Yingtian Prefecture, outside Yingtian City.
Everyone held a torch, illuminating the night sky as if it was daytime. Countless shouts rang out,
"Your Majesty!"
" Your Highness the King of Qin!"
"Where are you guys?"
“…………”
Liu Bowen and Li Shan Chang were burning with anxiety, and the high-ranking officials above the third rank in the capital were all covered in cold sweat.
Zhao Erhu was even crazier as he led the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Royal Guards to search quickly.
At this moment, the news of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xi's disappearance had spread throughout the entire Ying Tian City. Empress Ma almost fainted when she heard the news.
Fortunately, Zhu Biao had returned to the palace in time to comfort her, so Empress Ma did not come to the scene personally and continued to sit in the palace.
However, the imperial edicts came one after another, urging everyone to search for Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Rong as soon as possible.
Seeing this, Wu Chuang, Qian Li, and the servants of Prince Qin's Mansion also joined in the operation.
However, as time passed, everyone began to feel uneasy.
Fortunately, at this moment, the sound of hooves could be heard from afar.
"Who is it?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man riding a horse in the dark.
"Us!"
A familiar voice rang out, causing everyone's eyes to light up.
"Your Majesty!"
Li Shan Chang and Liu Bowen looked at each other and hurried forward to meet him. When they saw that the person riding the horse was indeed Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen's eyes instantly became moist, but he could not compare to Li Shan Chang.
"Your Majesty, you scared this humble subject to death. If I still can't find you, this humble subject wants to follow you!”
Li Shan Chang knelt on the ground and wailed at Zhu Yuanzhang.
When the high-ranking officials in the capital saw this, they hurriedly knelt down and cried together,
"We are the same!"
Amidst the cries, Zhu Yuanzhang's lips twitched, but he still said,"
"Alright, my dear ministers, I know that you are all loyal officials.”
" Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Shan Chang and the other officials cupped their hands in gratitude and wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes with their official robes before slowly standing up from the ground.
"This humble servant came late to save you. I deserve ten thousand deaths. Your Majesty, please punish me!”
Zhao Erhu's face was full of guilt as he knelt on one knee towards Zhu Yuanzhang.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards and Royal Guards behind him also blushed and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
After all, when Zhu Yuanzhang was attacked by the locust army, they were not by his side at all.
Although it was according to Zhu Yuanzhang's order to capture the locusts alive, it was their duty, so Zhao Erhu and the others could not let it go.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not care about this. He looked at Zhao Erhu and the others kneeling on the ground and apologizing. He waved his hand and said,
"Forget it, forget it. Aren't we fine now? What crime? You don't have such a big crime. Get up!”
"Your Majesty…"
When Zhao Erhu and the others heard this, their hearts warmed, and their faces were filled with gratitude.
When Lee Shan Chang saw this, his eyes lit up. He immediately stood up and cupped his hands at Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Your Majesty is right. Commander Zhao and the others are at most guilty of dereliction of duty. After all, the reason for this matter should be borne by His Highness the King of Qin!”
As soon as Lee Shan Chang said this, the atmosphere at the scene instantly fell silent!
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on his horse and looked down at Li Shanzhang. He said expressionlessly,
"What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, ever since you and His Highness the King of Qin disappeared, I have been investigating the root of this matter.”
Lee Shan Chang's expression turned solemn as he quickly cupped his hands and said,"
"There are hundreds of millions of locusts in the North Zhili Province. How could they come to Ying Tian City for no reason?”
"The reason is that the locust killing spirit created by His Highness the King of Qin has the effect of attracting locusts, which led to today's disaster!”
"I hope Your Majesty will punish His Highness the King of Qin severely. Otherwise, in the long run, His Highness the King of Qin will definitely cause trouble again!”
With that, Li Shan Chang cupped his hands again, and the officials behind him all stepped forward and said in unison,
"Your Majesty is wise. The Prime Minister's words are reasonable. We agree!”
Seeing this, Liu Bowen hurriedly stood up and waved his hand.
"No, Your Majesty. Brother Shan Chang's words are wrong!”
"Although today's incident was caused by the Locust Mieling created by His Highness the King of Qin, the people of Yingtian City were not ravaged by the locust plague. There were also many grains in the imperial palace's granary. Instead, hundreds of thousands of locusts died because of the Locust Mieling.”
"Moreover, when His Majesty was in danger, it was His Highness the King of Qin who stepped forward and saved His Majesty's body. This is what a real man does. His Highness the King of Qin should praise him and not punish him!”
Lee Shan Chang's face darkened as he stared at Liu Bowen and said,"
"Brother Bowen, His Highness the King of Qin has caused such a mess. Instead of punishing him, he rewards him instead. Isn't that twisting black and white? In the long run, where would His Majesty's dignity be? Where is the heart of the Great Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Bowen closed his eyes helplessly.
He had always been a person who did not want to fight. If it was in the past, he would definitely not say a word at this moment. However, Liu Bowen had seen everything that Zhu Rong had done today. How could he ignore it?
"Brother Shan Chang is wrong."
When Liu Bowen opened his eyes again, his face was filled with determination.
"Your Majesty is wise. After the incident, this humble subject also conducted an investigation into the matter. All the citizens of Yingtian City are grateful to Your Highness the King of Qin.”
" Because when the locust plague struck and the people of Ying Tian City were at a loss, it was His Highness the King of Qin and His Highness the Crown Prince who shouted loudly for them to return home quickly and shut the doors and windows. That was why the real disaster did not happen!”
"After that, in order to protect His Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness the King of Qin held up the Locust Mie Spirit and charged out of Yingtian City alone with a mule. Only then did he lure away the hundreds of millions of locusts.”
"Your Majesty, I dare to say today that if it weren't for His Highness the King of Qin, the locust plague would have devoured all the food in Ying Tian City. If we really punish them for their actions, Your Majesty's dignity will be lost, and the hearts of the Great Ming Dynasty will be lost!”
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu Bowen up and down. He was a little surprised. Obviously, he did not expect Liu Bowen to dare to stand up and fight with Li Shanzhang.
Lee Shan Chang was also shocked, but his thoughts were the opposite of Zhu Yuanzhang's. He looked at the third-grade officials behind him and saw that they were all looking at him. His face immediately darkened, and he stood up and pointed at Liu Bowen.
"Brother Bowen, don't try to absolve His Highness the King of Qin. I don't know when you became so close to His Highness the King of Qin, but everyone saw what happened today.”
At this point, without waiting for Liu Bowen to argue, Li Shanchang turned around and looked at everyone. He cupped his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang and said,
"Your Majesty, His Highness the King of Qin has been committing crimes since a long time ago, and it's hard to explain what he has done in a few words. It's a well-known fact. How could he suddenly become a great hero?”
"Brother Bowen's words are really biased, I hope Your Majesty can understand!”
The corner of Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes trembled as he looked deeply at Li Shanzhang.
Liu Bowen was shocked. Just as he was about to wave his hand to explain, he saw that everyone's gaze on him suddenly became strange. The words that were about to come out of his mouth could not be said.
It was also at this moment that the sound of hooves came from not far away again, followed by a loud laugh.
"Haha…the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water. This king doesn't have much to do with Mister Bowen.”
"On the contrary, Mr. Benevolence, are you ready to eat the locusts?”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]