You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 130 Cao Zhengchun, Drafting the Imperial Edict
Jinluan Palace.

After Cao Zhengchun finished explaining the reasons why Minister of Works Cui Yongyuan and other ministers were convicted, the entire hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All the civil and military officials wore extremely solemn expressions.

What Cao Zhengchun said was simply too astonishing.

This is no longer just about arresting Cui Yongyuan and more than twenty court officials; it involves the entire Cui family of Boling.

They colluded with the Yellow Heaven Sect to plot against Grand Tutor Wen Zhong.

They incited Zhou Qian, the carefree prince, to raise the flag and rebel.

Either of these reasons would be enough to wipe out the Cui family of Boling.

The civil and military officials could imagine what kind of clash would occur between the man on the dragon throne and the Cui family of Boling.

However, the Cui family of Boling is not an ordinary aristocratic family. It is one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty, deeply rooted throughout the entire Great Zhou. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a behemoth.

The man on the dragon throne who wanted to use this as a pretext to punish and destroy the Cui family of Boling was not as easy as he imagined.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo's expression was also extremely solemn.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Yuan Bo sent his steward to investigate why Minister of Works Cui Yongyuan and his associates had their homes raided by the Eastern Depot, but the investigation yielded nothing.

Therefore, at today's morning court session, Prime Minister Yuan Bo had no choice but to step forward and present his opinion on this matter, hoping to gauge the situation.

Unexpectedly, the news that came out of the probe was such a bolt from the blue that Prime Minister Yuan Bo's pupils shrank slightly.

If Prime Minister Yuan Bo hadn't kept his head down, this unusual change in him wouldn't have escaped the notice of anyone with a keen eye.

Besides Prime Minister Yuan Bo, some other officials, such as the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice, were not as unremarkable as they appeared on the surface; they had simply concealed their true intentions well.

After Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, Zhou Chen raised his eyes and swept them over the civil and military officials below; "Did all of you hear that?"

"Grand Tutor Wen, a veteran of three reigns of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the 30,000 elite Divine Martial Guards of the court, were actually murdered in this way."

"It's truly hard for me to believe."

"What I find even more unbelievable is that one of the seven great families of my Great Zhou, a prestigious and dignified clan, would actually collude with the Yellow Heaven Sect traitors and join forces with them."

"He also incited the carefree prince Zhou Qian to raise a flag of rebellion and secretly helped him recruit soldiers."

"Is this the aristocratic family of my Great Zhou Dynasty?"

"Is this the prestigious family of my Great Zhou Dynasty?"

"Which of my esteemed ministers can tell me whether the powerful and influential families of my Great Zhou are truly prestigious clans or rebels?"

Zhou Chen coldly surveyed each and every civil and military official below.

On the surface, there was no sign of anger, but anyone could hear the coldness in his tone.

Faced with Zhou Chen's cold questioning, all the civil and military officials in the hall remained silent for a moment.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo lowered his head and glanced slightly at an official who was further back.

The official immediately understood and stepped forward; “Your Majesty, this matter is of utmost importance.”

"After all, the Cui family of Boling is a prestigious family that has been passed down for many years in our Great Zhou Dynasty. It has produced many pillars of the court and is one of the seven great families of our Great Zhou Dynasty. It can be said that they are famous throughout the world."

"Therefore, this kind of thing must be treated with utmost care."

"Have you been able to find any evidence to support what Eunuch Cao said?"

"If there is even the slightest mistake, it will have a great impact on the reputation of the imperial court."

After the official stepped forward, he said, forcing himself to speak.

At this point, anyone with a brain can see that it's not a good time to speak up.

Whoever steps forward to speak up will definitely not fare well.

But the official had no choice. As a man of Prime Minister Yuan Bo, he had been given a hint by Yuan Bo, and he had to step forward and speak up.

Empirical evidence?

Zhou Chen glanced indifferently at the official who had stepped forward, and without saying a word, shouted outside, "Guards, remove his official hat."

“Drag him out and punish him along with the Cui clan rebels.”

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the hall were shocked.

No one expected that Emperor Zhou Chen would arrest the official who stood up to ask for evidence without saying a word.

Even Prime Minister Yuan Bo was stunned for a moment, not expecting Zhou Chen to act so domineeringly.

Even if an official asks for concrete evidence, he will be arrested on the grounds that the Cui family are rebels.

"As ordered."

Dozens of sharp-eyed imperial guards entered, seized the official, removed his official hat, and dragged him outside.

"emperor……."

"I am innocent! I have absolutely no connection with the Cui clan rebels."

"I am doing this for the sake of the court's reputation!"

The official never expected that simply by stepping forward and asking for evidence as instructed by Prime Minister Yuan Bo, he would be directly labeled as a rebel of the Cui clan and arrested.

The official immediately struggled to explain.

Unfortunately, no matter how much the official struggled to explain, it was all in vain.

Zhou Chen didn't look at the official again.

Demand empirical evidence from the imperial authority.

There really are people who aren't afraid of death!

Zhou Chen had no interest in wasting words on pawns like these that were being tested.

Zhou Chen wanted to use this opportunity to indirectly tell the entire court that evidence was something only the Ministry of Justice needed.

He doesn't need imperial power.

Because if the emperor wants someone to die, that person has to die.

After the official was dragged away by the Imperial Guards, Zhou Chen continued to sweep his gaze across the civil and military officials and said, "I have always believed that aristocratic families and powerful clans are the places where talents are cultivated for my Great Zhou, the cornerstone of my Great Zhou, and the most prestigious families."

"I will not do anything that would damage the reputation of our family, much less associate with traitors and disgrace our family's honor."

"But now I realize that I was wrong."

"Imperial families may appear glamorous on the surface, but they are extremely filthy in reality."

"Not only is this an insult to our noble family, but it also means us to wreak havoc on the empire of our Great Zhou."

“Just like the Cui family of Boling, they actually dared to murder the Grand Tutor, a veteran of the Three Dynasties of my Great Zhou, causing my 30,000 elite Divine Martial Guards to perish at the hands of traitors.”

"He also incited the carefree Prince Zhou Qian to raise a flag of rebellion and recruited soldiers for him."

"This is absolutely heinous and deserving of death."

"Cao Zhengchun".

At this point, Zhou Chen glanced at Cao Zhengchun, who was standing beside him.

"Practice."

"Exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling, including their nine clans, and publicize their evil deeds throughout the world."

"I will make sure that the Cui family of Boling is forever nailed to that pillar of shame for associating with traitors."

Zhou Chen spoke loudly with a cold expression, as if the official who had just been dragged out was just a minor incident and had not been affected by the incident at all.

As soon as Zhou Chen said this, the expressions of all the civil and military officials below changed.

Exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling, including nine generations of their clan?

This emperor actually intended to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling, spanning nine generations.

Although the civil and military officials had already anticipated that Zhou Chen would take action against the Cui family of Boling after hearing what Cao Zhengchun had said.

But when he actually heard Zhou Chen issue the decree to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling, he couldn't help but be shocked. The Cui family of Boling was one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It was deeply rooted and had a profound influence in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

None of the officials expected that Emperor Zhou Chen would actually have such courage, and would deal with the Cui family of Boling without the slightest hesitation, and even exterminate the entire Cui family clan.

Isn't Emperor Zhou Chen afraid that he might accidentally cause turmoil in the Great Zhou Dynasty?

Little did they know, Zhou Chen had already secretly ordered Lü Bu to wipe out the Cui family of Boling.

This is just a formality now.

If the officials knew that Lü Bu had wiped out the Cui family of Boling, I wonder what they would think.

"Retreat."

After issuing the decree, Zhou Chen said nothing more and got up to leave.

……

With the end of the morning court session.

A shocking piece of news spread.

Now everyone understood why Cui Yongyuan, the Minister of Works, and more than twenty other court officials had their homes and families suddenly raided and exterminated by the Eastern Depot.

It turns out that the Cui family of Boling colluded with the Yellow Heaven Sect rebels to murder Grand Tutor Wen Zhong and incited Prince Xiaoyao Zhou Qian to raise the banner of rebellion.

The emperor has issued an edict to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling, including nine generations of their clan.

Anyone associated with the Cui family of Boling will be exterminated.

This news caused quite a stir.

Who was Grand Tutor Wen Zhong?

That was the pillar of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a senior official who served three dynasties and supported half of the Great Zhou's fate.

And who are the Cui family of Boling?

That was one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a behemoth with deep roots throughout the entire Great Zhou.

No one expected that Grand Tutor Wen Zhong's death in the four northwestern prefectures was actually a murder plotted against him by the Cui family of Boling.

No one expected that the Cui family of Boling, one of the seven great families and a prestigious clan, would commit such a heinous act.

He also colluded with the Yellow Heaven Sect rebels and incited the Carefree King to raise the banner of rebellion in the later stages.

It's simply an insult to a prestigious family.

In an instant, the reputation of the Cui family of Boling was completely plunged into the abyss of hell, nailed to the pillar of shame for associating with traitors.

Outside the palace gates.

After the court session, all the civil and military officials left the palace with solemn expressions, their brows furrowed.

What will happen next?

Every civil and military official knew this in their hearts.

The Cui family of Boling, as one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is not so easy to deal with.

The person in the palace who wants to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling could very well cause a major upheaval.

However, these things didn't concern them much. What worried them was whether the Cui family of Boling would implicate them.

After leaving the palace, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice glanced at Prime Minister Yuan Bo, and were about to follow him when...

Prime Minister Yuan Bo shook his head at the two of them.

Then, Chancellor Yuan Bo left alone.

Seeing Prime Minister Yuan Bo shake his head, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice understood his meaning and returned to their respective residences.

"Lord Weiwu, do you think there might be any unexpected problems with the Emperor's decree to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling?"

"After all, the Cui family of Boling is no ordinary aristocratic family, as you should know."

“It won’t be that easy to exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling.”

After the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian, Marquis Wei Wu, and the Minister of War walked out of the palace together, the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian looked at Marquis Wei Wu with a solemn expression and asked him a question.

The Eighth Prince Zhou Xian originally thought that Zhou Chen only wanted to eliminate the power of the Cui family in the court, but he did not expect that Zhou Chen wanted to take down the entire Cui family in Boling.

This made Zhou Xian, the Eighth Prince, worry that Zhou Chen's actions might not only fail to eliminate the Cui family of Boling, but also cause great chaos.

Marquis Weiwu shook his head; "I don't know."

"However, this is not something we should worry about."

"Since His Majesty has issued the decree, he must be confident."

"Furthermore, the Cui family of Boling truly deserves to die, for daring to collude with the Yellow Heaven Sect traitors and plot against the Grand Tutor."

"If I had known earlier that they had colluded with the Yellow Heaven Sect to murder the Grand Tutor, I would have led a large army to wipe out the Cui family of Boling first."

Marquis Weiwu said with a hateful expression.

Upon hearing this news in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Marquis Weiwu was still in shock and unable to process it.

Marquis Weiwu never expected that the Grand Tutor's death in the four northwestern prefectures was actually a conspiracy orchestrated by the Cui family of Boling.

It's really hard to believe.

"Sigh, I'm still a little worried."

"The Cui family of Boling is one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They are deeply rooted. With the Emperor openly issuing an edict to exterminate the entire Cui family, the Cui family of Boling will certainly not sit idly by and wait for their doom."

The Eighth Prince, Zhou Xian, sighed and said with some worry.

"I'm also a little worried."

"This matter should be kept secret for now, and it would be better to mobilize a large army to launch a surprise attack on the Cui family in Boling."

"But the Emperor first arrested the Cui family's officials in the court, and then issued an edict to exterminate the entire Cui family. Wouldn't that have alerted the Cui family and given them time to prepare?"

The Minister of War also frowned and said that he did not quite understand Zhou Chen's intention.

Logically speaking, judging from the methods Zhou Chen used to deal with General Wu Jin, Zhou Chen doesn't seem like the kind of emperor without cunning.

However, Zhou Chen's decision to exterminate the Cui family of Boling this time left the Minister of War somewhat puzzled by Zhou Chen's actions.

The Minister of War didn't believe that Zhou Chen could see that doing so would alert the enemy and give the Cui family of Boling time to prepare.

Upon hearing the worried tone of Prince Zhou Xian and the Minister of War, Marquis Weiwu glanced at them indifferently and said, "How do you know that the Emperor didn't issue a secret decree in advance to mobilize a large army to deal with the Cui family of Boling?"

The words of Marquis Weiwu startled both Prince Zhou Xian and the Minister of War. They suddenly realized something and stared directly at Marquis Weiwu. "You mean...?"

"The heart of an emperor is unfathomable."

Marquis Weiwu left after uttering a single sentence.

The Eighth Prince Zhou Xian and the Minister of War looked at the departing figure of the Marquis of Weiwu and exchanged another glance.

A glint flashed in their eyes simultaneously, and without saying anything more, they each left.

After the three, including the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian, left, Du Ruhui emerged from a corner of the back palace gate.

Du Ruhui glanced at the departing figures of the Eighth Prince and the Minister of War, then looked in the direction where the Marquis of Weiwu had left, and muttered to himself, "Everyone says that military generals are reckless."

"But aren't military generals also wise in their apparent foolishness?"

"A Minister of War and a Prince of the Eighth Prince, yet they couldn't understand it as well as a single military general."

Even the smartest person can make mistakes sometimes!

Du Ruhui sighed, withdrew his gaze, and left the palace gate.

Little did they know that the civil and military officials who left the palace were under the surveillance of the Eastern Depot.

(End of this chapter)