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

After issuing the imperial edict, Ye Chen waited for news from Ding Wen.

And he soon arrived.

"Ding Wen said he was ill and would not enter the palace?"

Ye Chen was a little surprised.

He originally thought that Yang Dechang secretly brought the news to Ding Wen, and that Ding Wen should come to the capital to work together with Yang Dechang in the court.

As a result, Ding Wen didn’t come?

"What exactly does Yang Dechang mean by this?"

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes.

As things stand now, the Di Gui has an army of nearly 70,000 men.

Even if Ding Wen had 30,000 cavalry, the number of his soldiers was not as great as Di Gui's. Logically speaking, Ding Wen's army could not become Yang Dechang's hope of seizing power like Kou Yu.

That being the case.

Then Yang Dechang should not let Ding Wen confront Di Gui head-on.

Therefore, Yang Dechang should not let Ding Wen disobey his order.

Isn’t this a direct excuse for Ye Chen to punish him?

"Hmph, go tell the Queen Mother to issue another imperial decree, asking Ding Wen to return that traitor Kou Yu to me. I will punish him!"

Ye Chen snorted coldly and said to Cheng En.

Cheng'en received the order and left.

Ye Chen soon got the news.

"Ding Wen said he didn't see Kou Yu."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes.

Just when he hadn't figured out what Ding Wen was trying to do by repeatedly disobeying the order.

Shen Qiu suddenly came to the Yangxin Palace.

"Your Majesty, regarding Cai Chong, whom you asked me to investigate last time, I have already thoroughly investigated his and his family's official records in Jingzhou."

Hearing this, Ye Chen looked at Cheng En.

Then Cheng'en quickly took the memorial.

After Ye Chen took the memorial, he opened it and read it for a while, then frowned slightly.

"Is Cai Chong still in the capital?"

"Still."

"Let him come over. I have something to say to him."

Ye Chen waved his hand and said.

"promise!"

Shen Qiu clasped his fists and then stepped back.

"I didn't expect that not only this Jingzhou governor is a member of the Cai family, but also five of the ten counties in Jingzhou are also members of the Cai family or their retainers. The remaining county governors also have inextricable ties with the Cai family."

Ye Chen shook his head. The military and political power of Dayu State was controlled by one family. How terrible would this be?

If the head of the Cai family wants to rebel, the entire Jingzhou will no longer belong to Dayu.

Ye Chen waved his hand to stop Madam Xue and Qin Man who were singing and playing the piano.

"Mian'er, Madam Xue, please stay here for now. I will come over when we have dinner."

Ye Chen said in a gentle tone.

At this time, Madam Xue and Qin Man also knew that Ye Chen had something important to do.

They all bowed to Ye Chen and agreed.

Ye Chen left the Yangxin Palace and went to the Taiqian Palace in the emperor's ceremonial procession.

The emperor still had to observe some etiquette when receiving foreign officials.

You cannot just receive foreign officials in your bedroom.

And when Ye Chen arrived at the Taiqian Palace and sat upright on the dragon throne.

Shen Qiu brought Cai Chong here.

Cai Chong was wearing a fourth-rank official uniform. When he walked into the Taiqian Palace, his legs went weak and he almost fell.

"Your Majesty is waiting for you inside."

Shen Qiu said this lightly and stood aside.

"Yes."

Cai Chong walked up with trepidation in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I, Cai Chong, the governor of Jiangxia, greet you. Long live Your Majesty!"

Cai Chong knelt down immediately.

After he knelt on the ground, he raised his eyes and looked carefully at the dragon throne.

But after seeing clearly the person sitting on the dragon throne.

Cai Chong was suddenly stunned.

"Yes, it's you?"

Cai Chong was shocked and said.

"Oh, what's wrong? Lord Cai, are you surprised to see me?"

Ye Chen smiled slightly. As soon as Cai Chong knelt down, he began to salute before Ye Chen could even see his appearance clearly.

This guy is worthy of being a child of a noble family. He is very polite and his kneeling and saluting movements are very standard. Maybe he has practiced it a long time ago.

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, am blind and have treated Your Majesty with disrespect before. Please forgive me for my disrespect."

"Oh, you are not guilty."

Ye Chen waved his hand and said in a calm tone, "Lord Cai, I remember that you seem to be a branch of the Cai family?"

"Your Majesty, I am indeed a descendant of the Cai family's branch."

"Then, without the Cai family's help, you probably wouldn't be able to get the position of Jiangxia Governor, right?"

"Replying to your Majesty, I have studied hard since childhood and, after being selected as a filial and honest official, I have worked my way up from a minor official to the position of prefect."

Cai Chong was stuttering at this moment. It was his first time to meet the emperor, and the emperor was Ye Chen, the man who had saved him before.

Before, Cai Chong thought Ye Chen was the commander of the imperial guards.

At this moment, Cai Chong was trying hard to recall whether he had been disrespectful to Ye Chen before. If he had been even slightly disrespectful, he would be finished.

"Lord Cai, I know whether your identity and background have ever helped you. Please don't hide it from me."

"Your Majesty, I speak the truth. I was able to recommend that filial and honest official because I am from an aristocratic family.

Besides my hard work, my surname Cai is also a major factor in my current position as the governor of Jiangxia."

Cai Chong smiled bitterly, but in the end he didn't dare to hide it from Ye Chen.

"Ah."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, then said to Cai Chong: "Lord Cai, there is one thing I hope you can tell me truthfully."

Hearing this, Cai Chong was slightly startled, and quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what is the matter?"

"Let me ask you, how many private soldiers does your Cai family have in Jingzhou?"

Hearing this, Cai Chong's eyes suddenly tightened and he looked up at Ye Chen in shock.

Ye Chen's eyes were calm and his face was expressionless, but every word he said seemed to carry supreme majesty.

Cai Chong swallowed his saliva.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, my lord, my lord."

Cai Chong's mind was working frantically and he even stuttered when he spoke.

"Tell the truth. If you hide anything, it will be a crime of deceiving the king!"

Ye Chen patted the table lightly and said.

Hearing this, Cai Chong was silent for a moment, and finally bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I only have a rough idea of ​​the private soldiers raised by the Cai family in Jingzhou."

"At most, there are 10,000 or 20,000 people."

Hearing this, Ye Chen nodded secretly. He also thought it was this number.

It’s not that Jingzhou is not rich, but because these aristocratic families have to get Yang Dechang’s permission to provide food and fodder for their private soldiers.

Given Yang Dechang's character, it would be impossible for him to allow wealthy families to raise private soldiers, otherwise he would not be able to control them.

"Only 10,000 or 20,000 people?"

Although I feel that Cai Chong did not say anything nonsense.

But Ye Chen still asked.

"Big, probably only this much."

"Apart from these 10,000 or 20,000 people, there are no others?"

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. The more he looked at Cai Chong, the more guilty he felt.

"Your Majesty, I did not lie."

"Snapped!"

Ye Chen slammed the table.

Cai Chong shuddered and fell to his knees with a thump.

"Lord Cai, please don't challenge my patience. I'll ask you again, is it true that the Cai family only maintains 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers in Jingzhou?"

"Your Majesty, your servant, your servant, hey, your Majesty, the Cai family indeed only has 10,000 or 20,000 private soldiers, but, it's just that the Cai family also recruited some pirates."

"Oh~."

Ye Chen raised his eyebrows.

My goodness, the wealthy and powerful families in Bingzhou are colluding with the Tatars.

The Cai family in Jingzhou recruited pirates.

These two guys are really from aristocratic families.

They are all birds of a feather!