In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 569 Shock to the Court and the Countryside

As several riders galloped into the capital, news of Xia Yuanying's death finally reached this central region of China, causing shock throughout the court and the country!

"That evil king is finally dead! Hahahaha, that's great!"

"Heaven has eyes! That wicked king who ravaged the people is finally dead."

"What a death!"

"Hahaha! The wicked king who committed so many evil deeds is finally dead! How satisfying!"

"Great pleasure!"

"..."

This is the voice of the people in the capital. Although Xia Yuanying has been gone from the capital for several years, the harm he once caused to the people of the capital still remains in the memories of many people. Therefore, after learning of Xia Yuanying's death, countless people clapped and cheered, saying that it was a great relief.

As for the reaction of the court officials to the death of the Prince of Qing... well, that was about it.

After all, during the struggle for the throne, Xia Yuanying had already clashed with most of the officials in the capital, and it could even be said that they had formed a grudge. Therefore, most of the officials in the court disliked the Prince of Qing, and even... were quite pleased with Xia Yuanying's death.

On the contrary, Xia Yuanyao, who had not attended the morning court a few times in recent years, suddenly appeared at the morning court the next day and flew into a rage!

"I trust you and have entrusted you with all government affairs. Is this how you govern the country for me?"

Xia Yuanying, who had become thin due to excessive indulgence, wore a dragon robe, giving off a somewhat pretentious air. However, he was still the emperor after all, and he still possessed a certain charisma.

He glared at the prime minister and officials of the six ministries below and said, "A prince of such high rank has been murdered by an unknown nobody. Where is the law of the land? Where is the dignity of the royal family?"

The reason for his anger was not because Xia Yuanyao and Xia Yuanying had a particularly deep relationship.

There is no kinship in the imperial family. During the struggle for the throne, the late emperor's sons had already turned against each other. Xia Yuanying and Xia Yuanyao may not have reached the point of being enemies, but there is no affection between them. Instead, there is more hatred than affection.

But this doesn't mean Xia Yuanyao can ignore Xia Yuanying's death. A prince was killed, and tortured to death at that...

This is absolutely intolerable for Xia Yuanyao and the Xia family behind him. It is a contempt for imperial power, a blow to imperial power, and an insult to the Xia family!

If everyone dares to attack the prince or the Xia family, where is the imperial dignity? Where is the Xia family's prestige?

"Your Majesty, calm down."

Officials below, including the prime minister, knelt down in a rush, displaying an appearance of utter fear and trepidation.

However, if you look closely at their expressions, you will find that they are not afraid of Xia Yuanyao's anger, but rather indifferent.

The reason is simple: Xia Yuanyao was a powerless emperor, with all the power in the hands of his ministers. Even if the emperor was angry, what could he do to them?

As for the blow that Xia Yuanying's death dealt to the court and the royal family... to be honest, the court's authority had long been lost in places other than Jingzhou, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many rebels and traitors everywhere.

For these officials in the court, the most important thing now is to rebuild the three major camps in the capital. Only by rebuilding the three major camps in the capital can they send troops to various states to suppress the rebels in various states, restore stability to the nine states, and allow them to continue to seize more benefits.

Of course, some manipulation was inevitable during the reconstruction of the three major battalions.

"Prime Minister Fan".

Xia Yuanyao glared angrily at Prime Minister Fan Jiu: "Tell me, how should we handle the death of the Prince of Qing?"

"Naturally, we must find the murderer as soon as possible."

Fan Jiu stood up, trying his best to appear angry: "Then we will publicly execute him as a warning to the world."

"well said!"

Xia Yuanyao shouted, "Where is the commander of the Black-Clad Guards?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man in black robes, who seemed to blend into the shadow of a pillar, stepped forward and knelt on one knee: "Your subject, Li Gang, Commander of the Black-Clad Guards, pays respects to Your Majesty."

Upon seeing this person, the officials' expressions changed slightly. The Black-Clad Guards were similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Ming Dynasty, possessing the power to monitor all officials and also having responsibilities such as intelligence gathering.

It can be said that the Black-Clad Guards were a force that most officials feared, especially their commander, Li Gang, who was a veritable mad dog. During the reign of the late emperor, the number of Beijing officials who died at his hands was too many to count on two hands.

"You are ordered to find out the identity of the murderer as soon as possible and bring him to the capital!"

A fierce glint flashed in Xia Yuanyao's eyes: "I want to see the murderer executed in the open with my own eyes."

"Yes!"

Li Gang, dressed in a black robe, bowed and agreed.

After the morning court session, the massive Black-Clad Guard mobilized, contacting spies in Qingzhou to find the killer's identity. In addition, the Black-Clad Guard dispatched a large number of personnel from the capital to Beijing.

When a country's intelligence agencies are operating at full capacity, identifying a murderer is not a difficult task.

…………

…………

Haizhou, in a forest.

A group of exhausted men were resting. Each of them was filthy, their clothes were tattered, and their faces were pale. Some of them had some injuries on their bodies, like wild animals licking their wounds.

"Boss."

A man with numerous knife wounds on his arm looked at the middle-aged man not far away, his expression ashen, and said, "Do we still have a way to survive?"

Upon hearing this question, the burly middle-aged man, referred to as the "boss," fell silent, unsure how to answer.

These people were once honest and hardworking farmers. Because they couldn't get enough to eat and the imperial court wanted to increase taxes, they chose to rebel in anger.

With sheer courage and determination, they successfully killed the local officials who had oppressed them, stormed into the county town, opened the county's granaries, and ate several full meals.

However, their good fortune did not last long. Not long after they had eaten their fill, the Haizhou army learned of their rebellion and quickly dispatched 10,000 troops to suppress them!

How could a peasant army of ten thousand possibly contend with such a force?

Even with the city walls as a shield, their army, which was not really an army, was no match for the Haizhou army. In less than a day, they suffered a crushing defeat.

However, since most of these men came from the same place and shared a common hatred for the imperial court, they did not scatter and flee after their defeat. Instead, they covered each other as they escaped from the county town and hid in the deep mountains and forests, barely managing to escape the pursuit of the government troops.

Although they had escaped with their lives, the situation was not optimistic for these men. While hiding in the deep mountains and forests had spared them from the threat of the government troops, food was scarce in the mountains. If these hundreds of men could not find food soon, they would starve to death sooner or later.