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

"Let's go to the palace first, regardless of whether it's this matter or not."

"Since His Majesty has summoned me and the Imperial Advisor, it means that something truly serious has happened."

Chu Xiu slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. He took a step forward and disappeared from the spot, heading towards the direction of the palace.

In a moment.

Chu Xiu had already appeared outside the Taiji Palace.

Upon arriving outside the Taiji Palace, Chu Xiu saw Jiang Wan'er waiting there.

"My lord, please come in. The Imperial Advisor has arrived and is waiting for you."

When Jiang Wan'er saw Chu Xiu appear, she quickly spoke to him.

"it is good."

Chu Xiu nodded and followed Jiang Wan'er into the main hall of Taiji Palace.

Upon entering the main hall of Taiji Palace, Chu Xiu immediately spotted the Imperial Preceptor Qi Tianchen and the Commander of the Shadow Guards standing in the hall, and nodded to them in acknowledgment.

Just as he guessed, something truly terrible had happened in the Great Zhou Dynasty!

Otherwise, the Imperial Advisor Qi Tianchen wouldn't have been standing.

Chu Xiu stepped forward, bowed to Empress Murong Si, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

"Minister Chu, there's no need for such formalities."

Murong Si waved her hand and said to Chu Xiu.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Chu Xiu thanked the emperor.

"Shadow Guard, Minister Chu has arrived. You can speak now."

Murong Si spoke to the Shadow Guard Commander with a cold expression.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey your command."

The Shadow Guard Commander spoke with utmost respect.

Chu Xiu and Qi Tianchen focused their attention on the Shadow Guard Commander, staring intently at him.

They all wanted to know what major event had occurred that made Murong Si summon them to the palace for an audience with the emperor.

"Just now, our Shadow Guards sent a message from Yizhou at top speed."

"Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, has discovered that the traitor within the Yizhou army is Qi Yan, the General of Yangwu!"

"The one who bribed Qi Yan and colluded with the barbarians was Yang Tao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"As for whether it was Yang Tao alone or the entire Hongnong Yang clan, we have not yet found out."

"However, because there was an assassin in the shadows who wanted to kill Qi Yan at a critical moment, Qi Yan publicly revealed that Yang Tao had bribed him to let Yang Tao's men leave the pass and go to the barbarian tribes."

The Shadow Guard Commander said with a solemn expression, "This matter will certainly not be kept secret, and it will soon reach Yang Yan, and even the entire Hongnong Yang Clan."

"Yang Tao?"

"The Yang family of Hongnong?"

Chu Xiu's eyes narrowed, and his expression became extremely solemn.

He finally understood why Murong Si had summoned him and the Imperial Advisor Qi Tianchen in such a hurry.

Although Yang Yan, the head of the Hongnong Yang clan, is no longer the Grand Secretary of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, Yang Yan served as the Grand Secretary for many years, and the entire Hongnong Yang clan possessed immense power throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In the imperial court alone, there were a large number of officials who were attached to the Yang family of Hongnong.

Colluding with barbarians is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

Whether it was Yang Tao alone or the entire Hongnong Yang clan that did it, there is actually no point in investigating anymore.

However, the Yang family of Hongnong is quite special. They are not only one of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, but also the most powerful among them!

Therefore, the Yang family of Hongnong is also known as the number one family in the world!

Qi Tianchen frowned and remained silent.

"Teacher, Minister Chu, what do you think we should do now?"

"Should we take action against the entire Hongnong Yang clan, or should we pin the blame on Yang Tao alone and exterminate only his lineage?"

Murong Si frowned slightly and looked at Chu Xiu and Qi Tianchen, asking them a question.

"What does Your Excellency think?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tianchen smiled slightly but did not answer the question. Instead, he looked at Chu Xiu and said with a smile.

"Those who collude with barbarians shall have their entire families exterminated!"

"If we only exterminate Yang Tao's lineage because the Yang family of Hongnong is powerful, then there will be endless troubles in the future!"

"Now, the Yang family of Hongnong is secretly helping Xiao Yu during his rebellion, sending people to secretly communicate with the barbarians and letting them invade the border."

"If we don't exterminate the entire Yang clan of Hongnong, then if other prominent families among the Five Surnames and Seven Clans rebel in the future, will we only be able to exterminate the rebels, but not their entire clans?"

Chu Xiu spoke solemnly and emphatically.

"Your Majesty, this is also what this old minister has been thinking."

Qi Tianchen glanced at Chu Xiu with admiration, then bowed to Murong Si.

"Very well, since both Teacher and Minister Chu agree that the Hongnong Yang Clan should be exterminated, then let's completely exterminate the Hongnong Yang Clan and its entire faction!"

Upon hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Murong Si's eyes, and she spoke with overwhelming killing intent.

The wrath of the emperor can cause millions to die and blood to flow for miles!

"Your Majesty is wise."

Chu Xiu and Qi Tianchen spoke with great respect.

"Teacher, Minister Chu, you two will be in charge of taking action against the Yang family, with the Imperial Guards assisting."

"Yang Tao's residence is managed by the Shadow Guards."

"After taking over the Yang family mansion, Master and Minister Chu will then be responsible for resolving the issue of the ancestral land of the Hongnong Yang family."

"After taking over Yang Tao's residence, the Shadow Guards handed over the aftermath to the Imperial Guards, and led men to meet up with the Master and Minister Chu."

Murong Si pondered for a moment, then spoke to Chu Xiu and Qi Tianchen.

Because the Imperial Guards have been expanding their recruitment, although most of the Imperial Guards are not in the capital, a new batch of people have been recruited. In any case, these Imperial Guards are not the main force, but only for post-disaster management, which is sufficient.

The reason she didn't mention the elite Imperial Guards was that she knew that more than 9,000 of them had not yet returned to the capital.

This is why she summoned Qi Tianchen. Without the elite Jinyiwei's killing blade formation, Chu Xiu alone could not possibly suppress Yang Yan. Qi Tianchen had to take action personally.

As the head of the Hongnong Yang clan and the Grand Secretary who had held power in the court for decades, Yang Yan never took action, nor did he need to.

However, Murong Si did not underestimate Yang Yan; in fact, she valued him highly.

His strength is very likely to be that of the strongest person in the entire Hongnong Yang clan.

Of course, Murong Si did not know whether Yang Yan had reached the Celestial Immortal Realm.

If Yang Yan were to reach the Celestial Immortal Realm, then killing him would be an extremely easy task for Qi Tianchen.

"The minister obeys the order."

Chu Xiu and the other two spoke with firm and resounding voices.

"Teacher, Minister Chu, Shadow Guards, the task of eliminating the Yang family of Hongnong is entrusted to you!"

Murong Si said with a serious expression.

Chu Xiu and the other two nodded, bowed to Murong Si, and then turned and left the main hall of Taiji Palace.

After all, time was of the essence. Since they had decided to take action against the Hongnong Yang Clan, they could not afford to delay. They had to deal with the Yang brothers, Yang Yan and Yang Tao, as quickly as possible and then head to Hongnong County to suppress the entire Hongnong Yang Clan.

If we can only deal with the Yang brothers, Yang Yan and Yang Tao, and the Yang family of Hongnong manages to escape beforehand, then this operation will be considered a failure.

After all, although Yang Yan had a very high prestige in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, he could not represent the entire Hongnong Yang Clan. The majority of the power of the Hongnong Yang Clan was hidden in the ancestral land of the Hongnong Yang Clan.

If these people escape to Xuzhou, it will be extremely detrimental to the Great Zhou Dynasty.