King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Zhu Tan looked coldly at Wang Lun who was kneeling on the ground, his eyes sweeping across his fat and big-eared face like a knife.

"Master Wang is so brave,"

Zhu Tan's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty:

"I am here to implement the new policy, but you are here to amass wealth and oppress the people. Do you really think I am just a decoration?!"

Wang Lun was so frightened that he was shaking all over, sweating profusely, and he made an incoherent defense:

"Your Highness, please spare my life! I am innocent! These are all false accusations made by those unruly people. I am loyal to the court and would never dare to have the slightest intention of disobeying the emperor!"

"False accusation?" Zhu Tan sneered, "Before I came here, I had already made a private visit in disguise. The people of Shangyuan County are full of resentment. Do you really think I don't know about the good things you have done?!"

He slammed the table, pointed at Wang Lun's nose and shouted angrily:
"You embezzled relief funds, seized people's land, and forced women into prostitution. Every one of your crimes is too numerous to list! How dare you call yourself an official appointed by the imperial court?!"

Wang Lun was frightened out of his wits by Zhu Tan's words.

It's over, completely over.

He knelt on the ground like a stray dog, kowtowed and begged for mercy:

"Your Highness, please spare my life! I know I was wrong, and I will never do it again! Please forgive me this time for the many years I have served the court!"

"Working for the court?"

A trace of disgust flashed in Zhu Tan's eyes.

"A scoundrel like you is worthy of serving the imperial court? Come here, arrest this corrupt official!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several guards rushed forward and tied Wang Lun up.

Wang Lun wanted to struggle, but was kicked to the ground by the guard and could no longer speak.

The legal advisor and those gentry and powerful people who had originally planned to wait and see were immediately frightened to death when they saw this. They all knelt on the ground and began to defend themselves.

"Your Highness, please understand! I was also deceived by this dog official and was unaware of the situation!"

"Your Highness, please spare my life! I am just a businessman. It was the king who forced me to do this. I have no choice!"

"Your Highness, I am innocent! I come from a family of scholars and have never done anything illegal or disorderly!"

Zhu Tan looked at these ugly guys and sneered in his heart.

Of course he knew that these people were birds of a feather, and had colluded with Wang Lun on a regular basis. Now that the situation was not good, they wanted to put all the blame on Wang Lun so that they could escape the blame.

"Humph, do you think you can get away with this?"

Zhu Tan looked at them coldly.

"This king has ordered a thorough investigation of this case. All those involved in the case, don't even think about escaping! Someone, take them all away and interrogate them strictly!"

Upon receiving the order, the guards immediately stepped forward and captured those people.

After dealing with these corrupt officials, Zhu Tan walked out of the county government office, looked at the people gathered at the door, and said loudly:
"Fellow villagers, I came here today to make a decision for you! I have already found out the crimes of this official, and I will bring him to justice! From now on, I promise you that I will severely punish corrupt officials and give you a clear and peaceful world!"

After hearing Zhu Tan's words, the people were excited. They knelt on the ground and shouted, "Your Highness is wise! You are the great judge!"

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and was about to leave.

A ragged old man staggered out of the crowd.

She knelt before him, holding a petition high in her calloused hands.

His cloudy eyes were filled with expectation and despair.

"Your Highness! Please help me!"

The old man burst into tears, his voice hoarse, "I want to sue the Zhang family bully for killing my son!"

Zhu Tan frowned slightly, took the petition and quickly read it through.

Every detail written in the complaint is shocking. The Zhang family of Shangyuan County relied on their collusion with the county magistrate Wang Lun to bully the people in the village, rob and plunder, and commit all kinds of evil. The person who filed the complaint was forced to death by them!
"Zhang family?"

Zhu Tan's heart moved. The content of this petition seemed to be somewhat related to Wang Lun's case.

He asked calmly, "Tell me, what is going on?"

When the old man saw that Zhu Tan was willing to make the decision for him, he felt as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw and began to cry and sob.

It turned out that the old man's surname was Li, and he was an ordinary farmer in Shangyuan County. His family had been farming for generations, and his son Li Gensheng was a well-known filial son.

But misfortune struck unexpectedly. The Zhang family coveted the Li family's few acres of fertile land, so they colluded with Wang Lun, arrested Li Gensheng on false charges and put him in jail, and tortured him in every way.

Old man Li ran around everywhere and spent all his wealth, but still couldn't save his son.

In the end, Li Gensheng was tortured to death, and not even a complete body was left.

The more Zhu Tan listened, the gloomier his expression became. This was clearly a vicious case of collusion between officials and businessmen, and disregard for human life!
He handed the petition to the guard behind him and said in a deep voice, "Go, call the head of the Zhang family to me!"

The guard took the order and left. After a while, he brought back a fat, big-eared, middle-aged man dressed in silk and satin.

The man was none other than Zhang Defa, the head of the Zhang family. He had a big belly and a face full of fat. One could tell at a glance that he was used to abusing his power.

"Are you the head of the Zhang family?" Zhu Tan looked at him coldly.

Zhang Defa obviously did not expect that he would be called here, and the person in front of him was the famous Prince Lu.

He was so frightened that his legs were shaking. He fell to his knees with a plop and said tremblingly:
"I, Zhang Defa, am honored to meet His Majesty."

"Let me ask you, is what is written on this petition true?"

Zhu Tan threw the complaint in front of Zhang Defa with a cold tone.

Zhang Defa secretly glanced at the complaint and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He kowtowed and frantically explained:
"Your Highness, please understand! This is all slander! It's pure slander! I have always been kind and generous, caring for my neighbors. How could I do such a heinous thing?"

"Oh? Really?" Zhu Tan sneered, his eyes sharp, "I heard that your Zhang family has been bullying men and women and robbing people by force over the years!"

"This this……"

Zhang Defa felt frightened by Zhu Tan's look and was unable to utter a word.

“Someone come!” Zhu Tan slammed the table and shouted angrily, “Search Zhang’s house! Bring back all the witnesses and evidence related to Wang Lun’s case!”

"Yes!" After receiving the order, the guards immediately rushed towards the Zhang family with great momentum.

Zhang Defa suddenly panicked and tried to stop him, but was pushed to the ground by the guards.

Zhu Tan looked in the direction of the Zhang family, his eyes deep and cold.

This was just the beginning. The water in Shangyuan County was much deeper than he had imagined.

The guards rushed into Zhang's house like wolves and tigers, and their momentum seemed to overturn this luxurious mansion.

Zhang Defa slumped on the ground, his face pale, cold sweat soaking his luxurious silk clothes, but he was completely unaware.

Zhu Tan watched coldly, his heart calm.

Such bullies who oppress the people deserve their current fate because of their own faults.

As time passed, there were bursts of exclamations and curses coming from Zhang's mansion. It was obvious that the guards had found something incredible.

Soon, the head of the imperial guards came out with several soldiers and several trembling servants. They were holding heavy boxes in their hands. When they opened the boxes, they were filled with gold, silver and jewelry! "Your Highness! We found a large amount of gold and silver of unknown origin in the Zhang family's warehouse, as well as..."

The guard commander paused, with a hint of resentment in his tone, "And a large number of forged land deeds!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan's eyes flashed with coldness, and he sneered:
"What a great Zhang family! You are so kind and generous! It seems that you have been plundering the people's wealth over the years!"

Zhang Defa was already pale with fear. He fell to his knees and said incoherently:

"Your Highness, please spare me! Your Highness, please spare me! I was just confused for a moment. I will never dare to do this again!"

"Humph! At this point, you still want to quibble?"

Zhu Tan shouted angrily, "Come here! Capture all the people in the Zhang family and interrogate them strictly!"

"Yes!" Upon receiving the order, the guards rushed into the Zhang family like a tiger descending from the mountain and escorted out all the members of the Zhang family, young and old.

At this moment, a guard hurried over from the backyard and reported excitedly:

"Your Highness! We found a secret room in the backyard. There are many people imprisoned in it. It looks like they are imprisoned by the Zhang family!"

“What?!” Zhu Tan stood up suddenly, furious. “These beasts! Come on, take me to see!”

The secret room is located under a rockery in the Zhang family's backyard. The entrance is hidden and it is difficult to detect without someone's guidance.

Zhu Tan led everyone into the secret room, and the scene before him made him furious.

The secret room was dark and damp, with a rotten smell in the air. A dozen skinny people were chained to the corner, wearing tattered clothes, with unkempt hair and dirty faces, like wild beasts.

When they saw Zhu Tan and others coming in, fires of hope ignited in the eyes of these prisoners.

They struggled to get up, uttering faint cries for help.

"Your Highness, please save us! We are innocent!"

"Please help us, you Zhang family, you beasts!"

Zhu Tan suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice:
"Who are you? Why are you imprisoned here?"

One of the old men raised his head tremblingly and said in a hoarse voice:

"Your Highness, my surname is Liu, and I am a teacher in Shangyuan County... Three years ago, the Zhang family took a fancy to a jade pendant that was passed down in my family, and they colluded with the county magistrate to arrest all of my family members."

"They stole my jade pendant and beat my son to death! My wife was also tortured to death by them."

When the old man said this, he was already crying. The other prisoners also started crying and accusing the Zhang family of crimes.

Their experiences were different, but without exception they were all arrested by the Zhang family on various trumped-up charges.

Some had their land seized, some were forced to work, and worse still, their families were broken up and their wives and children were separated.

Listening to the cries of the people, Zhu Tan felt a surge of anger rushing to his head.

He slammed his fist on the table beside him and said through gritted teeth:
"What a great Zhang family! What a great Wang Lun! You all deserve to die!"

After returning to the county government office, Zhu Tan immediately ordered that Wang Lun, Zhang Defa and others be brought to the lobby.

"Wang Lun! Zhang Defa!"

Zhu Tan sat on the high chair, his eyes were like torches, his tone was cold, "Now that we have all the evidence, what else do you have to say?!"

Wang Lun and Zhang Defa were already frightened out of their wits. They fell to their knees, kowtowed and begged for mercy, but they could no longer utter a single word of excuse.

Faced with the irrefutable evidence, Wang Lun and Zhang Defa had no choice but to plead guilty.

They confessed to their numerous crimes of colluding with each other and oppressing the people over the years.

After listening to their confessions, Zhu Tan became even more furious. He slammed the gavel and shouted:
"Someone, come! Dismiss Wang Lun, Zhang Defa and other villains from their posts, confiscate their property and exterminate their clans! Return all the stolen money and goods to the people!"

"Yes!" The guards received the order and dragged Wang Lun, Zhang Defa and others away.

In the hall, after Wang Lun and Zhang Defa were dragged away, they were still cursing at the top of their lungs, like mad dogs.

Zhu Tan sneered. These guys who usually acted arrogantly now only had this little ability left.

He looked around, looking at the Zhang family members who were kneeling on the ground and trembling, without any pity in his heart.

These people, to varying degrees, participated in the Zhang family's evil deeds and enjoyed the wealth plundered from the people. Now that they have ended up in such a situation, it can be said that they deserved it.

"Your Highness, how should we deal with these people?"

The commander of the guards at the side stepped forward and bowed to ask.

Zhu Tan pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"All of them will be exiled to the frontier, the men will be sent to the army, the women will be forced to do hard labor, and they will never be allowed to return here."

"Yes!" The commander of the guards accepted the order and waved his hand, signaling his men to take the Zhang family members away.

Seeing the Zhang family members being escorted out, Zhu Tan did not feel relieved at all.

This is just the beginning.

There were countless bullies and powerful people like the Zhang family in the Ming Dynasty. It would take time to completely eradicate them.

What worries him even more is that even if these cancers are eradicated, can it be guaranteed that the people can live and work in peace and contentment and that the Ming Dynasty will be forever stable?

He felt that the feudal system itself had huge drawbacks, including the excessive concentration of imperial power, the corruption and greed of officials, and the increasingly serious land annexation.

If these problems are not solved, the future of the Ming Dynasty will be full of unknowns.

and……

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a humble family, he relied on his iron-blooded tactics and great talent to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish the Ming Dynasty.

But he was also a stubborn, harsh and cruel monarch who killed officials at will and ruthlessly suppressed any challenge to the imperial power.

Typical small peasant mentality.

Zhu Tan knew very well that with Old Zhu's personality, it was nothing but a pipe dream to expect him to accept the "democratic system".

"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

The voice of the guard commander interrupted Zhu Tan's thoughts.

"Nothing." Zhu Tan came back to his senses, shook his head, and put those chaotic thoughts behind him.

"Pass the order down. All the property I have confiscated from the Zhang family will be used to help the people of Shangyuan County. In addition, a batch of grain and silver will be allocated from the treasury to resettle the people who have been persecuted by the Zhang family."

"Your Highness, please be merciful!" The commander of the guards bowed quickly in response.

Zhu Tan waved his hand, signaling him to go down and do the work, and he went to the back garden of the county government alone.

Standing in the garden, Zhu Tan looked at the sky in the distance, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

He needed a place of his own, a place where he could let loose and try out new policies.

Thinking of this, a bold idea gradually became clear in his mind:

The vassal state in Shandong is no longer sufficient.

It's time to ask Lao Zhu for a new fiefdom! (End of this chapter)