Chapter 2038: A Path

"They are bandits, they are executioners!" Zhang Mang roared in anger.

Li Hongtian pressed his hand down, looked indifferently at the livid Louis XV, cupped his hands in a salute, and said coldly: "Your Majesty, since the facts are now clear, I shall take my leave!"

Having said this, Li Hongtian walked with a vigorous, tiger-like stride, and amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, he left with his chest held high and a proud, spirited air!

Looking back at Louis XV's livid face, his fists were clenched tight.

He looked at Li Hongtian like a wild beast; if looks could kill, Li Hongtian would have been torn to shreds by him long ago!

But now he could only watch helplessly as Li Hongtian left, and he had to ensure he left the French Empire unscathed.

He could not give the Longyan any direct excuse to declare war on the French Empire.

Louis XV could only endure it!

But fortunately, the Longyan did not have conclusive evidence, and those scientists and engineers captured from the Longyan now seemed like a hot potato.

They must be dealt with as soon as possible.

He could not let the Longyan continue to stir up trouble; if a war were to truly break out, their French Empire would have absolutely no ability to win.

Fortunately, fortunately, everything was still in time.

And just at this moment, a French attendant rushed in hurriedly.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."

Louis XV frowned: "Speak!"

"Our palace, on our palace... General Delu has been hanged up there!"

At this moment, a fat corpse was hanging from the gas street lamp in front of the Versailles.

A piece of white paper was stuck to the corpse, with a line of text written on it: "Those who offend my Longyan, though far away, shall be punished!"

Looking at the text above, intense heated discussion erupted among the crowd.

The Versailles is a palace that only the King of the French Empire can inhabit.

It is the symbol of the French Empire's royal family!

But now, the Longyan had actually taken a general of the French Empire and, without the French Soldiers knowing anything about it, simply hanged him on the most magnificent and symbolic Versailles of the French Empire.

Since Louis XIII purchased one hundred and seventeen acres of land in Paris and built the Versailles upon it, throughout this history of over one hundred years.

The Versailles had always been regarded as the most important palace of the French Empire, symbolizing the power of the royal family; even during chaotic times, no one had dared to slap the French Empire in the face like this.

But now the Longyan had simply taken a general of the French Empire and hung him on a gas street lamp.

This was a naked humiliation to them.

The people of the French Empire saw the hanged Delu and saw the words written above; those Nobles felt a tremendous humiliation.

"Never has an Empire dared to humiliate the French Empire like this!"

"Declare war on the Longyan!"

"Declare war!"

The cries for war resounded among the French Empire Nobles.

Just at this moment, the current ruler of the French Empire appeared.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

Seeing Louis XV, the French Empire Nobles prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted loudly, pleading: "We implore Your Majesty to go to war, go to war!"

On the vast Square in front of the Versailles, these Nobles, consumed by anger, begged their monarch to vent their fury.

Louis XV looked at Delu and the words written on his corpse.

He heard the angry breathing of the Nobles and walked to the source of their immense rage.

The hanging corpse of Delu.

Louis XV stared fixedly at the text written on Delu's corpse, murmuring to himself: "Those who offend my Longyan, though far away, shall be punished!"

"When was it discovered?"

The attendant replied: "Today when Your Majesty left..."

Hearing this, Louis XV's pupils shrank suddenly; he instantly understood the Longyan's attitude.

A wave of intense terror surged into his heart instantly.

This was the heavily guarded Versailles, one of the most important areas of the French Empire.

But the Longyan had not only gotten in, they had even openly killed someone in the Versailles to humiliate them.

This meant that the Longyan had the ability to wipe him out in the Versailles at any time; finishing him off would be as easy as turning over one's hand!

Being in the most heavily guarded, the safest place in the French Empire, Louis XV felt an icy chill to the bone, as if his life could be threatened at any moment.

The memory of the assassination attempt at the Trianon Palace resurfaced from the deepest part of his heart.

That assassination failed because the opponent was merely a farmer.

But if it were well-trained Longyan, he would definitely die!

A massive fear made him feel as if he were drifting on the ocean; the feeling of loneliness and terror was swallowing him bit by bit.

"Your Majesty, go to war!"

"The Longyan have openly humiliated us, we must teach them a lesson!"

"Yes, go to war!"

"Finish off these arrogant Longyan!"

Louis XV turned his head to look at the agitated Nobles and ministers; these two factions, who could usually argue until the air turned hot, now had highly unified opinions.

The reason for it all was the Longyan!

But Louis XV knew that what these princes and ministers said was completely unrealistic, and he said with a panicked, almost trembling look: "No, no, no..."

"We cannot go to war!"

"The Longyan will tear the French Empire apart."

The Nobles and royal ministers of France heard these words, their brows furrowing tightly, and they even accused him: "Your Majesty, the Longyan are bullying us like this!"

"Are we to continue enduring this?"

Louis XV looked at the minister who had spoken, smiled indifferently, and said with absolute certainty: "Yes!"

"Continue to endure it!"

"Endure it; in any case, we absolutely cannot go to war with the Longyan. We have no troops, no guns; we cannot gamble the entire nation..."

Once these words were spoken, the entire Square in front of Versailles fell into a state of apathy.

At this moment, all sound vanished.

The corpse of Delu still swayed in the wind in the air, as if mocking these people.

Louis XV laughed loudly, his eyes filled with humiliation, while the Nobles and ministers knelt on the ground without saying a word.

They watched helplessly as Louis XV stepped past the gas lamp from which Delu was hanging, and watched helplessly as Louis XV walked alone into the Imperial Palace that symbolized the French royalty.

Yet Delu's corpse was still hanging on the gas lamp, so conspicuous, but only two attendants removed it from the gas lamp.

As for those Nobles and ministers who had previously shouted for war, they apathetically raised their heads and stood up to leave, as if they knew nothing at all.

Some even didn't spare a single glance at Delu's corpse as they passed by.

It was as if none of this had ever happened.

They could not fight the Longyan; they did not have the strength for it now.

Louis XV's words just now had already told them that they did not have the capital for it.

If they were to fight the Longyan to the death now, all of them, these royal ministers, would be on a path to certain death!

And at this time, Li Hongtian and Zhang Mang returned to the military camp.

Li Hongtian asked Feng Zhenyun: "Is there any news from inside Paris?"

Feng Zhenyun said: "Nothing at all; no news of war, no news of anything."

Li Hongtian nodded and smiled: "Louis XV is a smart man."

Louis XV could only choose to release the people; if he had a bit more spirit, then he could only be sent to his death.

However, even ants cling to life, let alone Louis XV, this Emperor of France.

He could only choose to release the people!