As it stands, Lee Seong-gye sees everyone as a traitor.

"You are the only person I can trust now."

In the back hall of the Goryeo Royal Palace, Lee Seong-gye and the commander of the palace guards, Lee Won, were talking alone.

Perhaps because they both had the surname Lee, Lee Seong-gye had no doubts about him at all.

While speaking, Lee Seong-gye couldn't help but look at the left side of Lee Won's chest. Now it was blocked by thick armor, so of course he couldn't see inside.

But Lee Seong-gye knew that there was an arrow wound there, which was the fatal wound that Lee Won blocked for him.

Moreover, the arrow was smeared with snake venom. If there had not been a doctor accompanying the army, he would have surely died.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan lowered his head to avoid Li Chenggui's gaze, performed military etiquette, and then remained silent.

Lee Seong-gye nodded with satisfaction. He liked people like Lee Won who were taciturn and not good at conversation.

Because people with this kind of personality are often easily ostracized by their colleagues, and are also very loyal to themselves.

"Li Yuan, I have no one to talk to now. I thought I had already taken control of Goryeo, but the arrival of the Imperial Master made me realize that the whole court was in control."

"I don't know how many ministers have joined the Qunying Chamber of Commerce. You tell me, they are obviously Koreans, why would they join a chamber of commerce founded by the Han people?"

"I don't even know how many generals were bribed by the Heroes Chamber of Commerce. I don't even know when they were bribed."

Li Chenggui murmured to himself, as if he was confiding to Li Yuan, or as if he was talking to himself.

Li Yuan still didn't say anything, as if he didn't hear it.

Seeing this, Lee Seong-gye's eyes became even more satisfied. In fact, his words just now were somewhat tentative.

No matter whether Li Yuan said good things or bad things about the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, he would have doubts in his heart.

But after he finished speaking, Li Chenggui suddenly asked: "Tell me, have you ever accepted any benefits from the Qunying Chamber of Commerce?"

Li Yuan had no expression on his face, but he was somewhat shocked in his heart.

But in the next moment, Li Yuan said frankly: "Yes, I have received it. Almost all the snowflake salt in my house was given by the Qunying Chamber of Commerce."

"You are so good, Li Yuan. I didn't expect that even you would..."

Halfway through his speech, Lee Seong-gye suddenly got stuck.

Because it was at this time that Lee Seong-gye discovered that the person who received the most gifts from the Qunying Chamber of Commerce seemed to be not the ministers, but himself.

The palace now has marbling salt, some famous wines, and even many luxury items.

It seems that they were all sent by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

If he remembered correctly, the rouge, silk and satin used by his wives and concubines were also given by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

Then, he lowered his head slightly and looked at his colorful robe.

It seems that it was made specially for him by a tailor from the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, and he made three Jiangs in total.

All of a sudden, Lee Seong-gye was speechless.

"General, the Heroes Chamber of Commerce is just a group of businessmen. They have their own interests and goals. The general should find a way to control them."

"Besides, the general has not yet been crowned king. Although many ministers have secretly submitted to the general, in name only, he is still a general."

Li Yuan spoke.

Perhaps this was the most he had spoken in recent years.

After hearing this, Lee Seong-gye reacted immediately.

Yes, although he now holds the emperor hostage to control the princes, he is not the King of Goryeo after all.

Even though the current King of Goryeo is just a puppet, in name, he is a subject.

If all the civil and military officials who have vested interests in collusion with the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce were driven away, he would have no one to use.

Of course, if he really did this, the most likely scenario is that he would step down.

Thinking of this, two words popped up in Lee Seong-gye's mind: become king.

Only by becoming a king can one control the court officials with national justice in many aspects.

"Thank you, Li Yuan."

Li Chenggui said seriously.

At this moment in his heart, even his wife and children were not as trusted as Li Yuan.

Li Yuan returned to silence, and in response to Li Chenggui's thanks, he just bowed slightly to show respect.

However, at this moment, Li Yuan had already thought about how to write the content of the intelligence after returning home in the evening.

…

In the suburbs of the Ming capital, in the camp of the Black Armor Guards.

Zhu Ying was meeting with Lan Yu and several nobles from the Huaixi military group.

Among them were Jingchuan Marquis Cao Zhen, Heshou Marquis Zhang Yi, Zhu Shou, and Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi.

Zhu Ying looked at the many core military generals of Huaixi in front of him and sighed slightly.

Judging from the appearance, Lan Yu is almost the youngest.

The others all have gray hair at the temples, and the youngest is probably over fifty years old.

Although he is still in good health, he is considered an elderly person according to the average age of people in Ming Dynasty.

"I have heard a lot about your achievements. You are all great contributors to the Ming Dynasty."

With just one sentence, Zhu Ying set the tone and also made several Huaixi generals feel relaxed.

This shows that His Royal Highness Chang Sun approves of them.

"Your Highness has guarded Henan this time and driven away the plague, saving countless lives and doing immeasurable good deeds. Now many operas about Your Highness have been circulated in the capital."

"It's just that most people in the capital don't know your highness's true identity. If your highness's identity is revealed, I estimate that most people will be shocked."

Lan Yu said with a big laugh.

Cao Zhen and others also laughed.

Zhu Ying smiled and replied, "These are all thanks to Grandpa's instructions. They are not worth mentioning."

Lan Yu shook his head and said, "Your Highness, you are too modest. I have also read about those methods of driving away the plague."

"To be honest, Your Highness, I have also been responsible for dealing with plague-related issues. For example, in the southwest, there is a lot of miasma, which is prone to plague."

"But these methods are something I have never seen before. I have never heard of them in the Ming Dynasty or even in many previous dynasties."

"This is all His Highness's original creation. Others cannot learn it. This is truly a great merit."

Lan Yu's frankness made Cao Zhen and others nod their heads.

The army is involved in disaster relief and plague, and its main purpose is to suppress unrest.

So basically all the generals present had participated.

However, the measures taken are the same, which is nothing more than isolation.

Zhu Ying's series of arrangements and various preventive measures are the key parts.

Perhaps in the eyes of future generations, it may seem simple and just a basic operation.

But in today's Ming Dynasty, it is the fastest and most effective way.

If the plague occurs again in the future, it can be dealt with in the same way.

"There is no need to talk about this matter any more. This time, Duke Liang summoned you all here according to my wishes because I have something I want to discuss with you all."

While saying this, Zhu Ying looked at Lan Yu several times.

The key, of course, is related to his former benefactor Li Xing.

Lan Yu also sensed something unusual immediately, and everyone fell silent.

"I think everyone has heard about the separation of the military and politics that Grandpa proposed in the court before."

"This time I will mainly talk to you about some details above this."

"When I was wandering in the Western Regions, I met a noble man. It was because of him that I was able to come down and sit here with you all."

"Some time ago, I received news that my benefactor and the village he lived in were massacred."

As he spoke, Zhu Ying's tone became increasingly cold.

"It is outrageous that such a thing could happen. Who on earth dares to treat your Highness's benefactor like this? I will kill all his clans."

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu immediately shouted.

Cao Zhen and others were even more indignant, with anger in their eyes.

As the saying goes, if the lord is humiliated, the minister will die. In their eyes, there is no difference between His Royal Highness Changsun and their lord.

After listening to this, Zhu Ying looked at Lan Yu and said calmly, "According to intelligence, it seems that this person is the brother-in-law of the Duke of Liang."

Lan Yu's anger immediately dissipated, and he was stunned for a moment.

No wonder His Highness looked at him several times just now. If his nine clans were to be exterminated as he said, he would be imprisoned as well.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became awkward.

The furious crowd suddenly became quiet, most of them lowered their heads, not daring to look Zhu Ying in the eye.

"It's not that I want to punish Duke Liang. After I found out the reason behind this matter, I found out that it was Duke Liang's brother-in-law."

"When he was leading his army on the march, he passed by the village of his benefactor and forcibly collected food. A dispute arose over this, and then he massacred the village in anger."

Zhu Ying continued to tell the story.

Seeing that His Royal Highness Chang Sun showed no signs of getting angry, everyone felt a little relieved.

Lan Yu didn't dare to speak, but he had vaguely guessed who his brother-in-law was.

He doesn't have many brothers-in-law, and the only one who can lead an army to massacre a village is him.

In fact, the generals present did not care about the massacre of the village. What they cared about was that His Royal Highness Changsun's benefactor died as a result.

"What do you think, is it right or wrong for soldiers to massacre the people of Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Ying did not seem to pursue the matter of his benefactor and asked instead.

No one spoke, and Zhu Ying looked at Cao Zhen.

Feeling the gaze of His Royal Highness Chang Sun, Cao Zhen could only bite the bullet and reply, "Of course not."

Zhu Ying nodded, not wanting to teach these veterans a lesson on this.

Their way of thinking has already been fixed, so there is no point in saying too much.

"Yueqing, come in."

At this point, Zhu Ying suddenly called Ye Yueqing in.

Except for Lan Yu, everyone else saw Ye Yueqing for the first time. It was obvious that this woman named Yueqing probably had a high status in His Royal Highness Changsun's place.

"Yueqing, tell everyone about the three major military disciplines and eight rules that I have set for leading the army this time."

After hearing the boss's instructions, Ye Yueqing said without hesitation:

"Your Highness will lead the army this time and establish three major military disciplines."

"First, all actions must be strictly followed and no private actions are allowed."

"Second, wherever the army passes, it must not take anything from the people."

"Third, all captured items must be confiscated, and no soldier may hide even a single copper coin."

"Eight rules."

"First, you must be gentle when communicating with the people. Second, you must be fair when doing business with the people. Third, if you borrow something from the people, you must return it. Fourth, you must compensate for any damage."

"Five, do not hit or swear at people, six, do not damage crops, seven, do not molest women, eight, do not mistreat prisoners."

"Those who violate the three major military disciplines will be sentenced to death. Those who violate the eight regulations will be severely punished, depending on the severity of the case, and their superiors will be held responsible."

Ye Yueqing said quickly.

It seemed like a simple rule, but all the generals, including Lan Yu, looked at each other in bewilderment.

No one even dared to respond.

The concept of military bandits is not only present among the generals, but is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the soldiers.

Yue's army would rather die of freezing than demolish houses, and would rather die of starvation than plunder, so they have been praised for thousands of years.

Even in modern times, the emergence of such military discipline is unique.

Many warlords in troubled times would not care about these things.

Things like killing innocent people and taking credit for it seem to have become an unspoken rule.

This is the focus that Zhu Ying wants to set.

"Can you do that?"

Zhu Ying asked in a deep voice.

This time, no general dared to answer.

"You are all old, and the Duke of Liang is my uncle. If you cannot do it, I will not pursue it, but I would like to trouble you to hand over your military power."

"How about letting someone who can do it do it?"

Zhu Ying said calmly.

This time it was direct.

No matter it was the death of his benefactor or other reasons, Zhu Ying could not tolerate the situation where the military and bandits were one.

When people in later generations talk about soldiers, they are full of honor. Everyone will give them a thumbs up and praise them as heroes who defend their country.

When people today talk about soldiers, there is only disgust and fear in their eyes. What is the difference between the army coming and wolves coming?

This is what Zhu Ying saw when he passed by certain villages during his march.

With the great reputation brought by expelling the plague, Zhu Ying first attacked the forces under his command, including Lan Yu.

A transformation must be carried out, and it is urgent.

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu and others immediately expressed their willingness to do it.

Zhu Ying didn't say much. He knew very well that promising and doing were two completely different things.

Now he doesn't expect to complete the reform all at once.

The next plan is Zhu Ying’s final trump card.

"This king intends to establish a patrol guard, whose sole function is to deal with military discipline in the army, reporting to the generals and soldiers."

"But any violations of law and discipline will be dealt with immediately."

"However, in order to protect the rights of the soldiers, I will ask Grandpa to decide on the establishment of a separate military punishment department."

"Any soldier who violates the law or discipline will be appealed by the Patrol Guards, and the specific punishment will be decided by the Military Law Department according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

This is a concept similar to a military court. No matter whether it is a superior officer, a general, or even a commander-in-chief, they will no longer have the power to deal with the soldiers.

The current generals of the Ming Dynasty have too high a level of treatment for the soldiers under their command.

It can be said that they can kill anyone they want without even making up a random charge.

It was this situation that gave the general too much power.

What Zhu Ying had to do was to establish public security, procuratorate, justice and legal departments like those in later generations.

Whether it is military or civilian, a crime can only be convicted through strict procedures.

The advantage of this is that the power at the lower levels will be dispersed, forming a situation where multiple parties work together.

It mainly protects the personal rights and interests of the people.

The emperor's power will not be affected.