Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

The bloody smell outside the Meridian Gate has not yet been completely blown away by the hot summer wind.

The more than twenty hideous heads hanging on the flagpoles shook the entire Chang'an City like silent thunder.

The news flew over the palace walls like a plague-carrying bird and spread to the streets and alleys, sending a chill down to the bones of all who heard it, whether officials or civilians.

Inside the Golden Palace, the debate about benevolence and iron-bloodedness ended in the most extreme and cruel way.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the hall again, breaking the deathly silence inside.

All the officials were like frightened birds, their bodies involuntarily tensed.

Ran Ming's iron tower-like figure reappeared at the door of the palace. The black armor on his body seemed darker than before, as if it was stained with blood that was difficult to wash off.

A strong smell of blood spread as he stepped in, causing several officials near the palace gate to feel their stomachs churning and their faces to turn pale.

Ran Ming strode to the foot of the imperial steps, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and saluted. His voice was loud and full of the murderous aura of someone who had just carried out a killing:

"Your Majesty! I report! Liao Qian, Zhang Yi, Xu Chun, and over twenty other traitors have been publicly executed outside the Meridian Gate, their heads displayed on poles!"

His voice echoed in the empty hall, and every word was like a hammer hitting the hearts of the surviving officials.

Those twenty names were living colleagues just a moment ago, quoting classics and making passionate speeches, but in the blink of an eye they had become headless corpses.

The feeling of grief for the death of a rabbit and the fear of absolute power are intertwined in everyone's heart.

On the throne, Chu Ning had no expression on his face and just nodded slightly, as if he had just heard a trivial matter.

"Ah."

He responded indifferently, then shifted his gaze from Ran Ming to the ministers of His Highness who were silent as a cicada.

His eyes were even colder than before, carrying an unquestionable authority that had just been established with blood.

The air in the hall seemed to have solidified into ice, so heavy that it was impossible to breathe.

The officials lowered their heads deeply, not daring to breathe, for fear that any slight movement would attract the deadly gaze.

Chu Ning spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but every word was as clear and cold as ice beads falling on a jade plate:

"Now,"

He paused, his gaze like a cold searchlight, sweeping over the faces that had previously shown hesitation or silence.

"Who else thinks I shouldn't punish Dugu Jia and Liu Xiang?"

"Who else thinks we should be lenient and forgive these remnants of the previous dynasty?"

"..."

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

If no one dared to speak first before, now no one dares to raise any objection.

The blood that had not yet cooled outside the Meridian Gate and the twenty heads hanging high had already given the clearest answer.

Any different voice at this moment would be tantamount to seeking death.

The calves of some officials were shaking uncontrollably, and their underwear beneath their official robes were soaked with cold sweat.

In this suffocating silence, Li Bi knew that the time had come for him to show himself again.

He endured the throbbing pain in his back caused by tension, and tried to make his steps appear firm. He stepped out of the crowd again, bowed, and his voice was filled with a deliberately exaggerated passion and loyalty:

"Your Majesty! The execution of the traitor is proof of the might of Heaven. Those who obey it will prosper, while those who defy it will perish!"

"Now, there is no more noise in the palace. All knowledgeable people in the world have understood your majesty's determination to cleanse the world!"

"Dugu Jia and Liu Xiang are the last symbols of the pseudo-Han. Keeping them is useless. They will only waste food and confuse people's minds."

"I implore Your Majesty to act decisively and issue an immediate decree to bring these two to justice, so as to put an end to all the world's delusion and solidify the foundation of the Great Chu for eternity!"

His words justified the killing just now and elevated the treatment of Dugu Jia and his mother to the level of consolidating the foundation for eternity. It can be said that he took the pledge of allegiance to the extreme.

Chu Ning looked at Li Bi, his face still without any expression of approval, but the coldness in his eyes seemed to fade a little.

This is exactly the effect he wants. He needs someone to stand up and shout out this final and bloodiest slogan for him.

"Accurate."

There was no emotion in Chu Ning's voice, as if he was only deciding the life and death of two ants.

"Ran Ming."

"I'm here!" Ran Ming's voice was as loud as a bell, and he responded again.

"You will personally supervise the execution,"

Chu Ning's order was succinct and brutal: "Execute Dugu Jia, Liu Xiang, and their son immediately."

"As you wish!" Ran Ming said without hesitation.

However, Chu Ning's words did not end.

His gaze became increasingly deep and cold, as if he wanted to see through the palace walls and see the royal family of the previous dynasty scattered in Chang'an City like frightened birds.

"besides,"

He added, his tone calm but with a sense of genocide: "Pass on my decree. Order your soldiers to immediately search for all registered descendants of the Liu clan in Chang'an City."

"No matter whether you are male or female, old or young, close or distant, every one counts!"

He paused briefly, then uttered the four words that would determine the lives of countless people:

"Take them all."

A suppressed sound of people sucking in their breaths was heard in the hall.

This is not just the execution of the last monarch and the empress dowager, it is a thorough and indiscriminate purge of the royal family of the previous dynasty!

Chu Ning ignored these subtle reactions and continued to issue the final order:

"They will all be taken to Xishikou, publicly executed, and their heads will be hung for public display."

Xishikou is the most prosperous and busiest vegetable market in Chang'an City. It is also the place where criminals have been publicly executed to achieve the greatest deterrent effect.

The purpose of beheading the former royal family collectively is self-evident.

Not only must their bodies be destroyed, but their once lofty dignity must also be thoroughly trampled upon, and the concept of the "Han royal family" must be bloodily and publicly erased from the memories and fantasies of all the people.

"I will finally understand!"

A hint of bloodthirsty excitement flashed in Ran Ming's eyes. For a tough guy like him, carrying out such an iron-blooded order was far more satisfying than listening to civil servants quarreling in the court.

He clasped his fists again, then turned around and strode out of the Golden Palace. He called together his soldiers who were as fierce as wolves and tigers, and rushed to the place where Dugu Jia and his mother were imprisoned, as well as the mansions of the Liu clan members in various places in the city.

Xishikou in Chang'an City is usually a center of hustle and bustle, filled with hawking sounds, bargaining and the hustle and bustle of market life.

However, today, the atmosphere here is particularly strange and solemn.

News always spreads faster than official action.

Rumors about the execution of more than 20 officials at the Meridian Gate and the emperor's imminent move against the royal family of the previous dynasty had spread throughout the city like the wind.

When teams of Chu soldiers with shining helmets and armor and murderous intent began to clear the area.

They set up a temporary execution platform in the open space in the center of Xishikou and drove away the onlookers to mark the boundaries.

A mixture of fear, curiosity, numbness and a hint of secret excitement spread among the crowd.