Chapter 1708: Ruthlessly Vicious Zhou Ping'an
With a thud, Chen Tong knelt before Li Chen.
He offered no defense, nor did he plead for mercy. He simply bowed his head heavily to the ground and stammered, "Your Highness, there have indeed been problems within the Jinyiwei, but I am not shirking responsibility. I truly was unaware of it. I do not beg for your forgiveness, Your Highness. I deserve a thousand deaths, but I implore you to grant me some time. After I return, I will purge those traitorous scoundrels from within. Then, I will willingly offer my own life before you."
Li Chen's eyes, like burning torches, fixed intently on Chen Tong who knelt before him.
Chen Tong is capable and loyal, but he's simply not up to the task. This isn't the first time he's had problems; on several previous occasions, the issues weren't major and can't be entirely blamed on him.
After all, although the Three Treasures had died, Chen Tong hadn't had the entire Jinyi Wei under his control for long. Li Chen didn't expect him to immediately command the tens of thousands of Jinyi Wei across the nation, so he gave him room for error and space to grow.
But this time, the issue is truly enormous.
It can be assumed that the Three Treasures also saw Chen Tong's shortcomings back then, so they didn't hand over the entire Dongchang to him. Even until his deathbed, he still asked Li Chen to find another suitable person to manage Dongchang.
Before, Li Chen thought that there might be concerns about Chen Tong not being a eunuch and unable to control the Dong Factory, but now it seems that the meaning of Sanbao is far more than whether Chen Tong is an eunuch or not.
Li Chen remained silent, and Chen Tong continued kneeling with his head bowed, daring not to raise it.
The tile cracked his forehead, and blood streamed from the fissure. Chen Tong could clearly see a pool of red liquid slowly spreading out, but he remained frozen in place.
After a long while, Li Chen’s voice softened, and he said faintly, “Go call Zhou Changshou and Zhou Ping’an over.”

Li Chen did not deal with Chen Tong.
On the one hand, now that the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, even if Chen Tong were dragged out and beheaded, it would only mean that Li Chen had one less loyal person at his disposal, which would be pointless.
On the other hand, Chen Tong had followed Li Chen all the way down and contributed both in hardship and lack of accomplishment. Although Chen Tong couldn't escape responsibility for this matter, he was never the primary responsible person. Even if they were to be dealt with, it would have to wait until after they returned to Beijing.
The most important thing right now is how to put out the fire, not who's responsible.
But Li Chen's heart, had already taken a grudge against Chen Tong.
Chen Tong stood up upon hearing this and silently exited the side room.
But in a while, Zhou Changshou and Zhou Ping'an arrived together before Li Chen.
After bowing, Li Chen waved his hand and gave the secret letter to the two.
Have a look.
After venting, Li Chen's mood had calmed down a lot. At least he was no longer blinded by anger, but it still felt heavy.
Because the trouble in Beijing this time is truly enormous.
The most important thing is that the bank was run out of money, which Li Chen currently cannot accept at all.
Once the run on the bank continues to worsen, and with so much capital already withdrawn, the bank will inevitably be driven into bankruptcy by the run. At that time, what could sweep across Qin Dynasty would very likely be the world’s first financial crisis in human history.
As someone from the future, Li Chen understood better than anyone that economics was a sharp blade. Invisible and intangible, it could inflict more damage than any weapon, capable of reshaping nations at will, manipulating entire countries like puppets on a string.
Li Chen never expected that he would find himself standing on the brink of an economic crisis, a consequence of his own actions.
All I can say is that the person who made the move had incredibly sharp vision and ruthless tactics. They were truly merciless!

(Editor in charge：cormac mccarthy novels)