Chapter 503: So the hat of rebellion just gets slapped on like that?

When Xu Xianchun said he was the leader, the man did not refute it, clearly tacitly admitting to the matter.

This surprised Xu Xianchun somewhat. He hadn't expected this man to have such nerve; it seemed he really was the leader.

Xu Xianchun had interrogated many people and investigated all sorts of shady characters. Whenever anyone admitted to being the leader, the things they faced afterward were never trivial.

So Xu Xianchun also understood how these people thought — when trouble came, they pushed it off onto others as much as they could, and would never shoulder the responsibility themselves. Only a fool would do that.

To take responsibility onto oneself meant either he was confident he could handle it, or he had no choice but to bear it.

The man before him was clearly someone with confidence. Because his calm, unhurried attitude simply did not look like someone forced into a corner.

This piqued Xu Xianchun's interest. He wondered just who these people were, to have such audacity.

Looking him up and down, Xu Xianchun said, "Then let's hear it — who exactly are you?"

Upon hearing this, the man glanced at Xu Xianchun and said, "I know your reputation, and I know the rules of how the Embroidered Uniform Guard does things. So if you have questions, go ahead and ask — whatever we can answer, we'll tell you all of it."

"As for our own affairs, you'd best not ask for now. If what you ask has to do with our identity, then we'll tell you then — it won't be too late."

Xu Xianchun nodded, a smile on his face as he said, "That sounds reasonable, but I don't want to hear it. Your reasoning is not my reasoning. What you say holds no meaning here. I ask, you answer. You've broken the rules — and I'm a man who dislikes rule-breakers above all. Rule-breakers must be punished."

Glancing at the man, Xu Xianchun looked at his subordinates and said directly, "Drag him out, break one of his legs, then bring him back for questioning. I don't like the look of him right now — pulling that act in front of me?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room's faces changed drastically. None of them could believe Xu Xianchun would be so utterly unscrupulous.

Especially the man whose leg was about to be broken — his face instantly turned extremely ugly.

He raised his head and looked at Xu Xianchun, saying directly, "Even though you're the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there are things you can't take too far, or there won't be any good outcome."

"Understood — that's a threat. Drag him out and break both legs." Xu Xianchun continued.

By this time, his subordinates had already rushed forward.

Others might freeze in shock, but they wouldn't. Nothing could make them disobey their boss's orders.

They rushed up and immediately seized the man, wrestling him down onto the ground.

Seeing the man lying prone and starting to struggle, Xu Xianchun said directly, "Gag him."

His subordinates naturally obeyed, grabbing a wad of rags and stuffing them into the man's mouth.

Seeing this, Xu Xianchun nodded with satisfaction and said, "Do you know why I had his mouth gagged? Because he was about to reveal his identity — or name the backer behind him."

"If the backer behind him is too big for me to offend, I might have to let him go. That would make me lose face."

"If his identity is too special for me to beat him, then everything I said before would be empty words. So I gagged him — this way he can't speak, I know nothing, and I can break both his legs. Once I've broken his legs, it won't matter if he reveals his identity afterward."

"His legs are broken either way. If his identity is special, then go ahead and report me — at worst I'll compensate you with two legs, or pay with my life."

"As for someone with deep background and connections — what can they do after the man's already been beaten? I'm the Guard Commander of the Northern Bastille of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Who can do anything to me? Other than His Majesty, who would dare break my legs?"

As he said this, Xu Xianchun was extremely arrogant, looking at everyone with contempt in his eyes as he said, "I break your legs, and afterward it's nothing more than an apology. No one's dead, so what can you do? Would you have His Majesty break my legs? Who could manage that? A bunch of fools — you actually think you're somebody."

"Hit, hit, hit — what are you waiting for?" With that, Xu Xianchun waved impatiently at his subordinates and said, "Two legs, two legs — no more, no less. Whatever I say goes."

His subordinates were naturally skilled at this — the Embroidered Uniform Guard were accustomed to using torture.

Four men pressed the man down and went to work, raising their scabbards and smashing them against his legs.

Bang! The man kneeling on the ground arched his entire body rigid.

His face flushed bright red, veins bulging — but it was useless. He couldn't even resist.

However, the man who struck with the scabbard looked somewhat embarrassed. He raised his head and said to Xu Xianchun, "Sir, it's been a long time since I've done this — my technique's gotten rusty. That blow didn't break it."

"Useless." Xu Xianchun said with a helpless tone, "Our Embroidered Uniform Guard people are far too lax. Look at yourselves — what have you become? With skills this rusty, how can you accomplish great things? Utterly clueless!"

"Switch to someone else — go again!" Xu Xianchun said directly.

That Guard officer quickly said, "Sir, it's just that I haven't practiced in a long time. Why not let me strike a few more times? I'm sure I'll find the feel of it, and then I guarantee I'll break it in one blow."

"If you switch to someone else, won't it be the same? They can't break it in one blow either. Every time you switch people, the leg gets ruined."

Xu Xianchun looked at him, annoyed, and said, "If you have no talent, you have no talent — what are you making excuses for? Let's see who has talent, and we'll have him do it from now on. It's rare to have such an opportunity — come, come, come, take turns striking. Let's see who can break it in one blow."

Watching these Embroidered Uniform Guard men acting like wolves and tigers, utterly unscrupulous, the people standing nearby were so frightened they collapsed onto the ground.

They were used to being ferocious and domineering in their daily lives — when had they ever seen a scene like this?

These Embroidered Uniform Guard — what were they?

This was completely treating human life as nothing!

These people had also once treated human life as nothing, but they had never experienced the feeling of their own lives being treated as nothing. Now they were getting a taste of it.

These Embroidered Uniform Guard were utterly lawless — they didn't give a damn about their lives at all. How could they not be afraid?

They were people of noble status, living so well — who would want to die?

Facing these Embroidered Uniform Guard, they cowered at the first moment. It was over for them.

Xu Xianchun looked at them, a flash of contempt passing through his eyes. A bunch of trash.

But the action didn't stop. The subordinate felt aggrieved inside, his expression even more aggrieved — but there was nothing he could do. The man beside him was already eager to try, shoving him aside and drawing his blade, ready to start striking.

For the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you had to climb the ranks — without rising, there was no future.

In the past two years, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's treatment had been decent, and promotions were relatively plentiful, so they still wanted to climb higher. But in the end, there were too many wolves and too little meat — how easy could it be to rise? Without someone to promote you, it wouldn't work.

Xu Xianchun might have fallen on hard times for a while, but he was His Majesty's confidant. In the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard, who would dare give him a cold look?

Even the current Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Cui Yingyuan, had to be courteous and respectful when meeting Xu Xianchun, not daring the slightest negligence.

Look at him this time — he'd directly followed the Emperor out of the capital, working right by His Majesty's side.

And look — this time he'd encountered a major matter. If he ran into merit, his future would surely be limitless. If one could earn Xu Xianchun's favor for promotion, then taking a step up would naturally be no problem.

Moreover, most of those present were Xu Xianchun's confidants, so such thoughts mattered even more. If one could make Xu Xianchun think highly of them by breaking a leg, then maybe in the future they'd become his chief torturer.

That was no small privilege, so everyone was eager to try.

The newcomer didn't hesitate either. He raised the blade in his hand and smashed it directly at the leg of the man lying prone on the ground.

Bang! Blood instantly seeped through his silk clothing, and his entire body arched and convulsed.

Clearly this blow was better — most importantly, besides the dull thud, everyone also heard a crisp crack.

The man jumped up excitedly and said, "Sir, his leg has been broken!"

Xu Xianchun raised an eyebrow and said, "Isn't there another one? Did I tell you to stop?"

The man hastily replied, "Yes, sir!"

With that, he moved around to the other side and, without a moment's hesitation, raised the blade in his hand and brought it down on the other leg.

The sound was exactly the same as before—even the scream was the same—except this time the scream was noticeably shriller.

Though the leg had been broken, Xu Xianchun showed no intention of questioning him. He simply shot his subordinate a look.

Someone pulled one man out from among those collapsed on the ground and delivered him directly before Xu Xianchun.

This was a man in his forties, his face full of fear, his body already trembling uncontrollably.

Breaking a man's legs was something he himself had done before. Though he'd never struck the blow personally, he had watched. In the past he'd never thought much of it, but now that it was his own turn, the terror surged up all at once.

Especially since these Embroidered Uniform Guard treated men as less than human—they seemed to take delight in beating people. His nerve collapsed on the spot.

Xu Xianchun looked at him and said, "He won't talk, that's fine. Now I'm asking you. First, tell me—what is he, that he dares to be so arrogant? How dare he show me such disrespect?"

"What are we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard? We are the Son of Heaven's own personal army. To disrespect the Embroidered Uniform Guard is to disrespect Your Majesty. I see treasonous intent in this man. Are the rest of you gathered here plotting rebellion? Are you discussing plans to revolt?"

"Confess honestly—where are your weapons, armor, dragon robes, and imperial seals?"

When these words came out, the men collapsed on the ground could bear it no longer. They shuddered and opened their mouths to speak.

These Embroidered Uniform Guard were going too far!

Even if someone knew nothing, wasn't the usual procedure to ask questions first?

How could they skip all the questioning and shamelessly slap the label of rebellion on them without a shred of decency?