Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 262 I tolerated it before I became emperor, but now that I'm emperor, do I still have to tolerate it?

Zhu Youjian felt an uncontrollable anxiety, like magma rising and churning in his heart without warning.

He suddenly realized that the secret order he had just issued to investigate was utterly ridiculous.

check?
Do we still need to investigate?

His thoughts were instantly drawn back to the temporary headquarters he had previously held in Dezhou, Shandong.

He sat quietly in that camp, waiting.

He waited for the hypocritical descendants of the sages in the Duke Yansheng Mansion in Qufu; he waited for the incredibly wealthy and audacious salt merchants in Yangzhou; he waited for the self-righteous gentry in the entire Jiangnan officialdom... He patiently watched them collude, watched them test each other, and watched them cleverly reveal their true colors.

Zhu Youjian believed that the long list of heads he had chopped off on his way south from the capital, and the sections of the Grand Canal stained red with the Embroidered Spring Blade of the Imperial Guards, were enough to make these people understand the simplest truth—times had changed.

He believed that when he ascended the throne in Nanjing, the land of six dynasties, all he needed to do was to make a composed and measured conclusion, demonstrating the monarch's skill in using both thunder and rain as a sign of imperial favor.

But he thought wrong.

Big mistakes.

What he saw was not a flock of sheep that were completely terrified and only knew how to tremble in fear.

Instead, it was a pack of jackals who, after a brief moment of panic, quickly, skillfully, and even with a touch of showing off, started playing new tricks!

In this most dazzling and bustling place, they dared to engage in such a shameful act as offering land to Buddha!

The more Zhu Youjian thought about it, the more intense the fire in his heart burned.

It was an anger of being fooled and provoked.

Why?
I tolerated it when I wasn't emperor, but now that I'm emperor, do I still have to tolerate it?

Why should we tolerate this slow, inefficient so-called investigation, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water? Why should we endure these self-righteous fools using such shameless and disgusting methods right under his nose to empty the Ming Dynasty's treasury and mock the emperor's authority?
Anger instantly burned away the last bit of patience in Zhu Youjian's heart.

Anxiety completely overwhelmed all rationality regarding long-term planning and careful deliberation.

He didn't want to wait any longer, not even for a second.

It was almost blurted out.

"I……"

Zhu Youjian spoke slowly, his voice so calm and detached that each word seemed like a block of ice carved from a millennia-old glacier, gently uttered by him.

"...I've changed my mind."

These words, though light and airy, were so heavy that they made the air in the entire inner hall tremble.

The color drained from Tian Ergeng's weathered face instantly. He knew better than anyone what it meant when the young emperor spoke in such a tone.

That means the emperor's heart has changed, and the will of Heaven is about to shift!

“Your Majesty?” Tian Ergeng stepped forward, trying to understand and keep up with the heart-stopping changes in the Emperor’s mind.

"check?"

The emperor retorted, his voice filled with undisguised sarcasm, as if mocking a group of fools who were trying to dig a mountain with a needle.

"How else do we need to investigate?"

Zhu Youjian paced slowly in the hall, each step seemingly landing on the hearts of the five people. His gaze lingered for a moment on Zuo Liangyu's bewildered face.

"Is it about taking an abacus and going to settle accounts with those old monks who have chanted 'Amitabha' their whole lives and whose minds are more cunning than a beehive, one by one, to clear up their messy debts that have been covered up for decades or even centuries?"

He then looked at Liu Qiao.

"Or should we take a knife and force those tenant managers who are already in cahoots with the temple to tell us the so-called truth?" His gaze swept over the five trusted ministers who were in charge of the empire's henchmen, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"Even if you have connections to the highest levels and uncover the truth behind every single one of these cases, how long will it take? Half a month? A month? The Ming Dynasty is already riddled with holes, and every moment is like being boiled in hot oil! I don't have that much time to waste with these beasts!"

The emperor's voice suddenly rose in pitch, like a Longquan sword drawn from its sheath, emitting a clear and melodious hum in the hall!

"What I want are not those so-called pieces of evidence placed in the records for future historians to judge!"

"What I desire is reverence!!"

"At this very moment, every living person, from the nobles of Nanjing to the gentry of Jiangnan, and from officials, merchants, monks, and scholars throughout the land, feels a deep-seated reverence for me and for the laws of the Ming Dynasty!!"

The emperor's fingers almost poked their faces, and every word seemed to be cast from molten iron, hot and heavy!
"What I want is for those self-proclaimed clever fools to never again dare to dream of such a vile method! I want them to tremble and roll off their beds at the mere thought of 'offering land to Buddha'!"

The five men's faces drained of all color, turning deathly pale.

They finally understood the emperor's heart at this moment.

The emperor had no interest in going through the motions of investigating and punishing according to the law.

What he wants is to establish his authority!
In the shortest possible time and with the most ruthless methods, a thunderous drama will be staged to shock the hearts of the people!

What he wanted was not to make the files of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review flawless, but to imprint that deep-seated fear directly on the hearts of everyone in the world!
Zhu Youjian ignored the shock on their faces.

He slowly turned his head, the chilling intent in his eyes solidifying into a tangible form, like two icy spikes coated with deadly poison, aimed directly at Tian Ergeng, who was in charge of the overall situation.

"Tian Ergeng".

"Your subject... Your subject is here." Tian Ergeng's voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"Let me ask you," Zhu Youjian said in a tone as indifferent as brushing a speck of dust off his dragon robe, "which temple in Nanjing has the most fertile fields to feed on? And which temple's deity has swallowed the most imperial grain and taxes on behalf of its master?"

"Your Majesty, Jiming Temple."

Tian Ergeng raised his head and stated calmly and clearly:
"It was the foremost temple of the Southern Dynasties. Ever since Emperor Wu of Liang sacrificed himself here, its incense has flourished for over a thousand years. It enjoys an extraordinary reputation among the literati of Jiangnan and even among Buddhist communities throughout the world. To disturb it is like digging up the ancestral graves of the gentry of Jiangnan, a pain that will pierce to the bone."

"Five or six out of ten noble families in the city are its 'major benefactors,' and their carriages and horses are always at their door. The closeness of their dealings and the depth of their interests far exceed those of ordinary temples. The thousands of acres of fertile land donated by Zhao Zhilong, the Earl of Xincheng, also all ended up in his name. This temple can be said to be the unspoken money bag of the entire circle of officials, gentry and nobles in Nanjing, and the wellspring of corruption."

He paused, then added the last and heaviest weight.

"The current abbot, whose Dharma name is 'Liaofan,' is no ordinary monk. He is deeply versed in Buddhism and is also skilled in social interaction. He exchanges poems and tea with scholars and celebrities, and discusses metaphysics. He has a large following, and his reputation is almost comparable to that of the City God."

The words were spoken.

Inside the inner room, you could hear a pin drop.

Zhu Youjian smiled.

"it is good……"

“What a wonderful… ‘Liaofan’.”

The emperor slowly, word by word, savored the name, which was full of Zen-like meaning, as if he could taste a hint of hypocritical sweetness in it.

"What an enlightened monk!"

Zhu Youjian suddenly raised his head, his smile blooming to its fullest extent in an instant, but then freezing completely into an absolutely cold mask in the next instant.

"I will help him today—"

The emperor's voice was filled with endless mockery and cruelty.

"—To be free from this mortal world!"

(End of this chapter)