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Only then did Duke Anguo heave a long sigh of relief.

Chen Sheren took in Duke Anguo's relief and sneered in his heart.

The emperor is right. A huge family like the Zheng family, with the Empress Dowager in the palace, people in the court and the army, money and private soldiers, is not easy to uproot. Cutting the flesh one by one, bleeding step by step, the Zheng family will naturally weaken slowly.

After saying all that needed to be said, Duke Anguo bowed his head and begged, "Your Majesty, I haven't seen the Empress Dowager for more than half a year. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow me to go to Jingyang Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Jiang Shaohua did not stop him: "Okay. Chen Sheren, you go with the Duke."

After a pause, he added meaningfully: "The Empress Dowager is old. She has been ill twice in the past few months. I'm afraid she can't stand any more bad news."

Duke Anguo understood immediately: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will go to visit and comfort Her Majesty. I will never say anything that I shouldn't say."

Now, the person who cares most about the safety of the Empress Dowager Zheng is the Duke of Anguo. With the Empress Dowager as a shelter, the Zheng family has room to maneuver. Otherwise, under the serious crime of treason and rebellion, what qualifications does he have to ask the emperor to show leniency and let the Zheng family go?
Duke Anguo nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Chen Sheren accompanied Duke Anguo away.

Jiang Shaohua carefully looked at the list brought by Duke Anguo again, and then asked someone to call Chen Changshi over.

"Chen Changshi, this is the list submitted by Duke Anguo."

Chen Changshi took the list and frowned after reading it, but quickly calmed down: "Compared with the previous list, there are six more people."

These six generals are stationed in various places. If there is any chaos, it will cause great trouble to the court.

The Yingwei Camp did quickly quell the rebellion in Yuzhou. But once the imperial army was dispatched, a lot of money and food would be consumed. After the battle, generous pensions would have to be paid. In addition, countless innocent people had died tragically in Yuzhou after the war. The imperial court had to send officials back to appease the people's livelihood and clean up the mess. Each of these was a big headache.

Therefore, it would be most cost-effective to stop the rebellion with gentler means.

What's the point of letting the Zheng family go now? After a few years or more, when the Empress Dowager passes away, it won't be too late to take action against the Zheng family.

The emperor is so young and has plenty of time and patience.

Jiang Shaohua said to Chen Changshi: "General Zuo pacified Yuzhou with a thunderous force, frightened all the restless garrisons, and made a great contribution. When General Zuo returns to the court, I will reward him handsomely!"

Chen Changshi was so experienced that he immediately figured out another meaning: "The emperor wants to completely subdue General Zuo."

Jiang Shaohua nodded: "Yes."

"Zuo Feng is really good at leading troops in battle. Qin Zhan and Meng Dashan under my command can only lead a few thousand soldiers. Liu Hengchang is a talented general, but his actual combat experience is far less than Zuo Feng. I must recruit such a powerful general for my own use."

Chen Changshi stroked his beard, pondered for a moment and said: "Zuo Feng relied on Prime Minister Wang to make his fortune, and he is very loyal to Prime Minister Wang. As long as Prime Minister Wang does not step down, Zuo Feng will respect and praise Prime Minister Wang."

Speaking of General Zuo, this is something that people admire. Other prime ministers' party members are either as alienated as Minister Zhang or as low-key as Minister Zhou. Only General Zuo has no taboos and often visits Prime Minister Wang. He can be said to be open and honest. Jiang Shaohua smiled faintly: "Minister Dai is a smart man. He took the initiative to retire. I will save his dignity and not pursue the past. Let him leave unscrupulously."

"If Prime Minister Wang is stubborn and refuses to resign, I will naturally have ways to deal with him."

Dealing with the Wang family is different from dealing with the Zheng family.

The Zheng family was a relative of the emperor, and they had the support of the Grand Empress Dowager, which was also the Grand Empress Dowager's weak spot. She used Zheng Chen to contain the Zheng family, and then forced the Grand Empress Dowager to give in step by step. As the Grand Empress Dowager became weaker, the Zheng family became an easy target. The soft knife cut the flesh and drained the blood. In less than a year, the huge Zheng family was already shaky.

The Wang family's hidden power and strength surpassed that of the Zheng family. Prime Minister Wang was a veteran of four dynasties, and his students, old friends and lackeys were all over the government and the country.

Moreover, Prime Minister Wang held his ground during the coup. Even though he was an ambitious and greedy official, he had a bottom line. This alone was enough to make Prime Minister Wang stand up straight.

More importantly, Wang Jin's strong support played a huge role in her successful ascension to the throne. Most of the officials of the Prime Minister's Party supported her along with Wang Jin. Without a legitimate reason or excuse, it was indeed inconvenient for her to take action against the Prime Minister's Party.

Prime Minister Wang also saw this clearly and stayed in the Wang family's study quietly. He would pay close attention to the major and minor events of the court, and intervene through Wang Jin to influence the government.

This is her real concern, even greater than the Empress Dowager and the Zheng family.

Chen Changshi felt something was wrong with the tone of voice and whispered, "Weakening the Wang family is not a trivial matter that can be accomplished overnight. Your Majesty should not be impatient."

"Besides, Wang Zhongshu Ling is loyal to the emperor. The emperor should be more lenient towards Wang Shi just for Wang Zhongshu Ling's sake."

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As a minister, Wang Jin was indeed impeccable, loyal, diligent and capable, and he privately disciplined his clansmen and rectified the officials of the prime minister's party. Wang Jin deserves three points of credit for Jiang Shaohua's stable position on the throne.

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly: "Wang Jin has reported to me privately that he has been persuading Prime Minister Wang to retire voluntarily and make room for Chen Changshi to take the position of Prime Minister. It's just that he couldn't persuade him at the moment."

Chen Changshi felt warm at heart after hearing these words, and he said with a smile: "It is enough for me to serve in front of the emperor and help him with his work. It doesn't matter whether I have the title of prime minister or not."

"How can this be the same?" Jiang Shaohua looked at Chen Changshi: "In my heart, you are the Prime Minister of Daliang. I will give you a formal official position and let all the ministers bow to you respectfully."

Chen Changshi was over fifty years old, but when he heard these words, he felt his eyes burning and his nose sore: "Your Majesty..."

"Minister Zhang is proud of his seniority and high position, and does not take Chen Changshi seriously. Minister Zhou and others are not very respectful either. Even Minister Dong, Minister Ding, and Minister Yang may not be completely convinced in their hearts. This is all because of the improper name and the unreasonable words." Jiang Shaohua said in a deep voice: "I will tolerate Prime Minister Wang for a maximum of three years. After three years, he will have to resign even if he doesn't want to."

"At that time, Chen Changshi will be the prime minister of Empress Zhaoping. Anyone who dares to disrespect Prime Minister Chen will be sent far away."

The previous words were very domineering, but the last sentence revealed some rare willfulness.

Jiang Shaohua only showed this attitude in front of Chen Changshi.

Chen Changshi felt warm in his heart: "With the emperor's words, I will devote myself to your service until my death." (End of this chapter)