Chapter 1116 - 1061. Imperial Court Meeting Pt.3
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(A/N: Don’t forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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The guards did not hesitate, nor did they show any gentleness. They dragged the shrieking, weeping men backward down the long aisle and violently threw them out the heavy bronze doors of the Grand Court Hall. The doors slammed shut with a reverberating boom, instantly cutting off their pathetic wails, plunging the court back into a heavy, terrified silence.
Lie Fan slowly lowered his hand, gripping his jade scepter. He leaned forward on the Dragon Throne, his gaze sweeping over the remaining officials, both those who had been promoted and those who had just narrowly escaped the executioner’s block with a severe demotion.
"Let what you have just witnessed burn itself into your memories," Lie Fan began, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that seemed to shake the very pillars of the hall. "When I took the throne of Hengyuan, I made a promise to the heavens and to the earth. I promised that this dynasty would not repeat the sickening, rotting failures of the Han. The Han fell because its officials grew fat on the suffering of the commoners. They saw their titles not as a sacred duty, but as a license to steal, to extort, and to hide behind their silk robes while the realm burned."
Lie Fan’s eyes locked onto the three demoted officials, Guo Lin, Zhou Tong, and Song Qian, who were still kneeling, trembling violently on the cold floor.
"You three," Lie Fan commanded, his voice slicing through the air. "You are demoted because of your incompetence, your lethargy, and your failure to execute the brilliant designs of your superiors. You stand before me today not as victims, but as men who have been granted an extraordinary, unearned mercy."
"You keep your heads, and you keep a fraction of your rank. Do not waste this grace. Return to your newly assigned, lower posts. Work until your hands bleed and your eyes fail. Earn back the honor you have tarnished today. If you ever allow lethargy to infect your duties again, Zhuge Liang will not demote you. I will have you beheaded. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty! We thank Your Majesty for this boundless mercy! We shall work until we die!" the three men chorused, kowtowing frantically before scrambling back into the lowest ranks of the civil assembly, thanking the gods they were still breathing.
Lie Fan then turned his gaze toward Chen Fen, Li Zheng, and the other newly promoted officials, who were still kneeling proudly in the aisle. The terrifying ice in his eyes melted, replaced by the warm, radiant pride of a sovereign looking upon his most valuable assets.