Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 14 Reorganization of the Cabinet
The people left on the execution ground waiting to be executed looked pale and sweating profusely.

Mou Bin walked up to one of the Zhou family members and flipped through the Zhou family tree.

"what name?"

"Zhou... Zhou... Zhou Chang..."

The man's lips trembled and he spoke incoherently.

Mou Bin picked up a pen, found the name Zhou Chang in the family tree, and crossed it out.

Then he waved to the Jinyiwei behind him, and the Jinyiwei immediately stepped forward and slashed with swords.

Zhou Chang was beheaded before he could even utter a word to beg for mercy.

Mou Bin walked towards the next Zhou clan member and flipped through the family tree in his hand: "What's the name?"

"..."

Compared to Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu who were tortured to death by lingchi, the death of these Zhou family members with one knife was considered relatively painless.

In fact, there were very few executioners in the imperial court who were capable of performing such a severe punishment as lingchi.

If it weren't for the serious crime of treason, Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu would not have the opportunity to enjoy such treatment.

On one side, the Zhou family members were being dealt with, and on the other side, the officials of the Zhou party in the court were being dealt with.

These people had just come down from the court and were still wearing official uniforms.

When the onlookers saw this, they became even more excited.

Those people who were chopped off were all those damned dog officials!
Zhang Yuan was kneeling in the front, his whole body limp and shaking like a sieve.

Zhu Youtang sentenced them to confiscation of property and beheading. The Jinyiwei were already on their way to search their homes, and the executioner from the Ministry of Justice would be in charge of beheading them.

The executioner, holding a large knife, had already cut him down.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

"Ahhh!!!"

"..."

As the knife was chopped down, Zhang Yuan, who was beheaded first, immediately let out a shrill scream!

The executioners grinned and raised their knives again, continuing to chop towards Zhang Yuan's head!
“It hurts! It hurts!”

"Give me a pleasure!"

"Ahhhh!"

Zhang Yuan begged desperately, hoping that the executioner would give him a quick death.

Because the executioners' knives were not sharp, and were even very dull.

To chop off a person's head, prisoners usually had to be stabbed dozens of times.

Let the prisoners feel their necks being split apart bit by bit, this kind of pain often drives people crazy.

Execution is meant to be painful. If the knife is sharp, won't the prisoners feel good?

Therefore, there was a regulation in the Ming Dynasty prohibiting the use of sharp knives.

Later, when Yan Shifan was beheaded, he was stabbed thirty-six times.

Died in pain.

After a long execution, Zhang Yuan's head finally rolled down.

Next, other officials were punished one by one.

Caishikou seemed to have turned into the Avici Hell.

……

Forbidden City.

Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian followed Huai En and walked towards the imperial study anxiously.

As soon as they entered the harem, the three of them smelled a faint smell of blood floating in the air.

A large number of eunuchs were cleaning the streets inside the palace, and some were burning spices and sprinkling perfume powder inside the palace.

Only then did they realize that there must have been a major purge in the palace last night.

First, the palace was cleansed, then the relatives by marriage were dealt with, and finally the cabinet was dissolved.

In just one day, Zhu Youtang took back all power from the harem and the cabinet.

He also firmly grasped the two powerful weapons of the factory guards in his hands.

This made them feel relieved, but also afraid of Zhu Youtang.

Is this still the kind, compassionate, yet weak-willed Zhu Youtang?
"My Lords, we have arrived at the Imperial Study. The Emperor is inside."

"Please wait here for a moment. I will go in and inform them first." Huai En stopped at the door of the imperial study and made a gesture of invitation.

Liu Jian and the other two did not dare to be arrogant in the face of this eunuch who was very popular in front of the emperor, and quickly bowed in return.

"Eunuch Huai, please!"

Huai'en tiptoed into the imperial study, where Zhu Youtang was reviewing memorials in front of the dragon desk.

"Your Majesty, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian are already waiting at the door."

"Inform them to come in."

Zhu Youtang threw the memorial in his hand onto the dragon table in front of him, closed his eyes and thought, while slowly pressing his Jingming acupoint with one hand.

A moment later, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian all walked into the imperial study.

"Your Highness, I, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian, pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."

The three of them knelt down and saluted, and Zhu Youtang made a false gesture of raising his head.

"No need to be polite."

Zhu Youtang opened his eyes and looked at Liu Jian and the other two.

These three people are the three ministers that Zhu Youtang is currently more familiar with.

They were all the teachers who taught him when he was the crown prince in the Eastern Palace.

Not only that, the three of them were also cabinet ministers in the middle and late period of Hongzhi, and were also well-known and capable ministers in history.

Zhu Youtang groaned for a moment and said, "Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, listen to my orders!"

The three of them were startled, surprised and expectant, and quickly knelt down to listen to the order.

"Promote Liu Jian, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to be the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Palace, and enter the cabinet to discuss matters."

"Appoint Li Dongyang, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, as a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and allow him to sit in the cabinet to discuss matters."

"Appoint Xie Qian, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, as the Grand Secretary of the Dongge, and enter the cabinet to discuss matters."

After hearing this, the three were all shocked, and then they quickly knelt to accept the order.

"Your Majesty, I, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian, obey your command and thank you for your grace!"

Among these three people, the oldest, Liu Jian, is only 55 years old, and the youngest, Xie Qian, is only 38 years old.

This is the age when one is in the prime of life, full of determination, ambition and ability.

Fortunately for Liu Jian, he entered the cabinet as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, which was a legitimate reason.

But both Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were still working in the Hanlin Academy.

Now that he has suddenly entered the cabinet, it can be said that he has risen to prominence overnight!
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears, and their hearts were filled with gratitude towards Zhu Youtang.

I wish I could devote myself to the Ming Dynasty until my death.

Zhu Youtang stood up, walked to the three people, and took the initiative to help Liu Jian and the other two up.

"The government and the country are in turmoil now, and there are not many people I can trust."

"The three teachers are all my old servants in the East Palace. I am very confident in you."

"So today I have summoned the three of you to the cabinet to discuss matters and recommend a list of officials to replace those who have retired."

"Yes, Your Majesty. We will definitely live up to Your Majesty's trust!"

The three of them obeyed the order in unison, looking solemn.

Zhu Youtang nodded and pointed to the mountain of memorials on his desk.

"Then the three ministers should start working now and move these memorials back to Wenyuan Pavilion."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Jian and the other two quickly agreed, and Huai En called a young eunuch from the Imperial Household Department to help move the memorial to Wenyuan Pavilion.

After everyone left, the imperial study became quiet again.

Zhu Youtang sat on the couch, drinking hot tea, enjoying the rare tranquility.

"Killing millions of soldiers from Jiangnan, the sword on his waist is still bloody."

Reciting the poems written by Emperor Taizu, Zhu Youtang sighed.

The Ming Dynasty today is like a broken ship that looks bright and beautiful on the outside but is actually rotten to the core.

Various problems are hidden underwater and can erupt at any time.

As the helmsman of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youtang had to nip all these problems in the bud.

When the disease is serious, severe punishments must be used. Only by doing what Emperor Hongwu did, can we kill the civil service group painfully and scare them away.

Only then will the Ming Dynasty return to the prosperous Hongwu era!
(End of this chapter)