Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"Waaaaah, give me back my baby, give me back my baby..."

"These are all mine, mine!"

"Let me take one more drag, let me take one more drag..."

.......

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Li Tai didn't want to admit he was scared, but his trembling voice betrayed him completely.

When the crowd blasted open the city gates and slaughtered all those who dared to obstruct them, they entered Shouzhou City. The situation inside the city made Li Tai tremble.

"Are these people even human?"

Li Chengqian, his face grim, lifted the lids of the boxes in front of him, and his expression darkened further when he saw the blocks of opium paste inside.

He has had this expression ever since he entered Huainan Circuit.

Upon hearing the question, he slowly turned his head, stared at his younger brother, and coldly but almost without hesitation uttered his resolute answer.

"no!"

"The moment they came into contact with that stuff, in my eyes, they were no longer human!"

Li Tai's pupils suddenly contracted, as if he realized something, and he grabbed his elder brother who was about to leave.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I... I'll do it..."

Although his voice trembled noticeably as he spoke, he immediately and firmly stood in front of Li Chengqian.

"The order was given by me, so what's the point of you taking charge?"

Li Chengqian glanced at him, wanting to express his brotherly affection, but facing the devastated city of Shouzhou, he could no longer smile.

He gave the order.

"Anyone who comes into contact with this substance, or whose home is found to contain it... shall be executed!"

Xue Wanche was shocked: "Your Highness, there are more than three thousand people, and many of them are commoners..."

"Slay him!!!" Li Chengqian roared, his ferocious face startling Xue Wanche so much that he turned pale and dared not say anything more, quickly bowing and accepting the order.

Li Chengqian clenched his fists tightly.

Just a little bit, just a little bit close!

If this matter had been delayed for several more years before being discovered, then the fact that the Tang Dynasty was beyond redemption would have been truly terrifying.

He knew all too well just how toxic opium could be to a nation.

That is a deadly poison that can spread for hundreds of years and even be directly imprinted into the very roots of a people!

"Qingque, if I die in the future, you must remember this: whether it is opium or something similar that appears in the future, it is better to kill a thousand innocent people than to let one guilty person go free!"

"Understand?"

Li Tai swallowed hard and nodded.

However, looking at his elder brother's appearance, he could understand that the court would soon be discussing the relocation of people to Jiangnan and Huainan.

"It's just a little bit of infamy. As long as I'm alive, I will never allow such a thing to appear!"

Despite Li Tai and Xue Wanche's repeated attempts to stop him, Li Chengqian still personally sat in the executioner's seat at the execution ground in Shouzhou City. One by one, people who had become addicted to opium, bound hand and foot and with wooden plaques bearing their names and crimes stuck in their backs, were lined up.

The six guards of the Eastern Palace blocked the way outside, while the people of Shouzhou City watched from the surrounding area.

Some people came out of curiosity about what the current crown prince looked like, some came to see the fate of those officials, and others were the families of people who had unfortunately become addicted to opium.

At this moment, they are kneeling outside the execution ground, crying and begging Li Chengqian to spare them.

Among the crowd, there were still many scholars watching, their eyes filled with apprehension.

Beside Li Chengqian, Qianlou, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, read aloud the edict personally written by Li Chengqian.

His voice was cold and stern, and combined with the wails of the prisoners and their relatives around him, it seemed to give Li Chengqian the air of a tyrant.

"I, Chengqian, as the heir apparent of the Great Tang Dynasty, am now personally overseeing the execution of those addicted to opium. This new evil has just appeared in the world, and many people are unaware of its harm. Although some may pity them for being misled, this substance is a great scourge to the nation—if a person is infected, their body will be ruined; if a nation is infected, the country will collapse."

"Even if you insult me ​​in the marketplace and harbor resentment in your hearts, even if you train your troops and secretly gather warriors to avenge your personal grudges with your bare hands, I will accept it all calmly."

"I hereby proclaim to you all: From this day forward, all those who manufacture or sell opium, regardless of their social status or kinship, shall be punished with the death penalty and their descendants shall be barred from taking the imperial examinations for five generations. This decree shall be as clear as the sun and moon, and as borne as the mountains and rivers!"

These officials, who were about to be beheaded, were now fully conscious after being groomed for their new roles.

Upon hearing this decree, they all burst into tears, repeatedly proclaiming their innocence and begging for forgiveness.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I was assassinated! Your Highness, spare my life! I promise I'll never touch that thing again!"

"Spare your life, spare your life!"

Many of these people were young people who had come up to become officials through the new civil service examination system. If it weren't for opium, given the current prosperity of the Tang Dynasty's bureaucracy, they would surely have been able to achieve great things and bring honor to their ancestors.

however.

Faced with these tearful pleas for mercy, Li Chengqian responded with only a single, cold word.

"cut!"

Qianlou shouted loudly.

"Execution!"

In an instant, prisoners were dragged and forced onto the execution platform in order. As the executioner spat a mouthful of strong liquor onto the beheading blade, the liquor splashed down from their heads.

Many people were so shocked that their legs went weak, and a warm current flowed out.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I am innocent! Your Highness, I am a student of the top official school in Taiyuan Prefecture! I am a native of Taiyuan! Your Highness, spare my life! Spare my life! I promise I will abstain! I..."

A young man screamed in panic, his body trembling like a leaf.

Upon hearing the voice, Li Chengqian raised his hand and, amidst the man's joyful and pleading gaze, approached him.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I know I was wrong. Please spare my life! I have studied so much about governing the world, yet I have never put it into practice. Now I have gone astray. Your Highness, please give me a chance to reform myself..."

"I know you, Hu Jingtang. Your uncle was the magistrate of Jingle County whom I personally appointed. At that time, he was just a constable. You were the one who later sponsored your success in the imperial examinations..."

The young man named Hu Jingtang was immediately excited and his face turned red. However, when he met Li Chengqian's cold eyes, the sense of luck that had risen in his heart instantly turned cold.

His lips trembled, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

"Your Highness, I... I haven't even had a chance to make a name for myself yet. I've learned so much from the official academy, but I haven't been able to put it into practice. Your Highness, I really know I was wrong. I will never touch that stuff again."

"Hu Jingtang, your name was given to you by your uncle back then. I'm sure he told you a lot that you should share the burdens of the emperor, right?" Li Chengqian asked.

"Don't disgrace your uncle, and don't disgrace me. I know you might be able to change, but now I need your blood to be spilled on this execution ground."

Hu Jingtang: "..."

His head was pressed down onto the execution platform again, but he seemed to have lost his soul, and he made no further struggles.

Li Chengqian looked around.

"From this day forward, all officials, nobles, commoners, and even members of the imperial family will be included."

"Anyone who touches the poison of opium, no matter if they are a prince or a nobleman, I will personally go to the execution platform and behead them! If they break this oath, may they be punished by both heaven and man, and their souls be destroyed in the deepest hell! The mountains and rivers bear witness, and the annals can attest to it!"

"Execution!"