After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The emperor on the dragon throne had an expression of disbelief on his face. Because of this disbelief, he didn't even feel anger; he only felt something bizarre and strange.

Do you think those people are supporting a bandit to enhance their own power? Deceiving their superiors and subordinates? Leading a large army to live off his money and provisions?

but……

Xing Zhengting is dead...

died?

Yinzhen suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He suppressed the discomfort and reached out his hands.

I flipped through a few folded books.

As the densely packed, elegant calligraphy of the imperial court style came into view, he slowly squinted, his already pale and sickly complexion turning even paler.

Finished reading a book.

Put down a book.

He picked up another book, opened it, and then put it down again...

After reading through one memorial and secret report after another, the emperor's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Things were not as he had imagined; they seemed extremely... perplexing.

The first memorial to be presented was that of Dong Tianpan, the prefect of Datong.

Dong Tianpan impeached Xing Zhengting, the Green Standard Army's general, saying that Xing Zhengting was incompetent in leading troops.

After 10,000 Green Standard Army soldiers set up camp in Datong and went to Yanggao and three other counties, they caused great suffering to the local people. In every village in the three counties, people said, "The Green Standard Army soldiers are bandits, and the bandits of Heaven are soldiers." The distinction between soldiers and bandits was reversed.

In all three counties, there were incidents of Green Standard Army soldiers forcibly abducting women in a village. However, it was the Heavenly Justice Bandits who appeared, publicly tried and executed the Green Standard Army soldiers.

The Heavenly Principle Sect already had some roots in various counties, so every village and hamlet had its own followers.

"One who bewitches a hundred people becomes the incense master; one who bewitches a thousand people becomes the altar master."

"The leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect bandits and the leaders of their various altars are all present, and they have not committed any offenses. They have used such vicious methods to win over the hearts of the people, and within ten days, many people in the countryside have joined the bandits."

"Your Majesty, I request that the execution be carried out in court to set an example for the law."

Dong Tianpan impeached Xing Zhengting.

At the same time, Ortai submitted a secret memorial impeaching Dong Tianpan, the prefect of Datong.

It is said that Dong Tianpan was corrupt by nature, embezzling tax money year after year to line his own pocket. He changed the donation system for prison to donation of silver, and within ten months, fifteen students were admitted to prison through donation, with all the money going into his pocket.

Last year, there was a severe drought. This barbarian embezzled disaster relief funds, causing thousands of acres of land in Datong to be abandoned. Many people fled to the mountains, and everyone in Datong wanted to eat this barbarian alive.

Upon seeing this secret memorial, Yinzhen's eyebrows shot up, and anger finally surfaced within him. He snorted. This was directed at Dong Tianpan, not the Heavenly Principle Sect.

Dong Tianpan impeached Xing Zhengting, and Ortai impeached Dong Tianpan.

Meanwhile, Zhang Wanshu, the Assistant Magistrate of Datong Prefecture West Circuit, submitted a secret memorial impeaching Ortai, the Minister of War.

When Ortai arrived in Datong, he treated us like servants, arrogant and disrespectful. If we were slightly disobedient, Ortai would say, "Don't ruin your future!"

Several memorials to the emperor caused Yongzheng to frown deeply.

What he wanted to know was how Ning Jiexiao's troops escaped from Huang Zhongcai and his men, and how they killed Xing Zhengting, but the memorials were all the same, with mutual impeachments.

Huang Zhongcai, who was still alive, impeached Xing Zhengting, who had died, for his reckless advance and disruption of the army's deployment.

The Green Standard Army garrison commander of the Ministry of Justice impeached Huang Zhongcai for his incompetence as commander-in-chief, for missing a crucial opportunity, which led to Ning Jiexiao's escape and the death of General Xing.

Huang Zhongcai also impeached the prefect of Datong and the magistrates of three counties, accusing them of colluding with bandits, supporting them to enhance their own power, and allowing the bandits to escape...

It wasn't until Mu Shu presented the secret report from the Sticky Rod Office that this happened.

Yinzhen glared with bloodshot eyes, his anger reaching its peak, before he finally understood why these officials were attacking each other...

After Ning Jiexiao arrived in Yangyuan, some of his men fled into the mountains and attacked some of the mountain bandits' strongholds in exchange for food and shelter.

Some of them broke into smaller groups and maneuvered between Yangyuan and the three surrounding counties, traveling through prefectures and counties to attack some villages where local gentry had built strongholds for self-defense.

After arresting the local gentry, he opened the granaries to distribute grain and win over the hearts of the people.

Not only did they distribute grain, but they also implemented land redistribution, which led to a surge in followers.

Huang Zhongcai's troops and Xing Zhengting's troops each dispatched soldiers to encircle and suppress the rebels, but the rebels never engaged in direct combat. They simply raised Ning Jiexiao's banner, and when government troops arrived, they would flee at the mere sight of them, disappearing into the mountains.

The officers and soldiers were all armored, and they could not outrun the unarmored bandits in the mountains and forests.

Once the officers and soldiers were exhausted, Ning's troops would often launch a surprise attack, inflicting a crushing defeat on them.

When officers and soldiers went to the countryside, some inevitably disobeyed military discipline and looted and plundered in the villages, arousing public anger. This gave some incense-burning thieves an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, killing some officers and soldiers, and the number of thieves joining the bandits increased day by day.

Three days ago, Huang Zhongcai's troops and the Criminal Justice Department went into the mountains together, intending to completely wipe out the bandits lurking in the Huanghualiang area.

Unexpectedly, Ning Jiexiao led his troops down the mountain from Huanghualiang first, raised a large banner, and attacked the left flank of Huang Zhongcai's troops. Huang Zhongcai was overjoyed, and Ning's troops collapsed at the first contact. Huang Zhongcai led his troops to pursue, but Ning Jiexiao used the same trick again.

It was another trap to lure the enemy. After Huang's troops caught up with them up the mountain, Ning's troops set fire to both sides and then dropped rolling stones on the mountain. The fire raged, and Huang Zhongcai's vanguard was defeated.

After using the wildfire to block the pursuing Huang troops, Ning Jiexiao led his troops over Huanghualiang, raised a large banner, and entered Tianzhen County.

The Ministry of Justice was overjoyed and immediately led its troops to attack.

Ning Jiexiao led two thousand men to fight against the Xingzhengting troops, but was defeated and fled into the mountains again.

The Criminal Justice Department pursued them into the mountains. Once the Green Standard Army soldiers of the Criminal Justice Department left, Xu Xiyin, Su Lang, and a group of five hundred Tianli Sect traitors gathered seven villages, including Tanshui Village and Yangshan'ao Village in Tianzhen County, to rebel. They amassed three thousand men and attacked the county government office, raising a banner that read: "The officials have forced the people to rebel. We swear to kill the traitor Dong Tianpan!" They lingered there for many days, just to gather traitors from the various villages.

The Ministry of Justice turned around and went to save the county government.

Unexpectedly, Ning Jiexiao, who should have fled, led his troops to attack again at this moment, and took advantage of Xing Zhengting's retreat to inflict a crushing defeat on them...

Mu Shu gave a wry smile and said:

"If Xing Zhengting had obediently fled at this time, nothing would have happened. Su Lang's attack on the county government was all bark and no bite; he deliberately made a big fuss, mostly with gongs and flags, but it wouldn't have been easy to break through the county government. Su Lang and his men deliberately sent people from the county government to ask for reinforcements."

"But after Xing Zhengting led three thousand men and was defeated by Ning Jiexiao's remnants of troops wearing various tattered armor, he was furious. Instead of returning to the county government to reorganize his troops, he reorganized them on the spot, intending to fight back, which delayed him. At this time, Su Lang's men did not attack the county government, but turned back and, together with Ning Jiexiao, surrounded Xing Zhengting... Even so, it was not easy for them to defeat Xing Zhengting's well-organized troops."

"But Ning Jiexiao's goal was not to defeat Xing Zhengting, but to force Tianzhen County and Xing Zhengting to request reinforcements. Two hours after the smoke signals were lit in Tianzhen County, when the Green Standard Army from other directions came to Tianzhen County, Ning Jiexiao's troops, together with Su Lang who had joined them, led their men and fled into the mountains again..."

"This time, they fled south along the mountain range... Xing Zhengting was brave and still led his men to pursue them, but Ning Jiexiao had ambushed his last few hundred men south of the mountain as a backup plan. Xing Zhengting fell into the trap here. There were many traps of all kinds in that area, and many people died..."

"Huang Zhongcai's troops were blocked by the wildfire. Ning Jiexiao's troops deliberately cut down many trees on the western mountain path to block the way. Huang Zhongcai's troops saw the smoke from Tianzhen County and heard the shouts of battle from the other side of the mountain. They could only take a detour from the east and clear the western mountain path... But at this time, Ning's troops had already fled south from the west side of the mountain..."

……

……

At this moment.

In the Taihang Mountains, several people carried a willow stretcher with difficulty through the forest.

The young man on the stretcher, whose injuries were quite severe, continued to curse incessantly, his face pale.

"That guy surnamed Xing..."

The young man, clutching his hastily bandaged wound, cursed weakly:

"That's a fucking mad dog..."