"I obey," the three people did not dare to neglect, and quickly bowed and agreed.

Zhu Houzhao had already made arrangements for the division of labor among the three people. Only when they each did their own thing could he, the Crown Prince, be free and at ease.

After all three people had left, Zhu Houzhao stood up and stretched his muscles.

Glancing at Tang Bohu next to him, Zhu Houzhao asked, "Have Qian He and Sun Liang delivered the things?"

"Go back to Your Highness the Prince, it's been delivered." Tang Bohu said quickly, and then added: "It was delivered in the morning."

Zhu Houzhao nodded, and then said: "Bring it to me for a look."

"Yes!" After agreeing, Tang Bohu turned around to get something, and it didn't take long to present the two pieces of information to Zhu Houzhao.

Opening the document, Zhu Houzhao quickly saw what was on it.

Qian He's information is actually nothing interesting, because it is just a list of Shanxi merchants who cooperated with Qi Qi Zhai.

Of course, there were information introductions at the back, but Zhu Houzhao just flipped through them briefly and then put them aside.

Then he picked up Sun Liang's list from the Huanyi Bureau, which listed the top big players in the northwest.

Because there are more people, the information is thicker. Each piece of information contains a detailed introduction to these large households, including where they live, what they do for a living, and whether they have done anything illegal.

Zhu Houzhao basically saw loan lending and usury behind every big business. You don’t have to think about it. It’s basically the kind you can’t afford to repay. When it’s due, you have to sell your land or your body, or your children or your daughters.

Normally, he even sells himself into slavery.

Looking at this information, Zhu Houzhao felt shocked.

Glancing at Tang Bohu standing next to him, Zhu Houzhao asked, "Have you read all this information?"

"Back to Your Highness, no." Tang Bohu agreed quickly. His Highness did not look at him, which was a taboo matter.

"Then take it and have a look!" Zhu Houzhao shook his head with a wry smile and said helplessly.

It's not scary to lend money at high interest rates, nor is it scary to persecute people and destroy their families, but it's scary when this kind of thing becomes the norm.

Basically, the big families are doing this, and the people are miserable. Under such circumstances, one day the people will not be able to survive, and they will rebel. By then, the world will be in chaos, and it will be too late for everything.

If the people are not afraid of death, why should they be afraid of death?

Tang Bohu flipped through the information, and his face became uglier as he read it. He raised his head after a while and said, "Your Highness, these people are really lawless."

Zhu Houzhao smiled, nodded and said: "Yes! They are indeed lawless, but why are they lawless? Because the mountains in the northwest are high and the emperor is far away? Or is it because the local officials don't act? But after so long, don't all the local officials act?

?”

As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao looked at Tang Bohu: "Has Aiqing thought of it?"

"It's because we've become accustomed to it." When Tang Bohu said this, he was suddenly shocked: "Both the common people and officials have become accustomed to it."

"Yes!" Zhu Houzhao said with emotion: "It is indeed normal. From a legal point of view, people borrow money, have IOUs, witnesses, and mortgage their fields. All this is in line with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Debts must be repaid.

Money is a matter of course, so what if the people sue the government? Can the government invalidate the IOU?"

Tang Bohu looked at Zhu Houzhao and said with some hesitation: "Maybe the court can ban private lending."

After saying this, Tang Bohu's face turned gloomy: "In this way, the people will have no way to survive if they are in trouble. Maybe we can limit the interest rate?"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Tang Bohu in surprise, not expecting him to have such a vision.

But Zhu Houzhao just smiled and shook his head. In later generations, interest was indeed restricted, and loan sharks did not need to be repaid, but violent collections were always there!

What's more, there will be banks in later generations, so what did the Ming Dynasty have? Although there were banks, the banks could not lend money to ordinary people.

Although in later generations, the state has policies to provide loans to farmers, but what is the result? This is an unworkable path. In the final analysis, we still need to develop productivity so that the people can have a way to survive!

"Select all those who have lost their lives, those who have caused harm to the village, and those who have done many evil things in daily life." Zhu Hou looked at the information in front of him and said in a calm voice.

Tang Bohu was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Zhu Houzhao in surprise, and said with a little horror: "Your Highness, this is..."

"It is only natural to pay back debts, and it is only natural to kill people to pay for their lives. As for oppressing good people in the countryside, the Ming Dynasty does not need such a family." Zhu Houzhao said expressionlessly, and his voice was slightly cold: "Confiscate the property.

All of them are assigned to build the new city. There is still a shortage of people in Yinchuan, so we can just send them there."

"Your Highness, this!" Tang Bohu looked at Zhu Houzhao and said with a little hesitation: "Your Highness, I'm afraid it will cause criticism!"

Zhu Houzhao stood up and walked to the shelf on the side, reached out and held the sword on the shelf, turned to Tang Bohu and said: "Did the Ming Dynasty treat the scholars badly? Did the court treat the scholars badly? But what did they do?

Look at these people, how many of them are gentry, and how many of their children are officials outside?"

"I am deeply favored by the emperor, but what did I do? I just want to tell them not to use the royal kindness as a bargaining chip for whatever they want!"

"I will send a letter to the emperor to inform my father that all the officials involved this time will be dismissed and sent to the northwest to build the city. From today on, all civil servants in the court who have committed lawlessness in their homes, no matter how big the officials are, will be dismissed!"

Zhu Houzhao said it loud and clear.

Why is this policy established?

Because the situation in the Ming Dynasty was that people who served as officials in the court looked loyal and patriotic, but in their hometowns, they were all doing harm to their hometowns.

If this trend cannot be stopped, any reforms will be useless.

At the same time, Zhu Houzhao wanted to use this incident to declare to the outside world that he was not the previous Ming emperor.

For Zhu Houzhao, power is truth, and now Zhu Houzhao has the foundation for power.

Why did the emperors of the Han Dynasty slaughter big families like dogs? Why did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty come up with so many outrageous policies, but still no one dared to make a fuss?

The reason is simple, no one can resist the Han emperor's army.

Not talking about the Han Dynasty, but only the Ming Dynasty, why could Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang kill scholars like butchering dogs? Can he issue a Ming Dynasty imperial edict, and if he embezzled forty guan, he would be skinned and turned into grass?

It's not just because he has soldiers in his hands and big fists that he will immediately strangle anyone who dares to attack him. He now has this strength.
Chapter completed!