Chapter 102 Zulong: The clan’s salt and iron industry has been suspended!
As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar again!

The ministers were talking and whispering to each other, and they seemed to be waiting for the First Emperor's reaction.

The First Emperor frowned and looked at Ye Chi deeply, as if he was weighing the matter!

Everyone in the clan was filled with shock and anger at this moment. They never expected that Ye Chi actually had evidence!

For a moment, they were speechless and could only stand there looking at each other, their hearts filled with fear and anxiety!
At this moment, the clan leaders felt as if they were trapped in an ice cellar, unable to defend themselves.

They wanted to make excuses, but the evidence Ye Chi provided was so conclusive that they had no way to refute it!

Just as they were in a state of panic, the First Emperor spoke coldly, his voice echoing in the hall like a huge bell:
"I have made up my mind. I will thoroughly investigate the clues of this matter! At the same time, the power to exercise the clan's salt and iron affairs will be suspended and will be taken over by the Ministry of Works."

"Zhang Han, I order you to take on this important task. You must get this done!"

Zhang Han responded and bowed to receive the order!
There was a gleam of determination and courage in his eyes, as if he had made up his mind to get the matter done properly.

The clan leaders were shocked when they heard this, as they knew very well the importance of salt and iron rights to their clan.

Once this right is lost, the clan's power will be greatly reduced!

They were eager to defend themselves, crying out that they were wronged, and accusing Ye Chi of slander and framing them! !

"Your Majesty! Please listen to us!" The leader of the Gan family stepped forward and said with tears in his eyes, "We are loyal and devoted, how could we do such a thing to betray our master? It must be a frame-up by Ye Chi, please be careful and look into this matter!"

Elder Du also echoed, "Yes! Your Majesty! Ye Chi has always had a grudge against us. He must be taking this opportunity to take revenge! Please, Your Majesty, make the decision for us!"

However, the First Emperor did not give them any chance to explain themselves.

He stood up suddenly, waved his sleeves, and said coldly: "No need to say anything more! Dismiss!!!"

After saying this, he turned and walked away, disappearing behind the screen in the hall.

The clan leaders stood there in a daze, looking at each other.

They knew that this time it was really over.

Without the power over salt and iron, the clan’s position in the court will be in jeopardy!
And all this is thanks to Ye Chi!
Their hearts were filled with anger and despair, but they were helpless!
……

The sun had already set, and the afterglow of the rays of light fell on the bluestone of the clan mansion, but the atmosphere inside the mansion was depressing and suffocating.

The clan leaders returned home one after another, their faces livid, anger and unwillingness burning in their hearts like raging fire.

The leader of the Gan family took the lead and stepped into the mansion, roaring: "Ye Chi! How dare you, a shameless villain, frame us like this!"

He waved his arms angrily, as if he wanted to vent all his anger!

Elder Du also echoed angrily: "That's right! This feud is irreconcilable! We must make Ye Chi pay the price! "

There was a resentful light flashing in his eyes, as if he wanted to tear Ye Chi into pieces!

Inside the mansion, the servants stood by trembling in fear, not daring to make a sound!

The clan leaders were seen angrily smashing the furnishings in the mansion. Porcelain and jade pieces were broken into pieces all over the floor, and the exquisite screens were also overturned to the ground, making the whole place a mess.

Their faces were twisted with anger, their eyes were bloodshot, and they seemed to be about to burst out with all the rage in their hearts!!
"I won't accept this! I won't accept this!" The Gan clan leader howled to the sky, his voice full of despair and unwillingness, "We are loyal and devoted, why did we end up like this? Ye Chi, you despicable villain, I can't coexist with you!" The Du clan elder also gritted his teeth and said, "If we don't take revenge, we are not gentlemen! We must find a way to make Ye Chi lose his reputation and destroy his family!"

The clan leaders discussed angrily, their voices filled with resentment and murderous intent.

However, they also knew that it would not be easy to take revenge on Ye Chi.

After all, Ye Chi is now in power in the court and has the support of His Majesty. How easy would it be to touch him?
But no matter what, they will not give up!!

This fight has just begun, and the clan has made up its mind to start a bloody battle with Ye Chi!
At night, in the study of the Ye Mansion, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead.

Zhang Han was dressed in dust and hurriedly handed over the clan accounts and other confidential documents stolen from the Black Ice Platform to Ye Chi.

Ye Chi flipped open the yellowed account books, examining them word by word, his face gradually turning pale.

"Lord Ye, these crimes are simply too numerous to list!" Zhang Han slammed the table in indignation, his voice revealing unspeakable anger.

Ye Chi raised his head, his eyes like knives: "How dare these clans be so unscrupulous! They embezzle and accept bribes, oppress the people, embezzle the national treasury, and even collude with foreign enemies and plot evil! Do they really think the court is blind and the people are deaf?!"

He pointed to a record in the account book and said sternly: "Look here, they embezzled millions of dollars last year alone. All this money was squeezed out of the blood and sweat of the people!"

"And here, they are actually colluding with the northern barbarians to sell arms. Are they going to hand over our great country to us?"

Zhang Han gnashed his teeth and said, "These clans have enjoyed the grace of the court for generations, but they have no intention of repaying the country. Instead, they enrich themselves and oppress the good people!"

"What they have done has already aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people!"

"Master Ye, we must expose these crimes to the public and let the people of the world judge their sins!"

Ye Chi took a deep breath, his eyes sharp as a torch, and continued to look through those shocking clan accounts.

His finger suddenly stopped on a record, his brows furrowed, as if he had discovered something unbelievable!

"General, look here."

Ye Chi's voice was filled with an indescribable anger. "The Gan family has thousands of acres of fertile land and hundreds of people, but the tax they paid last year was only five shi!"

"This is such a joke! According to the laws of the court, the taxes they should pay are at least ten times this amount!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han came over to take a look at the account. When he found this item, he only looked at a part of it. That part alone was enough to make him extremely angry, and he did not even look at the rest.

At this moment, his face instantly turned livid: "This Gan family is so bold! How dare they evade taxes so blatantly! Do they treat the court's laws as a decoration?"

He pointed to another record and said, "Look at the Meng family. Their methods are even more despicable. Not only did they conceal their land and population, they also bribed officials and falsified accounts to reduce the taxes that should have been paid to the minimum!"

"All this money was squeezed out of the blood and sweat of the people!!"

He paused and continued, "And the Du family and the Zhao family are all like this! They think they are so powerful that they can oppress the people and evade taxes at will."

"However, they are wrong! This world still belongs to your Majesty, not a place where clans like them can do whatever they want!"

(End of this chapter)