NCCnovel Chapter 449 How can you be His Majesty!
Chapter 449 How can you be His Majesty!
Li Chengqian's words were powerful and resonated with everyone.
Upon hearing this, Tang Wang's originally rosy face turned as pale as paper in an instant, and his facial features were filled with fear.
His eyes were wide open with horror in them, and he raised his right hand tremblingly, with his index finger pointing straight at Li Chengqian.
“You…you…you!”
His throat seemed to be choked by something, and his voice was trembling and intermittent.
Then, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs, "You are spreading rumors to confuse the people! You are spreading rumors to confuse the people!"
After shouting, Tang Wang turned around abruptly, walked quickly towards Qian Shuwang, clasped his hands together, bowed respectfully, and his face was full of earnestness.
"County Magistrate Qian," he said urgently, "this man is spreading rumors and misleading the public. His words are simply appalling. Please order his immediate conviction and imprisonment."
"He is the root of the Tang Dynasty's troubles. If he is not eradicated in time, he will surely stir up a turbulent storm and disturb the peace of the Tang Dynasty!"
Qian Shuwang's expression was extremely stiff at this moment.
If it were an ordinary day, and the person standing in the hall was just an ordinary citizen who dared to utter such "treasonous" words, out of his duty to maintain local order and stability, Qian Shuwang would certainly wave his hand without hesitation and order his arrest.
After all, that person's remarks had touched upon the core of the court's operation and were extremely detrimental to the court's mission of educating the people. This was something he, as a county magistrate, could not tolerate.
However, things are so unpredictable that the person in the hall at this moment happens to be the current emperor!
Your Majesty actually said such shocking words, which is tantamount to destroying your own stage.
This pushed Qian Shuwang into a desperate situation. He felt his scalp tingling, cold sweat kept coming out of his forehead, and his back was already soaked with sweat.
What can Qian Shuwang do?
Do we really need to order His Majesty to be arrested?
This is simply looking for death with a lantern!
Just when Qian Shuwang was at a loss, Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly and waved at him gently.
When the others saw Li Chengqian's sudden action, they were all confused and looked at each other, completely unable to guess what this person meant by this action.
Only Qian Shuwang, when he saw this action, felt like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw, and he felt as if he had been pardoned.
He didn't care about his usual reserve. His butt seemed to be on fire and he jumped up from his seat. He staggered and even stepped on the hem of his official uniform. He almost fell down.
He trotted all the way and came to Li Chengqian panting. He knelt on his knees with a plop. His movements were so fast that people were stunned.
"Long live your Majesty!"
Qian Shuwang shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice becoming a little hoarse due to nervousness.
Since he was really unsure about what His Majesty would think of his previous actions, he was afraid of angering the emperor, so he went straight to pay his respects, knocking his forehead heavily on the ground with a dull sound, just to win His Majesty's forgiveness.
Qian Shuwang's shout stunned everyone in the courtroom, who were originally in a daze.
Everyone's mind was blank, leaving only a buzzing echo.
"His Majesty!?"
Someone couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, their voice full of disbelief.
"Your Majesty has come to Wu County?"
The other person's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
"This person is actually His Majesty?"
Exclamations rang out one after another in the courtroom, and everyone's eyes were filled with shock and awe.
They could never have imagined that the man who spoke so boldly in their eyes was actually the Emperor.
The news was so shocking that their brains could not accept it for a while. They could only stand there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do.
At the same time, Zhang Xianhuai strode out of the court with a serious expression.
He carefully took out a firework from his pocket and held the lighter close to the fuse. With a soft "snap", the firework was ignited and a puff of green smoke rose.
Immediately afterwards, with a whoosh, the fireworks shot out like an arrow and exploded in mid-air.
Almost at the same time, the Jinyiwei who had been on standby outside poured into the court in an orderly manner from all directions with neat footsteps.
They were dressed in Feiyu costumes and held the handles of embroidered spring swords, which was frightening.
In the blink of an eye, these Jinyiwei surrounded everyone in the court, making it impossible to get out.
Seeing this terrifying Feiyu suit, many yamen runners' legs began to weaken and tremble involuntarily, and their knees kept knocking against each other.
Their faces turned pale and their hearts were filled with fear.
At this moment, there was only one thought in their minds: This is really His Majesty! These are really the dreaded Jinyiwei!
Li Chengqian stood quietly in the center of the court, his eyes slowly sweeping over everything around him, his expression heavy.
What he saw and heard in Wu County has made him see clearly the true situation of the Tang Dynasty today.
At this moment, a feeling of sadness welled up in his heart.
If I continue my incognito visit, I'm afraid I'll only see more helplessness.
Just like when a child says he wants to pee, there is a high probability that he has already peed in his pants.
Wu County, as a microcosm of the Tang Dynasty, is already in such a bad state. So, one can almost guess the situation of the entire Tang Dynasty without much thought.
This is the real Tang Dynasty under his rule!
On the other hand, when Tang Wang heard that the person in front of him was His Majesty, he felt like he was struck by a bolt from the blue.
His head buzzed as if it exploded instantly, his vision went black, and he felt dizzy and lost his balance.
His thoughts completely stopped, his body collapsed uncontrollably to the ground, he could no longer feel anything, and only endless regret remained in his heart.
A voice kept echoing in his mind: How could this person be His Majesty? How could it be His Majesty?
At this moment, Zhang Xianhuai strode into the court, came in front of Li Chengqian, clasped his hands together, bowed and saluted with quick and decisive movements.
"Your Majesty," he said in a strong voice, "what shall we do with these people?"
As soon as Zhang Xianhuai said this, everyone who had just been standing there in shock was instantly brought back to reality.
Everyone seemed to have just woken up from their dream, and they all knelt down and begged for mercy. Their shouts echoed in the courtroom.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Tang Wang was so frightened that he was trembling all over, not daring to say a word. He quietly crawled to a corner and knelt there, his body trembling constantly, hoping to hide himself and not be noticed by anyone.
Qian Shuwang was also very frightened. He couldn't say a word and just knocked his head heavily on the ground.
Li Chengqian's gaze slowly swept over the people kneeling on the ground, his eyes showing both majesty and a hint of helplessness.
He sighed slightly and said in a calm voice, "Everyone, get up. The Tang Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. We must abide by the law. As the ruler of a country, I must also abide by the law."
"I will not punish you arbitrarily for your momentary ignorance and recklessness, but each of you must reflect on your actions."
"County Magistrate Qian." Li Chengqian turned his head slightly and his eyes fell on Qian Shuwang.
"I'm here!" Qian Shuwang's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible. His body was trembling slightly with fear, and his heart was full of timidity.
Li Chengqian reached out and took the document handed over by Zhang Xianhuai, which recorded the resumes of Wu County officials in detail.
He slowly unfolded the document, quickly scanning it, and then said, "Stand up. I don't mean to punish you severely, but I just think your previous behavior was inappropriate."
"You are overly whitewashing the situation. You must know that a peaceful and prosperous era cannot be achieved by whitewashing. Instead, it requires officials from all regions to be down-to-earth and to rely on their real talents, hard work, and outstanding political achievements."
"Do you know Di Renjie and Wu Meiniang?"
Li Chengqian paused slightly.
"They also started out as county magistrates and have now joined the cabinet. Do you understand what I mean?"