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

Chapter 370 I am still the same boy I used to be, without the slightest change.
After finishing the editorial in one go, Zhu Youjian threw down his pen, his heart pounding with emotion that lingered for a long time.

He then took a blank sheet of paper and personally planned the layout of the second issue of the weekly newspaper.

"The front page will feature this editorial personally written by me!"

"Second edition..." He paused slightly, his eyes growing increasingly deep, like two bottomless pools of ice. "List all twenty-seven of Cao Wenheng's crimes clearly and one by one! On the right, attach the photocopies of the evidence that Li Ruolian had copied and engraved! Engrave each and every one of them into a plate and print it out!"

"Furthermore, establish this rule for me! From this day forward, any high-ranking official in the court who is found to have committed acts of corruption, perverting the law, or harming the country and its people will, in addition to being punished by the law, having their family and clan exterminated, have their person, their deeds, their crimes, and the evidence published in the 'Da Ming Weekly' and circulated throughout the land!"

He practically squeezed out the last few words through his teeth:

"I not only want them dead, but also to be utterly disgraced! The law of the land will punish their bodies, and the annals of history will condemn their hearts! I want them to be nailed to the pillar of shame forever, even after death!"

Wang Chengen stood respectfully to the side, listening to the emperor's series of decrees, feeling as if the blood in his body was about to freeze.

To the deceased Cao Wenheng, this is to dismember his body and mutilate his soul, so that even in death he will be disgraced and infamous for ten thousand years!

For the living—all officials like Cao Wenheng in the world—this is to rip them apart, to strip away their hypocritical masks piece by piece while they are still complacent, to reveal their greedy and ugly true faces!

Seven days later.

When the latest issue of the "Da Ming Weekly" was delivered to the world like a sudden winter snowfall through the already highly efficient postal system, the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom was still immersed in an atmosphere of excitement and optimism, with a wise emperor above and capable ministers emerging in great numbers.

Countless officials still held the first issue of the newspaper praising Hong Chengchou, and spoke eloquently and passionately at various banquets and gatherings.

They analyzed the successful experience of Hong Hengjiu's new policies, pondered the emperor's intention of appointing people based on merit and not being bound by convention, and fantasized that one day they could also obtain such honors and be remembered in history.

With this sense of learning, exploration, and even pride, they unfolded this new newspaper, still exuding the fresh scent of ink.

Then, the whole world fell silent in an instant.

Henan, Kaifeng Prefecture.

At a grand banquet to welcome the newly appointed prefect Zhang Qian, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, and flattery permeated the atmosphere.

Prefect Zhang, his face flushed, held a lustrous white porcelain cup and spoke with great enthusiasm about the new policies he was about to implement throughout Henan. The content of his policies was strikingly similar to Hong Chengchou's approach in Zhejiang.

He spoke with ease and confidence, as if he were the next Hong Chengchou, with a glorious future of becoming a prime minister beckoning to him.

Just then, his aide, his face ashen, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, handed him a copy of the official report that had just been delivered by fast horse, his hands trembling like leaves.

"Uncle Dong, please take a look at this."

Prefect Zhang frowned slightly, took the paper without a second thought, and casually glanced at it.

With just one glance, the smug smile on his face froze and shattered instantly, as if it had been doused with icy water in the dead of winter.

His gaze was fixed on the shocking second edition.

"Imperial Convict Case: Traitor to the Nation, Scoundrel to the People, and False Integrity: The Indictment of Cao Wenheng, Governor of Jiangxi"

This title, like an invisible, immense hammer, slammed into the top of his head.

He looked down uncontrollably and saw the charges that made his heart stop: "Work relief in name only, actually enslaving the displaced people," "embezzling government grain and colluding with merchants to resell it," "building a private garden, spending huge sums of money, and indulging in extravagance"...

Finally, his gaze, as if struck by lightning, fixed on the photocopied secret ledger of a certain Shanxi merchant.

In that instant, he clearly felt as if all the blood in his body had been drained, and his limbs became cold and stiff.

Because the trading methods, accounting formats, and even some obscure codes that only certain groups of people could understand were exactly the same as what he had done in his previous official position not long ago, without any difference!

Bang!

A sharp, piercing sound shattered the noise in the room.

...Lianghuai, Yangzhou.

Within a garden.

Salt Commissioner Liu Zhao was leisurely flipping through the official gazette in his hand.

When he saw Cao Wenheng's name, he merely snorted softly through his nose, secretly despising him: "This fool, with such crude methods, dares to be so presumptuous. He deserves to fall."

With this schadenfreude of watching others make a fool of themselves, he continued reading.

Then he saw the ledger, which contained detailed transaction records with the merchant regarding the smuggling of salt permits.

Liu Zhao's eyes widened suddenly!

His eyeballs were almost bursting out of their sockets!
The rosewood rattan chair beneath him seemed to instantly transform into an ancient iceberg, and a bone-chilling cold surged from the soles of his feet straight to his head with the force of a thunderbolt!
He opened his mouth, wanting to scream, but found that his throat was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and he couldn't make a sound.

He tried to struggle to stand up, but found that his limbs were completely out of his control.

……

Ying Tianfu.

Alone in his quiet study, Sun Chuanting carefully read the official gazette three times, from the first word to the last.

His face showed neither the fear nor the slightest horror that one would expect from an ordinary official.

After reading it the first time, his brow furrowed, his expression grave. After reading it the second time, he seemed lost in thought, his eyes flickering. Finally, after reading it the third time, he let out a long, heavy sigh.

That breath carried a sense of relief and exhilaration.

In Guangdong.

After reading it, Lu Xiang-sheng remained silent as well.

He silently got up, walked to the large rosewood desk, and neatly placed the newly issued official gazette next to the previous one that praised Hong Chengchou.

On the left is a portrait of Hong Chengchou and his achievements, along with a commendation written by the emperor himself, a red list that brings glory to his ancestors.

On the right are Cao Wenheng's crimes and misdeeds, the irrefutable evidence of the joint trial by the three judicial departments, and the blacklist of his death and the extermination of his clan.

One triumphs, one dies; one life, one death; one praise, one warning.

Lu Xiang-sheng stared at the two newspapers side by side; the stark contrast was like two giant hands choking him.

After a long while, he slowly uttered four words from deep in his throat:

"The emperor... the butcher's knife."

At this moment, officials throughout the land, regardless of their location or rank, as long as they were literate, understood the undisguised bloodshed and chilling killing intent behind this newspaper.

In their terror, they finally remembered clearly the emperor who, at the beginning of his reign, had swept away the Shanxi merchants of Jie'aishi with thunderous force, leaving countless heads rolling and blood staining the entire land.

They once naively believed that as the emperor's rule became more stable, his heart would turn towards peace and harmony; they once believed that as time went by, the way of governance would return to its pure and mellow state.

They are so terribly wrong!

I still remember those days, when thunder swept through the caves, and heads rolled everywhere.

Who would have thought that the emperor's heart remained unchanged, just as it had been back then; through the changing seasons, his brilliance had not diminished in the slightest!
That ruthlessness was not diminished by public opinion; that decisiveness was not slowed by public debate.

Its power and authority are unshaken by calamities and anomalies; its heart and its methods are not bound by empty fame!
He was still the same person, the emperor who, when he spoke of killing, would make the whole world hear the sound of a head falling to the ground!
(End of this chapter)