The most romantic little emperor

Chapter 264 Are we really going to rebel?

Two guards quickly entered the hall and dragged Liu Yi away from the ground with swift movements, leaving only his miserable wails echoing in the empty hall, which seemed particularly miserable.

All the civil and military officials in the court looked at each other in silence, watching the scene unfold before their eyes.

Qin Hao returned to his seat, turned around and looked at the civil and military officials in the court, raised his voice, looked down on everything, and said loudly: "All of you, listen carefully to me. Next time, if there is someone as outspoken as Liu Ziyi, his fate will be even worse. If you don't believe me, you can try it."

"In addition, I will investigate Lu Yi's matter thoroughly and handle it impartially, but that does not mean you can take the opportunity to slander the emperor's members! I will only say this once, and I hope you will remember it!"

All the civil and military officials were shocked, knelt down collectively, and said in unison: "Yes, Your Highness!"

Qin Hao glanced down and saw all the ministers prostrating themselves on the ground. At this moment, he seemed to have possessed the majesty of an emperor!

Su Zhengfang knelt on the ground, secretly raised his head, and looked at Qin Hao with complicated eyes. He secretly thought in his heart that this young prince was growing up too fast, and he must not let him continue like this...

Dong Sicheng watched coldly from the side, with ripples in his heart. He keenly sensed the kingly aura emanating from Prince Qin Hao, which made him feel a little uneasy.

If it were in the past, Qin Hao would still dote on his daughter in every way, so that his daughter could secure the position of the Eastern Palace, and everything would be easy. Once the prince ascended the throne in the future, even if his daughter could not become the queen, she could at least become a noble concubine and could still enjoy wealth and glory, and the Dong family could still call the shots in the court.

However, the reality is not like this.

Ever since Qin Hao fell and got injured, he had noticed that the prince was no longer the good-for-nothing who only knew how to eat, drink and enjoy himself. His attitude towards his daughter became increasingly cold, and he instead doted on Wang Yourong.

What made Dong Sicheng even more uneasy was that the prince had recently married three beauties, Zhu Qiqi, Feng Qingyue and Qian Duoduo. Zhu Qiqi, in particular, was the daughter of Duke Zhu. Her status and position were comparable to that of his daughter, which made him even more worried.

He couldn't help but wonder, will the prince favor his daughter again? Even he himself didn't dare to give an answer to this question easily.

"Regarding Lu Yi's matter, I will personally investigate and interrogate him. In three days, I will give you a satisfactory explanation."

In order to silence the officials, Qin Hao had to give a three-day deadline, which instantly calmed the discussion among the court officials.

This time, Lian Wei Zheng chose not to continue speaking out.

Many ministers turned their eyes to Su Zhengfang and Dong Sicheng, but saw that their expressions were extremely calm, and it seemed that they had no objection to the three-day appointment.

So, everyone stopped talking and the matter came to an end for the time being, waiting for the results in three days.

At this time, Su Zhengfang glanced at the Minister of War Wen Tai beside him calmly.

Wen Tai immediately understood what Su Zhengfang meant, and immediately stood up and said, "Your Highness, I have something to report."

Qin Hao raised his eyes from the copy and fell on Wen Tai, and said neatly: "Speak."

Wen Tai bowed respectfully and reported in a deep voice: "Your Highness, according to reports from the Hedong government, banditry has been getting worse in recent days. Especially along the road from the capital to Hedong, many bandits appeared overnight. They occupied the hilltops, proclaimed themselves kings, and committed all kinds of crimes. Their actions were outrageous. Not only did they wantonly burn, kill, and rob, they also openly robbed passing wealthy merchants. The people and merchants were all panicked and avoided them as much as possible."

"Now the banditry has reached the point where it must be suppressed. If the imperial court does not send troops, it may lead to a disaster. I beg Your Highness to make a decision as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Qin Hao nodded slightly, then handed Guo Jia's handwritten letter to the eunuch beside him, and asked him to read it in public.

The civil and military officials of the court learned from Guo Jia's letter that Gao Gongxiang, the leader of the bandits, had started an uprising in Hedong and had already swallowed up three counties in Hedong, killing countless officials. The rebels opened warehouses to release food, released prisoners privately, and coerced tens of thousands of people. The situation was so great that the danger in Hedong was imminent and even had a tendency to spread to the capital.

All the civil and military officials in the court changed color after hearing this, as they were fully aware of the seriousness of the matter.

For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the court, and ministers made suggestions one after another, urging the court to send troops immediately to quell the banditry with lightning speed and safeguard the country's peace and stability.

There were a few timid ministers who were almost frightened to death. They were worried that the rebels would attack the capital, and were even more afraid that their extravagant and licentious lives would disappear like a dream, and they might even face a bloody disaster.

Qin Hao glanced at the crowd and felt relieved when he saw that they all expressed their support for sending troops to suppress the uprising.

He looked around at the group of generals with sharp eyes, like a hawk staring at its prey, and asked decisively: "The king wants to quell the rebellion, who is willing to lead the troops to fight?"

The generals lowered their heads upon hearing this, and no one dared to respond. No one wanted to wade into this muddy water, and it was estimated that the Su family had already made secret plans.

A minister immediately stepped forward and suggested, "Your Highness, I think General Su Yong can go!"

"That's right. General Su is brave and good at fighting. It's no problem for him to suppress Gao Gongxiang and his ilk."

"General Su is devoted to the country. He is also the general of the right camp. He is well versed in military tactics. He is the best person to quell the banditry."

"..."

Qin Hao looked at everything in front of him coldly, with ripples in his heart. My goodness, more than half of the ministers in the court are supporting Su Zhengfang's eldest son Su Yong, and it seems that he has the final say in the Su family.

Faced with such pressure, many generals chose to remain silent and dared not stand up to compete.

Qin Hao felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, and he began to wonder how powerful the Su family was.

The Minister of Revenue, the General, the Imperial Concubine, these prominent positions all came from the same family. Qin Hao was naturally not a stupid person, he knew very well how serious this situation was.

There are countless examples of powerful officials causing chaos in ancient history, and each time brought severe disasters to the country and the people.

Although Qin Hao had reached an agreement with Su Zhengfang and agreed to let Su Yong lead the troops into battle, everything he saw still made him feel very uncomfortable.

He understood that this phenomenon of excessive concentration of power was undoubtedly a time bomb for a country's stability that could explode at any time.

"Your Highness, since no one has any objection, in my opinion, it would be better to let General Su Yong lead the three armies to pacify Gao Gongxiang and his ilk." Dong Sicheng also stood up and suggested with a smile on his face.

After hearing this, Qin Hao was completely furious. His face instantly turned gloomy and he sat there without saying a word.

Are these guys really going to rebel?