spend time

Chapter 751 Trump Card
Although they were rivals before, Minister Dai had already decided to leave the court. Seeing his old rival in such a miserable state, he felt more sympathy.

Duke Anguo could not force a smile, and whispered bitterly: "It is unfortunate for our family to have such an evil person as Zheng Chen. I have come to the palace to apologize to the emperor."

How could a farewell letter between father and son be enough?
The Zheng family had to continue cutting flesh and bleeding until the emperor was satisfied.

Minister Dai knew what was going on and sighed, "The emperor is kind and has saved the Zheng family. When the Duke sees the emperor, he must express his gratitude."

Duke Anguo nodded.

Dai Shangshu added, "I submitted three resignation memorials in a row, and the emperor finally approved it. I am leaving the palace today and will no longer be an official. I can take my family and children with me and leave the capital to return to my ancestral home to retire. It's a good opportunity to say goodbye to the Duke."

Duke Anguo bowed solemnly and said goodbye.

Minister Dai laughed and left with a brisk pace.

Duke Anguo retracted his envious gaze, cheered up, and entered the Showa Hall under the guidance of the emperor's personal guards. The threshold of the Showa Hall was too high, and it was very difficult for Duke Anguo to step over it with his lame leg.

The emperor's personal guards reached out to help him. This small act of kindness actually touched the Duke of Anguo: "Thank you, Guard Qin."

Among the emperor's many personal guards, Qin Hu and Meng Sanbao were the best, most loyal and capable, and were deeply trusted by the emperor. Duke Anguo naturally knew Qin Hu as well.

Qin Hu withdrew his hand expressionlessly.

After seeing the emperor, Duke Anguo knelt down with a plop and kowtowed three times without hesitation: "I, the guilty man Zheng Lin, greet the emperor."

The emperor's voice sounded neither loud nor soft: "Stand up!"

Duke Anguo respectfully thanked the emperor for his grace, but because his right leg was weak, he was a little embarrassed when he stood up. While standing up, Duke Anguo quickly glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Since the coup, the injured Duke Anguo was carried out of the palace. This was the first time that Duke Anguo entered the palace, and also the first time he saw Jiang Shaohua sitting on the dragon throne.

How can I describe the feeling of this glance?
It was a familiar face, but it exuded an unquestionable stern majesty. This was the bearing of an emperor who held the imperial power.

Compared with the Empress Zhaoping in front of her, the short-lived Emperor Taikang and the early-dead Emperor Taihe were far inferior in momentum.

Jiang Shaohua was also looking at Duke Anguo.

Duke Anguo Zheng Lin was a handsome man when he was young, and he was good at both civil and military affairs. Otherwise, he would not have given birth to a son like Zheng Chen.

In the past, the Duke of Anguo was the leader of the Empress Dowager's party and the Minister of War of Daliang. He held great power and was in high spirits.

Now, one leg is lame, the hair is half white, the waist is hunched, and the face is full of wrinkles. Where is the former elegance?
Jiang Shaohua looked at Duke Anguo.

Duke Anguo had long lost the confidence to confront the emperor, so he only glanced at him and quickly lowered his head: "Your Majesty, I am a criminal entering the palace today to express my gratitude."

"The Zheng family has produced this evil person, Zheng Chen, who has brought disaster to the court and the people. The guilty people are ashamed."

Jiang Shaohua glanced over calmly and said, "I have suppressed all the memorials from the ministers impeaching Zheng."

"The Empress Dowager is ill and still worried about the Zheng family. For the Empress Dowager's sake, I will not touch the Zheng family for the time being. You can rest assured."

Duke Anguo displayed superb and powerful acting skills, with tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.

Of course, he came to the palace not only to express his gratitude. There was something more important. "The criminal has been the Minister of War for many years and has planted some people in various places in the army."

"The criminals will now submit the list to the emperor. It is up to the emperor to decide whether to continue to employ, transfer or dismiss them."

Duke Anguo took out a thin booklet from his sleeve.

Jiang Shaohua raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Chen Sheren.

Chen Sheren nodded slightly, went to Duke Anguo, took the book, and presented it to the emperor.

The booklet was very thin, with three pages in total. There were ten names on each page. A total of thirty people. They were all military commanders with ranks. The highest rank was the fourth rank, and the lowest was the eighth rank. Wei Xiong, who died in the palace coup, was ranked first. Zhao Wu was ranked second, and Lu Cheng was ranked third.

These three names were all crossed out with a red pen. Two more names were also crossed out, both of them died in the palace coup. There were 25 more names on the list. Their official positions might not be high, but they were all low-level military commanders who could lead troops.

What is the 50% of the family property that was donated before?
This is the Zheng family's trump card that enables them to gain a foothold in the court and become the most powerful relative of Daliang.

Jiang Shaohua pulled the corner of his mouth and asked slowly: "You have revealed all your cards. You will be a fish on the chopping board in the future. Is the Duke really willing to accept this? Have you never thought about fighting hard?"

Duke Anguo felt nervous, and mustered up his courage to look up and look at Her Majesty: "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, at the beginning I did think about fighting to the death. But the rebellion in Yuzhou was quelled by the court so quickly, and I no longer had any treasonous thoughts. Now I just want to survive, please give the Zheng family a chance to live."

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Jiang Shaohua sneered: "This is just one of the reasons. The more important reason is that officials from the Empress Dowager's party have come to me one after another. I already have your list."

"Mr. Chen, please show this paper to the Duke."

Duke Anguo: "..."

Duke Anguo watched as Chen Sheren brought a page of paper over. This was copied, and it was impossible to tell who the traitor was from the handwriting. The list was fairly complete, with only a few names missing from Duke Anguo's.

From this we can see that this "traitor" is of high status and was also a backbone of the original Empress Dowager's party.

Duke Anguo's face turned pale, and it was unclear whether he was feeling guilty or was angry.

Jiang Shaohua said nothing, just looked at Duke Anguo coldly.

The cold sweat on Duke Anguo's forehead dripped down. After a moment of silence, Duke Anguo's back softened again: "I, the criminal, only ask for a way out for the Zheng family. I beg the emperor to show mercy."

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "I have said that for the Empress Dowager, I will not touch the Zheng family."

But the Empress Dowager is so old. To be honest, how long can she live?

As long as the Empress Dowager is alive, the Emperor will not touch the Zheng family. Now that the Empress Dowager has passed away, who can protect the Zheng family?
There was no need to fabricate charges, the charges were ready-made. Treason, rebellion, either one of them was enough to exterminate the entire Zheng family.

Duke Anguo gritted his teeth and whispered: "The Zheng family raised some private soldiers, and the criminals dispersed them all."

Jiang Shaohua said: "That's not necessary. Some things are not very decent, and someone has to do them. However, these people can no longer stay in the Zheng family. I will send someone to take over."

Duke Anguo did not stand up and continued, "The Zheng family opened two mines privately, and the criminals were presented to the emperor."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly and signaled Chen Sheren to help Duke Anguo up.