As for these officials, they stayed where they were and cursed Zhang Shize and Li Zhicai like crazy, as if they could curse them to death.
The civil officials' deliberate two-pronged attack had no effect at all. Instead, it served as a stepping stone for Li Zhicai and Zhang Shize, making their power grow faster.
Because of Li Zhicai's strict orders and iron-blooded methods, the powerful nobles in Nanjing saw that there was no hope of resistance, so they did not continue their fearless struggle.
In order to save the lives of their families and the hope of revenge in the future, they had no choice but to pay the tax and food arrears in full.
After all, as long as people are still there, everything is possible, and their family has a great cause, even though they suffered a lot of blood.
But it won't have any actual big impact on them. At worst, the rent in the past two years will just increase, and the blood will be restored soon.
In addition to being good at exploiting and oppressing the peasants, these people are also extremely proficient in internal strife.
It can even be said that it is their innate ability that allows them to learn without a teacher, otherwise they would not have been the number one force in thousands of years of history.
Under the leadership of Li Zhicai and with the assistance of Zhang Shize and Tian Ergen, this massive operation in Nanjing took less than ten days to recover most of the money and grain.
Li Zhicai, who had the idea of quick victory, gathered all the carriages and donkey carts from the government and the army, and transferred and transported them from various treasuries day and night.
It also spent a lot of money to collect vehicles and livestock from private citizens and merchants, so that the arduous task could be completed in such a short period of time.
Tiqi and the accountant of the Jin Yiwei were also extremely tired and could not sleep for days and nights.
Every time they took away a batch of grain from a house, they would be stared at and resented by dozens of pairs of eyes. Some elderly people even fainted from anger on the spot, unable to accept the reality.
There were also some who did not have enough grain and rice to fill the vacancies, and the Jin Yiwei were also unceremonious and emptied all the valuable things from their homes.
If it was not enough, they sealed up their various shops and fields, and refused to stop until the amount and value were sufficient.
After some rough statistics and estimates, the antiques, gold and silverware and property used for mortgage amounted to nearly two million taels of silver.
Li Zhicai's eyes were opened when he looked at the mountains of grain and rice and the thick statistical account books, and a nameless anger quickly rose in his heart.
No wonder His Majesty issued a death order to recover the money and food belonging to the imperial court at all costs.
These people were really extremely rich, especially when he went to check the treasuries of those big families, he was so shocked that he couldn't even close his mouth.
The amount of old grain and old rice they had stored was incalculable, and they could not even count it. However, they lived a tight life every day, and their daily rations were counted to death.
There are also ordinary people who are even more miserable than them. They can't even provide food and clothing. Things like starving after a meal often happen.
Even Zhang Shize, the young father-in-law who was born with a golden key in his mouth, felt incredible.
In terms of family property and heritage, the British government has been rich and powerful for more than 200 years, which is not bad. But compared with these wealthy gentry and powerful people in Jiangnan, they are like clowns.
After he learned how rich these powerful nobles were, he understood why His Majesty hated them so much and why he went on a killing spree in the court.
So he also added an order that all money and grain should be collected, and priority should be given to fresh grain harvested in the first year of Tianqi.
Then by analogy, if there is not enough in the first year of Tianqi, the old grain in the forty-eighth year of Wanli will be used. The old grain that is more than three years old will not be used at all, and it will be directly mortgaged with assets and items.
This is also the main reason why wealthy and powerful people break the defense in public. All these good grains and rice have been handed over. How can they accept it when they eat poor old grains themselves?
If there was a chance, if possible, they really wanted to cut Li Zhicai alive and serve them for dinner, but unfortunately the reality was exactly the opposite.
Some of them were beheaded alive by Li Zhicai's direct order, and their heads were hung on the top of the city as a warning to everyone.
These people, without exception, were disobedient, and even like Xue Yongheng, they organized servants to resist and fought against the army.
Naturally, Li Zhicai would not let such a person and behave like this go unpunished. He must deal with him with the most severe means, otherwise he would not be able to establish his authority.
The money and grain were not entered into the account books of the Nanjing Household Department and Taicang, but were directly taken to the warehouse in the military camp and stored.
Although it was not long ago, the harvest was full. The recovered grain and rice amounted to more than 5 million shi. Most of them were grain from the past two years. The quality and taste were second to none.
In order to ensure the safety of the money and food, Li Zhicai specially deployed two thousand soldiers to guard it day and night. No one other than the guard was allowed to appear within a three-mile radius of the military camp warehouse.
Even if Li Zhicai and Zhang Shize's personal soldiers wanted to inspect it, they would have to ask the leading general of the guarding force for instructions in advance. They would also need approval documents from Li Zhicai and Zhang Shize, as well as their official seals.
Many traps and alarm and defense facilities were set up on the periphery to ensure that the recovered grain and rice could be escorted north intact.
It can be said that precautions are taken to the extreme, all risk factors and possibilities are calculated and excluded.
In the past half month, the city of Nanjing has been filled with a solemn atmosphere, and it is no exaggeration to describe it as a roaring wind.
Naturally, such a major event cannot be kept secret for too long. The fact that the army came directly to the door and put a knife to the neck to demand tax money and food became widely spread in Yingtian Mansion.
What concerned them the most was that the army was about to leave the city to find them, the powerful landowners who lived in the countryside.
At first, some people didn't believe it and thought it was a rumor spread by the court to scare them and make them bleed.
But when these kinds of remarks become more and more frequent and spread more widely, it becomes difficult for them to believe it or not.
So they quickly went through various channels and sources to confirm whether it was true. The result they got was the last thing they wanted to hear, it was all true.
This made them panic. They quickly contacted other families and discussed countermeasures overnight.
Their response was indeed very fast, but unfortunately it was already too late. Within half a month, Li Zhicai's layout and arrangements had been basically completed.
Nearly 70,000 troops had already left the city and rushed to various areas in accordance with military orders. The entire Yingtian Mansion was already under the control of the army.