A thousand or more bandits, did that mean the bandits had an army of over ten thousand cavalry? This was a number even the imperial court did not possess!
Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials were all secretly astonished, and the dim old eyes of some officials flickered with an inexplicable light.
"This matter is no longer something the local officials can suppress. I wonder, among my esteemed officials, who has a method to resolve this?"
The Empress, after calming her emotions and feeling a touch of anger, asked calmly.
As a result, the civil and military officials below looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves. After a long while, not a single person stepped forward.
Seeing this, the Empress raised her voice slightly and said, "My esteemed officials! Do none of you have any solution for these bandits?"
"Your Majesty!"
General Wei Zi, the Protector of the State, stepped forward with a stiffened resolve and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the bandits already number over ten thousand, while the imperial cavalry is only three to five thousand strong. To deal with them, we would need to dispatch over ten thousand elite troops, and only with their cooperation would there be a chance to suppress them. However, doing so would greatly weaken the guard of the capital."
The Empress fell silent upon hearing this. It was currently a time of reform and change. If the military strength of the imperial capital could not be maintained, and if it could not exert pressure on the various regions, then unrest might arise in those regions.
Yet, these bandits were already a sign of unrest. If they were not dealt with quickly, and if they continued to grow their power by plundering merchant caravans, their strength would undoubtedly expand next year.
By then, it would be difficult for the imperial court to suppress them.
Caught in a dilemma, the Empress did not know how to choose. She unconsciously turned her gaze to Chu Chen and asked, "Minister Chu, do you have any methods?"
"Me?"
Chu Chen was stunned. He had not intended to step forward and offer a solution, so why was the Empress asking him directly?
Fine, the entire court was full of useless people, unable to solve a bandit problem. It was just over ten thousand people, truly.
Chu Chen muttered to himself, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that unless these bandits were sent by the northern states, suppressing them would be very simple."
"Oh?"
The Empress's eyes lit up. The northern states causing trouble? That was a joke. The northern border was not staffed by incompetents. How could such a large cavalry force operate without a single report reaching them? It was certainly not the cavalry of the northern states.
However, this bandit issue was indeed quite peculiar.
But now, the Empress could not afford to worry about so many things. She did not want too many complications to arise during the period of reform and change. She asked, "Then, Minister Chu, how is this suppression method so simple?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, this matter is simple. We only need to send an imperial envoy with an imperial decree, and they can all be pacified. Thus, the bandit problem will naturally be resolved."
"Your Majesty, absolutely not! The bandits have incurred the wrath of the masses, plundered over a million taels of supplies from merchant caravans, and have caused chaos in Shizhou for a month. How can they be so easily pacified? Would this not be disregarding the dynasty's laws? If so, would it not encourage those with ulterior motives to emulate them, seeking to rebel and be pacified?"
The Minister of Justice, Wang Zhe, was unwilling to speak, but his subordinate, the Assistant Minister, could not help but step forward and shout.
The Empress was slightly taken aback. The logic was indeed sound. But if you all have no way to deal with these bandits, would you rather watch them grow stronger?
Chu Chen, standing beside, said indifferently, "Then, Assistant Minister, do you have a way to deal with the bandits? If not, please remain silent."
"..."
The Assistant Minister of Justice's face stiffened. He was a pure civil official, what method could he possibly have?
The Empress looked around and asked again, "Besides the pacification suggested by Minister Chu, do any other esteemed officials have other methods?"
Her repeated inquiry was met with the same silence. The Empress was inwardly angry and somewhat displeased with Chu Chen.
She thought to herself, "This Chu Chen, who usually comes up with constant ingenious strategies, why does he only have this one method of pacification this time? Could it be that there is an underlying truth to this matter that I am unaware of?"
Thinking of this, the Empress turned her gaze to Chu Chen and asked, "Minister Chu, your Imperial Guard organization has powerful intelligence capabilities. Even so, you do not know where these bandits came from?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, the Imperial Guard has a limited establishment of only three thousand men. While we know everything within Shuangyue Prefecture, our reach outside Shuangyue Prefecture only extends to general knowledge of the various prefectures within the country. We do not have the ability to know everything."
"Therefore, I truly do not know where these bandits came from, but!"
Chu Chen's "but" attracted the attention of the Empress and all the civil and military officials. They all looked at him.
"But?" the Empress retorted.
"I know why these bandits are plundering merchant caravans, and I also know why these merchant caravans are still active in winter."
After saying this, Chu Chen had a strange smile on his face, which made some officials tremble with fear.
Among them, someone directly shouted, "Your Majesty! The matter of the bandits is of great importance. Whether it is pacification or risking the danger to suppress them, please Your Majesty make a swift decision!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! Please Your Majesty make a decision soon!"
Several ministers repeatedly shouted, causing the Empress's calm expression to become even more shocked and angry.
She had already confirmed that this bandit matter was indeed not simple. It was likely that these bandits were the product of the infighting among these officials!
The Empress ignored these ministers, waved her hand to signal them to quiet down, and then asked, "Minister Chu, please tell us everything you know. I have suddenly become quite interested in this bandit matter."
"This is no problem, but I fear some ministers may not wish for me to speak," Chu Chen said with a smile, looking at those assistant ministers who had eagerly stepped forward.
These assistant ministers were not deputies to the ministers, but second-tier assistant ministers, serving as chief officials of a department.
Without investigation, it was clear that these people were spokespersons, or more accurately, scapegoats in the struggle.
"Speak freely. I want to see who has a guilty conscience and dares to stop you!" A cold glint flashed in the Empress's eyes.
Chu Chen cupped his hands and said, "I obey Your Majesty's decree!"
Then, Chu Chen recounted the events that occurred in Shizhou, in great detail, to the Empress in the imperial court, in front of all the civil and military officials.
After the Empress finished listening, she surprisingly did not fly into a rage. She only tightened her grip on the dragon throne, her hand continuously exerting force.
Clearly, the Empress's inner turmoil was not as calm as her outward appearance suggested.
"So that's how it is," the Empress nodded. For some reason, she suddenly released her grip on the dragon throne, appearing somewhat desolate.
A moment later, the Empress suddenly asked, "Whose doing are these bandits?"
"..."
The civil and military officials remained silent, but some of them cast their gaze towards Chu Chen.
The Empress had a thought in her mind and sighed, "The matter of reform and change cannot be wasted because of this. Since Wang Li Mengdie harbors rebellious intentions, then order the surrounding counties to begin a encirclement and suppression."
"I am tired."
With that, the Empress stood up and slowly departed.
"Your ministers respectfully see Your Majesty off!"