Ying Zheng drew his treasure sword, and many people were seized with fear.
Amidst their fear, they continued to communicate.
It was important to know that it wasn't just one or two individuals who had encroached upon the common people's land, but nearly all the court officials.
What they had done was essentially an established practice, and because of this, many had participated.
Therefore, virtually every minister in the imperial court had been involved.
If Ying Zheng truly intended to kill, he might have to kill a great many people.
And a large number of ministers acting in concert also posed a significant constraint on Ying Zheng.
The next moment, a minister fell to his knees.
"Your Majesty, we know we were wrong. We implore Your Majesty to forgive our sins!!"
As these words were spoken, many ministers felt a sense of awakening. They all knelt on the ground, begging Ying Zheng for forgiveness.
"Your Majesty, we know we were wrong. We implore Your Majesty to forgive our sins!!"
"Your Majesty, we know we were wrong. We implore Your Majesty to forgive our sins!!"
"Your Majesty, we know we were wrong. We implore Your Majesty to forgive our sins!!"
As these ministers shouted, more than half of them had knelt down.
Ying Zheng was greatly astonished by this half of the ministers kneeling.
Although he knew that Lin Tian's words were definitely true, that there were indeed powerful families and gentry in Great Qin who were seizing the people's land.
He had not expected that so many ministers in the Great Qin court would admit to having done so.
This was truly shocking to Ying Zheng, making him almost disbelieve his own eyes.
"You, you all... you people, have all seized the people's land!!"
"Your Majesty, we... we know we were wrong!!"
Whether it was right or wrong sometimes wasn't important.
In their eyes, with so many of them kneeling, even if they were truly wrong, Ying Zheng would not punish them.
After all, Ying Zheng could not possibly execute all of them.
If he were to do so, there would be very few ministers left in the Great Qin court.
The Great Qin court might not even be able to function normally.
Therefore, although they were begging for mercy, they did not feel much fear in their hearts.
On the contrary, they were secretly anticipating how Ying Zheng would handle this matter.
And Ying Zheng, seeing so many ministers kneeling before him, was indeed in a difficult position.
He naturally wanted to execute these ministers.
After all, these ministers had violated the laws of Great Qin. With them around, the lives of the people of Great Qin would become increasingly difficult.
However, if so many ministers were executed, the administration of Great Qin would inevitably fall into chaos.
Moreover, even if he could execute these ministers, he could not execute the officials below them, nor the gentry.
Their numbers were too great, and they controlled too much land.
If he were to truly act, Great Qin might indeed fall into disorder.
The power they amassed, even if it couldn't overthrow Great Qin, would certainly make things difficult for Great Qin.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng was at a loss as to how to deal with these people.
Fortunately, Lin Tian stepped forward at this moment.
"This problem is actually very easy to solve!"
"Since these gentry like to seize land, we will no longer collect taxes per capita, but based on the amount of land owned!!"
"Whoever owns one mu of land must pay the tax for one mu, and no one, whether official or gentry, can be exempt!!"
"At the same time, we should establish tiers. One hundred mu as the first tier, one thousand mu as the second tier, ten thousand mu as the third tier, one hundred thousand mu as the fourth tier, and so on. The higher the tier, the heavier the tax!!"
"I believe this can greatly guarantee the land tax revenue of our Great Qin!!"
"At the same time, we can establish a dedicated department to oversee all land in the realm!"
"Anyone found to have maliciously encroached upon the people's land or harmed their lives will be brought out and executed as a warning!!"
"As for these officials, we will investigate how they acquired their land. If they unfairly lowered prices, they will be made to pay the difference. If they oppressed or harmed the people, they will be stripped of their positions!!"
"Those who are indifferent to the people are not fit to be officials of our Great Qin!!"
Lin Tian spoke only a few words, but after these words, the ministers' faces turned pale.
They felt as if Lin Tian had struck at their very core, making them afraid to reveal the vast amount of land they possessed.
All the methods of accumulating wealth they had conceived earlier were shattered at this moment.
Especially Lin Tian's intention to investigate how their land was acquired made them even more fearful.
Much of their land had been acquired through forced purchases.
Although forced purchases would not be fatal, they would have to pay a large sum of money to compensate those who sold them the land.
This meant they would suffer significant financial losses.
This was certainly not a situation they were willing to see.
However, compared to the potential loss of wealth, what they were even less willing to see was the punishment Lin Tian threatened.
After all, forced purchase was only part of it; there was another part where they had directly seized land.
And some people had even killed the commoners and seized their land.
If Lin Tian found out about such actions, they would surely die.
Because of this, they could not help but tremble.
Many of them looked around at this moment, seeking help from others, to see if there was any way to break free from this predicament.
However, others were in the same situation as them, looking around with no solution.
At the same time, many of them were overcome with extreme fear, and the dread in their hearts lingered for a long time.
Some with weaker psychological resilience even burst into tears.
It was clear that Lin Tian's words had genuinely frightened them, causing them to lose their composure.
They didn't even know how they could survive.
However, Lin Tian knew that their current loss of composure was only temporary. After they returned, they would likely regroup and devise other methods to resolve this matter.
Therefore, Lin Tian took the initiative to speak at this moment:
"It is not impossible for you to have a way to live. If you confess voluntarily and are willing to surrender your land and compensate for your wealth, we might be lenient in our judgment!!"
"Otherwise, if we discover it through investigation, we will certainly deal with you strictly!!"
As these words were spoken, many were truly frightened. They spoke one after another, hoping for leniency and a chance to survive.
...