A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

One day, he told the eunuch beside him that he dreamed of several thousand wooden figures holding sticks and trying to attack him.

They exhibit physical discomfort and mental confusion.

Jiang Chong felt the time was ripe, so he wrote to Emperor Wu of Han, saying that Emperor Wu's illness was caused by someone using witchcraft.

Jiang Chong was the first to jump out.

Emperor Wu of Han quietly added Jiang Chong to the list of those to be killed, and then ordered Jiang Chong to investigate the matter in secret.

Jiang Chong then led the Hu people's sorcerers to dig out witchcraft and arrested a large number of people who claimed to be able to see ghosts.

They even considered directly punishing these people, but Emperor Wu of Han stopped them.

He didn't care about the lives or deaths of these people, but now he was still in a state of excitement after being fooled by Wei Sheng.

I don't think that sage kings like Yu the Great or Tang of Shang would just ignore the wrongful deaths of their people.

So he told Jiang Chong that he felt these people were just the surface, and there must be deeper people behind them that needed to be explored.

We must not alert the enemy.

Let Jiang Chong investigate further.

Jiang Chong felt that this was exactly what he wanted.

After investigation, someone was sent to claim that there was an aura of witchcraft in the harem.

Emperor Wu of Han had nightmares, felt unwell, and experienced memory loss during this period, all because of this.

According to these sorcerers, the aura of witchcraft was found in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace and the Empress's Jiaofang Palace.

Marquis Han Shuo, Imperial Censor Zhang Gai, Palace Attendant Su Wen, Li Guangli, Chancellor Liu Quli, some ministers close to Confucianism, and some ambitious princes' spies in the court all submitted memorials demanding a thorough investigation.

Taking advantage of the fact that these people had all come forward, Emperor Wu of Han prepared to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Just then, he saw the murderous intent in Crown Prince Liu Ju's eyes.

An idea suddenly popped into my head.

He wanted to see how much of his decisiveness his son had inherited.

Does he have the ability to secure the throne?

After all, even if his merits were sufficient, he would still ascend to heaven and become the Heavenly Emperor.

The world will eventually be ruled by the crown prince.

"Your Highness, is there anything you wish to say?"

Emperor Wu of Han asked the Crown Prince.

"Your Majesty, I believe that all the ministers who have stepped forward today should be executed!"

Crown Prince Liu Ju's tone was filled with murderous intent, a side of him that Emperor Wu of Han had never seen before.

"Oh? They accused you of using witchcraft to curse the emperor and father. Are you killing them now because you feel guilty?"

Emperor Wu of Han questioned him.

"That's not the case."

Liu Ju shook his head.

"If they were only targeting me, that would be one thing. But they absolutely shouldn't be targeting the Empress Dowager."

"My mother gave birth to me, raised me, and taught me with great care."

"Father, you are very busy with state affairs. Mother, she can be both father and mother."

"Everything the Empress Dowager did during her decades in power is evident to all."

"Her relationship with her father is extraordinary, stronger than gold; how could she endure such an insult?"

"I have always believed that I should treat my ministers with benevolence and virtue, but now it seems that blindly being benevolent and virtuous will only lead to them becoming more and more wicked."

"Since that's the case, I might as well follow my father's example and act with benevolence while practicing tyranny."

Emperor Wu of Han was very pleased with Liu Ju's change.

However, the reason left Emperor Wu of Han somewhat disappointed.

Compared to him, Liu Ju was closer to his mother.

"Then this matter will be left to you to investigate, uncover the truth behind it, and clear your and your mother's names."

Li Guangli and the others turned deathly pale; Emperor Wu's reaction was completely unexpected.

Shouldn't Emperor Wu of Han have been blinded by the witchcraft accusations, unable to distinguish right from wrong, and instead unleashed a reign of terror?!

How can he be so calm?!

Emperor Wu of Han's recent actions were clearly under control!

They never imagined that their scheme had already been seen through by the Wei family, who had preemptively nipped the possibility in the bud.

A Han emperor who remained calm and unafraid of the crown prince's power struggle was extremely formidable.

Emperor Wu of Han, in particular, felt that once he had completed the test set by Heaven, he would ascend to Heaven and become emperor.

It's time to pave the way for Taizipu.

If that's the case, then the so-called anti-crown prince forces are no longer necessary.

Liu Ju directly ordered people to arrest all these people in the court and imprison them, and to conduct separate trials.

They were also told that if their testimonies did not match up with those of others, they would be charged with treason.

This was used to force them to tell the truth.

Since no one knew whether the others had already told the whole story, they had no choice but to tell the whole story to avoid being left out as one of the few.

Besides key figures such as Li Guangli and Jiang Chong.

They knew they were going to die anyway, so they would fight to the bitter end.

However, Liu was able to piece together the truth of the matter based on the testimonies of others.

Especially after he directly ordered Du Zhou to severely torture these people.

Du Zhou had already grasped Emperor Wu's meaning in the court and knew that the crown prince's ascension to the throne was a foregone conclusion.

Naturally, they obeyed the crown prince's orders without question, as a way of currying favor.

So he used all sorts of tricks to successfully pry open Su Wen's mouth.

Then he personally went to search for evidence and presented it and the testimonies to Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Liu Ju took these pieces of evidence and testimonies to Emperor Wu of Han, but Emperor Wu simply waved his hand and entrusted the whole matter to him.

After Liu Ju came out of the palace, he hesitated for a moment.

This was the first time he had made such a huge decision, one that could potentially cost tens of thousands of lives.

But thinking about the schemes and plots mentioned in the testimony, if they succeed, what terrible fate would befall him, his mother, his mother's family, and his children?

Thinking about this, his heart hardened.

He directly ordered Du Zhou to arrest the person and sentence him according to the law.

"If all are sentenced, their entire families will be exterminated."

Du Zhou replied.

"Act in accordance with the law."

Liu Ju turned his back, his hands trembling slightly, but he still spoke without hesitation.

"promise."

As a result, all of these people were executed along with their entire clans.

Only the fifth prince and the sixth prince, Liu Fuling, were spared because of their royal bloodline.

Those feudal lords implicated were also stripped of their thrones and demoted to commoners.

The name of Liu Ju, the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty, resounded throughout the land.

No one dared to underestimate this once benevolent but now ruthless Crown Prince anymore.

After Emperor Wu of Han entrusted this matter to Liu Ju, Empress Wei Zifu no longer had any contact with anyone outside the palace.

Only after everything was over did he happily bring Liu Ju to the palace and personally cook Liu Ju's favorite meal.

At the same time, he comforted his son, who had gone on a killing spree, and calmed the turmoil in his heart.

Emperor Wu of Han also took the opportunity to visit the Jiaofang Palace and enjoy the long-awaited meal cooked by Empress Wei Zifu herself.

It was a rare occasion for the three of them to sit down and eat together after so many years, and to have some heartfelt conversations.