Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Aren't you going to make a scene anymore? Keep arguing, keep going."

Shen Lang stood on the high platform, and with just a casual remark, he immediately silenced the noisy crowd.

After a moment, he continued, "Alright, to increase enthusiasm for work, I'll add another clause now."

From this day forward, the sentences of all death row inmates and those sentenced to life imprisonment will be changed to 15-22 years.

Those who meet their daily labor targets and perform well will have their sentences reduced by one year if they complete the project one day ahead of schedule.

If you are fortunate enough to have all your sentences deducted, you will all be freed, and once the sentence deductions are cleared to zero,

The extra day will be paid out at ten taels of silver per person, as a reward for your new lease on life. I hope you have no objections.”

As soon as Shen Lang finished speaking, the scene became noisy again.

Some people saw hope rekindled, while others remained unconvinced.

Until Zheng Xiaowu shouted, "Don't be fooled by him!"

Instantly, the scene became quiet.

But more than a dozen guns were all pointed at Zheng Xiaowu.

To dare to disrespect the Regent is simply courting death.

However, Zheng Xiaowu seemed to have gone all out, shouting loudly, "You certainly don't know how ruthless this Emperor of Great Chu is!"

Back when they plotted to frame our Jiangnan aristocratic families, they used any means necessary. Now, with this seemingly hopeful suggestion, we're still headed for death!

"Everyone, please listen to me calmly. With six hours a day, the labor force's quota is almost twice that of an ordinary worker. Is it even possible to complete this?"

Perhaps you can stick to it for a few days, but can you guarantee you'll stick to it for months or even years?

"Various unexpected events are inevitable during the arduous journey, such as injuries and illnesses. He didn't mention a word about these, so please don't be misled!"

After Zheng Xiaowu said that, the other prisoners were immediately sobered up as if doused with cold water.

Yes, you set an impossible task, give yourself a sliver of hope, but the final result is still a dead end.

In an instant, the group of prisoners began to make a loud commotion.

"You're right. After all you've said, aren't we just going to die of exhaustion here in the end?"

"You think we'd be fooled by your sweet talk? How naive!"

"Let me tell you, we won't fall for it. Dream on!"

"Unless you treat us the same as ordinary workers, I will absolutely not move a single stone!"

Seeing such a lively scene, Shen Lang suddenly laughed.

Looking at Zheng Xiaowu standing in the middle of the prisoners, after these years of imprisonment, he not only lost weight from nearly 300 pounds to 130 pounds, but his mind was also sharper than before, and he saw through his plan at a glance.

Seeing that the atmosphere among the prisoners was becoming increasingly agitated and on the verge of rioting, Shen Lang suddenly shouted at the megaphone.

"Alright! Shut up, all of you!!!"

The powerful internal force combined with the amplifying effect reverberated across the construction site, causing the prisoners' eardrums to ache.

After the scene quieted down again, Shen Lang's contemptuous voice rang out once more: "Are you all done arguing? Keep arguing!"

"I just heard one of you say you wanted fair treatment? Before you make that request, shouldn't you take a look at yourselves?"

"The people of the Six Ministries are refined; they won't tell you the truth that's buried in their hearts."

But I, the Regent who climbed my way up from the bottom, have no time to spare. Let me tell you what kind of people you are!

"You are all scum of society, outcasts abandoned by the world!"

"Murderers, rapists, human traffickers, embezzlers, your existence is the greatest injustice in this society!"

“You should have been ground to dust and nailed to the pillar of shame to be despised by the world for the rest of your lives. Do you know how people outside judge you?”

They'd love for you all to die already; you'd be the kind of people who get pelted with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves even if you were just walking down the street!

"Now, you bunch of convicts actually dare to ask me for fairness? Look at your shackles, think about everything you beasts have done in your lives, do you even have the right to utter those two words?!"

"Don't give me any other reasons! You're all a bunch of trash who have contributed absolutely nothing to the country, that's the truth!"

Trash, prisoners, useless people who harm themselves and others! These titles will stay with you for life!

"Your descendants will be unable to hold their heads high in front of ordinary people because of you scumbag ancestors! And because of your mistakes today, you will have to pay the price of at least three generations of your future to erase this shame!"

"If you scoundrels can get justice, that would be the greatest injustice to law-abiding ordinary people!"

"Trash, beasts, scum, these are the names that describe you! Even death cannot wash away this sin!"

"Fairness? Screw fairness! You're not even qualified to utter that word!"

Shen Lang's impassioned speech not only stunned all the prisoners at the construction site, but also left the officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice speechless.

In Li Youcai's memory, this Emperor of Great Chu had almost never given any passionate speeches in public or even in private.

But now, once it's spoken, it's a complete shock to the entire audience.

Li Youcai couldn't help but swallow hard, secretly relieved that he hadn't committed a crime and hadn't been criticized by Shen Lang in such a sharp tone by that group of scumbags.

Otherwise, he would be so scolded that he would commit suicide on the spot.

"Wow……"

A cry broke the silence.

However, in the prisoner's line, a prisoner in his early thirties collapsed to the ground and burst into tears after hearing Shen Lang's sharp words.

"That's too much, really too much! We're not trash, we still have a chance to change, we really still have a chance!"

As the prisoner cried, the others, after their initial shock, were also filled with endless sorrow, and each of them covered their faces and wept.

Shen Lang scanned the room expressionlessly, then said urgently, "If you want to change this fate, set an example for yourselves and for your descendants."

Then pull yourselves together and finish this project. I've already chosen a way for you to atone for your sins: the sooner you finish, the less your sentences you'll have to serve.

Once your sentences are served, you'll be free again. Think about it carefully; this is the only way for you social scum to return to normal life.

Is the work tough? Yes, it is! But think about the crimes you've committed, and all that hardship is nothing!

You must persevere, and you absolutely must persevere, until the day you see the dawn, only then can you be forgiven and reborn.

Live on, until the day you have forgiven your sins.

After saying that, Shen Lang casually tossed the megaphone stone aside, turned around, and walked down from the platform.

"Ah~~~"

Shortly after Shen Lang turned and left, a series of roars suddenly erupted from among the prisoners.

A 27-year-old man roared, "I want to go back to see my family. I still have a chance, I can definitely hold on! I'll do it!"

After saying that, he pushed through the crowd and knelt down in front of the foreman: "Please give me a job. I don't want to be a scoundrel, and I don't want my child to be called the offspring of a rapist. I am willing to forgive my sins!"

The foreman was stunned for a moment, then immediately handed over a work badge: "Okay, from now on, you will be in charge of transporting mud and sand."

Once it begins, the source of everything will be blocked.

Soon, these prisoners began searching for ways to atone for their sins...

Shen Lian's lips twitched slightly as he sat in the four-wheeled carriage.

How can we free these criminals?

How can we explain this to the families they have harmed?

Of course it is impossible.

Of these 7,000 prisoners, no more than 1/10 will actually make it out of the construction site.

Even those lucky enough to escape the construction site have plenty of reasons to keep them back in hell.