Chapter 916 Unexpected Answer
"You don't want to do it, or you can't do it?"
Emperor Wen narrowed his eyes and asked calmly.
"I don't want to do it, and I can't do it!"
Dugu Ce met Emperor Wen's gaze and said, "Your Majesty, although I am the deputy commander of the Northern Army, my prestige cannot be compared with that of the Sixth Prince! If I dare to have any rebellious thoughts, these soldiers will chop me into meat paste without the Sixth Prince taking action..."
Deputy commander?
Yun Zheng said he was the deputy commander, so he was the deputy commander!
As long as Yun Zheng gave the order, he would be unable to mobilize a single soldier from the 100,000 garrison troops in the Northwest Protectorate!
Tong Gang, who guards Xing'an Fort, was the former commander of Yun Zheng's personal guards, and could also be Yun Zheng's half-apprentice.
Huo Gu, who guards Sawtooth Ridge, was also promoted by Yun Zheng.
Feng Yu from Dayuewang City, Deng Bao from Yiwu, Fu Tianyan from Suomai...
Which of these people is not loyal to Yun Zheng?
If he dares to act recklessly, these people will be his death warrant!
He may not even be able to mobilize the troops in Yufeng City.
Military morale!
The army’s morale is with Yun Zheng!
Except Yun Zheng, no one can completely control this army.
"Is that so?"
Emperor Wen narrowed his eyes slightly, "If something happens to the Sixth Brother, you, the deputy commander, will not be able to control this army?"
what?
After listening to Emperor Wen's words, Dugu Ce's face changed drastically again.
Something happened to the Sixth Prince?
Could it be that... His Majesty is going to take action against the Sixth Prince?
"You don't have to look at me like that!"
Emperor Wen smiled calmly, "Just think of it as a casual question from me!"
"Since Your Majesty said so, I will just treat it as a casual question!" Dugu Ce smiled bitterly and asked, "Your Majesty, who do you think has the highest prestige among the Northern Palace Army and the Guiyi Army, except for the Sixth Prince?"
"Shouldn't you be the deputy commander?"
Emperor Wen asked with interest.
Dugu Ce shook his head: "No, this little prestige of mine was given by His Highness the Sixth Prince."
Emperor Wen thought for a moment and replied, "Is that Princess Shen Luoyan, or Yu Shizhong?"
"neither!"
Dugu Ce shook his head and stopped keeping the secret, "It's Madam Miaoyin!"
"Wonderful Sound?"
Emperor Wen was extremely surprised.
Apart from Yun Zheng, Miaoyin has the highest prestige?
This answer was really beyond his expectations.
"Correct!"
Dugu Ce said solemnly: "Your Majesty, you don't know that Madam Miaoyin has been with your Highness in every battle. Although Madam Miaoyin did not lead the army, almost all the generals in the army have received her favor..."
Miaoyin is a person that many people tend to ignore.
Because she never led an army, she was just Yun Zheng's personal bodyguard during wartime.
But Miaoyin knows medical skills!
Moreover, his medical skills are amazing!
Among these main generals in the army, how many have never been injured on the battlefield?
Most of their injuries were healed by Miaoyin.
Someone like Wang Qi could be said to have been pulled back from the brink of death by Miaoyin!
Otherwise, when Yun Zheng and Jia Yao jumped off the cliff, how could Miaoyin calm down Qin Qihu, Yu Shizhong and other arrogant and powerful generals?
If it weren't for Miaoyin, many generals might have suffered from hidden diseases even if they didn't die.
Yun Zheng's prestige comes from his power.
And Miaoyin’s prestige comes from grace!
"I really didn't know that Miaoyin's prestige in the army was so high."
Emperor Wen smiled as if he had suddenly realized something, then stood up and helped Dugu Ce up himself: "You are doing well! I was not wrong about you!"
Ok?
Was Dugu Ce confused by Emperor Wen's sudden change?
What does your Majesty mean by this?
Is His Majesty testing me?
"Sit down! I have something to tell you now."
Emperor Wen sat down again.
"I do not understand what Your Majesty means."
Dugu Ce was secretly confused and had no idea what Emperor Wen was trying to do.
Emperor Wen sighed softly and spoke slowly: "When I was in Shuofang, Lao Liu talked to me about the plight of the Northwest Protectorate. I suggested that he reduce the population of the Northwest Protectorate by half, but he was too soft-hearted..."
Dugu Ce's eyelids twitched suddenly when he heard this.
Reduce the population of Northwest Protectorate by half?
Suddenly, Dugu Ce understood Emperor Wen's true intention.
He had indeed been testing himself before.
Test whether he is loyal enough to Yun Zheng.
Test whether you have a sense of the overall situation.
If Yun Zheng can't do it, there are some things that only he can do!
In the end, the only one who will bear the eternal infamy is yourself.
"Your Majesty, do you really want to do this?"
Dugu Ce's voice trembled a little, and he felt a chill in his heart.
ruthless!
For the first time, he experienced true cruelty.
Before this, Yun Zheng asked him to issue an imperial decree that anyone who dared to rebel would be executed along with his family.
At that time, he still thought Yun Zheng was too cruel.
Only now did I realize that compared to Emperor Wen, Yun Zheng was too merciful.
Reduce the population by half!
That’s nearly a million people!
Millions of corpses, it’s chilling to think about it.
Emperor Wen narrowed his eyes and asked calmly, "Do you know why I am unwilling to send food to the Northwest Protectorate?"
"Your Majesty wants to... starve these people to death?" Dugu Ce asked tentatively.
"of course not!"
Emperor Wen shook his head. "If they were inside the Great Wall, why would I be stingy with this little bit of food? Although the treasury is a little empty now, this year should be a bumper year. No matter how short of food we are, we won't lack this little bit of food from them..."
The problem is that the Northwest Protectorate is too far away from the interior!
Of the 100 kilograms of grain delivered, I'm afraid only 20 kilograms will be left.
Not even 20 kilograms!
If the population is not reduced and the households are eliminated, this will be a bottomless pit!
In this way, the Northwest Protectorate will become a burden to Yun Zheng and will always drag him down!
"I understand what Your Majesty said."
Dugu Ce had a complicated expression, "But Your Majesty, this is nearly a million people after all!"
"I know."
Emperor Wen sighed softly, "But I am the emperor of Daqian, not the emperor of Qiuchi or Dayue! If you don't know what to do, I can teach you!"
Then Emperor Wen proposed a very simple solution.
They recruited laborers on a large scale, nominally providing work in lieu of relief, but in the end they specifically sent a corrupt official from Qiuchi or Dayue to be in charge of distributing grain.
By then, if people starve to death on a large scale, it will have nothing to do with Yun Zheng and Dugu Ce. They can just take action against that corrupt official and his men.
Or maybe he was deliberately stirring up feuds between the people of Qiuchi and Dayue, letting them fight among themselves and constantly consume each other's manpower, and Dugu Ce and the others could just watch the show with peace of mind.
In this way, Dugu Ce does not need to worry about bearing eternal infamy.
Listening to Emperor Wen's words, Dugu Ce felt even more frightened.
After hesitating for a long time, Dugu Ce said cautiously: "Your Majesty, it is not the time to take this step yet. I beg Your Majesty to give me and the Northwest Protectorate some time. If it really comes to that time, even if I have to bear the infamy for all eternity, I am willing to do it!"
Emperor Wen was silent.
After a long while, Emperor Wen slowly stood up and said, "Okay! You decide for yourself!"
After saying this, Emperor Wen turned and left, leaving Dugu Ce with his legs a little weak.
After walking a distance, Emperor Wen turned his head and looked at Mu Shun again, "Watch your mouth!"
Mu Shun's heart trembled, and he said respectfully: "This old slave knows nothing."
Emperor Wen nodded and said no more...
