You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 116 I Don't Need Evidence

News of the great chaos in the four northern states spread throughout the land.

The most noteworthy event was the Huangtian Sect's massive killing of Grand Tutor Wen Zhong and the annihilation of 30,000 elite Divine Martial Guards of the imperial court.

The rebellion of Zhou Qian, a prince of the Zhou royal family, also attracted widespread attention.

Because one of them was the pillar who destroyed the Great Zhou Dynasty, a veteran of three dynasties.

One is a royal prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the fourth brother of the current emperor.

For the Great Zhou Dynasty, this was of great significance and had a profound impact.

But no one expected that these two powerful forces, which raised their flags in rebellion, would be driven from heaven to hell by the imperial army in just over a month.

They were completely wiped out by the imperial court, with virtually no chance of resistance.

This shocked many people.

Who says that the Great Zhou Dynasty has fallen into decline and lost its might?
It's absolutely ridiculous.

The overwhelming power displayed by the Great Zhou Dynasty this time made everyone understand a principle.

That is, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

Even if the Great Zhou Dynasty were to decline further, it could still suppress some petty villains.

Not everyone is qualified to challenge the remaining power of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

With the pacification of the rebellion in the four northern states, the somewhat turbulent situation in the Great Zhou gradually stabilized.

The rumors circulating among the people were all debunked and became a joke.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen sat on the dragon throne, reviewing memorials.

Since taking control of some of the power in the court, Zhou Chen has been reviewing a large number of memorials every day.

The Prime Minister could have shared some of the burden, but Zhou Chen did not trust Prime Minister Yuan Bo.

Therefore, Zhou Chen had to personally review and approve important memorials to ensure he could feel at ease.

At this moment, Cao Zhengchun hurried in.

"Your Majesty, Cao Shaoqin has sent word that the Eastern Depot has uncovered some of the Huangtian Sect's connections."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

After entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Cao Zhengchun came to Zhou Chen's side and placed the memorial sent back by Cao Shaoqin in front of Zhou Chen.

Ever since he saw Zhou Chen's dissatisfaction with the Eastern Depot, Cao Zhengchun had been on edge.

Fearing that Emperor Zhou Chen was losing patience with the Eastern Depot, he waited anxiously for Cao Shaoqin to send back a message.

Now that the wait is finally over, Cao Zhengchun can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh!"

"Have you found out yet?"

Zhou Chen raised an eyebrow, took the memorial sent back by Cao Shaoqin from Cao Zhengchun, and opened it to read it.

The memorial contained a great deal of information.

It took Zhou Chen several minutes to finish reading the memorial that Cao Shaoqin had sent back.

After reading the contents of the memorial sent back by Cao Shaoqin, Zhou Chen's expression did not change much. He simply looked up at Cao Zhengchun and asked, "Is that all?"

"What else was found?"

Zhou Chen's voice was calm, but Cao Zhengchun could tell that Zhou Chen was not satisfied with what the Eastern Depot had found.

Cao Zhengchun immediately bowed and said, "We also found that Cui Songshan of the Cui family of Boling had appeared in the four prefectures of the Northwest."

"It seems that it was Cui Songshan of the Cui family who helped the Prince of Xiaoyao and the Prince of Kang escape from the traitors of the Yellow Heaven Sect."

"Furthermore, the rebellion in the four prefectures of the Northwest and the death of the Grand Tutor in battle seem to have been partly due to Cui Songshan of the Cui family of Boling."

"However, the Eastern Depot found no concrete evidence."

Cao Zhengchun said cautiously.

In ordinary matters, the Eastern Depot might not have been so cautious.

However, this involves one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even Cao Zhengchun's Eastern Depot had to treat it with caution.

Without concrete evidence, one wouldn't dare to make a reckless report. "No specific evidence found?"

Zhou Chen's face immediately turned cold after hearing Cao Zhengchun's words.

"Does your Eastern Depot need evidence to do its work?"

"Do I need evidence?"

"Cao Zhengchun, your Eastern Depot is my eyes and ears, and also the knife in my hand. It is not the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review. What evidence do you need?"

"Understand?"

Zhou Chen stared coldly at Cao Zhengchun.

As emperor, Zhou Chen had no shortage of righteous and loyal ministers who followed the rules and were particular about evidence.

People like Fang Xuanling, Lü Bu, and Zhang Liao were all righteous and loyal ministers who could do certain things, but not certain shady ones.

What Zhou Chen lacks around him are bad people who are capable of doing shady things.

As long as Zhou Chen gives the order.

He's a man who'll stop at nothing, even if it means framing, falsely accusing, or secretly harming others, just to help Zhou Chen achieve his goals.

However, Cao Zhengchun seems to have strayed somewhat from this role.

This disappointed Zhou Chen.

Faced with Zhou Chen's cold gaze, Cao Zhengchun immediately knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, this old servant understands."

"This old servant will certainly share the Emperor's burdens and devote himself to the cause until his dying breath."

Cao Zhengchun wasn't stupid.

Who among those who could command the Eastern Depot and wield immense power could be mediocre?

Therefore, Cao Zhengchun immediately understood Zhou Chen's meaning.

That is, Zhou Chen wanted him to become someone who could share the emperor's burdens at any time, and the means by which that was not important.

"Just understand."

"I do not need evidence for anything involving the Yellow Heaven Sect traitors and the death of the Grand Tutor."

"So what if it's one of the seven great families?"

"I will still destroy him."

"Send a secret edict to Lü Bu, ordering him to mobilize a large army to annihilate the nine clans of the Cui family in Boling."

"I want to see what gave the Cui family the audacity to plot against the Grand Tutor of my Great Zhou, and what gave them the audacity to secretly help the Prince of Xiaoyao raise the banner of rebellion."

Zhou Chen said coldly.

Without a doubt, the moment Cao Zhengchun mentioned Cui Songshan of the Cui family, Zhou Chen had already guessed the general outline of what was going on.

The fact that Prince Xiaoyao Zhou Qian and Prince Kang Zhou Qi were able to escape from the Yellow Heaven Sect rebels and raise a rebellion in Daizhou is likely related to the Cui family.

Even the rumors circulating among the common people, originating from the four northern states, were secretly orchestrated by the Cui family.

As for the upheaval in the four northwestern prefectures, and the death of Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, Zhou Chen did not know whether the Cui family was also involved.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

The important thing is that Cui Songshan of the Cui family had appeared in the four northwestern prefectures, which is enough.

Based on this alone, Zhou Chen had enough reason to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Cao Zhengchun replied immediately.

"besides."

"You Eastern Depot should not be idle either. As one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou, the Cui family has many officials in both the court and the local areas. You Eastern Depot should send people to keep an eye on them for me."

"Once Lü Bu makes his move, your Eastern Depot will also begin to take down these officials."

"Don't let anyone go."

"All of the Cui family's properties in various places have been confiscated by me."

"Nothing can be overlooked."

Zhou Chen issued orders one by one with a serious expression.

(End of this chapter)