Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 4: Loyalty and Righteousness

Seeing that the Jinyiwei soldiers were about to enter the mansion.

In a state of panic, Zhou Kui suddenly stood up, pointed at Zhu Youjian's nose and cursed, "Stupid emperor!"

"Grandpa Taizu is watching from Heaven! You're going to kill your father-in-law for a few ounces of silver. Aren't you afraid of being spurned by the people of the world?"

Before he finished speaking, Li Ruolian's embroidered spring knife was instantly unsheathed and headed straight for Zhou Kui's neck.

But Zhu Youjian raised his hand to stop him.

The armor of the three thousand battalion cavalry made a neat friction sound, and hundreds of three-barreled guns were aimed at Zhou Kui at the same time.

Although he was facing hundreds of cavalrymen and his heart was already beating fast, he did not show any fear on his face.

As the father-in-law of the emperor, he knew his son-in-law very well.

He values ​​reputation more than his life and only wants to be called a wise ruler.

In order to show that he shared the joys and sorrows with the world, he was even reluctant to make a new dragon robe.

As long as he brought up the moral principles, he would dare to ask the emperor to apologize to him, not to mention confiscating his property!

However, Zhu Youjian's subsequent reaction made him a little frightened.

"infamy?"

Zhu Youjian seemed to have heard a huge joke and jumped off his horse.

"Since you ask, I'll have a good chat with you."

Zhu Youjian had already thought of a way to deal with this group of noble ministers in the late Ming Dynasty before he left the Qianqing Palace.

One advantage of the Ming Dynasty was that since Zhu Yuanzhang, the imperial power had been astonishingly great.

They used Chongzhen's reputation and face to control him.

To deal with them, you just need to use their own spear to attack their shield.

Being a wise ruler will lead to the destruction of the country, so Zhu Youjian doesn't mind being a tyrant.

"Three months ago, I borrowed money from all the officials. I wanted you to be the leader, but you said your family was so poor that you only had rice left."

"The Queen knew you were to set an example for all officials and give out five thousand taels of your own money, yet you dared to withhold two thousand taels for your own use!"

"The rebels are marching straight towards the capital. As an important official of the Ming Dynasty, you are disloyal if you don't do your best for your country!"

"The Empress pawned her Phoenix Coronet, and I fasted for three days to raise funds. As the father-in-law of the emperor, you don't even think about alleviating the worries of your children. How unkind!"

"As a Ming citizen, sitting back and watching the Ming Dynasty suffer internal and external troubles, and trying to live a miserable life, is unfilial!"

"The people outside the Liaodong Pass are being slaughtered by barbarians, and natural disasters are ravaging the interior. Yet, you, possessing immense wealth, are unwilling to part with any grain. How unkind of you!"

"You are disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unmerciful. What's wrong with me killing you?!"

With every word he said, Zhou Kui became more terrified.

When the last word "kill" came out, Zhou Kui's face turned pale.

He staggered back to the screen wall.

There were still unwashed bloodstains on the bluestone screen wall where the great men of the previous dynasty had inscribed their words. Last month, a singing girl had angered him and was knocked to death by him here.

"I want to save face, so I come here in person."

Having said that, Zhu Youjian paused and drew out the Emperor's Sword from Wang Chengen's hand.

She walked up to Zhou Kui and said, "If the East Factory came to investigate, you would be in the imperial prison tasting red embroidered shoes now."

A cold light flashed, and Zhou Kui's hat fell off, and a stream of yellow and white hot liquid dripped onto the ground along his brocade clothes.

The three thousand soldiers in the camp struck their spears in unison, shaking the ridge beasts on the eaves.

The maid who was hiding in the side room and peeping screamed and fainted, and more than a dozen guards and servants had already knelt down and begged for mercy.

The hundreds of private soldiers in Zhou Kui's mansion had long disappeared.

"Men, search!" Li Ruolian waved the command flag and shouted skillfully, "Pry off all the floor tiles! Smash the rockery! Drain the pool!"

The Jinyiwei strongmen rushed into the inner courtyard like wolves and tigers.

But behind each Jinyiwei, there were three thousand iron-clad cavalrymen.

Amid the clashing sounds of shovels and Luoyang spades, treasures were found one after another and piled in front of Zhu Youjian.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Li Ruolian, under the protection of the cavalry, circled around the Bo's mansion.

Then he called over a dozen skilled fighters.

The Embroidered Spring Knife pointed directly at the Buddhist temple behind the main hall.

"Go move the Guanyin statue. Dig six feet down from the third tile in the seventh row of tiles."

Zhou Kui was struck by lightning when he heard this. His fat body suddenly burst out with astonishing speed and pounced towards the Buddhist temple like a mad dog.

However, he was grabbed by the lances of the 3,000-man cavalry and dragged back to the courtyard like a dead dog.

Seeing that he couldn't break free, Zhou Kui could only shout at the top of his lungs, and his forehead hit the blue bricks, leaving a bloody mark.

"That's the money for the Buddha's offerings! If you touch it, you will be punished by heaven!"

What responded to him was a muffled sound coming from the ground and Li Ruolian's disdainful voice.

"Heavenly Punishment? The Emperor is the Heaven of the Imperial Guards!"

Zhou Kui was completely desperate and sat down on the ground.

Soon, a cry of surprise came from underground. "We found...my mother! Boss, you should come and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian hurried over.

It was not until half an incense stick of time later that he walked out of the cellar in a trance and came in front of Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, there's too much silver stored down there. It's too slow to move. We need to dig up the roof. The Imperial Guards are short on manpower, so I'm afraid we'll have to ask Your Majesty's cavalry for help."

Zhu Youjian knew that Zhou Kui was greedy, but he had no direct impression of more than 500,000 taels of silver.

But since Li Ruolian said so, he naturally agreed.

Waving his sleeves.

"Dig the cellar!"

With just one order, the three thousand cavalrymen did not hesitate at all.

Draw out your sword and use it as a shovel.

Soon the courtyard in front of the Buddhist temple was dug up.

The blue bricks that cover the cellar roof are exposed.

As more than a dozen cavalrymen swung their shovels at the same time, the blue bricks broke open instantly.

Silver reflects dazzling silver light under the moonlight.

The Jinyiwei jumped into the cellar and all of Zhou Kui's belongings were turned out.

Boxes of Spanish eagle dollars, fifty-liang silver ingots neatly arranged on shelves, Persian scimitars inlaid with gems, and fifty-three silver winter melons were piled up into a small hill in the cellar, reflecting the 3,000-camp armor like a starry sky.

Not to mention everyone present, even Zhu Youjian was a little dazed.

Wang Chengen's eyes were bloodshot.

He knew how much his emperor worried about money every day.

The private silver in Zhou Kui's family is actually more than the national treasury combined with the private treasury!

He casually picked up an ingot of official silver from the silver rack.

When he saw the mark at the bottom, Wang Chengen's whole body was shaking.

"This is the disaster relief money for the severe drought in Shaanxi three years ago!"

Hearing the familiar words, memories of Chongzhen came flooding back.

In the 14th year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in Shaanxi, and the people had to trade their children for food. At that time, the Ministry of Revenue had no money or grain, so it could only distribute the last 14,000 taels of silver for disaster relief.

And Zhou Kui has a full six thousand taels!
Including the Ministry of Revenue, imperial eunuchs, local officials, major nobles and others who had access to it.

One can imagine the actual amount of money distributed to the disaster-stricken areas.

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but look at Zhou Kui and asked, "What else are you afraid to be greedy for?!"

Zhou Kui's eyes were dull, and no one knew what he was thinking.

About half an hour later, Li Ruolian returned to Zhu Youjian, sweating profusely.

He handed over a stack of accounts with both hands.

"Your Majesty, we have seized 530,000 taels of silver and 6,300 taels of gold!" Li Ruolian's voice was trembling. "Twelve hu of eastern pearls, 3,000 hectares of land deeds, seven boxes of treasures, and..."

"There are also 200 Japanese pirates offering tribute swords, and colluding with Shanxi merchants to smuggle ironware, tea, salt and other documents!"

Zhu Youjian pulled out the envelope on the top layer and sneered when he saw the signature of Fan Yongdou, one of the eight locust merchants in his previous life.

"So the father-in-law is not only a royal relative, but also a part-time protector of Shanxi merchants' smuggling?"

However, this was not the end yet. Li Ruolian took out another roll of Huang Ling from his arms.

"Your Majesty, I found this in the secret compartment of the study."

The moment it unfolded, Zhu Youjian's pupils suddenly shrank.

It turned out to be a blank imperial edict stamped with the queen's seal!

Zhou Kui had no idea how many times he had used this method to forge palace purchases, and he pocketed more than a million!

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but sigh.

"He is truly a father-in-law who is both honest and loyal."

With the sword pointed at Zhou Kui's throat, Zhu Youjian leaned close to his ear and whispered, "What do you think those upright officials would do if I found some secret letters in your house that showed you plotting rebellion against the emperor?"

Zhou Kui collapsed to the ground, the smell of urine permeating his satin robe, and he even forgot how to speak.

He suddenly understood that this familiar yet unfamiliar person in front of him, once he no longer cared about his reputation, he would still be the emperor who held the power of life and death!
After mumbling for a long time, Zhou Kui finally uttered a complete sentence.

"Your Majesty, acting so violently, doesn't he care about your reputation after death?"

Zhu Youjian kicked Zhou Kui away.

"I've even prepared the white silk for Coal Hill, so why would I care about my reputation after death?"

"Make a list of the noble ministers you usually contact and give it to the Imperial Guard. I will give you a decent name for the Queen's sake. Otherwise, the father-in-law will be infamous forever!"

He sheathed his sword, turned around and mounted his white horse.

"Li Ruo Lian, move all these things to the private warehouse. Remember to walk on the main road so those flies can see them."

"Wang Chengen, lead the way to Admiral Wu's residence. It's time for his son's Guanning Army to take action."

(End of this chapter)