Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 426

"Since the General is determined to move the capital, how dare we disobey? However, may His Majesty and his officials return to Jiankang to settle things?" At this moment, Sima Shangzhi, the most prestigious and eldest member of the Sima family, stepped forward.

"No need for such trouble. There's no better time than today. Everyone, head north first, and your families and valuables can board the ships later." Liu Daogui waved his hand, and Liu Damu led his naval forces directly onto all the ships, taking control of the imperial navy and imperial guards.

Since they've already come all this way, we definitely can't let them go back.

It's not that I'm afraid they'll rebel, but I don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

The more cautious you are with things like this, the better. Back then, Sima Zhao orchestrated a public regicide, which has left the Jin Dynasty unable to straighten its spine even now.

Even Dong Zhuo knew to depose the emperor first, and then poison him.

Liu Daogui didn't care whether the Sima family members lived or died, but it would be bad if someone secretly caused trouble and splattered him with their blood.

The civil and military officials around the emperor looked ashen-faced, but not one dared to voice any opposition.

Liu Daogui felt contempt. The best way to deal with them was not to use their methods of deception and trickery, but to be straightforward and direct, which would be more effective.

During the Five Barbarian Invasions, the barbarians never tried to reason with us.

The weakness of aristocratic families is inherent.

"Your Majesty, please!" Liu Daogui pointed to his warship.

Sima Dezong stood there dumbfounded, like a blade of grass, being supported by Sima Dewen.

Sima Dewen remained unmoved, Sima Dezong remained unmoved, and neither did the civil and military officials.

It seems to be a silent form of resistance.

Liu Daogui sneered, "Bring him here!"

The Tiger Guards brought forward a group of criminals, including Wang Jian, who had confronted Liu Daogui a few days earlier.

Yuan He unfolded a file and read aloud: "Upon investigation, it was found that Wang Jian, the Prefect of Langya, had seized 81,470 mu of fertile land and sheltered 3,573 households of displaced people. His sons and nephews had committed 175 crimes, which were extremely heinous. According to the law, he should be executed."

No one can withstand scrutiny; none of these prominent families are clean. Even if one or two are virtuous, they cannot prevent their offspring from committing misdeeds.

While the aristocratic families may have some merits, the essence of high-ranking families is actually oppression. Without oppressing ordinary people, the superiority of the high-ranking families cannot be demonstrated...

This is instinct, and human nature, just like a cat will always steal fish.

The soldiers pinned more than 300 prisoners down on the riverbank, amidst cries and pleas for mercy.

"Does Xie Sima have any objections?" Liu Daogui looked at Xie Yu and threw a series of accusations at him.

Xie Yu quickly picked it up, "General...the punishment was fair..."

"Execute him!" Liu Daogui waved his hand.

The soldiers' long swords fell, and more than three hundred heads rolled into the river.

The faces of the civil and military officials grew increasingly grim. Born in a gentle, watery region, they rarely witnessed such a bloody scene in their lives.

The Langya Wang clan came to an end, and all of its more than one thousand able-bodied members were exiled to the south.

Liu Yu had spared them once before, but as it turned out, these people did not learn their lesson and tried every means to retaliate.

"I don't want to repeat myself. Please board the ship." Liu Daogui placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and scanned the crowd.

Whoever's gaze falls upon, that person lowers their head.

In the 150-year history of the Jin Dynasty, not a single person possessed integrity.

In Cao Wei, there was also Cao Mao who drew his sword, mounted his carriage, and stormed out of the palace, determined to fight the Sima family to the death.

Almost all of the generals and officials of the second generation of Shu Han died for their country. Shu Han had already perished, but Jiang Wei was still fighting alone, hoping that the sun and moon would shine again after being dark, and that the country would be restored to peace after being in danger.

Even in Eastern Wu, Zhang Ti, Shen Ying, Lu Yan, Lu Jing, and others died in battle.

When the northern kingdom fell, the Empress of the Sima family threw herself into the arms of the Hu people. Emperor Huai, Sima Chi, and Emperor Min, Sima Ye, served wine to Liu Cong and held the toilet lid for him, enduring all kinds of humiliation, just to survive, but they were still poisoned by the Hu people...

After the empire fell into the hands of the Sima family, each generation became worse than the last. They were arrogant and scheming in ordinary times, but when it came to a crisis, there wasn't even one person who dared to speak up for justice.

"Please!" Liu Huaimo and Liu Yiwu shouted.

Sima Dewen trembled and was the first to help Sima Dezong walk towards the ship.

Even Sima Shangzhi, who was standing next to him, was completely astonished.

Once the Emperor and the Prince of Langya made their move, the others naturally stopped holding out and silently followed behind.

Liu Daogui's gaze fell on Sima Shangzhi. "Could it be that the Prince of Qiao intends to emulate Liu Chen, the Prince of Beidi of Shu Han?"

"General, you misunderstand. Your Excellency drove the barbarians north, saved the people from suffering, and restored the prestige of China. Your achievements are unparalleled throughout history, and the Jin Dynasty also relied on your restoration. I... dare not emulate Liu Chen, nor need I emulate him..."

Sima Shangzhi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He spoke so pleasantly that Liu Daogui felt embarrassed to continue targeting him. "In that case, please invite Prince Qiao to board the ship."

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Sima Shangzhi jogged up and caught up with the brothers Sima Dewen and Sima Dezong.

His comical appearance drew disdain from the Tiger Guard soldiers.

Everyone boarded the ship, and under the escort of more than a hundred warships, they sailed north in a grand procession.

“From today onwards, you shall return to your old residence in Jingkou and observe three years of mourning for your father.” Liu Daogui turned his gaze to Liu Yifu.

Liu Yifu's face darkened, "I..."

"You're unwilling?" Liu Daogui stared at him coldly.

Liu Yifu argued illogically, saying, "Emperor Jing once stipulated that mourning could be disregarded."

During the Battle of Dongxing between Wei and Wu, Sima Shi led an army of 150,000 men in three routes, but was defeated by generals such as Zhuge Ke and Ding Feng. The Wei army suffered heavy casualties. Sima Shi then ordered that funerals be simplified and that marriage and official appointments not be prohibited during the mourning period. During the Yongjia Rebellion, every household among the migrants who fled south experienced mourning. Wang Dun repeatedly cited this example and ordered that everything be simplified.

Wen Qiao also cited the invasion of the enemy as an excuse to avoid attending his mother's funeral, which aroused criticism from the court.

“Back then, the nation was in turmoil, but now the Northern Expedition has just been completed and the world is at peace. There is no need to seize the day. Where is Meng Ganzhi?” Liu Daogui felt a pang of sorrow. His words showed that he did not care about his father’s death at all.

When Liu Yu was alive, he doted on him, but now he's unwilling to even observe mourning...

Meng Ganzhi bowed and stepped forward, saying, "Your subordinate is here!"

"I will send fifty elite guards to escort Lord Song back to his old residence in Jingkou and protect him day and night. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you responsible."

“Yes, sir, Lord Song!” Meng Ganzhi said with a stern face.

"I am the Duke of Song, and the current Prime Minister. Who dares to give me orders!" Liu Yifu acted like a willful child.

However, his guards and clerks had already dispersed on their own.

Liu Daogui originally intended to first control him and sever his ties with the gentry, to observe the effects and save face for both sides. However, he did not expect that he could not see the situation clearly.

"From this day forward, your position as Prime Minister is hereby revoked!"

"You—" Liu Yifu's face was as white as paper, his hand gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The Tiger Guards blocked his way, but Liu Daogui pushed them aside and shouted sternly, "Draw your sword!"

Liu Yifu trembled all over, but dared not move his hand.

After so many years of fighting, there have been at least eight hundred to a thousand barbarians who have died directly at his hands. If a mere young upstart dares to draw his sword, Liu Daogui will look at him with more respect.

But after waiting for a long time, the sword was still not drawn, and he was unwilling to let go of it.

Liu Daogui was utterly disappointed in him. He stared at him for a long time, but didn't want to say a word. He sighed and turned to leave.

Only then did he hysterically roar from behind, "You've taken advantage of my misfortune to steal my family's property! If my father were still alive, would you dare to do this?"

There's no point in continuing to waste time talking to him.

Once these words were spoken, the last vestige of affection between uncle and nephew vanished.

Even when Liu Yu was alive, he wouldn't have dared to say that.

However, it's good that the truth has been revealed. Liu Daogui strode away, but Liu Huaisu couldn't stand it anymore and chased after him, saying, "Agui, Chebing is, after all, your own brother's son."

"If he weren't his elder brother's son, would he still be alive today?" Liu Daogui asked with unusual calm.

If it weren't for Liu Muzhi's quick thinking, he would have almost been humiliated by him today.

Liu Yu was a hero for his entire life, but he never expected that the successor he chose would be so foolish.

Even if Liu Yu were to come back to life, he still wouldn't win, let alone him.

Over the years, Liu Daogui has actually been making concessions in order to prevent his brothers from fighting each other.

Now it's become taking advantage of someone's misfortune and stealing their things...

Liu Huaisu was silent for a moment, then asked, "What are your plans for dealing with the chariot soldiers?"

"Could someone like him be the ruler of a country?"

Not only are they incompetent, but they also have big ambitions and can't even judge the situation.

If Liu Yifu treated his own uncle this way, one can only imagine how he treated Liu Huaisu.

Liu Daogui's tone calmed down, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king. The State of Song no longer has any reason to exist, and he is not worthy to be the Duke of Song. It is not necessarily a bad thing for him to be a rich old man and a playboy."

The State of Song encompassed the Jiangzuo region and Jiaoguang, with a territory similar to that of the Eastern Wu of that time.

After Liu Daogui moved the capital to Guanzhong, he certainly wouldn't allow another country to rise in the south, not even a fiefdom.

Liu Huaisu suddenly remarked, "You're starting to resemble an emperor more and more."

Liu Daogui did not deny it, saying, "There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers among the people. How can one maintain a stable rule if one is not ruthless?"

Once you've embarked on this path, you can no longer be soft-hearted.

Otherwise, it would harm both oneself and others.

Liu Huaisu looked serious and humble, as if he had become a different person. "I have been ill for the past two years. Since I was stationed in Guangling, I have often felt exhausted. Now that the general has settled the situation, I will definitely retire and enjoy my old age."

"Brother, why do this? The new dynasty is in dire need of capable people." Liu Daogui tried his best to persuade him to stay, guessing that Liu Yu had entrusted Liu Yifu and the Song state to him before his northern expedition.

Now that the State of Song is about to be abolished, he is disheartened.

However, Liu Daogui did not regret his decision. The State of Song was not a simple fiefdom; it had great influence in the Northern Army and was in cahoots with the powerful aristocratic families.

If left unchecked, the Jiangnan region will inevitably descend into chaos, and the north-south divide will continue.

Liu Yifu was being used and put in the lead without even realizing it.

"I have long had this intention. I have enjoyed wealth and honor over the years. With Huai Shen, Huai Jing, and Huai Mo, they are more than capable of assisting the General."

Liu Huaisu bowed respectfully and slowly withdrew.

Everyone has their own aspirations and cannot be forced.

"Take care, brother." Liu Daogui didn't try to stop him. On this road, some people will always leave silently or fall behind.

So-called emperors are inherently lonely figures.

(End of this chapter)