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Chapter 724 Rebels
An hour later.

The important officials gathered in Zhaohe Hall, and after reading the latest news from Yuzhou, they all looked grim.

"This Zheng Chen has long had the intention of rebellion." Minister Ding of the Ministry of War was the first to speak: "General Lu, the commander of the Yuzhou Army, was promoted by Minister Zheng when he was in office. Every year, the military funds of the Yuzhou Army are allocated first, and the military funds are sufficient and have never been deducted."

"The Yuzhou Army's strength is one of the best among the forty garrisons, and is definitely not comparable to the Pingzhou Army back then."

At that time, the garrison in Pingzhou mutinied and occupied Pingzhou. The imperial court was unwilling to spend money and resources, and it was only with the help of Nanyang County, which provided food, labor and manpower, that Pingzhou was recovered.

When Zheng Chen escaped from the capital, he did not go to the border army to look for General Fan, but went directly to Yuzhou. He quietly killed the imperial envoy sent by the court and killed all the officials in Yuzhou. It was obviously not a sudden impulse, but he had secretly colluded with General Lu. It was also the "escape route" Zheng Chen prepared for himself.

The Yuzhou Army's strength is more than twice that of the Pingzhou Army, and they are still continuously recruiting new soldiers and building city walls, with the intention of dividing the country and establishing themselves as a king.

Minister Wang took up the conversation with a serious expression, "General Zuo is good at leading troops in battle, but the Yingwei Battalion is an expeditionary force after all. They are still on the march. Once they reach the border of Yuzhou, they will have to build a military camp and reorganize the soldiers. It will take at least two months before they can actually send troops to quell the rebellion."

"In the past two months, the Yuzhou army has coerced the people. I wonder how much more trouble they will cause."

Among the forty states in Daliang, Yuzhou had a vast territory, which included Runan County, Yingchuan County, Ruyang County, Yiyang County, Xincai County, Chu'an County, and Xiangcheng, a total of nine counties.

The Yuzhou Army was stationed in Xiangcheng, and the first city it occupied was Xiangcheng. During the time when the imperial court received the news and sent troops to Yuzhou, the Yuzhou Army successively occupied Chu'an County and Xincai County.

In two months, the entire Yuzhou will fall into the hands of the Yuzhou Army. With such a large area and 400,000 to 500,000 people, Zheng Chen can really cause quite a stir with his methods.

Jiang Shaohua's eyes were cold, and he said calmly, "The concerns of the two assistant ministers are justified. The court must wipe out the Yuzhou army as quickly as possible. The Yingwei Camp has 50,000 soldiers on its roster, but its actual strength is 41,000. The court must continue to send troops to Yuzhou. The several garrisons around Yuzhou must also be mobilized and be ready to be dispatched by General Zuo at any time."

Minister Ding immediately accepted the order and said, "I will write an official document to mobilize the troops when I return to the government office."

Jiang Shaohua looked at Minister Wang and said, "At this time, Minister Wang must fully assist Minister Ding and must not delay military affairs due to personal concerns."

Minister Ding now officially became Minister Ding.

Minister Wang suppressed his bitterness and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I know the importance of this matter and will do my best to carry out my mission."

Without waiting for the emperor to call his name, Minister Ji took two steps forward and said, "I will return to the Ministry of Revenue to continue raising food and military expenses."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly: "First, prepare the military expenses and food for 100,000 troops for one year. If the Ministry of Revenue is short of money, just tell me and I will find a way."

The last few words were spoken lightly, but if you savored them carefully, they would make all the officials in the court break into cold sweats.

The national treasury is indeed not short of silver now. All this silver was obtained from the confiscation of property! There is also the family property that the Zheng family of Huaiyang Prince's Mansion and Wu'an County Prince's Mansion voluntarily "donated".

War is the biggest drain on money and grain. If the treasury is running low, what will the emperor do? What is faster than killing treacherous officials and confiscating their property to get money?
Speaking of crimes, who among the high-ranking officials in the court does not have a secret that cannot be exposed to the public? Which family does not have a few greedy and shameless clansmen?

Even Minister Ji couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat after hearing these words, and replied "yes" tremblingly.

Jiang Shaohua ordered in front of all the ministers: "Mr. Chen, go to Jingyang Palace and report the latest news of the Yuzhou Army to the Empress Dowager. Also, send someone to the Zheng family and tell the head of the Zheng family about this matter."

Chen Sheren responded respectfully.

The ministers were startled again.

The emperor wanted to use the rebellion in Yuzhou to completely suppress the domineering Empress Dowager, and by the way, to strike a blow at the Zheng family. It was the Zheng family that could survive without a traitor like Zheng Chen. If it were another family, they would have been killed and their property would have been exterminated.

……

Upon hearing the news, Empress Dowager Zheng fell ill again.

This time he was not pretending to be sick, he was really sick.

Empress Dowager Li went to visit the patient in person. Looking at Empress Dowager Zheng, whose face was sick and whose eyes were lifeless, she sneered in her heart.

Old lady Zheng, you have come to this day!
"Go away!" Empress Dowager Zheng stared at Empress Dowager Li who came to watch the fun and joke, "I get angry when I see you."

Empress Dowager Li acted like a filial daughter-in-law: "When the mother-in-law is sick, the daughter-in-law should come to take care of her. The daughter-in-law should also give the mother-in-law some advice."

"The Zheng family has an evil creature like Zheng Chen, so there is no hope for good. Mother-in-law, don't think about saving the Zheng family. Just stay in the palace peacefully and steadily."

Empress Dowager Zheng was so angry that her face flushed. She cursed: "You want to piss me off to death!"

"Get out! Don't come back here again!"

Empress Dowager Li curled her lips and left slowly.

Empress Dowager Zheng was very angry, but she could do nothing about Empress Dowager Li.

In the past, if she gave an order, Empress Dowager Li would have to stay in Ning'an Palace to recuperate. But now, Empress Dowager Li and Jiang Shaohua have a good relationship, and Jiang Shaohua always supports Empress Dowager Li. Her prestige and power in the palace are declining.

Moreover, Zheng Chen caused such a big fuss in Yuzhou that she, the Empress Dowager Zheng, felt as if her bones and muscles were pulled out and she could no longer stand up straight.

"Eunuch Lin," Empress Dowager Zheng took a few breaths and asked with all her strength, "How is the situation at the Duke's Mansion?"

Eunuch Lin had placed spies in the Anguo Mansion and was well aware of the current situation of the Zheng family. He whispered, "Replying to the Empress Dowager, the wife of the Anguo Duke has been bedridden, and there is some chaos in the inner house. But the Anguo Duke is barely holding on."

"The emperor sent someone to deliver the letter, and Duke Anguo also wrote a letter of apology and presented it to the palace."

On the left is a farewell letter, and on the right is a letter of confession.

The Zheng family had long lost their face and had been completely trampled into the mud.

Empress Dowager Zheng was heartbroken and her eyes quickly became blurry.

Eunuch Zhao stepped forward cautiously, wiped the tears from the Empress Dowager's eyes, and whispered to comfort her: "Although the Zheng family has lost its dignity now, at least the whole family is living well. This is all thanks to the Empress Dowager's blessing and protection."

"The Empress Dowager must not fall down. She must cheer up. Otherwise, who can protect the Zheng family?"

He said nice things with his mouth, but he was sneering in his heart.

Should!
The Zheng family deserved to be reduced to this state. The Empress Dowager Zheng also deserved to be implicated by the Zheng family!