The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 255: The Grand Hall

Marquis Zhenbei hurried back to Zhenghe Hall. The moment he came in from outside, all eyes in the hall were focused on him.

Marquis Zhenbei didn't care about the gazes of the crowd. He walked up to Shen Tianjiao and was about to kneel down to salute, but was stopped by Shen Tianjiao.

"Father, no need to be so polite. How is the matter going?"

Although Shen Tianjiao knew that the Marquis of Zhenbei would never come back until the matter was settled, she still had to ask him on the surface.

"In reply to the Empress, Qian Wanhe has been arrested at home. I have already sent him to the Ministry of Punishment."

"I think once the head of the Qian family is sent to the capital, the truth will be revealed."

The Marquis of Zhenbei sent Qian Wanhe to the Ministry of Punishment without Shen Tianjiao's consent. This was against the rules and was beyond his authority, which he should not have done.

But now, as long as Shen Tianjiao doesn't pursue the matter or care about it, no matter how dissatisfied she is, she can only hold it in.

"Okay, the Ministry of Punishment is responsible for supervising all officials. Qian Wanhe has committed such a serious crime now, so it is most appropriate to hand him over to the Ministry of Punishment for investigation."

Shen Tianjiao nodded without saying much, but her words were full of protection for the Marquis of Zhenbei.

Now that the Queen had said this, even if the court officials were dissatisfied, they did not dare to say anything.

These court officials may be skilled in government affairs, but when it comes to reading people's expressions, it is unlikely that anyone in this world can surpass them.

Shen Tianjiao is now in a state of extreme anger. If you don't provoke her, she might explode. If you provoke her, I'm afraid they will become the second Qian Wanhe.

"Empress, the Emperor's decree has arrived."

'Huang Chunhua', who had not been seen for many days, suddenly appeared in the Zhenghe Hall.

Shen Tianjiao was about to kneel down to listen to the decree, but Huang Chunhua quickly stopped her, saying, "Empress, the Emperor said this is an oral order, so you just need to stand and listen."

Who would want to kneel when they can stand? Shen Tianjiao didn't act pretentiously and immediately stood up straight after bending down.

Shen Tianjiao didn't have to kneel, but all the civil and military officials in the court had to kneel.

The emperor's words, even if they were just oral instructions, were golden words and represented the majesty of the imperial power.

If they dared not to kneel, it would be tantamount to defying the majesty of the imperial power, and their property would be confiscated and their clan would be exterminated.

"Empress, the Emperor has said that the affairs of Qian Wanhe and He Wanying are now under your full authority. Anyone who dares to disobey and take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble will be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment and will suffer the same fate as Qian Wanhe."

"The Emperor also said that these aristocratic families have been spoiled and have forgotten their duties as subjects."

"Since they have all forgotten, the Emperor said he wouldn't mind helping them learn their lesson."

"The Emperor has decided that, starting today, he will gradually withdraw the privilege granted to aristocratic families to maintain private armies."

"Yunli Country is now under the command of the Marquis of Zhenbei, guarding the borders, and the Empress presiding over the court. There are no external threats, and no internal worries. There is really no need for the major families to maintain private armies, plot evil, and think about rebellion all day long."

After Huang Chunhua said this, the entire court was in an uproar.

The emperor is really going to take ruthless action this time. Although there have been rumors in the past about canceling the private army maintenance by major families, they were just rumors.

It was never confirmed by the emperor himself, and it was just passed on and disappeared without a trace.

But this time it was different. Although the emperor did not come to Zhenghe Hall, Huang Chunhua came with his oral instructions.

Everyone in the world knows that Huang Chunhua is the most appreciated and trusted person around the emperor.

Huang Chunhua was standing in the Zhenghe Hall at this time, just like the emperor was standing there.

Shen Tianjiao looked down at the court officials of various appearances below. The road she was about to take was much more difficult than attacking the Western Rong.

She must be careful and cautious at every step. If she takes a wrong step, it may lead to an irreversible and unmanageable chaos.

But she has no choice now. No matter how difficult the road is, she will go on.

If the privileges of these aristocratic families in controlling the military, agriculture, and commerce are not abolished, it will be very difficult for the Yunli Kingdom to maintain its status quo, let alone revive.

If a country stagnates, there will only be one result, and that is its inevitable decline.

The end of the once powerful empire that fell into decline cannot be described as tragic.

The people are living in misery and corpses are everywhere. That is the least of it. I am afraid that by then Yun Li may even be in danger of being exterminated.

This is something Shen Tianjiao absolutely cannot allow to happen. It is something she was powerless to change in her previous life. In her new life, no matter what the cost, she must redeem the tragedy of the destruction of her country and her family in her previous life.

"I understand. Go back and tell the Emperor that I will obey His Majesty's orders and complete the Emperor's instructions."

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has one more thing to say. I'll tell you."

"Since the privilege of noble families to maintain private armies is to be revoked, Your Majesty is willing to set an example by starting with your own uncle's family."

Although the Liu family is not one of the top ten aristocratic families, it is ranked among the aristocratic families in Shangjing City because it has a queen mother and is the uncle of the current emperor.

In order to implement the new policy, the emperor took the brunt of the action against his own uncle. Who dared to say anything more?

"Okay, I understand. I will go to Taihe Hall later to discuss this matter with the emperor."

It doesn’t matter whether Shen Tianjiao goes to Taihe Hall or not. What’s important is that these court officials know that Shen Tianjiao will go to Taihe Hall to meet Li Rui and discuss this matter with Li Rui.

Huang Chunhua lowered his head and said, "Then I will return to report."

"Yeah." Shen Tianjiao nodded, and 'Huang Chunhua' lowered his head and retreated.

"Did you all hear what the emperor said?" Shen Tianjiao asked the ministers while looking directly at them.

No one present answered. Two-thirds of these court officials came from prominent families. This matter concerned the vital interests of their own families, so they were naturally unwilling to do so.

Although not every aristocratic family can support an army of hundreds of thousands like Li Hong and Qian Wanhe.

However, in order to protect the interests of their families, they would raise more than one thousand to ten thousand private soldiers.

They did this to protect the safety of their own families. The relationship between these aristocratic families was both mutually beneficial and mutually restrictive.

When there is cooperation, there will be dirty things happening. Keeping private soldiers around will at least make people feel afraid and not dare to act rashly.

Secondly, this is also a form of self-protection for them under the majesty of the imperial power. With soldiers in their hands, even the emperor would be wary and would not dare to act against them easily.

Now the emperor suddenly ordered to revoke their privilege of raising private soldiers, which is equivalent to depriving them of their greatest protection.

Without soldiers, the emperor will be much less wary of them. Now he is taking away their private soldiers, so what's the next step? What should he take away from them?

These ministers kept silent, so how could Shen Tianjiao not know what they were thinking?

She originally wanted to take this opportunity to subdue these aristocratic families, so how could she leave them any leeway?

"Ren Dongfang, go and bring this imperial decree to invite the heads of the major families to come to the palace. I have something to discuss with them."

Since these people didn't say anything, Shen Tianjiao made the decision for them and invited the heads of their families to the palace. Then they would have no say in the matter.

"Yes, I obey your command." Ren Dongfang did not delay after receiving the order and took action immediately.

Marquis Zhenbei looked up at Shen Tianjiao. His daughter was becoming more and more decisive.

It is really necessary to deal with these aristocratic families. They rely on the power in their hands to do whatever they want and cannot bring any benefits to this country and its people.

Instead, they often create troubles, making the country uneasy and the people uneasy. If Yun Li does not find an opportunity to suppress them and continues to let them go on like this, he will be destroyed by internal consumption without waiting for the invasion of foreign tribes.

Thinking of this, Marquis Zhenbei straightened up. He was not standing here as a subject today, but as a father.

He came to support his daughter. No one could bully his daughter with him around.

The Marquis of Zhenbei was now very glad that he had listened to Shen Tianjiao and returned, otherwise who knows how those people would bully him.

As a subject, he could not protect his daughter, but as an old father, he could protect his daughter regardless of anything else.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is inappropriate." After a long silence, someone finally stood up and spoke.

Shen Tianjiao looked up and saw that it was Su Cheng, Su Chang's younger brother, a minor official who had obtained a fifth-rank idle position by relying on his family's influence.

"Oh, Lord Su is questioning the emperor's order. Do you want to lead your Su family in rebellion like Qian Wanhe?"

Even if Su Chang was here today, Shen Tianjiao would not indulge him, let alone Su Cheng, who is an unknown person?

"Queen..." Before Su Cheng could finish his words, he was grabbed by his grandson, Su Wenhao, who had appeared beside him at some point.

After Su Wenhao grabbed Su Cheng, he whispered, "If Second Grandpa doesn't want to do it now, then shut up."

Su Wenhao felt humiliated when he was scolded by his own grandson. He put on airs and was about to scold Su Wenhao.

He was suppressed by his nephew who came over again, Su Wenhao's father Su Yang. Su Yang only gave him a look, and Su Cheng shut up and pretended to be a coward.

The quarrels between the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren naturally did not escape Shen Tianjiao's eyes. Shen Tianjiao smiled and thought that this matter was becoming more and more interesting.

After stopping Su Cheng, Su Yang and his son pulled Su Cheng to kneel down and apologize to Shen Tianjiao.

"Empress, please forgive me. My uncle is old and confused. He spoke without any courage and offended you. I beg you not to hold it against him."

At this moment, Su Yang wished that his second uncle, who was always causing trouble, would disappear immediately.

It would be fine if I just followed him around all day and cleaned up his mess, but I didn't even realize what kind of occasion it was today.

So many children of prominent families and high-ranking officials are silent, so what are you, an uneducated old man, supposed to say?

"Hmph!" Shen Tianjiao sneered and said, "Since Lord Su is old and confused, why not resign now and return home to enjoy his retirement."

"Otherwise, if he gets old and confused and says something treasonous and disrespectful to the Emperor someday, won't all of you Su family members suffer the same misfortune as him?"

As soon as Shen Tianjiao finished speaking, a eunuch came out, walked up to Su Cheng and took off his official uniform and hat.

All this happened so quickly that Su Cheng didn't even have time to react before he was restored from a fifth-rank official to a commoner, an ordinary citizen.

"Your Majesty, I would like to thank you for your grace on behalf of my father." Su Yang and Su Wenhao kowtowed to express their gratitude.

It's just a loss of official position, which is no big deal. Su Cheng is a fifth-rank official who is just trying to get by. So let it go, it's better than losing his life.

The Queen Mother has shown mercy by doing this, and has not implicated the Su family, which is already a great blessing.

Su Cheng stared at the white clothes on his body for a long time and finally realized what had just happened.

Although he is an uneducated and unskillful person, he relies on the power of the Su family, and everyone who sees him has to give him some face.

But now, not only was he dismissed from his post by Shen Tianjiao, but he was also stripped of his official uniform in public. How could he tolerate such humiliation?

Just as he was about to jump up and argue with Shen Tianjiao, Su Yang, as if he had predicted what he was going to do, grabbed him and forced him to kneel on the ground.

"Second Uncle, you'd better shut up and say nothing. Otherwise, even if my father comes, he won't be able to save your life."

Threatened by Su Yang's words, Su Cheng became obedient and knelt on the ground without moving.

Su Yang breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head and continued, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. My second uncle is old, and he always does things in a way that is not dignified. To avoid offending Your Majesty, I dare to ask Your Majesty to allow me to take him away first."

"Okay." Shen Tianjiao glanced at the court officials in front of her and said, "If any of you are old and confused, you can leave now with Su Cheng."

The hall was completely silent, and no one dared to speak.

Many people watched Su Wenhao take Su Cheng out. While they were afraid, they were also glad that they had held back and were not the first to be shot down.

The atmosphere in the Yunli court has really changed. The current person in charge of the Yunli Kingdom is more powerful, resourceful, and majestic than their previous master.

It turns out that although that person is powerful and has means and authority, most of the time he talks more than he does.

But the person in front of me said less and did more. Her iron-blooded hand was not just talk.