From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 248

"The dust has settled."

Yang Guozhong's voice was full of sighs. His old face looked at the handover of military power in the distance and said slowly: "A stunning layout eliminated the hidden danger of King Jing's rebellion, rectified the five military camps, replaced the Xuanfu Jiedushi, eliminated the fence-sitters in the court, cleaned up the royal family, and supported Zhou Yuan to take the throne..."

"Your Majesty's move is really brilliant. The harvest is more than the sum of the nine years in office."

Xu Shigong said lightly: "When our people have problems, they are all cleared. We also have to give in a lot. At least we can't get involved in Zhou Yuan's promotion."

Deng Bochi said: "The entire Shenjing has been completely changed. There may be no more trouble in Shenjing for many years."

"The next step, Zhou Yuan may have to pacify Zhong "Wu Qingrong glared and said, "How could it be so fast? In my opinion, he needs at least two years to rectify his foundation, accumulate his strength, and then raise troops in the Central Plains." "In addition, in my opinion, your majesty has always been cautious about state affairs. This time Zhou Yuan did a good job in protecting the emperor, but he has not proved his ability to fight and lead troops. He may not even be entrusted with an important task, at least he will not be sent directly to the Central Plains." The Minister of Works frowned and said, "So, what position will Zhou Yuan be in?" Yang Guozhong looked forward and sighed, "You will understand if you read on." Everyone looked forward. The remaining more than 50,000 people in the five military camps had all surrendered, kneeling on the ground with their armors removed. They were tied up one by one and were taken to the capital by the army from Jizhou and Shandong. Although your majesty promised them that they would not be sentenced to death, exile and labor were inevitable. As for the soldiers in Xuanfu, they will still be brought back to Xuanfu by Yao Guangyi, and then smoothly handed over to Xue Changyue.

The Jinyiwei and the Nei Tingsi closely guarded Yao Guangyi, and it was impossible to give him any chance.

He must die, but how he dies depends on your majesty's mind.

"Your Majesty!"

"We pay our respects to your majesty!"

Countless troops knelt down, and it was not until this time that Empress Zhaojing finally appeared.

She did not say a word to King Jing, and she even disdained to talk to King Jing, but just looked at the group of royal family members who were kneeling on the ground and sweating.

"You betrayed the royal family, betrayed the Great Jin, and turned to the rebels. You are really the good sons and nephews of the late emperor!"

The royal family headed by Prince Xian knelt on the ground to plead, but it was obviously useless.

Empress Zhaojing said calmly: "The family property will be confiscated, the world will be confiscated, and you will reflect on yourself in the clan house for the rest of your life."

This is an important part. Money is needed to do anything, and the treasury has no silver. Zhou Yuan has almost spent all the silver to reorganize Shenjing.

Then we can only think of ways from these wealthy clans. Every household of them has millions of dollars, which is enough to relieve the pressure on the treasury.

Until this time, Empress Zhaojing looked at the rebels of the Five Army Camp and said coldly: "You have received the emperor's grace, but you don't think about repaying the country. Instead, you have committed treason. Although you are suspected of being bewitched, you can be spared from the death penalty, but you can't escape the living crime."

"All the soldiers of the Five Army Camp will have their property confiscated, and the women and children will be exiled to the West Sea. The young and middle-aged will be exiled to the southwest, and they will be forced to work for life. They will not be pardoned."

As soon as these words came out, countless soldiers in the Five Army Camp cried out. Although they didn't die, it was not much better than death.

The family is gone, and life is gone. How many more years can they survive in the poor and bad land of the southwest?

These soldiers who finally woke up were ashen-faced and collapsed on the ground, with only despair in their hearts.

"Your Majesty! I, Zhou Yuan, have something to report!"

The voice was so loud that it shook the surroundings.

Empress Zhaojing frowned and said, "What's the matter, Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice, "There is still something behind the rebellion of the Five Military Camps. Please allow me to tell you in detail, Your Majesty."

"Go ahead."

Empress Zhaojing's face was not good.

Zhou Yuan said loudly, "Your Majesty, I once served as a hundred households of the Jinyiwei in Lin'an Prefecture. I investigated the gambling house case that shocked the south. I know that gambling and drugs are evil diseases in the world and can destroy everything."

"After arriving in Shenjing, I often met with my old friend Lord Wangwang and talked about the gambling in the army."

Empress Zhaojing asked in confusion, "Who is Lord Wangwang?"

Oh no, I didn't change my catchphrase. I'm embarrassed!

Zhou Yuan coughed dryly and said solemnly: "Master Wang Ang, the captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei."

"He had secretly investigated the gambling involvement of the Five Military Camps. The royal family and nobles used their noble status to set up gambling games to defraud the soldiers and middle and lower-level generals of their salaries. The amount of money they embezzled was shocking. Most soldiers had their monthly salaries defrauded and owed large debts with shockingly high interest rates."

"Therefore, the soldiers of the Five Military Camps were forced to live in poverty under the pressure of repaying their debts and were forced to take desperate measures, so they were killed by JingWang Liyong had no choice but to rebel. "

Empress Zhaojing's face changed, and she said sternly: "Bold Zhou Yuan! Are you begging for the rebels!"

"Where is Wang Ang! Get out of here! Kneel down together!"

In the crowd, Lord Wangwang was eating melons, happy that he won this time, and he would definitely get promoted and make a fortune. Unexpectedly, he was directly tricked by Zhou Yuan.

Hearing this roar, he was scared to death, staggered over, and lay on the ground and shouted: "Wang Ang sees His Majesty, long live His Majesty!"

Empress Zhaojing said in a serious tone: "Is what Zhou Yuan said the truth?"

Wang Ang swallowed his saliva and whispered: "Your Majesty, what Commander Zhou said is indeed the truth."

Empress Zhaojing said: "Then you are also making excuses for the rebels! Come! Arrest Zhou Yuan and Wang Ang for me and take them back to Shenjing. ”

“Since they have excused the rebels, they will be exiled to the southwest with the rebels and do hard labor for the rest of their lives!”

“Yes!”

Several female guards from the inner court rushed up and pinned Wang Ang and Zhou Yuan to the ground and tied them up.

Yang Guozhong and other cabinet ministers looked at each other and sighed slightly.

Zeng Cheng couldn't help but say, "I really want to go out and say something fair."

Deng Bochi glanced at him and said lightly, "Lord Zeng, you should be honest. This good thing is not your turn. His Majesty is obviously paving the way for Zhou Yuan. If you dare to go out and play the good guy, His Majesty will definitely deal with you."

Zeng Cheng sighed and said, "It seems that His Majesty wants Zhou Yuan to take over the Five Military Camps! These soldiers are the last fish in this overall situation."

Yang Guozhong said, "It can't be stopped. We can only retreat in this matter. In this overall situation of rebellion, the role we play is too bad, so we can only endure it. ”

And tens of thousands of soldiers in the Fifth Army Camp were already desperate. Seeing Zhou Yuan come out to speak for them, but was tied up, they naturally felt mixed emotions.

"Your Majesty! I am Xiong Kuohai, the commander of the Jinyiwei, and I have something to report!"

The voice spread all around, and countless people couldn't help but look at the fat man.

Empress Zhaojing narrowed her eyes and said, "Why? Are you going to plead for the rebels too!"

Xiong Kuohai said seriously, "I dare not speak lightly about the rebels, but I think that I should have a sincere heart to find out the right and wrong of everything and the reasons for the emperor's judgment. This is the way of being a minister."

Empress Zhaojing glanced around and waved her hand, "Forget it, Zhou Yuan, you can tell me the situation in detail. I am not a king who doesn't listen to advice."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. "

Zhou Yuan stood up and said loudly: "Ning Hou Chen Jingxiao is the eldest son of Prince Xian, and is good friends with Cao Ye. He often uses his status to open gambling houses in the army, set up scams, lure soldiers to gamble, defraud military pay, and make huge profits for several years, with the amount reaching millions of taels of silver. "

"This man is so crazy and daring that he took the money he defrauded and lent it to the soldiers, and then let the soldiers gamble until he plundered the soldiers and made it difficult for them to make a living. "

"After Cao Ye's death, there was no one in charge of the five military camps, and the gambling situation became worse. Ning Hou made money even more unscrupulously. Soldiers who couldn't pay back the money could only sell their property and assets, but they still couldn't fill the big hole they owed. "

Hearing this, countless soldiers of the Five Army Camps around them were already blushing, lowering their heads and sobbing softly.

Zhou Yuan looked at everyone and said in a deep voice: "You must think that gamblers are not worthy of sympathy, but what if it is a carefully planned scam?"

"There are always people around you who are gambling and winning money, persuading you to gamble. If you don't gamble, they will isolate you or even humiliate you, so that you have to gamble?"

"This is Ning Hou's method. In order to get more people to gamble, he has put in a lot of effort."

"Even, he colluded with gang members to set traps for the soldiers' families, causing the families to owe huge debts. The soldiers were in urgent need of money and had no other choice, so they took the risk of gambling."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and said: "Why can King Jing use them? Because a month ago, King Jing colluded with Ning Hou, demanded a lot of debts, and even searched the homes of the soldiers of the Five Army Camps, using all means to force them into a dead end. "

"As for the military pay, Your Majesty may not know that the Fifth Army Camp has not received any pay for three months!"

"All the silver transferred from the national treasury was withheld by King Jing's confidants and was not distributed to the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp at all."

As soon as these words came out, countless soldiers in the Fifth Army Camp suddenly raised their heads, their faces full of shock.