Kill the sadistic male protagonist and become the emperor

Now that there is someone who can openly challenge Long Batian, Li Yaozu naturally wants to win over such a person.

"Minister Hu's words are quite reasonable. I am very pleased. I will give you a bucket of pearls and jade as a reward."

Hu Mingyang quickly knelt to express his gratitude: "I kowtow to thank the Saint for his great grace. In the future, I will serve you wholeheartedly to repay your kindness!"

Clearly distinguishing between rewards and punishments is the way of an emperor. If there are rewards, there must be punishments.

However, Long Batian is a veteran of two dynasties and has been in the position of prime minister for more than thirty years. Moreover, he assists in the administration according to the late emperor's will, which has contributed to his support for the throne. This shows how powerful he is.

He must be extremely cautious in punishing his subordinates. If the punishment is too light, no one in the court will take him, the king, seriously. If the punishment is too severe, the officials in the court will inevitably think that he, Li Yaozu, is cold-blooded and heartless, and that he is abandoning his subordinates after they have been killed.

He racked his brain but couldn't figure it out, and his headache got even worse.

Wu Wencang spoke at the right moment, "Your Majesty, I see that the imperial crown you wear is both complicated and heavy. Although it looks luxurious and splendid, I'm afraid that such a weight on you would be a burden to your sacred body."

Li Yaozu knew what Wu Wencang meant, so he followed her words and said "hmm": "Although this dress is beautiful, it is indeed inconvenient for me to move when I wear it."

Wu Wencang said, "These clothes are just external things. If they don't fit you, just change them."

"Hahahahahaha!" Li Yaozu laughed when he heard this. His queen really understood his feelings very well. As the son of the late emperor, it was not easy for him to say this, but Wu Wencang spoke for him, which was the most appropriate thing to do.

He said, "Since the Queen Mother has spoken, I will demote Wu Yong to the position of Governor of Zhenzhou. If any other court official tries to alienate the Queen Mother from me in the future, this will be their fate."

"What about this vacant position?"

"Hahahahaha," Li Yaozu laughed heartily, "Servant Hu is not afraid of the powerful, speaks frankly and dares to criticize, and strictly abides by the duties of a censor. This position of Chief Censor is rightfully his."

Hu Mingyang was overjoyed upon hearing this and fell to the ground, "Your servant, Hu Mingyang, is filled with gratitude and tears. I swear to be loyal to the Empress and the Emperor until death. Long live the Empress, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"

In contrast, Wu Yong was now like a clay sculpture or wooden carving, slumped to the ground, with a look of grief on his face.

"Alright, everyone, stand up," Li Yaozu's voice was barely concealing his fatigue. "After all that has happened today, I'm a little tired. Let's disband this court meeting."

The ministers bowed and took their leave, filing out of the palace gate. As they walked, the crowd naturally dispersed into four factions.

The two factions were led by Long Batian and Zhu Dachang respectively, and the officials surrounding them were mostly descendants of prominent families.

Although they are all Guanlong nobles, there are differences in seniority and depth of their status.

The nobles Ye Mao under Long Batian have deep roots and rich experience; although the people around Zhu Dachang also hold high positions, compared with Long Aotian's followers, they seem to have shallow roots and sparse branches, and are far inferior to the old ministers who have been ups and downs in the officialdom for decades.

The other faction is neutral, with the highest official being Zhao Xiaorou, a third-rank official of Sikong and Tongfengge, who is also one of the prime ministers of the dynasty.

Since ancient times, military personnel have had to be extremely cautious when getting involved in court disputes.

If you win, you will easily be suspected, your achievements will be so great that they will shock the lord, and you may even worry about being killed; if you lose, you will be the first to bear the brunt and be eliminated.

In addition, Zhao Xiaorou is cautious by nature and does not want to get involved in royal affairs. Now that he has reached the highest position in the country and holds the position of Sikong, the first-rank official, there is really no need for him to get involved in this political mess again.

He did not want to form a clique for personal gain, nor did he want to be caught up in the vortex of internal strife. He only wished to serve as an official for a few more years in peace and stability, and then return to his hometown to enjoy his old age.

In the past, there were only these three factions, but now there is a weak small faction.

Hu Mingyang was surrounded by minor clerks and officials. Most of them came from humble backgrounds and had no support in the court, so their path to promotion was always bumpy and hopeless.

But today, seeing Hu Mingyang speak up for Wu Wencang and become the Chief Censor, they also became restless.

No one was willing to accept this. They were obviously comrades in arms, but one of them suddenly became superior to them with just a few words.

It is difficult to achieve great things in the current environment, but by attaching oneself to Wu Wencang, one may be able to stand out.

The wages of avarice is death.

Everyone came forward, and congratulations came one after another:

"congratulations!"

"Now, we should call you Hu Zhongcheng!"

"That's right! Your words in the court today, Hu Zhongcheng, were sharp and powerful. You are truly a role model for us!"

Hu Mingyang was in power and proud of his official career, but he still bowed humbly and said, "Thank you for your praise. Today's situation is just a fluke."

Several officials who had been promoted by Wu Wencang also stepped forward and said in a slightly lowered voice, "Now that the Emperor and Empress Dowager are of one mind, it's clear that those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will perish. Do you all see the situation clearly?"

Everyone nodded, "Of course, of course. From now on, we will follow the lead of the Empress and the Emperor."

"We are able to reach this position now, all thanks to the promotion and advancement during the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Hua."

"How dare I forget the Queen Mother's grace?"

They still appeared to be in high spirits, but in reality they all had their own agendas, calculating abacuses clattering as they thought about how to get close to the Queen of Heaven.

While everyone here was in high spirits, the atmosphere in Long Batian's lineage was depressing.

Long Batian, who was walking in the front, acted as if he wanted to keep strangers away. Everyone could only follow him with their heads down, occasionally communicating with each other through eye contact.

Only Chen Gongzheng was clueless. He circled around Long Batian like a fly, buzzing non-stop, "Today, the Queen Mother openly instigated the Emperor to banish Wu Yong. This is outrageous!"

He nervously captured every subtle expression of Long Batian. Seeing that Long Batian's face was still ashen, Chen Gongzheng could only continue to rack his empty brain, "It's all the Emperor's fault. He allowed women to rule over us and act recklessly. How can these women understand the affairs of state? It's absolutely absurd!"

But Long Batian remained silent. In his impatience, Chen Gongzhi blurted out, "If you, Lord Long, were in charge of the government, you would definitely not..."

"Shut up!" Long Batian shouted sternly, "How can the name of a saint be tarnished by a villain? I think Chen Shiyu should take care of his own family affairs first. He can't control his wife and daughter, but he works very hard to manage the affairs of the court."

Long Aotian followed behind Long Batian and said coldly, "If you can't even clean up your own house, how can you clean up the world? Those who can't even clean up their own backyard are not worthy of being with us."

The followers of the Long family had long been fed up with Chen Gongzheng's servility, and they all looked at him with disdain.

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Go, go, go!"

"Get out of here, you eyesore!" Someone impatiently reached out and pushed Chen Gongzheng, who was caught off guard and stumbled to the ground.

Afterwards, the officials who passed by stepped over Chen Gongzheng mercilessly as if they didn't see the person on the ground.

"Ouch - ouch - stop stepping on it," Chen Gongzheng blocked his head with his arms, "Help -"

Fortunately, there were not many ministers, and they were all quickly crushed one by one.

Ministers: I still feel unsatisfied!