The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

As the sun set, Li Shimin emerged from the Dali Temple prison and looked up, asking, "Where are Zheng's people?"

"Your Majesty," Du Ruhui immediately replied, "The Zheng family and their leaders in Chang'an have very little leverage, so I hesitated to arrest them before. Now, with the Lu family's confession, I will immediately go and apprehend them!"

Zheng Shanyuan and his group were different from the Lu family. They were not so arrogant and were indeed honest officials. Even Li Shimin would not have ordered people to be arrested so easily.

Everything still needs to be supported by evidence.

Now that we have the Lu family's confession, the mere fact that they conspired to poison a third-rank official of the current dynasty is enough to warrant the execution of their entire clan.

"Hmm..." Li Shimin looked at the sky, "What about the others? Zheng Shanyuan and the others don't have much of a problem with them, but what about the rest of the family? And the people they've won over?"

Du Ruhui lowered his head and replied, "The Li family of Zhao County and the Wang family of Taiyuan acted swiftly, and the Cui family of Boling were not idle either. The Zheng family was their main target, and most of the officials in Chang'an have been arrested."

"However, the Zheng family is such a large clan that its assets and personnel in Chang'an alone cannot be captured and counted in a day."

"Besides the three cases that have been submitted with solid evidence, there are many others that need to be verified, which also takes time."

"More importantly... these are only a small part. While the Zheng family has been operating in Chang'an for a long time, their influence in the local areas is the greatest. Eliminating these forces will take even longer!"

"I don't care about any of that!" Li Shimin roared. "Now, immediately, drag the Zheng and Lu families, whose evidence is irrefutable, to the East Market and execute them!"

"Let people know what they did and why I killed them!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Du Ruhui paused for a moment before replying.

Li Shimin gazed at the sky, his eyes glistening with tears: "Huai'an... wait a little longer... wait for me to avenge you and bring their heads before your spirit tablet."

After saying this, Li Shimin sighed deeply, and his gaze became sharp again!

"Go! I want the Zheng and Lu families to bleed rivers of blood!"

"..."

In the East Market of Chang'an, the most terrifying scene since the Zhenguan era unfolded.

In a single day, nearly thirty heads rolled, including those of officials and their families.

This was only the first day after news of Chen Huai'an's death broke.

With so many people killed in Chang'an alone, it's hard to imagine how local officials across the country would react.

"Hey, what on earth happened? So many people have been beheaded, and it seems many of them were officials. What did they do wrong?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? But seeing so many Imperial Guards mobilized in Chang'an today, and the city even sealed off, allowing only entry but no exit, something truly terrible must have happened."

"What could possibly warrant such a huge uproar, resulting in the killing of so many people, including their families?"

"...Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you."

At the execution ground in the East Market, countless onlookers whispered among themselves, not knowing what had happened, but they knew that something terrible must have occurred.

At this moment, Wei Zheng, dressed in official robes, walked step by step to the execution ground and faced the crowd of onlookers.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you're all wondering what happened today, why there's been such a commotion in Chang'an, why His Majesty has executed so many people in one day, and why people are still being brought in."

"What law did they break? What wrong did they do that warrants such a large-scale operation by His Majesty?"

The onlookers immediately fell silent. Many of them were quite perceptive; just by looking at Wei Zheng's official robes, they could tell he was a high-ranking official.

"My lord, may I ask what they have done wrong?" someone in the crowd mustered up the courage to ask.

"What crime have you committed?" Wei Zheng's eyes were still red, and he suppressed his hatred as he said, "Have you all heard of Chen Huai'an, the Duke of Anguo and Minister of Revenue and Works?"

When the name was mentioned, most people looked surprised, while some were delighted.

"My lord, of course we've heard of Minister Chen. In the first year of the Zhenguan era, Minister Chen and Minister Pei carried out disaster relief together, and many of us have even met him."

"Yes, yes, Minister Chen is a good official. Since he took office, everyone's life has become much better. My eldest son came back for a while on New Year's Day, and now he's out earning money again."

"Indeed! If it weren't for Minister Chen, who knows how many more people would have died during the famine in Guanzhong last year."

"My lord, how could we forget Minister Chen? He invented the curved plow, making farming easier for everyone; he invented ironware, finally giving our families an iron pot; and he even produced refined salt, ensuring everyone could have salt to eat. Of course we remember him!"

Among the crowd, almost everyone was praising Chen Huai'an. The common people are very simple and honest; they remember clearly who cares about them.

In addition, Chen Huai'an often strolled around Chang'an City, and when he was occasionally greeted by people who recognized him, he would respond very kindly.

They did not know Wei Zheng, a famous remonstrating official in the court, but they remembered Chen Huai'an, a minister who was dedicated to serving the people.

"But what if I told you..." Wei Zheng suppressed his rage, "Minister Chen was poisoned by a villain just today?"

The crowd fell silent instantly.

A deathly silence.

Moments later, chaos erupted.

"How could that be? How could such a good official as Minister Chen be poisoned?"

"Damn it! We finally have such a good minister, who would dare to do such a thing?"

"It's them!" Wei Zheng pointed to the people behind him. "They are the so-called Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, the Lu family of Fanyang, and the Zheng family of Xingyang!"

"They enjoy the respect of the world, but behind the scenes they do things worse than pigs and dogs, seizing the people's land, privately minting coins, abusing their power for personal gain, forcing good people into prostitution, and oppressing the kind and good."

"That's not enough!"

"They feared that Minister Chen's new policies would harm their interests, and that his talent would tarnish their family's scholarly traditions!"

Wei Zheng said angrily, "It's because Minister Chen wants to reform the imperial examination system, break the monopoly of aristocratic families, and make it possible for all poor scholars in the country to afford to study and have the opportunity to enter the court as officials and bring glory to their ancestors."

"Just because Minister Chen said, 'We must establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, secure a destiny for the people, continue the lost learning of the past sages, and usher in an era of peace for all generations!'"

"Furthermore, Minister Chen proposed a new concept: the mind is reason, extending innate knowledge, and the unity of knowledge and action!"

"They were afraid that Minister Chen would become the new sage, and that their family's status would be diminished."

"So when Minister Chen was showing compassion for the people, they poisoned him."

"Tell me, should these people be killed?!"

"..."