Chapter 2037: The Truth of the Matter

Such an offensive act; Louis XV could not swallow this insult.

With a wave of his hand, he was about to order the execution of these Longyan, but at this very moment, Li Hongtian produced a token.

Seeing Louis XV raise an eyebrow, Li Hongtian said airily: "Your Majesty, my Longyan's million-strong army is right outside France. If I suffer even the slightest injury here, that will be the fault of your French royal family!"

"Consider the consequences, Your Majesty," Li Hongtian said, stroking his graying beard with a calm and indifferent air.

He saw Louis XV clench his teeth, his expression shifting repeatedly, his hand resting on his sword atop the royal palanquin never letting go.

He stared fixedly at Louis XV and let out a cold snort!

Not daring to make a move, he turned and entered the public hall.

The French civilians who had come to watch saw their king, the embodiment of royal power carved into their very bones, show no sign of resistance under such intimidation from the Longyan.

Their king ran inside in a disheveled manner, as if fleeing from disaster.

The crowd did not understand the implications of the Longyan Army being at the city gates.

This meant that the Longyan could sweep across France at any moment.

Currently, the French Battleships were unable to enter the Mediterranean Sea, and the land forces had suffered defeat in the attack on Hanover.

Li Hongtian was leading an army several orders of magnitude superior to their French Army, and they were at the city gates!

Under such circumstances, Louis XV would have to be insane not to submit.

The reason Louis XV wanted to face the Longyan in court was to stall for time; Louis XV had already requested aid from his allies.

Watching Louis XV walk inside feeling so aggrieved, Li Hongtian let out a scoff and strode inside with Zhang Mang.

The French civilians crowded around, all wanting to see what would follow.

Louis XV's humiliation just now had drawn them all in.

Reporters from all over the world were even more eager to rush in, wanting to record this monumental dispute.

The news of the Longyan making the French royal family lose face just now was shocking enough for them.

Louis XV was the King of France, yet the Longyan had actually made Louis XV lose face inside the city of Paris.

To strip him of his dignity in public—this was simply unheard of!

A shout of anger came from inside.

"This is Zhang Mang's confession!"

"It bears the name written by Zhang Mang himself; in your Longyan Language, he has 'pressed his seal'!"

"How could this be fake!"

"You Longyan have detained our prisoners without authorization and still demand an explanation from us? You are the ones who should be giving us an explanation!"

A French minister posted a confession for everyone to see.

"It looks real."

"The Longyan are truly hateful, actually framing our king like this."

Faced with the evidence and accusations brought out by the French minister, Li Hongtian smiled slightly and ordered someone to bring out a large sheet of paper, on which was written the character 'Mang'.

"Do you know how to write the 'Mang' in Zhang Mang?"

Li Hongtian showed this large character to everyone, and those who had seen the previous confession looked closely.

They suddenly discovered that although the two characters were similar, the one on the confession was clearly missing a dot.

A reporter proficient in the Longyan Language exclaimed: "The character on that confession is completely wrong."

"This confession is problematic!"

The French minister was stunned; he had not expected such a problem to arise. He was the one who had originally ordered the Longyan people abducted from Australia to write the confession.

Who could have imagined that this confession would actually have a problem!

He looked at Louis XV, completely at a loss for a moment, and Louis XV saw his panic and confusion.

He said nonchalantly: "It is common for prisoners to write characters incorrectly."

"After all, as you know, the Longyan Language is difficult to learn and remember; isn't it normal for a Longyan person not to know how to write their own name?"

Most of the Europeans present nodded upon hearing this; the Longyan Language was not like their own, and in their eyes, memorizing and writing it were both extremely difficult.

Zhang Mang, however, laughed out loud and said in clear, articulate tones: "Fabricating things out of thin air and confusing black and white—truly impressive."

He snatched the confession with one hand, and the French minister exclaimed: "Even if you tear up this evidence, you cannot alter the truth!"

Zhang Mang glanced at him and read indifferently: "Longyan person Zhang Mang, committed theft in France..."

Hearing Zhang Mang fluently translate the contents of the confession, everyone was shocked!

He was not only proficient in the Longyan Language but also proficient in the French language.

The French minister was even more shocked, as if struck by lightning.

"It is simply ridiculous to say that such a learned person would write his own name incorrectly."

"Indeed, if he could write it wrong, there is only one possibility: it was intentional."

"Could the truth be as the Longyan say..."

The crowd whispered, but these few sentences were transmitted with absolute clarity into the ears of Louis XV.

For them, what the truth was did not matter; what mattered was whether the dignity of their Empire could be upheld.

Li Hongtian said faintly: "Zhang Mang, since everyone is so curious, why don't you tell them."

Louis XV shouted coldly: "Silence!"

This matter absolutely could not be exposed, but he also could not admit that it was true.

If it were exposed, it would definitely cause an uproar within the French Empire; this would simply tear off his fig leaf and expose his inner and outer self from France to the whole world!

The French royal family would lose face, he would lose his majesty, and the reputation of the French Empire would be completely lost.

And if he admitted to this, the Longyan would have a perfect reason to use force against France.

Invading Australia, kidnapping Longyan scientists and engineers, and wanton humiliation—any one of these was a reason for the Longyan to use force against France!

Up until now, although France and the Longyan have had constant friction, there has been no formal declaration of war, nor has a full-scale war broken out!

If war were truly declared, a million Longyan troops would be amassed on the French border right now.

How could they fight?

There is no way to fight!

To fight is to lose the kingdom.

Li Hongtian narrowed his eyes and looked at the flustered Louis XV: "What, does Your Majesty wish to explain it personally?"

Louis XV took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said: "We can talk about this."

Li Hongtian let out a laugh and said indifferently: "No need, Longyan gave you a way out before, but you did not know how to cherish it."

"Zhang Mang, tell him about it."

Zhang Mang respectfully complied and recounted his experiences in France; everyone who heard it was furious, as they had not imagined that France could commit such acts.

The French civilians watching from the sidelines were even more shocked; it was not that they sympathized with the Longyan, as this matter had nothing to do with them, but they were deeply shaken by the cruelty of the royal family.

They were even more shocked that the Longyan were publicly humiliating the royal family in this way, and not a single one of their kings or ministers offered a defense!

Those were figures who were usually high and mighty, as if there was nothing they could not accomplish.

But now, they were hunched over like children being scolded, not daring to refute a single word.