Cui Jishan was just a small shopkeeper and not a core member of the Cui family. To put it bluntly, his surname was not Cui originally. Later, because his father had worked in the Cui family for fifty years, he was given the surname. Even so, he could already walk sideways on the street. Over the years, many royal children just laughed him off when they saw him. He never dreamed of being beaten on the street.
"you……"
The encirclement was complete when Cui Jishan remembered that he had the Qinghe Cui family behind him. That was the richest family in the world and he couldn't be afraid of these people. But he only said this word and he dared not say the rest even if he was beaten to death because a knife was already across his neck.
He could tell from Zhao Yunhui's eyes that this man really dared to kill people. He looked at him as if he were an animal. If he said the rest of the words, maybe this knife would really cut his neck.
Li Xiang did not dismount at this moment, but just urged the horse forward a few steps. The people around him who were originally boiling with excitement remained silent. This is a kind of majesty.
"I, the king, am under orders from General Li of the Ministry of War to apprehend the Goguryeo spy, Sun Zhenghao. All of you must remain where you are. Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed."
Li Xiang had the fighting power of fifteen people, so he spoke with full energy and everyone nearby could hear what Li Xiang said.
Originally, some people thought that Li Xiang was fooling around, but now after hearing clearly, everyone stood still. In recent years, the Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo have been fighting, and many soldiers have been killed and injured. Many people have tablets of their relatives at home, so when talking about Goguryeo spies, none of these people do not hate them.
Some people have already prepared a bunch of miscellaneous things in their hands, and if the Goguryeo spy comes out later, they will use these things to greet him.
After Li Xiang finished speaking, the ten guards behind him were about to rush in with knives, but at this moment a voice of wild laughter came from the restaurant.
This person is none other than the person who manages the Qinghe Cui family in the capital, the second son of the Cui family, Cui Yuncheng. He is considered one of the best among the younger generation, otherwise he would not be able to be in charge of the capital.
The Cui family has one head of the family, two deputy heads of the family, four elders and eight clerks. Cui Yuncheng is one of the eight clerks, and the other seven are all over 40 years old, only he is in his twenties.
Someone once said that if nothing went wrong, he would most likely be the next patriarch of the Cui family.
Within two breaths, Li Xiang finally saw Cui Yuncheng. This man was wearing a red robe and had a handsome face, but his eyes showed a vicious look. Behind him were ten men in tight clothes. Judging from the muscles on their bodies, it can be seen that they must be masters.
"So it's His Royal Highness the Emperor's eldest grandson. My name is Cui Yuncheng, nice to meet you, His Royal Highness."
This person bowed slightly but did not perform a big salute. According to the rules, he must have violated the rules. However, in this day and age, the core descendants of the Five Surnames and Seven Families do receive the same treatment as the royal family.
When Li Shimin ascended the throne, he met with the heads of various families. At that time, the heads of various families did not perform any formalities when meeting Li Shimin. In order to win the hearts of the people, Li Shimin did not care about this, so the heads of various families followed suit, and it was acceptable for Cui Yuncheng to perform such formalities.
"Kneel down."
Everyone wanted to see how the emperor's eldest grandson caught the spy, but who knew that Li Xiang would actually utter these two words.
Kneel down?
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked Cui Yuncheng to kneel down?
Many people thought they had misheard, and some even picked their ears hard, wondering if too much earwax was affecting their hearing?
Although Cui Yuncheng was only an official of the Cui family, in the eyes of everyone, he was not much worse than His Royal Highness the Emperor's eldest grandson. Although the Tang Dynasty was surnamed Li, the Cui family had lasted for a thousand years and its power was immeasurable. In the hearts of the common people, the core members of their family had long been on the same level as the royal family.
But just now, Your Highness...
"Do you know what you're talking about?"
Cui Yuncheng said angrily that he had called him "Your Highness" just now, but now he doesn't even have this honorific title anymore.
"I told you to kneel down."
Li Xiang deliberately emphasized the last two words, not only to let him hear clearly, but also to let the people around him hear clearly. To survive in the society of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Surnames and Seven Clans are existences that cannot be avoided, so Li Xiang wants to establish his authority. If he doesn't scare off these monsters like you, I will face countless troubles in the future.
"That's pure nonsense. My patriarch and the emperor were in the Golden Throne Hall that day..."
Cui Yuncheng flicked his sleeves and began to recount what happened that day in front of everyone. This was indeed a shame for the entire royal family.
So what if your Li family becomes the emperor? The heads of the five surnames and seven clans will not kneel down, and you can only watch. If you go to war with them, your kingdom will be unstable and may split from within at any time.
Listening to Cui Yuncheng's talk, many ordinary people around nodded. Although it was a bit against the rules, the idea of family power had been deeply rooted in people's hearts. In these people's hearts, the Cui family was an unshakable existence.
Li Xiang rode on his horse with his eyes closed, letting this guy talk for nearly five or six minutes before he finally explained what happened that day. It was nothing more than that the emperor allowed their family heads to sit together, which meant that they were of equal status with the royal family. Of course, he didn't say that, but that was what he meant.
When Cui Yuncheng was excited, he felt a little dizzy, as if he was having a debate with a group of scholars. But now Li Xiang was the only one who couldn't perform well. At this moment, he looked at Li Xiang with a triumphant look, wishing that Li Xiang would dismount and apologize immediately.
"So what? I still want you to kneel down."
What surprised everyone was that Li Xiang opened his eyes and said nothing else, but just this one sentence showed his kingly demeanor.
The common people suddenly felt that Cui Yuncheng was like a clown. He had been talking for a long time but failed to change the situation on the field. Our young prince had not spoken a word and had already won in momentum.
"What gives you the right? Do you have the emperor's decree?"
Cui Yuncheng was a little exasperated. He had spent a long time painstakingly explaining the truth, just like building a tall building. Now that it was about to succeed, Li Xiang said that his tall building was not in accordance with the rules.
"I don't have the Emperor's decree, but I've also never heard of the Emperor issuing one. Your Cui family's children can be on par with me. If you ask me what I rely on, it's because my Li family can claim to be the sole ruler. Can your Cui family do the same?"
The whole place was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop...