The wealthiest and most powerful families are mostly concentrated in Luoyang; these are the top-tier aristocratic clans.
Below the capital, it's undeniably more prosperous than other major cities, offering far more opportunities.
Chang'an was the capital of the Western Han Dynasty; now, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the capital is Luoyang.
Chang'an's status is more of a facade, somewhat awkward; it's the largest city in Guanzhong.
The aristocratic families and nobles who remain here have some background, but background doesn't equate to power.
At the Prefect's residence, Yang Cong frowned as he read the letter from Yang Biao, sensing something was amiss.
Besides this, there was also a letter from Zhao Hou, also requesting his help to persuade the city's powerful and noble families to contribute money and effort, taking advantage of the imperial edict.
Nobles and powerful families share a common characteristic: they are like capitalists.
Getting capitalists to contribute money without any benefit is more painful than killing their own mother.
Yang Cong shook his head; he found it difficult too.
The wealthiest families in the city were the four great clans. Although these families had declined, they still controlled considerable resources.
Their ancestors had been wealthy, and they could barely maintain themselves now. However, the four clans were closely allied; getting them to contribute money wasn't difficult, but providing satisfactory supplies was.
Moreover, it was a combination of nobles and powerful families. The Liu clan, being purely nobles, didn't have much money.
They all relied on their government salaries and personal assets for a living; they genuinely couldn't contribute much money.
In Chang'an, there were very few instances of dogfighting and cockfighting, precisely because they lacked funds!
"Doing this is easier said than done!" Yang Cong shook his head. He didn't understand why his cousin Yang Biao was doing this.
But as a member of a collateral branch, he could only obey unconditionally.
It wasn't simply about helping Lu Ming; the main purpose was to use Yuan Wei's proclamation as leverage.
The one who offended the Yuan family was the Yuan family; if they had the guts, they should go find the Yuan family. Before Lu Ming even arrived in Chang'an, the city was already bustling with activity.
Almost every noble family and high-ranking official was visiting each other, clearly having heard about the need for them to contribute money for disaster relief.
They wouldn't do anything that didn't benefit them.
Now, the Yuan family's descendants were spreading rumors, portraying Lu Ming as a cruel and tyrannical man.
They accused him of using his status as the emperor's son-in-law to collude with eunuchs, murdering the renowned scholar Wang Lang in Luoyang, and killing the entire Wu Kuang family, taking their wife and daughters for himself.
Such atrocities, such bestiality and bestiality, were utterly outrageous; this scoundrel must be punished!
His reputation was already ruined before he even arrived.
His only useful skill was medicine, but medicine is for treating illnesses. He was willing to pay for his own treatment, no matter the cost.
However, when it came to paying for others' treatment, well, sorry, they couldn't, and wouldn't!
If they could forcefully requisition grain, it wouldn't seem so difficult.
The key is that they dare not do so; once they offend someone, they can forget about promotion.
Why risk their lives for a few hundred coins a month!
The Jia, Xue, Shi, and Wang families were all gathered to discuss matters. The Jia family controlled a large amount of land outside the city; the Xue family, formerly imperial merchants, were still in business and had deep ties with Zhao Hou.
The Shi family had people in Chang'an serving as officials, and the Wang family controlled the city's garrison; they wielded considerable influence in Chang'an!
Currently, Lu Ming was the Governor of Liangzhou, and all affairs of Liangzhou were under his jurisdiction.
Chang'an belonged to the Jingzhao Yin, which was under the jurisdiction of the Sili Xiaowei Department.
It was under the same jurisdiction as Luoyang, only separated by Hangu Pass.
Logically, Lu Ming shouldn't have jurisdiction over Chang'an, which was the source of their confidence.
Besides the four major families, there were many other noble families here.
The relationships were intricate and complex, and even Yang Cong, here, managed things with extreme caution.
Things involving imperial relatives were generally not his concern.
Unless a particularly serious case occurred, ordinary acts of bullying and oppression were simply ignored.
Chang'an had long been divided up; even the emperor himself would find it difficult to touch this piece of the pie.
That day, Yang Cong summoned the heads of the city's powerful families and noble families to the prefect's residence to discuss countermeasures.
"Gentlemen," Yang Cong said, "I've gathered you all here today to discuss disaster relief in Anding County. This plague is particularly severe; if it can't be contained, it could easily spread to Chang'an, causing widespread devastation and countless deaths. Minister Yuan's intention is for each of us to contribute money and supplies to mitigate the disaster. Governor Lu Ming of Liangzhou is in charge of disaster management; he's a trusted minister of His Majesty and also the son-in-law of the emperor. What do you all think?" Yang Cong knew that this was actually a ploy to deal with the Yuan family; how much money they could contribute was completely irrelevant to him.
"My former Eastern Prince's residence will contribute one thousand coins," said Liu Long, the former Eastern Prince, the first to express his support. But one thousand coins probably wouldn't even buy a few kilograms of rice!
Prices in Chang'an had already skyrocketed, especially for grain; even with money, it was difficult to buy much.
What to do if you can't afford rice?
Sell yourself into slavery!
This had happened many times before, so very few commoners could survive in Chang'an. Those who were truly impoverished were eliminated immediately; they either had to leave Chang'an or starve to death in the city.
"My former Western Prince's Mansion will offer 1,100 copper coins!" Liu Po, the former Western Prince, was the second to step forward, offering 100 copper coins more. It seemed like a lot, but it was actually a blatant insult.
"I'll offer 1,200 copper coins!"
"I'll offer 1,000 copper coins!"
It was like a bustling marketplace, with everyone vying for attention. So many nobles and powerful figures were only offering such a meager amount—truly a testament to the saying: "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the streets, frozen corpses lie."
Even Yang Cong, with his good temper, was somewhat embarrassed and angry. This was simply an insult!
"Gentlemen, this time His Majesty has issued an edict, entrusting the Governor of Liangzhou with full authority, and the Ministry of Personnel has also given its approval. Whatever he decides to do in Chang'an, I cannot stop him. Everything is for disaster relief; you must all think this through carefully. This is an order from His Majesty and the Minister of Personnel; it cannot be taken lightly!"
Every word revolved around the Yuan family, aiming to discredit them.
Ideally, they would disrupt the cooperation between some aristocratic families and the Yuan family, forcing them to align with the Yang family.
To damage the Yuan family's reputation and prestige, and elevate the Yang family's.
With such a prominent family, the benefits enjoyed as a member would also increase.
As for disaster relief?
That was truly not within Yang Cong's considerations!