Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 42 Purge the Court, the Steppe Army Arrives

The tea served in the imperial prison was certainly not good tea.

Cui Lang and Wang Yuanzhi didn't even have the chance to enter the imperial prison.

When Tong Lei's blood-stained sword was held against their necks, their last shred of dignity shattered.

Wang Yuanzhi wept uncontrollably, kowtowing repeatedly, incoherently crying out that he was wronged and begging His Majesty to spare his life, humbling himself to the dust.

Cui Lang, the head of a powerful family who had held sway in the court for decades, calmed down at this moment.

He stared intently at Tong Lei, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Tong Lei, you're nothing but His Majesty's dog. You kill me today, and you'll suffer the same fate tomorrow. Once the rabbit is caught, the hound is cooked; once the birds are gone, the bow is put away. Just you wait!"

Tong Lei's face remained expressionless; he simply uttered two cold words.

"Noisy."

Before he finished speaking, a knife flashed.

A fine head flew into the air, and scalding blood sprayed onto Wang Yuanzhi's face.

Wang Yuanzhi's cries stopped abruptly, his whole body trembled like a leaf, and a foul stench instantly filled the air.

Tong Lei didn't even bother to look at him again, and waved to the armored soldiers behind him.

"take away!"

The next day, the sky remained overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low, as if another heavy snowfall was imminent.

Outside the Meridian Gate of Beijing, crowds thronged.

Thousands of Imperial Guards surrounded the execution ground, their long halberds forming a dense forest, exuding a chilling aura.

On the execution platform, the heads of Cui Lang and Wang Yuanzhi were hung high, their eyes wide open, seemingly still accusing Chen Ye of injustice.

Below the stage, every single one of the civil and military officials was "invited" to witness the execution.

They stared at the two familiar yet unfamiliar heads, their faces turning deathly pale, utterly silent. Those officials who usually maintained close ties with the Cui and Wang families were especially trembling, almost unable to stand.

These people just couldn't understand how that incompetent ruler, who was obsessed with wine, women, and elixirs, could suddenly turn into such a ferocious tiger that would devour anyone he wanted.
Despite their doubts, when Chen Ye ascended the platform, these people knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Among these voices, there was reverence, and there was also fear.

Chen Ye's gaze slowly swept over the terrified and uneasy faces below, and then he said calmly.

"I know that many of you are not convinced."

Chen Ye finally spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly carried throughout the entire execution ground.

"They think I am a tyrant, that I indiscriminately kill innocent people. They think Cui Lang and Wang Yuan's crimes do not deserve death."

He paused, then his voice suddenly turned stern.

"These two, as important officials of the court, are paid by the emperor, yet they form cliques for personal gain and disrupt the order of the court! When the barbarian troops from the grasslands are at the gates of the city, instead of thinking about how to repel the enemy, they only think about how to enrich themselves, and even intend to assassinate the emperor and commit treason. For such crimes, it is already an act of great mercy for me to only execute the ringleader."

"Today, I will make my words clear. From this day forward, those who oppress the people, hoard goods for profit, or collude with the enemy to betray the country will suffer the same fate as the two traitors, Cui and Wang."

"Duke Anguo, what do you say?"

Chen Ye's voice suddenly turned to Li Jun.

Li Jun, who was blind in one eye, shuddered and immediately knelt down, his head hitting the ground repeatedly.

"Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty is wise! The two traitors, Cui and Wang, deserve to die a thousand deaths! Your Majesty's loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon!"

But Chen Ye had no intention of letting him go. He gestured to Tong Lei, who was standing to the side, with his eyes.

Tong Lei immediately stepped forward and began to read the imperial edict.

"Duke Anguo, Li Jun, allowed his son to commit heinous acts, oppressing the local people; his crimes are unforgivable! Minister of Revenue, Zhang Bo, embezzled military funds and lined his own pockets; he is a parasite on the nation! Minister of Rites, Sun Yi, formed cliques for personal gain, selling official positions and titles..."

A string of names was read out, each one a prominent figure in the court.

The imperial edict concluded with a chilling statement: "The above-mentioned individuals are hereby ordered to be jointly tried by the three judicial departments and thoroughly investigated without leniency."

Upon hearing this, the officials were devastated, and Li Jun fainted on the spot, only to be dragged away by the Imperial Guards without any mercy.

The remaining officials all knelt on the ground, trembling, their awe of the current emperor reaching its peak.

After the swift and decisive purge, Chen Ye's second action was to order the release of the young girls who had been conscripted into the palace to be used for alchemy.

Moreover, Chen Ye also ordered that half of all the property confiscated from the Cui and Wang families be put into the national treasury for military purposes, and the other half be used to distribute grain to the poor people in the capital.

In a short time, Emperor Chen Ye's popularity among the people soared at an unprecedented rate, completely washing away his previous image as a tyrannical ruler.

Through these means, Chen Ye quickly seized control of the government and then began to implement his plans in a bold and decisive manner.

In the days that followed, Chen Ye completely transformed into a workaholic.

The lights in the Hall of Mental Cultivation were on almost every night.

Piles of memorials, military reports from the border, blueprints for city defenses, accounts in the treasury... He was like a tireless machine, handling everything in this vast empire.

The eunuchs and maids in the palace also grew increasingly awe and respect for the emperor.

They had never seen such a diligent ruler. In the past, Yang Zhao was either indulging in debauchery in the inner palace or seeking immortality in his alchemy room; he had never cared about state affairs.
The concubines in the harem eagerly awaited the arrival of this transformed emperor.

Unfortunately, Chen Ye never went there.

The results of confiscating the property from these powerful families were remarkable; at least the national treasury was significantly replenished.

After acquiring the money, Chen Ye began to furnish the city with weapons.

The dilapidated city walls were reinforced, and countless logs, stones, molten gold, and kerosene were transported to the top of the walls.

The Imperial Guard was expanded to 30,000 men, who trained day and night, their battle cries deafening. Notices were posted throughout the city to recruit able-bodied men, offering generous rewards to form a volunteer garrison to defend the city.

The entire capital city was transformed into a massive war machine, operating at high speed under Chen Ye's will.

However, the enemy arrived much faster than anyone had anticipated.

Before the end of the year, snow fell heavily.

A madman on horseback charged into the capital. When the rider fell from his horse, he was barely breathing.

"Anding Prefecture has fallen! The barbarians... the barbarian army has already passed Tongjun and will soon be at the city gates."

The news caused a stir in both the government and the public.

Chen Ye remained calm. Dressed in military uniform, he ascended the majestic city tower and saw a black wave that seemed to devour the heavens and earth appear on the distant horizon.

Countless steppe cavalrymen, like dark clouds pressing in, slowly approached.

Banners fluttered like a forest, swords and spears gleamed like snow, and the overwhelming killing intent, even from such a distance, still made the defenders on the city wall feel suffocated.

Before the army's formation, a burly, iron-tower-like grassland man, clad in heavy armor, stood reining in his horse.

He was Yelü Boyang, the Khan of the Steppes.

He raised his head, his greedy gaze falling upon the magnificent city before him, like a hungry wolf eyeing the fattest lamb.

"My lads, do you see that?!"

Yelü Boyang raised his scimitar and pointed it at the capital.

"The city has endless silk to wear, inexhaustible wine to drink, and countless beauties! Conquer it, and all of this will be ours!"

"Ow—!"

Tens of thousands of grassland wolf riders roared in unison, their voices shaking the surrounding wilderness and causing the heavens and earth to change color.

War is imminent.

(End of this chapter)