Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

Over the past month and a half, 90% of the doctors in Chang'an and Xianyang have been urgently recruited by the court. They bid farewell to their comfortable homes and easy lives and shouldered the mission.

At the imperial court's command, they rushed to various places like arrows from a bow and threw themselves into this brutal battle against dysentery.

These doctors, whether they were experienced and famous doctors or young and inexperienced doctors, had no complaints about the generous remuneration from the court.

With the court's utmost efforts, medicines were continuously transported to various places like a trickle.

Carriages loaded with medicinal materials drove from warehouses across the country to the epidemic area, providing strong support for this arduous battle.

With the continuous support of medicine, the dysentery epidemic that had raged like a flood and a beast finally began to show signs of being contained, and the situation gradually stabilized.

However, the disaster brought by this epidemic is as shocking as the ruins after a storm.

The death toll has not yet been counted, and the broken families are silently telling of the huge number.

Even though the epidemic seems stable now, the amount of medicine needed every day is still staggering. It is an astronomical demand.

Truckloads of medicinal materials were sent to the epidemic area, but they seemed to have fallen on deaf ears and were soon consumed, while new demands followed.

This huge drug expenditure was like an invisible mountain, suffocating the court.

The money in the national treasury, which was originally the guarantee of national development and stability, is now disappearing as quickly as water.

Most of the savings have been ruthlessly devoured by the epidemic, leaving only a few reserves.

If Li Chengqian did not have the solid backing of the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce and was not able to call on the Chamber of Commerce's resources to fill some of the gaps at critical moments, the court would probably have been in dire straits.

In such a difficult situation, if there is no other way, in order to maintain the normal operation of the state machinery and to prevent the entire country from falling into the brink of collapse, perhaps we can only take the most cruel and inhumane measures - to deal with all the infected people.

This is a choice no one wants to face.

But when faced with the choice between life and death, it is a helpless "way out" for all emperors.

Inside the Liangyi Hall, the atmosphere was so solemn that it seemed as if water could drip out.

Minister of Revenue Li Wei stood trembling in front of the imperial desk. His face was as pale as paper, and beads of sweat the size of beans kept rolling down his forehead, wetting his court robes.

His hands were trembling slightly as he held tightly a list, an important document that concerned the fate of the country and the life and death of the people.

This list recorded in detail the recent expenses of the court, especially the cost of medicines needed to treat dysentery. Every number was like a heavy hammer, hitting his heart.

Li Chengqian sat upright on the armchair, his majestic face showing a look of fatigue.

He took the list handed to him by Li Wei, opened it slowly, and scanned the list.

When he saw the series of astonishing numbers, his brows furrowed slightly and a complicated look flashed in his eyes.

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a sharp look, and he glanced at Li Wei with a sullen look that seemed to penetrate Li Wei's soul, causing him to shudder as if he were in an ice cellar.

Immediately afterwards, Li Chengqian laughed unconsciously, but there was no joy in that smile.

This is a wry smile in an extremely speechless situation.

It turns out that people can actually laugh when they are extremely speechless.

"Li Wei, tell me, the total cost of the medicines needed for the next stage is 23 million coins."

Li Chengqian's voice was low and suppressed, with a hint of anger, and every word was like a heavy hammer hitting the air.

"This is just the cost of medicine, not including labor costs and other miscellaneous items. I do have some wealth, but do you think I'm a fool? You want me to be taken advantage of? Don't you know how much medicinal materials you can buy with these 23 million yuan if you purchase them reasonably? Look at this number, is it reasonable?"

When Li Wei heard what Li Chengqian said, he felt panicked.

The thing he feared most finally happened. From the moment he prepared this list, he knew that once it was presented to His Majesty, it would inevitably arouse His Majesty's anger.

But what can he do?

He fell to his knees with a thud, his face filled with grievance and helplessness, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I am well aware that this list is extremely expensive, a figure that is simply astronomical, but I really have no other choice!"

Li Wei wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and continued, "Your Majesty, you previously introduced a donation policy, promising that those merchants who donated the most would have the opportunity to serve as officials in the court."

"This was originally a good way to stimulate the enthusiasm of merchants. In order to allow them to smoothly purchase medicinal herbs, they even lifted the martial law in Chang'an and allowed them to freely purchase medicinal herbs from all over the country."

"This was supposed to be a win-win situation, but who could have imagined it would turn out like this? Your Majesty! There are almost no medicinal herbs left in the entire Shaanxi Province! The merchants have snapped up all of them!"

Li Chengqian's brows furrowed, his eyes filled with even greater doubt. He raised his voice and asked, "Since the merchants have taken all the medicinal materials, shouldn't the court be able to better control the situation?"

"If they want to become officials, shouldn't they hand over the medicine they have hoarded to the court in exchange for official positions? Isn't that simple? Don't they understand that the court holds the key to their careers?"

After hearing what Li Chengqian said, Li Wei could no longer hold back his tears.

He choked up and said, "Your Majesty! At the beginning, it was indeed as you expected. Merchants responded enthusiastically and shipped the medicinal herbs they purchased to the court. They all hoped to contribute to this anti-epidemic campaign and at the same time, obtain an official position for themselves."

"However, with the lifting of martial law in Chang'an, those aristocratic families began to intervene. They sent people into Chang'an and, relying on their strong financial resources, bought the medicinal herbs from the merchants at double the price. Moreover, they promised the merchants that they would guarantee them an official position."

Li Wei became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his eyes filled with anger and helplessness. "And then, these noble families actually wanted to sell the medicinal herbs to the imperial court at a hundred times the price!"

"Your Majesty, can you imagine this? This is simply taking advantage of someone's misfortune! I cannot bear to watch this, so I am bringing people from the Ministry of Revenue to confront them and demand the return of the medicinal herbs that were maliciously hoarded."

"But those noble families don't take the imperial court seriously at all. They had their servants kick us out and insult us wantonly. I am guilty!"

"Not only did I fail to solve the imperial court's medicinal material problem, I also completely humiliated the court!"

Li Wei knelt on the ground, banging his head against the ground repeatedly, his heart filled with guilt and self-blame. He felt that he had failed the emperor's trust and was sorry for the suffering people.

Li Chengqian sat quietly on the dragon throne without saying a word, but the aura emanating from him was like a biting cold wind, shrouding the entire palace in a chilling atmosphere.

His eyes were deep and cold.

After a long moment, he slowly spoke, "Li Wei, tell me, is it true that in the eyes of those merchants, the imperial court's words are less influential than those of the aristocratic families? I want you to tell the truth and not hide anything."

Li Wei listened to Li Chengqian's words, his lips trembling. He hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up the courage to speak: "Your Majesty, it has always been like this! Dynasties change like flowing water, but the aristocratic families are like iron, standing firm and unshakable."

"In the minds of those merchants, the status of the aristocratic families is deeply rooted, and their influence is enormous. Compared to the imperial court, most merchants still trust the aristocratic families more."

"Your Majesty, let alone the power of these noble families, even the women of the Eight Surnames are invaluable! Back then, Prime Minister Fang..."

Li Wei didn't continue speaking, but his meaning was already very clear.

At that time, Fang Xuanling was the prime minister and had great power in the court. However, when he wanted to marry a girl from one of the eight surnames, he encountered many difficulties due to prejudice against her family background. This shows how high the status of aristocratic families was in the hearts of the people.

Their influence is not limited to the court, but extends to all aspects of society, even affecting the choices of businessmen regarding the court and aristocratic families.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and said, "I understand."

He knew very well that the problem of aristocratic families was a long-standing one and could not be solved overnight.

However, the current epidemic crisis is imminent, and the problem of medicinal material supply must be solved first.

"Has the list of donor officials been submitted?" he asked.

Li Wei nodded and replied, "I have already submitted the original document to Prime Minister Fang, and the three provinces will jointly decide which merchants will be granted official positions. However, I have a copy here."

As he spoke, he carefully took out the copy from his sleeve and respectfully presented it to Li Chengqian with both hands.

Li Chengqian took the copy and began to look through it carefully. His eyes were focused and sharp as he scanned the list one by one.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped on a name, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

After reading it, he returned the copy to Li Wei and said in a serious tone, "Anyone on this list who previously donated medicinal herbs to the court but later sold them to merchants from aristocratic families will be disqualified. Their previous merits will offset their current faults, and they will no longer be allowed to hold official positions."

"As for those merchants who didn't sell their herbs to the noble families and instead gave them all to the court, their official rank will be determined by the amount of herbs they donated, but the highest rank cannot exceed the seventh rank. You will go down and carry out this decree!"

Li Chengqian said quietly, his eyes revealing a hint of determination. He wanted to let these businessmen know that the majesty of the court could not be violated, and anyone who tried to undermine the court's anti-epidemic measures would be punished.

After receiving the order, Li Wei slowly left the Liangyi Hall. He knew the next task would be arduous. Not only would he have to reorganize the list of merchants, but he would also have to deal with merchants who might be unhappy about losing their chance to become officials, as well as the aristocratic families who were eyeing him covetously.

But he had no choice but to carry out His Majesty's will.

After returning to the Ministry of Revenue, Li Wei immediately summoned his officials and began to re-examine the list of merchants.