Two days later.
The Imperial Palace.
Bang, bang, bang.
The crisp and melodious sound of the dragon bell could be heard clearly by everyone inside and outside the palace.
All the officials gathered together, and all of them were moved.
"His Majesty has decreed that all the officials should pay an audience." As a eunuch's voice sounded outside the hall, the civil and military officials standing outside the hall all became particularly serious. They tidied up their clothes and prepared to meet the emperor.
Soon after.
The civil and military officials were divided into two rows according to their ranks. They walked into the main hall in an orderly manner. In a short while, the originally empty and solemn main hall was filled with the figures of the civil and military officials.
"Your Majesty has arrived. All the officials kneel and welcome you." The eunuch shouted again.
All the officials in the hall knelt on the ground and shouted in unison,"Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live our Emperor.”
Amidst the cheers of the officials, Long Yunfeng was dressed in a dragon robe and wore an imperial crown. At his waist was the imperial sword that symbolized his authority. His left hand rested on the hilt as he walked into the hall with a dignified expression.
Ta, ta, ta. Long Yunfeng slowly walked in the hall, heading straight for the dragon throne. When he reached the throne, he suddenly turned around and swept his gaze across the civil and military officials in the court. After a moment of silence, he spread his hands and said,"Beloved ministers, rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The civil and military officials shouted in unison. They raised the court board and slowly stood up, but they all lowered their heads slightly. No one dared to face the dignity of the emperor.
"What memorial do you have?" Long Yunfeng asked.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the leaders of the Hanyin County riot, Liu Yue and Sun Mi, were escorted to the capital three days ago.”Wang Huan stood up and cupped his hands at Long Yunfeng.
" Bring him here," Long Yunfeng waved his hand and said.
"Bring Liu Yue and Sun Mi!" Guo Huai shouted at the front door of the hall.
As soon as Liu Yue finished speaking, four imperial guards escorted two middle-aged men in prison uniforms to the front of the hall.
"Kneel down!" The four Imperial Guards pressed the two of them to the ground, and one of them said as he did so.
" I won't kneel!" One of them was pressed down to the ground. The other was stronger and struggled to not kneel. However, the imperial guard kicked his left foot and the burly man lost all strength in his leg and knelt down. The two guards held him down tightly.
Long Yunfeng sized them up and asked,""Which one of you is Sun Mi!"
" I " was the person who was pressed down and refused to kneel.
"You're about to die. Is there anything else you want to say?”Long Yunfeng said.
"Hehe, you're Long Yunfeng?”Sun Mi chuckled as he sized up Long Yunfeng.
"Impudent." Li Zhenguo shouted at Long Yunfeng's disrespectful Sun Mi.
"I am Long Yunfeng, the current Emperor of Great Qin. Who do you think you are?”Long Yunfeng was annoyed by his rudeness.
"What am I, then what are you? If it wasn't because we couldn't live anymore, why would we be here?”Sun Mi asked.
"Rude words, drag him down and behead him.”Long Yunfeng was also a person with a temper. He waved his hand and said to the two guards.
"Yes." The two guards immediately received the order. The two of them held one hand each and pulled him out.
"Haha…I'm not afraid." Sun Mi was dragged out, but he did not feel a trace of fear. Instead, he laughed loudly.
"I'll go too." Liu Yue, who was kneeling at the side, also stood up and prepared to walk out of the hall.
"Stop, I have something to ask you." Long Yunfeng immediately called out to him, then stood up from the dragon throne and slowly walked down.
Seeing Long Yunfeng come down, Liu Yue struggled for a moment, but the two guards held him down tightly.
"Let him go." Long Yunfeng waved his right hand.
Hearing Long Yunfeng's words, the two guards released Liu Yue and stood to the side.
Long Yunfeng gently walked to his side and took a deep breath.""Have you studied?"
"I can recognize a few words." Liu Yue replied.
"What about him?" Long Yunfeng asked again.
"Just like me."
"What did he mean when he said he couldn't live anymore?”Long Yunfeng remembered Sun Mi saying that he couldn't live anymore, so he turned to Liu Yue and asked.
"We have more than a thousand people who have successfully cultivated, but more than a hundred of us have starved to death. And those who are sick, more than a hundred of us have died.”When Liu Yue heard this, he immediately thought of the humiliation he had suffered over the past few months and replied angrily.
"Isn't there food and pay for labor?" Long Yunfeng remembered that laborers were paid, so how could they starve to death?
"Food? The two thousand households colluded and deducted half of our four months 'worth of food. After we finished eating, we still had to use our own money to buy food. Those who didn't bring money could only work on an empty stomach. When they were extremely hungry, they ate grass and leaves. When the money was spent, it was the same. We asked the thousand households to give us a report, but not only did they not give it, they even killed two of our leaders. Tell me, can we survive?”When Liu Yue heard the word 'graves', he became even angrier. He thought of how Qian had been starving for a few months and replied with a cold snort.
"Why didn't you report it to the authorities?" Long Yunfeng was a little dejected when he heard his words.
"You'd better go and take a look. It's best if you don't wear this dress.”Liu Yue didn't answer, but reminded Long Yunfeng to go and take a look.
Seeing was believing.
Long Yunfeng instantly understood what Liu Yue meant. It was nothing more than collusion between officials, so what was the use of reporting them? Long Yunfeng nodded to show that he understood and asked," Understood. I've learned my lesson. What were the names of the two thousand-man households who deducted your rations?"
"Wang Ren, Wu Haisheng." Liu Yue said directly.
Long Yunfeng turned around and closed his eyes." Got it. Drag him down and kill him."
"Let's go." Two guards dragged Liu Yue out of the hall.
Long Yunfeng opened his eyes and slowly walked to the throne. He sat down and looked at the officials below."All of you heard it just now. Ever since the Great Qin Dynasty was established, the Great Qin Emperor has repeatedly warned you. Officials must learn from the lessons of the previous dynasty, abide by the law, be diligent and frugal, and must not invade public funds and exploit the people. Why were there so many civil uprisings happening in different places? Water could carry a boat, but it could also capsize it. There must be people who understood this principle!”
After Long Yunfeng finished speaking, he looked at the speechless officials and knew that the time had come. He looked at the internal historian in charge of money and grain and said,"Song Xian."
"Your humble subject is here." Song Xian, the third-grade internal history of grain, saw that the emperor asked him to immediately walk to the left and cupped his hands in reply.
"How much do you know about Han Yin's deduction of food and pay?”Long Yunfeng stared at Song Xian of the internal historian's office and asked.
"Your Majesty, I have investigated and found that the rebels 'words are groundless.”Song Xian raised his head and replied to Long Yunfeng.
"Is that so?" Long Yunfeng asked in disbelief.
"According to my investigation, there are indeed more than a thousand migrant workers who built the city in Hanyin. Some of them have indeed died, but there has never been any corruption of food and pay that caused people to starve to death. The deaths of migrant workers are all due to the local plague and plundering. Thousand Households Wang Ren and Wu Haisheng are loyal to their duties, self-restrained, and treat the people like their children. It is even more impossible for them to stir up a rebellion. I hope Your Majesty can understand.”Song Xian looked straight at Tian Zi and replied without blushing.
"According to what you said, why did the people revolt in Hanyin?”Long Yunfeng asked again.
" Whenever there is a civil unrest, there will definitely be people gathering. The good and the bad will mix together, and it is inevitable that there will be people with ulterior motives. These people sow discord, fan the flames, and fear that the world will not be in chaos. Liu Yue and Sun Mi were just like this. We must use an iron fist to suppress such people and kill one as a warning to the hundred so that we can prevent them from happening.”Song Xianjin replied.
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