"Let's all get up first."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Liu Mingzhi closed the book in his hand and threw it on the table. He looked up at the officials of the Protectorate who had all stood up.
"My dear friends, after reading the contents on the papyrus, what do you think?"
When Yun Yingjie, Yuan Renyi and others heard Young Master Liu's question, their hearts trembled, and they instinctively wanted to salute again.
Young Master Liu saw that they were about to salute him again, and waved his hands directly, stopping everyone from saluting in advance.
"Okay, whether you are derelict in your duty or not, there is no need to use this rhetoric to fool this young master.
I don't want to hear it, and I'm too lazy to listen.
Before you get tired of these same old clichés, I'm already tired of hearing them.
Therefore, I don’t want to hear whether you have neglected your duty or not. I just want to hear how you feel about this matter."
Yun Yingjie, Dong Tianxiao and others looked at each other awkwardly.
In the end, Dong Tianxiao, Chai Qingyun and more than a dozen of them all set their sights on Yun Yingjie.
Yun Yingjie noticed the way his colleagues looked at him, and the corners of his eyes twitched a few times.
However, he had no choice.
After all, among the people in my group, who has the highest official position?
It is completely reasonable for a group of subordinate officials to regard themselves as the leader.
Yun Yingjie secretly smiled bitterly and looked at Young Master Liu bravely.
"Cousin, I don't have any thoughts about these things.
Such bad behavior happened in the countries of the Western Regions, but my brother, the deputy governor of the Anxi Protectorate, knew nothing about it. He was not only guilty of dereliction of duty, but also of negligence.
Therefore, I have nothing to say now, and I have no reason to defend myself."
After Yun Yingjie said this, he took a deep breath and bowed respectfully to Young Master Liu.
"I sincerely ask your Majesty to punish me. No matter how your Majesty deals with me, I will be willing to accept the punishment without any complaints."
As soon as Yun Yingjie said this, a group of officials from the Anxi Protectorate Mansion agreed.
"I second my opinion and ask your Majesty to punish me."
Seeing a group of people looking like this, Young Master Liu scoffed a few times with his brows slightly furrowed.
"Hehehe, hehehe, are you willing to be punished?"
"Your Majesty, that's right."
Liu Mingzhi stood up from his chair, walked slowly to Yun Yingjie's side and stopped.
"Cousin, when we were in Dalong Capital, we had dealt with each other for so many years. You know what kind of character I am.
Therefore, I will not be verbose about some words.
I just want to ask you one thing, do you really know nothing about the bullying and bullying that happened among the caravans?"
Yun Yingjie looked at his serious expression and nodded without hesitation.
"Cousin, as a brother, I really don't know anything.
Not only don’t I know, I haven’t even heard any rumors about it.”
Liu Mingzhi narrowed his eyes slightly, gently shook off the Wanli Jiangshan engraved jade fan in his hand, and walked directly towards the kings of the Western Regions.
"In all these years, has not one caravan ever gone to your Protectorate to file a complaint?"
Yun Yingjie turned around and followed Mr. Liu's footsteps, and sighed with a wry smile.
"Cousin, if someone goes to the Governor's Mansion to complain, how could I not know that something like this happened among the caravans?
Cousin, I can guarantee with my own head that over the years, no small caravan who has been bullied by the big caravan has ever complained to the Anxi Protectorate.
Over the years, I have gone to the Governor's Office to complain about everything.
Whether it is a major case or a small case, every case and every case has a record recorded by the Protectorate.
And all the case files are kept sealed in the file room of the Duhu Mansion.
Cousin, you can send someone to the Duhufu at any time to retrieve all the case files over the years and review them again.
As long as there is a file related to the caravan incident, I am willing to die to apologize."
"Hehehe, I will die to apologize. My cousin is serious."
"Oh, I am guilty of dereliction of duty as a brother."
"Cousin, you have been the deputy governor of the Anxi Protectorate for several years.
During the years you have been in office, haven't you gone to the people for a walk, walked around, and personally observed the lives of the people?"
When Yun Yingjie heard Young Master Liu's question, he quickly raised his hand.
"Cousin, I am here to express my merits to you.
Since I took on the position of Deputy Protector for my brother, every month I will lead a group of colleagues on two incognito patrols in the countries of the Western Regions to personally see the living conditions of the people.
But...but...I..."
Looking at Yun Yingjie who was hesitant to speak, Liu Mingzhi paused slightly.
"But you have never seen with your own eyes or heard about what happened between the caravans."
Seeing Liu Mingzhi say what he wanted to say for him, Yun Yingjie nodded hurriedly.
"Cousin Yingming, that's exactly what it is."
Liu Mingzhi squinted his eyes and pondered for a moment, looked around at the kings around him with a half-smile, and finally laid his eyes on Yun Yingjie.
"Cousin, do you know why this happened?"
"Well, I'm stupid, so I'd like to ask my cousin for advice."
"Because, cousin, you trust your own people too much.
If it goes as expected, every time you lead a group of colleagues on private patrols in the Western Regions, you spend most of your time focusing on the people, businessmen, and people in the Western Regions. It’s on those businessmen from other countries.
You are Dalong officials, officials of Dalong Anxi Protectorate.
Therefore, you will subconsciously think that anyone who comes from our dragon is a good person.
You still think that as long as the kings of the countries in the Western Regions, the people, the merchants, and the merchants in the far west obey the management of the Protectorate honestly.
Then, the Western Regions will be in peace.
Cousin, are you right?"
After Yun Yingjie listened to Mr. Liu's lengthy words, his lips trembled slightly and he murmured a few times, then lowered his head with a remorseful expression.
"I'm confused for my brother, I'm confused for my brother."
When Guo Wei, Chai Qingyun and others saw this, they immediately echoed in a low voice.
"I am confused."
Young Master Liu casually closed the Wanli Jiangshan engraved jade fan in his hand, and glanced at the surrounding officials with a slight frown.
"It's true that you are confused, but you are somewhat self-aware.
What happened in the countries of the Western Regions is closely related to the prejudices in your hearts.
In our Dalong, there is a saying.
Serving as an official for one term brings benefit to one party.
I ordered you to come to the Anxi Protectorate to shoulder heavy responsibilities. I am here to bring benefit to our country, not to treat the people of the Western Regions with prejudice."
Yun Yingjie, Guo Wei and others felt nervous when they saw the unkind expression on Mr. Liu's face.
Now, hearing Young Master Liu's unpleasant tone again, everyone's hearts trembled, and they all knelt down in unison.
"I know that I was wrong. Please forgive me for my sin."
Liu Mingzhi lowered his head and glanced at the officials kneeling on the ground, narrowed his eyes slightly, and frowned in deep thought.
To be continued...