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

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Amidst a deafening roar, Ye Wudao slowly sat on the dragon throne.

Below, all the officials knelt in worship, completely convinced and convinced.

This is the real emperor!

No one knows what Ye Wudao is feeling at this moment.

two months.

Two whole months.

He has finally gone from a puppet emperor who was ignored by all officials and whose power was waned by his ministers, to one where all the civil and military officials kneel at his feet.

At this moment, he finally felt somewhat more secure on the dragon throne.

"My beloved subjects, rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The officials dusted themselves off and stood up.

"His Majesty!"

The newly appointed Minister of War, Han Ce, stepped forward and respectfully said:

"Urgent dispatch from Henan Prefecture, 800 li away!"

Ye Wudao frowned.

"Henan Prefecture?"

"Exactly!"

Han Ce quickly presented the memorial.

Ye Wudao took the memorial, his gaze falling on its contents, but his expression gradually darkened.

The famine in Henan Prefecture had lasted for three months, and the three counties of Chenliu, Qixian, and Weishi had fallen, leading to the uprising of rebels.

He only found out about this now!

Ye Wudao looked up, his gaze towards Han Ce icy: "Where did you get this memorial?"

Han Ce was taken aback: "Your Majesty, it was sent by the Ministry of War."

"My question is, who delivered it?"

Han Ce's expression changed slightly.

Ye Wudao's voice suddenly turned cold:

"A rebellion has broken out in Henan Prefecture. This urgent memorial, delivered by express courier, should, according to regulations, be sent to the palace immediately and presented to my desk. Why is this memorial in your hands?"

"It was given to me by your humble servant!"

Xiao Linyuan and Li Juzheng walked into the Golden Palace together.

He gave Han Ce a satisfied look and said calmly, "Step down."

"yes!"

Han Ce respectfully agreed, acknowledging Xiao Linyuan as his true master!

Ye Wudao's eyes turned completely cold.

The Minister of War, whom he had just promoted, was bribed by Xiao Linyuan in just one night!

The enemy had known about the rebellion in Henan for a long time, and he, the emperor, was probably the last to know!

Ye Wudao smiled coldly: "Minister Xiao, you have quite the methods!"

Xiao Linyuan narrowed his eyes and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to pursue these matters. The rebellion in Henan has shaken the entire country, and the court cannot afford to continue its internal strife."

"I believe that the officials of the Six Ministries are experienced and capable. Since Your Majesty is in urgent need of people, it would be better to let them return to court. In this way, we can not only quell the turmoil in the court and the country, but also deal with the rebellion in Henan as soon as possible."

Seeing this, everyone looked at Ye Wudao.

If Ye Wudao were to back down and allow the officials to return, it would mean he had lost this political game. If the officials were to bring up dismissal again in the future, Ye Wudao would have no way to deal with them.

One act of yielding can lead to a lifetime of concessions!

Xiao Linyuan raised his eyes and stared straight at Ye Wudao, trying to see panic and resentment in his eyes, but... there was nothing there.

Ye Wudao simply yawned, then rested his chin on his hand and did not answer.

Take a breath.

Five breaths.

One stick of incense.

Ye Wudao did not respond.

Xiao Linyuan and Li Juzheng exchanged a glance, both seeing doubt in each other's eyes.

Ye Wudao neither agreed nor refused. What exactly did he mean?

This left them with a lot of drafts but nowhere to put them to use.

Xiao Linyuan tentatively asked, "Your Majesty...?"

"Quiet down, let me think about it."

Ye Wudao's gaze swept past the civil and military officials and fell upon the snow falling heavily outside.

It's already December, the dead of winter, and the snow on the roads is three feet deep. If you stay outside for a long time, you'll either suffer from hypothermia or freeze to death.

Those former officials, the higher their rank, the older they were, some even over seventy.

This awful weather is perfect for letting those people experience the taste of freezing cold!

"Something terrible has happened!"

A eunuch rushed in, shouting, "It's terrible, Your Majesty! Former Vice Minister of Revenue, Wang Zhicheng, has fainted!"

Ye Wudao waved his hand: "Step down."

Half an hour passed.

An hour passed.

More and more officials fainted and were carried back home.

Ye Wudao sat on the dragon throne, showing no intention of speaking.

Li Juzheng finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Your Majesty, the rebellion in Henan must be dealt with as soon as possible! The longer we delay, the stronger the rebels will become!"

Ye Wudao looked at Su Wensheng: "Minister Su, what good plan do you have?"

Su Wensheng stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, troops should be dispatched immediately to suppress the rebellion and annihilate it with swift and decisive action!"

"Easy for you to say!" Xiao Linyuan scoffed. "Which troops are you going to send? Do you know which areas are garrisoned? How many troops are there? And who are the generals?"

"this……"

Su Wensheng was taken aback.

He was just a scholar; how could he know anything about military strategy and warfare?

Xiao Linyuan immediately sneered, "Your Majesty, do you see? The people you promoted don't even know how many troops to send, where to transfer them from, or who will lead them. How can they govern the country?"

He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, may I ask one more question? If the rebellion in Henan continues to escalate, does Your Majesty intend to rely on these bookish young men to quell the rebellion? In my opinion, it would be better to reinstate the officials of the original Six Ministries to the court."

Li Juzheng echoed, "Your Majesty, I second that proposal! I humbly request that Your Majesty reinstate the former officials of the Six Ministries to their original positions!"

With two powerful ministers of the court making the proposal at the same time, how could Ye Wudao possibly object?

He immediately said, "In that case, let them come back."

Xiao Linyuan and Li Juzheng were both invigorated, thinking they had succeeded.

But Ye Wudao changed the subject: "I can reinstate them to their original positions, but I have only one condition: they must read aloud the oath they signed back then, and I will allow them to be reinstated."

Xiao Linyuan was taken aback: "It's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

Xiao Linyuan breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that Ye Wudao would take the opportunity to make trouble, or even continue to humiliate them.

As a result, this is it?

It seems that Ye Wudao has really chickened out and backed down, realizing that the court cannot function without them.

"good!"

Xiao Linyuan, unaware of what was written on the "Letter of Resignation Without Regret," immediately turned and loudly proclaimed towards the outside of the hall:

"My lords, His Majesty has agreed!"

"If any of you are willing to return, you will be reinstated to your original positions!"

Outside the Golden Palace.

The former officials immediately showed joy and quickly walked in.

"real?"

"Does His Majesty truly wish to reinstate us to our official positions?"

"Haha, I knew it! The imperial court can't do without us!"

Xiao Linyuan repeated Ye Wudao's words.

"His Majesty said that as long as you are willing to return, you can be reinstated to your original positions."

A young eunuch immediately brought over a thick stack of papers.

It was precisely the "Letter of Resignation Without Regret" that they had signed back then!

Ye Wudao casually picked up a document and said, "Since you all want to break your oath and become treacherous traitors, then read aloud what you signed back then. As long as you finish reading it, I will immediately reinstate you to your original positions."

Xiao Linyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

It's just reading it once, what's the big deal?

He immediately turned around and shouted at the crowd:

"His Majesty has already agreed! What are you all standing there for?"

"It's just a resignation letter, what's wrong with reading it?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the hall suddenly fell silent.

The former officials, who had just been beaming with joy, now had stiff expressions.

Some people pretended to bow their heads, some took the opportunity to cough, and others stared at the ceiling, thinking about their wives' round buttocks...

Xiao Linyuan frowned. "Read it!"

No one spoke.

"Didn't you all want to come back just now?"

"The opportunity is right in front of you. Just reading it once will get you back to your original position. What's there to hesitate about?"

Wu Qingxun gripped the paper, his lips moving slightly: "This..."

"What is this?"

Xiao Linyuan snatched the contract from his hand.

"Give it to me!"

He looked down.

The smile on his face vanished completely the next moment.

[Your subject Wu Qingxun voluntarily resigns from his official post and returns to his hometown, vowing never to serve in the court again... If he ever regrets this and returns to service, he is willing to be struck by lightning, have his children born without eyes, have his wife run off with another man, have his daughter sold into a brothel; have his ancestral graves desecrated and his incense offerings cut off; have all his achievements and fame destroyed, and have his corpse whipped and devoured by wild dogs after death...]

After reading the entire book, Xiao Linyuan was completely distraught.

He had assumed that the so-called oath of death was something like "being struck by lightning" or "having no descendants."

But Ye Wudao is good.

It struck directly from the sky to the ground.

He stabbed his wife and children.

From the living to the ancestral graves.

They didn't even spare the corpses after they died!

Damn it, is this the kind of oath a human could come up with?

Compared to Ye Wudao's heart, even a lump of coal is white!