"Impudent!" Mo Jingli's face darkened. He slammed his hand heavily on the armrest. The heavy sound made everyone's heart tremble. Zhang Baiwan's plump body trembled. His face was ashen from fright.
"I gave you face and you didn't want it. Do you really think I am a pushover?" Mo Jingli said darkly. He waved his hand, "Drag him out for I and flog him fifty times. I believe that Lord Zhang's body will recover very quickly. "
Fifty flogs. If he really flogged someone like Zhang Baiwan who didn't know martial arts and wasn't young, it would be enough for him to be buried. Even if the Li Palace was merciful, his life would most likely be cut by seventy to eighty percent. It was obvious that the Li Palace was planning to swallow the entire Zhang Family. Everyone's heart trembled. They couldn't help but feel lucky that they didn't do anything stupid.
The guards at the side didn't allow Zhang Baiwan to beg for mercy. They directly punished him and dragged him out. Not long after, the heavy sound of flogging and Zhang Baiwan's cries of pain came from outside the door. It was obvious that Mo Jingli wanted to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.
"Prince Regent." Just as everyone was trembling in fear and struggling, a clear and low voice sounded in the hall. Everyone looked towards the source of the voice. They saw a young master dressed in white standing up. He said calmly, "The Prince is about to go to war. There is no need to lower yourself to the level of an ignorant commoner. I ask the Prince to reconsider. "
Mo Jingli raised an eyebrow. He looked at Ye Li with an indecipherable expression and said, "Young Master Chu wants to plead for mercy for him?"
Ye Li smiled and said, "This one is not pleading for Lord Zhang. It's just that … the Prince's Northern expedition is for the foundation of the Da Chu State. If Zhang Baiwan is killed, I'm afraid it will affect the Prince's reputation."
"Interesting." Mo Jingli's actions were meant to intimidate the crowd. He had no intention of taking Zhang Baiwan's life. At least, he had to keep him alive so that he could leave the Prince Regent's Mansion. Hearing Ye Li's words, Mo Jingli raised his hand to signal the people around him to call for a halt.
Not long after, Zhang Baiwan was dragged back and thrown to the ground. Although Ye Li begged for mercy, she still received more than 20 beatings. Her clothes were soaked with blood.
Mo Jingli looked coldly at the person sprawled on the ground, unable to get up. He said to Ye Li: "My Northern Expedition was originally to recover the lost land of Da Chu State. Now, I am only borrowing money from the people in the name of the court. This Zhang Baiwan has repeatedly refused. Does Young Master Chu think that such a person should not be beaten? "
Ye Li said indifferently, "Such a person naturally deserves to be beaten. However, killing without teaching is called abuse, and not abstinence is called violence. Everyone knows that Lord Zhang loves money as much as his life. It is inevitable that he would be muddle-headed for a moment. Now that he has learned his lesson, I believe that Lord Zhang will not disappoint the Prince again. "
"Is that so?" Mo Jingli raised his eyebrows as he looked at Zhang Baiwan. Zhang Baiwan was able to accumulate tens of thousands of assets. He was definitely not an idiot. How could he not know that he had almost lost his life just now? If it wasn't for Young Master Chu's pleading, Zhang Baiwan would have become a dead man. When he saw Mo Jingli's gaze sweep over, he nodded and said, "Young Master Chu is right … This humble one was muddle-headed. I beg the Prince's forgiveness. This humble one is willing to donate five hundred thousand dan of grain to the army. "
The army was given for free. There was no need to return it. Although Mo Jingli had never planned on returning it, it sounded better than borrowing it. However … "Five hundred thousand?" Five hundred thousand dan of grain sounded like a lot. However, it was not even enough to feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers for a month. Naturally, Mo Jingli would not be satisfied. Zhang Baiwan's heart trembled. He said with a sullen face, "One … one million dan …"
Mo Jingli snorted and said with a smile, "If that's the case, I still have to thank Lord Zhang for his righteous actions. In addition, I'm afraid that I will have to trouble Lord Zhang to gather the grain for the army later on. Of course … the imperial court will pay a high price for it. How about it? "
What else could Zhang Baiwan do other than nod? He naturally knew that Mo Jingli's so-called high price was not something that he could hope for. Even if it was a fair price, he would not be able to get it. In the end, he would still have to pay for it. He was only afraid that after Prince Li finished the war, the Zhang family would still have some money left.
With Zhang Baiwan's lesson, the wealthy merchants present were naturally more tactful. There was no need for Mo Jingli to say anything. They all began to donate money and goods. Most of them were even gifts. Although these people were probably cursing Mo Jingli's eight generations of ancestors in their hearts, on the surface, they still had to carefully smile. They were afraid that if Mo Jingli was angered, it would be difficult for them to even walk out of the Li Palace alive.
After a while, Ye Li did a rough calculation in her heart. The people present had been forced to donate five to six million taels of silver. There were also countless other things. With such a rich income, Mo Jingli's gloomy face became much better. Ye Li also very tactfully donated fifty thousand taels of silver. Although Mo Jingli was slightly dissatisfied, he also thought that Chu Junwei was away from home. Fifty thousand taels of silver was already a lot of face. Moreover, Chu Junwei's words just now could be considered as giving Mo Jingli a way out. This caused Mo Jingli to have a good impression of him. Thus, he did not say anything else. Of course, this fifty thousand taels of silver was given by Master Lin, who was sitting next to Ye Li. Master Lin had lost four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver in one banquet. His heart ached so much that his face was about to turn green. Everyone present knew that this money was like throwing meat buns at a dog. It was gone forever. Fortunately, Jiangnan had always been a land of wealth. Although these wealthy merchants had lost a lot, they could still bear it. If it was Nanzhao or Xi Ling, these people would have rebelled without waiting for Mo Jingli's northern expedition.
After getting what he wanted, Mo Jingli was no longer in the mood to drink and eat with these people. After toasting a cup of wine, he stood up and left. Everyone present actually had a stomachache from eating, but no one dared to immediately stand up and leave. Prince Li had just left and you were already leaving. Weren't you clearly dissatisfied with Prince Li? Since ancient times, the idea that the poor should not fight with the rich, and the rich should not fight with the officials had long been deeply ingrained in people's bones. As long as it was not that they could not survive, ordinary commoners would not easily be willing to become enemies with the imperial court.
Thus, everyone absent-mindedly looked at the singing and dancing in front of them while silently vomiting blood for the wealth they had lost. The most relaxed person present was probably Ye Li. Although Mo Jingli had left, Ye Ying and the little Emperor remained at the banquet. After all, it was the Regent's Residence's banquet. It could not be without a host. However, Ye Li's current attire was not suitable for her to talk to Ye Ying. Her gaze calmly swept past Ye Li, who was sitting in a daze in his chair. A faint smile appeared on Ye Li's lips.
"Why did the Emperor appear at the Regent's Residence today?" Ye Li asked curiously.
Master Lin hurriedly explained in a low voice, "I heard that the Regent and the Empress Dowager had a falling out. He said that the Empress Dowager was soft-hearted and did not know how to teach the Emperor. He planned to bring the Emperor with him and teach him personally. "
"Teach him personally?" Mo Jingli was actually planning to scare the little Emperor to death. Furthermore, the Empress Dowager was soft-hearted. Mo Jingli had probably forgotten that he was also taught by that soft-hearted woman.
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