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Chapter 262 Turmoil ()

Because the Nanyang Army had the Nanyang Prince's Palace to support its military expenses, the official document from the court barely made any splash. The other garrisons from various places who successively received the official documents exploded.

Thirty percent of military expenditure is by no means a small figure. Every year, military expenditures are allocated from the Ministry of War and are automatically reduced by 20%. This is considered a surplus from the Ministry of War, and it is also a common practice. The remaining 80% arrived at the military camp, and the garrison commander kept 20%, and the other generals, big and small, divided another 20%. The military pay that will eventually reach the hands of the soldiers is about 40%.

Now the imperial court has suddenly reduced its military expenditure by 30%, and everyone at the top and bottom has to take less money. Who wants to spit out the fat in their mouth?

The garrison troops in various states filed memorials one after another, complaining loudly and demanding military expenses. For a time, there was a mountain of memorials piled up on the Imperial Case of Showa Palace.

Prime Minister Wang was calm and took the initiative to meet Emperor Taikang: "No matter what, we must first keep the peace of the border troops. Internal worries can be solved slowly, but foreign aggression must be stopped at the border. I will ask the Ministry of War to issue another official document to all garrison troops. "The 30% reduction in military spending this year will be made up for them when the economy is good and the national treasury is full."

Emperor Taikang nodded and said in a low and weak voice: "The prince is young and doesn't know much about state affairs. Please take care of yourself, Prime Minister."

Prime Minister Wang Su Rong handed over his hand: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely try my best to assist His Highness the Crown Prince and will never allow any trouble to occur."

Emperor Taikang's eyes flashed with joy, and he whispered: "In the civil and military affairs of the dynasty, the person I trust most, both inside and outside the palace, is the Prime Minister. With the Prime Minister here, this Daliang court will be very stable."

Prime Minister Wang is a veteran of three dynasties. He has disciples all over the government and the public, and has huge power. If it weren't for the checks and balances of the Queen Mother Party in recent years, the DPRK would have long been dominated by Prime Minister Wang.

Previously, Emperor Taikang secretly supported An Guogong's faction in order to balance the court. Now that we are ill and unable to afford it, we can no longer condone the fight between the two parties.

In order for the imperial power to transition smoothly and the court to be stable, Prime Minister Wang must be stabilized first. Therefore, Emperor Taikang was tolerant of Wang Cheng. Knowing that General Zuo was taking advantage of others by asking for military expenses, he endured this sullen mood.

Prime Minister Wang looked proud and expressed his loyalty to the emperor. When he turned around and exited, the corners of his mouth raised proudly.

Emperor Taikang issued an imperial edict, and Duke Anguo, Minister of War, had to hold his nose and obey. After this official document was issued, the garrison troops naturally wanted to scold Duke An Guo bloody.

The unlucky Duke An Guo was in dire straits at court, and when he entered the harem, he was angered and scolded by Empress Dowager Zheng.

One situation ebbs and the other increases, and Prime Minister Wang's arrogance in the court becomes more and more powerful. All the officials rushed to greet him and show their goodwill.

The Fourth Young Master Wang also received special attention when he walked beside the prince.

The winter of the seventh year of Taikang arrived quietly amidst chaos and turmoil. On this day, the court received another urgent memorial.

"Father! Something bad is going on!"

The pale-faced Crown Prince almost rushed into the emperor's bedroom.

Concubine Li, who was very haggard and thin, was massaging Emperor Taikang's numb and weak legs. Hearing the prince's hurried and panicked shouting, Concubine Li frowned and looked up: "Why are you making such a fuss? You are the prince and you must have the bearing of a prince of a country!"

The prince was so anxious that he couldn't care less about his bearing. He handed the memorial in his hand to the dragon bed: "Father, Pingzhou has rebelled!"

what?
Emperor Taikang was shocked. He didn't know where he got the strength to hold up half of the dragon's body: "Why did Pingzhou rebel?"

The prince looked ugly and said through gritted teeth: "The commander of the Pingzhou garrison withheld military expenses and did not pay military pay for three months. The soldiers mutinied in the military camp!"

Emperor Taikang's face was also hard to look at. All things considered, no matter how well prepared he was mentally, when the mutiny in the military camp really came, he would still be extremely angry.

It was just three months without military pay, so how could it lead to a mutiny?
And the commander of the Pingzhou garrison, he just drinks the blood of the soldiers on weekdays. How can he oppress the soldiers like this at such a critical moment?
These bastards didn't care about the imperial court at all, and they didn't take him, the nine-fifth emperor, seriously. All of them were only focused on getting money into their arms.

"The commander of the garrison was killed! All the generals in the military camp were killed. The leader was a man named Tan Sheng. Now Tan Sheng led five thousand soldiers and rushed into Pingzhou Mansion and killed the whole family of the Pingzhou governor. All the officials in Pingzhou Prefecture were imprisoned."

The prince's eyes were burning, and he said quickly: "Tan Sheng, this treasonous bastard, even proclaimed himself the king of Pingzhou. These traitors must be eradicated!"

This is different from the chaos of the people. The Pingzhou Army is a regular army. Now that such an army is rebelling, proclaiming itself king and dividing the territory, it can be said to have set an extremely bad precedent.

It must be suppressed and eradicated as soon as possible, and it must not be tolerated!
Taikang Emperor's dragon body trembled, an angry flush surged across his face, and he opened his mouth angrily: "Inform me of my wishes, and immediately summon Prime Minister Wang, three generals, and six ministers..."

Before he finished speaking, his eyes turned white and he passed out.

Concubine Li and the prince also turned pale: "Your Majesty!"

"Father!"

……

The Pingzhou army rebelled, and Emperor Taikang was furious and fainted, suffering another stroke. After being rescued from this attack, Emperor Taikang could not speak.

Empress Dowager Zheng was overcome with grief and fell ill.

His Highness the Prince endured his grief and discussed with Prime Minister Wang and others about sending troops. The imperial court would never tolerate military rebellion, and no one objected to sending troops. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Wang had different opinions on who should be sent to the expedition.

Prime Minister Wang wanted General Wei to lead the troops to quell the chaos, and His Highness the Crown Prince wanted to send General Song to go.

General Wei commanded a guard camp of 50,000 elite troops, and General Song's Yongwei camp also had 50,000 elite troops. In terms of military strength, the two generals are equally matched. The only difference is that General Wei belongs to Prime Minister Wang. General Song and Duke Anguo moved closely.

Undercurrents surged. After some wrestling, General Wei led the troops out of the capital.

The young and energetic Crown Prince lost face and was very angry. He had to pretend that nothing had happened, and he still had great respect for Prime Minister Wang.

Zheng Chen seemed to be comforting, but in fact he added fuel to the fire: "Now the court has to rely on Prime Minister Wang to support it. For the sake of the stability of the court, your highness should bear with it!"

The prince sneered again and again: "If this continues, Daliang will still be under the Jiang family, but it will clearly become the Wang family."

Zheng Chen looked solemn and said in a low voice: "His Highness must never say such angry words again. If it reaches the ears of Prime Minister Wang, it will make Prime Minister Wang unhappy and cause His Highness overt or covert stumbling blocks."

These secretly angry words made the prince look livid. Although His Highness the Crown Prince remained silent, his dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Wang was getting deeper and deeper.

Zheng Chen saw it in his eyes and felt quite happy in his heart.

At this moment, Eunuch Zhao from Jingyang Palace came and said respectfully: "The Queen Mother invites His Highness to come and speak."