Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

Chapter 37

In Kunning Palace.

Su Mengjiao looked at Ye Chen standing in front of her, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"Empress Dowager, the Imperial Guards' duty is to protect the royal family. They have been infiltrated by powerful officials for years, which is why there are traitors. However, those nobles who have remained neutral in the face of this infiltration have also committed dereliction of duty!"

"After all, the Queen Mother has been in charge of the entire inner city's imperial guards for many years. If they were truly loyal to the royal family, they should have taken the initiative to join you after seeing the infiltration of powerful officials. But in the end, they only care about protecting themselves. In my opinion, these people value their own wealth and glory, as well as their lives and property the most."

"Giving these people high positions, their loyalty to the royal family is almost zero. If something really goes wrong, none of them can be relied upon!"

Ye Chen waved his hand and spoke in a loud and breathtaking voice.

Hearing this, Su Mengjiao frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. Soon she had to admit that what Ye Chen said did make sense.

Those nobles did not surrender to Yang Dechang at the beginning, but they also did not surrender to her, the empress dowager, which was already a dereliction of duty.

"But Emperor, if you don't choose someone from among these nobles, who will take over the position of commander of these imperial guards?"

Su Mengjiao asked again.

"Queen Dowager, the position of commander of these imperial guards must not be given to these nobles in the army, otherwise it will cause endless trouble."

Ye Chen tapped the table lightly and said to Su Mengjiao, "Queen Dowager, I think we can take our time with selecting the commander of the Imperial Guards. As for the memorials from other ministers, we can hold them back for now. We must find the right person, otherwise we'd rather leave it empty!"

"As for the problem of insufficient manpower, we can first conduct an investigation and then have some of the sons of noble families take over the leadership temporarily. Once we find suitable candidates, we can replace them all."

Hearing this, Su Mengjiao nodded slightly.

"Emperor, I will obey you."

"Oh, Queen Mother, if there is nothing else, then I will go back."

Ye Chen stood up and planned to return to Yangxin Palace.

"Ah."

Su Mengjiao didn't try to keep him, but she felt quite complicated.

Ever since the emperor became smart, she always seemed to lose the initiative every time she talked to him.

But the emperor's suggestion was quite reasonable, and even she, the empress dowager, had to obey it.

This made her feel that her IQ was not as good as Ye Chen's, which made her feel a little uncomfortable because of her strong personality.

"Yes, Emperor."

Su Mengjiao couldn't bear to see Ye Chen always having the upper hand, so she suddenly said, "Qiu'er will come to your place later and formally teach you martial arts."

"Also, I will have someone compile the information you asked Qiu'er to investigate regarding the Marquis of Jing'an's residence and send it to your bedroom."

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but curl his lips.

He had to practice martial arts and read memorials at the same time.

It's definitely going to be a rough night.

But Ye Chen waved his hand.

"I'll review the memorial tomorrow. I'll practice martial arts tonight!"

Ye Chen didn't care whether Su Mengjiao agreed or not. He walked out of Kunning Palace with his head held high.

Zhongshu Province.

The place where the three officials work.

A young eunuch walked in quickly and, while changing the candles, slipped a note into the hand of the Imperial Censor Chen Xiu.

After Chen Xiu looked at the note, he hurriedly handed it to Yang Dechang.

Yang Dechang looked at the note in his hand with a gloomy look.

"It seems that the Queen Mother does not intend to select someone from the Imperial Guards to be the commander of the Imperial Guards."

After Yang Dechang put down the note, he said.

Hearing this, Gao Yunhe could no longer sit still.

"Prime Minister, if the Empress Dowager doesn't choose men from the Imperial Guard, how can we insert our own men into the Imperial Guard?"

Gao Yunhe said anxiously in a low voice: "Without the commander of the Imperial Guards to go to the death row to pick up the person, what will happen to my brother?"

"Brother Dingfang, given the current situation, I'm afraid Yunhu can't be saved."

Yang Dechang spoke in a low voice and looked unhappy.

"Ah, Prime Minister, please think of another way!"

Gao Yunhe's face turned pale.

"There is no way."

Yang Dechang shook his head and said, "It's strange that the young emperor actually found a way to quickly check the Ministry of Revenue's account books. According to the information from the Ministry of Revenue, judging from the bamboo slips that were reviewed, more than half of the tax revenue of every prefecture and province in the country has been checked last year. Based on what has been found, Yunhu can't escape. If the investigation continues, it will not just be Yunhu who will be implicated!"

"Now, it's impossible for our people to take over the Imperial Guards in the short term, and we can't rescue anyone from death row."

"Brother Ding Fang, in my opinion, the only option now is to cut off your own arm!"

"Don't worry, Yunhu's death will not be in vain."

"A high-ranking official of the imperial court was forced to die in a death row. How serious is this?"

Yang Dechang narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice, "As soon as Yun Hu dies, I will make that little emperor pay a heavy price!"

"Even pulling him down from the throne is not impossible!"

Hearing this, Gao Yunhe's eyes widened and he stared at Yang Dechang as if he were a stranger.

"Prime Minister, what do you mean? You, you want to kill Yunhu?"

"Brother Dingfang, rather than letting Yunhu endure interrogation and humiliation, it would be better for me to take action. After all, the account book issue will definitely require someone else to take the blame, and only the dead can keep orders."

Yang Dechang said in a firm tone.

"Prime Minister, is there really no other way?"

"Brother Dingfang, some sacrifices are necessary!"

Yang Dechang's eyes were filled with hatred as he gently coaxed her, "Think about the Gao family, and think about the other families involved with the Ministry of Revenue."

"Abandon the small to protect the big, I promise you, you will get more!"

After hearing this, Gao Yunhe was finally convinced.

"Prime Minister, can I meet Yun Hu one last time?"

Gao Yunhe said sadly.

"Brother Dingfang, the death row is heavily guarded. Outsiders can't get in at all."

Yang Dechang narrowed his eyes and said, "But don't worry, I guarantee that Yunhu won't suffer too much when he leaves. I will send the right person to do it!"

Hearing this, Gao Yunhe shuddered all over.

Yang Dechang's methods of killing people are endless, and he is cruel and ruthless.

Even as companions, having worked together in the court for decades, they would not hesitate to fight.

Gao Yunhe was filled with fear and could only tremble with trepidation. He said with a sorrowful tone, "Then, I'll have to trouble you, Prime Minister."

"It doesn't matter."

Yang Dechang stroked his beard lightly and said, "Besides Yunhu, the account books of the Ministry of Revenue also need to be dealt with."

"Let my men take action tonight!"

"Notify all officials and have them write their memorials. Tomorrow, when I go to court, I will make sure the young emperor understands that offending me is the worst decision he has ever made!"