Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

After Li Hu left Taiqian Palace.

Ye Chen looked behind him again.

"Qiu'er, send someone to follow Jingzhao Yin and see who he meets with when he gets the records."

"Yes!"

Shen Qiu immediately went down to pass on the order.

After Shen Qiu left, Su Mengjiao's voice was heard from behind Ye Chen.

"Emperor, there are eight thousand soldiers in the Beijing garrison outside the city!"

Su Mengjiao lifted the pearl curtain and walked out from behind Ye Chen. She was wearing a golden phoenix robe and had an extremely noble temperament and unparalleled elegance.

At this moment, Su Mengjiao frowned slightly, and a look of worry appeared on her pretty face.

"This is indeed a bit troublesome."

Eight thousand troops.

Even if Ye Chen counted the city defense troops and all the imperial guards, the number of soldiers would not exceed three thousand.

Even if all these people were taken out, they would still be no match for the Beijing camp.

"Empress Dowager, who is the commander of the Beijing Camp now?"

"Zuo Sima Cao Tao."

Su Mengjiao paused, then added, "This is Yang Dechang's man."

"Ah."

Ye Chen pursed his lips.

The largest military force around the entire capital is controlled by powerful officials.

This also made Ye Chen feel difficult.

"Empress Dowager, are there any armies around the capital that can rival the Imperial Army? And are there any that I can win over?"

"No."

Su Mengjiao shook her head, but then she turned to Ye Chen and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to worry too much. Although the troops in the Beijing Camp are commanded by Cao Tao, you need a tiger talisman to mobilize the troops in the Beijing Camp."

"This half of the tiger talisman is here with me!"

"Then Cao Tao can only mobilize his own confidants. If he mobilizes the main force of the Beijing Camp without the military token, it would be tantamount to rebellion. The Beijing Camp is not controlled by powerful ministers alone. There are also many powerful people and loyal ministers of Dayu!"

Su Mengjiao was comforting Ye Chen.

After hearing this, Ye Chen felt a little better, but then shook his head.

"Empress Dowager, I believe there are loyal officials within the Beijing Camp, and not everyone wants to rebel. But if the officers of the Beijing Camp have also gotten involved in the Qinling Mountains' mineral resources, then if I were to investigate, Cao Tao would likely have to mobilize a significant number of Beijing Camp soldiers!"

The Qinling Mountains can produce copper, jade, salt, and horses, which naturally generates huge economic benefits.

This is enough to win over a large number of people.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Queen Dowager, if we start recruiting soldiers now, how much money and food will we need to recruit 8,000 people?"

Without soldiers, you are always at a disadvantage.

Ye Chen felt that he had to hold the gun in his hands.

At least around the capital, he had to control an armed force that was truly loyal to him, otherwise he would not be able to sleep well.

Not to mention that he must get to the bottom of the Qinling incident, and if he had a force that could rival the Beijing camp, he would not be timid and would immediately launch an investigation.

"Emperor, this is not a small amount of money. Recruiting soldiers and buying weapons and armor requires silver, but maintaining the army requires food, and we also need enough generals. Otherwise, there will be no one to lead them. Even if we recruit a group of soldiers, they will just be a mob."

Hearing this, Ye Chen nodded.

"Then Queen Mother, how much silver is there in the treasury now?"

"Your Majesty, we have about one million taels. This is what's left after we raided the homes of the Minister of Works and the Minister of Revenue. This amount of money is enough to recruit people, but it certainly won't be enough to buy food to feed eight thousand people for long."

Su Mengjiao said.

"Yeah, food."

A gleam of light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes.

"Qiu'er, let Niu San come to see me!"

Ye Chen suddenly remembered that he had wanted to build a stone mill before.

The price of wheat in the market is definitely lower than that of corn. If we purchase it in large quantities, we can use it as military rations.

"Emperor, what do you want from Niu San?"

Su Mengjiao asked doubtfully.

"Empress Dowager, I have a way to quickly turn hard-shelled crops like wheat into flour, which can be used as military rations!"

Hearing this, Su Mengjiao widened her eyes and looked at Ye Chen in shock.

But soon, Su Mengjiao frowned and said to Ye Chen: "Emperor, is it true? Is there really such a thing in the world?"

"Of course it's true."

Ye Chen smiled.

"However, there is not much wheat on the market. I'm afraid it won't work if we use it as military rations."

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but frown.

"Then, Queen Mother, could you promote wheat cultivation in the capital region? Would it be okay to have the Imperial Guards watch over the area and purchase all the wheat that's grown?"

Ye Chen asked.

Recruiting soldiers is not an easy task, he can wait.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid you don't understand the situation. Wheat is a crop that can be planted in autumn and grow in winter. But the problem is that wheat requires water, and in autumn, the rainy season has passed. Therefore, many places in Dayu are not suitable for growing wheat."

Su Mengjiao shook her head. Although she didn't farm, she dealt with national affairs every day. She knew more about the agricultural situation than Ye Chen.

Although wheat is hard after husking, it is still food and can be planted in autumn and harvested in winter.

Su Mengjiao once had the idea of ​​promoting wheat planting, but unfortunately it only rains heavily in the summer, and without enough water, the wheat seedlings will die.

Therefore, many places in Dayu are not suitable for growing wheat.

After hearing Su Mengjiao's words, Ye Chen was slightly stunned, and couldn't help but realize that he had thought too simply.

He thought that people didn't grow wheat because it was not tasty. It turns out that the growing conditions for this stuff are quite harsh.

"But Your Majesty, the Qiang people grow a lot of wheat. Their climate is relatively cold, which is suitable for growing wheat. The Western Qiang must have more wheat than Dayu did."

Su Mengjiao suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Then Queen Mother, wheat from the Qiang people should be cheaper, right? Could you send someone to buy wheat from them?"

"I don't know this either. I need to send someone to try."

Su Mengjiao frowned slightly and said, "But Your Majesty, the Qiang people are not fools. If you want to do business with them, you still have to find someone who is familiar with the Qiang people."

Hearing this, Ye Chen quickly raised the corner of his mouth.

He felt that he should go look for Boss Murong.

Boss Murong, we have a direct channel to the Qiang people.

"Empress Dowager, I have to leave the palace tomorrow to meet someone."

Ye Chen said to Su Mengjiao.

Hearing this, Su Mengjiao nodded slightly.

"Emperor, I can give you two hundred thousand taels of silver to buy food. I can give you another two hundred thousand taels for recruiting soldiers and forging weapons. I can also provide a thousand suits of leather armor, three hundred suits of iron armor, and a thousand swords and spears from the imperial army's arsenal."

Su Mengjiao knew everything like the back of her hand.

She is fully supporting Ye Chen.

"it is good."

Ye Chen then fell into deep thought again. The food and money for recruiting soldiers were solved.

But as for generals, Ye Chen couldn't come up with a suitable candidate.

It is easy to get money, but it is hard to find a general.

"Gather the troops first, then slowly select the generals."

Ye Chen thought so.

I really can't find a candidate, so I have to recruit someone first.

However, at this moment, Shen Qiu, who had just gone out to pass on the message to find Niu San, suddenly came back.

"Your Majesty, news has come from the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion."

"Di Gui is back."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's eyes suddenly lit up.

It's true that when you feel sleepy, you find the pillow. Isn't the general coming?