Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

......

Han Cao stormed into the imperial study.

Today he's going to teach this young emperor a lesson, to let him know who's in charge of the Great Yan.

A high-ranking official, he just took it as he pleased?

His ambition to seize power is plain for all to see!

"Get out of the way!"

Along the way, any palace guards or eunuchs who tried to stop him were driven away by Han Cao.

He pushed open the door to the Imperial Study.

"This old minister greets Your Majesty!"

He said he was paying his respects, but only bowed slightly.

Looking up, I saw Chen Shaozheng and Bai Bingbing with their arms around each other, seemingly plotting something.

This made Han Cao even angrier.

"Your Majesty! Today, Bai Bingbing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, broke into the residences of two high-ranking officials of the third rank, ransacked their homes, and arrested them. This act is tantamount to treason!"

Han Cao pointed at Bai Bingbing, his hand trembling:

"Your Majesty, please issue an order immediately to arrest this scoundrel!"

"Damn it, don't get excited, don't get excited."

"Please address Your Majesty as Prime Minister!"

"Alright, alright, I was just trying to show you how close I am to you."

"There's absolutely no need for that."

Chen Shao picked up two stacks of documents from the imperial desk and personally handed them to Han Cao.

"These are Qian Zhengde and Li Wencai's handwritten confessions. Minister Han, please read them yourself."

Han Cao didn't bother to look; he was already in the Jinyiwei prison, and would inevitably be tortured into confessing.

A confession is meaningless.

Chen Shao shook his head and sighed:

"These two trusted ministers of the court embezzled military funds, each of them embezzling 5,000 men without working, and they also treated human life as worthless and preyed on the local people."

"They confessed to everything, big and small, and now the evidence is irrefutable. Sigh."

"I am truly heartbroken!"

"Are all the high-ranking officials of my Great Yan Dynasty like this?"

"Your Majesty..." Han Cao tried to interrupt.

Chen Shao waved his hand and said:

"This is actually a minor matter. They are all my subjects, all high-ranking officials of the third rank. If they don't take a salary without working and don't take lives carelessly, then they are just officials in vain."

"???" Han Cao had been navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom for many years and had long since become a shrewd and cunning man, but at this moment he was somewhat stunned.

What does that mean?

"I understand, including you, Prime Minister Han. If you do this, I will support you wholeheartedly."

"How could a loyal minister, who has always upheld propriety, have done such a thing!"

"Don't be nervous. That's just what I said. If I were an official, I would have done the same. It's only human nature."

"But... what pains me isn't here!"

"But these two bastards were so depraved as to have colluded with the Northern Barbarians!"

"I always thought they were loyal to the emperor and patriotic, with unwavering integrity, but I never imagined they would do such things in private!"

Han Cao's face flushed slightly. He had a feeling that Chen Shao was making veiled accusations, but he had no evidence.

"This is absolutely impossible! Your Majesty, this must be a frame-up by someone!"

"The evidence is irrefutable, damn it."

Chen Shao hurriedly said, "Prime Minister Han, don't misunderstand. This isn't a greeting for you; it's just my favorite saying."

"Letters between the two men and the Northern Barbarians were found in their residences, written in black and white, leaving no room for their denials."

"but..."

Chen Shao changed the subject, "Even so, I can still forgive them for their collusion with the Northern Barbarians, since they are my subjects."

"But those two bastards!"

"They actually slandered you, Chancellor Han, for colluding with the Northern Barbarians, claiming to have evidence of correspondence between you and the Empress of the Northern Barbarians!"

"You even keep saying you reached an agreement with the Empress of Northern Mang to surrender the capital to her, just to preserve your wealth and status!"

Han Cao's heart sank to the bottom.

These two know too many of his secrets. Could it be that they actually possess some kind of evidence?

Judging from Chen Shao's expression, he didn't seem to be bluffing.

If it were a scam, it couldn't have been done with such precision.

If such evidence were truly left behind, even someone with immense power would surely die.

Han Cao's eyes darted around, and he roared angrily:

"What a joke! Who in this world would collude with the Northern Barbarians? Only I would not!"

"These two just know they're guilty of grave sins and want to drag me down with them, hehehe."

Chen Shao patted the old minister on the shoulder.

"Prime Minister Han, I naturally trust you implicitly."

"The problem is, these two bastards have been shouting that Han Xiang is colluding with the enemy ever since they were arrested, which is really troublesome."

"If this gets to the Empress Dowager's ears, it will be a real problem."

Han Cao frowned: "Your Majesty, where are the two of them now?"

"The Imperial Prison of the Northern Garrison Command".

There are no eternal allies, only eternal interests.

If these two are allowed to shout and yell recklessly, Han Cao's reputation will be in jeopardy.

He quickly made a decision: sacrifice a pawn to save the chariot!

"Your Majesty is wise. These two are talking nonsense. If it gets out, it will indeed damage the reputation of the court."

Han Cao waved the indictment in his hand.

"This old minister dares to say that the crimes committed by these two men are outrageous. I beg Your Majesty to execute them immediately and bring them to justice."

Chen Shao nodded:

"That makes sense. The two will be publicly tried in court tomorrow..."

"There's no need for that. Just let Commander Bai take care of them. If these two live even a moment longer, it's because we've failed the people."

hiss!

Chen Shao gasped.

"I admire the Prime Minister's heart in advocating for the people. So it's settled then."

Bai Bingbing watched Han Cao leave.

After he had walked a distance, he asked suspiciously:

"Han Cao is a cunning and shrewd man. Why was he so eager to kill him to silence him after His Majesty only made such a simple bluff?"

"Because he has something to hide."

......

Not long after Han Cao left, Yu Qi'an burst in.

Eunuch Wei hurriedly followed behind, screaming:

"Your Majesty, Minister Yu requests an audience, and this old servant could not stop him."

Chen Shao looked at this only loyal subject at present and smiled:

"So hasty? Has Han Cao rebelled?"

Yu Qi'an was taken aback for a moment, "No, not at all."

"I have come here to ask for money."

"You want money?"

Chen Shao wished he could find a gall bladder and smash it in his face so he could lick it himself.

He looked incredulous:

"Lord Yu, I have allocated five million taels from the national treasury to you in the first batch, and I have also given you eight hundred thousand taels of my own private savings. It seems that the more than one million taels obtained from the recent confiscation of your property were also given to you immediately?"

"Isn't that enough? You didn't actually embezzle it, did you, as they say?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to do some calculations for you."

"In the Battle of Shuangmu City, our Great Yan lost 500,000 soldiers. According to the court's compensation standards, each fallen soldier should receive a compensation of ten taels of silver."

"These 500,000 people amount to 5 million taels."

Chen Shao gritted his teeth: "How could you be so foolish? This money can be paid later!"

Yu Qi'an shook his head and said:

"I also wish to do so, but Your Majesty is unaware that after layers of skimming, only 500,000 taels of the 5 million taels remain in my hands."

"What!"

Chen Shao almost slipped off his chair.

Has the situation become that serious?

Has corruption become so rampant that it no longer cares about the survival of the nation?

No, these bastards are accusing Yu Qi'an of embezzling military funds!

Chen Shao was instantly enraged.

"I will kill them!"

"Your Majesty, now is not the time. If this matter is investigated, it will never end. By the time it is cleared up, the Northern Mang will have already attacked. There is no need to rush."

"As for the remaining silver... Your Majesty should know that the most important thing in defending a city is food. Otherwise, if the Northern Barbarians besiege the city for half a month, we will collapse without a fight."

"I have ordered people to buy grain at high prices, and almost all the money has been spent on this."

"Transporting grain requires horses, laborers, and weapons, etc. This amount of money is far from enough."

"The problem now is, how can we recruit soldiers without money!"

"The people won't risk their lives unless they see cash in hand..."

Chen Shao fell silent.

He didn't know much about warfare, but he knew that warfare was all about money.

This is such a huge mess; the initial investment was really not enough.

No money, no soldiers.

How can we fight without soldiers?

Chen Shao paced back and forth in his study, his hands behind his back.

for a long time...

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Who says you can't recruit soldiers if you don't have money!"