As for the Zhang, Ma, and Li families, Chu Fan didn't even give them a chance to speak. Standing before the city lord's mansion, facing all the ministers and common people, he declared decisively, "These black sheep will be exterminated."
Chu Fan learned from Eunuch Li's investigation that the people of these three families were all from the Nine Provinces of Hedong. However, when the disaster broke out, these three families actually sold their stored grain at a high price and then left the State of Wei.
When Zhangsun Dechong was actively treating the victims, they did not choose to return to Wei. However, when the three citadels were built and the ordinary people in the Nine Provinces of Hedong all lived in good houses, they began to feel unbalanced.
They begin to envy the ordinary people who were once inferior to them but now have a better life than them. This imbalance makes them angry and dissatisfied.
In the past, they had never treated ordinary people as human beings, yet those ordinary people were able to live in good houses. However, they were always bullied in other countries, which made them extremely angry.
So they brought their wealth to Zhonghua City and found Yan Kai. After Yan Kai gained the power of the city lord, the desire in his heart became more and more uncontrollable.
When the three families proposed to use Li as a substitute for Tao Jiang, Yan Kai, seeing the generous money offered by the three families, agreed to their proposal without hesitation. As a result, the three families and Yan Kai were able to do whatever they wanted in Zhonghua City.
Under the lure of money from the three families, the city guards gradually lost their original loyalty and righteousness, becoming their lackeys and accomplices. This made the three families' actions in Zhonghua City virtually unknown to the outside world. Even Kaifeng, the city not far from Zhonghua City, was unaware of their actions in Zhonghua City.
Chu Fan had clearly given full authority to Changsun Dechong to take charge of the disaster victims in the Nine Provinces of Hedong and the affairs of the three citadels.
Therefore, no other ministers have shown any particular concern or attention to what is happening in the three Acropolis. It is precisely because of this lack of supervision and attention that Yan Kai and the three families have been able to act with impunity in Zhonghua City, doing whatever they want, almost to the point of lawlessness.
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However, Chu Fan's decision made some ministers uneasy. They couldn't help but question whether the punishment was too harsh. After all, just because one person was killed, the murderer's entire family had to be subjected to the torture of extermination. This seemed a bit too cruel.
An imperial censor stepped forward and said firmly, "Your Majesty, the state has laws, and everyone is responsible for their own actions. Your Majesty, you want to exterminate entire families simply because their descendants killed one person. Isn't this law too cruel?"
Chu Fan wasn't surprised by the censor standing up to refute him. He knew that if he had issued such an order, it would be unusual for the censor not to refute it. After all, the punishment of exterminating three tribes was extremely rare in history, and few people would easily propose such a punishment.
And just in time, the Imperial Censor came out to refute him. This gave Chu Fan the opportunity to smoothly say what he wanted to say next.
Chu Fan glanced sharply at the ministers present, his tone heavy and angry. He stared at the Wei ministers in front of him and said:
“You all only saw the seemingly harsh order I issued, but do you really understand how many heinous crimes the people from these three families committed when they came to Zhonghua City?
They had been in this city for only two short months, yet in those two months, they had already murdered two hundred and forty-six innocent people. Over two hundred lives lost—can you imagine the irreparable trauma and grief this has brought to countless families? With so many murders committed in such a short period of time, you can only imagine the impunity and tyranny they displayed in Zhonghua City, completely disregarding the laws and order of the Wei State.
Every word Chu Fan spoke was like a hammer hitting the ministers' hearts. He continued, "These crimes are not just numbers. Behind them are lives, the broken hearts and tears of countless families."
As Chu Fan spoke, the soldiers had already brought in every member of the three great families they could capture within Zhonghua City. The ministers looked down at the hundred or so people kneeling on the ground, their hearts trembling slightly.
Chu Fan continued, "As the saying goes, whoever kills must be put to death. However, in Zhonghua City, there are only 152 members of the three major families. Even if we execute them all, we still owe the people of Zhonghua City 94 lives. Do you still think I'm too harsh?"
"I know many of you will be thinking that as the Emperor, I have disregarded the laws of Wei and am acting at will, killing people without restraint. If any of you have other ideas, please speak up.
I am standing right here. If you disagree with my orders, you can simply draw your city guards or soldiers' weapons and kill me, and then you can become the emperor."
After Chu Fan finished expressing his views, he glanced at every Wei minister present, as if waiting for their reactions and responses.
However, after listening to Chu Fan's words, none of these ministers took up arms to start a rebellion. Instead, they knelt on the ground trembling with fear, begging: "It is our fault, Your Majesty, please calm down."
As a minister of the State of Wei, and still alive, who would dare to truly believe His Majesty's words and rebel? Remember, the blood of the Lu family hasn't dried at the gates of the imperial palace yet, and the wailing of the family that Qin Hui exterminated by order is still vivid in our minds.
In the minds of the Wei ministers, Chu Fan was a ruthless emperor. This time, he directly exterminated the relatives of the three families as a warning to them not to have any evil intentions and not to violate the laws of Wei.
Moreover, these ministers silently made a decision in their hearts, that is, after returning to their own mansions, they must solemnly warn other members of the family not to do anything out of line. After all, the current emperor is really capable of killing people, and if he implicates them, it would be an unprovoked disaster.
Of course, if any of them really believed His Majesty's words and took up arms to force His Majesty to change the order to exterminate the three tribes, then it is very likely that the minister's family would be buried with the people of those three families.
However, a stubborn old man stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have objections."
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