Qin Yu looked furious, slamming his fist on the table, seemingly getting angrier the more he spoke.
Wang Ziru's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly wiped his sweat and explained:
"Your Majesty, I was just asking a minor question. After all, the national debt was issued by Your Majesty personally. If there were any mistakes, it might affect Your Majesty's reputation."
He spoke very sincerely, but unfortunately, Qin Yu's expression became even angrier after hearing it.
Qin Yu looked at Wang Ziru, snorted coldly, and said with a righteous expression:
"I admit that I borrowed the money, but it was for disaster relief. Now that the bandits have stolen your money, what does that have to do with me!"
"If you have the guts, go and demand silver from the bandits with your knives! Why are you asking me now?"
Qin Yu spoke these words with righteous indignation and conviction.
The officials nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood in unison.
No one could have imagined that Qin Yu, as the emperor, would actually act shamelessly and cheat in front of all the officials in the Golden Palace!
It is said that a ruler's word is law, but Qin Yu's reckless behavior and his act of personally taking the fall are unheard of even in the history books of all dynasties!
Qin Yu, too lazy to look at their expressions as if their parents had just died, waved his hand dismissively and said, "Spit it out if you have nothing to say, or hurry up and leave the court. I'm tired!"
After exchanging glances, no one moved an inch.
Qin Yu glanced at everyone, gave a disdainful snort, and was about to get up and leave.
Just then, Li Zheng, the head of the Censorate, stepped forward and said with a forced smile, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"kindness?"
Qin Yu frowned in displeasure. He knew that Li Zheng was the number one censor in the Great Xia Dynasty, even more so than the trolls of later generations!
He was Sima Lie's mouthpiece, and whenever loyal ministers were framed, this guy would always jump out eagerly!
Qin Yu glared at the guy with disgust and said coldly, "Spit it out!"
The minister stepped forward reluctantly and knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Your Majesty, please grant me justice!"
"Your Majesty, when you issued the national bonds, my whole family supported you. But now you say you won't pay them back. I've always been poor! Now we can't even afford to eat. We're just waiting for the court to pay us back. We really can't live like this anymore."
Li Zheng wept bitterly, tears streaming down his face.
What he said was indeed true.
He emptied his savings to buy government bonds in order to fulfill Qin Yu's promise of salt tax revenue.
Now look what's happened! The tyrannical emperor refuses to return the money with just a word. Won't his whole family starve to death?
"What does it have to do with me if your family is starving?"
Qin Yu glared at him. This guy was no good; he was already on Qin Yu's blacklist!
Now that he's jumped out, it's a good opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Thinking of this, Qin Yu continued, "This matter must not be mentioned again. You may leave!"
"Your Majesty, I will not retreat. I implore Your Majesty, you must not break your promise!"
"I have broken my promise?"
Qin Yu slammed his hand on the armrest and stood up abruptly, pointing at Li Zheng and roaring:
"I see you've taken my words to heart. Fine, you insist on an explanation from me, is that it? Then I'll give you one today. Guards, drag him away and give him one hundred strokes of the cane!"
Qin Yu's words were like a fuse, igniting the entire room.
The officials were all stunned.
Two guards immediately entered the hall and carried the incredulous Li Zheng towards the outside.
"Your Majesty, a monarch's word is law! You cannot undermine your royal dignity! I am innocent!"
Li Zheng struggled desperately, but how could a weak and powerless official like him possibly be a match for the Imperial Guards who were as strong as bulls?
These guards weren't going to play along with his words; they slapped him twice, disfiguring his proud, incorruptible tongue!
He pinned me to the ground, pulled down my pants, and started hitting my white, bare buttocks hard!
"Ah! Your Majesty! You can't treat a loyal minister like this... I once sold all my wealth to buy national bonds and lent money to the court..."
"Bullshit! You borrowed money and then asked me to pay it back. What kind of loyal subject are you!"
"Beat them! Beat them hard!"
Qin Yu's face was filled with rage as he gave the order harshly!
The pleas came to an abrupt halt!
Then came a series of horrifying screams.
These screams of agony caused all the officials to change their expressions.
Qin Yu, this incompetent ruler, was not only foolish but also incredibly cruel.
One hundred strokes of the cane in court—wouldn't that beat someone to death?
At this moment, Wang Ziru, who had previously been quite confident, was completely intimidated.
He dared not mention the national debt again, fearing he would be the next one to be attacked.
So he quickly shut his mouth and obediently moved back.
This tyrant is too unreasonable, and he can't afford to offend him, so he has no choice but to keep a low profile.
Qin Yu glanced at all the officials and nodded in satisfaction when he saw that no one else would speak.
"Who has anything else to do now? If not, then leave court and get out!"
He waved his hand dismissively.
The ministers looked at each other, finally realizing that this foolish emperor was clearly going to be a deadbeat!
But after glancing at Li Zheng, whose skin was torn and bleeding on the ground, they could only swallow their words and watch Qin Yu leave the scene with resentment.
...
After the court session ended, Sima Lie walked ahead with a gloomy face and great anger.
Ma Shangtao followed cautiously behind, his expression one of utter frustration.
At this moment, Sima Lie, who was in front, suddenly stopped. Ma Shangtao, who was not paying attention, almost bumped into him.
Sima Lie turned around with a dark face, glaring angrily at Ma Shangtao.
"Are you a piece of trash? How could you manage to make such a mess of something perfectly fine?"
Ma Shangtao lowered his head and said aggrievedly, "Prime Minister, I have no idea where this band of bandits came from. My plan was flawless..."
Seeing Sima Lie's terribly gloomy expression, Ma Shangtao quickly stopped trying to explain and assured him:
"Please rest assured, Prime Minister, I will immediately dispatch troops to wipe out the mountain bandits and kill them all to vent my hatred!"
Sima Lie gritted his teeth: "Fool, do you still naively believe that this was done by bandits?"
Ma Shangtao was stunned and asked in astonishment:
"Huh? Not bandits? Then who else could have done it?"
"Who else could it be? This must all be that old fox Zhang Tang's treacherous scheme!"
At this point, Sima Lie's eyes narrowed dangerously again:
"I thought that after being demoted, even if he wanted to make a comeback, he would be severely weakened and wouldn't dare to oppose me. But I didn't expect that I had underestimated him!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Shangtao suddenly realized what was going on.
If all of this was Zhang Tang's treacherous scheme, then everything seems to make sense.
"No wonder those bandits were able to kill our men silently, then make us kill the wrong people, and even let the post station burn down. It turns out it was all Zhang Tang's scheme. That old scoundrel is truly despicable!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com