"I, a woman, am ignorant of matters of state. I only hope that everyone can support my Great Zhou and help us weather this chaos."
A group of court officials offered words of comfort, at which point the Minister of War suddenly stood up and said with a wry smile: "The court previously ordered the Wuwei Army to send troops to quell the rebellion, but General Dugu Cheng of the Wuwei Army submitted a memorial saying that he was unable to send troops."
With the threat of the Thirty-Six Great Bandits looming ahead, he must maintain an absolute military force to suppress them, so he cannot afford to be distracted by the White Lotus Sect. He requests that the court find another solution.
By this time, the White Lotus Sect had swept through three prefectures. If no action was taken, those heretical rebels would be heading straight for the capital.
Upon hearing this, all the ministers present turned their gazes toward Yang Cheng.
Those who can enter this court are all shrewd and intelligent people, and they certainly know what Dugu Cheng means by this.
Unable to send troops? That's just an excuse.
The Thirty-Six Great Bandits are currently recuperating, so the Wuwei Army can easily send troops.
Even if Dugu City is immobile, he has three generals under his command, so sending any one of them would suffice.
However, he openly defied orders, showing that he was truly fearless and extremely arrogant.
On the other hand, they were pressuring the court to deal with Yang Cheng.
Previously, Yang Cheng killed Pei Shixiong of the Wuwei Army, but the court did not punish him. However, his dog Fan Yuming was punished, which made Dugu Cheng very angry.
In his view, since the court favored Yang Cheng, they should not come to Dugu Cheng for military expeditions to quell rebellions in the future. Let's see who regrets it first in the end!
Dugu Cheng's actions were quite reminiscent of a warlord, raising bandits to enhance his own power and intimidate the imperial court.
However, Dugu Cheng does indeed have the qualifications right now, so everyone turned their attention to Yang Cheng.
You killed Pei Shixiong, and the conflict is between you and Dugu Cheng.
But now that the White Lotus Sect is threatening the capital, you, Yang Cheng, can't just remain silent, can you?
Facing the stares of the officials, Yang Cheng stood up and sneered, "I checked some data. Three years ago, the court's military expenditure was 20% of the tax revenue."
Currently, the imperial court's military expenditure is 50% of the taxes!
But the imperial court did not increase the number of troops in other areas, so where did the extra 30% of military funds go? It was all distributed to the Wuwei Army!
The elite Wuwei Army, trained at the cost of 30% of the imperial court's military budget, is now just drawing salaries without working and turning a blind eye to the White Lotus Sect's threats. It's a joke!
This time, the White Lotus Sect's rebellion doesn't require the Martial Guard to intervene; our Zhenwu Hall can handle it.
But from now on, the imperial court will have to consider the allocation of military funds.
"Our Zhenwu Hall is now quite large and powerful, but we don't offer such generous treatment."
As Yang Cheng spoke, he turned his gaze to Zhou Deyuan and Cai Yan.
Cai Yan is very cunning. Although he is not on Dugu Cheng's side, he is not so obviously on Yang Cheng's side as to cheer for Yang Cheng.
Zhou Deyuan was silent for a moment, then said, "If Grand Commander Yang can really resolve the White Lotus Rebellion, the imperial court will naturally have an explanation regarding the allocation of military funds."
"That's good."
Yang Cheng turned his gaze to the young Emperor Zhou Yuan and Empress Dowager Wan Chun, and said in a deep voice, "Does Your Majesty and Empress Dowager have any further opinions?"
"Grand Commander, please be careful," Empress Dowager Wan Chun said softly.
Zhou Yuan quickly added, "Please be careful, Grand Commander."
Yang Cheng nodded and strode out of the court.
In fact, Zhou Yuan was somewhat afraid of Yang Cheng.
Three years ago, he was just a kid. When he was playing in the capital, he heard how brutal Yang Cheng's Zhenwu Hall was, as if it could really stop children from crying at night.
Moreover, Cai Yan was adept at navigating the court, and he spoke to the young emperor in a gentle and agreeable manner.
Zhou Deyuan was a member of the royal family, and he usually had to call him "Grandpa".
Only Yang Cheng's aura was like an abyss, heavy and oppressive, making him unconsciously feel awe.
Upon returning to Zhenwu Hall, Yang Cheng summoned the four men and asked in a deep voice, "How much influence does Zhenwu Hall currently have in the capital? How much influence does it have around Henan County?"
I'm taking a portion of them out to wipe out the White Lotus Cult!
Upon hearing this, Yin Wuxie and the others immediately perked up.
"The Zhenwu Hall in the capital has more than 20,000 people, of whom 5,000 are elite experts."
Aside from the regular forces responsible for maintaining order in the capital, at least ten thousand people could be dispatched!
As for the surrounding areas of Henan Prefecture, there are several branches of my Zhenwu Hall, which can also spare two to three thousand men.
Yang Cheng shook his head and said, "I don't need that many people. Give me three thousand elite troops."
Wu Xie, you and Zhang Meng handled things well. You will stay in the capital this time.
"Chen Da and Meiniang, come with me to wipe out the White Lotus Sect!"
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