Chapter 15

"awe-inspiring..."

"thud thud thud..."

Fourteen bailiffs lined up on both sides, one side shouting "awe-inspiring" and the other pounding the ground with water-fire sticks; the colored lights reflecting on the tiger sculptures around made this small yamen seem truly solemn and awe-inspiring.

Li Xian, dressed in official robes, immediately raised the gavel and slammed it down hard when he saw Wang Ming thrown to the ground. The crisp sound echoed in the yamen, and the clear and loud noise frightened Wang Ming.

Li Xian loudly questioned, "Wang Ming, do you know your crime?"

"Let me go, if you dare touch me, I'll have my cousin kill your whole family."

Li Xian sneered, "Looks like you're a stubborn one. Bring him in, give him fifteen heavy blows."

"You bastard, Li Xian, do we have to do this? Ah..."

"Smack smack smack..."

The fifteen heavy blows were truly forceful, and Song Xing and others did not hold back at all. Poor Wang Ming, although at the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, could not withstand the fifteen heavy blows with his true essence sealed. After fifty heavy blows, Wang Ming was almost dead.

"Smack!" Li Xian slammed the gavel again and continued to question, "Wang Ming, do you know your crime?"

"Li Xian! I'll kill you! You're just a small sixth-rank official, how dare you hit me!" Wang Ming was in excruciating pain.

"Good, looks like you still won't admit it, then..."

"Wait, I admit!" Wang Ming was scared by Li Xian's ruthlessness.

Li Xian: "What crime did you commit?"

Wang Ming gritted his teeth, "Curfew violation."

Li Xian: "What is the punishment for violating the curfew?"

"This..." Wang Ming hesitated for a moment, then finally sneered, "Sorry, I forgot. Send someone to ask my cousin."

"Who is your cousin?" Li Xian looked puzzled.

"Empress Huai, the emperor's most favored concubine." Wang Ming was smug.

Unexpectedly, Li Xian was furious, "Good, you dared to seduce me to enter the palace at night? Hmph, Wang Ming, let me tell you, according to the laws of the Daxia Kingdom, violating the curfew in the inner city is punishable by death by beating. Bring him in, execute the sentence!"

"Ah..." Song Xing and others were stunned first, were they really going to beat Wang Ming to death?

Wang Ming was also stunned, did Li Xian have the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, was he really going to do it?

Seeing everyone hesitate, Li Xian was slightly angry, "Beat him, I'll take responsibility if anything happens!"

Hearing Li Xian say this, Song Xing was the first to speak, "Beat him!"

He raised the water-fire stick and struck down.

Puff! The stick hit solidly.

"Ah!" Wang Ming screamed in agony, finally showing fear, "Li Xian, spare my life, I'll repay you generously."

"Beat him!" Li Xian stood up, hands behind his back, fists tightly clenched, also extremely nervous.

Seeing Li Xian's determination, Song Xing and others finally gritted their teeth and started beating. Wang Ming didn't even last a cup of tea's time before he was beaten to death, his bones shattered, absolutely dead, even soul retrieval would be useless.

Seeing him beaten to death, Li Xian let out a deep breath, "Drag him out of the yamen, post a notice. Write a letter and report to the court immediately."

The next day, the yamen's entrance was bustling with activity. Countless servants of the Wang family blocked the entrance, furious; Wang Ming's wives and concubines were crying over his body, wailing. The Minister of Works, Wang Yuhe, Wang Ming's father, had a cold expression.

In the imperial court, it was a scene of chaos.

First-rank officials: Grand Marshal Yuan Yong, Chancellor Ouyang Wubing, Grand Tutor Kong Xiang;

Second-rank officials: Grand General Shangguan Yong, etc.,

Third-rank officials: Censor-in-Chief Li Yulong, etc.,

Fourth-rank officials: Minister of Rites Wang Chuan, etc.,

and hundreds of civil and military officials lined up in the court, some with serious expressions, some with smiles, some completely indifferent.

On the imperial throne, the emperor's expression was strange, as if he wanted to laugh and also wanted to be angry, his expression very complex.

Finally, the emperor spoke, "I didn't sleep all night, Empress Hua cried all night. Censor Li, how do you evaluate this matter?"

Li Yulong stepped forward, "Your Majesty, Wang Ming knew the law but broke it, assaulted officials, and made countless arrogant remarks, ignoring the law, and even instructed Li Xian to enter the palace at night. According to the laws of the Daxia Kingdom, each of these is a serious crime, and death by beating is already a lenient punishment."

Hearing Li Yulong's words, Wang Chuan gritted his teeth and said nothing, but his body was trembling with anger.

The emperor turned to the chancellor. Ouyang Wubing's response was: Li Xian enforces the law like a mountain, he is a talent of the state.

The emperor asked the officials, and everyone expressed: Li Xian enforces the law like a mountain, a virtuous talent of the state; Your Majesty's blessings are boundless, the Daxia Kingdom has produced another capable minister.

Li Xian enforced the law according to the law, with no room for criticism, even those who did not get along with Li Yulong had to praise him; all of this was within Xu Ren's calculations.

Finally, the emperor asked Wang Chuan, "Minister Wang, what do you say?"

Wang Chuan's voice was loud, "Congratulations to Your Majesty, the state is fortunate to have such a virtuous talent. However, such a talent is confined to the capital, which is a great waste.

Li Xian is brave and resolute, and should be given a heavy responsibility.

I boldly request that Your Majesty promote Li Xian to the position of Anyang Commandant, to stabilize the northeast."

"Ah..." The emperor's tone was long and ambiguous, half-closed eyes looking around, finally nodding, "Very well, bring in the decree, promote Li Xian to the position of Anyang Commandant, a fifth-rank official, to guard the northeast border."

The morning court session ended hastily, Li Yulong smiled, seemingly not taking these matters to heart, very composed.

Faintly, the laughter of officials could be heard: the son of a great villain beat to death the son of an imperial relative, truly interesting.

Hearing such voices, Li Yulong's lips twitched, but he quickly returned home.

On this side, following Xu Ren's advice, Li Xian still openly ran the yamen, allowing everyone to enter and exit freely, some to watch the spectacle, some from the Wang family. But as long as the Wang family people violated the rules, Song Xing and others immediately chased them with water-fire sticks. After Li Xian's action of beating Wang Ming to death, the Wang family did not dare to act rashly for the time being, waiting for Wang Chuan to return.

During this period, Xu Ren took the opportunity to find Guo Hong from the Wang family's group and then handed him over to Shangguan for disposal.

"Sir, why can't we deal with Guo Hong?" Li Xian really wanted to beat someone to death again to establish his authority.

Xu Ren explained, "From the perspective of the law, Wang Ming is a civilian, and you are an official. Within your jurisdiction, you have the authority to deal with Wang Ming. But this Guo Hong is also an official, and he should be handed over to the relevant department for disposal."

"Really troublesome. But sir, what opportunity do you mean?"

"This is simple. Look, after this action, although you offended some powerful people, you also won the hearts of countless people and the recognition of many upright officials, which is the greatest gain. I think the court will certainly praise you, regardless of whether they are sincere.

And another gain, I think, is coming soon."

"Imperial decree arrives."

As soon as he said it, the same head guard came to read the imperial decree. Seeing Li Xian, the head guard immediately gave him a thumbs up and whispered, "Li Xian, you are bolder than I thought. The emperor secretly laughed for a long time. Also, read the decree yourself, you have to take office within a month."

Li Xian looked at it, and it turned out to be a promotion from a sixth-rank official to a fifth-rank military official, which seemed like a significant promotion.

Unexpectedly, Xu Ren didn't even look, "Is it a one-rank promotion and an external posting?"

"Ah, sir, you know this too?" Li Xian was truly impressed by Xu Ren, a strategist is indeed a strategist.

Xu Ren was indifferent, "Nothing, as long as you understand the bureaucracy. A nominal promotion but a real demotion, a one-rank promotion to get you out of the capital.

But this is an opportunity for you. You not only left the capital with its constraints, but also gained a substantial political capital."

Li Xian looked at Xu Ren for a long time, finally sighing, "To have a sir like you is the greatest fortune for me."