Chapter 590: Chapter 73: Heads Rolling, New Maritime Trade Regulations
"The position is neither too high nor too low, just right!"
"And there’s Xue Ne," another elder with a sinister expression interjected, "the head of the Hedong Xue Clan’s branch in Chang’an."
"His family controls the largest warehouses in the western market of Chang’an, specializing in handling exotic treasures shipped from Panyu and Mingzhou State, with ambiguous connections to the Wu Clan and even pirates."
"Xue Ne is greedy and fond of goods, yet he’s not a core member of the Xue Clan’s main lineage. Pushing him out, the Xue Clan’s main house can’t say anything, which helps clear things up."
"It’s not enough." Li Gong stroked the ring on his finger, speaking in a calm tone, "These two people still aren’t weighty enough."
"What Gu Jing wants is a model that can intimidate the entire world."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, their eyes flickering, finally settling on a middle-aged man in the corner who hadn’t spoken.
The middle-aged man dressed modestly, but the material was excellent, yet at this moment, his face was as pale as paper.
"Zhangsun Xin." A slightly overweight elder slowly spoke, his voice carrying an imperceptible hint of coldness, "Though you are not a direct member of the Zhangsun Clan, you still bear the Zhangsun surname."
"Now... it is time for you to contribute to the family."
His tone was extremely calm, yet it exuded an undeniable authority.
Zhangsun Xin’s face turned white instantly, and he immediately kneeled without saying a word.
With his leading stance,
it was as if a switch had been flipped, elite nobles from Guanlong one by one voiced their agreement, pushing out their various collateral branches.
They couldn’t go head-to-head with the Gu Clan.
If it were any other family, they might still dare to try.
But this was the Gu Clan.
Especially with Gu Jing leading the soldiers!
This completely extinguished their thoughts of resistance; they could only pinch their noses and accept the loss.
The matter was thus decided.
Those who were pushed out to take the blame had no room for resistance, they could only accept their fate and silently bear everything.
Similar scenes played out across the nation as news spread.
Though Gu Jing was not personally present,
he managed to suppress all sides with such a momentum.
As these individuals bowed their heads one after another, a new wave of purges swiftly began in coastal strongholds like Mingzhou and Donglai, with local officials as the targets.
Evidence?
The Imperial Censorate was never short of that.
And those major merchants who were caught would eventually confess everything, which alone was enough to enable the Imperial Censorate to sweep away all opposition.
Heads rolled everywhere.
Cries and protests echoed everywhere.
But the moment Gu Jing officially stepped through the city gates, these sounds fell silent.
In face of solid evidence, who would care about their so-called grievances?
——The entire realm was in chaos.
The impact of this event far exceeded previous ones.
Not to mention the effects brought by maritime trade.
Just the successive arrests of officials alone were enough to cause turmoil in every coastal city.
Fortunately, the Great Tang had many officials, and Gu Jing didn’t engage in large scale implication, but this was still enough to cause national upheaval.
There was no helping it; the development of coastal cities had been too rapid.
As long as the population grew, the likelihood of messes increased significantly.
Fortunately, Gu Jing had already dispatched troops, ensuring this turmoil had a limit.
But this clamor was still enough to let everyone feel endless pressure.
Because with just a slight mishap, it was enough to impact the Great Tang dynasty.
Under such influence, even small traders dared not set sail for fear of becoming entangled, despite the Imperial Censorate’s principles remaining under control.
But such is human nature; no one can help it.
——It was for this reason that all industries generated by maritime trade were completely severed.
The people’s protests, and the complete discontinuation of all industry lines, all the pressure was rolling in like a tide.
But luckily——
Gu Jing had long prepared thoroughly for this.
The specific policies of the court had been disseminated across various regions within just a few days.
——The core was the establishment of a dedicated maritime trade department by the court to manage all maritime traders.
First, it was demanded that merchants participating in maritime trade must hold a court-issued permit.
And these permits were graded.
An A-level permit allowed for the trading of bulk goods but required a high deposit;B-level permits restricted to regional trade.
Moreover, all merchants were prohibited from dealing in sensitive goods, such as copper and iron, military equipment, and core production materials.
This was an extremely strict restriction.
Additionally, anyone who dared to collude with pirates was to be executed, and their family’s trade rights revoked for three generations.
The city’s maritime office also had clearer and stricter regulations.
The vague profit-sharing system was abolished and replaced with a more detailed value-based tiered system, requiring merchants to register their goods’ worth, with failure to do so resulting in a ten-times tax evasion penalty.
These two rights were directly under central control to prevent infiltration and further impact on overseas affairs.
Furthermore, Gu Jing planned to establish a special naval force.
This was not only to defend against pirates but also to supervise maritime traders and monitor smuggling issues everywhere.
The reputation of the Gu Clan was fully manifested at such times.
For this reason, Gu Jing even conducted a sacrificial ceremony at the Luoshui River.
This act was meant to appease the small traders and ordinary people across the land.
Under the temptation of great benefits and trust in the Gu Clan, there were always those willing to take the first step, comply with the court’s new system, and reopen the maritime routes under regulation.
Thus, the mountain-like pressure began to slowly ease.
Gu Jing was not in a hurry over this.
