"Humph." Bai Yutian patted the dragon chair and stood up, looking down at the ministers.
"Did I ever say that you can go to court with a sword?" Bai Yutian asked angrily, his voice shaking like thunder.
Almost all the civil and military officials in the dynasty were shocked by Bai Yutian. They had never seen Bai Yutian get angry before.
"No." Gu Taizhong's face looked a little ugly and he replied in a deep voice.
Although he went to court with a sword for two or three years, he did not obtain Bai Yutian's consent. In fact, Gu Taizhong did many things privately without Bai Yutian's consent.
"Very well, Qiao Aiqing, let me ask you, what kind of behavior is it to go to court with a sword, and what kind of punishment should you receive?"
Bai Yutian turned to look at a thin middle-aged man, who was Qiao Che, the Minister of Punishment.
"Chen, this..." Qiao Che looked at Gu Taizhong hesitantly. Although he was not a close confidant of Gu Taizhong, he could still be considered a member of Gu Taizhong's faction.
He knew Gu Taizhong's methods. If he revealed Gu Taizhong's punishment now, he might even be implicated.
"Qiao Shangshu, His Majesty asked you something, just answer it truthfully." Gu Taizhong said something that was not salty, but it made Qiao Che's face turn pale.
"Shut up, did I let you speak?"
Bai Yutian shouted loudly and reprimanded Gu Taizhong, without giving Gu Taizhong any face.
When Gu Taizhong heard this, his face looked a little ugly. Judging from Bai Yutian's attitude today, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to resolve.
He also secretly wondered in his heart that Bai Yutian was weak and could be bullied before and was manipulated by him. He originally thought that Bai Yutian would definitely agree to negotiate a peace.
Who would have known that Bai Yutian not only did not agree to the peace negotiation, but also wanted to punish himself heavily for holding a sword in the imperial court.
"Your Majesty, I think that the national counselor should not be so busy with state affairs..." Qiao Che wanted to plead for Gu Taizhong, but when he saw Bai Yutian's eyes falling on him, he suddenly felt tremendous pressure.
Qiao Che wanted to cry but had no tears. He was just a minister of the Ministry of Punishment and didn't have much power in his hands. He couldn't afford to offend either side.
"I'm asking you what punishment Gu Taizhong should receive. Is it because you don't understand?" Bai Yutian's fierce voice sounded in Qiao Che's ears.
"Your Majesty, the imperial master despises the majesty of the royal family. The first offender will be punished with a hundred sticks, and the second offender will not be punished with death." Qiao Che said helplessly.
As soon as these words came out, a hint of uneasiness appeared on Gu Taizhong's face, but he quickly suppressed it. He glanced at Qiao Che lightly and then looked away.
Qiao Che saw the look in Gu Taizhong's eyes and felt uneasy in his heart. Anyone who dared to say a bad word about Gu Taizhong in the court would not end well, not to mention that he personally told Gu Taizhong's punishment.
Although he was forced to do nothing, Gu Taizhong might not be able to forgive himself lightly.
"Your Majesty, I also care about Zhou Dynasty. I hope your Majesty will forgive me and I will not do it again in the future." Gu Taizhong's expression quickly returned to normal. He did not believe that Bai Yutian dared to really punish him.
For such a long time, he has figured out the emperor's thoughts. Bai Yutian's predecessor was a complete softie.
Even if he is a little dignified, it is just a pretense.
"Haha, forgive me? You have been going to court with a sword for more than two years, and dying a hundred times is not enough." Bai Yutian yelled.
"Come here, pull him down and give him a hundred punishments."
Some people couldn't sit still when they heard that they were being pulled out and beaten with sticks.
"Your Majesty, think again. The imperial master has worked hard and made great achievements. He is dedicated to the great Zhou Dynasty and has a hundred punishments. This is serious."
"Your Majesty, you can't do that."
Among the civil and military officials, another group of officials came out to intercede for Gu Taizhong and asked Bai Yutian to let Gu Taizhong go.
These officials even knelt on the ground, acting as if they wouldn't get up if they didn't agree.
Gu Taizhong smiled coldly, this Bai Yutian wanted to punish himself, but it was not enough.
Bai Yutian was full of anger, but Gu Taizhong was the only one who still devoted himself to the Great Zhou and ceded the territory to Shannu. This was called being devoted to the Great Zhou.
Three years ago, Shan Nu invaded the Great Zhou Dynasty, went all the way north, and occupied the original capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Shangyuan, forcing the Great Zhou Dynasty to move its capital.
The invasion of Shan Nu also gave Jin Lie, Yue Zhen, Wu Qiang in the north, and Nan Yuan in the south an opportunity to invade the Great Zhou Dynasty at the same time.
At that time, the Great Zhou Dynasty was busy moving its capital. It was Gu Taizhong who advocated peace talks and ceded nearly half of the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, resulting in the massacre of countless people of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Later generations also called this period of history the Five Kingdoms Chaos and Zhou Dynasty.
"The Imperial Master has committed a serious crime, and I have shown mercy beyond the law, but you still dare to plead for mercy. Someone comes and pulls everyone down. The Imperial Master will be punished with a hundred canes, and the others will be punished with twenty."
Bai Yutian was really angry and his attitude was very tough. He even punished the officials who begged for mercy severely.
Hearing Bai Yutian's voice, Chen Hong, the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army, and Cao Shan, the supervisor of the royal guards, ran in one after another. They were late in rescuing yesterday, and they were filled with regrets. Today was the perfect time to atone for their sins.
They had long been unhappy with Gu Taizhong and wanted to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, Bai Yutian was too weak before and was manipulated by Gu Taizhong. He also trusted Gu Taizhong, leaving them helpless. Today they finally got the chance.
Gu Taizhong's face was gloomy and he clenched his fists. He didn't expect that Bai Yu would dare to punish him innocently, and his face was full of disbelief.
In the end, more than half of the people in the hall were taken out, leaving Noda's Star Hall immediately empty.
Hearing the miserable sounds outside, many people were sweating profusely. Fortunately, they didn't stand up to plead for mercy just now, otherwise, they would be the ones suffering the consequences outside now.
"Okay, I ordered General Jing Zhao to go to support Liangzhou and fight against Shan Nu. Who else is opposed?" Bai Yutian then asked.
Now, there was no voice of opposition in the court. With so many people taken away, how could the remaining people dare to object.
Even Gu Taizhong and Bai Yutian are punished as they say, but what about them?
"The national treasury allocated 400,000 taels of silver as military pay to support General Jing Zhao in his fight against Shannu. Another 100,000 taels of silver were allocated to purchase grain and go to Longxi to provide disaster relief."
When Jing Zhao heard Bai Yutian say that four hundred thousand taels of silver had been allocated as military pay, he looked at Bai Yutian in disbelief.
In his opinion, Bai Yutian never cared about the war and only wanted to enjoy himself. It was not easy for him to fight against Shan Nu, but he didn't expect that he would allocate such a huge sum of money.
Thinking of this, Jing Zhao was full of ambitions and had a slight change in his view of Bai Yutian.
He must win a big victory, display the majesty of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and not let His Majesty down.
"As for other matters, of course I have arrangements. Let's retire from the court today." Bai Yutian also felt helpless. It is unbelievable that the treasury of Zhou Dynasty is less than 500,000 taels.
This small amount of money, whether it is military pay or disaster relief materials, is far from enough, not to mention that there are still many natural and man-made disasters that need to be solved in many places.
Bai Yutian knew that although the Great Zhou Dynasty had gone downhill, the treasury would not be so empty. His predecessor favored Gu Taizhong and neglected the government affairs. I am afraid that there were a lot of moths in the court because of this.