Cheng Dong, the Duke of Zhenguo, did not look at the Queen's calligraphy, but gently advised: "My Lady, could you please consider it again? Many of the more than 200 officials outside are old ministers. Once the Forbidden Army takes action without care, it will probably cause a big disaster."
Cheng Wen put down the memorial in her hand and sneered: "Mr. Zhenguo, I think what you said will become the source of great disaster. Rumors are spreading everywhere now, saying that I have put the emperor under house arrest and faked the edict. And that Su Shun Zhi, the most arrogant one among them, dared to directly write such rumors of deceiving the emperor into memorials and spread them everywhere. The people at Chengtianmen were either bewitched by him or were the masterminds behind the scenes. If they were not severely punished , the rumors will only spread more and more fiercely, eventually disrupting Chao Gang."
Cheng Dong was silent for a moment, and finally said: "I am not opposed to punishing those who spread rumors. However, if the involvement is too extensive and the methods are too severe, it may arouse public outrage, and we will not end well by then."
"What will happen?" Cheng Wen's face darkened: "Do you know how much people outside hate the Cheng family now. If those people seize the opportunity to instigate greater chaos in the imperial capital, how will you end it? Cheng Dong, once I am murdered by a traitor, the Cheng family and the ministers related to the Cheng family, including Tian Mu, your ending will be a hundred or a thousand times more miserable than Su Shunzhi's! Do you understand?"
Cheng Dong looked gloomy and said unwillingly: "There are many ways to stabilize the situation. Wouldn't it be better to take a gentle approach?"
Cheng Wen looked at her brother for a few times and said coldly: "Being gentle must also be based on deterrence. Only by using thunder and lightning methods to severely attack all those who have second thoughts, and then treat them differently and impose Only with gentle methods will they truly appreciate you, fear you, and rely on you. Establishing prestige is a bargaining chip for imperial power!"
At this point, Cheng Wen turned to Tian Mu: "I not only want to establish my authority today, but also let the Cheng family establish their authority! You go and inform Cheng Nan and Cheng Bei, let them lead the troops to round up the troublemaking officials and execute them. Court staff!"
"I obey!" Tian Mu agreed quickly, turned around and ran out of the hall.
Looking at Tian Mu's panicked back, Cheng Dong, the Duke of Zhenguo, couldn't help but sigh softly, and ordered the palace maids and chamberlains around him: "You guys should step aside first, I have something to say to the empress."
Cheng Wen glanced at those people casually, nodded, and then reopened the memorial for review while saying, "What do you want to tell me?"
"Sister, you...have you gone too far?" Cheng Dong deliberately lowered his voice and said: "Li Bing is the emperor of Shengtang after all. We are running on the edge of a cliff. If we are not careful, we will... He fell to pieces!"
Cheng Wen didn't even raise her head, she just said calmly: "What's the use of an indecisive emperor?"
"Absurd!" Cheng Dong said angrily: "No matter how useless he is, he is also your husband and the Supreme Being of the Ninth Five-Year Plan. I originally thought that if you serve him well and gain his favor, our Cheng family will take advantage of this opportunity and restore our ancestors. Glory. But who knows..."
Cheng Dong looked around, gritted his teeth and said, "Who knew you were so bold? Are you crazy?!"
Cheng Wen stopped writing, stared at the words on the paper, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, I am not crazy, but the situation does not allow me to wait any longer. Ma Yunfang and Murong Ling are no less favored than me, and Li Jiang Yao is about to successfully suppress the rebellion, but Li Bing doesn't dare to turn against him directly."
At this point, Cheng Wen turned to look at Cheng Dong, her eyes full of cold determination: "If I don't take action, when people like Li Jiangyao, Murong Xue, Xu Youchang, and Ma Hongjie return to the court, you will never If we don’t get ahead, our Cheng family will never get ahead!”
Cheng Dong sighed helplessly, glanced outside the hall, and said quietly: "Then there is no need for you to let your brothers be such evil people. The hundreds of officials with the imperial staff will be written into the history books, alas."
"What happened to the evil people? At least no one dares to bully the evil people." Cheng Wen was a little disdainful: "Do you think it would be okay if Cheng Nan and Cheng Bei didn't go? Those people outside are still eager to peel off our skin and eat our flesh! On the contrary, let If you give your brothers a good beating, they will become more honest."
Cheng Dong really didn't want to discuss this annoying topic with her anymore, so he said instead: "You have to be careful about Ouyang Lin."
Hearing her brother suddenly mention that person, Cheng Wen couldn't help but be slightly startled: "What? Has he done anything strange recently?"
"Not recently, but all the time." Cheng Dong shook his head helplessly: "Ever since Li Bing was poisoned, Ouyang Lin has been investigating the case seriously. He is different from that idiot Tian Mu and must be on strict guard. "
Cheng Wen snorted coldly: "I thought he wanted to do something, but it turned out that he was just investigating the case. Ouyang Lin is also a fool. He checked here and there, but what could he do in the end? At that time, I was already completely Having taken control of the overall situation and having 200,000 forbidden troops in his hands, how can he still turn things upside down?"
"You can't say that." Cheng Dong said in a deep voice: "The reason why the imperial capital is not completely in chaos right now is mainly because many people are still not sure why the emperor was poisoned and whether he was really put under house arrest by you. Without knowing the reason, , many forces are unwilling to act rashly. But once Ouyang Lin discovers the clues and makes them public, you will immediately become the target of crusade from the whole world. Sister, there are hundreds of thousands of tiger and wolf troops on the front line, and the imperial army can't stop them at all. Don’t stop them.”
Cheng Wen put down her pen impatiently: "Brother, you are too naive. Without evidence, don't Li Jiangyao and the others think that I am behind all this? The emperor is in chaos because the courtiers dare not, they are waiting The Suppressing Army has returned. The reason why the Suppressing Army has not returned is because the rebels are still resisting. Even I can understand these truths clearly, so how could you be confused?"
Cheng Dong nodded helplessly: "What you said makes sense, but Ouyang Lin is a poisonous snake, so you should pay more attention."
"Okay, I'll leave this matter to my elder brother." Cheng Wen smiled sweetly: "I will seize the opportunity and prepare the conditions to deal with Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army as soon as possible."
Cheng Dong was stunned when he heard this and asked curiously: "What are you going to do?"
Cheng Wen proudly picked up the memorial on the table: "Half of Ma Hongjie's troops were taken away by us, followed by the Qinglong and Xuanwu legions. That guy Murong Xue is a stupid young man, and he will probably not give in easily. He will obey me." Zhi wants to return to Beijing, but fortunately his wife and sister are in our hands, so we can deal with him sooner or later."
Cheng Dong asked: "What about Chang Tao? Do you have any good ideas?"
"I asked Gong Chengze about Chang Tao, and he came up with a good idea." Cheng Wen smiled and said: "Most of the soldiers and horses of the Xuanwu Legion came from the Liaodong Governor's Mansion and the Yinshan Governor's Mansion. These people have been away from home for a long time, They all look forward to returning to the north as soon as possible. Therefore, I have made a decree to have the Xuanwu Legion leave 60,000 people scattered and stationed along the eastern coast to continue to guard against the invasion and harassment of Japanese pirates. The rest of the veterans from Liaodong and northern Hebei will all leave and return. Guarding the border in my hometown.”
Cheng Dong nodded slightly when he heard the words: "Well, that's very good. Once something happens in the Central Plains, Chang Tao will probably not get involved easily without being called upon."
Cheng Wen smiled and said: "It's not just that simple. The 60,000 people he left in the east will soon be reorganized by the court to form a new legion. And the leader of the legion is none other than our good brother Cheng Bei."
"Ah? Let Cheng Bei be the commander of the legion? Can he do it?" Cheng Dong was a little worried.
"Why not?" Cheng Wen raised her eyebrows: "If Li Jiangyao and Murong Xue can do it, Cheng Bei can naturally do it too! In addition to him, Cheng Nan will also serve as the leader of the White Tiger Army and guard Luoyi, the eastern capital."
Cheng Dong was dumbfounded when he heard this: "You, you are getting more and more outrageous. The two of them have no experience in fighting. If virtue is not matched, things will go wrong!"
Cheng Wen shook his head: "Of course I won't be stupid enough to let them directly command the battle. The battle will naturally rely on a few experienced deputy commanders. My brothers just look after the army for me and firmly control the military power. In my own hands. Not only the two of them, I also have an assignment for the eldest brother."
"Me? What can I do?" Cheng Dong was surprised.
"Of course it is the most important part." Cheng Wen raised her hand and pointed outside: "Forbidden Army! Two hundred thousand Forbidden Army legions, only the Duke of Zhenguo is qualified to lead them!"
Cheng Dong secretly yelled, "This is really crazy" and said at the same time: "Sister, don't be kidding me. I have never led an army, and I am not as good as Cheng Nan and Cheng Bei."
Cheng Wen stood up suddenly, her phoenix crown and Xiapei shining brightly: "What a joke! You are a descendant of the founding father Cheng Qianli, and the eldest son of Cheng Kaiyang, the commander of the Long Sword Legion. The blood of heroes flows in your body. Why can't you lead troops? ?Brother, others don’t know, and I, my sister, don’t know it? You have been ambitious since you were a child. Not only did you study hard at military science, but you also secretly practiced martial arts every day for more than 20 years. Don’t you just hope to one day lead thousands of armies? Ma, can you create unparalleled achievements?"
Cheng Dong was slightly startled when he heard this: "You, how do you know?"
"Dad asked you to study for the imperial examination and become a civil official, but you run out to practice alone before dawn every day. In fact, I have known it for a long time." Cheng Wen walked slowly to Cheng Dong and said softly: "Brother, Your calm temper and forbearance are the pattern for achieving great things. Now I have no one to rely on and am always on the verge of life and death, so I can only ask you to help me. Brother, are you willing?"
Cheng Dong was silent for a long time, then nodded slightly: "I'm willing to give it a try."
A smile appeared on Cheng Wen's face, and she said happily: "As the saying goes, brothers who work together are stronger than gold. From now on, the success of our Cheng family will depend on our eldest brother and younger brothers."
The world of the Cheng family?
These five words couldn't help but make Cheng Dong's heart tighten. Just when he was about to speak, the anxious voice of the servant suddenly came from outside: "Mother, something serious has happened. There has been a loss of life at Chengtianmen!"
