The prince is more stable

Chapter 1004 The Entire Clan Exterminated
It was both expected and unexpected.

The entire Han family has fled, further solidifying their suspicions.

Zhen Qing and Liu Dan's faces were ashen as they issued a series of orders to their subordinates in the Imperial City Guard.

First, there was the pursuit, a manhunt from all four directions within Nanjing. Second, there was the search for informants to find out when and from which direction the Han family had fled.

This case is no ordinary case. The Han family's crimes are far more than just concealing land and evading taxes; these are minor matters that are not worth the attention of the Imperial City Guard.

The most fatal mistake the Han family made was plotting to assassinate the officials.

This alone is enough to make all the government officials and the Imperial Guards hunt down the Han family. The Imperial City Guard now defines the Han family as traitors and has issued a nationwide wanted notice. Whoever can capture the Han family will have made a great contribution.

After issuing a series of orders, Zhen Qing stared at the empty Han family mansion, his face grim as he gritted his teeth and said, "We're too late! If we had arrived earlier, we might have been able to apprehend a few suspects. Now we're in trouble!"

Liu Dan smiled faintly: "Even if we had acted a little earlier, we wouldn't have been able to capture him. The Han family had already thought of an escape route the moment they plotted to assassinate the official."

"While Bianjing City was taking action against the Emperor and Nanjing City was taking action against Zheng Chaozong, the Han family had already fled far away. They wouldn't be foolish enough to stay at home and wait for the court to arrest them."

It must be said that the Han family members are not only stubborn, but also cunning.

In desperation, he committed the heinous crime of exterminating nine generations of his family, but before the imperial court could arrest him, all nine generations of his family escaped.

This fact infuriated Zhen Qing and Liu Dan. They felt they had been tricked. The Han family had not only seriously challenged the capabilities of the Imperial City Guard, but also insulted its intelligence.

The Imperial City Guard, a powerful henchman of the imperial court and a lackey of the emperor, was completely outmaneuvered by a wealthy landowner. If this matter were reported to the emperor, who knows what the emperor would think of the Imperial City Guard?

Liu Dan sighed and said, "We should report the truth to the Emperor. This matter cannot be concealed, otherwise we would be deceiving the Emperor."

Zhen Qing nodded, then said with a gloomy face, "The Han family has more than two hundred people. According to normal practice, when the patriarch Han Linyan disperses the family members, in order to avoid being wiped out by the court, he will definitely have the family members break up into small groups and escape in different directions."

"However, the Han family is a large clan after all. With more than two hundred people running away, they must have determined the settlement of each household in advance. It is impossible to let all the clansmen wander around without a fixed place. Therefore, no matter how far the Han family members ran, there were still traces to follow."

Liu Dan chuckled strangely and said, "So, in other words, as long as we capture one member of the Han family, we can find out where the others are?"

Zhen Qing smiled and said, "Not necessarily, but we can try our luck. In any case, none of the Han family members can escape. They will all be taken to the execution ground and beheaded. Anyone who dares to assassinate an official will not survive."

…………

The Imperial City Guard acted swiftly, issuing arrest warrants to the surrounding prefectures and cities of Nanjing on the same day. Countless subordinates of the Imperial City Guard were also mobilized and dispatched to different directions to track down the whereabouts of the Han family.

The surrounding prefectures and cities also became tense, with a noticeable increase in the number of constables patrolling the streets, and the checks on passersby and people entering and leaving the city gradually becoming more stringent.

When the entire national apparatus mobilizes all its resources to hunt down a family, it means that an inescapable net has been laid for them.

When the state apparatus gets serious, no one can escape its pursuit.

From the imperial court to local government officials, as well as garrison troops, officials, village leaders, clan forces, and so on, everyone was faithfully running around for the imperial court's orders.

Two days later, Zhen Qing, who was stationed in Nanjing, received a message from the Imperial City Guard.

One branch of the Han family, consisting of three households and more than twenty people, fled to Xuzhou City, where they were captured by local government officials and imprisoned.

Upon hearing the news, Zhen Qing was overjoyed and immediately ordered the local government to escort the twenty-odd people to Nanjing as quickly as possible.

The Xuzhou government dared not be negligent. Although no one dared to publicize the assassination of the emperor, local officials all had powerful backers in Bianjing, and they would naturally mention this important matter in their correspondence.

Knowing that the captured suspect was an assassin of an official, the Xuzhou government treated the family as if they were facing a major enemy, and mobilized the local militia to escort them to Nanjing.

Bian Jing, Yanfu Palace.

A few days later, Zhao Xiaoqian received a report from the Imperial City Guard in Nanjing. Most of the suspects behind the assassins had been captured, but more than ten others were still on the run, and the Imperial City Guard was still pursuing them.

The main culprit, Han Linyan, was the largest landlord in the seven counties under Nanjing's jurisdiction, and his family owned 150,000 hectares of land.

After Zheng Chaozong took office in Nanjing, he first investigated the local land. The Han family could not cover it up, and over the generations, they had accumulated too many crimes, fearing that Zheng Chaozong would eradicate them completely.

With no way out, the Han family decided to launch a desperate counterattack, hiring assassins to kill Zhao Xiaoqian and Zheng Chaozong.

Ultimately, Han Linyan, who had fallen into a state of madness, used a desperate move called "Heaven and Earth Live Together" in his desperate situation, dragging the Song emperor down with him to their deaths.

This truly proves the saying, "Willing to risk one's life, one dares to pull the emperor off his horse."

Han Linyan actually did it.

As Zhao Xiaoqian read the memorial, his expression turned icy. When he saw Han Linyan's name, a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

When the Fangtian Equal Tax Law was first implemented, Zhao Xiaoqian foresaw that the powerful landlords in the country would inevitably launch a fierce counterattack, and that the landlords whose interests were threatened would not be willing to hand over their accumulated wealth of generations to the imperial court.

They would certainly use all sorts of methods to obstruct and resist the court's new policies, and would launch various resistance actions throughout the Song Dynasty. Zhao Xiaoqian had considered all of this and made preparations accordingly.

He just hadn't expected the powerful landlords' resistance to be so fierce, that they would even resort to suicidal tactics.

The landlords were willing to risk their lives, but was Zhao Xiaoqian willing to do the same?
Of course he was willing to do it, and he firmly believed that he wouldn't be the one to be skinned alive in the end.

The new policy has been implemented to this extent that Zhao Xiaoqian has no room for retreat or compromise, and he has no intention of compromising with the powerful landlords.

The Han Linyan family was a perfect target to be used as a deterrent to powerful landowners across the land, and to convey the Song Emperor's determination to the world.

Picking up his vermilion brush, Zhao Xiaoqian wrote a line of comments on the memorial.

"Han Linyan and his clansmen should be executed in accordance with the law. They should be beheaded outside Nanjing City, and their entire clan should be exterminated. No further reports are needed."

For the first time since Zhao Xiaoqian ascended the throne, he issued an edict to exterminate nine generations of his family.

This family must be killed, killed openly, executed in a righteous and just manner, to show the powerful landlords of Nanjing, and to show the people of the world.

Leaving aside the fact that the Han family colluded with officials and gentry to seize land, just the fact that Han Linyan bribed and instructed assassins to assassinate the Song emperor is enough to kill the entire Han family a hundred times over.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Xiaoqian took another piece of paper and wrote an imperial edict for Zheng Chaozong.

After the Han family was executed, the Nanjing Garrison was required to accelerate the implementation of the equal land tax law. Taking advantage of the momentum from the execution of the Han family, the government was to quickly investigate the land under its jurisdiction. Officials and servants who were to measure the land in various places were to go to the countryside, escorted by the Imperial Guards. Any landlords who resisted or obstructed the process were to be arrested and punished.

After the decree was issued, Zhao Xiaoqian leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

The Tao Te Ching says, "Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish," emphasizing the importance of timing and methods, rather than radical, sweeping approaches.

This statement sounds reasonable, but it's incredibly difficult to put into practice.

Especially when it comes to reforming the country, breaking the old rules and establishing new ones, it is even more difficult. Sometimes even the emperor has to face death. The reason for paying such a price is simply to prolong the reign of the emperor, to ensure that the people are well-fed and clothed, and to ensure that the imperial power is forever secure.

Since Zhao Xiaoqian ascended the throne, he has had virtually no time to enjoy himself. For more than half a year, he has not even favored any new women in the harem. Apart from his changed status, his life is now at the same level as when he was the Crown Prince of Chu.

He didn't know what kind of reputation he would leave in the history books of later generations. When he sat in this position, his power had reached its peak, and basically no one could restrain his power. The only thing that could restrain him was "conscience".

Be true to your conscience and to the conscience of the people.

Besides conscience, there is something else in my heart called "ambition".

An emperor without ambition is bound to fail. Calling him a "ruler who only maintains the status quo" is already being very mild; to put it bluntly, he is incompetent.

Zhao Xiaoqian's ambition was immense, surpassing that of all previous Song Dynasty emperors. He yearned for unification, for territorial expansion, and for the title of leader in the Eastern Hemisphere...

Such ambition was something that the emperors of the Song Dynasty throughout history probably never dared to even dream of.

The Han family's matter was resolved; they were wiped from this world, a truly thorough resolution.

Zhao Xiaoqian stretched, completely forgetting that he had just written the decree to exterminate nine generations of his family. He felt very relaxed.

"Old Zheng, let's change into some casual clothes and go for a walk outside the palace," Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly called out.

Zheng Chunhe entered the hall with small, hesitant steps, looking troubled.

Just a few days ago, the Emperor was assassinated on the streets of Bianjing, and today he is about to leave the palace again. Has he not learned any lessons?

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled easily: "What's there to worry about? Only a very small number of people dare to assassinate me. Do you think I'm so incompetent that everyone in the world has the right to kill me?"

Zheng Chunhe hurriedly and fearfully said he dared not, but after hesitating for a long time, he still turned around and arranged for the Imperial Guards to go.

Half an hour later, Zhao Xiaoqian, dressed in plain clothes, walked out of Funing Palace.

As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate and turned into the corridor, he was surprised to see Xue Meiyun standing timidly under the pillar, bowing her head carefully and bowing gracefully, not daring to look at him.

Zhao Xiaoqian was quite surprised: "Why are you here?"

Today, Xue Meiyun was dressed in a proper palace dress. Although it was early spring and the weather was still a bit cold, she also wore a short cotton cloak over her shoulders. The snow-white cotton was exposed, and the fluffy cotton gave her a rather charming look.

Looking at Xue Meiyun's appearance, she was clearly wearing light makeup today. Her eyebrows were lightly drawn, and she had applied a thin layer of rouge, which made her originally snow-white skin look even more stunning and radiant.

A hint of amazement flashed involuntarily in Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes; it was pure appreciation for beautiful things.

Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but turn around and look around, then asked curiously, "Why didn't you sing today?"

(End of this chapter)