Li Banghua smiled coldly, stood up and walked to the bed in the inner room, and took out a sword with a yellow tassel from the wooden box at the head of the bed.

He gently stroked the sword in his hand and said in a cold tone: "Before I leave, I ask Your Majesty to grant me the Imperial Sword. I can chop down not only the eunuchs in the inner court, but also the princes of the Ming Dynasty if I want to."

"I came south this time with the determination to die. Anyone who disagrees can use his neck to test the sharpness of this sword!"

Everyone present shrank their necks, not daring to breathe.

Li Banghua knew what they were thinking, and promised: "Don't worry, if you have any achievements in this trip south, you will share the credit with me; if there are any mistakes, I will bear the responsibility alone."

"Don't worry about anything. Just do it boldly."

"You are too kind, Lord. Since we dare to follow you south, we will have no worries."

"That's good," Li Banghua nodded, "By the way, write down what you just said and give it to Shi Hongshengrang, so that he doesn't have to worry about the future."

Next, everyone began to discuss the matter of the Inspector.

In fact, this matter had already been decided in the court long before Li Banghua went south.

But those old scholars were too enthusiastic.

He would rather not receive any salary than not rush to become an inspector.

For this reason, they began to discuss whether to save this money for the court.

After some discussion, everyone reached a unanimous agreement: the money must be spent, otherwise the expected results would not be achieved.

After confirming this matter, Li Banghua appeared in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War in Nanjing respectively and asked them to transport military supplies to the front line as soon as possible.

Things happening in the rear must not affect operations on the front line.

Time quickly came to August 24th.

The Autumn Examination had not yet ended.

Li Shi, the eunuch in charge of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, came to the outskirts of Nanjing accompanied by a group of people.

Li Shi was very unhappy.

He was ordered to go to Changzhou Prefecture to solicit bribes.

As a result, not only did he not receive the bribe, but he was summoned back to Nanjing by Li Banghua in the name of an imperial envoy for questioning.

After returning to Nanjing City, the group did not go to the post house immediately, but rested for half a day before going there.

It was almost evening when we arrived at the inn.

Li Shi dismounted and walked into the inn, where he met Li Banghua in the lobby.

"The General Manager of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau greets Lord Li." Li Shi bowed to Li Banghua respectfully.

Li Banghua threw Shi Hongsheng's letter in front of Li Shi and said, "I heard that you asked for a bribe from Shi Hongsheng?"

Of course Li Shi would not admit it.

He explained: "I didn't ask for a bribe, I just borrowed money. The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau wanted to buy a batch of raw silk for the palace to weave for the imperial use, but because they didn't have enough silver, they borrowed money from the Changzhou prefect."

"But the local officials have impeached you for taking advantage of the opportunity to solicit bribes and asked them to perform a kowtow." Li Banghua's eyes became colder.

Li Shi didn't notice this detail and continued to argue: "Their haste to come here is not in line with me. Please understand clearly, Lord."

"After investigation, the fact is that you demanded a bribe."

"I don't."

"Come here, torture him!" Li Banghua didn't want to waste time here with Li Shi. He still had many important things to do.

Li Shi never expected that Li Banghua would torture him.

He shouted at the top of his voice: "I am your Majesty's internal official, and you are an external official. External officials cannot interrogate internal officials, and they cannot torture them privately, otherwise it would be a rebellion."

Li Banghua nodded first, then shook his head: "Of course I know this rule, so the one who interrogated you is not me, but someone else."

"Who?" Li Shi looked around, trying to find a familiar figure.

He looked around but didn't find anyone he knew. Just when he was about to give up, he suddenly found a somewhat familiar face in the crowd.

This man was wearing armor, with a face as red as a date and a strong build. He was hiding among a group of soldiers, looking around with his head down.

Why does he look so similar to Jinyiwei commander Li Ruolian?

Just as Li Shi was puzzled, Li Banghua stood up and said to the man, "Commander Li, it's your turn to work."

The Jinyiwei are best at doing this kind of thing.

"Okay!" Li Ruolian pushed away the soldiers beside him and strode to Li Shi.

"Commander Li, save me!" Li Shi seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and shouted, "Li Banghua is plotting a rebellion. Commander Li, please arrest him immediately."

"Who are you?" Li Ruolian pretended not to know him.

"Huh?" Li Shi was completely stunned.

He stared at Li Ruolian's face for a while, then turned to look at Li Banghua.

Suddenly...he understood many things.

When the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard joined forces, not to mention him, a small eunuch in charge of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, even the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty would have fallen.

Li Ruo Lian grabbed Li Shi by the neck and asked, "Did you ask for a bribe?"

"No."

Li Ruo Lian put more force on her hands: "I'll give you one last chance."

Li Shi was strangled to the point of being unable to breathe.

As the lack of oxygen worsened, his cheeks turned red and then white, and his body began to struggle uncontrollably.

Before entering the door, Li Shi had made up his mind that he would never admit to soliciting bribes even if he was beaten to death.

But when the punishment came upon him, he decided to retract his previous resolution.

"I said...ahem, I said!" Li Shi squeezed out a few words from his throat.

After hearing this, Li Ruolian let go of his hand, and Li Shi's knees went weak and he fell to the ground.

After taking a deep breath, Li Shi admitted to soliciting bribes.

Li Banghua nodded: "Okay, since you have admitted to soliciting bribes, I will not show mercy."

"Come here, take him out of the post house and behead him in public."

These words stunned everyone.

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