Chapter 722 The situation changes dramatically

At the end of the Second Northern Expedition, the Jin army won the most glorious battle and recaptured the Eastern Capital Luoyang. Before the army returned triumphantly, speculation about moving the capital quickly spread among officials and the people. As a result, the land price in Jiangdu fell, and the business of various real estate agents was greatly affected. Signs of selling began, but there were very few buyers.

On the contrary, the land price in Luoyang was quietly rising. Xihai Trading Company acquired more than 300 shops in one go. Many astute businessmen rushed to purchase shops, making the originally sluggish Luoyang real estate market quickly hot.

The liquidation was also carried out simultaneously in Luoyang. All officials promoted by Wang Shichong were dismissed from their posts, and their official residences and new wealth were immediately confiscated. If they were former officials of the Sui Dynasty, they would receive living allowances and temporary accommodation in a small courtyard, while waiting for reappointment after being reviewed and approved.

The review is extremely strict, mainly to see whether there has been any corruption or bribery, any abuse of power, or any malpractice during tenure. It is useless to pretend to be poor, wear coarse clothes and eat coarse food now. As the wild geese fly by, they leave their voices behind. As long as you have been dressed in fine clothes and eaten delicious food, or have been generous, or have been reported by colleagues, you will definitely be found out.

However, if the official was newly promoted by Wang Shichong, he would be kicked out and never employed again. Not only that, but all his property would be confiscated. Many people had no choice but to pack up and return to their hometown.

Many businessmen were also implicated because a large number of official residences and official land were sold at low prices during Wang Shichong's administration. The businessmen who thought they had gotten a great bargain are now complaining bitterly. Xiao Xia issued an order from the King of Jin, and all official residences were to be taken back. The occupants were required to move out within ten days. All home buyers had to register their losses at the county government office within ten days and would be given certain compensation. No applications would be accepted after the deadline.

However, the so-called compensation was also paid according to the price on the title deed, but the compensation was less than 10% of the merchants’ actual losses, so most of the merchants did not register and directly gave up their claims.

The reason is that the purchase price stated on the title deed is extremely low. A five-acre house worth ten thousand guan was only sold for five or six hundred guan. But do you think those auction officials really know nothing? The merchants actually have to pay several times more to purchase the houses. Most of them are private transactions, without receipts, contracts, or any proof. Therefore, the merchants suffer huge losses, but dare not say it out loud. They swallow their anger and even refuse to take any compensation on the surface, for fear of leaving any evidence and getting into trouble.

The officials who received huge benefits ended up just keeping the property for King Jin. All the bribe money was eventually confiscated. Under strict scrutiny, the officials reported each other, and in order to save their lives, they had to spit out all the stolen property, which was confiscated by the officials.

In mid-June, a bombshell news spread throughout Jiangdu: the Jin Palace and the Regent's Palace would be moved north to Luoyang, and the Jiangnan Road General Administration Office and the Jiangnan Road Shangshu Xingtai would be abolished.

The Regent's Palace was the former Prince of Jin's Palace, which had five major institutions under it: the Council of State, the Secretariat, the Privy Council, the Censorate, and the Department of Internal Security, commonly known as the Four Councils and One Department.

But smart people immediately realized the truth behind this. If the Prince of Jin and the Prince Regent's Palace had moved away, would the officials below still stay in Jiangdu? Impossible. The abolition of the Jiangnan Road General Administration Office and the Jiangnan Road Shangshu Xingtai actually meant that all officials would move north together. In the end, only the Jiangdu County Office would remain in Jiangdu, while Jingkou would become the seat of the Jiangnan Road Observation Office, the Judicial Office, the Transportation Office, and the Zhenjun Office.

Inside the Jiangdu Palace, Princess Cui Yu was packing with everyone else. All items were put into bags, nailed into large wooden boxes, and then numbered and loaded onto the ship.

To be honest, this decision came rather suddenly. Everyone was waiting for their husband to return triumphantly to the south, but they did not expect that they would move directly north. However, given the situation, the Jiangnan army had recaptured Luoyang ahead of schedule, so they had no choice but to move north ahead of schedule.

The scale of this migration to the north was unprecedented. All the property of the Jin royal palace, all the documents and archives of the government offices, all the officials and their families, all the military supplies, all the stored food supplies, etc. would be transported to Luoyang via the Tongji Canal, leaving behind huge real estate, which would in turn be turned into commercial assets, thus driving a huge commercial prosperity in Jiangdu.

"Sister, are we really going to move?" Zhang Qiao looked at the bottles and jars all over the house worriedly. These were too easy to break. How could they be moved away?

Zhang Qiao's medicine bottles and jars were all celadon official kiln items specially customized for her by Xiao Xia. There were hundreds of them, filled with all kinds of medicinal materials from all over the world. Over the years, Zhang Qiao was so addicted to making medicine that he even neglected his youngest son Yang Qian and completely left him to his wet nurse. Even his daughter Yang Qian'er, under the influence of her mother, developed a strong interest in making medicine. She followed her mother around all day and was nicknamed Medicine Princess by her father Xiao Xia.

But Zhang Qiao's medicine making was effective. The blood-replenishing pills she made using medicinal herbs such as Panax notoginseng, Angelica sinensis, and honeysuckle were produced in large quantities and became a must-have for every soldier, greatly reducing the number of soldiers who died from excessive bleeding.

In addition, the emergency powder made by Zhang Qiao also became a must-have household medicine for the army and every household in Jiangnan. It was made from medicinal materials such as honeysuckle, scutellaria, forsythia, dandelion, and isatis root. It had excellent anti-inflammatory effects and saved the lives of countless children.

With the support of her husband, Zhang Qiao founded Baiyuntang, and more than 30 palace maids followed her to learn how to identify, make and dispense medicines, and became her assistants. Even Princess Cui Yu envied Zhang Qiao a little and wanted to find something to do.

Cui Yu smiled and said, "It must be moved. I'll teach you a way. Wrap the porcelain with cotton wool and coarse cloth, and fill the gaps in the box with sawdust. There will be no problem."

"Are we going to move into the Luoyang Palace?" Zhang Qiao asked again.

Cui Yu shook his head. "I don't know either, but it's very likely."

Zhang Qiao hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Will my husband ascend the throne? This is being spread all over the world."

Cui Yu sighed and said, "How do you want me to answer? This is a matter of time. In fact, he is no different from ascending the throne now."

At noon, in an elegant room on the third floor of Guangling Grand Restaurant, Gao Jiong and Yuan Wenzhen sat opposite each other. It seemed that the two had no relationship, and even some kind of opposition. The Yuan family was the royal family of Western Wei, and Gao Jiong was from the Bohai Gao family, which had close ties with the royal family of Northern Qi. But what? The two major families formed an alliance through the former crown prince Yang Yong. Yang Yong's first wife was from the Yuan family, and the second wife was Gao Jiong's daughter.

Gao Jiong and Yuan Xiaoju had a very good relationship. Yuan Wendu came to Gao Jiong with a letter from the head of the family, and Gao Jiong met Yuan Wenzhen at the Guangling Restaurant.

Yuan Wenzhen respectfully filled Gao Jiong's glass with wine and asked, "Why were the General Administration Office and the Shangshu Xingtai abolished?"

Gao Ying raised his glass and smiled, "Can't you imagine it?"

"I am a foolish young man, so I beg you to enlighten me, Master Gao."

Gao Jiong smiled and said, "This is very obvious. Once it is moved to Luoyang, it can no longer be called the General Administration Office, and the Shangshu Xingtai is no longer worthy of it. It will naturally have to be abolished and a new official will be appointed."

"What will it be called?"

"Need I say more? The Shangshu Xingtai was changed to Shangshu Sheng, the Liubu Si was changed directly to Liubu, the Jiusi Supervisory Office was built, the Zizheng Hall was changed to Zhengshi Hall, we added the title of Zizheng to Zhongshu Menxia, the Secretariat was split into Zhongshu Sheng and Menxia Sheng, the Baihu Hall was changed to Jieshi Zhong, the Privy Council was retained, the Supervisory Yuan was changed to Yushitai, the Internal Security Department was upgraded to a province, the Internal Security Province, which didn't exist before."

Yuan Wenzhen was stunned and said after a while: "Then the King of Jin is going to ascend the throne!"

"Not necessarily. Whether the Prince of Jin ascends the throne depends on the overall situation. Once the time comes, he will naturally ascend the throne. Once the Prince of Jin ascends the throne, the Sui Dynasty in Chang'an will no longer have legitimacy. You should quickly write a letter to the head of the family and tell him that since His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin accepted the gift from the Yuan family, he should go to Luoyang to meet His Royal Highness as soon as possible. Don't hesitate. Once the Prince of Jin ascends the throne, many opportunities will be lost."

Yuan Wenzhen nodded quickly, "I will write a letter to the head of the family today!"

(End of this chapter)

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