Zhang Xuansu is the type who never learns from a bad experience; he was rebuked by Yang Cheng several times but never learned his lesson.
As long as the Great Zhou still needs Yang Cheng, Yang Cheng will remain an unshakeable figure in the court, and Yang Cheng can only endure any criticism he receives.
Just like now, even though it was Emperor Zhou Yuan who was dissatisfied with Yang Cheng, Zhang Xuansu stood up.
However, the emperor dared not say a word at this moment, and Zhang Xuansu could only stand there awkwardly, but dared not provoke Yang Cheng any further.
Finally, it was the old prince Zhou Deyuan who stepped in to smooth things over: "The Grand Commander is selfless. Whether it is the Grand Commander of the Zhenwu Hall or the title, it belongs to the Great Zhou. It is better than letting them continue to be bandits."
"By the way, Grand Commander, although the Thirty-Six Great Bandits have been wiped out, some remnants remain. What are your plans to do with them?"
Yang Cheng said calmly, "These remnants are nothing to worry about. The Thirty-Six Great Bandits have been wiped out, and they can't cause any trouble."
Now there's one thing we all need to decide.
"What is it?"
Yang Cheng said in a deep voice: "The six bandits who surrendered to me can all testify that General Dugu Cheng of the Wuwei Army colluded with the thirty-six bandits to defraud the imperial court of military funds and plotted treason. They deserve to be executed!"
"We implore Your Majesty to issue an edict stripping Dugu Cheng of his position as Grand General, confiscating the authority of the Wuwei Army, and executing this traitor!"
These words caused an uproar throughout the court.
They all knew that Zhenwutang and Wuwei Army were at odds, but they never expected that Yang Cheng would bring this matter to the forefront.
They even went so far as to sentence Dugu Cheng to death!
Are the two pillars of the Great Zhou Dynasty about to fall out?
Zhou Deyuan immediately stood up and asked with a solemn expression, "Is what the Grand Commander said true? Is there not a trace of falsehood in it?"
What Yang Cheng was talking about was a matter of earth-shattering importance.
All 300,000 Wuwei Army soldiers were under Dugu Cheng's command. Before Yang Cheng left the pass, Dugu Cheng was the mainstay of the Great Zhou.
Now Yang Cheng says that Dugu City is colluding with the Thirty-Six Great Bandits to plot a rebellion. Isn't this a matter of earth-shattering magnitude?
Yang Cheng said calmly, "The people are with me. I have both witnesses and physical evidence. If Your Highness does not believe me, I can have them brought to court right now, and you may ask them any questions you may have."
Zhou Deyuan's expression was very solemn.
Asking about this now is pointless, since Yang Cheng has a grudge against Dugu City, and those powerful bandits have already joined Yang Cheng's ranks, so there's a possibility that it's all fake.
However, now that Yang Cheng has annihilated the thirty-six major bandits, they feel that Yang Cheng's accusation may not be entirely false, since Dugu Cheng is indeed a suspect.
He had been stationed in Huainan, and apart from the initial battle against the Thirty-Six Great Bandits, there had been no other major battles, but he never missed out on military expenses.
So whether Dugu Cheng colluded with the Thirty-Six Great Bandits or not, they didn't know, but at least there was a strong suspicion that Dugu Cheng was raising bandits to enhance his own power.
Just as Yang Cheng had thought, when he had just destroyed the White Lotus Sect, it would have been useless for him to accuse Dugu Cheng of colluding with the bandits.
Because of Dugu Cheng's status at that time, he could be said to be the mainstay of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as he did not openly rebel, the Great Zhou Dynasty would not turn against him.
But things are different now.
The thirty-six major bandits who posed the greatest threat to the heartland of the Great Zhou have been wiped out by Yang Cheng, and the annihilation was quite easy, taking less than a month to completely destroy them.
But what about you, Dugu Cheng? You commanded an army of 300,000 and received a huge military budget every year, yet you spent three whole years fighting against the Thirty-Six Great Bandits!
At first, the imperial court was quite satisfied with this outcome.
After all, the Thirty-Six Great Bandits attacked and plundered cities and territories, and no one could control them. It was Dugu City that stopped the Thirty-Six Great Bandits.
Compared to Yang Cheng, Dugu Cheng's previous behavior seemed quite ridiculous.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Deyuan walked up to Zhou Yuan and Empress Dowager Zhang and whispered a few words to them.
Zhang Xuansu also wanted to come over and listen, but Zhou Deyuan glared at her and pushed her away, making her feel a little embarrassed.
A moment later, Zhou Deyuan returned and said in a deep voice, "What the Grand Commander said is indeed extremely serious."
However, Dugu Cheng is the Grand General of the current dynasty, commanding 300,000 Imperial Guards, so we still need to be cautious about this matter.
The imperial court will send a message to Dugu Cheng, ordering him to go to the capital immediately to investigate whether he has colluded with the Thirty-Six Great Bandits.
In short, the innocent will clear themselves; this kind of matter must be treated with utmost care.
Yang Cheng nodded indifferently and said, "Alright, we'll do as you say, Your Highness."
From the very beginning, Yang Cheng never imagined that the imperial court would directly punish Dugu Cheng.
Firstly, the imperial court didn't have the guts, after all, that was a general who commanded 300,000 troops.
Secondly, the imperial court might not trust Yang Cheng, and they couldn't possibly believe everything Yang Cheng said.
Of course, none of this matters.
The important thing is that Yang Cheng is certain that Dugu Cheng will absolutely not come to the capital for trial just like that.
If Yang Cheng were replaced by Dugu Cheng, with his own great strength and command of a large army, how could the imperial court possibly want him to come to the capital for trial? What a joke!
So Yang Cheng exposed this matter today simply because he wanted to openly and completely break ties with Dugu Cheng.
And things did indeed turn out exactly as Yang Cheng had predicted on Dugu City's side.
Upon receiving the imperial edict, Dugu Cheng casually tossed it onto the ground as if it were a rag, a disdainful sneer on his face.
Upon seeing this scene, the eunuch delivering the imperial decree trembled with fear, his face filled with utter terror, and he was so frightened that he wet himself.
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