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

"Bai Qi and Yue Fei went there to quell any dissent."

Li Chengqian withdrew his gaze from the north, sat back down on the cushioned seat of the carriage, and fiddled with a jade thumb ring he had just brought from the palace.

His eyes were cold, like a bottomless pool of stagnant water.

"But the army alone cannot wipe them all out."

"The powerful families have been operating in Shandong for hundreds of years, with deep-rooted connections. Most of the tenant farmers, servants, and even the local county magistrates are their people."

"Once the army arrives, they'll either disappear into the mountains or incite the people to cause trouble, leaving another mess."

Li Chengqian's biggest annoyance was dealing with messes.

As someone determined to become the ultimate salted fish, any potential trouble that might cause him problems in the future must be nipped in the bud.

And it must be pinched clean, leaving not a single hair behind.

"Azure Dragon".

Li Chengqian called out softly.

"Your subordinate is here."

Qinglong stepped forward, his flying fish robe fluttering in the night wind, and the chilling, bloody aura made the surrounding air seem to drop several degrees.

"Take one thousand of the most elite Imperial Guards and set off immediately."

Li Chengqian pulled out a thick stack of papers from his sleeve. These were copies of irrefutable evidence of the aristocratic families' treason, which he had found in the hidden compartment of the carriage that Shen Lian had intercepted.

"Take these things with you, and go to Shandong and Hebei."

"Remember, you won't be charging into battle this time."

Li Chengqian's lips curled into a playful smile, like a demon instigating evil.

"You understand the principle of 'killing someone by destroying their spirit,' right?"

"Don't those old guys pride themselves on being morally upright family heirs? Don't they claim to be leaders of the local gentry?"

"Then print a million copies of these letters, the evidence that they intend to sell the people of Guanzhong into slavery to the Turks!"

"They plastered it all over every county town, every village entrance, and even on the stone lions in front of their ancestral home!"

"Let those people who have toiled the land and served as their beasts of burden for their entire lives see what kind of people they are supporting!"

At this point, Li Chengqian paused, his eyes flashing even colder.

"And add another spark."

"Issue my decree as regent: Any aristocratic family that colludes with the enemy will no longer be protected by the laws of the Tang Dynasty regarding their land and property."

"Who can expose them? Who can put righteousness before family? Who can bind these traitors and hand them over to the authorities?"

"Whoever owns the land will be responsible for cultivating it!"

"Three-year tax exemption!"

boom--!

Azure Dragon suddenly looked up, and his usually unchanging icy face now showed deep shock.

ruthless.

It's too cruel.

This is hardly a murder plot.

This is clearly digging up the roots!

What makes powerful families so powerful? Isn't it because they hold the land in their hands and have people crawling on the ground?

Those tenant farmers had depended on the powerful families for generations, regarding the head of the family as their god.

But now, His Highness's move of "land distribution order" plus "treason" has directly separated the interests of noble families and common people, even placing them on opposite sides.

Add to that the heinous crime of treason, which crosses the line...

Qinglong could almost foresee the terrifying power that would erupt from those common people who were once regarded as "private property" by aristocratic families after they learned the truth and saw the benefits.

That would be a monstrous wave capable of engulfing everything.

"Your Highness is wise!"

Qinglong knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, and said, "Your subordinate understands what to do."

"This is a 'mass movement'."

Li Chengqian yawned, seemingly uninterested in the impending bloodshed.

"Go on, and hurry up."

"Don't keep Bai Qi and the others waiting."

"promise!"

Azure Dragon accepted the order, and with a flicker, disappeared into the vast night.

Looking in the direction the Imperial Guards had left, Li Chengqian rubbed his slightly sore neck and climbed back into the carriage.

"Old Xu, let's return to the palace."

"These past few days have been filled with killing and settling scores; I've lost a lot of brain cells. I need to go back and recharge."

"Have the imperial kitchen prepare a walnut soup tomorrow morning, with plenty of sugar."

……

Several days later, in Shandong.

Qinghe County, the location of the Cui family's ancestral home.

In the past, this county town was the Cui family's backyard, and even the county magistrate had to bow and scrape when he saw the Cui family's steward.

If the old patriarch of the Cui family were to cough even once, the entire Qinghe County would tremble.

Those branch officials who had fled back from Chang'an felt their initial fear instantly subside upon entering this territory.

"We're here! We've finally arrived!"

Lu Zhaolin (the lucky escapee) looked at the rolling Cui family manor in the distance and was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.

"Once we're inside this estate, we'll be safe!"

"There are thousands of servants and tens of thousands of tenants here! Even if that young prince has extraordinary abilities, does he really think he can kill all these hundreds of thousands of people?"

"Yes! Let's just stay here!"

Another elder of the Zheng family gritted his teeth, "Contact our colleagues in various prefectures and counties, and mobilize the scholars! I refuse to believe that Li Shimin would dare to defy the world and send troops to attack the ancestral lands of the aristocratic clans!"

however.

Before their dream could even end, the carriage had barely entered the county town when they sensed something was amiss.

It's too quiet.

The streets were deserted, and all the shops on both sides were closed.

Occasionally, a few pedestrians would cross the street and see their convoy bearing the insignia of a prestigious family; their eyes would no longer hold the awe and fawning of the past.

Rather, it is a kind of...

A chilling hatred.

That look in their eyes was like looking at a group of wild beasts that were about to devour people, or like looking at a group of fat pigs that were about to be slaughtered.

"What happened?"

Lu Zhaolin's heart skipped a beat. He flung open the carriage curtain and roared, "Where have all the people gone? Can't you see I'm back?"

"Snapped!"

His response was a stinking lump of mud, which was precisely smeared onto his face.

"Bah! Traitor to the nation!"

An old scholar, dressed in tattered clothes, stood by the roadside, clutching a crumpled piece of white paper in his hand, pointing at the convoy and cursing loudly.

"You beasts! You eat our flesh, drink our blood, and now you want to sell us to the Turks as slaves?!"

"And I used to treat you like saints! Bah!"

"Beat them! Beat these traitors to death!"

This roar seemed to be a signal.

The doors and windows, which were originally tightly closed, were all opened with a "bang, bang, bang".

Countless people, carrying carrying poles, hoes, and even kitchen knives, poured out from all directions.

Without exception, each of them held a leaflet covered with evidence of their crimes.

Those were "death warrants" that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had rushed to print overnight and plastered all over the city.

"Kill them!"

"Distribute the land! His Highness the Crown Prince said, arrest them and distribute the land!"

"For the children! To avoid becoming slaves of a conquered nation! Charge!"

The roars converged into a sea, instantly engulfing the once arrogant convoy.

Lu Zhaolin was terrified.

Looking at those faces that were once as humble as ants but now as ferocious as demons, he finally understood what Li Chengqian meant by "cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots."

This is hardly a case of sending troops to kill.

This is clearly a case of using someone else to do the dirty work!

What they borrowed was the sword of all the people under heaven!

"No...no...I'm a samurai! I am..."

His screams were swallowed up by the angry crowd before they could finish.

The convoy was overturned, gold and silver scattered all over the ground, but no one bothered to pick them up. Everyone's eyes were red, venting the anger that had been building up for hundreds of years.

And on the tall buildings in the distance.

Qinglong stood with his hands behind his back, coldly watching this spectacular scene of "people's war".

Behind him, hundreds of Imperial Guards had already taken cover, ready to clean up the mess at any moment.

"Your Highness is right."

Azure Dragon murmured to himself, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

"When these normally docile waters are completely enraged..."

"What thousand-year-old family, what fortified fortress?"

"They're all just... clay chickens and earthenware dogs."

He turned around and waved to his men behind him.

"Send a message back to Chang'an."

"Shandong is leveled."

"Also, tell General Bai that he doesn't need to come anymore. There's no room for him to make a difference here."