Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 18 Killing a Hundred Officials in One Day
The Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters in the capital city.

When Wei Zhongxian arrived with a group of Eastern Depot guards, he startled the Jinyiwei commander who was on duty at the yamen and had not gone to court.

What's with all these people suddenly arriving? Could something have happened in the palace?!
Ignoring the astonished crowd, Wei Zhongxian spoke in a clear, expressionless voice:

"By order of His Majesty: All personnel of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, from the Commander down to the Centurion, shall be immediately dispatched by Wei Zhongxian to the Eastern Depot to await further instructions!"

At this moment, most of those who stayed in the yamen to take a break were officials.

After kneeling to receive the imperial edict, they all looked at each other in bewilderment.

Why did His Majesty suddenly order all the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to enter the Eastern Depot immediately? What is the matter?

The commander, beaming, approached Wei Zhongxian and slipped him a silver note: "Eunuch Wei, this is a note just issued by the Shanxi Merchants Bank. It can be redeemed for one thousand taels of silver."

"Could you tell me, Eunuch Wei, what has happened that His Majesty has summoned so many people to the Imperial Separation Bureau all at once?"

Wei Zhongxian accepted the silver note, a kind smile appearing on his face: "His Majesty's wrath is unpredictable, and I am not clear about it either, so the specifics will only be known after the Assistant Magistrate and the brothers enter the Eastern Depot."

“I understand, I understand. Then I will take my men and go with you, sir.”

"Wait! His Majesty instructed us to bring all those with official positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard with us."

"So is there anyone who hasn't come to report for duty today? His Majesty has just ascended the throne, and if we don't do our job properly, he won't let us off easily."

The commander chuckled and said, "Hehe, indeed a few brothers are ill and haven't come. I'll send someone to call them right away."

Wei Zhongxian smiled and shook his head: "No need, just tell me the list. You all go ahead, I will go to find them myself. We must not keep His Majesty waiting."

"Then I will trouble you, Eunuch Wei. I will treat you well in the future."

Intimidated by Wei Zhongxian's accumulated power, and knowing that some of the Embroidered Uniform Guards were planted by him, the deputy commander dared not and had no reason to resist, so he obediently handed over the roster.

Although they were heading to the infamous East Bureau, the group wasn't too worried.

With so many people going together, His Majesty must have just ascended the throne and was giving a speech or some kind of encouragement on a whim.

If I squeeze out a few tears and say a few words about being willing to die for His Majesty, it shouldn't delay my trip to a brothel tonight.

It must be admitted that although Eunuch Wei had a bad reputation in the court and among the people, his ability to handle affairs was impeccable.

The task His Majesty assigned in the morning was completed by Wei Zhongxian before lunchtime.

All the officials and subordinates of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were taken to the Eastern Depot.

However, after entering the Eastern Depot's office, everyone suddenly realized that things seemed to be getting a little strange.

Holy crap! What happened?!
Weren't we supposed to come to the Eastern Depot to await His Majesty's orders? Why are they throwing us into prison?!
Let me go! I have rendered meritorious service to the Ming Dynasty! I have shed blood for the country! I demand to see our commander!
And then not long after.

Inside the prison, the group saw their commander, Tian Ergeng.

At this moment, Tian Ergeng had been stripped of his official robes.

But as he watched his men being locked up one by one, his emotions gradually stabilized from their initial breakdown.

No matter the circumstances, having familiar people with you makes you feel much more at ease.

Moreover, the idea that "the law does not punish the masses" became increasingly clear in their minds as the number of people involved gradually increased.

With so many people imprisoned together, the Emperor cannot possibly convict us all; otherwise, how would the Embroidered Uniform Guard function?
Moreover, I come from a family of officials, and this alone will prevent me from being easily punished. Other officials in the court with whom I have vested interests will certainly try their best to save me.

Moreover, the emperor did not explicitly state in court that he wanted to punish me. It is highly likely that imprisoning me in the Eastern Depot was just to give me and the Embroidered Uniform Guard a warning.

Punishment followed by forgiveness is a common tactic for winning people's hearts.

Driven by various wishful thinking.

Furthermore, since no punishment has been imposed and no one has interrogated him, Tian Ergeng in prison has become increasingly calm.

He even subtly regained some of the official authority he held as a commander. He could understand the new emperor's attempt to put him in a difficult position, given that his post was quite sensitive to the emperor.

But isn't this kind of reprimand a bit too disheartening for the subjects?

True.

With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, and me being the newly appointed commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I should, as a person, demonstrate my loyalty to the emperor.

But the Emperor didn't give me a single opportunity to have an audience. Can you blame me for that?
From a human perspective, Tian Ergeng did not feel that he had done anything wrong, and even felt a slight resentment.

In his opinion.

The emperor's attempt to win people's hearts in this way, which was not very sophisticated, was unbecoming of a ruler.

of course.

When the emperor finally forgives him after some time, he will still kneel down with tears of gratitude and say that he would go through fire and water for the emperor.

However, their hearts are no longer on the same line—even though they weren't really on the same line to begin with.

In the Palace of Qianqing.

After finishing his errand, Wei Zhongxian didn't dare to delay for a moment and went to the Qianqing Palace. He bowed and handed over a booklet, then spoke to the Emperor, who was sitting in a chair reading a book:

"Your Majesty, as you instructed, all 177 officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard have been taken to the Eastern Depot. What should be done with them afterward? This servant will handle it properly."

Zhu Youjian shook his head and directly ordered, "You don't need to handle the rest. Xiao Hongzi, take your men and kill them all."

"This servant obeys the decree!"

Xiao Hongzi took the roster and led the inner guards strode towards the Eastern Depot.

soon.

Xiao Hongzi then went to the cell where Tian Ergeng was being held.

After figuring out why he was locked up, Tian Ergeng glanced disdainfully at Xiao Hongzi, who had come here: "What rank are you? What are you doing here?"

"If you want to interrogate me, you are not qualified. Let Wei Zhongxian come!"

Xiao Hongzi wasn't annoyed at all, and a smile appeared on his face: "Lord Tian asked what rank my family holds?"

"To be honest, my family doesn't actually have any official rank yet. It's just that we performed exceptionally well during the Emperor's training of the Imperial Guards these past few days, killing a total of seventeen people. That's why the Emperor appointed us as the Commander of the Imperial Guards."

At this point, Tian Ergeng felt a chill and his expression changed slightly.

Xiao Hongzi continued to speak to himself, "But to put it bluntly, our Imperial Guard Commander is nothing more than a dog by the Emperor's side. He is worlds apart from Lord Tian, ​​who is a third-rank commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"But it seems Lord Tian has forgotten something."

"Even a dog beside a true dragon has to call him the Howling Sky Devouring Sun Divine Lord!"

"Lord Tian just asked me what my rank is?! Well then, I might as well tell you now."

Speaking of it.

Xiao Hongzi's smile turned into a ferocious expression, and with a whoosh, he drew a sharp knife from his waist.

"By imperial decree, we can act first and report later—that's our family's rank!"

next moment.

Screams echoed throughout the Eastern Depot's office.

(End of this chapter)