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

Chapter 85 Tyrant! This is a tyrant!
"Mou Bin."

Zhu Youtang called Mou Bin over for questioning.

Mou Bin immediately took two steps forward and replied respectfully.

"The humble position is here."

"How is the control of the capital? Has anything unexpected happened?"

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guard has taken over the responsibilities of the Five Cities Military Department. All security and defense in the capital are now in the hands of the Imperial Guard."

"So far, everything in the capital is normal, and there is nothing unusual."

Zhu Youtang nodded and finally called Wang Zhi forward.

"Wang Zhi."

"The minister is here."

Wang Zhi, who had been standing silently behind, walked up to Zhu Youtang.

"How is the review of the military commanders in the capital going?"

"Are there any disloyal people?"

"We are still investigating. Although there are no people with disloyal intentions, there are many people with impure intentions."

"Oh? Tell me carefully."

"Wang Yuan, the Earl of Rui'an, Wang Qing, the Earl of Chongshan, and their brother Wang Jun all serve in the Five Military Commandery."

"The three of them are timid and greedy. They hold high positions but have little power. They can't cause any trouble, but I'm afraid they will cause some trouble in the future."

"Especially these three, they are all Queen Mother Wang's brothers."

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly: "Another in-law?"

After thinking for a while, Zhu Youtang responded indifferently.

"Since it's still relatively safe, just ignore them for now."

There were both advantages and disadvantages to the Ming Dynasty's external relatives, and it all depended on whether the emperor could control them.

Emperor Taizong was able to successfully quell the rebellion thanks to the great contributions made by his maternal relatives, the Duke of Wei.

When the previous emperor was alive, he also used relatives by marriage to take charge of the Jinyiwei and the Five Military Commanderies.

But in the late Ming Dynasty, when the emperor's power became smaller and smaller, the external relatives began to collude with the cabinet and in turn control the emperor.

In this case, Zhu Youtang planned to uproot all the foreign relatives of the Ming Dynasty!
Not only that, he also wanted to abolish the entire system of ennobling titles for foreign relatives in the Ming Dynasty!

But now, the court is in turmoil and the case of the poisoning of the previous emperor has not yet been concluded.

It is a bit premature to talk about abolishing the system of conferring titles on relatives by marriage at this time.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Zhu Youtang gave the order, regardless of whether Wang Zhi understood it or not, or supported it or not, he would accept the order without hesitation and carry it out unswervingly.

While Zhu Youtang was talking to the three chief officials of the Imperial Censorate, the execution in front of the Meridian Gate Square had already ended.

At this time, the Meridian Gate Square was a sea of ​​scarlet.

The ground was littered with corpses of officials and blood was flowing everywhere.

The palace walls on both sides of the Meridian Gate Square are covered with images of Ming Dynasty officials avoiding disaster.

When the Xianzhen Camp was carrying out executions, they would press their bodies tightly against the wall, trying to stay as far away from the Xianzhen Camp as possible.

When the execution was over, any officials of the Ming Dynasty who were still able to breathe huddled under the wall.

And lying in the square in the middle were the criminals who could not breathe.

The soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp, covered in blood and filled with murderous aura, executed the officials who were ordered to be executed by Zhu Youtang.

They did not indiscriminately kill other innocent officials, but quickly lined up and came to the Meridian Gate.

Zou Yi was the first to kneel down and report: "Your Majesty, all the guilty officials have been executed!"

"Your Majesty, please inspect!"

The rest of the soldiers in the Xianzhen Camp also knelt down and reported.

"Your Majesty, please inspect!"

Zou Yi was very excited to meet Zhu Youtang.

He knew that this was the key to whether he could be reused by His Majesty.

You should know that Xu Chang of the Xianzhen Camp delivered secret military intelligence to Your Majesty last time. After meeting Your Majesty, Your Majesty had a good impression of him.

Because of this, when we went to Hami Guard this time, His Majesty actually appointed Xu Chang as General Wujie, appointed him as Governor-General of the Northwest, in charge of the Northwest military and horses, and fully in charge of this expedition!

Being so highly valued by His Majesty was a great reward for the other soldiers in the Xianzhen Camp, and they were envious to the point of going crazy.

Zou Yi also hoped that Zhu Youtang would make use of him.

Let him also be a heroic general who expands the territory and conquers the Wolf's Lair!
Zhu Youtang glanced around and saw that the execution was completed. He said calmly, "Not bad."

"Return to the Xianzhen Camp and continue to protect the Forbidden City for me."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After Zou Yi paid his respectful salute, he led the Xianzhen Camp behind him and withdrew from the Duanmen Gate.

At this time, Zhu Youtang also stood up and gave orders to the officials who were sticking to the palace wall.

"I'll leave the aftermath of Wumen to you."

"When you have cleaned up, you will be allowed to leave the palace."

"Retreat."

After Zhu Youtang finished speaking, he left the Meridian Gate Tower, accompanied by Wang Zhi, Huai En, and Mou Bin, sat on the dragon chariot, and returned to the harem.

After Zhu Youtang left, the eunuchs and guards who had been accompanying him also withdrew.

The only people still alive in the entire Meridian Gate Square were court officials.

“It’s like this again… it’s like this again!”

The body of the Minister of Works Jia Jun could not stop shaking. He leaned against the wall, his face pale and his expression desperate.

The last time he watched an execution on the city wall, Zhu Youtang asked them to clean up the battlefield.

This time, after watching the execution in front of the Meridian Gate, Zhu Youtang also asked them to clean up the battlefield.

They were officials of the Ming Dynasty, with noble status and high positions of power. Why did Zhu Youtang humiliate them again and again?!

Xie Qian looked at the debris on the ground, his expression dazed and slightly nauseous.

"What a sin! What a sin!"

"Tyrant... This is a tyrant..."

Xie Qian had just said two words when Li Dongyang rushed over and covered Xie Qian's mouth tightly.

"Yu Qiao, stop talking nonsense!"

Xie Qian finally reacted and remembered the word he had just said. He was so scared that his legs went weak and cold sweat broke out.

He looked around cautiously, and felt relieved when he saw that no one noticed what he said.

"Thank you Binzhi for saving me."

Until now, Xie Qian still feels a little scared.

Li Dongyang patted Xie Qian on the shoulder and said, "Don't waste time. Get to work."

"That's exactly what Binzhi said."

On the other side, Wang Shu's body was shaking, as if he was about to fall down at any time.

Liu Jian, who was standing by, stepped forward in time and supported Wang Shu.

When Wang Shu saw Liu Jian, his face was extremely bitter.

"Xixian, you are causing me so much trouble!"

Wang Shu had originally retired in Yingtian Prefecture, but was recommended by Liu Jian to become the Minister of Personnel.

Returning to this dangerous capital city, I find myself in the vortex of power.

Wang Shu was filled with regret.

Liu Jian felt very upset: "Mr. Zongguan, I didn't expect things to turn out like this."

"Ugh."

Wang Shu shook his head, pushed Liu Jian away, and went to clean the Wumen Square alone.

Tu Yu, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, looked at the mess on the ground and was sweating profusely, feeling very scared.

Around the time of the death of the previous emperor, he was touring Guangdong and Guangxi and was not in the capital.

Otherwise, there would be one more person lying on the ground, myself.

Zhang Ying, Wang Ji, Tu Yu, the original three chiefs of the Judicial Department, now only he is left.

The entire three judicial systems are about to undergo a major reshuffle.

Liu Daxia and Peng Shao, the two newly appointed ministers of six ministries, also felt that something was wrong.

The Ming Dynasty court today is no longer the peaceful, beautiful, friendly and harmonious place it once was.

Under the supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, no matter how reluctant the officials in the court were, they had to pick up cleaning tools and clean the Meridian Gate Square.

At the same time, the East Factory's men also began to take action on a large scale.

Some of the family members in the Imperial Ancestral Temple were taken directly to Caishikou and handed over to the executioner of the Ministry of Justice for execution, while others were divided by gender, with the female family members being sent to the Jiaofangsi.

The men were imprisoned in the Dongchang Prison. After all of them were captured, they were all escorted to various border towns to serve as soldiers on the frontier.

The Dongchang's operations of ransacking homes and arresting people did not stop, and they kept going in and out of the homes of officials in the capital.

Arrest people and search their homes without delay.

The gold, silver and other valuables were sent to His Majesty's treasury, while the criminals were sent to the execution ground at Caishikou.

Because the imperial guards have been frequently raiding the homes of officials in recent times, the people of the capital have become accustomed to the scenes of officials in the capital having their homes raided.

When the East Depot was arresting officials, many people stood on both sides of the road happily, clapping and cheering!

"Good catch! These corrupt officials should have been arrested long ago!"

"Without these corrupt officials, our lives will be better!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"..."

The people didn’t know why Zhu Youtang wanted to arrest these officials, nor did they know which ones were corrupt and which ones were honest.

But they know that the more criminals they catch, the easier their lives will be.

So everyone was smiling and clapping loudly, and it was as lively as if it were New Year's Day.

Of course, the most lively place in the entire capital city is still the execution ground in Caishikou.

There was a huge crowd of people in front of the Caishikou execution ground, and the streets were empty.

Many people in the capital city squeezed forward just to catch a glimpse of the execution.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice had to send out many minor clerks to maintain order at the execution ground.

At this moment, the execution ground was also crowded.

There were so many people to be executed that there were not enough executioners.

Fei Ju, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, was in charge of the case at the execution ground.

His official uniform was covered in blood and his face looked terrified.

He was just in front of the Meridian Gate, cleaning the Meridian Gate Square.

Now, because the execution ground lacked a presiding officer, the Eastern Depot men took him from the Meridian Gate Square to the execution ground.

Fei Ju had just experienced an execution, and he had even been deep into the scene of the execution. He was frightened out of his wits.

Now he is asked to preside over the execution ground and execute other prisoners.

Suddenly, Fei Ju seemed to understand the grand occasion of the Hongwu reign of Emperor Taizu Gao.

The officials would just sit in the court and sentence others, and then they would kneel down in the court, waiting for other officials to sentence them.

"My lord, it's almost time to execute the sentence."

The clerk from the Ministry of Justice beside Fei Ju saw that Fei Ju looked dazed, so he spoke up to remind him.

"Oh, yes, it's time for the execution."

Fei Ju reacted, picked up the bamboo stick on the table and threw it on the ground.

"Behead them all and execute them immediately!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The executioner carried out the execution as ordered. For a moment, the execution ground was filled with screams, cries, cheers and applause.

Fei Ju was at a loss. When he turned around, he saw the East Factory guards escorting a new batch of prisoners to the execution ground...

Fei Ju shuddered violently.

After this case, the East Factory, which had been silent for a long time, became famous!
People all over the world no longer dare to underestimate the East Factory, a long-established detective agency.

The East Factory, if they don’t take action, it’s fine, but if they do, it will be a major case involving tens of thousands of people!

……

Forbidden City.

Hongde Hall.

Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon throne and waved his hand: "Everyone, please leave. I am tired."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Huai En and Mou Bin bowed respectfully, they left the Hongde Hall.

Only Wang Zhi remained standing there, without moving.

Wang Zhi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have a favor to ask."

"Go ahead."

Wang Zhi glanced sideways and saw that Huai En and Mou Bin had already left Hongde Hall. Then he stepped forward and knelt in front of Zhu Youtang.

"I beg Your Majesty to allow me to investigate this case!"

Zhu Youtang looked calm, as if he had expected this.

"Isn't the East Factory investigating? Why would the West Factory want to get involved?"

Wang Zhi gritted his teeth and risked his life to make a direct appeal.

"I think the East Factory is not doing its job well!"

"The East Factory investigation only scratched the surface and did not touch the root cause!"

"Oh?"

Zhu Youtang nodded slightly: "Why do you think so?"

Wang Zhi told his thoughts truthfully.

"I believe that the murder of the late emperor was not something that could be done by just an official outside the court on his own!"

"The late emperor lived in the palace for a long time, and the people he interacted with the most were all people in the palace."

"The previous emperor was murdered. The traitors outside the palace are only secondary. The most important thing is that there is a problem with the people in the palace!"

Zhu Youtang nodded: "Yes, I have thought about this too."

"But I have already purged a group of palace maids and eunuchs before."

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid... this matter is not mine, but yours..."

Zhu Youtang narrowed his eyes, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

After hesitating for two seconds, Zhu Youtang spoke.

"In that case, then you should go and check it out carefully."

"Check everything for me!"

"Also, the death of the previous emperor was caused by the harem colluding with the cabinet."

"You know this, and I know it, but I don't believe Huai En doesn't know it."

Wang Zhi suddenly raised his head and met Zhu Youtang's deep and sharp eyes. A trace of fear flashed across his usually expressionless face.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand!"

"That's good to know. If you handle this case well, I will reward you handsomely."

"Go down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now!"

After Wang Zhi left Hongde Hall, Zhu Youtang leaned on the dragon throne with his eyes narrowed dangerously.

He kept tapping the dragon table with his right hand, and his eyes slowly fell on the secret letter presented by Huai En.

"Humph!"

Zhu Youtang snorted coldly and slapped the secret letter!
……

It was not until midnight that the Meridian Gate Square was restored to its original state.

The broken limbs, debris and blood are all gone.

Only in the air was there still a lingering smell of blood.

At this time, the East Factory men opened the Duanmen Gate and allowed all the civil and military officials to leave the palace.

After the civil and military officials left the palace in a group, Xu Pu called the three cabinet ministers Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang, and also called the two ministers Wang Shu and Liu Daxia.

"My lords, you have been hungry for a day. Please come to my humble abode and have something to eat."

Several ministers looked at each other, knew that Xu Pu had something to say, and agreed.

"That's a lot of nagging."

"Thank you Prime Minister Xu for your concern."

"In that case, I won't refuse."

Xu Pu tried to force out a smile: "This is not the place to talk, please follow me."

"Prime Minister Xu, please."

"My Lords, please."

　Chapter 6 is now available!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)