Princess Menglang is hard to change, the whole capital is embarrassed for her

There was a quarrel in the court over the impeachment of Fang Yao, and the quarrelers were divided into two factions.

In addition to Censor Cui, there were also the Minister of War, Marquis Guanyong Yan Xiao, and the old prime minister who argued for Fang Yao.

The old prime minister always dealt with the matter rather than the person when it came to important matters at court. Now that he had spoken, the emperor couldn't object too much.

While the two sides were arguing, Eunuch Chang took a letter from outside and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor only took a glance at the envelope and his expression suddenly became very solemn.

The people standing below were completely silent, not knowing what was happening, their eyes fixed on the emperor's actions.

The emperor opened the envelope and read the letter carefully several times. He folded it and was about to put it in the envelope when he stopped. After thinking for a moment, he handed the letter to Eunuch Chang and said, "Take it and show it to the old prime minister."

Eunuch Chang hurriedly took it with both hands and walked down the steps to the old prime minister.

The old prime minister took the letter, opened it and read it twice.

No one could see any fluctuation on his face. This old fox never showed his emotions in front of anyone.

After reading the letter, the old prime minister folded it and handed it back to Eunuch Chang, then looked up at the emperor. When the two of them exchanged glances, they immediately understood each other's thoughts.

The old prime minister cupped his hands to the emperor, but looked at everyone and said, "Urgent news from the border: the Northern Di have suddenly massed a large force at the border. According to the suspicion of the Duke of Zhenguo, Chu Hengsheng, these barbarians are very likely to cause trouble. It's midsummer in my Great Zhou, but autumn is approaching for the Northern Di. If the barbarians have fattened up their troops and horses at the border and then stormed through our gates, how will we respond? So, regardless of whether this suspicion is correct or not, the Ministry of Revenue must start preparing food and military supplies from now on, just in case. Money is the most important element in a war. Minister of Revenue..."

The old prime minister paused, and the Minister of Revenue Wu Muchun quickly said, "Here."

"After this year's taxes and silver are collected, we will focus on the Northern Xinjiang, Western Xinjiang, and Southern Xinjiang regions first. All other matters will give way to these three regions..."

"There's a traitor in the Fang family army in Western Xinjiang. If they really keep the money from the Ministry of Revenue to him, who knows whose pocket the money will end up in?" Someone muttered in a low voice.

The old prime minister raised his eyebrows and said sternly, "You have this concern. Very good, very good. Otherwise, how about taking your son with you to garrison the western border? I heard your son is fat and big-eared. If he guards the border for a few years, maybe he will come back from the battle full of energy and become a better soldier."

That person kept harping on Fang Jitao's matter in order to curry favor with Duke Chongguo. He could talk, but he couldn't even think of sending his entire family to garrison on the frontier.

As soon as the old prime minister finished speaking, the man retracted his neck and hid behind someone else.

The old prime minister was too lazy to look at him and continued to speak to the crowd, "In the Northern Di, there is the Chu family, the Duke of Zhenguo; in the Western Qiang, there is the Fang family, the General of the Cavalry; in the Southern Xinjiang, there is the Yan family, the Marquis of Guanyong; and along the eastern coast, there is the emperor's personal army. If we guard these four places well, the Great Zhou will be as solid as a rock."

"Some time ago, the Yan family army made unusual movements, and the old lady of the Guanyong family, the Yan family's wife, nearly suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, she was rescued in time and survived. This prevented the Yan family's sons from returning to the capital to visit their mother, leaving the camp empty. The enemy's unusual movements were thus extinguished. Now that the Northern Di have made unusual movements again, in this situation, besides the Fang family army, who else in the Western Qiang can take charge? Who can go and garrison there, and at the same time, can rush to the northern or southern borders to provide assistance at any time?"

No one speaks.

"The Duke of Zhenguo requested in his letter that the Emperor send reinforcements. Can anyone please tell me who can go?"

There was total silence, and no one spoke.

The old prime minister snorted coldly and glanced at the people standing in the middle.

They were speaking eloquently and confidently just now, but when they heard that they really had to fight to the death, they were all speechless.

These people wished there was a crack in the ground for them to crawl into. They really regretted not standing out and conspicuously.

"You go? Or you go?" The old prime minister pointed his finger at the people who were clamoring for the emperor to severely punish Fang Yao.

Those whose names were called lowered their heads, pretending not to know that the old prime minister was talking about them.

"Hmph!" The old prime minister turned around, too lazy to waste time talking to them, and said to the emperor, "In my opinion, it is better not to make any conclusions about the Fang family's eldest son Fang Jitao collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country until we see the person and find evidence."

The emperor nodded silently.

"But it's an indisputable fact that Fang Yao beat Lu Tuo to death at the palace gate. It's a bit of an exaggeration to say he took human life lightly, but it's also true to say he was arrogant and domineering," the old prime minister said. "How about this, Your Majesty, have Mu Heng personally lead people to the General of the Cavalry's residence and publicly punish Fang Yao with fifty military sticks and fine him one year's salary? The fine will be sent to Lu Tuo's family to comfort his family for their loss. The government will also provide some compensation so they can get by."

Duke Chongguo cursed in his heart.

That's it? This is called punishment?

He just wanted to ask the emperor, can this be called punishment?

At least you demoted and dismissed that old guy Fang Yao. His son is suspected of treason, and you still dare to let him sit in the position of general. Aren't you afraid that he will lead his troops to rebel?

The other troublemakers were actually cursing in their hearts, but then they thought again.

This matter itself is suspicious, and the emperor is not stupid. He will not convict based on a secret letter alone.

Moreover, the Emperor had already placed Fang Yao under house arrest, which in itself showed that the Emperor had a grudge against Fang Yao. It was said that even the person leading the guards outside was the newly appointed leader of the Shadow Guards, whose martial arts skills were comparable to Fang Yao's, making it difficult for Fang Yao to escape even if he wanted to rely on his martial arts skills.

Unless Fang Jitao’s case is thoroughly investigated, the Fang family can make a final decision on whether to kill or keep him.

In this case, what difference does it make whether Fang Yao is demoted one level or not?

After thinking this way, those people stopped arguing.

Just looking at Duke Chongguo's face, I don't understand why he always has a gloomy face and looks like he has a lot on his mind.

Duke Chongguo was indeed absent-minded.

These people impeached Fang Yao this morning, but he didn't really care about the outcome.

Last night, the group left a message asking them to redeem their eldest granddaughter, but I don’t know whether they have redeemed her.

He also sent a letter to the Queen. When the Queen heard that it was Fang Yao's men who did it, she felt both hatred and fear.

Has Fang Yao’s strength really reached this level?

The secret guards of the Chongguo Mansion are all masters among the top masters of the Great Zhou. Fang Yao's men can sneak under their noses as if no one is there, so what can the imperial palace do to them?

If you really piss him off, it would be too easy for him to go into the palace and kill one or two concubines or princes he dislikes.

After the court session, the emperor asked the old prime minister to go to the imperial study.

Looking at the letter on the table, the emperor rubbed his forehead and sighed, "Have you ever heard of the thing that the Duke of Zhenguo asked Fang Yao for in the letter?"

"No, I am also very surprised. Could it be that the Emperor has not seen it either?"

The emperor shook his head, feeling extremely curious.

The Duke of Zhenguo said in the letter that Fang Yao went to Mizhou on business and used a weapon that could kill a large number of people with just a casual throw. The power was so great that it was earth-shattering.

As this matter involved military secrets, the emperor and the old prime minister did not mention a word about it in the court.

Now that there were only the emperor and his minister left in the imperial study, there was no need to hide it anymore, so they began to think about it.

"Do you think Fang Yao really has this kind of weapon?"

"Well, how would I know that?"

"How could the Duke of Zhenguo know about the weapon in Fang Yao's hand? He is so far away, and yet he has more information than I do."

"Well, I don't know either."

"Then what do you know?" the emperor asked unhappily.

"I only know one thing. Last night at midnight, the Chongguo family was almost wiped out."

"What?" The emperor's eyes widened in shock, staring at the old prime minister. "How is this possible? Who dares to attack the Chongguo family? Are they trying to kill themselves?"

The old Prime Minister chuckled and looked at the Emperor, saying, "How about you think about this yourself, Your Majesty? In the current situation, who would dare to attack the Yao family of Chongguogong and escape unscathed?"