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

"You lowly lackey, how dare you tarnish the general's honorable title!"

"Reporting to General Zhao, the expansion is not limited to the capital garrison and Qingzhou, but also includes the expansion of ordinary prefectures and the Imperial Guard of our Great Zhou Dynasty."

"The standard expansion of Qingzhou is the same as that of other prefectures."

"The Beijing Garrison was expanded to 500,000 troops, the largest number ever."

"The Imperial Guards have been expanded to 350,000 troops, increasing from 300,000 to 650,000."

The Imperial Guard captain said with trepidation.

"Can our Great Zhou Dynasty's national treasury support such an expansion?"

"Don't the civil and military officials object?"

Zhao Wuyang said with a look of surprise on his face.

Xie Xuan and the others also looked at the Imperial Guard Captain with expressions of surprise and doubt.

Anyone could see that the world was about to descend into chaos, and the powerful clans would certainly not want to see the strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty surge.

In particular, the expansion of the Beijing Garrison and the Imperial Guards greatly enhanced the true strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Moreover, even the national treasury of the Great Zhou Dynasty could not support such a large army.

Even if Empress Murong Si took out all the money accumulated in the imperial treasury, it might not last long.

"Reporting to General Zhao, this matter was initiated by the Marquis of Champion. Our Great Zhou Dynasty will establish the Great Zhou Tax Bureau and reform commercial taxes to support the expanding army."

The Imperial Guard captain spoke with a respectful expression.

"To establish the Great Zhou Tax Bureau and reform commercial taxes?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuyang and the others' eyes narrowed, and a hint of respect appeared on their faces.

None of them expected that it was Chu Xiu who initiated this matter, and that all the civil and military officials in the court actually agreed to it.

In particular, reforming commercial taxes would be like cutting into the mouths of powerful and wealthy families, taking their meat away from them.

This is an astonishing thing that even the civil and military officials agreed to!

Seeing that Zhao Wuyang remained silent, the Imperial Guard captain said nothing more.

"Thank you for your help, General."

After a long silence, Zhao Wuyang smiled slightly and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the Imperial Guard captain.

"General Zhao, you flatter me. I am not worthy of such praise."

The Imperial Guard captain quickly avoided Zhao Wuyang's salute and said tremblingly.

Zhao Wuyang smiled and remained silent.

"General Zhao, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave now."

The Imperial Guard captain bowed to Zhao Wuyang.

"Alright, take care, General."

Zhao Wuyang nodded slightly and said.

The Imperial Guard captain saluted once more, mounted his horse, and led the Imperial Guard soldiers to turn their horses around and return to the capital.

After watching the Imperial Guards leave, Zhao Wuyang looked at Xie Xuan and said, "Xie Xuan, I can't offer you much help as you go to Qingzhou to serve as the governor. However, I can transfer five thousand elite troops from the capital garrison to serve as the foundation for your expansion in Qingzhou."

"Thank you, General!"

Moved, Xie Xuan knelt down on one knee before Zhao Wuyang and solemnly expressed his gratitude.

"You are now the Prefect of Qingzhou, a high-ranking official of the third rank. There is no need to be so polite."

"Besides, you came from our Beijing Garrison, so it's only right that I give you some support."

Zhao Wuyang smiled, walked up to Xie Xuan, helped him up with both hands, and said.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the governor of a prefecture was a second-rank official, the same rank as the ministers of the six ministries.

The governor was a third-rank official, the same rank as the vice ministers of the six ministries.

Zhao Wuyang was the General of the Garrison, a second-rank general of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Xie Xuan was previously the General Who Pacifies Bandits, a third-rank general.

Now he has been promoted from a third-rank general to a third-rank civil official, which can be considered a promotion.

"Thank you, General."

Xie Xuan thanked Zhao Wuyang once again.

"Alright, given our relationship, you don't need to thank me."

"There's no time to lose, you should go and select the elite troops."

"Arrive in Qingzhou in the shortest time possible. You will also need to expand your army in Qingzhou, station it in Pingyuan County, and form an encirclement with us to completely trap the Huangtian Sect in Jizhou."

Zhao Wuyang waved his hand and said to Xie Xuan.

He was stationed in Yanzhou, while the Imperial Guard General Murong Changge was stationed in Henan County of Sizhou. Xiao Yifeng, the Deputy Governor of Bingzhou, deployed troops in Taiyuan County of Bingzhou, and Ling Jiuxiao, the Deputy Governor of Youzhou, was stationed in Zhuo County of Youzhou. Together, they intimidated Jizhou.

Previously, Qingzhou was missing.

Now that Xie Xuan is in charge of Qingzhou, as long as he expands his army and takes up residence in Pingyuan County, he will be able to blockade Jizhou.

The Yellow Heaven Sect was completely trapped in Jizhou.

"Yes!"

Xie Xuan responded and turned to leave.

"Qin Chuan!"

Watching Xie Xuan leave, Zhao Wuyang said in a deep and powerful voice.

"The general is here!"

A tall, refined, and scholarly middle-aged general bowed to Zhao Wuyang.

In the Beijing garrison, he was a general second only to Zhao Wuyang and Xie Xuan.

He was also a renowned scholar-general in the Beijing Garrison.

"Qin Chuan, you will be in charge of leading 10,000 soldiers back to the capital and overseeing the expansion of our Beijing Garrison."

"The five thousand elite troops that Xie Xuan took away are not part of our Beijing Garrison's establishment."

"From now on, you will be considered part of the Qingzhou state military organization."

Zhao Wuyang pondered for a moment, then spoke to Qin Chuan.

"I will finally understand!"

Qin Chuan nodded and said with a serious expression.

Zhao Wuyang waved to Qin Chuan and said nothing more.

Qin Chuan bowed and then slipped away.

The same scene also occurred in Hanoi County, Sizhou.

After receiving the imperial edict, Gu Tianhe, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards and the general who quelled the bandits, led three thousand Imperial Guards soldiers to Jingzhou to serve as the governor of Jingzhou.

Li Ruxian, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards and the General Who Pacifies the Barbarians, led three thousand Imperial Guards to Yanzhou to serve as the governor of Yanzhou.

General Murong Changge of the Imperial Guards dispatched 5,000 Imperial Guards soldiers back to the capital to oversee the expansion of the Imperial Guards.

However, Murong Si did not personally issue the decree to the other ordinary prefectures of the Great Zhou Dynasty; instead, the order was relayed by the cabinet.

After all, Xie Xuan and the other two were different and special. All three of them came from the military and were sent to serve as governors of three ordinary prefectures.

The governors of the other ordinary prefectures, however, did not die at the hands of the Yellow Heaven Sect.

The capital city, the Yang residence.

The steward of the Yang family arrived at the outside of a study deep inside the Yang mansion and said respectfully, "Master, the Third Master has arrived."

crunch...

The door opened slowly.

Yang Yan came out of the study and said, "Third brother is here?"

The third brother he mentioned was Yang Tao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Someone like Yang Tao, who held a certain status and position in the imperial court, would naturally not live in the same residence as Yang Yan.

Instead, they had a separate residence.

He would only come to the Yang residence to see Yang Yan if he had something extremely important to discuss.

"Reporting to Master, the Third Master is already waiting in the living room."

The steward of the Yang family said respectfully.

"Alright, I understand."

"Just back off."

Yang Yan waved to the steward of the Yang family and said.

"Yes, I will resign, old slave."

The steward of the Yang family bowed and quietly withdrew.

Yang Yan walked towards the main hall of the Yang residence with his hands behind his back.

He had already guessed why Yang Tao had come to his door in person.

It must be related to the Great Zhou Tax Bureau and the expansion of the Great Zhou Dynasty's army.

Yang Yan had already received this news after the court assembly.

However, Yang Tao had to wait until his shift ended before he could come to the Yang residence.