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

"what!!!"

A short, piercing scream emanated from the mold of the kneeling bronze statue, echoing within it. The severed tongue, combined with the reverberating sound, resembled a ghostly howl gushing from a deep well.

However, to the surrounding people, the howl sounded terrifying.

The moment the mold was opened, molten copper was poured in.

It was instantly swallowed up and disappeared.

"laugh......."

As a pungent smell of burning organic matter rose from the mold, the faces of the Hongzhou city residents who had been forced to watch the execution ceremony, as well as the newly appointed officials of Jiangnan and Huainan, all tightened.

It was as if molten copper had been poured over them.

His whole body was tense, yet he couldn't help but tremble violently.

Li Chengqian sat on the high platform, surrounded by the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) and the six elite soldiers of the Eastern Palace, who were scanning the crowd with their hawk-like eyes.

"Heh, a month has passed quite quickly, but I didn't expect these two guys to be so tough, actually surviving until now..."

Li Chengqian propped his head up with one hand, enjoying this horrific scene, but his face showed no sign of disgust or horror at such cruel punishment.

Instead, it seemed as if they were enjoying a dance performance.

At this moment, the screams coming from the scalding hot mold belonged to none other than Li Xiyu, the former governor of Shuzhou and Duke of Fangcheng, and Zhang Zhenzhou, the governor of Hongzhou.

One of them already possessed a noble title, while the other had made great contributions during the founding of the dynasty and had also surrendered voluntarily during this rebellion. But even so, neither Fang Xuanling nor other officials in the court were deterred.

No one dared to plead for them.

Even though they felt in their hearts that it was too cruel to torture Crown Prince Li Chengqian and the relatives and even children of these people, they all wisely chose to keep quiet on the surface.

Whether the Crown Prince would accept their advice and spare the women and children if they pleaded for mercy was uncertain, but everyone was certain of one thing.

The Crown Prince will surely take his anger out on them!

"My brother is indeed worthy of being called my brother. Casting these people into bronze statues and making them kneel here will let us see who dares to sell opium in the future..." Prince Liang, Li Yin, quite approved of and admired his brother's actions.

None of the Li brothers felt any sympathy or pity for the perpetrators of these sins.

The purpose of dealing with these people now is more to serve as a warning to the world.

The bronze statues were not simply cast and finished; the Imperial Guards had selected skilled craftsmen who would then make subtle adjustments and polishes to the statues containing the remains.

Soon, one by one, the faceless bronze statues were lifted out of the molds as they cooled.

As for the faces of these people, Li Chengqian had already had the most detailed sketches drawn for them the moment they were arrested. These realistic portraits were created in conjunction with the sculpting master from the Imperial University.

They will be depicted as kneeling bronze statues, so that people hundreds or thousands of years from now can see what these people looked like.

A month has passed since the rebellion was quelled in Jiangnan and Huainan.

Officials specially dispatched by Li Shimin and Li Chengqian from Chang'an, Taiyuan Prefecture, and Jiannan Circuit have arrived one after another.

Hongzhou Governor's Office.

Li Chengqian looked at the group of young officials in front of him with a face full of satisfaction.

"I have promoted each of you by at least two ranks. This is not only a reward for your achievements over the years, but also an encouragement for your future governance of the two Jiangnan Circuits. Due to the rebellion and the collusion between officials and merchants over the years, the Jiangnan and Huainan Circuits, despite having excellent development conditions, have fallen far behind the other circuits. Even the Lingnan Circuit has surpassed them."

"This is something I cannot tolerate!"

Li Chengqian's voice already carried a distinctly natural air of authority without any effort on his part.

Hearing his words, the young officials present, whose average age was only in their twenties or thirties, were all invigorated.

"The Jiangnan Circuit is too vast. After I return to Chang'an this time, I will order people to formally divide the Jiangnan Circuit into the Jiangnan West Circuit and the Jiangnan East Circuit based on geographical, economic, and population conditions, and set up special capitals for the two places."

"Pei Ruocai..."

Pei Ruocai, the young official in charge, came from a collateral branch of the Pei clan of Hedong. When Li Chengqian first took office in Taiyuan Prefecture, he passed the first official promotion examination and became the Assistant Transport Commissioner of the Fenhe River in Taiyuan Prefecture. He was promoted several times afterward, and recently he even successfully obtained a degree from the Imperial University's School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering while working. He quickly stepped forward.

"Chen is here!"

"Your abilities and achievements are the best among all the transferred officials, and you probably already guessed the purpose of your transfer to Gangnam Province... Gangnam Province's shipbuilding and maritime development has stagnated too much!"

Li Chengqian's gaze was sharp as he looked at the other party: "I appoint you as the Prefect of Suzhou Prefecture in Jiangnan East Circuit, in charge of the implementation of the new policies in Jiangnan East Circuit. All matters will be reported directly to the court. You were able to obtain a degree from the Imperial University without neglecting your own work, so you must have a very clear understanding of your own position. I am entrusting the entire Jiangnan East Circuit to you, and you are free to display your talents."

"I have only one request..."

A flicker of excitement crossed Pei Ruocai's eyes, but he respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, please speak. I will do anything for you!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly: "Restore all production in Jiangnan East Circuit within one year and improve the administrative operation of various places; establish at least ten local listed companies within two years and submit listing applications; and fully possess the basic capabilities to research and manufacture large seagoing vessels within three years."

The more Li Chengqian spoke, the more the officials who had accompanied Pei Ruocai gasped inwardly.

This task is way too difficult!

However, Li Chengqian showed no sign of being harsh. Instead, he looked intently at Pei Ruocai before him: "Hebei Province has completed the construction of the Imperial First Fleet and has now begun building new types of ships. At Busan Port, Prince Liang has taken on the task of building the Second Fleet for the Tang Dynasty. I hope that Jiangnan East Province can undertake the task of establishing the Third Fleet for our Tang Dynasty..."

"Pei Ruocai, may I address you as Governor Pei?"

Pei Ruo took a deep breath, still maintaining a calm expression, though a sense of gravity was evident in his eyes regarding this nearly impossible task.

But he still calmly questioned Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness, if that's the case, I may need to recruit from other places..."

"I will give you a decree. As long as it doesn't affect the operation of the original place, and the people are willing to come to Jiangnan East Road with you, you can do whatever you want," Li Chengqian replied with a smile.

Pei Ruocai: "Your Majesty, I still need at least ten million strings of cash, which is one hundred million Tang Yuan, in government funding..."

"I approve!"

Pei Ruocai: "I also need the power to arbitrarily allocate my subordinates!"

"Sure! If you're dissatisfied with anyone, you can dismiss them directly, temporarily replace them with someone suitable, and then report the matter to the Ministry of Personnel..."

Upon hearing this, Pei Ruo bowed respectfully.

"I accept the decree!"