I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

"But, is there any other evidence?"

Chen Qingyun remained calm and not angry at all.

The emperor's calm tone made Yan Kang feel very unfamiliar, and then he continued: "Jiang Zuo ordered people to secretly transport tens of thousands of weapons and armor from Pingcheng, but they were intercepted on the spot by our Six Towns Army, and there is evidence of both human and material witnesses."

"Szeto Wah, is this true?"

Chen Qingyun turned around and asked.

Situ Hua leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is indeed the case."

Chen Qingyun sat down slowly, and then said: "I did not order the transportation of weapons and armor."

"Then Jiang Zuo is deceiving his superiors and subordinates, and he definitely has other intentions."

Yan Kang said again.

“Your Majesty, these tens of thousands of soldiers and armor are enough to equip an elite army. If the conspiracy of Jiang Zuo and others is not stopped in time, I am afraid it will lead to a disaster.”

An official added.

"It seems that Jiang Zuo does have the intention of rebellion."

Chen Qingyun said in a cold voice, staring at the secret letter, his eyebrows slightly raised, thinking slightly in his heart.

Upon hearing the empress's words, the whistleblowers, led by Yan Kang, were secretly delighted.

As long as the empress believes that Jiang Zuo is plotting a rebellion, Jiang Zuo will surely die.

"Your Majesty, I think that Jiang Zuo should be executed immediately and the Anding Army should be controlled."

Yan Kang suggested.

Chen Qingyun did not answer him, but just glanced at everyone, and then said in a cold voice: "Don't you know that Jiang Zuo is my man? You dare to report him. Do you have any objection to me?"

Quiet.

The whole place was deathly quiet.

These words, like a sharp blade, pierced directly into the hearts of everyone present.

Jiang Zuo is the empress's man?

All the generals and officials present knew that this accusation was nothing more than an internal struggle in the imperial court, but no one could have imagined that it would directly alarm the empress and cause her to come forward in person.

It seems that they underestimated Jiang Zuo's background!

"This……"

Yan Kang suddenly didn't know how to answer.

Chen Qingyun's calm face finally showed some dignity. "I appointed Jiang Zuo as the General of Zhenbei. If he wanted to rebel, would he still be so loyal and dedicated to helping me pacify Mobei? And by such a coincidence, you intercepted the secret letter of rebellion? And by such a coincidence, you intercepted the weapons he was preparing for rebellion? Are there so many coincidences?"

This series of questions immediately confused everyone, including Yan Kang.

"The truth is, you deliberately framed Jiang Zuo!"

Chen Qingyun slammed the table angrily.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life. This is absolutely not the case..."

Yan Kang and others knelt down quickly.

"I have also received a letter from you, Yan Kang, about plotting a rebellion in Jiangzuo. Could it be true?"

Chen Qingyun questioned.

"Absolutely not, Your Majesty, please understand!"

Yan Kang was already panicking at this moment.

"With just a letter and some weapons, you dare to slander Jiangzuo for rebellion. Do you think I am a fool, or you are the real traitors!"

Chen Qingyun angrily threw the letter on the ground.

"Your Majesty, spare your life!"

Yan Kang and others kowtowed repeatedly, knowing that it was useless to argue at this moment.

"Who is behind you?!"

Chen Qingyun's voice and expression were stern, and his phoenix eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Yan Kang, the battle-hardened governor of the Six Garrisons, was kneeling on the ground at this moment, not daring to look the empress in the eyes.

After a while, Yan Kang burst into tears and said, "Your Majesty, I only believed the slander and was jealous that the achievements of Jiangzuo overshadowed those of the Six Garrison Army, so I came forward to report it. As for whether the letter is true, I have not verified it. Please punish me, Your Majesty..."

Even if he confessed his guilt, Yan Kang did not dare to expose Xu Renyou and his gang.

Because he knew that if he confessed his crime to His Majesty now, only Yan Kang would be punished. But if Xu Renyou confessed everything about the Six Towns Army, the entire Six Towns Army would be punished, including Yan Kang's nine clans!

"What about you? Are you confused for a moment too?"

Chen Qingyun said sternly.

"Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Everyone said in panic.

Chen Qingyun's chest heaved violently, he was already furious.

This group of generals and officials, out of sheer stupidity, had to target Jiangzuo.

Except for her, the empress, no one can bully Jiang Zuo.

This is Chen Qingyun’s principle.

"So, you all plead guilty to slandering Jiang Zuo?"

Chen Qingyun calmed down a little.

Everyone remained silent and could only agree.

"Considering your years of loyalty to the country, I can pardon you from the death penalty, but I cannot escape the punishment of living."

"All of you will be demoted three ranks and have one year's salary deducted."

If Yan Kang were to be killed now, it would probably cause dissatisfaction among the Six Garrison Army. If this led to a mutiny, it would be extremely detrimental to the State of Yan.

After experiencing some things, Chen Qingyun no longer intends to use killing to intimidate officials.

Sometimes letting these ministers live in disgrace is more deterrent than killing them.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and only hoped that the emperor would not pursue the matter further.

The empress in front of him at this moment was too unfamiliar.

They thought they were doomed to die, so naturally they dared not complain after receiving such punishment.

"Yan Kang, you are old now, it's time to go back to your hometown and enjoy your life."

Chen Qingyun frowned.

Hearing the empress's words, Yan Kang sighed helplessly in his heart. He had served his country so loyally, but ended up like this.

But being able to save one's life is already a gift from the Empress.

Ever since the Right Prime Minister's clique caught him with evidence, Yan Kang had anticipated this outcome.

"If anyone mentions this again, they will be killed!"

Chen Qingyun's words were sharp, shocking everyone's heart.

"As ordered."

There was fear in everyone's words.

Chen Qingyun was silent for a moment and fell into deep thought.

As to whether there is someone behind the scenes directing Yan Kang, it actually doesn’t matter.

If you dig deeper, you will definitely find it.

Because Chen Qingyun already had the answer in his heart.

Now is not the time to liquidate this group of people.

As she thought about it, she turned to Qianqisi and ordered: "Release Jiang Zuo and pretend that nothing happened. I have never been to Anding County."

After saying that, he turned and left.

In the secluded little room, Jiang Zuo was sitting alone at the table, waiting for the result.

After a while, Qianqisi opened the door and said, "I'm sorry, Lord Jiang. We have investigated the matter and confirmed that Yan Kang deliberately slandered Lord Jiang. Yan Kang has been punished and will go to the capital to be questioned. You can leave at any time."

Hearing this, Jiang Zuo felt extremely confused.

Before that, they were aggressive.

How come the truth was revealed after just a short while?

"Good work."

Jiang Zuo slowly left the small house and turned around to see that Yang Feng had also been released.

Yang Feng came to Jiang Zuo in panic, and asked with confusion, "Sir, what happened?"

Jiang Zuo shook his head: "Someone falsely conveyed my order and asked you to go to Pingcheng, so what happened today happened."

Yang Feng was startled and said, "Then someone is deliberately framing you!"

Jiang Zuo nodded slightly: "But now everything is fine again, how strange..."

It was strange that the group of people who were so powerful just now suddenly became weak.

Could it be that someone helped him?

Who could this person be?

Jiang Zuo couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.