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

Ye Chen knew very well that apart from his imperial edict, the only authority that could mobilize local troops was the Secretariat.

Even his imperial edicts might not be as effective as orders from the Secretariat.

Otherwise, he would not have needed to train a new army.

"Somebody come!"

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, and finally pointed at Cao Tao.

"The commander of the Beijing camp disobeyed the imperial order, which is a serious crime of rebellion. However, considering that his original intention was to suppress the bandits, his circumstances are excusable. Although he can be spared the death penalty, he cannot escape the punishment of life."

"Drag this man away and give him seventy lashes in front of the entire army!"

"Order the troops of the Beijing Camp to return to camp immediately, behave themselves, and perform their duties. This commander will bring the punishment of the Beijing Camp commander to the capital, and Your Majesty will personally decide!"

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes.

He no longer wanted to kill Cao Tao.

If we kill this guy, something unexpected will happen in the Beijing camp.

If he was only facing a few thousand people from the Beijing Camp, Ye Chen would not be worried at this time.

But if other troops intervene, Ye Chen will have to stabilize the troops of the Beijing camp first.

As long as the troops of the Beijing camp are suppressed, Ye Chen can easily deal with the troops coming from other places.

"Yes!"

Cao Tao was immediately dragged away.

Upon hearing this, Cao Tao breathed a sigh of relief, but then became angry again.

It is so shameful to be caned in public.

Scholars can be killed but not humiliated!

But Cao Tao didn't dare to shout in protest now. He didn't know what Ye Chen was thinking. What if he angered Ye Chen again and wanted to kill him?

He is just a child of aristocratic family, not a true scholar, and lacks upright backbone.

So, Cao Tao, angry but unable to resist, was dragged in front of the imperial guards, and then his pants were stripped off and he was pressed on a bench.

More than a thousand imperial guards, more than two thousand soldiers led by Di Gui, and six thousand soldiers in the Beijing camp all watched as two imperial guards raised their sticks and smashed Cao Tao's bare buttocks.

At the same time, a cavalryman also rushed to the Beijing camp and read out Ye Chen's order loudly.

Then, the Beijing camp fell into a brief chaos, and they walked out of the tents in groups and began to retreat in disorder.

Seeing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a little disdainful.

None of these children from aristocratic families came to speak for Cao Tao.

What a fucking mob.

"Di Gui, go and organize the troops. When I give the order, station them at the foot of the Qinling Mountains and occupy these positions for me! Then, send men to guard the road leading down the mountain and drive away any troops from the Beijing camp who are coming down."

"You must be careful. When the troops of the Beijing camp are driven away, they must be dispersed and not allowed to gather together. Their weapons and armor must also be confiscated!"

Ye Chen took out the topographic map of Qinling Mountains and pointed at several places and said to Di Gui.

The places he was referring to were all places where flammable materials were placed.

As long as we control these places, we don't have to worry about the Beijing troops on the mountain not compromising.

Mountain roads are easy to defend but difficult to attack, and there are only more than 2,000 soldiers and horses from the Beijing camp on the mountain. The people led by Di Gui are fully capable of suppressing them.

"Yes!"

Di Gui paused for a moment before saying to Ye Chen, "Your Majesty, these people who followed me need a reward."

"After all, they were once bandits. They still need training in military discipline and rewards to maintain morale."

Hearing this, Ye Chen nodded.

"Rewards are no problem. I will have them sent to the army later. However, they are not allowed to rob the civilians. In addition, they will only be rewarded if they have made contributions in the future."

Ye Chen said in a calm tone.

"promise!"

Di Gui took the order and left.

After Di Gui left, Ye Chen said to Shen Qiu: "Qiu'er, send someone to the army coming from the southwest and tell them that the Imperial Guards want to do something here, and ask them what they want to do."

"promise!"

Shen Qiu immediately sent an envoy.

And it didn't take long.

The messenger who was sent out has already returned.

"Your Majesty, the troops that arrived claimed to have received orders from the Secretariat to suppress the bandits in Taiyuan."

"Tell them these are not bandits, but troops summoned by His Majesty. Order them to retreat immediately!"

Ye Chen waved his hand and said.

"Yes!"

Shen Qiu sent another envoy.

And soon, the messenger returned.

"Your Majesty, the army did not retreat, but slowly advanced, saying that they had no choice but to do so because of the Prime Minister's order."

"Humph."

Ye Chen turned his head and saw smoke and dust rising from the distant sky, and teams of square formations suddenly appeared.

"Send someone to tell them that the commander of the Beijing Camp has been arrested for disobeying the imperial order. The Imperial Guards act according to the imperial decree. If they dare to disobey, the commander of the Beijing Camp will suffer the same fate as their commander!"

At this time, Cao Tao was still being spanked.

He was beaten so hard that he screamed.

This is all very convincing.

And when the cavalry rushed out and brought the news to the army coming from the southwest.

The army really stopped.

After Cao Tao had been beaten, he was dragged in front of the entire army like a dead dog.

The troops coming from the southwest also began to retreat in an orderly manner.

From beginning to end, Ye Chen was observing this army.

Their equipment is inferior to that of the Beijing Camp, and most of the soldiers wear leather armor. Their training is also weaker than that of the Imperial Guards and the Beijing Camp.

They are not considered elite, and should be the second or third line troops of the entire Dayu.

"Where exactly did this army come from, Qiu'er, please investigate thoroughly for me."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. This was an army that was out of his control and could be mobilized at will by the Secretariat.

This will definitely attract his attention. Even though this army seems to have poor equipment and training, these can be supplemented in the later stages.

What is more important is to mobilize the army, which requires food, fodder and money.

Ye Chen was very interested in where the food and money to maintain these troops came from.

"Di Gui, go to all places in Qinling immediately!"

After seeing Dayu's second and third line troops retreat, Ye Chen immediately gave another order.

Di Gui, who had reorganized his army, immediately led his troops away.

"Qiu'er, we should retreat."

"Now, I have to go back to the capital to settle accounts with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of War, and Edward Yang!"

Ye Chen smiled coldly. All the evidence had been collected, and even the commander of the Beijing camp had been captured by him.

Now, he is about to return to the capital to expose the Qinling incident.

This time, he not only wants to rectify Chaogang but also eradicate the cancer for Dayu.

We must also try to wipe out the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War in one fell swoop.

Completely control the six ministries in the court!