Looking at Li Chenggan's majestic and domineering demeanor, the crowd, however, was not impressed.
They all waited like spectators, expecting Li Chenggan to be humiliated. Who was Jiang Ran?
In terms of power, he was the head of the Jiang family, one of the three major families in Shengjing, the Minister of the Military Department, with connections throughout the Tang Empire, wielding tremendous influence.
In terms of strength, on the surface, he was a top-tier expert, easily ranking among the top five in the Tang Empire, a master at the First Stage of the Meridian Opening Realm. Could a nameless nobody possibly defeat him?
But what the crowd didn't know was that Jiang Ran's situation was actually quite dire. He looked at the muscular man before him, feeling as if he were being stared down by a wild beast.
His instincts told him that this man, Zhou Cang, was a powerful figure far beyond his own strength. He was much stronger than he had imagined.
Yet, he couldn't speak a word of it. Under Zhou Cang's imposing pressure, Jiang Ran found it hard to even blink, let alone speak.
Inside, Jiang Ran was full of regret. Why had he been so rash earlier? He had never anticipated that his momentary provocation would lead to such disaster. Now, he could only wait for fate to pass its judgment—there was nothing he could do.
Zhou Cang didn't care about Jiang Ran's thoughts. With a swift motion, his knife fell, and Jiang Ran's head rolled to the ground.
"Your Majesty, the traitor Jiang Ran has been executed on the spot!"
Zhou Cang grabbed Jiang Ran's head by the hair and stepped forward to report to Li Chenggan.
The ministers in the hall exchanged incredulous glances, all of them stunned.
"Well done, Yuanfu!" Li Chenggan declared. "Someone, take Jiang Ran's head and hang it at the palace gates as a warning to others!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." A soldier from the Tang blood guard stepped forward to take Jiang Ran's head and exited the hall to carry out the order.
The soldier was one of the thousand elite guards of the Tang Empire.
"How dare you! You haven't bowed to your king yet? Do you wish to meet the same fate as Jiang Ran, you traitor?"
"Your Majesty, we bow to you."
Zhou Cang snorted coldly, and the ministers all turned pale, not daring to speak or move. One by one, they dropped to their knees, their foreheads pressed to the ground, afraid that if Li Chenggan were displeased, he would have them executed on the spot.
What they didn't know was that Li Chenggan was secretly feeling frustrated. These cowards—Li Chenggan had originally hoped they would incite a rebellion, giving him an excuse to massacre them all. But now…
At this moment, Li Chenggan's mind was racing. Could he still do nothing?
"Gentlemen," Li Chenggan began, his voice calm, "Our Tang Empire is surrounded by enemies on all sides. I propose that all the noble families send their adult male members to join the army and march to the front lines to support the defense of the empire.
Furthermore, our nation has been at war for years, and the treasury is nearly empty. I wish to requisition ninety percent of the wealth from the noble families to replenish the state's funds for the ongoing war. How do you all feel about this suggestion?"
"No! Absolutely not! Your Majesty, this would cause chaos across the empire!"
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, please reconsider!"…
The moment Li Chenggan mentioned these two demands, he had directly harmed the interests of the noble families. The ministers immediately changed their expressions, no longer meek and submissive. If not for their fear of Zhou Cang's power, some of them might have even used force to try to pressure Li Chenggan into backing down.
After all, how many of these ministers didn't come from noble families? Li Chenggan's actions were a declaration of war against them.
"Ah, so you all disagree with my suggestions?" Li Chenggan asked with a blank expression.
Soon, the ministers, led by the Chancellor, Si Tu Mo Yu, gathered together, silently signaling their opposition to Li Chenggan.
As for Zhou Cang's intimidation, they had already cast it aside. They no longer believed Li Chenggan would dare to kill them all.
What surprised Li Chenggan, however, was that three men quietly stood behind Zhou Cang, signaling their support for Li Chenggan.
These three were Wang Xi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Si Tu Fei Xing, the governor of Shengjing, and General Wang Long.
Wang Xi and Wang Long were both from humble backgrounds, so Li Chenggan wasn't surprised by their stance.
However, Si Tu Fei Xing was more interesting. He was the second son of the Si Tu family, one of the three great families in Shengjing, and the younger brother of the Chancellor Si Tu Mo Yu.
Could there be something shady going on here? Li Chenggan looked at Si Tu Mo Yu with a knowing glint in his eyes.
"Bastard! Fei Xing, don't you dare! Come over here!" Si Tu Mo Yu immediately noticed something was wrong and shouted angrily.
"Hmph, Si Tu Mo Yu, I am not your servant. You have no right to order me around!" Si Tu Fei Xing retorted indifferently, his tone filled with disdain.
"You…!" Si Tu Mo Yu knew there was no point in saying more. To avoid further embarrassment, he chose to remain silent.
"Heh, Chenggan, what are you doing? How dare you oppose the ministers so blatantly? Come, let this king handle this, and you should apologize to the ministers. Then, everything will be over." Just then, an untimely voice came from outside the hall.
"Prince Pingbei, who gave you the courage to make the king apologize?" Li Chenggan narrowed his eyes and spoke in a calm but firm tone.
Prince Pingbei, Li Xiao, was the brother of Li Chenggan's late father, Li Mo. Li Chenggan had always been suspicious of him, and now, his unexpected appearance made Li Chenggan wary.
However, there was one thing Li Chenggan couldn't understand. Li Xiao had always been a good-for-nothing, a weakling with only a single level of Qi Gathering Realm, who had indulged in pleasure and lived in fear. How could he suddenly appear so confident?
"Chenggan, you are being disrespectful! I am your uncle, and you have no regard for your elders!" Li Xiao strode to the front and pointed at Li Chenggan, reprimanding him loudly.
Li Chenggan felt a chill run down his spine. This was strange. The man in front of him seemed like a completely different person. His demeanor was composed, and his words were sharp—this was not the behavior of the cowardly Prince Pingbei he remembered.
Could it be that Prince Pingbei had been pretending all along? If so, it would be terrifying, for he had been pretending for over fifty years!
"Prince Pingbei, you may be my uncle, but in the court, I am the king and you are my subject. Your actions today show a lack of respect, don't you think?"
At the same time, Zhou Cang deliberately released a powerful aura to pressure Li Xiao.
But to everyone's surprise, something unexpected happened. Li Xiao's body suddenly radiated a chilling wind, and his aura was just as terrifying as Zhou Cang's.
"Meridian Opening Ninth Stage!" Li Chenggan was shocked. Zhou Cang, though only at the Fifth Stage, could match the strength of someone at the Ninth Stage, but Li Xiao seemed to be on equal footing with Zhou Cang.
It was clear that Li Xiao had reached the Ninth Stage of the Meridian Opening Realm.
Li Chenggan's mind raced—this uncle of his had some grand ambitions.