Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

Chapter 287: Get rid of the powerful officials and get rid of the Minister of War!

In Taiqian Palace.

Ye Chen sat upright on the dragon throne, and all the officials had already entered the hall.

After three cheers of "Long live the emperor".

Ye Chen slammed the dragon table with a cold expression and said, "Someone besieged the Supervisory Office last night. It is said that these people are from the southern border troops and are from the Duke of Fuguo, Cao Chang!"

“This is rebellion!”

Upon hearing this, Yang Dechang immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid there is a misunderstanding!"

"Ok?"

Ye Chen glanced at Yang Dechang and said, "Prime Minister Yang, what's the misunderstanding?"

"Your Majesty, Duke Fu has guarded the border for us, Dayu, for many years and has always been loyal. I believe he would never rebel!"

Yang Dechang spoke in a steady tone, and every word he said was sonorous and powerful.

"I believe that those who attacked the government office are definitely bandits, but they are just disguised as southern border troops."

"After all, if Duke Fuguo really wanted to rebel, why would he immediately lead his men south when he received the deployment order?"

"It can be seen that someone is deliberately framing Duke Fuguo!"

"Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"

Yang Dechang bowed towards Ye Chen and said.

Hearing this, Ye Chen raised his eyebrows slightly.

This Yang Dechang really wiped out Cao Chang with just a few words!

"Prime Minister Yang, among the people who besieged the Supervisory Office yesterday, several hundred people were using weapons from the southern border troops and military equipment from the capital. Do you think that bandits could have obtained these?"

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and questioned.

"Your Majesty, the weapons for the southern border troops can be purchased secretly. After all, there are a hundred thousand troops on the southern border, and it is normal for some weapons to be lost every year. As for the weapons and ammunition in the capital, I think it is the officials guarding the armory who failed in their duties."

"Anyway, it's absolutely impossible for Duke Fuguo to rebel. Your Majesty, if you insist on saying that Duke Fuguo is rebelling, you should provide convincing evidence."

Yang Dechang said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Hey, come here, bring the Minister of War up here!"

Ye Chen sneered and said suddenly.

Upon hearing this, Yang Dechang frowned slightly, then immediately relaxed, his expression as calm as the depths of the sea.

After the Minister of War Huangfu Guang was brought into the hall.

"Pfft!"

Huangfu Guang fell to his knees.

"Huangfu Guang, I want to ask you, how did the weapons in the capital's military equipment end up in the hands of the rebels who attacked the Supervisory Office?"

Ye Chen's voice was not loud, but it was filled with overwhelming majesty, and the power of an emperor was like an overwhelming tidal wave.

In an instant, Huangfu Guang felt tremendous pressure. Beads of cold sweat the size of beans quickly broke out on his forehead, and his face turned much paler.

"Your Majesty, I, your servant, am guilty, but I don't know why these rebels have weapons. I really don't know anything!"

Huangfu Guang kowtowed.

Upon hearing this, Yang Dechang, who had been calm and composed, immediately lost his composure.

"Minister Huangfu, what crime have you committed?"

Yang Dechang turned around and looked at Huangfu Guang, feeling a little confused. Why did he confess his guilt right away?

Don't you want to persist?

But facing Yang Dechang's questioning, Huangfu Guang didn't have time to speak.

"Ah."

Ye Chen was so angry that he laughed and said, "You are so clueless! You privately used weapons and equipment, and yet you tell me you don't know why the equipment fell into the hands of those rebels."

"Then what use is there for me to have a Minister of War like you?"

"Come here! Drag Huangfu Guang away and throw him into the Sky Prison!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Dechang immediately stood up.

"Your Majesty, even if Lord Huangfu failed to properly manage the weapons in the arsenal, this may be due to his advanced age and a momentary oversight. I think it is still excusable."

Yang Dechang couldn't understand why Huangfu Guang would plead guilty. In this kind of thing, as long as he refused to admit it, pushed the blame onto his subordinates and cleared himself of the crime, what could Ye Chen do to him?

But since Huangfu Guang has already pleaded guilty, there must be a reason!

Although Yang Dechang didn't know what Huangfu Guang's difficulties were, he still tried his best to speak for him.

Among the six ministries today, only the Ministry of War is still under his complete control. If Huangfu Guang is really convicted, he will not even be able to control the Ministry of War.

"Just because it's understandable, can we hand over the weapons in the military equipment to the rebels? I think Prime Minister Yang is also confused by his age!"

"Huangfu Guang is no longer worthy of being the Minister of War!"

"I want to remove him from his post, Prime Minister Yang. Don't you think that's wrong?"

Ye Chen waved his hand and asked.

Upon hearing this, Yang Dechang's face turned gloomy.

Ye Chen didn't give him any face at all, and even contained some insults in his words.

But he couldn't refute it.

After all, Huangfu Guang has already pleaded guilty, so he should be punished if he is guilty. There is really no problem with the way Ye Chen handled it.

"Your Majesty, Huangfu Guang is, after all, a veteran minister of three dynasties. He has served as the Minister of War for many years and has never had any problems. In terms of commanding the Ministry of War, no one in the entire court, civil or military, can replace him! Moreover, even if he has no merits, he has been in prison for many years."

"I think it's best to just give him a minor punishment and not remove him from his position as Minister of War for now!"

Yang Dechang said in a deep voice.

But he still pleaded for Huangfu Guang.

"Haha, Prime Minister Yang is right. Then I will not remove Huangfu Guang from his position as Minister."

Hearing this, Yang Dechang was slightly stunned and immediately felt that something was wrong.

"But this offense cannot be dealt with with just a minor punishment. You cannot punish the Minister of War by sending him back to reflect on his mistakes and not allowing him to come out again for three years!"

Ye Chen waved his hand.

Hearing this, Yang Dechang frowned, and then said, "Your Majesty, it's the Ministry of War."

"The Ministry of War's responsibilities will be temporarily assumed by several of its assistant ministers. I will take charge first!"

"Prime Minister Yang, what's the matter? I'm not competent to handle the affairs that the Minister of War is responsible for?"

Ye Chen looked at Yang Dechang and narrowed his eyes.

Although he has now overthrown five of the six ministers in the court, he is very clear that the old villain Yang Dechang still has many followers in the court.

Many of the assistant ministers in the six ministries were his men, and his students and former officials were spread all over the world.

More importantly, Ye Chen already knew that the local families had a large number of private soldiers, and the source of these private soldiers also pointed to Yang Dechang.

Ye Chen knew very well what kind of huge power was behind these powerful officials.

Therefore, in the absence of actual evidence to deal with Huangfu Guang, he could make some compromises when facing Yang Dechang.

But this kind of compromise is actually a step forward.

It's like chopping down a big tree. One axe can't cut the tree in half, but if you cut off its branches and bark bit by bit, even a towering tree will eventually collapse!

To the power in Yang Dechang's hands.

Ye Chen can take it one step at a time and do it slowly.