reason. Tell this palace why.""Can't say."Wu Qingcang shook his head and said calmly, "This is also one of the contents of the emperor's imperial decree. I can never say it out loud in this lifetime....Chapter 426: The Official Gets Beaten

Li Chen laughed and nodded, saying: "That's right, this is exactly what I want from my father emperor, the vassal kings, and even myself now! Mr. Jing stands behind him with all the scholars of the world. In the hearts of students throughout the land, his status is like that of a living sage. Once he chooses us, we will have the support of all the literati in the world, as well as a steady stream of talent. The East Palace lacks nothing but power or money now, it's talent!"

In short, once this matter became a settled fact, the East Palace instantly wielded an influence among the populace that dwarfed that of the cabinet.

Even though the cabinet still held considerable power in government, with the support of scholars across the land, no one dared to ignore the edicts issued by the East Palace.

With narrowed eyes, Li Chen whispered, “This... is the sword that can kill Zhao Xuanji!”

Su Jinpa was also deeply moved by what she heard. She wanted to ask some questions, but she felt the carriage speed slow down, and then Sanbao's voice came from outside.

"Your Highness, there is a fight ahead."

Li Chen frowned and said, "If you can go around, just go around. If you can't, just pull the fighting parties apart. Is it necessary to ask this palace about such a small matter"

Three Treasures awkwardly replied, "The party that is being beaten seems to be an official from Weihai Guard."

An official being beaten up This is unprecedented news.

Li Chen heard this and frowned, a sense of dissatisfaction with the magistrate of Weihaiwei growing in his heart.

Regardless of the reason, if the magistrate allows officers to beat people, it is a problem with the magistrate himself. It's an outrage!

"Take both of them into custody and bring them up here for questioning." Li Chen said calmly.

Sān Bǎo responded with a sound, and then he heard shouts from outside the carriage. Immediately, the shouts turned into curses and screams, followed by silence.

After the commotion subsided, Li Chen emerged from the carriage and looked down at the over two dozen people who were being controlled by the Jinyiwei before him.

Half of them were dressed in official uniforms, with bruised faces and numerous injuries.

The other party was dressed as an ordinary commoner.

Weihai Wei is located by the sea, at the junction of the Bohai and Yellow Seas. With abundant fishing resources, local people mainly rely on fishing for a living. As a result, they have dark and strong skin. In this year of disaster, Weihai Wei is one of the few regions that can be self-sufficient and has not been much affected by natural disasters.

Li Chen only glanced at them and asked indifferently, "Why are you fighting"

The officer in charge, a man who was leading the group, knelt on the ground motionless. He hadn't dared to move because earlier when he resisted, a Jinyiwei officer had smashed him in the face with an East Factory identity token, causing his nose to bleed.

The East Factory is here, they don't care if you're an official or not. If they say they will kill you, they will.

Although he didn't know Li Chen yet, this young master gave off an air of nobility. His clothes were exquisite and made from materials he couldn't recognize, radiating luxury. He carried himself with an aura of elegance that far surpassed anything he had ever seen before.

"Right now, I wouldn't dare to be arrogant. I immediately replied: “To this young master, we are officials from Weihaiwei, ordered to come and collect fishing taxes. But these scoundrels dared to resist by force. We argued with them for a while and then they started fighting, beating us up like this.”

Li Chen, hearing this, looked at the group of strong men and said in a deep voice: "It is only natural for the government to collect taxes. Not only do you refuse to pay taxes according to law, but you also resist with force. Do you know that this is punishable by death"

Over there, the leader of the group, a man in his thirties who was at the peak of his strength, might not have been well-educated but he had good eyesight. He saw that this group of men each carried swords and displayed some sort of token on their waists. Even the official bowed down, indicating they were high-ranking officials from the court.

After all, they were just ordinary fishermen. They dared to fight when they got angry, and at worst, they would be arrested and beaten up. But they weren't stupid enough to risk their lives by confronting important figures. thought Li Chen wouldn't respond to him, but to his surprise, the moment his words fell, the heavily sealed gate of the City Lord's Mansion swung open.Li Chen appeared behind the door.He wore a simpl...