A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 46 The faint king
"Your Majesty, where are the imperial family ministers?"

"All of them were sent to Shanglin Garden for repairs."

Liu Che's voice was like a cold wind in the dead of winter, chilling Wuqiu Shouwang to the bone.

The imperial family members and ministers in the court mostly observed and discussed government affairs. There were probably several thousand of them. They had little money, few duties, and were of high status, so it was impossible for them to have accumulated 400,000 coins.

Wuqiu Shouwang couldn't help but think of a terrifying fact: perhaps from the very beginning, His Majesty had decided to cut off the supply of money and grain to the imperial clan in order to reduce the court's salary expenditure.

The White Deer Skin Coin was originally intended to "increase revenue," but His Majesty managed to find a way to "reduce expenditure."

Of course, the cost-cutting measures for members of the imperial clan were far less effective than those for military merit titles. "So, what should be done about military merit titles and stipends?"

"Let Zhang Tang, Zhao Yu, and Zheng Dang investigate and divide those who do not offer the White Deer Coin into five categories: First, those with one million coins will be sent to Shuofang County to guard the border; second, those with four hundred thousand coins will be sent to Kunming Lake to dredge sand; third, those with two hundred thousand coins will be sent to Shanglin Garden to feed the animals; fourth, those with ten thousand coins will be sent to Maoling to repair the mausoleum; and fifth, those with no money will be sent to Jianzhang Palace to build the four palaces." Liu Che said slowly.

The martial arts nobles are divided into five categories. The first and second categories are nominally officials, but in reality, they are forced into hard labor with no end in sight. The third, fourth, and fifth categories are indeed officials, but they are trapped in one place by the government and have little chance of escaping throughout their lives.

The fate of thousands of nobles of the Han Dynasty was decided from that moment on.

"Here."

The imperial edict was issued immediately.

The Court of Justice, the Imperial Household Department, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately took action to arrest princes, marquises, and ministers of the imperial clan who lacked proper etiquette, and to clean up the ranks of those who lacked military merit. The "new officials" were divided into five categories according to their family wealth. The weather was ominous, and as the messenger's horse galloped away, a thick sense of fear permeated the Han court and the countryside.

For a time, soldiers, criminals, and newly appointed officials flocked to the Great Han Straight Road, along with some weeping old people, women, and children who followed, making it feel like a bustling market in every place.

Some people watched the spectacle with a mixture of tension and curiosity, while shrewd merchants seized the opportunity to set up various stalls along the straight road. The poor and the rich alike had to eat and drink on this road, and to ensure a smooth journey, they even had to buy wine for the soldiers to curry favor.

Those who believe they are doomed to die will still have their relatives and clansmen prepare new clothes for them.

Within ten days, business boomed on both sides of the Great Han Road, especially fine wine and new clothes, which were in high demand and prices soared.

The marquises of the Han Dynasty shared weal and woe. Du Yan, the ancestor of the ten marquises, was also a man of outstanding military achievements. Under the severe punishment of death and extermination of the clan, people from all sides came and went mysteriously, and luxury carriages and fine horses shuttled back and forth in Chang'an every day.

Liu Ju was fully aware of the commotion outside, but he paid no attention to it, focusing instead on reviewing the identities of criminals and relevant records from various counties within the Northern Army.

All the nobles, meritorious officials, veterans, and local officials who came to seek an audience with Liu Ju not only failed to meet him, but also failed to meet Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.

Wei Qing appointed three clerks to receive these people. They accepted all the gifts, kept all the letters, and answered all their questions with the same sentence: "We will definitely report to the Crown Prince truthfully."

Within a few days, valuable gifts and secret letters filled a warehouse. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing could hardly believe that the Han nobles, who had always complained about being poor, actually had so many rare treasures.

More than anything, it was a sign of disdain for the dying King of Zhongshan and the Ten Marquises of Du Yan. At this point, why were they pulling out so much wealth? What were they doing during the White Deer Coin sacrifice?
An imperial edict was issued ordering the surrender of the Northern Army.

The Crown Prince was ordered to observe the execution ceremony at the execution ground.

Liu Ju, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing left the Northern Army and headed to the temporary execution ground on the grasslands of the Wei River.

Winter had already arrived, but there had been no snowfall in Guanzhong. That afternoon, the grasslands of the Wei River resembled a wilderness in the sweltering heat of summer. Not only Liu Ju had come, but most of the officials from the inner and outer courts had also arrived, and even all the prefects and magistrates of all the counties in the Han Dynasty had come here.

At noon, the moment of death is the time when Heaven chooses to kill. The sunlight is still scorching, and at the moment when extreme yang turns into yin, human life is punished by Heaven and is in accordance with the meaning of death. Therefore, the date, time and minute must not be wrong.

When the sun was high in the sky, Zhang Tang shouted, "Take the prisoners to the execution ground!"

A troop of Southern Army infantrymen, divided into two columns, escorted the long line of prisoners into the execution ground. The prisoners, dressed in reddish-brown coarse cloth clothes and trousers, with their hands and feet tied with thick hemp ropes, were strung together in groups of one hundred and slowly crawled toward the center of the execution ground.

Liu Ju and the officials of the inner and outer courts on the high ground remained silent. Although it was not the first time, everyone's heart trembled involuntarily every time they saw such a large group of "ochre-clad" people.

The prisoners in ochre robes were no longer arrogant and restless; they were all dejected and pale, only wriggling uncomfortably from wearing coarse linen clothes for the first time. At the very front were Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan, Liu Chang, the Crown Prince of Zhongshan, and Wang Dingguo, the Marquis of Duyan, along with ten other marquises, their heads, covered in gray hair and beards, trembling in the sunlight.

Each of their ancestors had fought on the battlefield between Chu and Han, shedding blood and risking their lives for the establishment of the Han Dynasty. Even now, they still have hope for life and believe that a miraculous pardon will come from Chang'an.

But when the red-turbaned, broadsword-wielding executioners entered the arena like a battlefield formation, all hope instantly turned into despair.

According to a Han proverb, a person who lives to forty is not considered to have died young. Now, Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan, who is over forty, has barely overcome his fear of death and stood up on his own.

"Your Highness, shouldn't we try to save him?" Wuqiu Shouwang asked as he approached Liu Ju.

The nearby nobles, marquises, generals, and members of the imperial family all pricked up their ears.

"Under the imperial edict, how can we save them?" Liu Ju said calmly.

“With Your Highness’s abilities, you can certainly save them if you want to, but if you don’t want to, these people will not survive,” said Prince Wuqiu Shou with a profound meaning.

A subtle change occurred in the eyes of some nobles and dignitaries. Yes, people could survive the execution.

Why didn't the crown prince save them?

"Has the Grand Master of Ceremonies and Attendant-in-Ordinary forgotten about the hunting grounds?"

"Your Highness is saying that the marquises, members of the royal family, and ministers are flattering the three kings of Qi, Yan, and Guangling, while neglecting the crown prince?"

"The Three Kings?"

Seeing that Wuqiu Shouwang was pretending to be confused, Liu Ju smiled and said, "I have forgotten. What I was talking about was the incident at the hunting grounds where two tigers fought and the little deer died first."

"Is this happening?"

"Yes, it happens right at the beginning of the hunt."

"Your Majesty, I am foolish and thank you for your understanding."

Wuqiu Shouwang finally understood that what the Crown Prince was referring to was the incident where His Majesty deliberately drove a herd of deer to the Crown Prince, shot one of the deer with an arrow, and then had it beheaded by the Crown Prince.

Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, is a tiger, while the marquises and nobles are like deer.

Those who act as accomplices to tigers will ultimately be killed by the tigers themselves. They would kill a tiger cub just as quickly, so why would they try to save it?

In this world, good people don't die, bad people don't die, only one kind of person dies: the foolish.

The nobles and relatives foolishly chose to side with the emperor, and their only fate was death.

The nobles and dignitaries looked embarrassed.

Suddenly, the execution ground erupted in chaos. Liu Sheng, the Prince of Zhongshan, stood up and shouted hoarsely, "Fellow clansmen, never forget that this tyrannical ruler deserves death for his crimes and disgrace! His perverse and tyrannical ways have not been reversed!"

Just shout.

He leaped up, aimed his throat at the tip of the wooden stake, and lunged diagonally. With a "thud," he died.

In an instant, the ten marquises of Du Yan roared and stood up, shouting in unison, "Shame on the tyrant! Remaining defiant!" They leaped up one after another, crashing into the tip of a wooden stake and dying.

Wuqiu Shouwang's expression changed. "Your Majesty, you've been defiled!"

(End of this chapter)