His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, with a dark complexion, sat on the main seat of the Nanliang Mansion's Great Hall, trembling as he looked at the statistics.
Three days ago, the prince abandoned his RV, artillery and motorcycle, and rushed to Nanliang Mansion with only a few people. What he saw was a Nanliang Mansion with collapsed walls, empty buildings and rampant rats. As for the building complex of the prince's harem that Li Yuanming presided over, it had been burned down long ago, bringing a thick layer of dust to Nanliang Mansion.
In the past three days, people around the crown prince, including those around Yuan Zhao, have been running around, inquiring, and counting the people's situation. The result is so infuriating—less than 30% of the people are left! 70% of the people have already moved their families to Anyang.
Luliang County, which once had a population of 8 million, now has less than 2.2 million people left! And most of those who remain are the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled.
"Bang!" The prince slapped the half-worn table with a slap, his face grim, "This is too much!"
Suddenly, a soldier came to report: "Report... Your Highness, there are more than 100,000 people in the north, preparing to migrate with their families to Anyang!"
"What!" The prince was furious. "Stop them. Catch a few more ringleaders. I want to ask them why!"
In the evening, several middle-aged men were brought in. When the prince saw them, he immediately asked, "What's your name?"
One of the middle-aged men said calmly, "Your Highness, I am Liu Shan."
"Then why did you leave Luliang County? Why did you leave now instead of before?"
Liu Shan answered forcefully: "Your Highness, there were rumors about your Highness before, but I didn't believe them. But the day before yesterday, I saw your Highness's vehicle, which turned out to be a mobile palace, extremely luxurious. Such a mobile palace must have cost a lot of money, which is enough to show that your Highness's life is indeed extremely luxurious. Therefore, after seeing this mobile palace, many of us who still have confidence in your Highness are very disappointed!"
The prince's fingers tightly grasped the table, his joints pale! He was tricked again!
Should he be angry? Or roar? The prince didn't know how to describe his feelings; from the beginning to the end, he was used by Li Xian!
The grand welcoming ceremony was just a delay for time; the carefully prepared mobile palace was actually a trap!
Over and over again, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was kneaded like a dough.
Yuan Zhao didn't say anything, but he suddenly felt a little emotional in his heart. His once silly "brother" seemed to have become more shrewd and calculating, planning three steps ahead.
Yuan Zhao didn't say anything. Yue Qingfeng sighed slightly and spoke with anger, "Liu Shan, that was just a gift from Anyang to His Highness."
Liu Shan chuckled, "Then do ordinary people like us also need to give gifts to His Highness in the future?"
This question was so well asked that Yue Qingfeng was speechless for a moment. The only one who could answer this question was the Crown Prince. Yuan Zhao and Yue Qingfeng both looked at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
What about the crown prince? His Royal Highness, who was already furious and rational, had already started to roar, and without thinking, he shouted, "Paying tribute is a matter of course! The Great Xia Kingdom has raised you, so it's no big deal for you to pay tribute!"