Those young generals and young masters were all as excited as if they had taken some magic medicine. They wanted to show their skills in front of the king and their relatives and friends. Countless prey were transported back to the hunting palace from the hunting grounds. Even the girls who did not go to the hunting grounds were discussing everyone's harvest in the past few days.

On the third day of the autumn hunt, Gu Jue issued an edict early in the morning, deciding to set off for the capital three days later, which was August 9th. Most of the others still felt that they had not yet had enough, especially the young and ambitious gentlemen who were eager to hunt a few wild beasts before the end of the autumn hunt so that they could stand out from the crowd.

Those who like hunting go to the hunting ground every day, those who like traveling call their friends to travel around, and some people go to Wanlin Town, which is the closest to the hunting ground, to hang out, such as Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen.

After playing in the hunting ground for three days, Shen Qianchen didn't want to go into the mountains again, so on the morning of August 7, she and Gu Jue went to Wanlin Town in disguise.

The small town became more lively and prosperous than usual because of the emperor's autumn hunting.

On the streets, in restaurants, teahouses, shops... you can see men, women, old and young, dressed in gorgeous clothes coming in and out everywhere. Their appearance and dress are very different from those of the locals, and they stand out from the crowd when walking in the town.

This town is close to the mountain, and people live off the mountain, so naturally there are plenty of wild delicacies. Along the way, many simple townspeople are setting up stalls and hawking their wares. There are all kinds of wild mushrooms, miscellaneous fish, wild chrysanthemums, wild bamboo shoots, etc., as well as wild rabbits, pheasants and other game. Various shouts can be heard one after another.

"Take a look, take a look. These are all freshly picked delicacies from the mountains, monkey mushrooms, bamboo fungus, donkey nest mushrooms, morels, white fungus... they are as fresh as they can be."

"My dear lady, although these fish are small, the fish meat is delicious and is most suitable for frying small dried fish."

"Look at how cute these rabbits are. Why don't you buy two for your wife to play with?"

“…”

Since entering the town, Shen Qianchen and Gu Jue were stopped by vendors four or five times while walking down just one street. It felt like they had walked several miles on a street that was only a hundred feet long.

The couple strolled around the town casually for a while and bought some miscellaneous small things. Gu Jue worked hard to carry things for her.

After walking around for most of the time, Shen Qianchen said he was tired, so the two of them went into a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was not big, so there were not many private seats. When they went there, there were only two empty tables in the lobby on the second floor.

Anyway, they were not the kind of people who cared about things, so they just sat down at a table by the window on the second floor.

The two of them ordered a table full of signature dishes. The waiter knew that they had met a wealthy guest, and he smiled from ear to ear. He said, "Please wait a moment, sir," and went downstairs in a hurry.

The diners at the nearby tables were eating, drinking, chatting and laughing, and the whole place was filled with a lot of noise.

Shen Qianchen drank a sip of warm and fragrant barley tea, turned his head and was about to look out the window when he heard a low and hoarse male voice coming from the table next to him: "Brother, does that person really have a prey distribution map?"

A young man of eighteen or nineteen in blue clothes was urging the middle-aged man beside him impatiently, looking out the window across the street from time to time.

The middle-aged man patted the blue-clothed youth on the shoulder and lowered his voice cautiously: "Don't worry, brother, there will be no problem. When you present this prey distribution map to your son, it will be a great achievement."

"I will definitely remember your kindness, brother." The young man in blue smiled apologetically, still feeling a little anxious.

Gu Jue also heard this conversation and exchanged glances with Shen Qianchen tacitly.

According to the rules of Da Qi, whenever the emperor went out hunting, an advance army would arrive at the hunting ground in advance to drive away the wild beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests, and draw a distribution map of prey in the hunting ground area. The main purpose was to record the approximate distribution areas of various prey, especially to carefully mark the habitats of wild beasts such as bears, tigers, and wolves, to prevent these beasts from accidentally injuring the nobles.

The middle-aged man looked out the window at the street again and said excitedly, "People are coming. Let's go down."

After paying for the drinks, the two guests hurriedly got up and went downstairs.

Gu Jue didn't even look at them. He drank his tea elegantly and snapped his fingers.

Almost the next moment, a young man in gray shorts appeared beside Gu Jue like a ghost, leaning over to listen to his orders.

Gu Jue pointed out the window and whispered something in his ear. Then, the young man in gray quickly walked down the stairs and happened to cross paths with the waiter who was coming upstairs to serve the dishes.

"Sir, the food is here, please eat it while it's hot!"

The waiter was very efficient and served several hot dishes one after another.

When Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen had almost finished eating, the young man in gray came back, covered his sleeve with a piece of silk paper folded into a long strip and stuffed it into Gu Jue's mouth. Then he disappeared again, so quickly that it seemed as if he had never appeared.

After reading the blueprint, Gu Jue smiled and put it away again, saying sarcastically, "This is just an attempt to cover up something, which only makes it more obvious."

Shen Qianchen could see and hear that the blueprint was real.

After a little thought, she understood the key.

It was precisely because of the leak of this prey distribution map that Gu Jue and her were attacked by wolves in the hunting ground on the fourth day of August. The person who leaked the distribution map was not a fool, and he knew this, so he was afraid.

If this prey distribution map was only sold to a few people, then the Jinyiwei would be able to trace it back to him as soon as possible. So, in order to remedy the situation, he simply spread the map out without hesitation, hoping that the Jinyiwei would not trace it back to him. In other words, he was thinking that the law should not hold everyone responsible.

"Heh," Shen Qianchen chuckled, but his smile did not reach his eyes. His pupils were as cold as the surface of an autumn lake. He said unhappily, "You really have too many thoughts. It's endless."

Gu Jue stopped talking, took a sip of barley tea, and a cold light flashed across his eyes.

Yes, there is no end to these things.

Gu Jue has always been resolute in his work. Since he had made up his mind, he immediately summoned Su Mubai, Xue Fengyan and others after returning to the Hunting Palace and ordered: "No need to continue investigating. Mobilize the Black Armor Army, arrest all these people, and dismiss them from their posts."

Gu Jue casually threw out a memorial, which was written by Su Mubai himself a few days ago. It listed the military generals involved in the "ghost salary case" and their various crimes.

Su Mubai, Xue Fengyan and others couldn't help but stand in awe.

The issue of empty pay in the army had been under investigation for three months. Su Mubai had reported the matter to Gu Jue several times and discussed it several times. In Su Mubai's opinion, in order to avoid shaking the morale of the army, it would be better to "nibble" away these parasites in the army step by step and steadily manage the various chaos in the army.

However, Gu Jue disagreed.

He believed that these termites should not be tolerated, and should be "destroyed like an eagle" with drastic measures, so this autumn hunt was held.

The essence of this autumn hunt is a "Hongmen Banquet". Gu Jue's purpose is only to gather all the generals who came to Beijing to report on their work and the relevant generals in the imperial guards into the hunting palace with justification, trap them in this relatively closed space, and then catch them all in one fell swoop.

This is Gu Jue! Whether he is leading troops, governing people, or dealing with people, he is always ruthless and daring. No one and nothing can hinder his steps or his decisions.

"Yes, Master Jiu!"

Su Mubai and others responded in unison, and their loud voices startled a flock of birds on the branches outside the window.

It was dusk, the sun was setting, and most of the men who had been hunting had already returned from the hunting grounds.

Many people gathered in the garden, lakeside, and pavilions of the hunting palace. Some were chatting, some were talking about family matters, some were exchanging hunting experiences, and some were playing. It was very lively.

By a sparkling lake, a dozen young men and girls were playing the game of pitching pots with great interest on the open space by the lake, with their faces beaming with joy and laughter.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound of footsteps came from the direction of the entrance of the Hunting Palace, getting closer and closer like continuous thunder, echoing throughout the Hunting Palace.

These young men were all startled. A girl in green clothes who was about to play tossing pot accidentally lost her grip and the bamboo arrow in her hand fell out of her hand.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a large group of black people rushing towards them like a tide, exuding a terrifying aura.

They were startled again and suddenly became agitated, especially the girls, who were all frightened and turned pale, and shouted at the same time:

"Why is there a group of soldiers coming this way?!"

"Could it be a traitor?!"

"Quick, go and notify the nearby Jinyiwei!"

“…”

Because Gu Jue had just encountered danger in the hunting ground not long ago, most people's first reaction was that there were rebels attacking.

However, when the black-mass group of people gradually approached and everyone saw clearly the clothes and appearance of the people coming, they were sure of one thing: they were definitely not traitors.

"It's the Black Armor Army!"

"Why did the Black Armor Army go out?"

On the one hand, everyone felt calm, but on the other hand, they were a little panicked.

Since the Black Armor Army has been dispatched today, they must have a purpose.

The key is who is the "target" being aimed at.

No one dared to act rashly. They just stood there and watched from afar, watching the Black Armor Army being quickly divided into several teams and heading in all directions with great momentum.

The girl in green clothes swallowed her saliva and said timidly: "Should we...should we go back?"

"Since they are not targeting us, I think it is better to remain unchanged in the face of all changes, so as to avoid being injured by mistake." A young man in blue suggested solemnly.

Most of the girls were nervous and looked at each other. They also felt that what the young man said made some sense: What if the Black Armor Army misunderstood that they were running around because they were guilty or that they were tipping off the enemy? Wouldn't that be extremely unfair! These young men and girls didn't want to continue playing the pot-throwing game. They all sat down absent-mindedly. Some rubbed their handkerchiefs, some drank the already cold tea in sips, and some fanned themselves with folding fans in annoyance.

At this moment, time seems to pass especially slowly.

The setting sun was getting lower and lower. Half an hour later, everyone heard another noisy noise coming from the sky. A team of forty or fifty Black Armored Army soldiers came over, escorting five or six rough-looking men.

Those men were all yelling and shouting, their faces red and necks thick, and some even started fighting. The result was that he was hit hard on the back of the neck by a black armor soldier's hand blade. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.

From another direction, another team of Black Armored Soldiers came over with several other men.

This scene stunned many people, and several timid girls became even more anxious.

The young man in blue who had just advised everyone not to act rashly said to himself, "The commander of Yuzhou Guard, the general of Youzhou... the general of the cavalry, the general of Huaiyuan..."

Most of the other people around also heard his whispers and looked at each other in shock again.

All those captured by the Black Armor Army were military generals of the third rank or above in the court. They were either high-ranking officials in the state guards or generals holding important positions in the imperial guards. Each of them was a well-known figure in the Great Qi Dynasty.

"What is the Black Armor Army going to do?" murmured an ordinary-looking young man in green.

He said "Black Armor Army", but everyone knew that what he really wanted to ask was, what is the new emperor going to do? The new emperor mobilized the Black Armor Army to block the hunting palace and arrest people. This thunderous momentum made people think of the posture of the army forcing the emperor abdicate a few months ago.

Everyone was speechless, no one could answer this question. It felt like the evening sky, half bright and half dark, with the night sky leaving a thick stroke of ink in the sky.

Similar scenes happened in every corner of the Hunting Palace. One general after another was captured from their palaces by the Black Armor Army. Those palaces were also sealed off and no one was allowed to enter.

Some other unrelated families simply stayed indoors to avoid suspicion; some families could not help but go to relatives, friends or colleagues to inquire about the news; some families cautiously watched the situation, and were relieved when they saw that there was no movement in the Shen family, Prince Li's Mansion, Prince Jing's Mansion and other mansions.

In just one or two hours, the entire Hunting Palace became quiet again, and the Black Armor Army soldiers disappeared without a trace, as if nothing had happened.

When the sun was about to set completely, Prime Minister Zhang, Minister of War Zhuang Maohua and Minister of Personnel Wei Jingze hurried to Chengguang Hall.

This time, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Works, and the Minister of Punishments stayed in the capital and did not accompany the emperor, so only Zhang Shoufu and three other cabinet ministers came to ask for an audience with Gu Jue.

Gu Jue also immediately summoned the three ministers.

Lanterns had been lit in Gu Jue's study, and the room was brightly lit. In the corner stood a three-legged unicorn-shaped white porcelain incense burner, from which rose a wisp of green smoke. The scent of the incense was apparently light and elegant, but to the three people, it made them feel stuffy.

Zhuang Maohua knew in his heart that those who were captured by the Xuanjia Army today were all those who were found to have problems during their performance reports, so the new emperor must be cleaning out the cancer in the army, but the commotion made by the new emperor today was too big, which inevitably caused panic among the people.

Zhuang Maohua sighed secretly in his heart.

"Your Highness."

The three bowed their heads to Gu Jue. Before they could say anything else, Gu Jue took out a few memorials and said, "As the old saying goes: Don't treat an existing disease, treat a potential disease; don't treat an existing disorder, treat a potential disorder. The various chronic diseases and malpractices in the army have been around for a long time, such as eating empty salaries, corruption, enclosing land, false recruitment, inadequate updating of armor and weapons... and, officials protecting each other."

"According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, anyone who eats without paying will be beheaded in public."

Every word and sentence that Gu Jue said made them tremble with fear, especially the last sentence which was like a heavy hammer hitting their hearts.

Everyone present knew about this law. In the last years of the previous dynasty, the phenomenon of soldiers eating empty salaries was common, which led to the dynasty being in danger. Emperor Taizu had some realizations and established this law at the beginning of the founding of the country.

Prime Minister Zhang and the other two quickly looked at the memorials thrown by Gu Jue, and the more they read, the more frightened they became.

In the memorial, the crimes of those military generals and the relevant evidence were all clearly listed, almost listing all their official duties for the past twenty years.

Some of the evidence was even seen for the first time by the Minister of War Zhuang Maohua.

Greed is like a snake swallowing an elephant.

People's hearts are becoming more and more greedy. At first, they were only greedy for a few hundred taels a year, then a few thousand taels, and later tens of thousands of taels. In the end, they set their sights on the funds allocated by the court to update armor and weapons.

If a soldier wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his weapons.

The soldiers' armor and weapons, such as spears, swords, bows and arrows, will wear out, so they need to be updated regularly, but these people either embezzled the court's funds or sold the new weapons through various channels.

Zhuang Maohua felt as if his throat was burning with fire, and couldn't help but sigh: These people are so bold.

It is a capital crime to draw a salary without doing any work, it is a capital crime to falsify recruitment information, and it is also a capital crime to embezzle more than 100 taels of silver.

Although these generals had indeed committed capital crimes, Zhuang Maohua still felt that Gu Jue had been too harsh. This was equivalent to clearing out nearly one-third of the generals above the third rank.

Zhuang Maohua looked at Prime Minister Zhang with an inquiring look, wanting to see what Prime Minister Zhang meant.

Prime Minister Zhang frowned, and hesitated to speak. Finally, he spoke carefully, "Your Majesty, I think the crimes committed by these people are indeed unforgivable. They should be punished and their mistakes should be corrected, but we should take it step by step."

Prime Minister Zhang also felt that Gu Jue's methods were too harsh. He and the late emperor Gu Lang were brothers, and their styles of doing things were completely at two extremes.

When Gu Lang was in power, he was very tolerant towards both civil officials and military generals.

For example, two years ago, when Yuzhou was hit by a flood, after millions of disaster relief funds were allocated through layers of government, only one or two tenths of the funds reached the people. People were destitute for a time, and the victims wrote a petition to the Ten Thousand People to ask for mercy. Gu Lang ordered the Right Censor-in-Chief to conduct a thorough investigation as an imperial envoy, and uncovered a series of corrupt officials. In the end, they were only demoted and fined, and were let off lightly.

In the end, the biggest change was that Yuzhou changed its governor.

The late emperor had been so lenient with the officials, but Gu Jue faced off against 30% of the generals at once, leaving no room for maneuver.

Prime Minister Zhang and Zhuang Maohua exchanged glances silently.

Both of them were worried about what to do if these guards rebelled.

wrong.

Perhaps Gu Jue had considered this, which was why he summoned these generals to the capital to report on their work and gathered them all in this hunting palace, so that the Black Armor Army could be captured in one fell swoop. His move was to catch the turtle in the jar and also to prevent them from escaping.

Who could have thought that he had the guts to kill 30% of the generals at once?! Gu Jue's methods were too powerful and too cruel.

Gu Jue's courage and boldness shocked both Prime Minister Zhang and Zhuang Maohua. While they admired him, they were still worried, fearing that Gu Jue would be too harsh and cause some uncontrollable consequences.

Gu Jue had just ascended the throne, so there was no need for him to command the army by "cutting off one's own arm".

Zhuang Maohua calmed down and agreed, "Your Majesty, if the imperial guards and local garrisons lose 30% of their generals, I'm afraid the morale of the army will be disturbed. I think it would be better to severely punish the main culprit to serve as a warning to others and put the overall situation first."

Minister of Personnel Wei Jingze rolled his eyes and finally said, "Your Majesty, I second the motion."

He followed the lead of Prime Minister Zhang and Zhuang Maohua and added: "I think that when the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

Prime Minister Zhang and Zhuang Maohua also nodded, thinking of the second half of Wei Jingze's sentence.

Yes, when the water is too clear, there will be no fish; when a person is too strict, there will be no followers.

There are only a few officials in the court who can guarantee that they or their families have not made any mistakes. If the new emperor is so cruel and cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes, everyone will be in danger and will have difficulty moving forward.

Not only the army, but even the court will be in turmoil because of this.

(End of this chapter)