Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 101 Old Zhu: Girl, Biao'er, this is so much fun! [Requesting monthly votes]

"Your Majesty"

Yunming stumbled and crawled back to the Huagai Hall, almost collapsing onto the cold floor tiles, holding the torn, dusty piece of bright yellow silk in his hands as if he were holding two red-hot irons.

His voice was trembling uncontrollably:
"Censor Zhang tore up the imperial edict!"

Wow!
As soon as Yunming finished speaking, the entire dormitory fell silent, as if autumn leaves had been swept away by the wind.

Deathly silence.

An even more suffocating silence than that of the Fengtian Hall Square instantly enveloped the Huagai Hall.

The agarwood in the burner seemed to have solidified, and the air felt as heavy as lead.

All the eunuchs and palace maids who were standing there, including the guards at the door, knelt down with a thud.

They buried their heads deep in the ground, holding their breath, fearing that the slightest movement would bring about their demise.

On the dragon bed, Old Zhu closed his eyes, as if he were asleep.

But his complexion changed visibly from sallow to ashen, and then from ashen to a deathly gray.

On the withered back of his hand, the veins bulged like dragons, gripping the bright yellow brocade quilt covering him tightly, his knuckles making a teeth-grinding 'crunch' sound from the extreme force.

He did not suddenly erupt in his raging fury.

There was no hysterical roaring.

He did not order Zhang Biao to be torn to pieces.

This extreme, repressive silence is more terrifying than any thunderous rage.

Yunming lay prostrate on the ground, trembling like a leaf, his back instantly soaked with sweat.

a long time.

It seemed like a century had passed.

Old Zhu slowly, extremely slowly, opened his eyes.

Those eyes no longer held the expected raging fury or ferocious killing intent; instead, they were a bottomless, icy pool.

But deep within the icy pool, a strange light, extremely calm, even exciting, flickered.

"What else did he say?"

Old Zhu's voice was terribly hoarse, yet unusually steady; each word was like an ice bead hitting the ground.

Yunming was so frightened that he dared not hide anything.

He then repeated Zhang Biao's words in a trembling voice:
He also said that he started doing auditing because he felt like it and was looking for excitement, not because of the emperor's filthy money.

He said the eight thousand taels of silver given by the Emperor were for beggars.

"Tell His Majesty to stop dreaming; he won't bite like a dog."

"He even said that if the audit was suspended, he would keep the money as compensation for emotional distress."

"Let the Ministry of Works clean up the junk; he can come back next time."

"Let those lower-level officials turn back before they regret it, and stop following him."

"As for himself, it's said he's going to the Qinhuai River to drink and listen to music, saying he wants to enjoy... enjoy the decadent life of feudalism."

With each sentence he repeated, Yunming lowered his head a little further, until finally he almost embedded his head into the floor tiles.

The air inside the dormitory could no longer be called air; it was practically frozen ice, reeking of blood.

However, the anticipated "the emperor's wrath will cause millions to die" did not occur.

After listening to Yunming's retelling, the ashen gloom on Old Zhu's face slowly faded, replaced by an extremely complex expression that mixed anger, absurdity, appreciation, and the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.

He even chuckled very, very faintly, almost imperceptibly.

That laughter was so cold it sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Acting on a whim? Seeking thrills? Not wanting to be a mad dog? Demanding compensation for emotional distress? And still wanting to enjoy a decadent feudal lifestyle?"

Old Zhu murmured these words repeatedly, his eyes growing brighter and sharper, like a hunter who had discovered a rare treasure.

Although this 'treasure' is covered in thorns and could turn on you at any time.

But then he suddenly understood.

All his previous attempts to 'subdue,' 'use,' and 'control' Zhang Biao were laughable and wishful thinking.

This Zhang Biao is not someone who can be judged by common sense, suppressed by power, or bought with benefits.

He is a peerless, deadly blade without a sheath; it is incomparably sharp, yet it can also harm its master.

He is a wildfire that runs rampant, capable of burning away filth and also spreading out of control.

What he pursued was not power, wealth, or even a place in history.

What he pursues is a sense of freedom and spontaneity.

For this reason, he was willing to recklessly court death.

Even everything he did was to get himself killed.

Although Lao Zhu didn't understand this kind of 'abnormality,' he still sensed that pure and dangerous 'quality'.

It would be such a waste to kill someone like that.

The Ming Dynasty, this enormous machine that has already begun to rust and decay, desperately needs such a reckless hammer that can smash everything in its path.

Those nobles, those corrupt officials, those deeply entrenched interest groups desperately need such a 'mad knife' to cut them down! To cleave them! To bleed them dry.

What Zhu Yuanzhang needed to do was not to grasp the knife tightly, but to guide this destructive torrent toward the direction he wanted to cleanse.

Even if in the end, the knife breaks and the torrent turns against him, he will not hesitate.

Thinking of this, the ice in Lao Zhu's eyes completely melted into a burning flame, and a gambler's madness and calmness intertwined in his eyes at the same time.

He slowly rose from the dragon bed, sat up straight, and his gaze swept over the kneeling crowd, who were all silent and trembling, before finally settling on Yunming.

"Yunming!"

"The slave is here!"

"Tell me, is Zhang Biao really crazy or just pretending?" Old Zhu's gaze was like a cold probe piercing Yun Ming.

Yunming felt a chill run down his spine; this question was practically a death sentence.

He broke out in a cold sweat, but forced himself to say, "This servant is foolish! Imperial Censor Zhang may seem mad, but he is actually very shrewd and loyal."

"Humph!"

Old Zhu snorted coldly, interrupting his nonsense: "Loyalty and righteousness? What good is that!"

"Did he think he was courting death? Did he think he was playing around?" Old Zhu's voice suddenly rose, carrying an extreme calm after being thoroughly enraged: "He calculated it! He calculated that we can't kill Shen Lang and the others now! He calculated that we need his 'mad blade'! He calculated that we care about the Ming Dynasty more than he does!"

As he spoke, he stood up from the dragon bed and slowly paced around the bedroom, each step seeming to tread on the hearts of Yunming and the others.

"He accused us of being callous and ungrateful? He accused us of indiscriminately killing meritorious officials? But what he did was even more ruthless than what we did!"

"He's going to drag everyone down with him! He's going to destroy the very foundation of our Ming Dynasty!"

"But then he sent us a list, accounts, and incriminating evidence! He's handed us a knife, forcing us to go on a killing spree!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly stopped in front of Yunming, looking down at him: "Yunming, tell me, should we reward him or kill him?"

Yunming trembled violently, almost fainting, and could only prostrate himself on the ground, saying, "This servant does not know! His Majesty's decision is absolute!"

"The Emperor's autocratic decision-making?"

Old Zhu scoffed, "Right now, all we want to do is rip his heart out and see if it's black!"

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging killing intent, his eyes becoming unfathomable:

"He wants to die, doesn't he? We'll make him live, and make him suffer more than anyone else!"

"We want him to see with his own eyes how we clean up all the filth he's created, bit by bit!"

"We must let him see with his own eyes how laughable his crazy tricks are in the face of true imperial strategy!"

Old Zhu's voice grew lower and lower as he spoke, yet it carried a chilling determination:

"Didn't he provide a list? Let's check his list one by one! And kill them one by one!"

As he spoke, he suddenly turned around and looked at the deep night outside the hall, as if he could already see the impending bloodshed.

"deliver an imperial order."

"Zhang Biao was promoted to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate for his meritorious auditing work, and was put in charge of the accounting matters."

"Shen Lang, Li Mo, Sun Gui, Wu Naida, Zhao Fengman, and all the officials involved in the audit will be promoted one rank."

"Let them keep investigating! Investigate to the end! We want to see how many more surprises we don't know about!"

"What!?"

A sudden roar erupted inside the bedroom of the Huagai Hall.

Almost instantly, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was wondering if there was something wrong with their ears.

The imperial edict was torn up, the emperor was scolded, the reward money was used to seduce prostitutes, and yet he's still being promoted?!

This isn't some kind of imperial strategy; it's madmen fighting madmen!
Ignoring the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, Old Zhu continued to issue a series of seemingly absurd but actually cryptic decrees: "Didn't he suspend the audit? Didn't he tell the Ministry of Works to clean up the mess and wait for him to come back next time?"

"Okay, let's do as he says."

"Imperial decree: Zhang Biao, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, has worked diligently on audits and made great contributions to the country, which greatly pleases us. He is hereby granted three days of leave to rest and relax, and all expenses shall be recorded in the imperial treasury."

"Issue another decree to the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture and the Five Cities Garrison: If, during your leave of absence, Zhang Aiqing, engages in any acts of vandalism, looting, arson, bullying, or disorderly conduct while intoxicated along the Qinhuai River, as long as no one is killed, it shall be deemed as such."

"Well, consider him a man of strong character, straightforward and bold. There's no need to interfere; just record it and report it to Jiang Huan."

Yunming: "."

Is the Emperor going to condone Imperial Censor Zhang's lawlessness and collect dirt on him in the process?

"in addition."

Old Zhu's eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp, like a hawk: "Send another decree to Jiang Huan, telling him to keep a close eye on those noble ministers, especially those who have been named, cursed, and had their homes confiscated by Zhang Biao!"

“Look at Zhang Biao’s three-day leave of absence. Who was burning incense at home to celebrate, who was secretly making connections, who was secretly transferring assets, and who was trying to contact the palace!”

"If there are any unusual movements, regardless of whether the evidence is conclusive, record them and report the list directly to us!"

"promise!"

Yunming felt a chill run down his spine and instantly understood.

The Emperor intends to use Zhang Biao's "madman's knife" and the pretext of "rest" to further warn, or even entrap, the court and clean up its affairs.

Those who let their guard down and started making underhanded moves because Zhang Biao suspended the audit have just walked right into the line of fire and are simply courting death.

"besides!"

Old Zhu added finally, his tone carrying an unquestionable determination: "Suppress Zhang Biao's tearing up of the imperial edict!"

"Anyone who dares to divulge even a single word of this will have their entire family and clan wiped out!"

"We told the outside world that Minister Zhang had inspected the quality of the imperial edict and found it to be substandard. We greatly admire his loyalty and integrity and hereby grant him leave to show our favor."

I rub!

Your Majesty
That's so shameless!

Yunming's lips twitched, but he dared not utter a sound.

"Alright, everyone, you can all leave now."

Old Zhu waved his hand, as if he had only dealt with a few trivial matters.

Everyone felt as if they had been granted a pardon and retreated cautiously, their backs already soaked with cold sweat.

Today's experience was too surreal and too shocking to their understanding.

When only Old Zhu was left in the dormitory, he slowly picked up the two torn pieces of the imperial edict and looked at the tear marks carefully, almost greedily, as if he could see Zhang Biao's arrogant, domineering, and lawless face in them.

His fingers traced the broken edge of the silk, his eyes flashing with an extremely complex light.

There was murderous intent, anger, and hatred.
But more than anything, it was a sense of excitement and anticipation at discovering a deadly weapon and about to unleash it on the enemy.

"Zhang Biao, oh Zhang Biao"

Old Zhu muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and cold: "Let's see if your knife will cut down all our enemies first, or break itself first!"

"You want to play? You want excitement? Fine! We'll play a big game with you!"

"The Ming Dynasty's territory is the chessboard, and all living beings are the chess pieces."

"Let's see in the end whether you, this 'mad doctor,' cure the disease of our Great Ming, or whether I, this 'Chongba,' will crush you into dregs first!"

He carefully folded the two halves of the imperial edict and tucked them under his pillow, as if they were some important strategic blueprint.

Then, lie down again and close your eyes.

An icy, cruel smile, yet tinged with the satisfaction of a chess player after making a move, unconsciously crept onto his lips.

"Girls, Biao'er, did you see that?"

"This is so much fun!"

(End of this chapter)