The big bandit in the Red Mansion robbed Lin Daiyu at the beginning

Emperor Xinglong immediately felt something was wrong and looked at Dai Quan and said solemnly,

"Say!"

Dai Quan kowtowed and said with a bit of sorrow,

"The Yangzhou garrison camp was taken over by a swarm of bandits two months ago! Because they were guarding it, the news never got out!"

At the end of his speech, Dai Quan's voice was filled with tears.

Emperor Xinglong was stunned after hearing this.

It really is the opposite of Tiangang!

I've only ever heard of soldiers suppressing bandits, but the bandits would avoid them when they saw them.

I haven't heard that the bandits have taken control of the officers' and soldiers' camp yet.

Emperor Xinglong's face turned pale. Is this the army of Daqian today?

Yangzhou is such a wealthy place, but the garrison camp is still in such a state. I can’t imagine how decadent other places would be.

But at the same time, Emperor Xinglong became even more wary of the bandits in Yangzhou.

He asked hurriedly,

"How many people are there in this gang of bandits? How strong are they? Tell us in detail!"

As the chief eunuch in charge of the Shadow Department beside Emperor Xinglong, Dai Quan had naturally done his homework in advance in preparation for Emperor Xinglong's inquiries.

When asked, he hurriedly replied respectfully,

"According to the Shadow Division, the bandit gang in Yangzhou is called Qingfeng Village. They have several thousand strong men, and including the elderly, women, and children, there are probably no fewer than 30,000 to 50,000 people!"

Emperor Xinglong was in a trance and looked at Dai Quan.

"Are you sure? Thirty to fifty thousand? Where did all these bandits come from?"

Dai Quan hurriedly said respectfully,

"I dare not deceive Your Majesty! In fact, most of these bandits are local people..."

After saying that, Dai Quan buried his head deeply in the ground again, without saying a word.

As for more shocking news, Dai Quan didn't dare to say it out loud at the moment, for fear of angering the emperor and causing him to suffer serious consequences.

Upon hearing this, the anger on Emperor Xinglong's face disappeared instantly.

More importantly, there is confusion in his eyes.

After a while, he said to himself,

"Since I ascended the throne, although I cannot be considered a well-governed ruler, I have worked diligently and diligently without slacking off in the slightest."

As he said this, he turned around and looked at Dai Quan who was kneeling beside him with a complicated expression.

"Why are there still tens of thousands of people, unable to survive, gathering in the mountains?"

Dai Quan kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! It is those unruly people who are ungrateful of God's grace and are committing evil deeds! If only the imperial army were to march on the border, they would surely be able to wipe out the world..."

Emperor Xinglong waved his hand.

"Alright, you old bastard, you don't have to comfort me anymore!"

"If ordinary people could survive, how many would do such a life-threatening business?"

"Why did Taizu launch an attack on the Ming Dynasty? Wasn't it because he couldn't survive? It's only been a few decades, could it be..."

"Is Daqian going to follow in the footsteps of the former Ming Dynasty?"

Listening to Emperor Xinglong's self-questioning,

Dai Quan said with a crying voice,

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! This is all because of the incompetence of the Yangzhou garrison general!"

Emperor Xinglong sighed.

He looked at the memorial in front of him, motionless.

Dai Quan was completely stunned and said anxiously,

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Emperor Xinglong waved his hand and said,

"Go and summon several ministers from the cabinet to come and see me!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Dai Quan kowtowed, then quickly stood up, bent over, and backed out of the imperial study.

Emperor Xinglong's expression gradually became serious, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

After a while, he shook his head and sighed helplessly.

He lifted the inkstone from the imperial desk and took out a piece of paper only two fingers wide.

There were a few small words written on it: Official Administration, Beijing Garrison, and Nine Frontiers.

After thinking about it, Emperor Xinglong picked up the red pen and wrote four more words on it: Local garrison!

After finishing writing, Emperor Xinglong looked at the contents on the note.

He sighed heavily.

Silver! Silver!

……

Soon, several officials with gray beards and wearing red robes came.

Led by the young eunuch, they came to the side hall of the imperial study where the emperor met with ministers.

Several people entered the side hall, and Emperor Xinglong was already waiting there.

Seeing this, several people did not dare to be careless and hurried forward to bow to the ground.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you!"

Emperor Xinglong smiled slightly and raised his hand.

"My dear ministers, you have arrived. Please stand up!"

He then gave instructions to the palace maid beside him.