At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Pass on my order. Only one group of soldiers will be left in disguise as servants. All other imperial guards will immediately withdraw two miles away and keep in touch at all times!"

Xiao Yan gave the order immediately.

Since it is a secret visit, one must look like one, in order to avoid attracting attention as much as possible while ensuring one's own safety.

Hundreds of Yuling Army cavalrymen immediately withdrew two miles away.

"Uncle, when we go to Jiangnan, you should call me Ling'er. I will call you Uncle Nine. Please don't reveal your identity in front of outsiders."

The empress, who had many experiences of incognito visits, reminded Xiao Yan.

"Okay, Ling'er."

Xiao Yan nodded, with a hint of reminiscence on his face.

Ever since the empress ascended the throne, he hasn't heard her call him Uncle Nine for a very long time.

……

This day.

Yang Wenzhao, who set out from the imperial court, finally arrived in Zhejiang.

He came here to collect Xiao Zongnan's body.

Therefore, when Yang Wenzhao arrived in Zhejiang, he did not go to Hangzhou, but came directly to Wangbei City.

"I've met the old general!"

"Old General, why are you here?"

Inside the Wangbei City military camp, Zhao Gongming and Lei Zhenning looked at Yang Wenzhao who suddenly appeared, and both showed a look of surprise on their faces.

"Humph, I thought you two guys had been promoted and had long forgotten who I was!"

Yang Wenzhao snorted deliberately.

When the guards around heard Yang Wenzhao calling Zhao Gongming and Lei Zhenning "boys", they were all surprised.

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with what Yang Wenzhao said.

Zhao Gongming and Lei Zhenning, one is in his forties and the other is in his fifties.

However, Yang Wenzhao is already a 70-year-old man, nearly 80 years old.

Moreover, Zhao Gongming and Lei Zhenning both served under Yang Wenzhao.

At that time, Yang Wenzhao led his army to fight in all directions, and Zhao Gongming and Lei Zhenning were indeed just two young men in their twenties.

"The old general is joking. Please take a seat."

Zhao Gongming showed a bit of embarrassment on his face, and then respectfully invited Yang Wenzhao to the first seat.

"I wonder why the old general suddenly came to Zhejiang?"

After everyone sat down, Lei Zhenning asked about Yang Wenzhao's purpose of coming.

Given Yang Wenzhao’s current age, it is highly unlikely that he would be able to lead troops into battle.

After all, if the empress had this idea, then when the court's 500,000 troops went out to fight, it would not have been Xiao Zongnan's turn to lead them.

"You two guys still have the nerve to say that. A dignified prince of the imperial court died in Zhejiang. Do you think that two memorials can make things right?"

Yang Wenzhao looked at the two of them with a half-smile.

At this moment, Lei Zhenning, who always behaved maturely in front of outsiders, couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Your Majesty is angry?"

Lei Zhenning asked with a frown.

"What else?" Yang Wenzhao grinned.

"Who is Xiao Zongnan? He was the late emperor's younger brother and the current emperor's thirteenth uncle. You killed him in Zhejiang. Do you two think everyone else is a fool?"

Yang Wenzhao said this, rolling his eyes.

"Old General, you have misunderstood. We are absolutely respectful to the Thirteenth Prince. The Thirteenth Prince's death was caused by his collusion with the Japanese pirates. He deserves the blame..."

When Zhao Gongming heard that Yang Wenzhao put the blame for Xiao Zongnan's death on himself, he could no longer sit still and immediately started to explain.

However, before he could finish his explanation, Yang Wenzhao waved his hand impatiently, interrupting Zhao Gongming's explanation.

"Okay, okay."

"Do you think you can hide your tricks from me? Xiao Zongnan is indeed a fool, but he is a member of the royal family after all. He is not stupid enough to collude with the Japanese pirates."

Yang Wenzhao then revealed a hint of a smile again.

"It was the memorials you two sent that almost made His Majesty angry."

"Don't you think about your current status? One is the Governor-General of Zhili, the other is the Governor-General of Zhejiang, and you are making a joint petition to protect the governor of Zhejiang and Southern Zhili."

"What do you two want to do? Are you planning to force the emperor to abdicate?"

Yang Wenzhao spoke one after another, and the tone and expression between his words sounded like he was teaching two young people who were new to the world and knew nothing about the world.

When Zhao Gongming and Lei Zhenning heard Yang Wenzhao's familiar scolding tone, the worries that had just arisen in their hearts gradually disappeared.

When they served under Yang Wenzhao, they were scolded like this by Yang Wenzhao more than once.

Obviously, Yang Wenzhao had guessed the truth of the matter based on his decades of experience as an official and a general.

Zhao Gongming then gave a look and ordered all the servants and guards to retreat.

"Old General, you don't know that Xiao Zongnan led an army of 500,000 soldiers to fight, but suffered a series of defeats on the battlefield in Zhejiang. He also planned to murder Xia Yun. We had no choice but to do this."

When there were only three people left on the scene, Zhao Gongming spoke with a wry smile on his face.

"Murdering a prince of the imperial court, is this considered a last resort? Xiao Zhao, you are getting bolder and bolder."

Although Yang Wenzhao is old, his thoughts and scheming are never as simple as they appear on the surface.

"Tell me, who exactly is Xia Yun that made you disregard the majesty of heaven to protect him."

Yang Wenzhao continued to speak.

Upon hearing this, Lei Zhenning immediately stood aside and told everything that happened between him and Xia Yun from beginning to end.

After Lei Zhenning finished speaking, Zhao Gongming also told about his encounter with Xia Yun in Changshan City.

By the time the two had finished speaking, half an hour had passed without them noticing.

"In that case, Xia Yun is indeed a good official who serves the people and the country."

After listening to the two people's stories, Yang Wenzhao nodded slowly and had a preliminary and comprehensive understanding of Xia Yun in his heart.

Although Xia Yun was a first-rank official, he had never appeared in the court from beginning to end, so he naturally had no way of knowing Xia Yun in the past.

"Then what happened to Xiao Zongnan's death?"

Soon, Yang Wenzhao asked the doubts in his heart.

"Xiao Zongnan colluded with officials of the Jiangnan Party in the court and plotted to kill Xia Yun. Xia Yun had no choice but to send out all his generals..."

Zhao Gongming did not hide anything and immediately revealed the whole cause and effect of Xiao Zongnan's death.

He was not worried that Yang Wenzhao would report the matter to the court.

The relationship between him and Yang Wenzhao was that of superiors and subordinates in the army, as well as student and teacher.

The fact that he was able to hold the position of Governor-General of Zhili and be in charge of hundreds of thousands of imperial troops was naturally closely related to Yang Wenzhao, the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army.

The same is true for Lei Zhenning.

"I see. Xiao Zongnan's death was indeed well deserved."

After Zhao Gongming finished speaking, Yang Wenzhao nodded again, as if thinking about something.