The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

Chapter 150 The Crown Prince's Ambition Lies in the Central Plains (Fifth Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets and Full Subscription)

Some people recognize Yang Yong, while others don't.

But whether they knew him or not, everyone was worried for him and began to admire Yang Yong.

Standing up at this time requires more than just courage.

Integrity is also required.

Qiao Zhou was slightly taken aback, then looked at Yang Yong with gratitude. He recognized Yang Yong as a former minor official under Zhuge Liang, but he didn't expect Yang Yong to speak up for him.

Liu Chen was also surprised that Yang Yong would step forward. He was angry and frowned as he asked, "Minister Yang, shouldn't Qiao Zhou have suffered the fate of his sect's annihilation?"

"I think I have been very merciful. If it were up to me, I would burn Qiao Zhou alive and exterminate his entire clan."

Qiao Zhou's expression changed drastically. Three clans?! Burned to death?!

"Waaaaah!!!!" Qiao Zhou's face turned deathly pale, and he was sweating profusely. He struggled to speak, but was held tightly by a Yulin soldier and could not move.

Yang Yong's face twitched. During Liu Han's reign, only the general Wei Yan had his entire clan exterminated. Of course, in terms of guilt, Qiao Zhou was actually more serious than Wei Yan. Therefore, the extermination of his entire clan was somewhat understandable.

Yang Yong took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I have nothing to say about the crimes of Qiao Zhou and Huang Hao."

"But the punishments for He, Jiang Shu, Ma Miao, and Xu are, in my opinion, excessive."

After a pause, Yang Yong said more seriously, "He Sui is dead and has no children. The He clan can simply seize his property and exile him."

""

"Jiang Shu and Ma Miao are both traitors; their entire families should be dealt with according to the law."

"I believe the punishment of the Xu family, the former Grand Tutor, was excessive. The Grand Tutor was, after all, a high-ranking official of Emperor Zhaolie, and his descendants should not have suffered such a fate because of Chen Zhi."

Liu Chen frowned even more, and said angrily, "The Emperor's punishments are too lenient, which is why wicked people are rampant. What's wrong with me punishing them severely?"

Liu Chen's anger was like a raging storm, or a rolling cold wind, filled with murderous intent. And Liu Chen was now practically an emperor, his word was law.

Yang Yong's face also turned pale, and he was unable to bear it. Many onlookers pretended to be dead, and many people were sweating bullets for him.

Yang Yong took a deep breath, composed himself, and knelt down, replying, "Your Highness, this old minister believes that to rectify the court, cruel punishments are unnecessary. The Cao Wei dynasty often exterminated the entire families of its officials, yet its administration was also quite ordinary. Moreover, it produced a figure like Sima Yi. The Prime Minister, however, rarely kills. Even when Li Yan was convicted of a crime, he was merely dismissed and exiled. Yet, during the Prime Minister's tenure, the administration was clean and the country prosperous, far surpassing the prosperity of the Cao Wei dynasty. This old minister believes that by using the law and rewarding fairly, the court and the country can be brought to order, and the court can be restored."

"Your Highness." Yang Yong raised his head, looking at Liu Chen with a pleading expression.

Killing is quick, of course, but once a person is dead, they cannot be brought back to life. Using such cruel methods can also have long-term consequences.

Your Highness, you've been hearing stories about the Prime Minister for many years.

Emperor Zhaolie and the Prime Minister killed very few people, yet they still achieved such great feats.

Ministers who already felt Liu Chen's punishment was inappropriate nodded involuntarily. Some ministers who hadn't taken it seriously before also recalled Zhuge Liang's use of the law and felt that Liu Chen's use of the law was excessive.

Liu Chen's anger was somewhat extinguished by Yang Yong's pleading expression. He took a deep breath, stood up, walked towards the side door, and said, "I would like to have some peace and quiet."

All the officials stood in solemn silence.

Yang Yong's face lit up with joy, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that if he wanted some peace and quiet, he had listened to what was being said.

Many people breathed a sigh of relief and began to ponder.

Liu Chen has a fierce and decisive personality, his knife is extremely fast and efficient, and he has a strong sense of execution.

They originally thought Liu Chen would be a strong ruler who would make absolute decisions, but judging from the Yang Yong incident, Liu Chen is still willing to listen to advice.

This is good.

If the entire court is beheaded, and no one dares to speak out, then Liu Chen's voice will be the only one heard in the court and among the people, and that would be terrible.

This is not a blessing for the Han dynasty.

Only Qiao Zhou continued to wail incessantly. He was initially grateful to Yang Yong for speaking up for him, but he never expected that his clan would still be wiped out.

About fifteen minutes later, Liu Chen came out through the side door, sat down again, and said, "The punishment for Qiao Zhou and Huang Hao remains the same."

"The family of the late Grand Tutor Xu Jing had their property confiscated. His descendants were exiled to Zitong County."

"Chen Zhizhong was stripped of his posthumous title, his coffin was opened, and he was buried with the rites due to a commoner. His two sons were executed, and his grandson was exiled to Zitong County."

"The He family, Ma Miao, Jiang Shu, and others were only punished for their family members, not their clansmen."

They listened. Yang Yong and many other ministers breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing.

"Your Highness." Yang Yong was also quite excited, so he knelt down and said in a deep voice.

Liu Chen nodded slightly and said, "Prime Minister, please excuse the formalities and be seated."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Yang Yong bowed again before rising shakily and sitting down in his previous seat.

The ten old guests gave Yang Yong an admiring look; they simply didn't have the courage.

Liu Chen pointed at Qiao Zhou and said, "I don't want to see this old scoundrel with the white beard again. Drag him out and trample him to death with horses' hooves. Then put him together with Huang Hao, and anyone who dares to collect his body will be killed without mercy."

"Yes." The two Imperial Guardsmen nodded in unison and dragged Qiao Zhou away as if he were a dog.

"Waaaaah!!!!" Qiao Zhou wailed and struggled after his jaw was dislocated, but his old bones were no match for the two strong soldiers, and he was quickly and neatly taken away.

"Da da da!!!!"

"Da da!"

After that, all the officials in the hall could hear was the sound of horses' hooves. But that was enough.

Based on the sound of the horses' hooves, the officials automatically imagined the tragic scene of Qiao Zhou being trampled to death by horses.

There is a form of punishment called dismemberment by chariot, which is being trampled to death by horses' hooves, and is probably even more terrible than dismemberment by chariot.

The sound of hooves soon stopped, and two Imperial Guards returned to the palace to report that Qiao Zhou had died.

Liu Chen nodded slightly and hummed in agreement.

Immediately, Liu Chen lowered his head and pondered. After seizing power, besides killing, he had many other things to do.

Most of them are about reviving Han Chinese beliefs and reversing the decline.

But because there were too many things I wanted to do, I was at a loss for what to do.

Have it.

Liu Chen's eyes lit up as he thought of a great way to start the conversation.

Liu Chen raised his head and looked at the assembled officials.

Under his gaze, the courtiers immediately straightened their posture and became serious.

Liu Chen said, "Now Zhong Hui is tyrannical in Hanzhong, and Deng Ai is approaching Chengdu; both are external enemies."

"As long as our country is at peace, they are nothing. Therefore, I first killed Qiao Zhou and Huang Hao to appease the people."

"With Huang Hao dead, the people are at peace."

"With Qiao Zhou dead, the officials are at ease."

"Officials and the people are reassured; Deng Ai's death is not far off. But that's not enough."

"Since Emperor Zhaolie established the Han Dynasty, we have never wanted to be a small country that is content with a corner of the country. Instead, we want to be a mighty country that restores the territory of the Central Han Dynasty."

How laughable is Qiao Zhou's theory of hatred towards the state!

"To demonstrate my resolve to my subjects, I will change the official name of Chengdu to Lin'an. I hope that one day I can recover the Central Plains and return the capital to Luoyang, and then change it back to Chengdu."