Chapter 435: Is There Still a Need for the Imperial Court?

Junze was knocked to the ground by Li Chen, he knew he had lost today.... he still needed to wait and see how things would unfold.If the prince were to die here, it might not be a bad thing for him.A...Chapter 435: Is There Still a Need for the Court

The highest-ranking official he had ever seen in his life was Su Zhenting.

It was just like when I went to donate my official position back then, kneeling outside his door all night before he finally saw me.

Besides, the highest-ranking officials he had come into contact with were only at the third rank. As for the Crown Prince, he was the heir apparent, a world apart from him by at least ten thousand eight hundred miles.

Zheng Baorong, filled with dread, trembled and stammered, afraid of saying the wrong thing and losing his head.

"Your Highness," startled the young boy standing beside him, his face full of curiosity.

After thinking carefully, he felt that he hadn't been disrespectful to the Crown Prince. The young attendant then breathed a sigh of relief.

Present, no one cared about the little bookboy's inner changes.

Li Chen looked at Zheng Baorong who was trembling and kneeling before him, he didn't acknowledge him right away, but instead turned his head to Jing Zhi Mr. and said: "May I borrow your hall for a moment"

Mr. Mirror stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Highness, feel free."

Nodding, Li Chen then looked at Zheng Baorong and said calmly, "Do you know why I had the Dongchang bring you here"

Zheng Bao Rong immediately replied: "Your Highness knows, because Your Highness's carriage and horses met a fight between officials and fishermen halfway, and after the fishermen reported it, I was suspected of increasing taxes. All kinds of levies made the fishermen suffer greatly. Your Highness is kind and cannot bear to see the people suffering, and he blames me for being bold and presumptuous, so he sent the East Factory to bring me here."

Li Chen said: "Not bad, along the way you should have figured it out. Since that's the case, what else do you have to say"

Zheng Bao Rong's fat face trembled with tears as he said, "Your Highness, it is true that I have increased the taxes. But I would never allow the fishermen to be unable to survive. And I dare to use my head and the heads of all my family members, old and young, to guarantee that over these years, not a single bit of the taxes levied by Weihaiwei has been used for personal gain. They have all been used for the operation and development of Weihaiwei. If there is any falsehood in this, I am willing to take responsibility and die."

"Arrogant!"

Li Chen scowled and reprimanded Zheng Baorong, who jumped in fright.

“The power to levy taxes has always been held by the central court and never delegated to local areas. Even the taxes collected at city gates must be reported layer by layer, approved, and authorized before they can be changed or implemented. Who gave you the audacity to arbitrarily collect taxes You even brazenly claim it's for the construction of Weihaiwei. Just because you're building Weihaiwei, does that give you the right to disregard imperial law and seize the power of the central court”

"Just for arbitrarily inventing a new tax and imposing it, I could have your entire Zheng Baorong clan's heads removed immediately!"

"If all the prefects, governors, and ministers of finance in the states under the Qin Empire followed your example, Zheng Baorong, then wouldn't this court be able to disband"

Zheng Baorong's face was as pale as death, kneeling on the ground without a sound.

Li Chen's words were extremely serious. Even on the way here, Zheng Bao Rong, who believed he was innocent of corruption and had used all his gains for local development, realized that he had truly committed a grave mistake.

Regardless of Zheng Baorong's intentions, whether or not he has made the city of Weihai prosperous is irrelevant. From Li Chen's perspective, this kind of behavior absolutely cannot be allowed to continue.

Because it damages the prestige of the central government.

As Li Chen said, if the court were to allow such behavior to go unchecked, would officials in other places not follow suit

If they meddle with tax rights, then wouldn't military power also be tempted to intervene

What chaos will the world descend into then

The court, and is there still a need for the courto, particularly Zhang Biwu, were staring intently at him, their eyes brimming with eagerness and anticipation.The hand hidden within the sleeve clenched slightly, then relaxed. In the briefest instant...