Chương 463: Cleaning Up, Liu Ce Curses

Liu Ce took it, examined it carefully, and nodded, saying, "Ying'er folded it so well, much prettier than what Father folded."

Liu Ying smiled, revealing her two missing front teeth, and jumped for joy.

Liu Yao was even more direct, grabbing Liu Ce's leg and looking up at him, shouting, "Daddy! Hug me!"

Liu Ce bent down and picked him up. Liu Yao immediately wrapped his arms around his neck, pressed his little face against Liu Ce's, and rubbed against him like a little kitten.

When the other children saw this, they all ran over to hug him.

Liu Ce had one in his left hand, one in his right hand, and two more hanging on his legs, surrounded by children.

The ladies stood on the veranda watching, laughing so hard they were doubled over.

"My husband's life is more tiring than fighting a war," Zhang Ning said, covering her mouth with a laugh.

"That's right," Zhen Jiang laughed, "At least when fighting a war, we can cheer him on, but when it comes to taking care of a child, there's really no one to help."

Cai Yan smiled and shook her head, looking at Liu Ce, who was covered in sweat from the children's antics, her eyes filled with tenderness.

...

But this tenderness is reserved only for family and ordinary people.

When dealing with those bad apples, Liu Ce was ruthless and uncompromising.

After capturing Yangzhou and taking control of all thirteen prefectures, Liu Ce immediately issued a death order to Lu Bing: The entire Imperial Guard was mobilized and sent to various prefectures and counties. Any powerful families that seized fertile land, oppressed the people, harbored rebel soldiers, disobeyed imperial orders, or bullied the local people, or dared to oppose the court, regardless of whether they were centuries-old families, were to have their homes confiscated without prior notice!

All family property was confiscated, and all evil clan leaders and their descendants were arrested and severely punished. Those who deserved to be killed were killed, and those who deserved to be exiled were exiled, without any leniency.

Lu Bing received the order and immediately laughed.

The Imperial Guards have been so idle these past few months they're practically growing mushrooms. All they do is train and drink tea every day. Now they finally have some real work to do.

He immediately mobilized manpower, dividing them into dozens of groups, and sent them to various prefectures and counties.

He led his men from north to south and from east to west, turning every prefecture and county upside down.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards were adept at intelligence gathering and even more adept at raiding homes.

Everyone kept a clear record in their notebooks of how much land, shops, and tenants each family owned, who had ever oppressed the people, abducted women, or colluded with rebel soldiers, and even which family had stolen a chicken from Old Wang's neighbor.

In an instant, the powerful families and clans of various prefectures and counties were thrown into chaos.

The Wei family of Hedong is an old family with hundreds of years of history. Several of their ancestors were high-ranking officials who wielded power and influence in the Hedong area for decades.

They seized fertile land, abducted women, hoarded weapons, and defied imperial orders, committing countless evil deeds.

As soon as the Imperial Guards arrived, they surrounded the house without saying a word.

The guards of the Wei family tried to resist, but were all quickly subdued by the Imperial Guards.

The clan chief was dragged out of the cellar, trembling all over, and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

"My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life! I'll hand over all my possessions! Please, my lord, spare my dog's life!"

The leader of the Imperial Guards sneered, "Spare their lives? When you were seizing the people's land, why didn't you think of sparing their lives? Take them away!"

The Wei family was completely wiped out, their property was confiscated, and those who committed evil deeds were either killed or exiled.

The local people applauded and cheered, some even setting off firecrackers to celebrate.

...

It wasn't just the aristocratic families in the Central Plains; the barbarian tribes in Yizhou, Jiaozhou, and Yangzhou in the south were always unruly and would frequently come down from the mountains to burn, kill, and plunder, treating the Han people as prey.

In the past, when the world was in chaos, no one cared. Now that Liu Ce is in power, he will not tolerate it.

He directly dispatched elite troops to three locations to launch a heavy attack on the rebellious barbarians.

The bandit leaders were apprehended and their forces dispersed. Those who dared to resist were directly annihilated, and the remaining people were forced to settle down peacefully and were not allowed to harm the Han people again.

Yue Fei led his army and fought against the barbarian tribes in the deep mountains and forests of Jiaozhou for a whole month.

Those barbarians, relying on the high mountains and dense forests, thought that the Han army couldn't do anything to them. As a result, Yue Fei simply set fire to the mountains, forcing them out, and then gave them a good beating.

Several of the largest tribal leaders had their heads chopped off and displayed at the entrance of the village. The rest were so terrified that they obediently went down the mountain to surrender and never dared to cause trouble again.

Qi Jiguang was also swift and decisive in Yizhou, leading his navy to patrol along the rivers and eliminate the barbarian strongholds hidden deep in the mountains one by one.

Those who dare to resist will be attacked from both land and water, and beaten until they cry for their parents.

In less than two months, the barbarians of Yizhou became obedient, surrendering their weapons and accepting the court's settlement.

This time, all the woodworms in the area were completely wiped out.

The once powerful families who used to lord it over the common people have become rats in the street overnight.

The barbarians who used to burn, kill, and plunder now hide deep in the mountains, too afraid to come out.

The people beat drums and gongs, and every household erected a longevity tablet for Liu Ce.

In some places, the people even spontaneously organized themselves, marching with gongs and drums, chanting slogans such as "Long live the Prince of Yan" and "Liu Ce is the righteous ruler."

Some elderly people knelt before the memorial tablets, tears streaming down their faces, murmuring, "Heaven has opened its eyes! Finally, someone is standing up for us ordinary people!"

...

But when this news reached the ears of those pedantic old officials and Confucian scholars in Luoyang, they immediately became restless.

This group of people would crowd around the entrance of the Prince of Yan's mansion and the imperial court every day. They were all dressed in wide robes and sleeves, shaking their heads and spouting benevolence, while they chattered incessantly around Liu Ce.

"Your Highness, governance should be based on education and moral guidance. Noble families are the foundation of the nation, and even barbarians are subjects of the emperor. How can we so readily confiscate their property and kill them? It's far too cruel!"

"Your Highness, you mustn't! Such bloodshed is too cruel and goes against the natural order! The noble families are the foundation of the nation, and the barbarians are also subjects. They should be educated and reformed, not driven to extinction!"

"Your Highness should win people over with virtue, otherwise you will lose the hearts of scholars throughout the land!"

Others shouted at the top of their lungs, "Your Highness's actions will surely alienate the scholars of the land! He will undoubtedly be remembered as a tyrant in history!"

They talked on and on, like a swarm of flies buzzing around, which infuriated Liu Ce.

Liu Ce cursed inwardly: Let's go to Inner Mongolia. There we have grass, you, horses, and the Gobi Desert.

His previously suppressed temper exploded instantly. He slammed his hand on the table, making the cups and saucers jump, and pointed at the group, cursing them with spittle flying everywhere, showing them no mercy whatsoever.

"You bunch of bookworms who only know how to read and write, have you no shame?!"

"I ask you, where were you when those powerful families were seizing land from ordinary people, driving them to ruin and death, and abducting women and committing all sorts of atrocities?!"

"Where were you when those barbarians burned down my Han villages, killed my Han people, and enslaved me?!"

"When the people are crying out to heaven and have nowhere to turn for help, you cower in your rooms pretending to be deaf and dumb, only spouting classical Chinese phrases."

"Now that I'm standing up for the people and dealing with these heartless bastards, you all jump out to play the good guys, talking about benevolence and moral education, and pleading for the wicked!"

He became increasingly angry as he spoke, and his voice grew louder and louder:

"You're talking to me about harmony with Heaven?! Where was harmony with Heaven when the common people were forced to sell their children by powerful families?! Where was harmony with Heaven when Han people were beheaded by barbarians?!"