The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

Jiang Wan'er was secretly shocked to sense the anger emanating from Empress Murong Si.

Even she rarely saw Murong Si so angry.

She wondered what was written in the Book of Impermanence that Chu Xiu had presented.

"What do you think I should do next, Minister Chu?"

Murong Si took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and looked at Chu Xiu with a cold gaze, saying in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I believe that, firstly, we must thoroughly investigate all the powerful families and clans in our Great Zhou Dynasty that have colluded with the Qitian Chamber of Commerce."

"Second, conduct a covert investigation of the soldiers!"

"Third, seize all of Qitian Chamber of Commerce's shops within our Great Zhou Dynasty!"

Chu Xiu stood up, his face solemn, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Murong Si.

"Qi Tian Chamber of Commerce?"

Jiang Wan'er's heart stirred. She couldn't possibly be unaware of the Qitian Chamber of Commerce, a chamber of commerce that was ubiquitous throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty. While it might not be at its zenith, it was certainly among the top ten in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

She had long heard of the Qitian Chamber of Commerce, which had close ties with many powerful families and clans within the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, the Qitian Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce, and it is a business.

It is perfectly normal to have business dealings with powerful and influential families.

Could it be that powerful and influential families are corrupting soldiers through the Qitian Chamber of Commerce?

If that's the case, then the Qitian Chamber of Commerce has already jeopardized the rule of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"allow!"

A murderous glint flashed in Murong Si's eyes as she said with chilling intent, "This matter will be entirely handled by Minister Chu, no matter who is investigated or involved."

Kill them all without mercy!

Even if it involves the five surnames and seven noble families, they will still be killed without hesitation!

However, because this matter involves a great deal of information, Minister Chu must be as careful and cautious as possible during the investigation.

Don't let anyone find out.

Otherwise, it could easily put Minister Chu in danger.

All powerful and influential families discovered will be apprehended by the Imperial Guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty!

The Great Zhou Dynasty is not yet in decline.

Even powerful families and sects are eager to make a move.

However, as long as the Great Zhou Dynasty still controls the Imperial Guard and the Capital Garrison, the two most powerful armies in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Even the most prestigious families and powerful clans have no right to bow down before these two great armies!

"Yes, I obey your order!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu replied with a respectful expression.

"As for the Qitian Chamber of Commerce, this Qitian Chamber of Commerce may have been established by the remnants of the Heavenly Demon Sect."

"And the Qitian Chamber of Commerce is spread throughout the thirteen states of our Great Zhou Dynasty."

"Even with the strength of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it is not necessarily possible to eradicate the entire Qitian Chamber of Commerce at the same time and uproot it completely."

Murong Si pondered for a moment and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the soldiers of the Capital Garrison will join forces."

Led by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and with the help of the Beijing Garrison, they suppressed all the Qitian Merchant Guild shops in our Great Zhou Dynasty.

All the important members of the Qitian Chamber of Commerce who were captured, as well as the information and martial arts manuals in the shops, were sent to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As for all the proceeds from the confiscation of the Qitian Chamber of Commerce, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would receive 10%, and the Beijing Garrison would receive 30%, as a reward for the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison.

The remaining 60% will all be sent to my imperial treasury.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu bowed to Murong Si and said with heartfelt admiration.

This was also an important reason why he went to the palace to meet the emperor this time.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is still too short-handed.

Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard was spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, the strength of the Jinyiwei's various thousand-household and hundred-household units was certainly no match for the Qitian Chamber of Commerce in different regions.

It was completely impossible for them to issue orders to the various Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) offices at all levels to simultaneously attack and take down the Qitian Chamber of Commerce.

Doing so would not only fail to eliminate the Qitian Chamber of Commerce, but would also cause heavy losses to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) units at the thousand-household and hundred-household levels throughout the country.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has now purged the local thousand-household and hundred-household offices of those who colluded with powerful families or oppressed the common people, the remaining members are loyal to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In addition, after he took charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Headquarters, he also began to transport large quantities of pills and medicinal baths to the local thousand-household and hundred-household offices to enhance the overall strength of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, their growth rate is still far behind that of the Imperial Guards in the capital. They are good at gathering intelligence, but they do not yet have the strength to actually take action.

The Beijing garrison was different.

The Great Zhou Dynasty's capital garrison has a total of 500,000 troops!

An army of 500,000 is enough to march to all parts of the Great Zhou Dynasty and uproot the entire Qitian Chamber of Commerce!

at this time!

Pei Guanyin strode into the Taiji Palace, nodded to Chu Xiu, and then bowed respectfully to Murong Si, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant has something important to report."

"explain."

Murong Si said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I have just received news that General Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, received the news at dawn that Lord Chu led the elite of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to capture the Sima family of Shangdang County."

"And we also learned that the Sima family of Shangdang County purchased the essence blood of demons from the Qitian Chamber of Commerce and used it to create demons in the Wuji Sect."

"General Wang immediately dispatched the Bingzhou army to various counties and prefectures in Bingzhou, and completely wiped out the Qitian Chamber of Commerce throughout the entire Bingzhou region!"

"Taiyuan City was sealed off, and a thorough investigation was conducted within the Bingzhou army, resulting in the arrest of a large number of Bingzhou army generals who colluded with the Qitian Chamber of Commerce."

"The one with the highest rank is General Qin Shixiong, the Zhenwei Lieutenant General!"

"Qin Shixiong hailed from Yanmen County, Bingzhou!"

"He came from a powerful family in Yanmen County."

"Qin Shixiong's elder brother, Qin Shiying, was the Commandant of Yanmen County."

"Not only Qin Shixiong was captured, but Qin Shiying, the commander of Yanmen County, was also arrested by the Bingzhou army. The entire Qin family was being escorted to Taiyuan City."

Pei Guanyin said with a solemn expression.

"Wang Mang, the General Manager of Bingzhou?"

Chu Xiu raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected Wang Mang to be so fast.

So, did Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, only learn about these things now, or did he know them from the beginning?

But we haven't taken any action against these people yet?

"Any more?"

Murong Si glanced at Pei Guanyin and said.

"Your Majesty, Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, has sent someone to deliver this message to Your Majesty."

"The entire Bingzhou region has been sealed off."

"To prevent the news of his annihilation of the Qitian Chamber of Commerce in Bingzhou from leaking out, which could cause important figures in the Qitian Chamber of Commerce to flee."

Pei Guanyin considered it for a moment before speaking.

"Jiang Wan'er, you are in charge of drafting an imperial edict to commend Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou. At the same time, you are to have Wang Mang thoroughly investigate the entire Bingzhou army."

"No matter who is involved, anyone who colludes with the Qitian Chamber of Commerce or has purchased demon blood essence from the Qitian Chamber of Commerce will be killed without mercy!"

Murong Si's face showed admiration as she spoke in a firm and resonant voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jiang Wan'er responded and walked to the desk where imperial edicts were written, and began to grind ink.

Chu Xiu nodded slightly; there was nothing wrong with Murong Si's actions.

Regardless of whether Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, or even the entire Wang clan of Taiyuan did the same thing, since they were not investigated, and since Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, thoroughly investigated the affairs of the Bingzhou army and even the entire Bingzhou, he should be commended.

For such a powerful family, it was simply impossible to blame Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, for lax management of his subordinates and punish him at this time.

Moreover, Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou, was impeccable in his actions.

In particular, although he eventually wiped out the Qitian Chamber of Commerce in Bingzhou, he sealed off Bingzhou and prevented the news of the Qitian Chamber of Commerce's branch in Bingzhou from spreading.

For this reason alone, Murong Si had no choice but to commend Wang Mang, the governor of Bingzhou.

"Summon General Zhao Wuyang of the Beijing Garrison to the palace for an audience!"

Murong Si spoke again.