da Gan imperial family stood, the Dingguo Marquisate would truly prosper forever and enjoy the full trust of the Da Gan imperial family.
Li Xiuyun, Hong Jie, Liu Feng, and others were also guests at the Zhuo residence.
It was not until Zhuo Zifang presented the contents of the Great Liang Emperor's decree and the invitation that the previously harmonious gathering fell silent, and everyone looked stunned.
"How can the Great Liang Emperor have such magnanimity? For what reason does he so wish to see Liang Xiao..." Gongsun Ye was utterly perplexed.
Zhuo Zifang sighed, "I can only speculate on the reasons and dare not be certain. In any case, we must immediately send someone to notify His Majesty and Liang Xiao to consider this matter carefully!"
Liang Xiao received the twenty million taels of silver notes from the Ouyang family's "show of wealth," which were sent to the national treasury. Xiao Qing secretly had the Shadow Guards deliver another two million taels of gold to Liang Fu as exchange.
The two hundred thousand hundred-tael silver notes could continue to circulate, benefiting the economy of Da Gan.
In the West Palace Villa, Xiao Qing nestled in Liang Xiao's arms, looking at the list with surprise: "These families are also donating, Brother Xiao, what should we do..."
The Gu family, Mu family, Huang family, Lin family... Even Wang Canghai donated the gold that Xiao Qing had bestowed upon her.
The Gu family donated one hundred thousand taels, and the Mu family donated fifty thousand taels.
"The donations from the Huang, Wang, and Lin families cannot be accepted. These families were not particularly wealthy to begin with. For the Gu and Mu families, we will symbolically accept five thousand taels of silver. We cannot truly make them bleed for the land reclamation, otherwise, all officials will be in fear for their lives in the future," Liang Xiao said.
The so-called "donations to show resolve" were originally created by Liang Xiao to pressure and tease those aristocratic clans. Now, they had become a guise for Xiao Qing to cover the gold.
However, if becoming an official required donations, it would be an invisible oppression for some honest officials who were already financially strapped.
It was clear that the Gu and Mu families were also startled, fearing that their displays of loyalty were insufficient and that the Emperor might target them for a severe reprimand one day.
Xiao Qing nodded and added, "We will start repurchasing land nationwide tomorrow. After the autumn harvest, we will also promote the new crops from Brother Xiao's land. However, there are still tens of millions of 'black households' in the country, and the implementation of 'tan ding ru mu' (taxation based on registered household members) cannot be immediate. These black households are also a great hidden danger..."