Chapter 363: Counterattack

The next day, the morning court.

Emperor Xuan sat high on the dragon throne.

The ministers knelt.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Your Majesty, be well!"

Emperor Xuan raised his hand, "No need to be polite, please stand up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The ministers stood up and couldn't help looking in the direction of Ning Chen.

Some well-informed people knew that Ning Chen had returned from Wu State and had brought people to raid Li Hongzhuo's mansion last night.

Those who were not well-informed only knew that Ning Chen had returned from Wu State when they saw Ning Chen's face full of surprise.

Emperor Xuan said: "I have good news for you, my dear ministers. The negotiations with Wu State were successful!"

The ministers looked at each other.

Wasn't this expected?

Many people looked at Ning Chen with squinted eyes, full of envy and jealousy, and let this kid pick up a huge advantage and make a great contribution.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The ministers shouted in unison.

Emperor Xuan said calmly: "But there is one thing that makes me very angry... My dear ministers, don't you know that Li Hongzhuo died in Wu State?"

Li Hongzhuo died?

The civil and military officials were immediately in an uproar.

A censor stood up and leaned over and said: "I dare to ask your majesty, how did Lord Li die?"

Emperor Xuan snorted coldly, "He was killed by the regent of Wu State."

The civil and military officials whispered.

The regent of Wu State killed Li Hongzhuo, but why did your majesty say that the peace talks were successful?

"Your majesty, I want to report to Lord Ning... The peace talks were mainly led by the Lord, but the Minister of the Secretariat died in another country. The Lord is to blame."

A censor stood up.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis is the head of the envoys, so he has the responsibility to protect them. Now he let the Shangshu Ling die in a foreign country. This is really wrong."

"Your Majesty, the Shangshu Ling was killed, and the Marquis failed to protect him. This is a serious dereliction of duty and must be severely punished."

"I second the motion!"

"I also second the motion!"

A group of censors jumped out and began to criticize Ning Chen.

This time, there was some personal grudge.

Because the peace talks were initiated by Wu State, the success rate of the peace talks was very high, and no matter who was sent, it should be successful.

This overwhelming credit was equivalent to a free gift.

But this opportunity fell to Ning Chen, and they felt that Ning Chen had snatched their opportunity to make merit.

Emperor Xuan looked at them coldly, "Do you know what happened? Why are you jumping up and down here?"

As soon as Emperor Xuan finished speaking, Ning Chen stepped out and leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, I want to report Shangshu Ling Li Hongzhuo. It has been found that Li Hongzhuo has colluded with the Regent of Wu State and treasoned."

The whole court was stunned!

Li Hongzhuo colluded with the enemy and treasoned?

Before they could come to their senses, Ning Chen continued, "Your Majesty, I also want to report these adults. Li Hongzhuo colluded with the enemy and treasoned. These adults jumped up and down to attack me. They must be Li Hongzhuo's accomplices. I demand a thorough investigation of these adults."

As soon as these words came out, the censors who had just attacked Ning Chen turned pale and sweat broke out on their foreheads.

Once they were accused of treason, they would die miserably. This was a serious crime that would kill nine generations of their clan.

Shen Min stepped out of the line and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I also want to report these adults. They have ulterior motives and are likely to be Li Hongzhuo's accomplices."

"I was sent to Wu Kingdom by the Holy Order. The Regent of Wu Kingdom rebelled and wanted to disrupt the peace talks. He first killed Li Hongzhuo and then wanted to kill me and the Marquis and others."

"The Regent of Wu Kingdom led 5,000 cavalry to chase him. It was the Marquis who fought desperately to protect him and finally killed him. Only then did I have the opportunity to come back and meet the Holy Emperor."

"In the end, it was the Marquis who risked his life to negotiate with the Empress of Wu Kingdom, which allowed the peace talks to continue until they succeeded... so that the two countries would no longer fight."

"The Empress of Wu Kingdom promised that as long as she was in power, she would never mobilize troops against Daxuan... It was the Marquis who sacrificed his life to facilitate this peace talk, and his contribution will be remembered for generations."

"Now, he is being attacked by treacherous villains. Please order your Majesty to deal with him severely."

The censor who had just attacked Ning Chen was as pale as paper, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

Ning Chen glanced at these censors and suspected that someone was behind them.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand one thing. Just now, the Marquis said that Lord Li colluded with the Regent of Wu State, and now he said that Lord Li was killed by the Regent of Wu State. Isn't this contradictory?"

Civil and military officials nodded one after another. This point really didn't make sense.

Emperor Xuan looked at Ning Chen.

Ning Chen said, "Your Majesty, I really haven't figured out why the Regent of Wu State killed Li Hongzhuo."

"But I guess there are only two reasons. First, the interests are not evenly distributed, and there is a conflict. Second, Li Hongzhuo is the Minister of the Great Xuan, and he is in a high position and has great power. Killing him will definitely disrupt the peace talks between the two countries."

The Minister of Revenue followed up and said, "I don't understand what the Marquis said. Although Lord Li is in a high position and has great power, killing him can indeed disrupt the peace talks between the two countries... But if the Marquis is killed, wouldn't the effect be better?"

"Han Zhengqing, you are so presumptuous. What do you mean by this? Are you looking forward to the death of the Marquis?"

Shen Min stood up and scolded.

Ning Chen narrowed his eyes and looked at Han Zhengqing. This person was the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, and there was no grudge between them.

To be precise, Ning Chen still had a favor to him.

If it weren't for Ning Chen, the previous Minister of Revenue would not have been dismissed by Emperor Xuan, and Han Zhengqing would not have had the opportunity to sit in this position.

This Han Zhengqing suddenly jumped out to attack him, I'm afraid someone was behind it.

The one who instigated Han Zhengqing should be the person behind Li Hongzhuo.

Han Zhengqing's words made even Emperor Xuan frown, looking unhappy.

Han Zhengqing looked at Ning Chen and bowed, "Lord, calm down. I am just expressing my doubts. I believe you all have the same doubts."

Ning Chen looked at him and said indifferently, "Lord Han, do you think it is easier to kill Li Hongzhuo, a weak civil servant, or to kill someone like me who is a master of the battlefield?"

Han Zhengqing's expression froze.

Ning Chen snorted coldly and said, "Lord Shen also said just now that the Regent of Wu led 5,000 cavalrymen to chase us... You actually asked such a stupid question as why he didn't kill me?"

"It's not that the Regent of Wu didn't want to kill me, but he didn't have the ability... Am I so easy to kill? He led 5,000 cavalrymen to chase us, but was finally killed by me."

"Excuse me, does he not want to kill me? He is just incompetent."

"Lord Han is the Minister of Revenue, in charge of the world's money and grain... But your ability makes me worry about whether you can be competent for your current position?"

Han Zhengqing's face turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He failed to pick on Ning Chen, but was defeated.

He glanced at Emperor Xuan secretly, and his heart skipped a beat. His Majesty looked at him with suspicion and disgust.

This is trouble. His Majesty suspected him, and his position as the Minister of Revenue is already unstable. He has to find a way to remedy it quickly.

"My Lord, I am only asking questions to express my doubts. I have no intention of targeting you... Why do you have to be so aggressive?"

"If you say that Lord Li is colluding with the enemy and committing treason, you must provide real evidence... Empty words may not convince the public."

Ning Chen sneered, "From your tone, it seems that you have concluded that I can't produce evidence?"

"Lord Han keeps speaking for a traitor. It seems that he has a close relationship with Li Hongzhuo?"

Han Zhengqing's face was pale. Ning Chen's words were like knives, and every sentence was heart-wrenching... This was simply holding a pot of shit on his head.

Looking at Emperor Xuan's face, if he didn't explain clearly, he was afraid that his job as the Minister of Revenue would end.

He wanted to explain anxiously, but Ning Chen didn't give him a chance to speak, and said first: "Lord Han wants evidence, I will give it to you."

As he said, he took out a few letters from his arms.