The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

When news of Su Zhe's decision to personally lead the expedition spread, the court was shaken and public opinion was in an uproar.

He forcefully suppressed the opposition in the Hall of Supreme Harmony with swift and decisive measures, but in private, the voices of opposition from the civil service group did not subside; on the contrary, they intensified.

They couldn't understand why, after the great victory in the capital, they didn't choose to rest and recuperate to consolidate their gains, but instead took this risky move, putting the monarch in danger himself.

In their view, this was tantamount to gambling with the very foundation of the nation.

The day after the order to set out was issued, it was still dark.

Several retired officials, highly respected in the court, arrived shakily outside the palace gates, dressed in outdated court robes.

They did not knock on the gate or make a fuss; they simply straightened their clothes and knelt upright on the bluestone slab.

"This old minister humbly begs Your Majesty to rescind your decree!"

The one in the lead was the Grand Tutor during the reign of the late emperor, who had once been Su Zhe's teacher.

Tears streamed down his face as he cried out loudly, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Throughout history, when a monarch personally leads an expedition, victory is assured, but defeat plunges the nation into turmoil and threatens the very existence of the state! The tragic lessons of the late dynasties, where monarchs were captured during their campaigns, led to widespread chaos and the demise of their dynasties, serve as stark reminders of this! Your Majesty, you are of inestimable worth, the pillar of the Great Qian Dynasty; you must not take such a risky step!"

The other senior ministers echoed their sentiments, recounting numerous historical examples of monarchs who failed in their personal campaigns, plunging their countries into utter ruin. They hoped to use these bloody lessons to shake Su Zhe's unwavering resolve.

Their mournful cries attracted many officials who had risen early for court to gather around.

For a moment, a tragic and oppressive atmosphere permeated the area outside the palace gates.

But they waited for a full hour, and the palace gates remained tightly shut.

Su Zhe had no intention of seeing them at all.

Just when they were about to despair, a young eunuch came out of the palace gate and went straight to the old ministers, conveying Su Zhe's oral decree.

"His Majesty instructed me to convey a message to all the officials." The eunuch's high-pitched voice was particularly clear in the chilly morning wind, "His Majesty said that either you should keep this old body and wait to attend the victory banquet of the Northern Expedition and drink with him, or you should go to the underworld now and drink with those fools who advised the late Emperor to cede territory and sue for peace."

"You can choose your own path."

These words, utterly merciless and even scathing, were like daggers to the heart. Upon hearing them, the old ministers lost all color in their faces.

They originally thought that by using their status and seniority to remonstrate with the emperor even at the cost of their lives, they could at least move the emperor and make him reconsider.

But what I didn't expect was such a cold and resolute humiliation.

Upon hearing these words, the head tutor swayed violently a few times, couldn't catch his breath, rolled his eyes, and fainted.

Chaos erupted in front of the palace gates.

When force didn't work, some people started to resort to crooked means.

Not daring to openly disobey orders, they intentionally or unintentionally created some "minor troubles" in the specific execution stages such as logistics and food allocation, attempting to delay the preparations for the army's expedition in this way.

For example, a senior official from the Ministry of Revenue submitted a memorial claiming that a sudden downpour in a southern prefecture had destroyed the official road, preventing a batch of grain from being transported to the capital on time, and requested that the departure date be postponed.

For example, a senior official from the Ministry of Works submitted a report stating that a newly produced batch of military equipment had been found to have "minor flaws" during inspection. To ensure its complete safety, the entire batch needed to be reworked, which would take at least ten days to half a month.

All sorts of seemingly reasonable "accidents" occurred one after another in just one day.

Inside the imperial study, Su Zhe looked at the mountain of memorials piled on his desk and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"It seems my blade is still not sharp enough."

He had long anticipated that this deeply entrenched group of old bureaucrats would not surrender so easily.

He casually swept the memorials away, knocking them all to the ground.

"Wei An".

"This old servant is here."

"Issue my decree." Su Zhe's voice was devoid of any warmth. "Effective immediately, activate the 'Wartime Cabinet' mechanism. All political affairs related to the Northern Expedition will bypass the Six Ministries and be handled directly by the Wartime Cabinet. Cabinet decisions are equivalent to my decrees."

"Furthermore, the Shadow Dragon Guard under your command is hereby authorized to immediately establish a 'Wartime Inspection Team.' All officials involved in the logistics, armaments, and transportation of the Northern Expedition, regardless of rank, who neglect their duties, feign compliance, or delay military operations..."

A terrifying killing intent flashed in Su Zhe's eyes.

"The inspection team has the authority to act first and report later!"

"Look!" A layer of cold sweat seeped out from Wei An's back.

He knew that His Majesty was truly determined to kill him this time.

A bloody purge of the bureaucratic system is about to begin.

When this order was issued, the officialdom in the capital was thrown into a state of panic.

Blood was drawn that very afternoon after the order was given.

A Ministry of Revenue official in charge of grain transport scheduling was "delayed" by half an hour because a batch of grain carts under his charge arrived at the camp outside the city.

He didn't even have time to come up with an excuse that "the roads were muddy and the horses were tired."

A team of Shadow Dragon Guard inspectors, dressed in black and with embroidered spring knives at their waists, stormed into his office and dragged him from his seat in front of all his subordinates.

There was no interrogation, no confrontation.

The inspection team leader simply read out His Majesty's decree in public, and then directly removed the official hat and stripped off the official robes of the person in charge.

"By His Majesty's decree, Zhang Ling, the Principal Clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, has delayed military operations and is hereby dismissed from his post! He shall be publicly flogged twenty times and exiled to the cookhouse to serve as a cook on the expedition!"

Twenty strokes of the military rod left the pampered official with torn skin and blood, crying out for his parents.

This swift and decisive iron-fisted approach completely subdued all the officials with ulterior motives.

They finally truly understood how unwavering the new ruler's resolve was. Any attempt to act cleverly would only bring about utter destruction.

The phrase "execute first, report later" is not just empty talk, but a sharp sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.

Overnight, all the problems miraculously disappeared.

The official road, which had been destroyed by the heavy rain, was repaired overnight.

The "flawed" weapons were "re-inspected" and found to be perfect.

The preparations for the Northern Expeditionary Army were carried out with unprecedented efficiency. What was originally expected to be three days of preparation time was completed in just two and a half days.

Just before the expedition was to begin, Su Zhe summoned all the wartime cabinet ministers who remained in the capital in the palace.

In front of everyone, he handed over an imperial seal, representing the emperor's personal presence, and a blank imperial edict, devoid of any words except for the seal, to Qian Kun, the chief cabinet minister, who was formerly the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue and is now the minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

"During my absence from the capital, the cabinet, together with Wei An, handled daily government affairs."

"In the event of an urgent military or national crisis, or if there are unscrupulous individuals plotting treason..."

Su Zhe's gaze slowly swept over everyone present.

"This decree can be used to execute first, and then report to the emperor."

Qian Kun stretched out his hands, his fingertips trembling slightly as he accepted the blank imperial edict. The weight in his hands made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

This blank imperial edict was Su Zhe's supreme trust in the ministers left behind, and also the ultimate deterrent to all forces in the capital.

It means that the emperor's will, even if it is thousands of miles away, can still descend upon any corner of the capital and decide the life or death of anyone.

Having cleared away all internal and external obstacles, Su Zhe could finally embark on his journey, which was destined to be paved with blood and fire, without any worries.