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

He couldn't very well say that his son was incompetent in front of the emperor and all the high-ranking officials.

If you say that, wouldn't that be admitting that you don't know how to raise your son, even though one of your tyrannical sons has already been exposed?

If he can't even educate his other sons properly, what kind of King of Liang is he? How can the court believe that he can govern the entire Liang Kingdom well?

He could only reply, "My fifth son is unruly, while the other three are all of pure and kind nature, benevolent and filial, and the brothers live in harmony."

"If that's the case, how could the King of Liang be so cruel?"

King Liang's puzzled face.jpg

"Harsh? When have I ever been harsh?"

"King Liang himself said that his three sons were all of pure and good character, kind and filial, and the brothers were harmonious. However, King Liang only established the crown prince and abandoned the other princes. A hundred years later, the crown prince inherited the throne, and the other princes had no ancestral temples or blood offerings, and they became just ordinary people."

"Isn't the King of Liang being harsh?"

Wei Qing said with a smile.

Liu Wu was speechless.

"Could it be that the King of Liang also intends to petition His Majesty to divide the Liang Kingdom into five, with each of the five sons becoming heirs, each establishing their own kingdom, setting up altars and ancestral temples, and implementing the Edict of Grace?"

"In that case, I misunderstood King Liang. I apologize to King Liang."

As Wei Qing spoke, he sincerely apologized to King Liang.

King Liang had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill and say, "That is exactly what I was thinking. I beg Your Majesty to personally bestow a fief upon my son."

Emperor Jing of Han was triumphant. The strongest state, Liang, had submitted, and it seemed that other states would soon be divided up and no longer have any influence on the court.

"The Crown Prince of Liang is of noble character and is the eldest son of the legitimate wife. He should inherit half of the Liang Kingdom’s fiefdom, so the 24 counties surrounding the capital of Liang Kingdom will be his fiefdom."

"The other four princes."

Emperor Jing of Han paused for a moment. He had also received a letter from Chao Cuo, which detailed the relationship between Liu Mai and Liu Bushi, and he felt a deep empathy for them.

"The second son, Liu Ming, was enfeoffed as the King of Jichuan, with the fiefdom of Jichuan, which included six counties near Dingtao."

"Liu Pengli, the third son, was enfeoffed as the King of Jiaodong, with the fiefdom of Jiaodong, which included six counties near Rencheng."

"The fourth son, Liu Ding, was enfeoffed as the King of Shanyang, with the fiefdom of Shanyang, which included six counties near Changyi."

"Liu Bushi, the fifth son, was enfeoffed as the King of Jiyin, with the fiefdom of Jiyin. The remaining six counties of Liang should have been given to him, but because of his tyrannical nature, only the land of Jiyin was retained, and the other five counties were given to his elder brother, the heir apparent Liu Mai."

The King of Liang turned pale and ashen; he had suffered a great loss but still had to thank Emperor Jing of Han.

His youngest son, whom he loved most dearly, only received a county-level fief.

He didn't know how to face his son after he got back.

"Your Highness thanks me for your kindness."

Liu Wu turned and glared fiercely at Wei Qing, "I wonder how many sons the Grand Minister of Agriculture has?"

"Two sons."

Wei Qing smiled slightly, already knowing what Liu Wu wanted to do.

"Would the Grand Minister of Agriculture be willing, after his death, to follow the precedent of the Edict of Grace and divide his title and estate equally among his two sons?"

When Liu Wu uttered these words amidst the shock of the court officials, everyone's gaze towards him changed, becoming fiery and filled with murderous intent.

Liu Wu shivered; for some reason, his back felt a little cold.

"There is nothing wrong with that."

Wei Qing nodded slightly, glancing around the court until he saw that Liu Wu had severed ties with the world this time.

He proposed that the Edict of Grace was only aimed at the Liu clan princes, and that it was for the sake of the Liu dynasty's rule. Only some of the Liu clan princes would hate him to the core.

However, Liu Wu's words were tantamount to him, as the King of Liang, forcing all the powerful families to divide their property equally. If this continued, the powerful families would become powerless within a few generations.

Even Wei Qing wouldn't dare to do this, as it would absolutely cause chaos throughout the land.

But King Liang, that simpleton, did it. He did it in front of all the ministers in the court, openly and honestly, without being forced by anyone. He voluntarily stood against all the powerful families, landlords, rich peasants, and all classes in the world.

One man facing the world!

This is more than just courage!

Fortunately, Emperor Jing of Han still had his senses. He coughed lightly and said, "The Prince of Liang is not feeling well today. Please don't take his words to heart."

"Is Your Majesty going to protect the Wei family? Where is justice?"

King Liang was displeased. He had suffered such a great loss; how could he possibly see Wei Qing, the instigator, doing well?

Emperor Jing of Han's face twitched. Who was he going to protect?

Looking at the foolish face of the Prince of Liang, and recalling the things he had done to fool his stupid younger brother, Emperor Jing of Han still felt a little soft-hearted and reminded him, "If the Wei family wants to do something, what will the other ministers think? What will their sons think?"

At that time, the sons of other ministers will definitely hope that their families will do the same, so as to inherit their family's wealth.

The households of all the ministers will be thrown into chaos, greatly affecting the stability of the Han Dynasty.

On the contrary, it's a good thing for the Wei family. The Wei family's power is too strong now, so separating is a good thing for them.

Even the powerful Wei family wouldn't dare to point out this, but now that King Liang has revealed it, the Wei family certainly won't hesitate to go along with it.

However, when that time comes, his foolish younger brother will be doomed, facing the wrath of all the powerful families in the world.

But the King of Liang was a simpleton. He couldn't understand the meaning behind Emperor Jing's words at all.

Then let all the ministers in the land implement the Edict of Grace. How can such a good policy not be promoted throughout the land?

Emperor Jing of Han gasped in shock. He hadn't expected the King of Liang to be so audacious as to say such a thing.

Now that King Liang has said it, there's no going back.

"Everyone heard it, the Grand Minister of Agriculture has agreed to separate the households."

"The assembled officials of the court are witnesses to this matter."

At this moment, an imperial censor stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "I wish to impeach the Prince of Liang."

"The Prince of Liang has remained in the capital without imperial decree, which is contrary to the Han dynasty's system. We urge Your Majesty to punish the Prince of Liang and send him back to his fiefdom."

Upon hearing this, many ministers in the court stood up to echo his sentiments and requested Emperor Jing of Han to punish the King of Liang.

King Liang was completely bewildered. What was going on? Why were so many people suddenly impeaching him? Had he committed some heinous crime?!

He is still unaware that he has offended all the powerful and influential families in the world.

"The King of Liang did not stay in the capital by imperial decree. He was punished by being confined in the Liang royal palace for one year and his salary was reduced by three years. He was ordered to return to the Liang kingdom immediately."

"I refuse to submit! I refuse to submit!" King Liang shouted.

However, Emperor Jing of Han ignored him and instead ordered his guards to quickly remove the man to prevent him from being beaten to death here.

Didn't you see that group of military officers' eyes were already blazing with fury, and they were all rubbing their fists together, ready to attack at any moment?

The Han Dynasty court was not as harmonious as the Song Dynasty court; it was quite normal for violence to break out at the drop of a hat.

If so many generals were to take action and kill the King of Liang, it would be unclear who was truly ruthless, or if all of them were. The law does not punish the many, and Emperor Jing of Han would not execute so many generals for the sake of the King of Liang.