"Your subject, Grand Censor Li Xin, along with all the censors of the Censorate, receive this imperial decree!"
"Wait, where is Censor-in-Chief Li? This imperial edict was specifically ordered by His Majesty for me to issue to him. If he is not here, I will not proclaim the edict!"
At this moment, the eunuch delivering the imperial edict was standing at the entrance of the Censorate.
It was Zhang Mo who had delivered the imperial decree to Li Lin's house a few days ago.
At this moment, he was personally dispatched by the First Emperor, and he was quite excited.
However, the name Li Lin is mentioned.
He had a headache.
Last time, this guy actually dared to defy the imperial decree in public. Fortunately, he came to his senses at the crucial moment, otherwise His Majesty would have been furious if he had known about his behavior.
Not many people can escape punishment!
This time, he was very careful and determined not to make the same mistake again.
"Li Lin didn't come?"
Li Xin immediately raised his head, stood up, and turned back to look at the censors behind him. Sure enough, he did not see Li Lin.
"That brat, I wonder what trouble he's gotten himself into that made His Majesty issue a special imperial edict for him. Could it be about Li You, the son of Chancellor Li Si?"
Li Xin was filled with many thoughts, but on the surface he was still actively searching for Li Xin's whereabouts.
After confirming that Li Lin had not come, he immediately turned around, looked at Zhang Mo respectfully, and said with a forced smile, "Your Excellency, I'm sorry, Censor-in-Chief Li Lin has not come!"
"Oh? He didn't come?"
"Yes, he didn't come!"
"Lord Li, I'm entrusting this matter of Vice Minister Li to you. Please make sure he comes out before dark, otherwise I won't be able to explain to His Majesty!"
"Don't worry, Father-in-law, I'll go and fetch Minister Li right away!"
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Li!"
Upon hearing that Li Lin hadn't come...
Zhang Mo immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He was polite to Li Xin on the surface, but in his heart he was cursing Li Lin to the core.
Damn it, we knew meeting Li Lin was no good. Damn it, we thought it was a great job, after all, it was a task specifically assigned by His Majesty.
Who would have thought it would be that Li Lin, that troublemaker again? Of all the imperial edicts we've sent these past few days, Li Lin is the most difficult one to deal with.
Everyone else was already kneeling on the ground, fully prepared with all sorts of rituals, when they heard the imperial decree. But this guy was lazy and listless, with a very negative attitude. I don't know what His Majesty saw in him. Alas! My family is truly a miserable bunch!
After a while...
Li Lin, who looked lazy, was dragged over by his older brother Li Xin.
Then Li Xin bowed apologetically, took out a string of coins from his pocket, and handed it over respectfully, saying, "I am very sorry to have kept you waiting, sir. Please take this small token of my appreciation and buy a bowl of wine when you have some free time!"
Zhang Mo's face lit up with joy. He put the money into his pocket, then said solemnly, "Lord Li, you're too kind. Li Zhongcheng, please accept the imperial decree!"
"ah?"
Li Lin is still wondering who is talking badly about him behind his back, which is making him sneeze all the time.
Unexpectedly, an imperial edict suddenly arrived.
The key point is that this imperial edict wasn't for anyone else; it was specifically for him.
How could he not be surprised?
"Hurry up and receive the imperial decree!"
"Your subject, Imperial Censor Li Lin, receives the imperial decree!"
"...Now the corvée labor at Mount Li is heavy and the number of people involved is large, while the fertile fields of the land are left uncultivated. I am deeply saddened by this. Fortunately, there is a Censor-in-Chief, Li Lin, who is intelligent, capable, brave, and resourceful. After much deliberation, I have decided that no one is more suitable than him to dismiss the corvée laborers at Mount Li. Therefore, I hereby issue this edict, bestowing upon Censor-in-Chief Li Lin the title of Cavalry Commandant, leading three thousand Imperial Guards, to proceed to Mount Li tomorrow to handle the corvée labor issue at Mount Li. This is my decree!"
The imperial edict wasn't very long.
The first part was a long overview of the situation in the world by the First Emperor, but Li Lin didn't listen carefully.
At first, he thought that the First Emperor was going to lecture him.
Unexpectedly, the more I listened, the more suspicious it seemed.
When did the First Emperor ever praise him so kindly?
It wasn't until he heard it that he realized what was going on.
Wow!
So His Majesty intends for him to go to Mount Li to dismiss the laborers who have been conscripted for corvée labor.
This kind of thing is not easy to handle.
What if the situation is handled poorly and hundreds of thousands of laborers from Lishan rebel?
And most importantly.
The laborers of Mount Li are quite formidable fighters.
A large portion of them were criminals. (The vast majority of these people were law-abiding citizens who were implicated, which explains why there were hundreds of thousands of criminals in the group.)
He remembered that during the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising, Qin Er Shi (the Second Emperor of Qin) was unable to mobilize the Qin soldiers under Zhao Tuo in Nanyue, so he had to use the criminals from Mount Li, eventually forming a Qin army of hundreds of thousands.
The victory was handed over to Qin general Zhang Han, which prevented Chen Sheng and Wu Guang from further expanding their gains.
You could say that.
Those people from Lishan are no pushovers. If the dismissal is unfair or conflicts arise, the consequences could be disastrous.
This immediately put Li Lin in a dilemma.
This caused him to hesitate to step forward and take the imperial edict into his own hands.
"Lord Li, you may receive the imperial decree! Lord Li, you may receive the imperial decree!"
Seeing Li Lin deep in thought, Zhang Mo suddenly realized something was wrong. Was this little rascal going to refuse the imperial decree again?
The large group of censors behind him were stunned by what they saw.
What?
What's going on here?
Why did Li Zhongcheng hesitate for so long before accepting the imperial edict?
How much face does that give?
If the First Emperor finds out, will he be in trouble?
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
