The Empress remarried, and I retaliated by wiping out the court.

"What... what exactly is going on?"

The smile on Zhang Shouzhi's face disappeared. He firmly believed that Ye Wudao would be defeated this time and slink back in disgrace.

But what's going on with these five hundred bloody human heads right now?

Ye Wudao only went for two days, could he have returned with a great victory?

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Even the most powerful general in the imperial court wouldn't be this brave!

Ye Wudao must be faking it, using the heads of ordinary people to impersonate bandits!

"Your Majesty, this humble subject pays his respects!"

Li Juzheng and others immediately led officials of all ranks down from the city gate tower and knelt in front of the official road.

"clatter!"

"clatter!"

"clatter!"

The heavy thud of hooves reverberated in everyone's hearts.

A formidable army slowly drove into view.

At the very front, Ye Wudao rode a tall horse slowly towards them.

He wore a suit of golden black iron armor, the golden plates gleaming in the morning light and seemingly plated with gold in the sunset.

At this moment, Ye Wudao was nowhere to be seen with the languid demeanor he usually displayed while sitting in the imperial study.

He seemed like a general returning in triumph!

Majestic and imposing.

A murderous aura filled the sky.

Arrogant!

All the officials fell silent instantly.

Even the common people who had been watching the spectacle near the city gate were now staring wide-eyed.

"Hiss... Is this His Majesty?"

"Look, what are those things on horseback?"

"Heads!"

"My God! So many heads!"

"Rumor has it that His Majesty has gone to suppress bandits. Could these be the heads of bandits?"

The common people stared at the heads hanging on either side of the warhorses, swallowed hard, and some of the more timid ones burst into tears.

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

Someone in the crowd shouted first.

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

Followed by.

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

"Long live Your Majesty!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

The voices of the people grew louder and louder, like a mountain roaring and a tsunami, quickly overwhelming the officials.

They were like a small boat in a raging storm, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

Ye Wudao slowly pulled on the reins, and the tall horse came to a stop.

He looked down at the crowd kneeling before him.

"Are you all mistaken? Did I just hear you referring to yourselves as 'your humble servants'?"

Li Juzheng's expression changed slightly.

Ye Wudao glanced at the crowd.

"I remember that five days ago, you all resigned from your posts. Now you are no longer court officials."

"In that case..." Ye Wudao smiled slightly, "From now on, when you see me, don't try to flatter yourself by calling yourself 'your humble subject'."

The entire room fell silent.

The expressions on Li Juzheng and the others' faces immediately turned extremely ugly.

Ye Wudao looked down at him with a mocking gaze: "Come on, bow again."

Li Juzheng: "..."

The officials: "..."

Zhang Shouzhi's face burned with embarrassment. Although Ye Wudao didn't utter a single curse word, it made them feel even more humiliated than if they had been directly insulted!

His face flushed red, and he finally couldn't help but look up and ask, "Your Majesty, are these heads... really the heads of bandits?"

As soon as he said this, the surroundings fell silent.

Ye Wudao's gaze turned slightly cold: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Shouzhi, forcing a smile, said, "Yanlang Mountain is high and densely forested, and has been entrenched by bandits for many years. How could Your Majesty possibly wipe them out overnight with your army?"

"Moreover, His Majesty is not familiar with the terrain, and it is still unknown whether these heads are those of bandits."

He raised his head and said in a deep voice:

"I have heard that since ancient times, generals and soldiers have beheaded civilians to claim military merits!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

Even the onlookers couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Using the heads of ordinary people to impersonate bandits?

This is a heinous crime that will be condemned by everyone!

After Zhang Shouzhi finished speaking, he also felt a little regretful.

But the words had already been spoken, and there was no going back; they could only grit their teeth and continue.

If it is proven that these heads did not belong to the bandits, but to ordinary people, then Ye Wudao is guilty of indiscriminate killing!

When the time comes, even if Ye Wudao is the emperor, he will still have to give an explanation to the world!

Ye Wudao's eyes gradually turned cold.

He had thought these officials were shameless, but he never imagined they could be this shameless!

He said in a deep voice, "Who do you think you are, daring to question me!"

"Someone come here!"

"exist!"

The imperial guards behind him responded with a resounding roar.

Ye Wudao pointed at Zhang Shouzhi and said coldly:

"This man has slandered the Emperor, defamed the Holy Ruler, disrupted the morale of the army, and shaken the foundation of the nation. Such a traitorous scoundrel, drag him away—and behead him!"

"yes!"

Two imperial guards immediately stepped forward.

Zhang Shouzhi's face turned deathly pale instantly: "Ye Wudao, you dare to kill me!"

He never expected that Ye Wudao would not even bother to explain, and would want to kill him with just one sentence!

"His Majesty!"

Wu Qingxun could no longer sit idly by. As a fellow member of Xiao Linyuan's camp, he would never stand by and watch Zhang Shouzhi be killed!

"Your Majesty, although Zhang Shouzhi's words were inappropriate, he was merely raising a question and had no intention of slandering Your Majesty!"

"Furthermore, if Your Majesty intends to kill someone, you should at least provide evidence! You cannot simply execute Zhang Shouzhi just because he raised a question!"

Ye Wudao slowly turned around and looked at Wu Qingxun: "You want evidence?"

"Exactly!"

Wu Qingxun gritted his teeth and said:

"If Your Majesty cannot prove that these heads are indeed those of bandits, then Zhang Shouzhi's words cannot be considered slander!"

Ye Wudao scoffed and retorted, "Then what are you going to do if I can prove it?"

Wu Qingxun's heart sank, but since things had come to this, he could only bite the bullet and say:

"If Your Majesty can prove it, then that's a different story."

"it is good."

Ye Wudao nodded and turned to look at the three thousand Imperial Guards behind him.

"Since Zhang Caomin doesn't believe it, then let him see for himself!"

"Men, remove all their heads!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Ji was stunned:

"all?"

"Yes, throw them all at them so they can have a good look!"

Ye Wudao's gaze swept over Li Juzheng, Zhang Shouzhi, Wu Qingxun, and the others kneeling on the ground, and a slight smile appeared on his lips:

"Since they have doubts, then I'll let them see enough. I want to see... whether they can actually distinguish between bandits and ordinary people!"

"As you command!"

Cao Ji immediately turned around.

"His Majesty has decreed: remove all heads!"

"yes!"

The three thousand imperial guards responded with a resounding roar.

next moment.

One by one, the warhorses came to a stop, and the heads hanging on either side of the saddles were taken down.

"Bang!"

A bloody human head was thrown heavily in front of Zhang Shouzhi.

The head rolled twice and finally came to rest right in front of his knees, its unseeing eyes staring straight at him.

"what!"

Zhang Shouzhi subconsciously shrank back a little.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

Ye Wudao said calmly, "What? Didn't you want to see? I'll let you see as much as you want!"

Zhang Shouzhi's lips turned pale: "This..."

Ye Wudao ignored him and instead looked at the Imperial Guards.

"Continue, bring all the heads over here, let them see each one carefully!"

"yes!"

The Imperial Guard soldiers immediately sprang into action.

Ten.

Fifty.

One hundred.

More than five hundred heads, like heavy watermelons, smashed onto Zhang Shouzhi's body, each one still bleeding, the stench of blood clinging to Zhang Shouzhi's body!

"Bang!"

Another head accidentally hit Wu Qingxun in front of him, and Wu Qingxun's face turned pale instantly.

"Bang!"

A human head smashed down in front of Sun Bofu, startling him so much that he almost collapsed on the spot.

Sun Bofu, the Minister of War, had just been discussing military strategy on the city tower, but now, looking at that ferocious face, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Immediately afterwards, more and more heads were unloaded from the horses by the Imperial Guards and then thrown one by one in front of the officials.

Several imperial guards even deliberately increased the force, smashing the heads directly onto the officials!

After all, they were also angry!

Why should they suffer such slander from these people when they come back after working so hard to kill the enemy on the front lines?

Scholars can be killed, but not humiliated!