Chapter 1187 You all deserve to die!
"Prince of Laiyang, you yourself are of questionable character, yet you blame others for speaking out? Not only can you not manage your family affairs, but you also lack any sense of responsibility when it comes to matters of principle!"
Laishui County is located within your fiefdom. Severe drought, floods, and snowstorms have left the people displaced and destitute. The imperial court has repeatedly sent relief grain and disaster relief supplies.
As the Prince of Laiyang, you refuse to contribute a single penny. Moreover, when the drought just began, you found an excuse to flee your fiefdom and move your entire family to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury, leaving behind tens of thousands of people in Laishui County.
How could someone like you be worthy of the honors of a prince? How could you be worthy of the offerings of the people?
Mo Beihan's words made the Prince of Laiyang even more anxious.
This is much more serious than calling him disrespectful for his age or abusing his seniority.
At most, what I said would make people laugh and displease the emperor.
But what happened next concerned the lives of the people, which was a grave offense in the eyes of the emperor who loved his people like his own children.
The Prince of Laiyang's head slammed against the hard stone slab in the main hall with a series of thuds, until he saw stars and tears streamed down his forehead.
“I, I, I… I didn’t! Your Majesty, please understand! I had no choice. Laiyang is a remote place with barren land and impoverished people.”
"I've been in Laiyang Prefecture for so many years, with a large family to support, and I haven't accumulated much wealth. I'm barely able to take care of myself, how could I possibly have the resources to give to the people?"
Mo Beihan gave a cold laugh:
"Are you blaming my royal great-uncle for giving you such a poor fiefdom back then? But you have no military merits to begin with, and you don't even know how to be grateful for this reward that you received so easily. You are simply insatiable!"
You know perfectly well that the people of Laiyang are poor, yet you still exploit them in every way, showing no regard for their lives or deaths in your pursuit of wealth.
All that your Laiyang Prince's Mansion has eaten, worn, and used over the years has been made from the blood, sweat, and lives of the common people!
The heinous crimes you committed in Laiyang are utterly unforgivable!
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and Mu Yi led several people carrying four boxes into the hall.
The box was placed in the center of the main hall. When the lid was opened, it was filled with boxes of books.
Mo Beihan gestured with his chin, and Mu Yi and the others took out the booklets from the box and placed them on the table in front of everyone at the banquet.
When everyone opened the booklet, their expressions changed.
Before Emperor Yuan and Emperor Jingwu was also a booklet, a compilation of the crimes committed by the Prince of Laiyang.
The two picked up the books and looked through them, both glaring angrily.
The Emperor Yuan threw the booklet at the kneeling Prince of Laiyang, and angrily rebuked him:
"King of Laiyang, you are truly audacious! I originally thought you were just a bit licentious, but I never expected you to exploit and oppress the people so much, even driving so many people to their deaths in order to amass wealth."
And your纨绔子孙 (sons and grandsons of wealthy and powerful families), and the families of your wives and concubines, all of them use the power of your royal palace to oppress the people, rob them of their wealth, and kill them.
This booklet records the heinous crimes of your Laiyang Prince's Mansion! You...you all deserve to die!
He regretted it! He hated it!
He regretted that he had given his cousin the throne and fiefdom out of consideration for family ties.
He regretted that he hadn't thought to send people to investigate the various fiefdoms for so many years, allowing these tyrants who sucked the blood of the people to wreak havoc on the region for so long.
However, he was no longer the current emperor, so he turned his attention to his younger brother, the current emperor.
When Emperor Jingwu saw the contents of that booklet, he was also furious.
He was also glad that he had supported Han'er when she said she would send people to investigate the various fiefdoms.
Otherwise, who knows how long these parasites would have continued to run rampant, and how much more suffering the people would have endured.
Seeing the Emperor Yuan looking at him, Emperor Jingwu knew what he meant, slammed his fist on the table and roared:
"Guards! Proclaim the imperial decree! The Prince of Laiyang is of immoral character, a scourge to the region, and guilty of numerous crimes. He is hereby stripped of his throne and his fiefdom revoked. All members of the Prince of Laiyang's household are to be imprisoned in the Dali Temple for trial after the New Year!"
Chief Steward Zhou immediately ordered someone to draft an imperial edict and sent people to seal up the Laiyang Prince's Mansion.
The Prince of Laiyang and his relatives were all taken away.
