"Indeed." Ma Kuo seemed to have remembered something and sighed. "Some things are destined to be unclear... and 300,000 imperial troops are still a bit too many. After the incident with the Jin Kingdom, I'm afraid they will have to make a painful decision."

Han Shizhong also nodded slightly.

"This has been the case since ancient times." Fan Zongyin could not help but say, "It is being rumored that the King of Qin, King of Jin or King of Wei may become the Prime Minister and enter the Secret Council. The position of Marshal is one of them. There seems to be some rumors about the King of Zhenrong, King of Longde and King of Longxi as well."

This remark immediately caused a noisy sound in the hall.

"You underestimate the emperor." Lu Yihao let the palace be in chaos for a while, and just lowered his head to deal with the last remaining document. He waited until he finished his instructions and put down his pen, then he spoke with emotion in the audience. As soon as he opened his mouth, the whole palace fell silent. "The emperor is of course afraid of not being able to maintain the friendship between the monarch and his subjects, but isn't the emperor afraid of how to govern, how to discuss the two rivers with Tokyo? Isn't he afraid of how to deal with the devastated land in Hebei? Isn't he afraid of how to explain to the southeast that he will wait until Hebei is stable and the Jin Kingdom is completely destroyed before increasing taxes? If he is not afraid, why did he hide and repair the Yellow River?"

"Repair the Yellow River..." Han Shizhong said half of the sentence and seemed not to react.

"Repairing the Yellow River... means being so afraid that you dare not do anything right, because repairing the Yellow River will definitely not go wrong." Lu Yihao explained seriously. "Just like the emperor raising fish and planting mulberry trees in the harem before... Raising fish and planting mulberry trees will definitely not go wrong."

"This is a bit... a bit unbelievable, right?" Ma Kuo also became a little uneasy.

"What's so incredible?"

Lu Yihao glanced at the group. "You are the ministers and close officials who have been with the emperor for a long time. Many of you know what the emperor means. Didn't you see that Minister Hu has been silent for a long time?"

Everyone looked at Hu Yin in surprise, and when they saw that he had no intention of refutation at all, they became even more stern.

"From the beginning, the emperor was afraid to do things, but the situation at that time was there, and he had to do it... This was the nightmare caused by the Jingkang Incident that year, when the emperor had to take on the responsibility of the world... It has always been like this!" At this point, Lu Yihao seemed to be thinking about something. "I have always believed that the emperor did not lose his memory of the incident in Mingdao Palace that day, but after he mustered up his courage, he needed an explanation to fool the world! After all, although the emperor is the Son of Heaven, he is also a mortal... It is very hard."

No one objected, because ten years had passed and no one believed that Emperor Zhao had lost his memory. In fact, Lu Yihao's statement was a private consensus among the people and officials. However, since this matter involved the emperor, people were reluctant to talk about it openly. However, in private discussions, even the common people in Tokyo thought this topic was too ridiculous.

However, talking about it now does prove that Emperor Zhao has always been afraid of doing things, afraid of taking responsibilities, and afraid of dealing with chaotic situations.

Even Hu Yin fell into almost confused memories… It’s not that Hu Mingzhong had other ideas, but he suddenly realized that he was actually the same as the emperor back then, and was also afraid of some things.

"I know you have to be cautious, but I am an old man waiting to die, so I don't have to worry about anything. The government won't bother with me about this." Lu Yihao looked at the reactions of the people around him and suddenly laughed. "Besides, I have something even more outrageous to do... Do you think I invited you here today just to chat?"

Han Shizhong and Ma Kuo quickly stood up, and Hu Yin, who had come to his senses, stood up calmly. Fan Zongyin hesitated for a moment before standing up, and then Yu Yunwen quickly followed.

"Marshal Han...there is something the emperor wants to do but is afraid of getting his hands dirty. I also want to do it, but I don't care. I wonder if you care or not?" Lu Yihao responded with a smile.

"It's Mr. Lu's order." Han Shizhong was a little embarrassed and bowed quickly.

"Searching homes and killing people."

Lu Yihao spoke calmly. "The city defenses and checkpoints of Yanyun Prefecture are all in our hands... The local big families are either the governors of the late Tang Dynasty or the governors of the Five Dynasties. Each family has a foundation of hundreds of years. Each of them has countless private soldiers and servants. It is possible that they also have hidden weapons... And now they want to grant land for military merit. It's fine for the other four routes, but where can we get land in Yanshan Road? Moreover, the two rivers are devastated, and we need to provide relief and control the rivers. There is no such thing as too much money and grain!"

Han Shizhong came to his senses instantly. Hu Yin wanted to say something but in the end he didn't.

"First, point out the matter of the new army and make them surrender their weapons, then inspect the land, check the hidden population, release the slaves, and finally purge the big families in the name of treason..." Lu Yihao glanced at Hu Mingzhong and continued. "If anyone dares to disobey, you will directly send troops to dig up their property that has been there for hundreds of years!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Lu."

Han Liangchen patted his chest quickly. "Since the emperor and the minister have such intentions, is Shizhong afraid of losing his reputation?"

"Minister Hu will take care of the sword granting and land inspection, and the others will have to work harder." Lu Yihao then looked at the person who was in theory responsible for this matter again. "If you don't know the details, ask Zheng Xiunian... I will handle the final investigation of the rebellion myself."

Hu Yin nodded with all his might.

"General Manager Ma." Lu Yihao finally looked at Ma Kuo. "There are quite a few military supplies captured in Yanjing and Fanyang... You have to work hard to supply Marshal Yue to go out of the border and conquer Liao territory."

"Of course." Ma Kuo certainly didn't have anything extra to say about this task.

"I have another private matter for you to ask for your help, Master Yu."

As he spoke, Lu Yihao suddenly stood up with the help of a cane, and then narrowed his eyes to look at Yu Yunwen who was hiding behind Fan Zongyin. "Please inform the King of Wei privately on my behalf, and I will not show up... Ask him to send someone to Jinzhou... Either to Peach Blossom Island or Chrysanthemum Island (Juehua Island)... Anyway, capture Guo Yaoshi who heard my message and fled to the island... It is said that I will not hold grudges overnight, but I have remembered this matter for twelve years! It is not good for me, the Grand Commander of Hebei, to die with regrets, right?"

Yu Yunwen was stunned for a moment, then immediately bowed his head and replied: "This matter is simple... Please wait for good news, Grand Commander."

Only then did Lu Yihao nodded with satisfaction.

Two days later, Yue Fei, who had already left Yuguan, received a message from Emperor Zhao and his loyal troops. Without much hesitation, he stopped by the road and called two people over: "Guo Jin, Yang Zaixing... This matter needs to be reported to the emperor. You two have been to the emperor, so I'll leave it to you. It's enough to bring people from the two capitals... Deputy Governor Li (Li Bao) will send a boat to pick you up! Try to capture them alive!"

The military order had been issued, and given Yue Fei's strict military discipline, although Guo and Yang were unwilling to go to any Chrysanthemum Island or Peach Blossom Island, they had nothing to say.