Upon receiving the imperial decree, Yu Tianheng immediately mustered five hundred imperial guards, their armor gleaming and their aura imposing, and headed straight for the prince's residence, where the Xue Beng had occurred.
At the gate of the mansion, the original guards had already been subdued. Upon seeing the Duke arrive in person, they all lowered their heads and dared not look him in the eye. At Yu Tianheng's command, the Imperial Guards filed in and began a thorough search and confiscation in accordance with the imperial decree.
However, after searching the main hall, side rooms, storerooms, and even the secret rooms in the backyard of the mansion, the results were quite unexpected. The study was filled with some gilded ornaments, which looked gorgeous but were worthless; the several boxes of Gold Soul Coin stored in the storeroom amounted to no more than a few hundred thousand; as for rare medicinal herbs and other treasures, there were very few.
"Your Grace, we've checked everywhere. All the valuables, when converted to Gold Soul Coin, amount to just over a million." The Imperial Guard commander in charge of the inventory bowed and reported, his tone tinged with surprise.
Yu Tianheng stood in the courtyard, looking at the seemingly grand but empty mansion, his eyes slightly darkening.
He was well aware that Xue Beng had been forced to feign a life of extravagance under Xue Qinghe's relentless pressure over the years, spending his days in taverns, cockfighting, and dog racing. While he appeared to be indulging in extravagance, it was merely a facade to lull the other party into complacency. Where would he find the real money to fill the treasury? His so-called "extravagance" was mostly just for show.
"Keep searching, don't miss any corner," Yu Tianheng ordered in a deep voice, but he already knew in his heart that this sum of over one million Gold Soul Coin was probably all the "assets" that Xue Beng could offer.
Ultimately, the search results were as expected. Yu Tianheng ordered his men to register and pack all the valuables, which were then taken to the national treasury. He himself stood in front of the mansion gate, gazing at the plaque that read " Xue Beng Mansion," his eyes filled with complex emotions.
This raid was more like a final reckoning with the losers, even though they were already too weak to resist.
After leaving Xue Beng's residence, Yu Tianheng led the Imperial Guards straight to Prince Xue Xing's residence.
Prince Xue Xing is a member of the royal family with an extremely high status in the Heaven Dou Empire. As the younger brother of Xue Ye and the current prince, he possesses noble royal blood and a distinguished identity.
In the imperial court, Prince Xue Xing was an important figure of power, wielding considerable influence and participating in discussions and decisions concerning the core affairs of the empire. His opinions had a significant impact on the emperor and court officials. At the same time, he was surrounded by many followers, forming a political force that could not be ignored, and had a certain degree of infiltration and influence in the empire's military and political fields.
As a core member of the royal family, Prince Xue Xing's status is second only to the emperor and the crown prince. He is an important part of the ruling class of the Heaven Dou Empire and has a significant influence on the empire's political landscape.
Compared to the former's outward appearance but inner weakness, this prince's mansion exudes luxury accumulated over the years, from its vermilion gate to the pavilions and towers deep within the courtyard. The two gilded stone lions in front of the gate alone are worth a fortune.
"Search!" Yu Tianheng gave the order, and the Imperial Guards surged in like a tide. It was only after this search that they truly witnessed what it meant to be richer than a country.
In the storeroom, boxes of Gold Soul Coin were stacked higher than a person, and various gems were casually piled up; in the treasure pavilion, thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were stored in jade boxes, and several Soul Bone lay quietly on velvet cushions, including many rare items of ten thousand years.
In the study's hidden compartment, stacks of land deeds and house deeds covered the entire long table, encompassing shops and residences in half of Heaven Dou City's bustling areas, and even several mineral vein certificates outside the city; on the antique shelves in the side hall, various antiques and calligraphy and paintings were displayed in dazzling array, each a unique piece that had been passed down for centuries; in the slave quarters in the backyard, hundreds of men, women, and children were chained up, their indentures densely covered with writing, recording the freedom they had been deprived of.
The clerk in charge of the inventory was trembling; with each item read out, the guard beside him felt a chill run down his spine.
When the final tally was tallied, even Yu Tianheng, who was used to grand occasions, was secretly astonished—the physical wealth alone was astonishing, and when the real estate and hidden assets were added, the total value reached a staggering 300 million Gold Soul Coin!
This figure is equivalent to the total tax revenue of the Heaven Dou Empire for three whole years.
"Three hundred million Gold Soul Coin..." Yu Tianheng looked at the list, lost in thought.
Prince Xue Xing, as the emperor's younger brother, received an imperial salary and wielded some power. However, he abused his position to ruthlessly embezzle the national treasury, colluded with officials to seize fertile land, and monopolized shops to exploit the people. Every penny of this wealth was stained with blood.
Looking at the nauseatingly luxurious mansion, Yu Tianheng felt nothing but disgust. Xue Beng might have been a victim of power struggles, dying unjustly, but this Prince Xue Xing was clearly a parasite clinging to the empire, a vampire sucking the blood and sweat of the people.
The execution of Xue Beng may have involved political maneuvering, but the execution of Prince Xue Xing was undoubtedly a good thing for the people. With such a scoundrel gone, the burden on the people of the Heaven Dou Empire will be lighter.
After raiding Prince Xue Xing's mansion, Yu Tianheng didn't stop, leading the Imperial Guards to their next target— the Blood Moon Duke's Mansion.
This duke is a representative of the old noble family of the empire. His ancestors fought alongside the previous emperor and have been entrenched in Heaven Dou City for generations, with their power deeply entrenched.
Although the mansion was not as ostentatious as the Prince Xue Xing's mansion, it was surprisingly wealthy: the cellar contained gold bricks accumulated over generations, the secret room was filled with rare ores and Soul Master artifacts plundered from all over the world, and the aged wines alone were enough to be worth the entire fortune of a middle-class family.
Next was the residence of Marshal Lei Zhan of the Heaven Dou Empire. As a powerful minister holding military authority, Lei Zhan's wealth was even more "hidden"—the storerooms were not filled with boxes of Gold Soul Coin, but were filled with all kinds of military equipment and Soul Tool, including many advanced weapons of imperial standard; the account books recorded his horse farms and smelting workshops in several border provinces, with annual profits far exceeding military pay; even the guards in the mansion were all Four-Ring Soul Master. These "living assets" alone were priceless.
Finally, there is the Linyin Duke's Mansion. This duke is famous for his business, and his mansion is more like a small treasure trove: the profit-sharing certificates of various merchants' associations fill the study, the list of fleets for maritime trade is enough to make merchants speechless, and rare furs, gems and jade artifacts are piled up from the side hall all the way to the inner courtyard. It is said that even the foot of his bed is carved from ten-thousand-year-old warm jade.
These three mansions, belonging to either long-established noble families or important officials of the empire, each had their own methods of accumulating wealth, yet all were intricately connected with Prince Xue Xing.
The search revealed that each family's assets were comparable to those of Prince Xue Xing, with each family's value ranging from 250 million to 300 million Gold Soul Coin.
In addition, Yu Tianheng, following the list, also investigated the residences of officials who had close ties with Prince Xue Xing one by one. From the clerk of the Ministry of Revenue to the general of the Capital Garrison, even those who were only related by blood or had received benefits from him could not escape the fate of having their homes confiscated.
Although these people's wealth was not as astonishing as that of dukes and marshals, it was still quite considerable when added together.