At the beginning, his wife came to him, and he became rich by selling kidney treasures.

But now, deserting recruitment is a serious crime.

As long as he has this handle in his hand, it will be difficult for Ren Hao not to enter the palace to serve as an official.

"Ren Hao, it seems that you can never escape from my grasp." Wen Yan smiled happily, wanting to disguise herself and go find Ren Hao now, and ask him to come to the palace to take up his post tomorrow.

But Wen Yan then took the safety of her spies into consideration, so she finally sat down and continued to deal with government affairs, intending to give Ren Hao some time to relax.

……

Two days early morning.

Weiyang Palace, Linde Hall.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor."

All the officials, led by Zhao Ping'an, kowtowed three times and bowed nine times to the Emperor Wen Yan.

"My dear ministers, please stand up." Wen Yan's voice was like a loud bell, filling the entire hall.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The ministers stood up one by one from the front to the back, and then the usual morning court routine of asking questions and answering them began.

"I have a report to make."

Zhao Ping'an stepped out from among the ministers.

"Xuan." Wen Yan waved his hand.

"I have recently heard that there are three warriors in the capital who are extremely brave and invincible. Any one of them can defeat a hundred people. I hope Your Majesty will select these three to go to the battlefield to spread the power of the Han Dynasty." Zhao Ping'an recommended to Wen Yan.

Although he was the prime minister, he was never able to reach into the army.

Last night he thought late into the night and decided that if he wanted to get rid of Ren Hao he had to get rid of the retainers around him. Originally he wanted to recruit Chen Fei, Zhang Kuai, and Wu Chu.

But he changed his mind and thought that with the bravery of these three people, they would be promoted by Xu Tiande in the army sooner or later.

This would not only fail to disgust Xu Tiande, but would only increase his snobbery and prestige in the army.

So he thought about it and decided that since he had never been able to get involved in the military, why not take this opportunity to let the emperor choose three people.

This would not only disgust Xu Tiande, but also gradually alienate Xu Tiande from the emperor. Without these three top masters, Ren Hao could also let Du Yilong secretly take action to eliminate this great threat.

This plan can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

Wen Yan frowned in dissatisfaction.

Zhao Ping'an has many disciples in the court, and now he is going to extend his hand into the military.

Although he was dissatisfied, Wen Yan still forbearingly said: "Since there is such a powerful person in the capital, why have I never known about him? No one has ever recommended him to me."

"Your Majesty, the matter of recruiting generals is decided by Marshal Xu Tiande." Zhao Ping'an glanced at Xu Tianyin beside him meaningfully, taking the opportunity to secretly sow discord between the emperor and the Xu family, implying that all the generals in the army were promoted by the Xu family.

Xu Tianyin next to him was so angry that his teeth itched. Zhao Ping'an never did anything weird at the morning court every day. He must be uncomfortable all over, right?

Xu Tianyin hurriedly stepped out and explained carefully, "Your Majesty is busy with government affairs every day. Although my elder brother can make the decision on recruiting generals, he can only promote meritorious people within the scope of his authority."

The meaning of this statement is very clear. Although his elder brother is able to recruit generals, he has never crossed the line.

"Hmm..." Wen Yan just groaned softly and nodded. The ministers had no idea what she was thinking.

After Wen Yan thought about it again and again, she decided to make an exception and appoint the three people recommended by Zhao Ping'an to lead the new recruits.

Although this would cause the monarch and his ministers to gradually become alienated and suspicious of each other, we still had to take precautions.

Although Xu Tiande was a veteran of two dynasties and was loyal to him, what would happen after he died?

Will those arrogant and powerful generals under his command still obey me?

"My dear Lord Zhao, I wonder who these three people you recommended are? And where in the capital are they reporting to work?" Wen Yan looked at Zhao Ping'an and asked.

"Your Majesty, this person has not reported to the capital, and he is a retainer of Jia Shang Ren Hao."

"They are Chen Fei, Zhang Kuai, and Wu Chu."

"It's a pity that these three are so brave and invincible that they are just retainers and guards. If they could go out to the battlefield to spread the power of the Han Dynasty, the barbarians from all directions would surely be terrified." Zhao Ping'an exaggerated to the emperor.

Not only Zhao Ping'an's disciples were confused, but even Wen Yan was confused as well.

What is Zhao Ping'an up to?

He had been wishing that Ren Hao would die soon, so why did he suddenly change his mind? He recommended Ren Hao's followers.

This is abnormal and there must be something wrong.

"I heard that the Prime Minister had many grievances with that lowly merchant, but now the Prime Minister not only did not embarrass that lowly merchant, but also recommended his retainers to Your Majesty. The Prime Minister is really generous."

“It’s really a role model for our generation.”

Although the disciples did not know Zhao Ping'an's intention, they still took the lead in flattering him.

After receiving such flattery, Zhao Ping'an had to pretend even if he didn't want to.

He said with a righteous look that although he and Ren Hao had many grievances, he could still distinguish the importance of important matters and would never bend the law for personal gain.

Zhao Ping'an spoke so emotionally that all the disciples started to brag and flatter him, which made Zhao Ping'an feel as if he had taken a suppository.

"Enough, do you think this court is a vegetable market? Shut up." Wen Yan slammed the table, and all the ministers below shut up and stopped flattering Zhao Ping'an.

"Since the Prime Minister has recommended these three people, I wonder what the other ministers think?" Wen Yan asked as he glanced at the ministers.

"Your Majesty, since the three of them are so brave and invincible, it is most appropriate for them to go to the battlefield." All the ministers nodded in agreement.

But only Xu Tianyin gave the opposite opinion.

He did not say that the three men were not allowed to go to the battlefield, but he said that Ren Hao privately kept retainers, and according to the ancient Chinese law, he should be charged with treason and his nine clans should be exterminated. However, considering that Ren Hao had made several contributions to His Majesty and had made contributions to flood control, he could be given a lighter sentence.

The reason why Xu Tianyin expressed his opposition was that he did not expect that the person recommended by Zhao Ping'an was actually Ren Hao's follower.

If he didn't express some opposing opinions, he would be in danger of being killed.

The Xu family’s army is now very powerful, and all the ministers in the court know that Xu Yating is Ren Hao’s second wife.

Although Xu Tianyin tried his best to deny that he had anything to do with Ren Hao, it was still better to be careful.

If this is used by someone with ulterior motives in the future, the Xu family will suffer a disaster.

"This person indeed deserves a lighter sentence, but the crime is not punishable by death. Let's talk about it later." Wen Yan intentionally favored Ren Hao and did not dwell on this topic for too long.

After the founding of the ancient Han Dynasty, it was clearly prohibited to keep private retainers. Those who kept private retainers would be charged with treason and their nine clans would be exterminated.

Although this ban has been in effect for a long time, in reality it is like air and is only effective on the self-discipline of court ministers.

If a minister of the current dynasty dares to keep retainers, that is ironclad evidence of treason.

Apart from the ministers of the dynasty, both royal nobles and merchants have their own retainers, and as long as they don't make a big deal out of things, they basically turn a blind eye.

Even many places that lacked soldiers to guard them had to rely on the retainers of local clans to maintain order.