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

Chapter 127 I Will Kill You Without Hesitation [Bonus Chapter 18 for Monthly Tickets]

"What's the matter with this panic? What kind of behavior is this!"

Old Zhu's fingers, which were tapping the armrest, suddenly stopped, and his gaze shot towards Yun Ming like lightning.

His tone carried dissatisfaction, and even a hint of annoyance at being interrupted.

Yunming swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Your Majesty, it was a conflict between students of the Imperial Academy, some censors and Hanlin scholars, and a large group of wounded veterans and civilians outside Chengtian Gate! The scene was almost out of control, and the civil officials were in a very sorry state."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu's brows furrowed instantly.

A conflict broke out between civil officials and veterans/commoners?

Almost instantly, he thought of Zhang Biao in the imperial prison.

Those veterans must have come to repay Zhang Biao's kindness for his previous 'audit' of the Ministry of War and for helping them get their back wages.

Those civil officials, it's likely that Fu Youwen and his group wanted to stir things up even more, and incite them to impeach Zhang Biao once again.

"Ah"

Old Zhu let out a cold laugh that was hard to decipher.

There was no trace of laughter in that sound, only icy anger and a knowing, mocking tone.

"Excellent, very excellent. A prisoner awaiting death is causing chaos in the imperial prison, while a group of scholars are being beaten up outside the palace gates by peasants."

"The system of the Ming Dynasty is truly an eye-opener for us!"

He nodded repeatedly, his tone neither praising nor furious, but slowly rose from the dragon throne and took a few steps forward.

Although he didn't say a word during this time, he exuded a heavy, mountain-like pressure.

This made everyone, including Jiang Huan and Yun Ming, afraid to even breathe.

"Jiang Huan".

He finally spoke.

Jiang Huan quickly replied, "Your subject is here."

"Dispatch more Imperial Guards to quell the situation. Disperse the crowd, prioritizing the safety of the palace and preventing disturbance to the inner palace. Arrest all those involved, whether officials or civilians, especially the main instigators! Separate them into different custody!"

His orders were clear, ruthless, and focused on restoring order and controlling the situation, rather than distinguishing right from wrong.

"According to the order!"

Jiang Huan immediately accepted the order.

However, just as Jiang Huan was about to get up and carry out the order, footsteps sounded again outside the door.

Yun Ming didn't have time to hesitate. He returned in a short while: "Your Majesty, the conflict at Chengtian Gate has stopped. It was Shen Lang, Li Mo, Sun Gui, Zhao Fengman, Wu Naida, and others who intervened."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu frowned again.

Jiang Huan was slightly surprised, thinking to himself that Zhang Biao's underlings had indeed improved quite a bit.

After a moment of silence, Old Zhu slowly walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and gazed in the direction of Chengtian Gate, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused.

Although nothing could be seen through the layers of palace walls, their gloomy gazes were truly terrifying.

Zhang Biao's Curse
Donation Follow-up
Veterans Civil Service Group
Five people from noble families were involved in corruption.
All these fragments were rapidly combining and colliding in his mind.

He suddenly realized that Zhang Biao's knife had completely spiraled out of control.

It not only addressed the deep-seated problems within the court, but the resulting chaos even began to undermine the court's dignity and order.

This has exceeded his initial expectations of "using someone else to do his dirty work" and "stirring up trouble" to clean up long-standing problems.

A furious rage, fueled by the provocation of ants and the growing sense that the situation was slipping out of his control, was building within him.

But at the same time, the deep-seated suspicion and scheming were also running rampant.

Killing Zhang Biao was always a simple matter for him.

But after killing them, how am I supposed to deal with the decaying matter?
How can the rift in the imperial court caused by Zhang Biao be mended?
More importantly, how many secrets does Zhang Biao actually know?
What exactly is he trying to do? Does he really want to drag our Ming Dynasty down with him? Or does he have some ulterior motive?!
At this moment, Old Zhu's murderous intent towards Zhang Biao reached its peak.

He didn't like the feeling of being out of control.

At the same time, an extremely stifling sense of reason, which forced him to temporarily suppress this murderous intent, also forcibly restrained him.

For the first time, Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, felt such a strong mix of murderous intent, vigilance, and a subtle sense of unease towards a seemingly easily crushed 'madman'.

After about fifteen minutes, he spoke again calmly and indifferently: "Let Shen Lang and the others go into the imperial prison and tell them that as long as they can persuade Zhang Biao to repent, we will release Zhang Biao."

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan and Yun Ming were completely taken aback, as if they had misheard.

What's going on?
The Emperor actually pardoned Zhang Biao?!

And this happened when Zhang Biao had caused so much trouble?!

Has the Emperor really gone mad?

"how?"

Just as Jiang Huan and his companion were at a loss, their minds blank, Old Zhu turned around and said with murderous intent, "Are you deaf?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I obey the decree!"

Jiang Huan was so frightened that he immediately kowtowed, and could barely speak.

However, without any hesitation, he immediately rushed out of the palace gate.

As Old Zhu watched him leave, a barely perceptible, sinister glint flashed in his eyes. [You bastard, let's see if you really want to die, or just pretend.]

[If this is a fake death, I will kill you without hesitation, as well as Shen Lang and the others. Let's end this farce completely!]

……

On the other side, outside Chengtian Gate.

Shen Lang and his four companions were still trying their best to persuade the group of veterans and civilians.

Shen Lang spread his arms, blocking a group of veterans who were about to swing table legs, his voice hoarse with urgency:
"My uncles and brothers! Listen to me! You must not lay a hand on them! You absolutely must not lay a hand on them!"

"Fellow students, esteemed officials!"

Li Mo then turned to the group of indignant students and officials and declared loudly, "Outside Chengtian Gate, right under the Emperor's nose, engaging in a brawl is not the behavior of gentlemen, and it violates the law! Whatever your demands, you should follow the laws of the court, not resort to fists and clubs!"

"All of you, put your damn weapons down!"

Sun Gui was even more direct, snatching the stick that was about to hit an old student on the head and roaring:
"Do you want to kill Brother Biao?! Fighting here, are you trying to solidify the charge of 'inciting public unrest and rioting' against Brother Biao?!"

"Gentlemen, we appreciate your kindness!"

Wu Naida quickly whispered to the veterans, "But once a fight breaks out, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will have a reason to arrest people! Not only will they not be able to save Brother Biao, but they will also drag everyone down with them! Brother Biao told you to disperse earlier because he didn't want to implicate everyone!"

"If you want to impeach someone, then impeach them. Why incite students who don't know the truth?"

Zhao Fengman also spoke coldly to the civil officials:
"If there are any deaths or injuries, who will be held responsible—you or Zhang Biao? You're using someone else to do your dirty work!"

silence!

The entire venue was as silent as if autumn leaves had been swept away!
The sudden appearance of the five men and their stern dissuasion were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the impending fight.

"I know you! Accountant Shen!"

"And that one... the one who handed me the chamber pot lamp."

The veterans recognized Shen Lang and Sun Gui, knowing they were Zhang Biao's brothers.

Although their words were harsh, the reasoning behind them was sound.

So, some of the veterans hesitated and put down their 'weapons,' but their eyes were still fixed on the other side with anger.

Although the students and civil officials were indignant, they were also stunned by Shen Lang's words.

After all, Shen Lang and the others had pointed out the crux of the matter.

Taking action here could turn a justified action into an unjustified one, and could very well result in being falsely accused.

The phrase "using someone else's knife to kill someone" in particular aroused suspicion among some of the more naive students.

The one-armed veteran looked at Shen Lang, his eyes reddening: "Accountant Shen! We don't want to cause trouble! We just can't stand by and watch them kill 'Zhang Qingtian'! Zhang Qingtian did it all for us!"

"We know! We all know!"

Shen Lang interrupted him sharply, his tone heavy and sincere: "Everything Brother Biao did was so that everyone could survive and live a better life! He would rather go to death row himself than see everyone get trapped in it for his sake!"

As he spoke, he looked around at the veterans and civilians, raising his voice:
"We appreciate your kindness on behalf of Brother Biao! But please trust us! Trust the laws of the court! Conflict will not solve the problem, it will only cause pain to our loved ones and joy to our enemies!"

Li Mo also cupped his hands in greeting to the students and civil officials:
"If you all believe Zhang Biao is guilty, the law will decide. Gathering here to exert pressure not only fails to uphold justice but also risks coercing the Emperor's ears. This is neither the way of a gentleman nor the true intention of serving the country and its people! Please disperse and return to your places!"

"Kutz, Kutz—"

Just then, heavy and orderly footsteps came from inside Chengtian Gate.

Jiang Huan appeared with a large number of Imperial Guards, his face grim.

Seeing that the chaos had indeed subsided, and especially with Shen Lang and his group of five standing in the middle, a barely perceptible hint of appreciation flashed in Jiang Huan's eyes. He then said sternly:

"No noise or gathering outside Chengtian Gate! You are hereby ordered to disperse immediately! Anyone who disobeys will be punished as if they were storming the palace!"

The Jinyiwei (Imperial Bodyguard) had a real and tangible deterrent effect.

With the help of Shen Lang and others, although the two sides were still glaring at each other, their fighting spirit had largely dissipated.

Looking at the resolute and pleading eyes of Shen Lang and the others, and then at the murderous Imperial Guards, the veterans finally stomped their feet in anger:

"We'll listen to Accountant Shen! Let's go!"

He led the way and turned around, and the other veterans and civilians followed suit, turning back every few steps, their eyes filled with resentment and worry.

Seeing this, the students and officials knew that they could not succeed today. Under the watchful eyes of the Imperial Guards, they could only reluctantly put away their banners and disperse while muttering curses.

A near-bloody conflict was forcibly stopped by Shen Lang and his group of five at the last moment.

Jiang Huan looked at the rapidly emptying square, then took another deep look at Shen Lang and his group of five, before walking straight over.

"The Emperor has decreed that you are permitted to enter the Imperial Prison to persuade Zhang Biao. If you can successfully persuade him to repent and reform, the Emperor may agree to release him."

"What!?"

Shen Lang and his group of five were first taken aback, then overjoyed.

"Is this really true, Commander Jiang?" Li Mo asked in disbelief.

The others also looked at Jiang Huan, their eyes full of anticipation.

Jiang Huan coldly replied, "A ruler's word is law. Do you intend to question the emperor's decree?"

"Don't dare!"

The five people quickly bowed, all of them extremely excited.

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(End of this chapter)