Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Emperor Jing's thoughts stalled for a moment as he looked at Li Yansong.

Li Yansong picked up the thread, saying, "This old minister heard that Lord Fang himself laid down the rule that a warning must be read before arresting a criminal. It's called Fang Zheng's Warning, or so I recall..."

"You have the right to remain silent. If you choose to remain silent, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will assume all evidence in its possession is true, and you will be punished accordingly. If you wish to defend yourself, every word you say will be taken as evidence in court, and if found to be a violation of the law, the penalty will be doubled. You have the right to hire a lawyer during your trial. If you cannot afford a lawyer, we can recommend a pawnshop to you to mortgage your family property. Do you fully understand your rights as stated above?"

Emperor Jing clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Excellent, that's the line! Look how well they designed it. When handling cases outside, the people will feel at ease when they hear it. This alone is enough for your Eastern Depot to learn from!"

Guo Tianyang was moved to tears.

Isn't that how the Eastern Depot has always operated? Isn't this just a civilized version of coercing confessions?

"This humble servant understands and will definitely learn diligently from Lord Fang in the future."

Just then, the door of the warm pavilion was violently pushed open with a bang!

Immediately following, Li Yuanzhao rushed in like a madman, shouting as he entered, "Father Emperor!"

Emperor Jing stood up abruptly, his face full of anger, and said, "Insolent fool! What do you want? Get out!"

Ignoring him, Li Yuanzhao held the letter and thrust it before Emperor Jing's eyes, beads of sweat on his forehead. "A major event! The Princess Residence received a letter stating that Lao Fang has met with disaster in the Jin Kingdom! Father Emperor, please take a look!"

"What?" Emperor Jing was shocked. He didn't have time to think about anything else as he grabbed the letter and immediately brought it to his eyes.

Li Yansong and the other old ministers also stretched their necks anxiously to look at the letter in Emperor Jing's hand.

Before they could see the contents of the letter, they saw the color drain from his face.

Emperor Jing trembled slightly, suddenly feeling a darkness clouding his eyes, and slumped back onto the small couch.

"Your Majesty!" Guo Tianyang panicked and bent down to support him.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Jing raised his hand, stopping him, and sat in place in a daze.

The old ministers anxiously asked, "Your Majesty, what exactly has happened?"

Emperor Jing didn't speak, still in a daze, his face pale and revealing an unprecedented sense of dejection.

"How... how could this be?"

The letter slowly slipped to the ground, and Guo Tianyang bent down to pick it up.

The moment his eyes scanned the paper, his whole body shook violently.

The Jin Kingdom is going to attack our Great Jing, and Fang Zheng is imprisoned in the Jin Kingdom?

His life is hanging by a thread?

Although Fang Zheng, that kid, is quite annoying sometimes, but they've been brothers for so long, and he's received no small amount of silver from him. Guo Tianyang's heart isn't made of stone, and he immediately felt a pang of emotion.

That's not all. The Eastern Depot has spies in the Jin Kingdom. Such a major event as planning to raise troops to attack Jing should have been known. If there was no news at all, then they're doomed...

His Majesty has spent so much time with Fang Zheng, and so many changes have occurred in the capital because of him, plus he's also his son-in-law.

He almost treats him like half a son. The Crown Prince is mentioned less than Fang Zheng.

If something really happens to him... what will I do?

Terrifying consequences appeared in his mind, and Guo Tianyang panicked, instinctively kneeling on the ground, trembling like a sieve as he kowtowed.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."

A series of muffled sounds echoed within the warm room, and the expressions of the old ministers became even more solemn.

"This humble servant deserves to die, this humble servant deserves to die! This humble servant..."

Emperor Jing paid no attention, and after a long while, he lowered his eyes slightly and said in a low voice, "Get up. You are not to blame for this matter."

Guo Tianyang shook his head desperately, tears welling up in his eyes, his forehead already a patch of crimson.

"I told you to get up!" Emperor Jing roared, "Take the letter and circulate it!"

Guo Tianyang got up in a panic and quickly handed the letter to Li Yansong and the others.

After reading the letter, everyone fell silent.

Li Yuanzhao said anxiously, "Father Emperor, we should immediately mobilize troops to the border! Lao Fang is still trapped in Pan Tai City. If we delay any longer..."

Emperor Jing closed his eyes and looked up, sighing deeply, "I... I harmed him... He didn't want to go to the Jin Kingdom in the first place, but I never thought... I never thought."

As he spoke, he began to gnash his teeth, "Wutu is ambitious and treacherous! I didn't provoke him, yet he dared to take the initiative to challenge me! He even dared to kidnap my son-in-law!"

"Find, kill!"

The last two words were almost ground to dust!

Li Yansong stroked his beard, the wrinkles on his face deepening, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, is the content of this letter true?"

Li Yuanzhao shook his head, "It was sent by a eunuch from the Princess Residence. The source still needs to be verified at the Princess Residence."

"Such a major event, doesn't the Eastern Depot have any news? Some corroboration would be good," Li Yansong asked.

Guo Tianyang shook his head, his face bitter, and said, "Our Great Jing people naturally cannot go to the Jin Kingdom to be spies. They need to be cultivated in the Jin Kingdom. The contact time between the two countries is still short, and there are very few spies cultivated, and they can only operate among the common people. Recruiting troops is a normal activity, and coupled with the many tribes in the Jin Kingdom, it is extremely difficult to investigate, so the Eastern Depot has no news..."

Seeing that Emperor Jing was still in a daze, Li Yansong quickly comforted him, "Your Majesty, Lord Fang said in the letter that he is safe and sound, and he told us that the war is the priority, which means there is no need to worry for the time being. Why not summon the military generals first, prepare in advance, and make arrangements early?"

The other old ministers echoed.

"Heh..." Emperor Jing suddenly smiled mockingly, his eyes filled with grief and indignation. "I am old, and I didn't even notice Wutu's tricks. Zheng Yi repeatedly told me that he didn't want to be an envoy to the Jin Kingdom... But now he is trapped, yet he still cares about Great Jing, cares about me."

"You have not failed me, and I will not fail you. It is I who have failed him..."

Seeing Emperor Jing's extremely distraught behavior, two lines of hot tears flowed down Guo Tianyang's wrinkled face. At this moment, his worship of Fang Zheng had reached its peak!

What kind of spirit is this, what kind of dedication is this?

This is licking with his life!!!

The height that this old servant can never reach in his lifetime... To be able to witness it is worth this life...

After Emperor Jing finished speaking, his eyes were already filled with murderous intent, and the hatred almost made everyone present tremble: "Guo Banban, you first send someone to the Princess Residence to verify the source of the letter, and report back to the palace as soon as possible."

"Order Feng Jie to inspect the Three Armies on my behalf, and the commanders of each camp in the capital are on standby at any time. The commander of the Divine Machine Battalion will come to see me alone... All other military generals above the rank of Fourth Grade who have no temporary arrangements must enter the palace within two hours."

"From tomorrow onwards, the Crown Prince will oversee the country, and anyone who disagrees will be immediately dismissed!"

Li Yuanzhao became anxious, "No, I want to go too! Lao Fang is in trouble, I can't ignore it? Besides, my marksmanship is superb, and my operation of artillery is above others. If I go, it will definitely be helpful!"

"Shut up!"

Emperor Jing shot an extremely fierce look over, and Li Yuanzhao immediately shrank back like a quail.

Father Emperor is in a fit of anger, I can only talk about it later!

A group of old ministers were also secretly shocked.

Such a formation has not been seen in more than ten years. Wutu's military strength is probably betting on the entire national fortune. This battle may even surpass the Qianjing War of that year.

Emperor Jing took a deep breath, his eyes gradually becoming domineering: "I originally did not want to start a war, but Wutu is seeking his own destruction, so I will grant his wish and lead troops to flatten the Jin Kingdom!"

Deng deng deng deng deng deng deng.....