Chapter 314: The root of the trouble in the aristocratic family
Is this what Yu Meixue was sighing about?
In fact, that’s not entirely true. These people are actually in danger themselves.

The Jiangnan wealthy families, the two families that rose to prominence in the Dajing Dynasty, and several families that have existed since the previous dynasty have not had an easy time recently. Each family and clan has recently received imperial edicts one after another, and seeing the conscription orders that would make them bleed heavily, these families looked unhappy.

They are indeed a large family, with wealth accumulated over generations, and they are very wealthy. They are not as wealthy as a country, but it is true that the national treasury is not as full as their family's treasury.

Having said that, these are the wealth accumulated by their ancestors, and will be passed down to their descendants for thousands of years. How could they be willing to spend them for nothing to fatten the emperor's pockets?

Moreover, many of their families fled with the imperial court that day, and they could not take the gold and silver with them. For safety reasons, they hid them in secret places in the north. Most of their land and population were lost. They watched the north be recovered and they could return to recover their assets, but the boss suddenly did this. I'm afraid there is something behind this...

None of these people from the aristocratic families are stupid, they are all very smart.

Realizing that something was not right, they gathered together to discuss secretly.

"Everyone, our eight great families are of the same blood and are closely related. Now we are in trouble. Do you have any way to break the impasse?"

The first to speak were the Su family, a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River.

After hearing his words, Fanyang Lu said with a gloomy face: "I, Lu, am not as capable as you, and I am the last of the noble family. I came here today to hear your opinions. Whether it is good or bad, I will follow you."

Then Qian County Qian nodded and said, "Yes, yes, our Qian family is comparable to the Lu family, and I will listen to your opinions." As the bottom of the eight great families, they will just follow the trend to ensure they won't go wrong.

When Jinling Zhou heard this, she didn't say anything, nor did she express her opinion. She sneered secretly, picked up the teacup and continued to drink leisurely.

Anyway, the Zhou family's assets are all in the south, and their base camp in Jinling is intact. They didn't suffer any loss when Hu Di came to kill them. They only lost a few ships when the river was closed that day. It's not a big deal. Unlike those families who fled in panic from the north, it's no exaggeration to say that they are like dogs that have lost their homes. They are so fussy about trivial matters and lose face!
I have never wanted to associate with these so-called old families left over from the previous dynasty.

Moreover, there are people in their Zhou family who are serving the country as officials. What is he afraid of? Even if it is as the emperor wishes, a little bleeding will not hurt his bones. Maybe what he takes out today may be returned from somewhere else tomorrow, and he may get more.
Therefore, Zhou Jia was confident about this, and he remained silent in the face of the comments and embarrassment from other family heads.

The Zhou family's actions were naturally supported by another family that emerged in the Dajing Dynasty. After all, they were in the same group.

The head of the Li family saw that people in the hall were anxious and silent, and his eyebrows jumped. Thinking of their situation in Longxi, he hurriedly looked at his old rival and friend beside him.

"Brother Cui, do you have any good ideas?"

The Cui family head paused when his name was called, slowly put down the teacup in his hand, straightened his wide sleeves which were quite in the style of Wei and Jin Dynasties, and spoke softly, "Haha, what do you mean by this, Brother Li? Haven't we, the noble families, always followed Brother Li's lead? In front of you all, I dare not act arrogantly, so I will listen to Brother Li's opinion."

"Oh, Brother Cui, what you said is not authentic. Who in the world doesn't know the Qinghe Cui family? Brother Cui, don't be modest. Right now is the time when our family is in a life-or-death crisis. Brother Cui has always been well-versed in ancient and modern times, talented, and worthy of the title. Today, I would like to hear Brother Cui's thoughts."

"Hehe, brother Li, you are being modest. I, Cui, am a mediocre person and dare not take on the responsibility. Besides, what you said, brother Li, is different. It is said that all under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects. As a subject, I will naturally support Your Majesty." Even though he looked down on them in his heart, even though their Cui family sold out the previous dynasty to gain hundreds of years of prosperity for the family, but that was something that happened behind the scenes. On the surface, their Cui family has always been the Cui family with the style of Wei and Jin Dynasties, the elegance of the spring breeze, and integrity.

The head of the Li family is actually a man with a bad temper. In his heart, he disdains the Cui family's behavior. It is obvious that the whore did it, but they still act like they are the most innocent. He really disdains it.

But there was no other way. Now was not the time to start an internal conflict. To protect the continuation of his family and future generations, he could endure it, or even give in. Seeing Cui like this, he looked at the person sitting next to him, who was supporting his forehead with one hand as if he was dozing off, but his fingers were tapping the computer from time to time.

"Brother Wang, look at what Brother Cui is saying. We are from the same old family, so we should be of the same blood. Brother Wang, please tell him about it."

After being called, the head of the Wang family stopped tapping and looked as if he had finally come to terms with his distraction. "Ah? Are you asking me, brother?"

Master Li... what bad luck! What kind of people are these?
When he saw that Cui was still bowing to Wang in a sarcastic manner, Patriarch Li became even angrier and could not help but point at the two of them in anger.

"Well, well, well, it's really the eunuchs who are anxious when the emperor is not! Your Wangyang family and Qinghe Cui family are both great, with deep foundations. My Li family can't compare to them. The conscription order from above is just to rip off the money and food from each family. Although my Li family can't compare to you, we can still afford it no matter how poor Longxi is. Today, it was my stupidity that I thought that only mutual support could keep the family safe in troubled times, and I even wanted to discuss countermeasures with you guys who have ulterior motives. Haha, I'm blind!"

Longxi is poorer than the places where these people are present. Although there has been no war, it has suffered natural disasters one after another. The land of Longxi, which was not rich to begin with, has become even more difficult. Now that it is like this, they can't dig their own roots for the emperor to ask for it, right? If the people below can't afford to live, and the people have fled and the land has been barren, then even the biggest family will become a thing of the past.

For this reason, for the sake of the family's finances, the desperate head of the Li family simply turned against him and left.

But just as he reached the door, he found that the people behind him were standing still, especially Cui, who had been trying to compete with his family. There was a cold and sarcastic smile on her face. The head of the Li family could not help but turn around and sneered at the Cui family.

"Oh, by the way, Patriarch Cui, there is something I don't know whether I should say or not. Our Li family has its roots in Longxi, and there is not a single weak man in Longxi. Even if we have suffered a heavy loss today, as long as our people are still here, Longxi can still breathe. It's not like your Cui family, whose roots are in Qinghe, but you were chased like a wild dog that day, and you have lost all your wealth in the north, right? Tsk tsk, if Patriarch Cui cannot lead his people back to the north, and this side compromises again, hehe, I'm afraid that by then, the Qinghe Cui family will no longer be the Qinghe Cui family, and it is unknown whether there will still be the Qinghe Cui family a hundred years later, right? Ah?"

"Li Qin, what do you mean!"

"What do you mean? Humph!" Patriarch Li raised his eyebrows and bowed insincerely, "It's meaningless. Goodbye."

This man was actually very angry and didn't want to associate with this group of people anymore. After saying this, he left in a hurry to think of another solution.

When the others saw this, they had their own thoughts in their minds, especially Cui. Although he wanted to suppress Li and want to determine who was higher no matter what, he had to admit that Li Qin was right about something.

If you want your family to last for hundreds of years, thousands of years, or even a thousand years, then...

Cui family's main attack case.

Well, it is said that aristocratic families are permanent but emperors are transient. For the sake of the family's longevity, it is time to think about a way out. The head of the Cui family could not help but look far to the north, towards the direction of Qinghe.