In front of the Xuanfu envoy's yamen in Hangzhou, there were sword-holding guards standing, infantry armor and exquisite bent swords, and the helmets were red as blood, majestic and solemn.

The civil servants and generals from Hangzhou and the special envoys from other prefectures and counties have arrived. The magistrates and county magistrates near Hangzhou are also sitting there to discuss quelling the bandits.

It was drizzling and hit the yard outside the hall.

The incense was lingering in the hall. Tan Zhen was wearing a purple robe and a goldfish bag on his waist. He was holding the best-selling dragon in front of the rain, sitting on the chair of the Grand Master in the middle of the meeting hall, scanning the officials of these local areas.

Tan Zhen had no military achievements and was also a eunuch. Many officials present did not dare to show any dissatisfaction, and they were all waiting respectfully.

Seeing that there was no one around, Tan Zhen seemed a little impatient:

"My dear lords, I am entrusted by the emperor to control the army in the southeast. Now I am summoning everyone to come, and everyone should understand why? Fang La captured Muzhou and the situation was serious, but some people and some local officials disagreed with it, neglected their duties, and were usually lazy and ignored government affairs, which made the thief rampant, just like today, there are some people who come late."

The governor Zhao Ting and the defensive envoy Zhang Lu looked at each other, then quickly raised his hand and said respectfully:

"The people are almost there, let's start."

Tan Zhen held the teacup and pushed away the floating tea leaves, his eyes slightly cold:

"Local parents and officials took the imperial court to pay their salaries and were entrusted by the court. They should have guarded the territory and protected the people and ensured peace. Fang La caused chaos, but he was the first to escape in the battle. How can the emperor feel at ease?"

Many officials sitting in the hall looked at their noses and their hearts. Only two civil servants behind them walked to the center of the hall tremblingly and kneeled down:

"The lower official is aware of his crime!"

Tan Zhen snorted coldly: "Chen Guang, the magistrate of Qingxi County, and Zhang Huiyan, the governor of Muzhou, are usually negligent in preventing offenders. The bandits abandoned the city and fled before they arrived. It is not enough to punish them severely to improve the law and discipline. They are removed from their official positions and taken to the prison to wait for the defeat!"

"No!" The yamen runs forward and clamps two officials.

The two officials knelt on the ground quickly kowtowed. Zhang Huiyan showed gratitude and hurriedly took off his official hat and asked the yamen runners to carry them out of the hall.

After a quiet moment in the yamen, Tan Zhen glanced at the many civil and military officials present:

"Cao Hua, where is Ye Juzhong?"

The officials in the venue remained silent.

Zhao Ting hesitated: "Governor Cao just arrived in Hangzhou and has sent someone to invite him. I think he will arrive soon."

Tan Zhen frowned slightly and patted the teacup on the table, his voice slightly cold:

"The King of Kings has an order, Muzhou must not be lost. When I learned that Muzhou was surrounded, I hurriedly dispatched troops to help. Wang Xiu was in a retreat at Wugong Mountain. Before I could send troops again, the guards of Muzhou opened the city gate and let the bandits march straight in. What crime do you think this should be done?"

The hall was silent.

Hangzhou defense envoy Zhang Lu thought for a moment: "Of course, Lord Tan is not blamed for losing the city. If Muzhou defends for a few more days, the new reinforcements will definitely arrive. I can only say that Muzhou defenders are afraid of the enemy and are afraid of the enemy and fight..."

"snort!"

Tan Zhen's face was gloomy and glanced at the management: "The emperor favored Cao Hua, and he was willing to do his own things again and again. This time he even did the task of seizing power. Cao Hua, an internal magistrate, never joined the army, how could he defend the city? The emperor had long expected Muzhou to be thrown into his hands, and urgently issued an order to return military power, but he never thought that the imperial edict had not arrived..."

While speaking, steps outside the door were heard quickly.

The officials looked sideways and saw a hundred black-armored soldiers outside the yamen entering one after another, passing through the dark rain curtain, walking straight into the hall, surrounding the sides, and surrounding them from left to right.

The yamen runners and officers and soldiers were silent, and they did not stop or scold them, and they retreated honestly to the back.

The dozens of officials present changed slightly, and they all lowered their heads and pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Tan Zhen was furious when he saw this posture and his fingers were tightly pressed against the teacup.

Step... Step... Step...

The long boots stepped on the bluestone that accumulated rainwater, and the linear raindrops slid down the outer eaves of the umbrella bones.

Cao Hua, dressed in silver military uniform, walked into the hall without any rush.

Step on the pedal-

The footsteps were tight, as if they were falling into the hearts of many officials, making people unconsciously lower their heads.

When Tan Zhen saw the visitor, he slapped the teacup on the table:

"Cao Hua, you are so brave. Today's gathering..."

Bang-

A crisp sound rang through the hall.

So the official looked up incrediblely, and saw that Tan Zhen, who was still sitting on the Grand Master's chair, was slapped on the face by a loud slap in the face, and fell to the ground with a few teeth spitting out blood at the corner of his mouth, covering his face and his eyes were full of shock.

The little eunuchs looked pale, and they retreated like they were avoiding snakes and scorpions, and they did not dare to support them at all.

Cao Hua had a cold and handsome face. He slowly put away the oil-paper umbrella and handed it to a trembling eunuch behind the Grand Master's chair.

The little eunuch swallowed, and did not dare to look at each other at all. He carefully took the oil-paper umbrella and held it over and held it.

Cao Hua raised the hem of his robe and sat down on the Taishi chair. He leaned against him and looked a little lazy, sweeping over the many officials present:

"Sorry, I'm late."

“……”

The audience was silent, and the sound of swallowing saliva came one after another.

Zhang Lu almost buried his head in his crotch, for fear of being seen.

Tan Zhen fell to the ground for a long time before he recovered. His face changed and he couldn't speak for a long time. He was the emperor's envoy, who controlled the troops in the southeast of the Song Dynasty. He was only one level worse than Tong Guan in terms of power and duties. Moreover, he was a close minister of the emperor. Even when Xue Jiuquan was there, he was a peer-to-peer disciple. He dared to slap him in the face? He thought that even though Zi had never hit him today!

"Cao Hua! You..."

Tan Zhen trembled in anger all over and raised his hand to point at Cao Hua.

Cao Hua tilted his head slightly, his eyes full of murderous intent, which made people intimidate:

"Kneel down for me!"

"you-"

Tan Zhen swallowed the scolding words back and changed them to: "You are bold! Do you know I..."

wipe--

The tea cup on the table was swept out lightly, and the edge of the porcelain cup was rubbed against Tan Zhen's temples, cutting off the gray hair and the gauze hat tether. The remaining momentum was not reduced, and it hit an official's chair.

Crazy-

The chair was split into pieces, and the sitting official fell to the ground, then quickly got up, standing there trembling.

Tan Zhen's words came to an abrupt end, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead. He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground, his eyes full of anger.

Cao Hua leaned leaning against the Grand Master's chair, tapped his fingers on the table, and glanced at the many officials present:

"What are you discussing at the rally today?"

Many officials were silent, but still a county magistrate behind him, trembling and said:

"Fang La captured Muzhou, and the situation was serious. We discussed how to quell the rebellion and punish the officials who were dereliction of duty in Muzhou."

Cao Hua nodded: "Chen Guang, the magistrate of Qingxi County, and Zhang Huiyan, the magistrate of Muzhou, abandoned the city and fled, causing countless people and soldiers to die suddenly. It is not enough to revive the laws of the Song Dynasty if they are not killed. Go and bring people here and behead them for public display."

"this--"

The whole scene was in an uproar, and all the officials looked up with a little shock. It was indeed a death to abandon the city and flee, but Chen Guang and Zhang Huiyan came to Hangzhou to apologize immediately, and the emperor had already given up his gratitude. Moreover, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the magistrate Chen Guang, a sesame official, would kill him if he killed him. How could a magistrate in one place be killed?

Tan Zhen raised his head and said angrily: "Cao Hua, do you still have any kingly law in your eyes?"

Cao Hua untied the long sword from his waist, flicked it lightly, and half an inch of the sword appeared, showing a creepy cold light.

Tan Zhen was furious, but he could only ease his tone and said coldly: "Even if you want to kill, you have to ask the emperor first. The Grand Master and the King of Kings will decide to take it. How can you make your own decision?"

Cao Hua raised his hand and grabbed Tan Zhen's collar, pulled it over, and put the snow-white sword in front of him:

"Did you know if I can kill first and then report, or have you forgotten?"

Tan Zhen was stunned. He really forgot about this. Cao Hua's sword did have the right to kill first and then report, and it was granted by the emperor.

"Only by committing a serious crime of treason, you can kill first and then report..."

"What is it that the enemy is coming to abdicate the city and fleeing?"

Tan Zhen opened his mouth, but there was nothing to say.

A little bit, the Black Feather Guard came outside the lobby with two officials who kept begging for mercy, and cried and stopped abruptly as he raised his sword.

Two bloody heads were taken in and placed in the middle of the hall, and the pungent smell of blood came to my face.

All the officials looked pale and were even careful in breathing.

Tan Zhen knelt on the ground with his fists tightly clenched, and was silent for a long time:

"Cao Hua, you also abandoned the city and fled..."

Cao Hua nodded slightly and turned to Tan Zhen:

"I stayed in Muzhou for six days. More than half of the two thousand soldiers were killed or injured and spent 600,000 taels of silver. I tried every means to barely guard for six days. Where did Lord Tan's reinforcements go?"

Tan Zhen took a breath and gritted his teeth and said, "I know that the war in Muzhou is critical, so I dispatched the observation envoy Wang Xiu to rush to help with 10,000 troops, but..."

"It's been turned out?"

Cao Hua supported his knees with his elbows, leaned over, staring at Tan Zhen's eyes from a high place.

Tan Zhen was silent for a moment: "I have the responsibility of not knowing the use of people, but if you guard a few more days, let me dispatch other troops to help..."
To be continued...