A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 45 Fighting
As the new year begins, everything is renewed.

At a time when people, land, and livestock should be at leisure, the entire city of Chang'an was bustling with tension and activity, and an unusual atmosphere was pervasive.

Chang'an, Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Hall.

The Grand Master of Ceremonies, Marquis Zhou Ping, forced a smile as he stepped into the main hall, but anyone could see that this was more like visiting a grave than an audience with the emperor.

"May the Emperor live a thousand years, may his happiness be endless." Zhou Ping knelt on the ground and bowed deeply in praise of the Emperor.

"Where are the records of tributes and sacrifices made by the princes, marquises, nobles, and ministers of the imperial clan?" Liu Che didn't even bother to rise.

"Your Majesty, it's here."

Grand Master of Ceremonies and Attendant-in-Ordinary Wuqiu Shouwang walked over, and with a little effort, took the account book from Zhou Ping's hand and presented it to Liu Che. After flipping through it only twice, he said, "You know what's going to happen next, right?"

Insufficient sacrificial rites and disrespect for ancestors are unforgivable offenses for someone holding the position of Minister of Ceremonies.

"Your subject will go to the Court of Justice to confess his guilt immediately."

"I know this matter is not entirely yours, but the most important matters of the state are sacrifice and war. You are the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The honor is yours, but the crime is also yours. I know you have done your best. You may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape punishment. I will strip you of your marquisate and remove your marquisate. You will be sent to Shuofang City to guard the border. Do you have any complaints?" Liu Che's conscience was sometimes clear and sometimes unclear.

In the Han Dynasty, the principle of collective punishment has been upheld from ancient times to the present. Even someone like Zhou Ping, who had done everything he was supposed to do, was still punished because it was impossible for nobles and relatives to perform the required sacrificial rites.

Perhaps out of a pang of conscience, after stripping Zhou Ping of his title and power, Liu Che did not immediately execute him. However, he was sent to guard the border in Shuofang, and the chances of him returning alive were slim. He had a conscience, but not much.

"Your Majesty, I kowtow in gratitude for Your Majesty's great favor. May Your Majesty live a long and prosperous life!" This praise of the Emperor came from the bottom of Zhou Ping's heart, a sentiment that expressed the sentiment that "it is better to live a wretched life than to die a good death."

Say it.

Zhou Ping then went to the Court of Justice to confess his guilt.

"Your Majesty, what should be done with those vassal kings, princes, marquises, and ministers of the royal family who have not paid tribute with white deer coins, as well as those martial arts nobles who have not atoned their sins?" Wuqiu Shouwang asked.

Although it was only a glance, he saw the name of a feudal lord in the missing sacrificial offerings in the ledger.

To this day, the only remaining vassal kingdom under the Emperor Emeritus is the State of Chu, founded by Liu Jiao, the fourth son of the Emperor Emeritus, the younger brother of Emperor Gaozu, and King Yuan of Chu.

Among the vassal kingdoms that survived from the reign of Emperor Gaozu, there were three kingdoms: the Kingdom of Chengyang, founded by Liu Zhang, the second son of Liu Fei, the eldest son of Emperor Gaozu and King Daohui of Qi.

The Kingdom of Zichuan was founded by Liu Zhi, the tenth son of Liu Fei, the eldest son of Emperor Gaozu (Liu Fei's son, King Daohui of Qi). Liu Zhi was originally enfeoffed as King of Jibei. After the Rebellion of the Seven States was quelled, Emperor Jing changed his title to King of Zichuan, and his fiefdom was moved from Jibei to Zichuan.

The Kingdom of Jibei was the second son of Liu Chang, the seventh son of Emperor Gaozu, who was also the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Jibei. Liu Bo was originally enfeoffed as the Prince of Hengshan. After the Rebellion of the Seven States was quelled, Emperor Jing changed the title of Prince of Jibei to the Prince of Zichuan, and Liu Bo, the Prince of Hengshan, was transferred to the title of Prince of Jibei.

Emperor Xiaowen ruled over two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Liang, founded by Liu Wu, the second son of Emperor Xiaowen, and the Kingdom of Qinghe, or Dai, founded by Liu Can, the third son of Emperor Xiaowen, the King of Dai.

The ten kingdoms under Emperor Xiaojing were: the Kingdom of Hejian under Liu De, the second son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Lu under Liu Yu, the fourth son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Changsha under Liu Fa, the sixth son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Zhao under Liu Pengzu, the seventh son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Zhongshan under Liu Sheng, the ninth son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Guangchuan under Liu Yue, the eleventh son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Jiaodong under Liu Ji, the twelfth son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Zhending under Liu Shun, the thirteenth son of Emperor Xiaojing; the Kingdom of Liu'an, a branch of the Kingdom of Jiaodong under Liu Qing, the second son of Liu Ji, the twelfth son of Emperor Xiaojing; and the Kingdom of Sishui, a branch of the Kingdom of Changshan under Liu Shang, the fourth son of Liu Shun, the thirteenth son of Emperor Xiaojing.

In addition to the newly enfeoffed Qi Kingdom under Your Majesty's rule, namely the Qi Kingdom under Liu Hong, the Yan Kingdom under Liu Dan, and the Guangling Kingdom under Liu Xu, there are a total of nineteen vassal states. The vassal king who is missing the white deer skin coins for the sacrifice this time is none other than Your Majesty's half-brother, the current Zhongshan King Liu Sheng.

The reason is simple: no money.

The Zhongshan Kingdom had over a hundred princes and their descendants. Under the Enfeoffment Edict, there were twenty princes and marquises. The Zhongshan Kingdom, which consisted of only one prefecture, had one king and twenty marquises. Moreover, the Zhongshan king and his sons and grandsons were particularly fond of wine and women. Every year, they could hardly even provide enough gold and wine for the tribute, let alone the additional 400,000 coins in white deer skin for the sacrificial offerings. They simply could not make it into the tribute.

Without a doubt, the entire Zhongshan King and the twenty Zhongshan princes and marquises were missing sacrificial offerings in the sacrificial offering ledger.

"This is a challenge to me!" Liu Che stared coldly at his elder brother's name.

The Kingdom of Zhongshan was short of money, but as a vassal king, Liu Sheng himself could not possibly lack money in white deer skin coins. All the other vassal kings had given them, but the King of Zhongshan refused to give them, trying to play the game of whoever is poor is right. Liu Che was not afraid at all.

"According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, what crime should be committed for such behavior?"

“Your Majesty, the lack of sacrificial rites and the neglect of our ancestors demonstrate a lack of filial piety and forgiveness. The ringleader and the main culprit should be executed immediately, and the accomplices should be punished with confiscation of property or hard labor according to the severity of their crimes,” said Wuqiu Shouwang truthfully.

Having many descendants has its advantages, such as the ability to collectively defy imperial edicts, advance and retreat together, and put pressure on the emperor. However, it also has its disadvantages, such as encountering a harsh and unforgiving emperor who enforces the law strictly, in which case all of them might be wiped out.

After pondering for a while, Liu Che said, "Immediately send the Minister of the Imperial Clan to Zhongshan to arrest the chief villain, King Liu Sheng of Zhongshan, the main culprit, Crown Prince Liu Chang, and all the princes and marquises who participated in resisting the imperial edict. Remove their kingdoms and abolish their fiefdoms. Liu Sheng and Liu Chang should be beheaded and their bodies displayed in the marketplace. All the princes and marquises of Zhongshan should be sent to Kunming Lake to serve in the army."

"Here."

"Other princes and marquises who fail to perform sacrificial rites shall be punished the same as the princes and marquises of Zhongshan," Liu Che continued.

The princes and marquises of the other eighteen vassal kingdoms also lacked the white deer skin coins for sacrificial offerings. They received the same treatment, but were sent to feed the animals in Shanglin Garden, to guard the border in Shuofang County, or to dig sand in Kunming Lake. They were forced to perform hard labor all year round, and their kingdoms were abolished and their vassal states were removed.

King Wuqiu Shou remained silent.

If this were a war, no matter how many princes and nobles were killed or wounded, no one would complain or be discouraged. But this is a killing, a suppression by the law of the land. It would be one thing if one family or one branch were killed, but to have hundreds of princes and nobles killed or wounded at once is truly unprecedented.

"His Majesty…"

"No need for further explanation. The way to govern a country is through punishment, reward, and education. If punishment and reward are not implemented, laws will have no authority, rebels will not be eliminated, the country will never have peace, and the world will only have a bad reputation, which I will bear alone."

Liu Che interrupted Wuqiu Shouwang before he could speak, his voice calm and collected, "How many of the marquises are missing their courtesy?"

"Your Majesty, there are ten people: Marquis Du Yan, Wang Dingguo; Marquis Dongcheng, Ju Gu; Marquis Ya Gu, Lu He; and Marquis Kailing, Lu."

"The Marquis's family has enjoyed generations of honors. I originally intended to follow the will of Emperor Gaozu and share the empire with them. However, their disregard for our ancestors and their neglect of ancestral sacrifices is intolerable. Issue an edict to immediately execute Du Yan and his entire family, exterminate their three clans, as a warning to others," Liu Che said indifferently.

Like the King of Zhongshan, he could afford to pay but deliberately refused. His only solution was to kill!

(End of this chapter)