Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Noon, 3:45.

The sun was blazing overhead, but it couldn't dry the chilling cold in the air.

Caishikou, a place where notorious bandits and outlaws were once beheaded, was now packed with people.

The crowds were immense, shoulder to shoulder.

From high-ranking officials to ordinary peddlers, even women who usually stayed indoors couldn't help but open their windows or put on veils to peer into this direction from afar.

All eyes were fixed on the rows of kneeling prisoners on the execution platform.

Those people were once figures they could only look up to.

The Cui family of Boling, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang...

These gentry men, who were usually impeccably dressed and would even sprinkle water on the streets before going out, were now like livestock waiting to be slaughtered, bound hand and foot, kneeling on a rough wooden platform with disheveled hair.

Their brocade robes were torn to shreds, stained with mud and blood, and their mouths were stuffed with rags, sobbing and unable to make a sound.

But the fear in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Isn't that the head of a collateral branch of the Cui family? I went to him to beg for grain before, but I was beaten out by his lackeys before I even got through the gatekeeper's gate!"

A sallow-faced, emaciated man clenched his fists tightly, his eyes blazing with fury.

"These bastards! To force His Majesty to submit, they actually cut off our salt supply! My husband almost didn't make it!"

"Kill! Kill them!"

"What kind of bullshit family! What kind of thousand-year-old clan! They're all just bloodsucking ants!"

A burst of angry roars erupted from the crowd.

Rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and even muddy stones rained down on the execution platform.

The once high and mighty "gentry" are now seen by the common people as less than mud on the ground.

This is the effect Li Chengqian wanted.

To kill someone, you must also destroy their spirit.

He wanted the whole world to see that this so-called "noble bloodline" would still bleed red in the face of the butcher's knife, and that even if they lost their heads, they wouldn't survive!

On the execution platform.

Minister of Justice Li Daozong sat upright behind his desk and glanced at the sky.

It's noon.

He drew a command arrow from the divination tube; the red arrow was particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

"cut--!!!"

The command was given, and it was like a thunderclap.

A hundred bare-chested executioners suddenly took a mouthful of strong liquor and spat it onto the ghost-head broadsword.

A flash of cold light.

The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sickening whistling sound.

"Pfft—!"

"Pfft—!"

That was the sound of a sharp blade cutting into flesh and bone.

Dozens of heads rolled down almost simultaneously, and blood gushed into the sky like a fountain, staining half the sky red.

This single blow claimed more than just dozens of lives.

What it cut down was the mountain that had weighed on imperial power for thousands of years.

It shattered the insurmountable chasm in the hearts of children from poor families.

It struck even harder at the hearts of those remnants of aristocratic families who still harbored illusions!

in the crowd.

Several men dressed as woodcutters, but with fair skin, were now paralyzed with fear on the ground.

They were spies sent from their hometown in Shandong, originally wanting to see if there was any room for maneuver.

But now...

Looking at the head of the Cui family head, lying on the ground with his eyes wide open in death, and at the execution platform stained red with blood, a surge of heat uncontrollably flowed down their trouser legs.

I peed.

I was so scared I peed my pants on the spot.

"The world has changed... The world of the Tang Dynasty has truly changed..."

A scout muttered tremblingly, scrambling and crawling out of the crowd. He wanted to escape, to escape back to Shandong, to tell his family back home—

Never mess with that prince!

Never mess with the Li family!

What kind of benevolent and compassionate royal family is this? They're clearly a bunch of living devils in dragon robes!

The stench of blood on the execution ground assaulted everyone's senses.

The people were cheering and venting, as if they wanted to shout out all the grievances they had suffered over the past few months.

"Well done! Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise!"

"Long live the Great Tang Dynasty!"

Looking at the frenzied scene, Li Daozong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and felt extreme awe for the Crown Prince who was still sleeping soundly in the Eastern Palace.

That move was ruthless and brilliant.

Who would dare to use the people's livelihood to blackmail the court in the future?

These hundreds of heads are the best example!

"Someone, collect the body!"

Li Daozong slammed his gavel. "Take these corpses to the mass grave! No burial, no tombstones! Let them be wandering ghosts, repenting in the underworld!"

With the body dragged away, this public execution that shocked the world finally came to an end.

But for some people...

The revelry has only just begun.

In front of the Taiji Hall.

Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his back, listening to the cheers coming from afar, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you done killing them?"

"Your Majesty, we've killed them all," Wang De said, his head bowed and his voice trembling.

"it is good."

Li Shimin turned around and looked at the several once magnificent mansions in Chang'an City, whose gates were now wide open.

The Cui family, the Lu family, the Zheng family...

Those mansions concealed the wealth amassed by powerful families over centuries, wealth that rivaled that of a nation.

Now, the person is dead.

The money should go to the Lord.

"Dai Zhou!"

Li Shimin shouted.

"Your subject is here!"

Dai Zhou, the Minister of Revenue who had been waiting for a long time, jumped out like a spring.

The old man was dressed in a neat short-sleeved shirt today, with the cuffs tightly tied. He had an abacus at his waist and was carrying a large cloth bag in his hand. His dim old eyes were shining like searchlights, green and greedy like a hungry wolf.

"Your Majesty! I have been prepared for a long time!"

Dai Zhou was so excited his beard was trembling. "One hundred accountants, five hundred carts, and three thousand imperial guards are waiting at the palace gate!"

"Go."

Li Shimin waved his hand, displaying his boundless ambition.

"Copy it for me!"

"Dig three feet into the ground, don't leave me a single copper coin!"

"promise--!!!"

Dai Zhou let out an excited, almost hoarse roar, then turned and ran.

That speed, that agility.

It's even faster than a rabbit being chased by a dog!

"The Cui family! I've arrived!"

"Gold! Silver! It all belongs to the national treasury! It all belongs to me... cough cough, it all belongs to His Majesty!"

Looking at Dai Zhou's almost flying figure, Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"That feels great! That's fucking great!"

He felt that all the pent-up frustrations of his life had vanished in that moment.

but……

Li Shimin suddenly remembered something, and the smile on his face froze slightly.

"etc."

"That rebellious son...didn't he say he wanted a share of the profits?"

"A 30/70 split?"

Li Shimin stroked his chin, a sly glint in his eyes.

"Hmph, I am the emperor. I confiscated his property through my own merit. Why should I share it with him?"

"As long as I'm quick enough, I'll move the money into the Imperial Treasury first..."

"Hehehe..."