Pingyang Hall.
This is where the Great Qian Emperor usually reviewed and approved memorials.
The Great Qian Emperor sat on the Dragon Throne, carefully examining the memorials submitted from various regions, while below him sat the Second Prince, Li Dongyun.
The Great Qian Empire of today is not one where the upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is crooked as well.
On the contrary, the empire was incredibly powerful, the Great Qian Emperor was exceptionally wise, and his many Imperial Prince were also remarkably intelligent.
Just like the Second Prince Li Dongyun, who was extremely sensitive to politics from a young age and had his own unique insights, so the Great Qian Emperor would occasionally take Li Dongyun along to talk about politics.
Li Dongyun bowed and said, "Father, banditry is rampant in Xinyang Prefecture. I sent people to investigate, and it turns out these bandits are employed by the prefect of Xinyang Prefecture, with the sole purpose of plundering the people."
"It was precisely because of the Xinyang prefect's secret tip-offs that they were able to escape each time they were surrounded and attacked by government troops."
Xinyang Prefecture was located on the edge of the Great Qian Empire. By the time the Imperial Authority reached that area, there was very little left. As a result, the local officials acted like a little emperor, running rampant with impunity.
The people of Xinyang Prefecture have suffered terribly in recent years, and have protested to the Capital City more than once.
The imperial court also sent people to suppress them, but those bandits were like eels, impossible to completely wipe out, and they also lost a large number of men.
After hearing what Li Dongyun said, a hint of coldness flashed across the Great Qian Emperor's majestic face.
"According to Yun'er's suggestion, how should this matter be handled?"
Li Dongyun immediately spoke up, "Our Great Qian Empire has a strong and well-equipped army. As for the mere Xinyang Prefecture, I believe that we should simply send someone to arrest the prefect of Xinyang and bring him to the Capital City for interrogation."
Upon hearing this, the Great Qian Emperor glanced at him silently, then spoke again:
Let's do it that way.
Just then, a figure quickly approached and whispered in the Great Qian Emperor's ear.
"What?"
The Great Qian Emperor frowned, his tone tinged with anger. "What exactly is he trying to do? I've turned a blind eye to all the disgraceful things he does, but is this something he has the right to interfere in?"
"Get Li Chengan over here right now!"
The eunuch was terrified when he saw the Great Qian Emperor's anger, and he quickly obeyed the order and left the hall.
News has just come in that Li Chengan has participated in the martial arts exchange conference of the Great Han Empire in Three Days. This conference is jointly hosted by the Great Qian Empire and the Great Han Empire.
Held annually, each time the Great Emperor send ten young talents. The ultimate winner is not only directly appointed as Ranger General, but also receives a large reward.
Martial arts are flourishing in the Xuanhuang Realm now, so such competitions naturally attract a lot of attention.
The Fifth Prince Li Chengan, is a universally acknowledged good-for-nothing, incompetent in both literature and martial arts. For such a good-for-nothing to participate in the martial arts exchange would only bring shame to their Great Qian Empire.
He usually didn't bother to care about the things Li Chengan did that damaged his reputation, since the matters weren't very serious.
But the enthusiasm for this martial arts exchange was completely different.
Seeing that his father was somewhat angry, Li Dongyun couldn't help but ask, "Father, what has the Fifth Prince done?"
The Great Qian Emperor sighed, his anger turning into a faint killing intent. "He participated in the Martial Arts Exchange Conference and, using his special Imperial Family selection, directly became one of the ten. The list of participants has already been released, and it's too late to withdraw it."
Ah?
Li Dongyun was dumbfounded.
Is the Fifth Prince really such an idiot?
How could someone do something like this?
Keep in mind that this was Martial Arts Exchange Conference, and the participants from both sides were almost all the strongest young talents from the Great Emperor.
As far as he knew, the Great Han Empire also had a young Heavenly Prodigy who was Half-step Martial Dao Grandmaster participating in this competition.
Of course, their Great Qian Empire also has that.
No wonder Father was so angry.
The foolish things Li Chengan did in his daily life did not cause any fundamental damage, but this incident truly damaged the reputation of the entire Great Qian Empire.
He could even imagine the scene of Li Chengan being defeated in the Arena Platform.
They'll Certain be ridiculed!
This bad reputation might even implicate his father, the emperor, since Li Chengan was Imperial Prince and his father was the reigning emperor.
Li Dongyun immediately said, "Father, I have a plan that can turn this shameful incident into a good one."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
The Great Qian Emperor said calmly.
Li Dongyun spoke solemnly, "Although I don't know why Fifth Prince wants to participate in the Martial Arts Exchange Conference, I believe he wants to save face for the Great Qian Empire. His starting point is good, but he hasn't considered his own strength."
"Although the number of spots cannot be adjusted, there is still room for maneuver in the order of appearance. We just need to arrange for him to go on stage last, and then spread the word that the martial arts spirit of our Great Qian Empire is strong, which influenced the Fifth Prince, thus encouraging him to actively participate in the Martial Arts Exchange Conference. If we spread this word, even if we ultimately lose, it won't have any impact."
"At least outsiders won't think that Li Chengan overestimated his abilities."
In the Martial Arts Exchange Conference, their Great Qian Empire almost always won, so Li Dongyun instinctively believed that putting Li Chengan last would also lead to victory.
With the main fighting force still present, it doesn't matter whether Li Chengan is there or not.
The Great Qian Emperor pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
"Someone, tell Li Chengan not to come."
The Great Qian Emperor disliked this Fifth Prince very much, refusing to even see him once, and even skipping the task of reprimanding him.
He's just waiting for this Martial Arts Exchange Conference to end so he can find some excuse to lock him up in the cold palace.
"Alright, Yun'er, you can go down now."
Li Dongyun bowed and then respectfully said, "Your subject takes his leave."
After Li Dongyun left, only the Great Qian Emperor and his eunuchs remained in the hall. The Great Qian Emperor's eyes were filled with coldness.
"Has the matter been investigated thoroughly?"
Eunuch Liu hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, this servant has instructed the Imperial Guard to investigate and confirm that some of the banditry in Xinyang Prefecture is indeed related to the prefect of Xinyang."
"However, another part was not the work of the Prefect of Xinyang, but rather..."
He paused slightly halfway through his sentence, as if he hesitated to continue.
"Explain!"
The Emperor of the Great Qian Emperor rang out, and an aura of imperial power swept over him, causing Eunuch Liu to tremble uncontrollably.
"Your Majesty, among the remaining people are some of the Second Prince's retainers."
Upon hearing this...
The Great Qian Emperor narrowed his eyes. "What a 'thief crying 'stop thief!' This second son, so short of money, he's resorting to such underhanded means."
He had previously been somewhat skeptical: how could a mere prefect of Xinyang have the ability to accomplish such a significant task?
It turns out that Li Dongyun was using the prefect's name in Xinyang to do his own thing behind the scenes. No wonder the banditry in Xinyang Prefecture is so serious.
The Great Qian Emperor's eyes darted around, a hint of anger on his face, before he finally spoke, "Take stock of the dead and injured civilians in Xinyang Prefecture, as well as the losses, and send the list to the Second Prince. Let him think carefully about how to appease them."
He wouldn't blame the Second Prince, after all, it was a shameful affair.
However, such a thing deserves a warning, and if a similar incident were to occur again, the Great Qian Emperor would never let it go easily.