The Empress remarried, and I retaliated by wiping out the court.

The Grand Secretary's Office.

The study was brightly lit.

Li Juzheng sat in the main seat, with Wu Qingxun, Sun Bofu, Zuo Zongming, Jiang Zongchang, and others present below him.

Besides the six ministers, several cabinet members who had previously resigned also gathered here.

At this moment, everyone's face was extremely grim.

"Zhang Shouzhi is dead."

Wu Qingxun gritted his teeth and slammed his hand heavily on the table.

"That was the Minister of Rites! A veteran official of three reigns! His Majesty actually had him executed for a few words of questioning!"

"It's not just Zhang Shouzhi?"

Zuo Zongming said coldly, "The Fan and Zhong families have been raided, Zhang Shouzhi has been killed, His Majesty has completely gone mad!"

Everyone's faces were grim.

They originally thought that after all the officials resigned, Ye Wudao would quickly bow his head and compromise with them.

After all, the imperial court couldn't do without them, the six ministries couldn't do without them, and the whole country couldn't do without them. But who would have thought... Ye Wudao not only didn't bow down, but instead directly led troops to suppress the bandits!

Upon returning to the capital, he publicly executed Zhang Shouzhi, the Minister of Rites!

"It's pointless to talk about this now."

Li Juzheng spoke slowly, and everyone looked at him.

The prime minister's expression was equally grave at that moment.

Even he had to admit that he had underestimated Ye Wudao a bit.

He lived to a ripe old age. During the reign of Emperor Jian'an, when officials wanted to resign and return to the capital, he would try his best to retain them in order to preserve his good reputation.

But what about Ye Wudao?

The entire group of officials resigned, and Ye Wudao not only didn't try to retain them, but he actually wanted them to do so!

After a long pause, Li Juzheng slowly said, "Gentlemen, His Majesty's most dangerous move right now is not killing Zhang Shouzhi, but rather his attempt to establish a new court!"

Wu Qingxun's expression changed. "What did you say?"

Li Juzheng raised his eyes and stared at the crowd: "I have received news that His Majesty went to the Imperial Academy this afternoon and directly appointed new officials for the Six Ministries from among the young students there!"

These words caused a sensation throughout the room!

The officials' expressions changed drastically!

"What?!"

"How dare he!"

"Those are just greenhorns who have just graduated from the Imperial Academy. What do they know about politics?"

"Have they ever seen what a local government looks like? Do they know how the finances of a prefecture are managed? Do they know how criminal cases are tried?"

Wu Qingxun suddenly stood up, his face full of anger.

But the next moment, he seemed to realize something, and his expression gradually turned ugly.

"Wait, we've resigned from our posts, and Ye Wudao is forming a new court. Could it be... he's going to replace us all!?"

"What?"

"How is this possible?"

"Absolutely true!" Li Juzheng slowly sipped his tea. "His Majesty has exactly this plan!"

Everyone was shaken. They realized a serious problem—once Ye Wudao allowed these young people to truly establish themselves in the court and take over the positions of the Six Ministries, it would mean that they would be completely replaced.

"We absolutely cannot let them attend court!" Wu Qingxun suddenly shouted, his eyes fierce!

"That's right!" Sun Bofu's face was grim. "If they really hold positions within the Six Ministries, then what are we?"

"Former official? Deposed official? Or a joke?"

These words were spoken.

The faces of everyone in the study darkened.

They dismissed their posts to threaten Ye Wudao, because they were certain that Ye Wudao couldn't do anything without them.

But Ye Wudao turned around and formed his own team to take their place!

If Ye Wudao succeeds, then if they want to come back to be officials, it won't be a question of whether they want to or not, but whether Ye Wudao wants them to come back!

"His Majesty is going to completely overturn the table!" Wu Qingxun gritted his teeth.

"He's trying to kick us all out!"

Minister of Works Jiang Zongchang said in a deep voice, "Ye Wudao is trying to sweep us all out. In that case, I ask you all to stop your infighting and unite against external forces. What do you say?"

"I agree!"

"I agree!"

"..."

At this moment, the Great Yan court, which had been fighting amongst itself, united for the first time because of one person!

Just now.

"Bang!"

The door was suddenly kicked open!

A cold wind, mixed with light snow, swept in, causing the candlelight inside to flicker violently.

A deep and authoritative voice slowly came from outside the door:

"If we're going to unite as one, how can we do without me?"

Xiao Linyuan, dressed in a dark black royal robe, strode into the room.

His arrival undoubtedly injected a powerful boost into this gathering! He announced loudly:

"The tyrannical ruler is wicked and wants to replace all the important officials with a mere child."

"He desires to seize power over the world single-handedly!"

"I intend to take all of my military power, your official positions, and the centuries-old foundations of the noble families and clans of the land into the imperial family's hands."

"Gentlemen, Ye Wudao is no longer targeting just one person, but all of us!"

His face was stern, and his eyes were deep and unfathomable as he stared intently at Li Juzheng.

"I know that the Grand Secretary has always disliked me, and I also dislike the Grand Secretary, but so what?"

"We've been fighting for so many years, at least we know each other's bottom lines. But Ye Wudao is different. He's young, impulsive, and ambitious. He wants everything. Since that's the case—"

Xiao Linyuan stretched out his hand, his voice suddenly turning cold:

"Chief Minister Li, let's put aside our old grudges for now and form an alliance to pull this arrogant emperor down from the throne, shall we?"

The study was completely silent.

Some of them rubbed their eyes, staring at the scene in disbelief.

It should be noted that one of these two men was the head of all civil officials in the land, and the other was the most powerful regent in the land. Over the years, these two men had been fighting each other openly and secretly, to the death.

Xiao Linyuan has repeatedly threatened to kill Li Juzheng, that stubborn old man!

But in the blink of an eye, Xiao Linyuan is actually going to join forces with Li Juzheng?

This is even more unusual than the sun rising in the west!

Would Li Juzheng agree?

Everyone stared intently at Li Juzheng, eager to see his reaction.

a long time.

Li Juzheng reached out and shook hands tightly with Xiao Linyuan.

"Very well! Since the Regent is willing to put aside old grudges, I will naturally not dwell on the past."

Xiao Linyuan smiled slightly: "The Grand Secretary is indeed a man of great wisdom and righteousness."

Li Juzheng: "The Regent has the world in his heart and prioritizes national affairs. I admire him."

Xiao Linyuan: "The Grand Secretary is a master strategist and the foremost civil official in the land. I have long admired him."

Li Juzheng: "The Regent Prince rules the world and intimidates the vassal kings. He is the pillar of the Great Yan Dynasty and I have always felt deep awe for him."

Xiao Linyuan: "You flatter me, Grand Secretary."

Li Juzheng: "The Regent is being modest."

The two exchanged a glance.

The next moment, they both burst into laughter, their laughter so genuine, that it seemed as if they shared a deep mutual appreciation.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The crowd present: "..."

Good guy.

Didn't you two hate each other so much before?

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were longtime friends!

really.

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests!