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Zheng Chen's behavior completely angered all the officials in the court.

The military generals are fine, but the civil officials are all successful candidates in the imperial examinations, so who wouldn't be able to pick up a pen?
Jiang Shaohua's eyes swept across the angry faces of the ministers, and his voice was chilly: "Everyone, please calm down."

The ministers immediately quieted down.

The voice of Her Majesty the Empress echoed in the spacious main hall: "All the ministers know that everything written in the proclamation is false. However, Daliang is a vast territory, and the people don't even know where the palace gate is, so I'm afraid they can't tell the truth from the false."

"It is a fact that Prince Ping failed to ascend the throne, and it is also a fact that I am a woman. The Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother both live in the harem and rarely appear in public. The inside story is impossible to explain, and there is no way to make everyone understand it."

"Zheng Chen saw through this point and maliciously distorted the facts, fabricated lies, and made up stories."

"We must fight a verbal battle, and we must fight back quickly and forcefully. Minister Dong is in charge of the Ministry of Rites and is most familiar with Daliang's laws and etiquette. I want you to write a letter of denunciation to severely rebuke the Yuzhou army from the perspective of law and morality. And make known to the world the crimes committed by Zheng Chen."

Minister Dong was cheered up and accepted the order.

Jiang Shaohua glanced at Wang Jin and said, "Minister Wang."

"I'm here." Wang Jin bowed and replied.

Jiang Shaohua said coldly: "I want you to go to the Zheng family and show this letter to Duke Anguo. Ask him to write a farewell letter to expel the rebellious son from the family, and publish it in the court newspaper together with Minister Dong's letter, so that the world can know it."

Wang Jin bowed and accepted the order.

The ministers were secretly shocked. Her Majesty's response was brilliant.

The influence of a Yuzhou rebel was ultimately limited. However, the imperial court reports could be properly transmitted to all government offices in Daliang, and then spread throughout the court and the country.

Minister Dong wrote a manifesto on behalf of the court to attack the rebels. The method of asking Duke Anguo to write a farewell poem between father and son was even more cruel.

Daliang ruled the world with filial piety. Jiang Shaohua hated his father, but he never treated Lu Xuan unfairly, and did not give others a chance to criticize him. At the critical moment of ascending the throne, he would rather give up some real benefits in exchange for the expenses of the Queen Mother Zheng, which was also for the sake of the emperor's reputation.

Now that Duke Anguo has personally written the farewell letter and expelled his rebellious son from the family, the bad reputation of being disobedient and unfilial will be firmly pinned on Zheng Chen's head.

How could an unfilial son be a loyal minister of Daliang? How could a traitorous minister have the qualifications to accuse Her Majesty of having assumed the throne illegally? The proclamation he wrote naturally had no credibility.

This is how to hit the snake at its most vulnerable part!

No wonder the emperor has always kept Duke Anguo and the entire Zheng family. They are of great use now.

There was a subtle awe and fear in the eyes of the ministers as they looked at Her Majesty the Empress.

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "The rebellion of the Yuzhou army will certainly affect the entire Yuzhou, and even the nearby prefectures and counties will be greatly affected."

"The Ministry of Revenue must continue to raise military funds and food supplies to prepare for emergencies."

Minister Ji accepted the order with a solemn expression.

After 50% of the Zheng family's wealth was added to the national treasury, the British Guard Battalion had enough military funds for the next ten years. With a sufficient treasury, it was naturally not difficult to do the job.

Jiang Shaohua also instructed Zhang Shangshu: "The Ministry of Personnel should prepare a group of officials as soon as possible, so that when the army pacifies the Yuzhou army, if there are vacancies in Yuzhou, they can be filled immediately."

Minister Zhang agreed without hesitation.

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works have not been implicated for the time being, while the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel each have their own tasks.

After the court was dismissed, all the officials hurried back to their offices. Minister Dai took a break from his busy schedule and went to the Prime Minister's residence.

Prime Minister Wang had already received the news from the palace. Without waiting for Minister Dai to speak, he sneered and said, "Even if the Duke of Anguo has such a rebellious son, he will never rest in peace in the underworld."

Dai Shangshu and Prime Minister Wang have a close personal relationship, and there is no taboo in private conversation. He smiled and said, "The Prime Minister has such a promising and ambitious son like Wang Zhongshu Ling, so he can rest assured anytime."

Prime Minister Wang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and rolled his eyes at Minister Dai: "I have to live another 20 or 30 years to see what the Daliang court will become."

Dai Shangshu sighed: "I don't have the ambition anymore. I plan to retire after this year."

Prime Minister Wang could no longer smile, and frowned: "The emperor promised not to move old ministers for three years, and it hasn't even been a year yet, why are you in such a hurry to retire? Is the emperor deliberately squeezing you out? Or is Minister Yang restless?"

Minister Dai sighed again: "Neither. The emperor is quite polite to me, and Minister Yang also respects me as an old minister."

"I think it's time to quit."

"A new emperor appoints new ministers. I am old and can no longer make any efforts, nor do I want to. While the emperor is still willing to give some face to an old minister, I will give up my position as soon as possible. In this way, the emperor will also consider me a little better."

Prime Minister Wang narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you scared by what happened to the Zheng family?"

Dai Shangshu smiled bitterly and said, "Just take it as it is! You have seen the Emperor's cunning methods. Think about it, when Emperor Gaozu was in power, did he have such a way to control people's hearts with ease?"

The Emperor Gaozu mentioned by Dai Shangshu was the grandfather of Emperor Taihe and the elder brother of King Nanyang. He was also one of the most powerful emperors in Daliang's history.

But even Emperor Gaozu did not have the scheming and tactics like Jiang Shaohua when he was young.

Sometimes, one cannot help but marvel that there really is a true dragon emperor in this world who is born to sit on the dragon throne.

"The emperor is only sixteen this year. He will be seventeen in this year." Dai Shangshu sighed: "He is so young and in his prime."

"You and I will just wait and see! The Daliang court will undergo earth-shaking changes. My old wooden boat can't stand the turbulence, so I have to retreat while the wind and waves are still small. If I really wait for three years, I'm afraid it will be difficult to retreat."

These are the heartfelt words of Minister Dai.

Prime Minister Wang heard something else: "You want to persuade me to get out of this as soon as possible."

Prime Minister Wang did not attend the court, and did not appear to be involved in government affairs. In fact, Prime Minister Wang was fully aware of the situation in the court, big and small. Moreover, the subtle game between Prime Minister Wang and the emperor never stopped.

Dai Shangshu glanced at Prime Minister Wang, who had a sullen expression on his face. "I am the only one who dares to speak the truth in front of you. If the emperor wants to completely control the court, he will certainly suppress and curb factional disputes."

"The Zheng family is now being held in the emperor's weak spot, and the soft knife is cutting the flesh and bleeding. No one can stop the trend of decline."

"After the emperor has dealt with the Zheng family, which family will be next?"

Prime Minister Wang said nothing.

Minister Dai looked at Prime Minister Wang, who looked grim, and said more directly: "Only when you, Prime Minister, truly leave the court, will Minister Wang become a trusted and important minister of the emperor."

"I don't need to explain the reasoning behind this in detail. The Prime Minister will surely understand it."

"In short, I have made up my mind to retire. After the New Year, I will submit a petition to retire." (End of this chapter)