The female soldiers in the palace came out and took Hu Chengfu to jail on the spot.
Wang He, the Minister of Rites, and Xu Zhong, the Minister of Honglu Temple, were trembling. They were also members of Jing Tianlie.
The ministers in the DPRK remained silent, while the ministers who usually relied on Jing Tianlie were beating in their hearts.
The empress glanced at the ministers and said: "Last night there was a letter from the governor of Qianjiang County, saying that pirates had captured Zhenhai County and killed and plundered tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Qianjiang County is in urgent need."
"I sent Wu Wenjing, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, there last year, but he dared to lie to me, saying that Zhenhai County was fine."
"This is a problem with the Ministry of Justice. The tens of thousands of military and civilian casualties must be accounted for."
The empress finally made the problem clear, so that the ministers would not think that the empress was attacking Jing Tianlie's power, although it was indeed the case.
The ministers then began to discuss the issue of pirates and said that the Ministry of Punishment was too foolhardy to dare to do this.
"My dear friends, the pirates have been harassing the eastern coast for more than a day or two. This time they even captured the city and caused great harm."
"I want to choose a general to go to Qianjiang County to exterminate the pirates. Which of you is willing to lead the troops?"
The empress glanced at the ministers in the hall, but no one responded.
Baili Bing, the official minister, came out and paid homage: "Your Majesty, although the threat of pirates is not as great as that of Nanliang and Xixia, they have caused trouble for decades. If we want to completely eradicate them, we must choose a general who is both wise and brave."
"Wei Chen believes that Long Cheng'en, Minister of Industry, is brave and resourceful and can take on this important task."
Everyone turned their attention to Long Chen.
"Long Chengen, what do you think?"
The empress asked Long Chen.
Long Chen bowed and said, "I don't know much about the pirates. I'm afraid..."
It's not that Long Chen is evading, but that he really hasn't paid attention to the pirate issue and doesn't know what this matter is like.
Judging from what Baili Bing said, the pirates have existed for decades and have not been eradicated, which shows that this matter is very difficult to deal with.
Emperor Luoxi said: "Mother, my son and I are willing to go to Qianjiang County to suppress the bandits."
The empress said: "Li Xiannan sent a memorial from Caishi City, saying that there are signs of mobilization of soldiers and horses in Nanliang, and I want to send you to Linjiang Town to guard it."
The memorial had just arrived and the empress hadn't shown it to Di Luoxi yet, so Di Luoxi didn't know.
There were not many generals in the court. In the past, there were only Jing Tianlie, Jing Feng and his son, the third princess Di Lingyi and the fourth princess Di Luoxi.
Wang He, the Minister of Rites, came out and paid homage: "Your Majesty, if you send a general to such a small bandit, it will be like using a furnace to burn your hair. You will definitely succeed!"
Wang He felt that Jing Tianlie had just been hit and wanted to find an opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
Jing Tianlie didn't think so in his heart. The more critical the moment, the more he had to bargain to increase his weight.
"Your Majesty, I have just received a letter from Yufo Pass, saying that there are signs of attack in Xixia. I request that I rush to Yufo Pass to guard it today to prevent any changes."
When Jing Tianlie said this, Wang He immediately shut up.
The empress' eyes stayed on Jing Tianlie for more than ten seconds, and then said: "That's right!"
Jing Tianlie was slightly startled. He thought the empress would detain him in the capital, but he didn't expect that she would do so?
"Wei Chen accepts the decree."
Jingtianlie retreated.
So, the matter of annihilating pirates...
The empress looked at Long Chen, and others also looked at Long Chen.
"Wei Chen is willing to go to Qianjiang County to exterminate the pirates."
There is no way, I can't find anyone.
The empress was very happy, but said in a solemn tone: "Now that Southern Liang and Western Xia are not stable, I can only give you 1,000 troops. Are you sure?"
Long Chen was confused and asked: "1 thousand?"
The empress nodded helplessly.
Di Luoxi became anxious and said, "Queen mother, how can one thousand be enough? You want him to die!"
Di Yu tutted slightly and said, "Fourth sister! Why are you talking!"
The empress asked: "How?"
Long Chen thought for a while and said: "If the Holy One has no soldiers available, can we allow the ministers to recruit soldiers on the spot?"
The empress said: "Yes!"
Long Chen bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, I will definitely destroy the pirates!"
The empress smiled with satisfaction and said: "Long Chengen is the pillar of the country, I will make you the general of the Ping Kou, and you will continue to serve as the minister of the Ministry of household affairs."
After Jing Heng died, the household department naturally returned to Long Chen's hands.
Jing Tianlie lowered his head, but the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched a few times.
"Okay, that's it for today, let's retire from the court."
The empress got up and returned to the inner court, while Long Chen and Emperor Luoxi returned to the west palace.
Not far after leaving the court, Yingfeng came over and said that the empress invited Long Chen to go to Fengming Palace to talk.
Long Chen had already expected that the empress would give an explanation and immediately followed Yingfeng to Fengming Palace.
Arriving at Fengming Palace, the maid was waiting for the empress to take off her court clothes and put on her daily clothes.
The empress changed her clothes in front of Long Chen without any hesitation. She really treated him like a eunuch.
The empress opened her hands, and the two palace maids put on their clothes together. They had S-shaped back and hip curves, mature temperament, and looked back at Long Chen.
This aunt is so good, Gan!
After changing into casual clothes, the empress sat on the couch and motioned for Long Chen to sit next to her.
Long Chen bowed and carefully sat on the couch.
He had fought with the Empress before, and knew that there was a rakshasa-like ferocity hidden under this delicate skin.
"Are you afraid of me?"
The empress turned slightly, leaned to the side, and turned to look at Long Chen.
"It is the duty of a minister to fear the king."
Long Chen replied carefully.
"How's the injury?"
The empress' eyes wandered over Long Chen's body, and her tone was somewhat ambiguous.
Long Chen replied: "Thanks to the Holy Spirit's concern, after using the divine oil, the injury recovered very well."
The empress smiled and said, "Is everything ready? Take off your clothes and let me see if everything is done properly."
Long Chen was stunned, thinking that he heard wrongly.
"Your Majesty..."
"Joking ears."
The empress chuckled twice, sat up slowly, calmed down her unserious expression, and said, "Are you sure? Although the pirates are not regular troops, they are very difficult to deal with. They constantly harass the coast, and their combat effectiveness is not weak."
Long Chen also put away his evil thoughts and said: "If these pirates can be defeated, they will fight, and if they cannot be defeated, they will run away. It is difficult for the officers and soldiers to round them up. It is indeed very tricky."
"But Wei Chen thinks that the root cause is not the pirates, but some lawless people on the coast who colluded with them. They must have an internal response in the city."
"As long as we eliminate the traitors inside, it won't be a problem to eliminate the pirates."
This world is different from the Ming Dynasty, but people's hearts will not change. Long Chen probably has an insider colluding with the pirates to plunder, so he said this.
The empress nodded and said, "You couldn't explain it clearly in the court just now. Isn't that exactly what you said?"
"In addition to clearing out the pirates, you also need to dig out the traitors within. I can only give you 1,000 troops."
"You have to be careful when recruiting troops on the spot. Don't let moles sneak in. Qianjiang County is their territory."
A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake, Long Chen knew this truth.
"Weichen remembers it."
The empress asked again: "I asked Wu Jian, the heroic cavalry captain, to go with you. What do you think?"
Long Chen quickly said: "No need, the infantry and navy are used along the coast, the cavalry is of little use."
"However, Wei Chen wants Wu Jian to accompany him."
Long Chen heard from Di Luoxi that the empress knew Wu Jian's identity. Since she knew the identity, she also gave him the position of the Knight Commander. Long Chen didn't know what medicine the empress was selling in her gourd.
"Can you trust Wu Jian?"
The empress asked meaningfully.
Long Chen hurriedly said: "The Holy One can trust Wu Jian, so the minister can naturally trust him."
The empress smiled and did not continue to ask: "Yingfeng, allocate 1,000 elite soldiers from the Forbidden Army and follow Long Chengen to Qianjiang County to suppress the bandits."
Yingfeng immediately sent an order to mobilize the troops.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"explain."
Yingfeng left, leaving only the empress and Long Chen in the palace. The empress became more casual and lay down like a sleeping beauty.
