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

Chapter 81 All officials were frightened and dared not go to court!
Seeing that Mou Bin had no intention of paying attention to him, Liu Jin turned away awkwardly, with a hint of shame and anger in his eyes.

He had never experienced this feeling of being ignored since he was transferred to the East Factory.

No matter who is in the East Factory prison and what rank he holds outside, Liu Jin has hundreds of ways to make him call him grandpa inside the prison.

This feeling of being ignored made Liu Jin recall the days when he was ordered around at the Bell and Drum Department.

How could Liu Jin not feel ashamed and angry?
But at this time, Mou Bin naturally didn't need to pay attention to Liu Jin's emotions.

Liu Jin could only vent his anger on the officials who participated in poisoning the late emperor.

"Come here, arrest Geng Wenxin and torture him to interrogate his accomplices!"

Liu Jin glared at Geng Wenxin with gritted teeth, wishing he could eat him alive.

"Yes!"

At Liu Jin's command, several Dongchang men rushed forward and arrested Geng Wenxin.

Geng Wenxin was confused and cried out for justice.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"What crime have I committed? I plead not guilty!"

"You are investigating the murder without a warrant. I will sue the emperor!"

"..."

Liu Jin smiled grimly: "On the day when the late emperor passed away, it was you who led the Central City Army on patrol!"

"As a result, that night, not only was Liu Wentai not arrested immediately, but he also slept peacefully at home that night. You cannot escape the blame!"

"what?!"

Geng Wenxin gasped and suddenly lost all his strength. He was dragged out by the Dongchang men like a dead dog.

After arresting the person, Liu Jin greeted the guards from the Western Factory with a smile before leaving.

The Western Factory guard responded politely, neither getting too close nor offending.

But in my heart, I secretly felt a little aggrieved.

The protagonist of the capital tonight is destined to be the East Factory.

The inspection work done by these Western Factory men was just to cooperate with the Eastern Factory's arrest work.

The feeling of being reduced to assisting the East Factory made everyone in the West Factory feel angry.

They vowed to make amends in the future.

After Liu Jin led his men out of the Zhongcheng Bingmasi yamen, they walked towards the residence of the Censor of the Judicial and Censorate.

On the way, he happened to meet Li Guang, who was on his way to the Salt Tax Administration and the House Administration.

"Eunuch Li, how many have you caught?"

When Liu Jin saw Li Guang, he walked towards him quickly with a smile on his face.

In fact, Li Guang didn't like Liu Jin from the bottom of his heart. This guy smiled all day long but was extremely ruthless in his actions.

Li Guang frowned slightly and responded calmly: "Not many, less than twenty people."

"Oh, then Lord Li has to speed up. I'm afraid we won't be able to catch all these 500 people before dawn!"

Li Guang acted nonchalantly: "Eunuch Liu, don't worry about this matter. Just take care of your own business."

"It doesn't matter if we catch people slowly, the important thing is not to miss anyone."

Liu Jin smiled and said, "Eunuch Li is right. Then I won't disturb Eunuch Li from handling the case."

"Eunuch Li, please!"

"Please come too, Eunuch Liu."

Li Guang took his men away, leaving Liu Jin with a gloomy face.

Since joining the East Factory, Liu Jin has been living under the shadow of Li Guang.

No matter how well Liu Jin performed, no matter how much he contributed to the poisoning of the previous emperor.

In the eyes of the eunuch Huai En, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot, he would never be as good as a finger of Li Guang!

There is no way, after all Li Guang is Huai En’s godson.

Liu Jin also knew that Huai'en was already old and would not be able to serve as the director of the East Factory for long.

Huai En is training Li Guang to be the future director of the East Factory!
"Li Guang, one day, I will make you bow your head in front of me!"

Liu Jin gritted his teeth and muttered something in his heart, then turned around with a cold face, ready to vent his resentment on the Censor of the Ministry of Judicial Supervision.

……

In the capital, a large number of factory guards were walking around and arresting people everywhere.

The messy footsteps, the miserable wails, and the sound of thousands of horses galloping.

All the officials and people in the capital city had already been woken up.

The people hid in their homes, closed the doors and windows, and prayed anxiously that nothing serious would happen.

Compared to the anxiety of the common people, the officials in the capital had already been frightened to the point of being pale and colorless.

They had experienced turmoil in the capital many times before.

But never before has the commotion been as big as tonight.

Not to mention the factory guards coming and going outside the window, scaring them half to death every time they passed by.

Just take the sound of thousands of horses galloping, which instantly pulls them back to the scarlet hell outside the city.

Thinking of the broken limbs and the blood and flesh, some officials felt their legs go weak and they became incontinent.

Liu Daxia's residence.

Minister of War Liu Daxia stood in front of his study, watching the back of Wang Zhi, the director of the Western Factory, as he slowly left.

"Ugh……"

Liu Daxia breathed a sigh of relief only after he could no longer see Wang Zhi's back.

After patting his numb legs, Liu Daxia slowly walked back to his study.

It was not until he sat back on the couch and leaned against the pillow that Liu Daxia realized that on this cool night in late autumn, his clothes had been soaked with cold sweat.

Just now, he had just finished being examined by Wang Zhi.

Recalling Wang Zhi's terrifying look, Liu Daxia felt cold all over.

Although his face was expressionless, his cold eyes seemed to put people in hell.

This can only be achieved by killing hundreds or thousands of people with your own hands.

"It's really not easy to be the Minister of War."

Recalling his predecessor Ma Wensheng, he was trampled into a pulp by thousands of horses and even his body was missing after his death.

The only head left was sent to the nine borders as a warning to others.

Liu Daxia felt extremely regretful: "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have become the Minister of War!"

Xu Pu's home.

The cabinet chief, Xu Pu, put on a coat and paced back and forth in his study with a worried look on his face.

Ever since the sound of galloping horses rang out, he could no longer sleep.

He was afraid that after he fell asleep, he would never wake up again.

Ever since he became the chief minister of Zhu Youtang's cabinet, he has not had a good night's sleep.

"What should I do?" Xu Pu murmured to himself.

It is said that serving a monarch is like serving a tiger, but the monarch he served was not a tiger at all.

He is clearly a living devil!
In just a few months, the capital city has been turned upside down and the officials are unable to make a living.

Being an official under Zhu Youtang is more dangerous than being an official under Emperor Taizu Gao!

If it had been before, Xu Pu would have written his resignation and returned home.

However, Zhu Youtang did not allow officials to retire at will. All retired officials had to undergo review by the factory guards.

If the factory guards found any corruption or bribery, the punishment would be the confiscation of property and beheading.

And in this entire capital city, how many officials are not afraid of a thorough investigation by the imperial guards?

"Ugh……"

Xu Pu thought about it over and over again, but couldn't think of any effective solution.

Finally, Xu Pu took a deep breath, as if he had made some kind of decision, and a resolute look suddenly appeared on his face.

He sat down at the desk and started writing. What he wrote was nothing but a suicide note!
Except for Liu Daxia and Xu Pu, Wang Shu, Jia Jun, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and others all stayed awake all night.

There were not many officials who could sleep tonight, not to mention that there was a court meeting the next day.

All the officials in the capital were terrified when they thought that they would have to go to court to meet the emperor in two hours.

At the same time, they had a deep question in their hearts.

What on earth was the reason that made Zhu Youtang make such a big fuss?

The factory guards' momentum tonight is greater than any previous action.

……

Forbidden City.

Hongde Hall.

Zhu Youtang also did not sleep all night. He stared at the darkness outside the window with an expressionless face, as if trying to see something clearly through the darkness.

Huai'en tiptoed to Zhu Youtang's side and reported respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the former Minister of Justice Zhang Ying was also deeply involved in this case, but he died of illness not long ago."

"The mastermind of this case, Liu Ji, was also executed by Your Majesty before."

"Your Majesty, look at these two..."

Before Huai En finished speaking, he held his breath and waited for Zhu Youtang's order.

Zhu Youtang sneered: "Do you think that death will be enough?"

"Deprive Zhang Ying of his posthumous title and title, destroy his tomb, open his coffin and mutilate his body, and execute all nine generations of his clan!"

"As for Liu Ji, I remember that last time we only executed his entire family, but didn't touch his relatives, right?"

"That's perfect. This time, we'll kill all nine clans at once!"

After hearing this, Huai En was terrified: "Your Majesty, since the Qin Dynasty, there have been only three precedents of the nine clans being executed, and Emperor Taizong alone accounted for two of them, leaving a slight stain on his reputation."

"Your Majesty should consider your reputation in the future and not..."

Zhu Youtang turned his head and glanced at Huai En indifferently.

Huai En's heart trembled, as if he had fallen into an icy cave. He quickly shut up and lowered his head to accept the order.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youtang turned around and gave another order.

"Tomorrow's court meeting will be held in front of the Meridian Gate."

“Have all the officials involved in the case been arrested?”

Huai En's forehead was covered with sweat. "Your Majesty, we have only captured a portion of them. They are now being held at Caishikou. We will execute them after daybreak."

"Take all the officials you have captured to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and make them kneel before the late emperor's tablet to await their fate."

"Tomorrow, I will personally interrogate all the officials!"

The Meridian Gate, located behind the Chengtian Gate, is the main gate of the Forbidden City.

The place where the beheading at Wumen Gate, as rumored by the people, took place, is this place.

But in fact, the Meridian Gate was never a place for beheadings, but officials were occasionally beaten with sticks here.

But officials would sometimes be beaten to death during court fights, so it became a place for killing.

The Taimiao is located in front of the right side of the Wumen Gate. Passing through the right gate of the temple, you will reach the Wumen Square.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do it right away."

After saying that, Huai En quickly left the Hongde Hall, fearing that he would be late for a moment.

It was not until he left Hongde Hall that Huai En finally caught his breath.

When Zhu Youtang stared at him just now, Huai En was so scared that he even forgot to breathe.

Huai'en did not dare to delay and immediately sent someone to convey Zhu Youtang's order to Liu Jin and Li Guang.

After Liu Jin and Li Guang received the news, they immediately ordered people to transfer the arrested officials from Caishikou to Taimiao.

It is three quarters past the hour of Yin, and it is time to go to court.

Some officials were so frightened that they sent their servants to report to the Ministry of Personnel, claiming to be ill and not attending court.

But more officials still obediently put on their official uniforms, held their tablets in their hands, and walked towards the Forbidden City.

Along the way, all the officials who went to court saw the factory guards shuttling back and forth in the capital.

The solemn aura they emanated made the air in the capital seem even heavier.

When these officials arrived at Chengtian Gate, they saw the densely packed and well-prepared formation of trap soldiers outside the Forbidden City.

The emotions of many civil and military officials got out of control on the spot!

"This...this...what is your majesty going to do?!"

"There are so many Xianzhen Camps stationed in the Forbidden City. Who are you guarding against, Your Majesty?!"

"I'm afraid these trap camps are not used by Your Majesty to defend against someone, but to deal with someone!"

"..."

All the civil and military officials in the court had witnessed with their own eyes how these trap camps executed corrupt officials outside the city.

That scarlet hell is still vivid in my mind.

Seeing this group of evil spirits in black armor and on black horses again, which official’s legs would not tremble?

When Xie Qian got off the carriage, he saw the vast ambush camp outside Chengtian Gate, and his legs went limp.

If the coachman had not been quick to support Xie Qian in time, this cabinet university student would probably have made a fool of himself in front of Chengtian Gate.

As Xie Qian arrived at Chengtian Gate, Li Dongyang's carriage arrived right after.

Li Dongyang's performance was not much better than Xie Qian's. After he got out of the carriage, he saw the dark mass of the trap camp. He opened his mouth in horror and almost screamed.

"Binzhi, you are here."

Xie Qian walked forward quickly and bowed.

After Li Dongyang got off the carriage, he also returned the greeting: "Yu Qiao, congratulations, congratulations!"

Xie Qian was stunned: "This...Binzhi, don't be ridiculous. Given the situation tonight...this...how can I congratulate you?"

Li Dongyang smiled bitterly: "You and I are able to meet here safely tonight, shouldn't we say congratulations?"

Xie Qian was stunned for a moment, then he also smiled bitterly: "You, you really think so."

Li Dongyang sighed: "Whether you want to be happy or not, what can you do?"

"Yu Qiao, to be honest with you, I actually wanted to claim illness and not attend court today."

"There was so much noise last night that I was really scared."

"But I guess that with your Majesty's temper, it would be fine on other days, but if you dare to claim illness and not attend court today, I'm afraid you will be in big trouble."

Xie Qian nodded in agreement: "Binzhi is right. Every time there is a court meeting after a turmoil, Your Majesty must have a deep meaning."

"You must not miss today's court meeting."

"And I wasn't the only one who was scared last night. I was scared too."

"I wonder what tragic scenes will happen at today's court meeting."

Having said that, Xie Qian closed his eyes with a headache, his face full of pain.

Li Dongyang patted Xie Qian on the shoulder, and walked into Chengtian Gate with Xie Qian, passed Duanmen, and came to the waiting room next to Wumen.

In the waiting room, there were already many officials waiting to attend court.

Soon, it was three quarters past the hour of Mao, which was the time when people usually went to Fengtian Gate Square to wait for the emperor to attend court.

All the civil and military officials in the waiting room walked out of the room and headed towards the Meridian Gate.

But surprisingly, when they arrived at the Meridian Gate, they found that it was not open.

Thousands of court officials were forced to squeeze into the narrow Meridian Gate Square.

The Wumen Square is only half the size of the Fengtianmen Square. In front is the Wumen Gate, in the back is the Duanmen Gate, and on the left and right sides are the six departments' direct rooms.

The high walls on all four sides kept the civil and military officials together, like a turtle in a jar.

The four cabinet members walking in front were full of doubts.

The Meridian Gate was not opened during the court meeting. This was the first time in history.

　Chapter 2 is now available!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)