"Shake the Mountain to Frighten the Tiger, Reform Implemented"

The news of the Five Great Clans being wiped out overnight spread rapidly across the Great Sui.

This news struck like a bolt of divine lightning from the heavens, slamming down upon the heads of every noble family in the Great Sui dynasty.

It left them scorched, trembling, and shattered to their very cores.

They simply could not believe the news was true; the Five Great Clans had actually been completely eradicated in a single night.

Those were the Five Great Clans that had been passed down for nearly a thousand years!

They were behemoths that coexisted with the nation, held power over the imperial court, and were entities that even the late emperor Lin Batian had to treat with a degree of caution.

They were deeply rooted, their influence spread across the entire world, and they had nearly twenty Xiantian experts under their command.

Yet, these five behemoths were uprooted and turned to dust in a single night.

When they learned through their spies that the heads of the Five Great Clans' patriarchs were hanging from the Meridian Gate in the capital, all remaining shreds of luck and hesitation instantly transformed into the deepest, darkest fear.

The new emperor, Lin Hanzhou, had used the most unquestionable method to demonstrate his terrifying strength to the entire world.

The power of an example is infinite.

Once this "example" was established, Lin Hanzhou's subsequent mopping up of the remnants of the Five Great Clans proceeded very smoothly.

Over the next month, the forces of the Five Great Clans entrenched in various commanderies and counties were mostly uprooted.

It was not just the government officials who struck against them, but also the local noble families and powerful clans.

The local gentry did this not only for profit, but more so to curry favor with the new emperor, Lin Hanzhou.

They had no desire to provoke this god of slaughter; with the other party holding absolute power, daring to assist the remnants of the Five Great Clans would undoubtedly be seeking death.

Soon, another month passed, and by now, the remnants of the Five Great Clans within the Great Sui had been completely wiped out.

Perhaps there were still some deeply hidden forces left, but they no longer posed a threat to the Great Sui.

The Five Great Clans had lost their momentum, and the old era that belonged to them had come to a complete end.

What had arrived now was a new era created by the new emperor, Lin Hanzhou.

Over these two months, in addition to purging the remnants of the Five Great Clans, the three new policies were being implemented as scheduled.

With the Five Great Clans as a cautionary tale, the new policies, which had previously faced countless obstacles, suddenly became smooth and unimpeded.

The local bureaucrats and powerful gentry who had previously feigned compliance while secretly resisting seemed to have become the most loyal supporters of the new policies overnight.

Those commanderies and counties that had delayed the construction of official schools under the pretext of "tight budgets" suddenly found large sums of silver from nowhere.

New schools rose from the ground at an astonishing speed.

The grain merchants who had been secretly manipulating grain prices took the initiative to open their granaries and lower prices again and again.

They were terrified that if they were too slow, Lin Hanzhou would simply raid their homes and confiscate their assets.

The final prices were even cheaper than before the new policies, and their faces were plastered with fawning smiles of "worrying for the country."

The most critical land reform was spreading across the country at an unprecedented speed.

Local clans took the initiative to surrender the fields they had encroached upon, actively cooperating with the government in surveying, registering, and distributing the land.

At the same time, there were no so-called "civil uprisings"; the "rioters" who had been besieging government offices just days ago had vanished into thin air.

Facing this 180-degree turn, Lin Hanzhou sneered in his heart.

He knew well that this was merely a temporary submission under high pressure.

These forces, which had been intertwined for hundreds of years, could not possibly abandon their interests so easily.

Their roots were still deeply embedded in every corner of this land.

If it were only to this extent, they would simply bide their time and make a comeback later.

Thus, after intimidating the world, a great purge that swept across the entire Great Sui dynasty officially began.

With the force of a thunderbolt, Lin Hanzhou issued several imperial edicts.

He ordered the establishment of the Brocade Guard in every commandery and county within the Great Sui to monitor the world.

In addition, he ordered Xuan Ya to lead the Shadow Guard to all parts of the country, coordinating with the newly established Brocade Guard to thoroughly investigate all officials.

Anyone found colluding with the Five Great Clans, engaging in corruption, dereliction of duty, or oppressing the common people would be summarily dismissed, their homes raided, and thrown into prison.

If they resisted, those with serious offenses could be executed on the spot!

For a time, every official in the Great Sui dynasty felt their own lives were in danger.

They no longer dared to collude with local clans as they had before, and each one tucked their tails between their legs to serve as an official.

They lived in fear of the day the words "The Brocade Guard is here on official business" would be heard at their doorsteps.

The local powerful gentry who usually oppressed the common people were likewise targeted by the Brocade Guard.

They attempted to resist, but they could not stir up any trouble in front of the Brocade Guard, which was filled with experts.

Over the next half-year, the Great Sui underwent an unprecedented bloodletting.

More than one-third of the old officials were dismissed and imprisoned, among them many high-ranking officials such as commandery governors.

Hundreds of local powerful gentry and lawless noble families were uprooted.

Countless wealth and properties seized by them returned to the national treasury and the hands of the common people.

Although the methods of this great purge were brutal, they cleared away the long-standing dust of Great Sui with astonishing efficiency.

As the talented scholars from humble backgrounds, selected through the new imperial examination, began to fill various posts across Great Sui one after another.

The new policies pushed forward by Lin Hanzhou finally began to unleash their true power.

Across the vast fields, farmers who owned their own land for the first time erupted with unprecedented enthusiasm for labor.

They worked from sunrise to sunset, meticulously tending to their fields, their faces beaming with hopeful smiles.

The grain production of Great Sui doubled in just a few short years.

From one bright and clean government school after another, the sound of clear, rhythmic reading drifted out.

Countless children from impoverished families had the opportunity to come into contact with knowledge for the first time.

They were no longer bound by the fate of facing the yellow earth and backing the sky; they now had the possibility of changing their destinies through study.

This provided the Great Sui dynasty with a continuous and inexhaustible reservoir of talent.

The reformed imperial examination system, moreover, completely shattered the monopoly the noble clans held over the officialdom.

Countless young people with talent but humble origins stood out through fair assessments and were able to enter the management of Great Sui.

They brought brand-new ideas and vitality, causing the entire bureaucratic system to begin operating efficiently and honestly.

The social structure of the Great Sui dynasty was undergoing a profound and drastic change.

The aristocratic society, bound by bloodlines and family status, was collapsing.

A brand-new social structure, centered on merit and ability, was slowly being established.

The national strength of the Great Sui dynasty was rising at an unprecedented speed.

Lin Hanzhou stood at the highest point of the imperial palace, overlooking the brand-new dynasty he had single-handedly created, his heart filled with peace.

He knew that an era belonging to him, a golden age in the true sense of the word, was about to arrive.

And he, too, had completely altered the future trajectory of Great Sui amidst this magnificent and sweeping transformation.