Wu Sheng's face turned pale and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
However, he lowered his head lower and lower, not daring to raise it for fear that Emperor Jing would notice something.
Emperor Jing stared at Wu Sheng quietly without saying a word.
After a while, Wu Sheng spoke up, "Your Majesty, I know that Taoyuan County is a small county on the edge of Hengjiang Prefecture."
"The population is only 2,000, and there have been famines for years. Seven years ago, the county magistrate starved to death in office, so the government exempted him from taxes.
After saying this, Wu Sheng remained kneeling, motionless.
Li Yuanzhao looked at Wu Sheng curiously. It was the first time he saw an official willing to kneel for so long.
His father didn't even let him get up.
After a long while, Emperor Jing slowly spoke: "Raise your head."
Wu Sheng trembled and slowly raised his head.
"Why do you look so pale, my dear?"
Wu Sheng tried to smile: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have traveled day and night to see Your Majesty as soon as possible, and I am a little tired."
"How many times have you been to Taoyuan County in the past seven years?"
"Your Majesty, I have been there three times since I took office as the Inspector General."
"Has Taoyuan County changed?"
........
Wu Sheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes! To this day, the number of people is still only about two thousand. Although the famine has been resolved, they are still poor."
"You're lying!" Emperor Jing slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Wu Sheng! How dare you lie to me!"
Wu Sheng looked at Emperor Jing in astonishment, then slammed his head to the ground.
His voice was filled with fear: "I dare not! I dare not! Everything I say is true. If I tell a lie, I will be struck by lightning and torn into pieces by five horses!"
Emperor Jing was shocked.
Judging from Wu Sheng’s performance, he clearly knew the situation in Taoyuan County, but he dared to hide it from him.
He even swore a poisonous oath to keep the matter of Taoyuan County secret!
What magical power does Fang Zhengyi have that can make Wu Sheng risk his life like this!
Guo Tianyang stood aside in a daze, constantly thinking about this question in his mind.
Emperor Jing sat down slowly and asked, "Guo Banban, what is the punishment for deceiving the emperor?"
Guo Tianyang said, "At the least, he should be beheaded, at the worst, his entire clan should be implicated. Wu Sheng is stubborn and even deceived the emperor in person. He should be severely punished and his entire clan should be implicated!"
Wu Sheng was too tired after not sleeping for the past two days. When he heard that he would be beheaded and his entire family would be implicated, his mind was completely confused.
Wu Sheng's fear grew deeper and deeper. He kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.
"Wu Sheng! What else do you want to say?"
When Wu Sheng raised his head, blood flowed down his forehead. His face was grim. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, how can you kill your subjects unjustly? What crime did Wu Sheng commit? At least let me die knowingly."
Emperor Jing's tone was still unhurried: "I have already been to Taoyuan County. Do you have anything else to say?"
"What!!" Wu Sheng couldn't help but speak out.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't understand why the emperor would come to Taoyuan County, such a remote place!
Originally, according to his idea, the Ministry of Revenue had discovered tax evasion in Taoyuan County for several years during its tax inspection.
Although the situation was bad, I should be able to get away with it by making some clever excuses. I didn't expect that the emperor had actually been to Taoyuan County!
Seeing his desperate expression, Emperor Jing asked again, "Wu Sheng, I am curious about one thing now. What benefit did Fang Zhengyi give you that made you risk your life and deceive me?"
Wu Sheng was disheartened. He was going to die anyway, so he decided to just come clean.
He kowtowed once more and said in grief, "I am a sinner! I beg you to die!"
"But I am innocent! I have something to say! I am not trying to deceive you, it's just that Fang Zhengyi is not a human being!!"
Li Yuanzhao, who was kneeling in the corner, suddenly brightened up his eyes.
I was kneeling here and was so bored, and suddenly such a big melon came along.
Tears flowed down Wu Sheng's eyes along with the blood, his face blurred, and he cried, "I first arrived in Taoyuan County a few years ago, when Taoyuan County had already grown to a certain size."
"The outer earthen walls were even more than ten meters high, and the people lived a prosperous life, working and living in peace and contentment. It was completely different from the poverty described in previous records."
"I was so happy at the time that I was eager to report my achievements to the court, but I didn't know... I didn't know that Fang Zhengyi wouldn't let me!"
"He tied me up and took me to the county government office, and threatened me not to tell anyone about Taoyuan County. I even saw his men sewing up a man's anus on the street!"
"I am so frightened that I dare not refuse..."
The other three people present suddenly felt their anuses tighten. It was really too damn evil! Is this human behavior?
Li Yuanzhao thought about it and shuddered all over. He would probably give in too.
Emperor Jing and Guo Tianyang looked at each other. Zhang Biao! It must be that Zhang Biao!
But then Emperor Jing asked curiously again: "And they let you go?"
"This is unreasonable. Since you have already left Taoyuan County, why don't you report it to your superiors? Do they have any evidence against you?!"
Wu Sheng seemed to be immersed in extremely painful memories, looking up at the roof, drooling from the corners of his mouth...
Then he closed his eyes and made up his mind: "Yes!"
"They also found evidence against me! At that time, I had promised not to spread the news about Taoyuan County, but how could that traitor Fang Zhengyi believe me!"
"He...They stripped me naked, tied me to a chair, and called a sketch artist to draw me."
"That painting... is so lifelike... I have never seen such realistic painting skills."
"After the painting was finished, they continued to threaten me, saying that if I dared to tell anyone, they would print thousands of copies of the painting and spread them all over the world! They would ruin my reputation!"
Emperor Jing and Guo Tianyang looked at each other again, shocked.
This is too damn despicable! There are actually such ministers in the world! This is the behavior of a bandit! Even bandits are not so bad!
Wu Sheng closed his eyes and continued, "This is not over yet."
"After they finished the painting, they didn't let me put on any clothes. I was put in front of a loudspeaker naked. They...they forced me to swear an oath...say...say..."
Having said this, Wu Sheng's emotions seemed to be greatly stimulated and he fainted.
Guo Tianyang quickly pressed his Ren Zhong a few times and gave him a cup of tea before his breathing became smoother.
"Tell me! Tell me now! What oath did you swear? And what will happen next?!"
Emperor Jing asked anxiously, that loudspeaker must be the one placed in the room when they signed the contract!
He was very curious at the time, and now Wu Sheng's performance! Emperor Jing was sure that the trumpet had other mysterious functions!
...........
Li Yuanzhao's eyes were filled with surprise.
It's worth the trip! It's worth the trip! This melon is so delicious.
His heart was now as anxious as a cat's scratch, and he couldn't wait to know what oath Wu Sheng had made.
So what if I swore a poisonous oath! ?
Could it be that Wu Sheng is a fool who believed the oath after it was sworn?
......
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