I, Zhu Houzhao, join the US imperialist chat group

Chapter 222 Jiao Fang: Hurry up and make a list! Zheng Ji announced the decree: Liu Jian will be exiled and Yang Tinghe will be executed along with his entire clan!

In the capital, inside the city, Jiao Fang’s mansion.

"Minister, we can't let Yang Ting and the others continue like this."

"He has been on the verge of robbing us these past few days! In just ten days, he asked us to donate money and food twice! And he still won't allow us to donate too little?"

"You know that the prices in Beijing are getting higher and higher. Even if you have money, you can't buy anything!"

"He is so noble and upright that he donated tens of thousands of silver and hundreds of tons of grain!"

"But he is obviously using other people's money to enrich himself! All the supplies in the capital were mobilized by these few people... all of them enriched them and that group of soldiers!"

"They are satisfied, but we are starving now. This is not a war to defend the capital, it is clearly a war of looting us!"

"Not only have they taken away all our money and food, they are also sending our servants to the battlefield!"

"We are the ones who provide the money, food, and manpower..."

"The next step is for us to go to the battlefield ourselves?"

More than a dozen officials gathered together to complain and vent their grievances.

Their lives are really hard these days.

In order to please that group of ruffians, Yang Tinghe lost all his dignity and used all kinds of methods to plunder and rob them, torturing them to death.

A large number of middle-level and senior officials had already been dissatisfied with Yang Tinghe.

Now Yang Tinghe is becoming more and more excessive, and their patience with Yang Tinghe has long been worn out to the limit.

"Ah, what's the point of you talking so much?"

"Do you have soldiers? Do you have weapons?"

Faced with everyone complaining, Jiao Fang could only sigh.

They have also seen clearly the current situation in the capital. It is fine in peacetime, but when war breaks out, the real power lies in those who have soldiers in their hands.

They are just scholars. When scholars meet soldiers, they cannot explain their reasons clearly.

Everyone can see how Yang Tinghe controls military power.

It is to exploit and suppress them and to please the three armed forces.

The operation is extremely simple and crude, but useful and effective!
At least with Yang Tinghe's cooperation, they could only be exploited and oppressed by the soldiers, who pressed them step by step, and they dared not speak out.

"Of course not! Lord Shangshu... We have already contacted some people secretly. Instead of letting Yang Ting and his men plunder us without restriction, we might as well let the group of Nine Frontier soldiers in directly! Anyway, they just want to kill the cabinet, and we have the same enemy now!"

"If Yang Tinghe treats us like this, can we still let them slaughter us?"

However, faced with Jiao Fang's attempt to smooth things over, an official finally made up his mind and came clean.

"Yes! Lord Shangshu, we have already connected privately!"

"We can't let Yang Ting and the others bully us like this!"

"We must fight back too!"

"How can he fight to defend the capital like this? If they continue to fight like this, can the capital be defended?"

"Does Yang Tinghe have this ability?"

"I finally figured it out! Your Majesty is right, they are the real traitors!"

"There are even rumors out there that Yang Ting and his gang blew up Emperor Taizong's mausoleum..."

"Your Majesty was also deliberately forced to go to the south by them!"

Once this layer of window paper was broken, some low-level officials present could no longer pretend and were so indignant that they wanted to overturn the table.

"Are you sure you're not inviting a wolf into your house? No matter how shameless Yang Ting and his men are, they only asked for a little money and food from you. If the Nine Frontier soldiers come in, are you sure you can protect your concubines?"

What's the use of talking big? Why don't you do it?

Just do it directly, why bother informing them?

Looking at this group of people shouting and killing, Jiao Fang was indifferent. Not only did he want to laugh, he even made sarcastic remarks.

With just this one sentence, the crowd, who were just filled with righteous indignation, became collectively speechless, like ducks with their necks pinched.

Because Jiao Fang said the truth!
War is a disaster, but orderly wars are still acceptable.

In this chaotic war, you still want to stay out of it. What a pipe dream.

The massacre and three days of looting were all recorded in the book.

Yang Tinghe had already anticipated this weakness of theirs, and Han Wen and others had also reminded him of it.

But Yang Tinghe just sneered, obviously expecting that this group of people would be useless, so he didn't care at all.

Now, Jiao Fang could understand why Yang Tinghe despised these colleagues. They were all wimps who talked but did nothing.

"What should we do, Lord Shangshu? This won't work, and that won't work! Are we really going to be cut to death by Yang Tinghe's blunt knife?"

"How long can our capital city hold out?"

After being hit by Jiao Fang, everyone came to their senses and once again placed their hopes on Jiao Fang.

"Oh, of course not... In fact, there are quite a few people in our upper echelons who are against Yang Tinghe. You can't contact the outside world... But you have to give them a list. Do they know who is rich and whose wife is beautiful in the city? Then, who is the corrupt official in their eyes... Can't we just wait for them to point at it casually?"

"You haven't even drawn up a list yet, how dare you negotiate with those enemies!"

As soon as Jiao Fang said this, everyone's face changed drastically.

"Ah! Your Excellency the Minister..."

"This, can it be like this?"

“Isn’t this betraying your colleagues?”

Everyone was frightened and broke out in cold sweats. They had not thought of this yet.

"If we don't betray our colleagues, what do you think we have the capital to negotiate with the enemy? Why don't they kill you? Or rob your whole family?"

"Perhaps Yang Ting and the others already have this list in their hands?"

"Everyone can think that it won't last long, but Yang Ting and the others can't?"

Jiao Fang shattered their fantasies once again.

In fact, the capital city has now fallen into a chain of mutual suspicion.

Being in a high position, although he does not have the courage to fight, Jiao Fang would rather see the people from his faction take action first, and then he will be carried away.

He didn't want to be used as a knife by this group of people and charged into battle. He didn't want to be sacrificed by Yang Tinghe.

Obviously, everyone thought of the same thing.

A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.

"Here, what should I do?"

"Yes! That's Yang Tinghe..."

Jiao Fang's intimidation was effective and made this group of people realize the cruelty of the moment.

"Let's make a list! Make a list first!"

"Let's unite those who can be united first and see how much leverage we have!"

Jiao Fang made arrangements directly. He was actually afraid that his name would appear on the list of Yang Tinghe or others. This was also a passive counterattack out of necessity.

……

"Jiao Fang must be eliminated before leaving!"

"And Han Wen and Wang Qiong... they are the best ones to stay behind to cover our retreat..."

Jiao Fang’s premonition was accurate, and he did appear on Yang Ting and their list.

"Prime Minister, at the moment... what we can be sure of is that everyone shared the spoils..."

"The ones with an ambiguous attitude are this group of people..."

"It is this group of people who are hostile to us and have already colluded with the Nine Frontiers..."

"Now, we need the Prime Minister and Mr. Xie to make a decision on when we should withdraw..."

At Yang Tinghe's mansion, Zhang Sheng had already drawn up a list and was much more efficient than them.

Because they know more clearly that if the capital continues to squeeze them, there will not be much supplies left.

By then, without supplies, these greedy soldiers would obviously no longer listen to them, and that would be the end of their lives.

"when……"

Xie Qian knocked on the table and gave the decision to Yang Tinghe: "Jiefu, you make the decision! Anyway, I feel that the capital is becoming less and less safe nowadays... Let's go quickly. I don't have any attachment to the capital anymore."

"Some people in particular want to collude with me to bring you down."

"It's too tiring to fight like this."

Yang Tinghe didn't say anything, but was thinking deeply in the darkness.

"I still have to wait for an opportunity when they can't sit still first. I have to add fuel to the fire, and then I have an excuse to clean up the last wave of people! So, today... I will assign them one more task and give them an ultimatum!"

Obviously, flipping the table also requires skills. He has gradually disintegrated some people's defenses. Now, only the last step is needed!

"Okay! Then I'll gather everyone later--"

Zhang Sheng was also impatient to leave the capital.

"Report - Sir! General Xu is here to report that an imperial decree has arrived outside the city!"

However, at this moment, the news of Zheng Ji's arrival finally arrived.

"Imperial edict? What imperial edict?" Zhang Sheng hesitated, and Yang Tinghe's eyes fixed.

……

"What's going on? Why did the Prime Minister call all of us to the city gate?"

"Is he going to attack us?"

Yongding Gate.

Jiao Fang and others, who were just about to make a list, walked up to the city wall nervously.

When they received the notice suddenly, they thought Yang Tinghe was going to take action against them.

"If it's a blessing, it's not a disaster. If it's a disaster, it can't be avoided. Let's take a look at the situation first."

Jiao Fang also walked towards the city gate with trepidation.

However, he found that Yang Tinghe, Xie Qian and others had arrived long ago. Then, he also found Zheng Ji and his group between the two armies.

"Your Majesty's decree?"

"Jinyiwei! Hasn't your Majesty been held hostage by Prince Xing to control the princes?"

As they stepped onto the city wall, Yan Song and Cui Xin stretched their necks and looked curiously at Zheng Ji and his group under the city with the soldiers.

Especially the flying fish suit reappeared in Beijing!

This is the standard for an emperor!

This signal meant that their Emperor did not seem to be imprisoned or coerced.

Or maybe, King Xing of the South has already ascended the throne!

In short, it’s a big deal.

"Zheng Ji, what is he doing here? And the Royal Guards..."

As time passed, Han Wen, Wang Qiong and other ministers also arrived.

"Should we continue to falsely convey the imperial decree..."

Zhang Sheng said uncertainly. He was a little nervous at the moment.

Because their so-called lie that King Xing was holding the emperor hostage to control the princes seemed to be completely exposed with the arrival of Zheng Ji.

They are not ready to retreat yet. Is it too late?

Zhang Sheng looked at Yang Tinghe slightly nervously.

Facing Zheng Ji, Yang Tinghe's face was calm and nothing could be seen.

Instead, when he saw Han Wen, Wang Qiong and others arriving, he began to urge them.

"Zheng Ji, our people are almost all here, we can announce your so-called imperial decree."

Naturally, he also knew Zheng Ji. Not only him, but half of the civil and military officials in the capital knew him.

"Is everyone here?"

"Why didn't I see Liu Jian?"

"Liu Jian is not here yet, you guys just wait!"

The much-anticipated stage crew had all arrived, and Zheng Ji had almost rested, but he squinted at the officials on the city wall and did not see Liu Jian, so he delayed for some more time on the spot.

Xie Qian frowned at his behavior.

"Zheng Ji, Prime Minister Liu has now retired and returned to his hometown. The current Prime Minister of the Cabinet is Jie Fu."

"Wouldn't it be embarrassing for him to ask him to come and see me?"

Xie Qian responded directly.

"Retire and return home? Is Yang Tinghe the chief minister of the cabinet?"

Zheng Ji looked at Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe with some surprise, and he didn't know about Yang Tinghe's series of outrageous actions.

"Are you sure Liu Jian is not here? He blew up the Emperor Taizong's mausoleum, and you just let him go home like that?"

Zheng Ji asked again, looking at everyone with suspicion.

After these words were spoken, Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe's faces changed drastically.

"Zheng Ji! What did you say... Don't slander me! We have already reported the bombing of Emperor Taizong's mausoleum to Your Majesty. This was the private behavior of Zhang Yanling and Zhang Heling! We did not protect Emperor Taizong's mausoleum well, and we are indeed responsible for negligence, but we did not expect them to be so bold!"

Xie Qian hurriedly explained loudly, he was anxious.

This matter has been suppressed, but I didn't expect Zheng Ji to bring it up again.

Obviously, he came with bad intentions!
"Haha, Xie Qian, who is slandering me, who is trying to call a horse a zebra?"

"God is watching everything you do. Do you really think that everything you do is perfect?"

Zheng Ji sneered repeatedly and even felt pity for Xie Qian.

"Sir Zheng, there is no point in saying this. We just want to ask, has Your Majesty been held hostage by King Xing to control the princes? Has King Xing rebelled? What is Your Majesty's will?"

Han Wen and the others were not here to listen to the argument, but were eager to know the news about Zhu Houzhao.

Zhang Sheng's face changed, and he was about to explain and argue, but Yang Tinghe stopped him and whispered quickly in his ear: "Go and ask Chen Zhong to bring the Changling Guards, quickly!"

The situation is clearly becoming increasingly unfavorable for them, but there is still room for maneuver.

Especially since Zheng Ji, he has been targeting Xie Qian and Liu Jian, which obviously has nothing to do with him.

Moreover, under their manipulation, Xie Qian and Liu Jian's reputation has been ruined.

"The president is plotting a rebellion? Is your majesty being held hostage to control the other princes?"

Zheng Ji raised his voice instead: "What's going on? How come I don't know? Is this the excuse that the traitors Liu Jian, Xie Qian and others are looking for?"

These words caused an uproar among the people present.

"Yes! Lord Zheng, I also suspect that they are forging the imperial edict! We are now following the orders of His Majesty to fight against the rebels! But these traitors have obviously coerced the people of the capital and deceived everyone! Traitors, everyone has the right to kill them!"

"Brothers, kill!"

After Zheng Ji said this, Wang Xun and other generals from the nine frontiers became excited, knowing that they were teammates.

Raise your arms and cheer on the spot!
Then, tens of thousands of troops shouted again!
This time they really had the courage, because their actions were not irregular!
This kind of momentum directly frightened all the civil and military officials on the city wall, and their doubtful eyes were all fixed on Yang Tinghe.

"Stop! Stop!"

Yang Tinghe tried to stop them again and again, trying to suppress the shouting, but to no avail.

"General Wang, stop yelling for now." Zheng Ji also came to his senses.

"stop!"

Wang Xun raised his hand, and the soldiers shouted to stop.

"Master Zheng, there is no point in saying so much, just announce the decree directly!"

Yang Tinghe stood up and no more talk could be done.

"Alright! It doesn't matter if Liu Jian can't come. His nine clans can't escape anyway!"

Zheng Ji was no longer bothered by Liu Jian. He just felt it was a pity that he couldn't step on the Prime Minister's face, which was a bit unsatisfactory.

So, under the gaze of everyone, he unfolded the imperial edict.

"The cabinet has received the order, and the nine borders have received the order!"

"The minister accepts the order!"

Wang Xun and others immediately knelt down, and the soldiers from the nine borders followed suit.

On the city wall, Han Wen, Wang Qiong and others subconsciously glanced at Yang Tinghe.

"The minister accepts the order!"

Yang Tinghe led them to bend down but did not kneel down.

"I accept the order..."

The soldiers on the city wall and all the civil and military officials knelt down.

Zheng Ji directly read out the imperial edict: "The Emperor of Fengtian Chengyun proclaims: Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Yang Tinghe are traitors to the Ming Dynasty! They instigated the Changling Guards to blow up the Emperor Taizong's mausoleum for their own selfish interests, disturbing Taizong. Their crimes are heinous! As a descendant of the Zhu family, I would not be a son if I did not kill them! Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Yang Tinghe have committed the crime of treason, and their entire clans shall be exterminated! The Changling Guards are rebelling! Exterminate their entire clan! The soldiers of the nine borders and the imperial guards of the capital should quickly capture the thieves! I decree this!"

In order to prevent the soldiers from the Nine Borders and Yang Tinghe from not hearing them, Zheng Ji repeated it loudly three times!
Thus, at this moment, throughout the vast world, only Zheng Ji's voice echoed.

You could hear a pin drop on the city walls.

(End of this chapter)