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

Chapter 201 Passionate Verbal Battle! Old Zhu, Times Have Changed! [Bonus Chapter 20 for Monthly Tickets]

Inside the Hall of Literary Glory, the atmosphere was even more somber and oppressive than during the previous grand court assembly.

With his back to the palace gate, Old Zhu stared at the huge "Map of the Ming Dynasty" on the wall, his chest heaving slightly with barely suppressed anger.

Zhang Biao indirectly ruined the plan to establish an heir, and he could not swallow this insult no matter what.

That madman must be given an explanation, or rather, he must be made to know who truly rules this Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Biao has arrived."

Yunming's cautious voice sounded from behind.

Old Zhu didn't turn around, but squeezed out a cold word from his throat: "Let him in."

Footsteps sounded, and Zhang Biao was still wearing his faded seventh-rank censor's robe, but his face showed no fear. Instead, he had an almost lazy calmness, as if he was just visiting.

"Your subject, Zhang..."

"Zhang Biao!"

Before Zhang Biao could even offer a polite greeting, Old Zhu abruptly turned around, his gaze like two cold lightning bolts piercing straight at Zhang Biao:
"Today, outside Chengtian Gate, you spread heretical rumors, disrupted the court, and indirectly obstructed the crucial discussion on the foundation of the nation! Do you know your crime?!"

Zhang Biao picked at his ear and said casually:
"Your Majesty, if you summoned me just to say these repetitive things, then I must go back now. I'm busy."

Zhu was so enraged by his attitude that he slammed his fist on the imperial desk:
"Busy? What are you busy with? Busy figuring out how to force us to kill our son?!"

"If Your Majesty continues to speak like that, I will no longer tolerate it!"

"You spoil us?!"

Old Zhu seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. His face turned bloodthirsty as he stared intently at Zhang Biao and said, word by word:

"We know you're not afraid of death, but besides death, there are many other ways to make people wish they were dead. Do you want to try them?"

"Since Your Majesty intends to treat me this way, then I will not let this opportunity pass me by!"

Zhang Biao calmly raised his head, the languidness on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by a sharp, knife-like seriousness: "Your subject will remonstrate to the death!"

"you!"

Old Zhu's pupils contracted, thinking to himself, "What's this madman up to now?!" But he couldn't help but press on, "Admonition to the death? What are you admonishing me for?"

"Your Majesty, I will remonstrate with you even unto death!"

Zhang Biao's voice was crystal clear, carrying a hint of determination:
"I hereby authorize myself as an Imperial Censor of the Censorate, temporarily in charge of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Ming Dynasty, to audit the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang!"

boom--!
This statement is more than ten times more powerful than the previous declaration of 'auditing the princes'!
Old Zhu was struck dumb, frozen in place, his eyes wide open like saucers, his mouth slightly agape, his brain completely shut down and went blank.

[Audit...audit us?!]

[That bastard... he's really gone mad! He really doesn't want to live anymore!?]

[His proposal to audit the vassal kings was already outrageous enough, but now he's actually... he's actually setting his sights on us?!]

After the extreme shock came a raging fury that threatened to destroy everything.

"you you……"

Old Zhu was trembling with anger, pointing his finger at Zhang Biao, and he could barely speak:

"You are insolent! Arrogant! Lawless!"

"We are the Emperor! The Son of Heaven! Who do you think you are, to dare audit us?! This is outrageous! This is utterly defying the heavens!"

"Guards! Guards, drag this bastard out!"

"Hahaha--!"

Before Old Zhu could finish giving his order, Zhang Biao suddenly burst into wild laughter, interrupting him:

"Zhu Chongba! Look at the pathetic state you've become!"

"I really want to grab a mirror and take a good look at myself!"

"You think just because you're the emperor, no one can touch you?!"

"You think the rules you set are infallible and will never be wrong?!"

Seeing Old Zhu's fury, Zhang Biao was not afraid at all. Instead, he took a step forward, his voice becoming even sharper, like a sword piercing Old Zhu's heart.
"Fine! Today I'll 'audit' you, the Hongwu Emperor!"

"shut up--!"

Old Zhu roared, an uncontrollable rage erupting within him. He even abandoned his imperial dignity and began to hurl insults at Zhang Biao:

"Zhang Biao! You madman! You scoundrel! You shameless rogue! You son of a bitch! You big idiot—!"

"We'll spare your life! Not only are you ungrateful, but you're pushing your luck by wanting to audit us?! You're a damn ungrateful wretch!"

His voice was like a thunderclap, echoing throughout the empty hall, so powerful that Yunming and the others' legs went weak and they almost knelt down.

The guards were even paler than usual, and their hands gripping their knives were sweating profusely.

The historian in the corner paused, a drop of ink falling onto the paper, but he immediately steadied himself and began frantically recording.

"Why did the emperor say this?"

Zhang Biao calmed down after hearing Lao Zhu's outburst of curses:

"I have devoted myself to the country, worrying day and night. What I have done is all for the eternal stability of the Ming Dynasty. How can Your Majesty insult a loyal minister like this not chill the hearts of all patriots in the world?"

"Pah! Loyal minister? You troublemaker!"

Old Zhu was so angry that he rushed down the steps of the imperial palace, almost poking Zhang Biao's nose:
"From the moment you pleaded for your life in court, you started plotting against us!"

"You're going to try and calculate this with us! Calculate how much silver the royal family spends on food, drink, and sanitation every year! You're making us, the Zhu family, look like leeches sucking blood from the Ming Dynasty!"

"You incited those desperate officials in Beijing to demand their unpaid wages! You've made our crown prince selection ceremony a laughing stock!"

"You called the entire court of officials jackals and tigers, vermin!"

"You audited the Sixth Ministry! You've turned Yingtian Prefecture upside down!"

"You're messing with the nobility! You've almost ruined the fortunes of our old brothers!"

"You want to abolish Confucianism?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"We locked you up in the imperial prison hoping you'd behave, but instead, you're causing trouble! You've even brought up old cases from Shaanxi and stirred up trouble in the palace!"

"You even dare to bring up how our Biao'er died!"

When the Crown Prince Zhu Biao was mentioned, Zhu Biao's eyes instantly reddened, and his voice was choked with sobs and rage; it was the deepest pain in his heart.

"And another thing, that 'Public Security Notice' of yours, every word of it pierced our hearts! Xiong Ying... the death of our eldest grandson... you even brought that up to stir up trouble?!"

"You've turned the Ming Dynasty upside down! War is raging everywhere, and reports of rebellion are piling up like mountains! Aren't you very proud of yourself?! Huh?!"

Old Zhu got angrier and angrier as he spoke, his spittle almost spraying onto Zhang Biao's face:
"Now! You've come up with this 'auditing princes' thing! And this ridiculous 'anonymous whistleblower box'! Are you trying to force our sons to raise the banner of rebellion and completely tear down the Ming Dynasty before you're satisfied?!"

"Do you think all the officials in our court are fools? And that you, Zhang Biao, are the only one who understands?!"

"Don't you think our emperor is a tyrant who won't listen to you, Zhang Biao, and that the Ming Dynasty will collapse immediately?! Tell me! Isn't that right?!"

This series of roars, like a sudden storm, poured out all of Old Zhu's resentment, fear, helplessness, and anger at having his truth exposed.

He was no longer the aloof Hongwu Emperor, but more like a patriarch who had been cornered and was furious.

Yunming and his guards were so terrified they were almost suffocating.

The young historian's hands moved so fast they left afterimages as he recorded the events. His face was flushed with extreme excitement and fear. Suddenly, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted from sheer excitement!

Make your mark on history today!

How could I possibly skip breakfast? I hate it!

[If only I had learned from Imperial Censor Zhang, how could I have the energy to write history if I didn't eat my fill?]

Regardless of the historian's regret or the overwhelming anger of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Biao remained remarkably calm.

"Yes! I think most of them are idiots! Fools! Parasites!"

He pointed outside the hall, as if pointing to the entire bureaucratic system:

"The national treasury is empty, the border troops are behind on their pay, and the people are suffering! And what about them? They all just focus on their own little plot of land, thinking about how to make money and how to scheme!"

"The feudal lords have become too powerful to control, seizing farmland and raising private armies, posing numerous hidden dangers! Who dares to speak out against them? Who dares to intervene?!"

"I'd die for you? That's because if this wake-up call isn't sounded, you'll all be pretending to be asleep!"

"I'm settling scores with the royal family? That's because if I don't, the very foundation of the Ming Dynasty will be eroded!"

"I incited them to demand unpaid wages? That's because they're not getting what they're owed! They can't survive!"

"I audit the Six Ministries and the nobility? That's because they're already rotten to the core! If I don't investigate, will they rot to the very core?!"

"I said His Highness the Crown Prince died under mysterious circumstances? I said His Highness the Eldest Grandson's untimely death was suspicious? That's because there were problems to begin with! You know this better than anyone else! You just don't dare to investigate! Or rather, you can't investigate any further!"

Zhang Biao's words were piercing and uncompromising:
"As for auditing the princes? Setting up complaint boxes? Aren't these the fastest and most effective ways to root out corrupt officials and deter illegal activities?!"

"Are we going to wait until they've grown strong enough to fight each other before we regret it?!"

"Zhu Chongba! You keep talking about the Ming Dynasty, but what you've done isn't pushing that dynasty towards the edge of a cliff?!"

"You think that if I shut up, everything will be peaceful?"

"I'm telling you, even if I, Zhang Biao, shut up today, there will be others who come after me!"

"The Ming Dynasty's illness has penetrated to the bone! Without drastic measures and thorough purges, it will be doomed sooner or later!!"

"You...you're being insolent!" Old Zhu was so angry that his blood boiled and his vision went black. He suddenly raised his hand, as if he wanted to slap Zhang Biao, but he held back. Zhang Biao's fearless and even mocking eyes made him feel powerless.

"We...we'll join your mother..."

Old Zhu, panting heavily, swore out the most vulgar language: "What exactly do you want?! What exactly do you want from us?!"

Zhang Biao looked at the almost out-of-control Old Zhu, took a deep breath, softened his tone slightly, but remained firm:
"I don't want anything. I just want you to open your eyes and see the real Ming Dynasty! To hear the cries of the people of this land!"

"Stop thinking about your dead wife, children, and elderly parents all day long! If you truly care about the Ming Dynasty, then you should show the same courage as the Hongwu Emperor! Like scraping the bone to remove poison, like a brave man cutting off his own arm!"

"Instead of creating a 'Reasoning for the Abolition of the Feudal Princes' system,' and then using a 'dual contract' to decide which system would be abolished and which wouldn't? What's the point of abolishing it then? It's all bark and no bite! Who are you trying to fool?!"

"you!"

Old Zhu was speechless for a moment after being rebuked.

Inside the Huagai Hall, only his heavy breathing and Zhang Biao's unwavering gaze remained.

The air seemed to freeze.

Yunming and his guards dared not utter a sound, feeling as if they were witnessing an unprecedented and earth-shattering ultimate showdown between the emperor and his subject.

Old Zhu stared intently at Zhang Biao, his chest heaving violently, his eyes seeming to want to devour Zhang Biao alive.

After a long silence, he suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the historian in the corner who had just woken up and was preparing to write furiously, and let out a beast-like growl from his throat:
"Get out! All of you, get out of here! Don't write a single word down!!"

The historian shuddered in fright, nearly dropping his pen, but between professional ethics and the emperor's wrath, he chose to save his life.

He scrambled to gather his belongings and, along with Yunming and the guards, who were equally pale, fled the Huagai Hall as if escaping, tightly closing the heavy door behind him.

silence!

Deathly silence!

Inside the Hall of Literary Glory, only the panting Hongwu Emperor and the eccentric seventh-rank censor who stood ramrod straight with a nonchalant expression remained.

After an unknown amount of time, Old Zhu seemed to have all his strength drained away. He staggered back a few steps and leaned against the cold, coiled dragon golden pillar.

He no longer looked at Zhang Biao, but gazed at the caisson ceiling of the palace. His voice was hoarse and weary, yet it carried a directness that had shed all pretense:

"Now... there's no one else around... Zhang Biao, tell us the truth..."

"You've caused so much trouble—the suicide plea, the accounting, the demand for unpaid wages, the audit, the reopening of old cases… and even disrupted the succession process twice. What exactly is your purpose?"

Zhang Biao looked at Old Zhu, who seemed to have aged considerably in an instant. The nonchalant expression on his face softened slightly, but his eyes remained sharp.

Instead of answering directly, he started counting on his fingers:
"You ask me what my purpose is? Okay, then let's have a good talk about it!"

"The next step after abolishing the system of stipends for princes is to weaken the power of the princes, which you should already know. Let me tell you something else!"

"The household registration system you established binds farmers tightly to the land. It seems stable, but in reality, it is rigid, stifles circulation, and traps people in poor rural areas. When natural disasters occur, the fields are filled with starving corpses. Is this what you call governing a country?"

"Your military registration system treats soldiers like slaves, breeding corruption in countless garrisons. How much combat power do you expect them to have?"

"Your 'precious paper' is only issued and not collected, with no reserves whatsoever, making it as worthless as toilet paper, causing widespread discontent and soaring prices! How is this any different from outright robbery?!"

"Your maritime ban, which forbids even a single plank from going to sea, is a self-imposed isolation, depriving coastal people of their livelihoods, handing over huge profits from overseas, and leaving only Japanese pirates to harass the country. Is this what you call a prosperous nation?"

"The stipend system you give to the imperial family has nurtured a bunch of parasites of the country. After a few generations, the wealth of the whole country may not be enough to support the descendants of the Zhu family. Is this what you call maintaining peace and stability?"

"You are harsh on your officials, and their salaries are so low that it is difficult for honest officials to survive. Corruption is rampant. Can you kill them all? Is this what you call managing subordinates?"

"And what about you..."

"Shut up!"

Old Zhu abruptly interrupted him. Although exhausted, his imperial dignity made it impossible for him to tolerate such a complete denial. He straightened up, leaning against a pillar, and roared:

"What do you know?! We don't let the people wander around because we're afraid they'll become refugees and cause trouble!"

"Our military registration system is designed to ensure that soldiers are self-sufficient, and that military registration is military registration, while craftsman registration is craftsman registration, with each fulfilling their respective duties!"

"Our 'precious paper' is only issued because we don't have enough cash. Do you think we don't know the consequences of issuing too much 'precious paper'? What can we do? The country has no money!"

"Our maritime ban is to prevent Japanese pirates and to prevent treacherous people from colluding with foreign powers!"

"We give generous salaries to members of the imperial family so that they will behave themselves and protect the royal family!"

"We are strict with our officials so that they will know fear and the consequences of greed!"

"Everything we do is for the stability of the Ming Dynasty!"

"You're just a young child, do you even know the difficulties of governing such a large country?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Biao was not intimidated at all; instead, he let out a sneer, a laugh that sounded particularly jarring in the empty hall.
"Stable? Old Zhu, you call this stable?"

"Is it true that treating the people like livestock is a form of stability?"

"Is it to secure your prince's son's position by having soldiers build him a mansion and a courtyard?"

"You say you have no money, yet you stand by and watch overseas silver flow into other people's hands. Is that what you call stability?"

"Is it stable to keep a bunch of parasites that will eventually drain the national treasury?"

"Forcing officials to be corrupt just to survive, and then using the butcher's knife to kill them, making everyone in the court feel insecure and paralyzing government affairs—is this the stability you want?!"

He paused, then looked at Old Zhu with a mocking gaze, and spoke again: "I think you're using the sword of the previous dynasty to behead the officials of this dynasty!"

"No, you're using the same methods you used to conquer the world and deal with the remnants of the Mongol Yuan dynasty and their arrogant and unruly generals to govern a vast empire that needs to recuperate and grow stronger!"

After saying this, he clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Times have changed, Old Zhu! Your old ways don't work anymore!"

"It will only keep the Ming Dynasty stuck in the same place, or even... reverse the course of history!"

Zhang Biao's words struck Old Zhu's heart like a heavy hammer.

In particular, the phrases "times have changed" and "use the sword of the previous dynasty to kill the officials of this dynasty" made Zhu Yuanzhang shudder, and a look of bewilderment and great shock flashed in his eyes.

These ideas are completely different from what he has learned, done, and believed throughout his life; they can even be described as heretical.

But for some reason, the current chaotic situation gave him an indescribable sense of fear.

He stared intently at Zhang Biao, as if he were truly seeing this man for the first time, his voice trembling slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of:

"You...you with your twisted and heretical theories...do you...do you really want to...reform our Great Ming Dynasty?"

I finally asked.

This was a question that had lingered in his mind for a long time, but he had never dared to think about it deeply.

"Ah!"

Zhang Biao looked at Lao Zhu's eyes, which were filled with a mixture of shock, anger, fear, and a hint of inquiry, and suddenly laughed.

"reform?"

He repeated those two words as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Old Zhu, are you still half asleep?"

"Throughout history, how many reformers have met with a good end? Shang Yang was torn apart by chariots, Wu Qi was pierced by arrows, and Wang Anshi died in despair!"

"Reform and national strengthening? How many people's interests will that affect? ​​How much blood will be shed?"

"Do you think I, Zhang Biao, am the kind of loyal minister who would willingly put myself on the fire, be condemned by thousands, and die without a burial place for the sake of your Zhu Ming dynasty?"

"Go and have your spring and autumn dreams!"

Old Zhu was speechless, his face turning pale and then red.

Zhang Biao abruptly changed the subject, a wicked smile creeping across his lips, and slowly said:
"unless……"

Old Zhu almost instinctively pressed on, with a hint of urgency he himself didn't understand: "Unless what?"

Zhang Biao stepped forward again, his gaze fixed intently on Old Zhu, and clearly uttered his earth-shattering demand:

"Unless... you agree to let me audit your—private treasury!"

boom--!
These words were like a thunderclap from the heavens, exploding directly in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind!

Auditing...the internal treasury?!

The emperor's private treasury?!

That was the most secret and inviolable forbidden zone of imperial power! It was the symbol of absolute power!

"You...you bastard!!"

Old Zhu instantly flew into a rage. The shock and inquiry he had felt moments before vanished, replaced by extreme fury at the infringement of his core interests.

Because the idea of ​​'auditing the imperial treasury' was a hundred times more shocking to him than the idea of ​​'auditing' him, the Hongwu Emperor!
After all, he could represent himself personally, while the imperial treasury represented the face of the Ming imperial family.

If the imperial treasury were audited, wouldn't future emperors be completely exposed, down to their very underwear? What semblance of imperial sanctity would remain?!
Old Zhu suddenly straightened up, veins bulging on his forehead, pointed at Zhang Biao, his voice distorted and shrill with extreme anger:
"You dare to covet our private funds?! Are you really determined to kill me?!"

The entire Huagai Hall seemed to tremble under the emperor's overwhelming rage.

Zhang Biao, however, showed no fear, even displaying a mocking "I knew it" expression, and stood firmly in the face of Lao Zhu's murderous gaze.

Inside the Hall of Literary Glory, the atmosphere that had just eased slightly instantly plummeted to freezing point again.

It's even more dangerous and tense than before!

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(End of this chapter)