Gu Jue and Chen Qianchen and his group returned to the palace.

The pilgrims all ran to the gate of Baiyun Temple and watched them leave. Since the exercise was over, these pilgrims were also allowed to leave Baiyun Temple, but they were reluctant to leave. They gathered together in groups of three or three, talking and talking nonsense.

All these pilgrims were in full bloom. As soon as they returned from Baiyun Temple, they made a lot of publicity about what happened today and also added jealousy.

They said that they saw the new emperor training troops in Baiyun Temple today, with the rays of light everywhere and the birds came to congratulate him;

It is too different to say that the soldiers of the 3,000 battalions are too different. Eight hundred troops cannot defeat two hundred Xuanjia Army, and they are subdued by the Xuanjia Army in just a few seconds;

He talked about how the new emperor was wise and martial, and angrily scolded the generals of the three thousand camps to get empty salary.

The news spread from ten to ten, ten to hundreds, and hundreds to thousands of places spread, and the capital was filled with excitement because of this incident.

Even the cabinet masters had just heard about Baiyun Temple. When they came to the imperial study, they all looked confused and guessed that there might be some "hustle and bustle" in the court next.

Gu Jue raised his eyebrows slightly and asked straight to the point: "The three thousand battalions can be adjusted by only more than one thousand troops. Zhuang Maohua, do you know about this?"

Gu Jue asked about the Minister of War Zhuang Maohua, but the other cabinet masters were shocked when they heard this.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Zhuang Maohua, the Minister of War, was sweating profusely and his heart was raised.

Among civil officials, the Ministry of War is the yamen with the greatest relationship with military generals and the army. They still have heard of the fact that they have received empty salaries in the army.

However, when the former Emperor Gu Lang was in power, he didn't care. Kang Hongda, the Dinghai Sword, was also under control. The Ministry of War would not dare to take care of it even if it wanted to. If it was to be controlled, it would be thankless and offend people for nothing. After all, cutting off people's wealth was like killing their parents.

Zhuang Maohua calmed down and answered honestly: "As far as I know, there are 5,600 military personnel in the 3,000 battalions." He didn't dare to look up and look Gu Jue in the eyes.

With such a big gap, the Ministry of War could not escape a dereliction of duty. It depends on whether the new emperor intends to punish the Ministry of War.

Gu Jue said lightly: "Three or four ten?"

"..." Zhuang Maohua was speechless.

The problem of empty salary in the army actually exists in all dynasties, but it is too horrible to have reached the level of ten, three or four.

Zhuang Maohua always knew that the army was free, but he didn't know that it had reached this point.

It can be speculated that if the Three Thousand Battalions are like this, the other two battalions of the three major camps of the Imperial Guard are not much better. The states and garrisons are afraid that they will follow suit. How big is the "hole" hidden in the entire Daqi?

Just thinking about it, Zhuang Maohua felt frightened.

The other cabinet masters were also silent, and they could guess in their hearts that since the new emperor had started this, he might have planned to rectify the problem of "eating empty salary". I don't know how many people would lose their official positions, be imprisoned, exiled, and confiscate their homes for this.

After a brief silence, Gu Jue's cold voice sounded in the air again:

"If this time is not an exercise, but I am really in danger at Baiyun Temple, can I still rely on the imperial guards of Daqi?!"

"If Nanhao's army went north and raided Daqi, I transferred 100,000 people to support it, but in fact it was only 30,000, what do you think the outcome of this battle will be?"

"Can our Great Qi army have the ability to fight against three?!"

Gu Jue's tone was neither high nor sharp, but it made everyone in the study feel deafening.

Zhuang Maohua was so embarrassed that he couldn't raise his head. The other cabinet masters were all ashamed. Although Gu Jue didn't say a harsh word, they felt like they were being executed publicly.

There is an old saying that, in the vast nest, there is no end to the egg.

Not only is the Ministry of War responsible for the issue of empty salary, but other cabinet masters cannot be protected by it alone.

The atmosphere became more and more solemn and more depressing, and the surrounding air seemed to be solidifying.

Gu Jue didn't need them to say anything ashamed and guilty, and ordered directly: "Zhuang Maohua, the Ministry of War cooperated with Su Mubai to count the soldiers of the states and garrisons from bottom to top. I will see the results within half a month." He was ordering and not giving anyone room for negotiation.

At this moment, Zhuang Maohua could not say anything other than saying "I obey the order".

Immediately afterwards, Gu Jue said: "Also, the Ministry of War immediately drafted a recruitment document for me to see."

"Yes, the emperor." Zhuang Maohua bowed again and accepted the order, his heart heavy.

Since ancient times, there has been no one who is not afraid of war. Joining the army means a life of death. Which family is willing to send a strong man to join the army!

To put it bluntly, people like Xue Fengyan and Tang Yuchu who can be promoted from civilians have all overcome difficulties and emerged from countless wars, with one out of ten thousand, no, or even one out of ten thousand.

If this conscription order is issued, it will inevitably cause a storm in Daqi.

The cabinet masters exchanged glances with each other. The Minister of Revenue frowned and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, you have just ascended the throne. You are recruiting soldiers now. I am afraid that it will attract some criticism and criticize you for being powerful and powerful. Please be careful."

This is one of them. He is also worried that once soldiers are recruited, the new emperor will ask their Ministry of Revenue for money.

Yang Xuanshan, the Minister of Rites, gave the Minister of Revenue a look of almost pity. Is the new emperor so easy to be persuaded?! The answer is obvious.

Gu Jue leaned back on the back of the chair with a leisurely expression, gently rubbed the armrest with his right thumb twice, and did not laugh or laugh, and asked the Minister of Revenue two questions: "Will you make up for the missing soldiers?"

"If Nanhao's army attacks, how do you dispatch troops to deal with it?"

Minister of the Ministry of Revenue: "..."

The Minister of Revenue is a civil servant, so he didn't know how to dispatch troops and generals, so he immediately shut up and stopped talking.

The new emperor of the left and right did not ask the Ministry of Revenue for the time being, so let’s talk about the future.

The Minister of Revenue ate a nail in the Xindi, and Zhang Shoufu, Yang Xuanshan and the Minister of Works no longer expressed any objections.

The new emperor's nature is far stronger and more tenacious than his father, Emperor Renzong, and he is the only one who can say that.

After a cup of tea, the cabinet masters surrounded Zhang Shoufu and walked out of the imperial study room.

The sky outside is still gloomy and it has not started to rain until now.

The weather was obviously cool, but everyone was sweating all over. Zhuang Maohua couldn't help but wipe the sweat with his cuffs, feeling that he had almost half his life lost.

In the past, the former emperor Gu Lang had a relatively gentle style of dealing with things, which was because he took pills and poisoned his heart half a year before his death, which made him become more and more irritable.

Even though he is irritable, Gu Lang is not a particularly strong monarch in political affairs.

Over the years, they have become accustomed to the style of the late emperor, and have not felt this deterrent power that is as thunderous as thunder.

The Minister of Works, who was walking down the white marble steps, couldn't help but shake his head and whisper: "The eating appearance of Sanqianying is too ugly."

Shoufu Zhang and Zhuang Maohua looked at the Minister of Works with strange eyes, and then they looked at each other tacitly. Both of them realized that this exercise was a game set up by the new emperor.

The new emperor should have discovered that there was a problem of empty salary in the army before ascending the throne. Most of the time, the old subordinates of the Qiandi had carefully checked the three camps of the imperial guards and checked the actual number of people in each camp clearly.

Knowing that the army is corrupt, of course, it is impossible for the new emperor to ignore it and allow these borers in the army to breed.

So, the new emperor has taken action.

If you don’t take action, you’ll be shocking.

Yang Xuanshan patted Zhuang Maohua's shoulder sympathetically and sighed: "Brother Zhuang, you are a little busy next."

Zhuang Maohua: “…”

Zhuang Maohua was not comforted by the other party at all, and he could only think in a good direction with steadily.

The new emperor's methods this time have been quite gentle.

After he ascended the throne, he could directly issue an order for the Ministry of War to investigate the situation of the soldiers of the imperial guards and even the national garrison. However, this would probably cause a certain rebound in the army, and it would also make the soldiers in the army wonder whether the new emperor wanted to settle the accounts after the autumn, and use this as an excuse to clean up all the old generals left by the late emperor.

It is said that the lips are lost and the teeth are cold. Changes in the army will also lead to panic among civil officials and be unfavorable for the stability and stability of the court.

With the strong style of the new emperor, he should not be afraid of opposition in the court, but many things would happen in vain. In this way, not only would the new emperor waste time and repeatedly argue with the court officials, but it would be much more difficult for him, the Minister of War, to do this job.

For example, now, the new emperor took the exercise as a matter of operation and took three thousand battalions to start the operation, directly tearing open the "bloody gap" and presenting the issue of the army of the Great Qi to the court and the people nakedly.

Now everyone in the world knows that the new emperor wants to dispatch troops but cannot transfer troops because of the problem of "eating empty salary".

This is corruption among officials, and they want to eat up the national treasury and make the Great Qi army useless.

This problem is serious.

Now the officials are staring at, the scholars are staring at, and the people are staring at.

Want to check?

Of course, I have to check it.

Not only did they have to conduct thorough investigations, but they also had to recruit soldiers. In this way, the new emperor took over the righteousness, and their Ministry of War also reduced a lot of trouble in doing business.

Yang Xuanshan sighed again: "Our emperor's methods are really extraordinary."

It was unusual, but Zhuang Maohua was still heartbroken. He felt that Yang Xuanshan was standing and talking without pain. He sighed tiredly: "I will definitely sleep in the yamen this next month."

The more Zhuang Maohua thought about it, the more he felt that there were too many things. He hurriedly said goodbye to the other cabinet masters and left in a hurry.

All the pavilions left the Qianqing Palace, but the atmosphere in the imperial study room was still very solemn.

Two soldiers wearing black armor stood on the other side of the imperial desk, bowing their heads honestly, and could feel Gu Jue's gaze sweeping back and forth on their bodies.

The two soldiers were like the cabinet masters just now, and were all uncomfortable.

Then, one of the square-faced soldiers who were about thirty years old took the lead in breaking the silence, clasped their fists and admitted their mistakes: "There will be something."

Jingfeng personally brought a cup of freshly brewed tea in and glanced at the two soldiers.

Jing Fengshen agreed. As the soldiers of the Xuanjia Army, they were all elite soldiers, but they made a fuss because of such a small thing and ignored the errands. Of course, it was a matter of fact.

Gu Jue picked up the pastel enamel teacup and slowly brushed off the tea leaves floating on the tea soup with the tea cover. His movements were elegant and soothing, and he did not speak.
To be continued...