Transmigrating into Murong Fu, may you have many children and much happiness.

Chapter 228 The Fate of Jiang Biehe and His Son, Juntian

Last night, Murong Fu spotted Jiang Biehe before he even entered the manor.

But wanting to see what this hypocrite was up to, they didn't seize him at the beginning.

Now that Jiang Biehe's life and death were in his hands, he naturally asked Jiang Biehe whether he wanted to live or die.

Jiang Biehe knew that Jiang Qin's identity had been exposed, and that she had been captured and had her martial arts sealed by these people, so it was unlikely that she would leave alive.

He then asked in a deep voice, "What if you want to live, or what if you want to die?"

Is there really no room for maneuver? Jiang has truly been wronged.

Murong Fu didn't want to waste time arguing with him, and coldly said, "If you want to die, there's no need to say more. If you want to live, you can have a sword fight with me."

I don't use internal energy; I rely solely on sword techniques.

If you win, I live; if you lose, you die...

Before Murong Fu could finish speaking, Yan Nantian said, "Brother Murong, let me have a match with this scoundrel."

At this moment, I, Yan, am without martial arts skills, but I still know sword techniques, enough to cut off his dog's head!

Upon hearing Murong Fu's words, Jiang Biehe's heart sank, knowing that he might not be able to leave alive today.

The other party challenged him to a sword duel, but his martial arts were sealed, while the other party could use his inner energy at any time. It was an unfair fight, and if the other party had the upper hand, he could have killed him directly.

However, if Murong Fu's sword skills are weaker than his own, he can immediately use his internal energy to kill him.

This is him projecting his own experience onto others, because if it were him, he would do the same thing after saying such a thing.

When he heard Yan Nantian challenge him to a sword duel, he was ready to go all out. Yan Nantian's old injuries had not yet healed, and he had practiced diligently for many years. Although his martial arts were sealed, it was still better than Yan Nantian's martial arts being crippled.

So Jiang Biehe thought of using Yan Nantian as a scapegoat.

But then he turned to look at Zhang San Niang and the others. With so many experts present, even if he defeated Yan Nantian, he probably wouldn't be able to kill them.

A thousand thoughts flashed through Jiang Biehe's mind. Then, the two drew their swords, and in three moves, Yan Nantian disarmed them, piercing their hearts and killing them.

As it turns out, Jiang Biehe was overthinking things.

Even if Yan Nantian had no martial arts skills, he still couldn't last three moves against Yan Nantian.

After all, he was once the greatest swordsman in the world, and his skills had reached the level of "no moves are better than moves".

As Jiang Biehe lay bleeding on the ground, all he could see were the people in front of him, all rejoicing at his death.

Jiang Feng's son then took out his sword and stabbed him several more times, causing his memories and intuition to fade away even faster...:

Jiang Biehe is dead. Decades of scheming and plotting, and a chivalrous persona built over a decade, have all vanished into thin air.

When Xiaoyuer and Yan Nantian saw him dead, they didn't feel much joy. With the villain dead, the lives of those he had harmed would also be spared.

They dragged Jiang Biehe out and burned him, leaving his ashes unattended and discarded.

Jiang Biehe is dead, but the matter is not over. Jiang Biehe's identity as a chivalrous hero remains, but he can no longer be allowed to continue deceiving the world and stealing fame.

Moreover, they suspected that Jiang Qin had been posing as a saint all these years, but must have been doing many shady things behind the scenes.

Then they would expose it.

So Yan Nantian used his identity to announce to the world that Jiang Biehe was Jiang Qin, who had once been a servant of Yulang Jiang Feng, but later betrayed his master for money.

He even deceived the world and stole a reputation, earning the title of "Great Hero of Jiangnan".

The message was also delivered to Daoist Shenxi and others, informing them that Jiang Biehe was indeed Jiang Qin and had been executed.

Yan Nantian needed to rest due to health reasons, so Xiaoyuer went back to the martial world without hesitation.

Before leaving, Xiaoyuer looked at Tie Xinlan, Zhang Jing, and the others, but none of them wanted to go with him. They all stayed around Murong Fu.

Little Fish's mind was clear. When he first left the Valley of Villains, he was all alone and relaxed, which was good.

He then left Jiuxiu Manor to continue his journey through the martial world.

A few days later, Jiang Yulang, who was gradually recovering, still hadn't seen Jiang Biehe return. After thinking about it, he figured that Jiang Biehe was probably doing something important.

Jiang Biehe left him enough money to live on for a long time, and he also had his own private property. After recovering about 70-80% of his health, he left the inn.

But then he heard rumors of his father's death and that he was a treacherous traitor.

Jiang Yulang naturally knew his father's character and believed the rumors that he was a wicked servant who betrayed his master.

However, there are doubts about his death.

They say evil people live a thousand years, but how could someone whose father is so wicked really die so easily?

Without hesitation, he chose to abscond with the money rather than search for his father's whereabouts.

But on the way, he discovered something terrible: his calf had fallen off.

It turns out that this was caused by the medicine that Murong Fu prescribed for him.

Murong Fu, a master of medicine who had also read the Sunflower Manual, happened to meet Jiang Yulang and experimentally prescribed this medicine.

Soon after, it was used to perform castration on eunuchs in the Tianlong World Palace. As long as they drank enough doses, the ox would wither and fall to the ground naturally, like leaves and fruits.

It's safe, painless, and can even strengthen your body.

This greatly lowered the threshold for becoming a eunuch, since in the past, the procedure involved cutting with a knife, which was extremely risky, with about a 50% chance of death.

Just when Jiang Yulang was in despair, things took a turn for the better: Xiao Mimi found him again.

Xiao Mimi was in a bad mood ever since all the concubines in her underground palace were poisoned and Jiang Yulang went missing.

But she is, after all, the irresistibly charming Xiao Mimi. If she loses a man, she can just seduce another. She's already tired of this batch.

In just half a month, he lured more than a dozen lecherous men who were somewhat good-looking.

She burst into laughter after hearing that Jiang Biehe's true colors as a hypocrite had been exposed.

Unexpectedly, they encountered Jiang Biehe's beastly son, Jiang Yulang, the concubine who had run away.

Xiao Mimi hated him to the core, but when she noticed that his appearance had improved considerably after he left her, she decided to cook him first and then kill him.

Jiang Yulang's martial arts skills were no match for Xiao Mimi's, and he was easily subdued, just like the first time he was captured.

Ignoring Jiang Yulang's struggles, Xiao Mimi tore his pants, revealing his smooth and flat lower body.

"You think you're so great?"

"I don't know!"

Jiang Yulang then tearfully recounted what happened after he drank Murong Fu's medicine.

"That Murong Fu, that divine doctor... he said I should drink the medicine properly and it would get better later, but I didn't expect... I didn't expect it to fall off directly."

Xiao Mimi laughed and said, "Actually, the aphrodisiacs I gave you before were prescribed by him."

Jiang Yulang was then taken back to the palace by Xiao Mimi.

An empress should indeed have a eunuch by her side...

Upon returning to the world of Tianlong, Murong Fu discovered that the officials had already been reorganized.

As the saying goes, feudal dynasties never lacked officials; if you didn't take the job, there would always be plenty of others to do it.

Of the more than two thousand officials imprisoned, several hundred were executed.

Moreover, the charges were all collected by the Sunflower Guard, concerning their corruption and abuse of power since taking office.

In fact, this evidence had been collected long ago, but it had never been used.

The emperor is not afraid of corrupt officials; he has not punished them simply because the time is not yet right.

When it comes time to decide how many heads need to be taken to stabilize public opinion, the evidence will naturally be released, followed by public beheadings.

The people believed that these corrupt officials had misled the emperor, but at this moment the emperor distinguished between the loyal and the treacherous and punished the corrupt officials.

The confiscated property then filled the national treasury.

Three birds with one stone.

Of course, there were also a very small number of honest officials who were convinced that the Zhao family was the legitimate successor of the Song Dynasty, while Murong Fu was a usurper and a treacherous villain.

Murong Fu developed some patience for these upright and honest officials who were not greedy.

But I also know that not being greedy doesn't mean being a good official. Some people just prefer fame to money and are simply seeking recognition and praise.

So Murong Fu took some time to gather these honest officials together. He found a farmhouse not far from the prison, where he allowed these convicted officials who had been tortured to temporarily remove their chains, take a bath, change their clothes, and have a hearty meal.

Then she sat quietly on the rows of neat benches in the courtyard.

A short while later, Murong Fu walked in.

Upon learning that this was the current emperor, they were immediately enraged and began shouting curses.

"Traitor!"

"Give me back my Song Dynasty!"

"I'll fight you to the death!!"

Scholars are skilled at indirect insults, but their outbursts of profanity when they are emotionally charged are as childish as a child's.

Murong Fu didn't care at all, but instead calmly said, "Quiet."

The voice, however, rang out like thunder in the ears of every disgraced official.

The scene immediately fell silent.

Murong Fu didn't waste any more words and said:

"We have invited you here today to verify that none of you forty-odd people have embezzled funds."

However, those who are not corrupt are not necessarily good officials; they may just be people who seek fame and fortune.

But I am willing to clarify the details for you. If you are willing to assist me, that would be best.

Those unwilling to serve may resign and retire. Even for honest officials, even foolish ones, I am willing to offer them a way out.

Murong Fu's silence stunned them, leaving them speechless. He then continued:

Mencius said: "The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important."

Therefore, one who gains the support of the common people becomes the Son of Heaven; one who gains the support of the Son of Heaven becomes a feudal lord; one who gains the support of a feudal lord becomes a high official...

This world belongs to the people, not to any Zhao family.

My acquisition of the throne was the choice of the people, and even more so, the choice of history...

.

Then, Murong Fu recounted the Thucydides Trap and the patterns of dynastic rise and fall that he had learned in his previous life.

"A newly rising great power will inevitably challenge the existing great power, and the existing great power will inevitably respond to this threat, thus making war inevitable."

The Warring States period in ancient times, and the present-day Song, Liao, and Western Xia dynasties... were all like this.

Once war breaks out, countless civilians will die, blood will flow for miles, and corpses will be everywhere.

But I have a way to turn these countries into one great country without losing a single soldier.

From the Bohai Sea in the east to the Himalayas in the west...

No, it will be even bigger and wider, connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and even extending to new continents overseas....:

By this time, the ministers below the stage had recovered and were able to speak again.

Some ministers were captivated by Murong Fu's grand vision. Expanding territory has always been considered the greatest achievement of a monarch and his ministers; how could they not yearn for it?

One of the elderly men, who looked quite fierce and had a single, prominent eyebrow, said:

"Thief! Don't try to fool us, how could this possibly happen?"

Murong Fu said calmly, "Heh, how do you think I became emperor?"

Tong Guan, who was standing to the side, immediately chimed in: "Your Majesty's martial arts are the best in the world. You have reached the level of a martial arts grandmaster. You can walk in the air and slaughter thousands of troops."

Haha, if you don't understand martial arts, don't come out and embarrass yourself.

Have you heard of the thousands of imperial guards who were killed or wounded in Bianjing?

His Majesty killed him in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

Crushing you all is as easy as crushing ants.

Some of the officials knew that martial arts masters could indeed appear and disappear without a trace, and could even take the head of an enemy general amidst a vast army.

But they were still puzzled by Tong Guan's claim that one person could wipe out an entire army.

But a sliver of belief also began to form in my heart.

Some officials, in particular, had high expectations for the unification that Murong Fu spoke of.

Murong Fu then said:

"Its rise was swift, its fall was sudden..."

In the end, dynasties all suffer from land annexation. The rich own vast tracts of land, while the poor have nowhere to stand. When disaster strikes and the people can no longer survive, someone raises a flag and shouts a call to arms!

Millions of refugees and disaster victims turned into bandits and thieves, marching into the imperial city of Bianjing, killing you, and seizing your property.

Then land was given to the people until... the land was merged again.

But I have a way to escape this cycle of rise and fall...

Those who wish to resign can leave now; if they don't leave now, they won't be able to leave after hearing this."

The officials listened attentively to Murong Fu's explanation, and they were also very eager to know what this method was.

They were well aware of the drawbacks of land annexation, a well-worn topic, but no feasible solution had been found. Many officials continued to advocate for the restoration of the Zhou rites... but how could they be restored? It was all just empty talk.

They looked at each other and whispered to each other for a while, but none of them were willing to leave.

Murong Fu nodded and instructed Tong Guan to remove the soldiers and eunuchs from the courtyard.

He then said, "That means land will no longer be privately owned."

"Equal distribution of land throughout the land!"

These words sparked even more discussion among the officials. They naturally understood what "equal distribution of land" meant.

The equal-field system originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty and was inherited by the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It sounded good because it could prevent land annexation, but it ultimately failed.

There are many reasons for this. One is that while the system sounds good, it was never fully implemented. Even in the Guanzhong region, where it was implemented best, only about one-third of the male population was able to receive land.

Secondly, the equal distribution of land was a means, not an end. Feudal monarchs didn't actually care whether the people were doing well; they only wanted to win over the people and restore production when establishing a dynasty.

Thirdly, because the equal-field system was divided into permanent land that could be bought and sold and allotted land that could not be transferred or sold, nobles had a large amount of private land, which could not be taken back to the public.

Although those public fields were nominally owned by the state, they were ultimately annexed just like private land due to the combined effects of power monopoly, institutional corruption, and land scarcity.

Those who profit from the country's wealth have become the true thieves who undermine the nation's foundation...

But Murong Fu was not afraid, because he had a knife in his hand, a sharp knife that could cut off the necks of any corrupt official!

The truth lies in the principle of the knife!