Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian with a complicated expression. He had not expected that the crown prince would be so lacking in self-respect.

Li Chengqian stood up and gave the order directly:

"With the army about to set out on the expedition, the battle of Liaodong is crucial to the fate of the nation. If corruption is not eradicated, supplies will be difficult to maintain. This is a major taboo in military strategy."

Before I left Chang'an, my father granted me the power to make decisions on my own initiative.

I've taken on the case in Pingzhou today.

Wei Zheng was completely dumbfounded.

What the hell?

You answered? Then what am I doing here? Here for sightseeing?

"Absurd! How can Your Highness handle such a major case on your own? Your Highness is disregarding the laws of the Tang Dynasty."

"Your humble servant possesses an imperial edict from the Imperial Envoy; this case must be brought back to Chang'an."

While he admired him, Li Chengqian dared to challenge his authority as an imperial envoy.

How is that possible?

Let alone you, the crown prince, even if your father were standing here, he would get criticized today.

To everyone's surprise, Li Chengqian scoffed:

"I don't have the time to waste arguing with those old foxes in Chang'an."

At this moment, Li Jing gestured towards Li Chengqian with his lip.

Li Chengqian looked in the direction of the tent and saw that it was Cheng Yaojin standing at the entrance.

"Duke Lu!"

Cheng Yaojin ran straight in from outside.

"Your Highness, I'm here."

"I'm not trying to criticize you, but Lord Wei has been traveling for days and caught a cold, which has made him delirious."

"You actually let him run around outside? Take him downstairs and let him rest properly. Without my orders, he is not to step out of the tent."

"Alright!"

Cheng Yaojin chuckled and walked towards Wei Zheng.

"Cheng Zhijie, you dare touch me and see what happens..."

Before Wei Zheng could finish speaking, Cheng Yaojin picked him up and tucked him under his arm.

"Wei the jerk, why are you worrying about all this with your little body? Come on, I still have half a bowl of fried noodles, I'll give you some to help you recover."

"Bullshit! Cheng Zhijie, you scoundrel, let me go. Otherwise, when we get back to Chang'an..."

Wei Zheng's shouts and curses faded into the distance.

Li Chengqian turned to look at Li Jing and said:

"Uncle Li, give the order to the army. Tomorrow morning, they should form ranks outside the city and make a big show of it so that the people of Pingzhou can come and see the spectacle."

Li Jing nodded in agreement.

He's growing increasingly fond of Li Chengqian, the crown prince.

She has the skills and can also feign weakness.

Only someone like that can stand firm in the cannibalistic court of Chang'an.

Early the next morning.

Outside Pingzhou City, an army of 100,000 men had been arrayed.

In front of the city gate, a giant execution platform more than two zhang high was built overnight.

Under Li Chengqian's orders, the Shadow Guards went into the city and beat drums and gongs, calling out all the people in the city.

The people looked at the high platform that had suddenly appeared outside the city with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

"Have you heard? His Highness the Crown Prince is going to kill corrupt officials here."

"Kill who? Governor Zhao? Don't dream about it. He's a high-ranking official; he's not someone you can just kill casually."

Discussions arose.

Not long after.

Zhao Deyan, the magistrate of Anping County, Zhang Yuanwai, and a group of officials and henchmen involved in the case were brought in by soldiers.

"I'm innocent! I'm an official of the imperial court, you can't kill me."

The magistrate of Anping County was so frightened by the scene that he struggled wildly.

Master Zhang collapsed to the ground and was forcibly dragged up by the soldiers.

Just then, a commotion arose from the back of the crowd.

"Get out of the way! All of you, get out of my way!"

Wei Zheng suddenly appeared out of the camp.

He rushed over, holding the imperial edict in his hand.

"Your Highness! Spare his life!"

Li Chengqian sat on the grand master's chair in the center of the high platform, toying with a token in his hand, without even glancing at Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng rushed to Li Chengqian and raised the imperial edict in his hand:

"This action has not been reviewed by the Ministry of Justice and is contrary to ancestral rules and regulations. If Your Highness insists on carrying out the execution, it would be an indiscriminate killing of innocent people."

"Your Majesty, I will certainly submit a memorial to impeach you for your disregard for human life."

Li Chengqian glanced at Cheng Yaojin below the stage with displeasure.

Cheng Yaojin lowered his head guiltily. He had been so engrossed in watching the commotion that he hadn't noticed Wei Zheng had slipped out.

Upon receiving a look from Li Chengqian, Cheng Yaojin cursed under his breath.

He then ran to Wei Zheng's side:

"Xuancheng, you're still not fully recovered, why are you running around again?"

As he spoke, Cheng Yaojin snatched the imperial edict from Wei Zheng's hand and stuffed it into his own pocket.

"Cheng Zhijie! Are you trying to rebel? Return the imperial edict to me!"

Wei Zheng hurriedly reached out to grab it.

Cheng Yaojin didn't tolerate him at all. He bent down, pushed Wei Zheng with his shoulder, and hoisted him onto his back.

"Release me! You murderous bastard, you crude brute!"

Wei Zheng struggled desperately on Cheng Yaojin's shoulder, his small fists raining down on Cheng Yaojin's back.

How should I put it? It feels a bit like abducting a woman.

Cheng Yaojin carried Wei Zheng a long way, until they reached a small, open mound, where Wei Zheng suddenly said:

"Alright, put me down now."

After Cheng Yaojin put Wei Zheng down, he looked at Wei Zheng with a puzzled expression and asked:

"Why have you stopped making a fuss?"

Wei Zheng glanced at Cheng Yaojin with disdain:

"If I don't cause a huge scene, how will I explain myself to His Majesty when I return to Chang'an?"

Cheng Yaojin instantly understood.

He had always thought that Wei Zheng was the only good person left in the imperial court.

Now it seems...

Damn it, the entire Tang Dynasty court is full of villains.

On the high platform, Li Chengqian stood up and shouted:

"Zhao Deyan, Prefect of Pingzhou".

Zhao Deyan trembled all over and kowtowed desperately, saying:

"Your Highness, spare my life! I know I was wrong. I'm willing to hand over all my possessions..."

Li Chengqian completely ignored him and continued:

In the fifth year of the Zhenguan era, Pingzhou suffered a severe drought, and the imperial court allocated 100,000 dan of relief grain.

Zhao Deyan colluded with the magistrate of Anping County, using moldy, aged rice husks as high-quality grain, and embezzled 80,000 dan (a unit of weight). This resulted in the starvation deaths of over 3,000 people in Pingzhou.

The people below the stage were furious when they heard this.

"So he embezzled all the relief grain from back then? My poor old mother starved to death."

A man with red eyes roared.

Li Chengqian continued:

In the sixth year of the Zhenguan era, Zhao Deyan allowed Zhang Yuanwai to forcibly seize a thousand acres of fertile land, driving twelve farming families to their deaths.

To curry favor with the powerful and influential in Chang'an, they forcibly abducted dozens of underage girls from Pingzhou and sent them to the capital as slaves and maids.

One crime after another came out of Li Chengqian's mouth.

The people in the audience were all furious.

"Kill him!"

"You corrupt official! Give me back my daughter's life!"

Countless stones and straw sandals were thrown at Zhao Deyan and the magistrate of Anping County.

Li Chengqian turned around and pulled out a token with a red tassel from the token box on the table.

"With the army about to set out, I have no time to follow the procedures of the Tang Dynasty law."

Today I will use your heads as a sacrifice for my flag.

After Li Chengqian finished speaking, he threw the order in his hand directly to the ground.

"cut!"

Dozens of ghost-head knives were raised at the same time.

"Pfft!"

Zhao Deyan and his gang, who had plagued Pingzhou for many years, had their heads roll to the ground instantly.

The blood stained the wooden planks on the platform a deep crimson.

Everyone watched this scene in disbelief.

Immediately afterwards, a cry of anguish rang out from the crowd.

"Heaven has eyes! God has finally opened his eyes."

No one knows who started it, but one after another, the people knelt down on the ground.

"Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Tang Dynasty!"

On a small mound in the distance, Wei Zheng watched this scene with a smile on his face.

Although Li Chengqian was not the right monarch in his mind.

Yet, he was the person who best embodied the monarchical style in his mind.

Cheng Yaojin looked at Wei Zheng and sighed:

"Wei, you keep talking about rules and regulations, but if these rules can't protect the people, what's the point of having them?"

Although His Highness broke the rules by killing these people today, he protected the hearts of tens of thousands of people in Pingzhou.

Wei Zheng nodded.

Then he said something.

That would leave Cheng Yaojin completely dumbfounded.