I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Upon hearing this, the court fell into a deathly silence.

Zhou Jian looked puzzled, and after a long while, he finally said, "I don't understand..."

"Guards, summon Luo Yangxing to the palace!"

Wang Chengen hurriedly went to deliver the message, and soon after, under the watchful eyes of all the officials, Luo Yangxing walked into the main hall.

"Your Majesty, I, Luo Yangxing, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, inquire after Your Majesty's well-being!"

"I am well!"

Zhu Youjian answered, then said, "Minister Zhou doesn't know anything about the silver, so you should explain it to me!"

"As you command!"

Luo Yangxing agreed, secretly encouraging himself.

His Majesty made him present the case in front of all the officials, clearly indicating that he was being asked to make a choice.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is a knife; is that knife still sharp? Can it still kill?

When Wei Zhongxian was in power, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was suppressed by a group of eunuchs.

Later, Wei Zhongxian fell from power, and the Donglin Party took control of the government.

In the eyes of these civil officials, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was nothing more than a lackey.

Therefore, during the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Bodyguard) had a very low profile for a long period of time and had to rely on eunuchs and civil officials.

This is also the situation the emperor least wants to see, because the Embroidered Uniform Guard is a weapon; if this weapon is in someone else's hands, then there is no need for its existence.

What Luo Yangxing needs to do today is to completely sever the connection between the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the officials.

From this day forward, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will only obey His Majesty the Emperor!

Whether they were eunuchs, civil officials, military generals, or imperial relatives, none of them could have anything to do with the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

The Embroidered Uniform Guards are like henchmen; whoever His Majesty orders me to bite, I will bite him to death!

"Your Majesty, my spies have received intelligence that some people are using the guise of a merchant guild to leave the city, but are actually delivering money and supplies to the rebel leader!"

Zhu Youjian said slowly, "Go on!"

Luo Yangxing continued, "I dispatched Li Ruolian, the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to intercept them. Sure enough, they found a large number of silver notes, totaling as much as 50,000 taels, as well as a secret letter."

Zhu Youjian turned to Zhou Jian and asked, "Minister Zhou, don't you have anything to say?"

Zhou Jian still didn't understand what the secret letter and the money had to do with him.

Upon seeing this, Luo Yangxing said directly, "The secret letter is addressed to the rebel Li Zicheng, and it's signed 'Earl of Jiading'!"

"impossible!"

Zhou Jian looked as if someone had stepped on his tail, and almost jumped up.

"How could my father possibly write a letter to Li Zicheng? Impossible, absolutely impossible, there must be a mistake!"

Zhu Youjian asked, "I'm giving you one last chance. Do you dare say you didn't know about this?"

Zhou Jian shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, I do not know... No, my father could never have done such a thing. Someone must have framed him. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"

Zhu Youjian gave Wang Chengen a wink, and Wang Chengen then presented the secret letter to Zhou Jian.

Zhou Jian only glanced at it before his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, this...this..."

Zhu Youjian snorted coldly and said, "Why not summon the Earl of Jiading to the palace for a face-to-face confrontation!"

Zhou Jian knelt down with a thud, wondering to himself, "What did my father do after I left yesterday?"

Colluding with rebels is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

"Your Majesty, spare me! I went out drinking yesterday afternoon and stayed overnight at a brothel. I truly knew nothing about it..."

Zhu Youjian, his face dark, spoke: "Luo Yangxing!"

"Your subject is here!"

"As a high-ranking member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what is the punishment for drinking and frequenting brothels while on duty?"

Luo Yangxing replied, "According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, any official who patronizes a prostitute shall be punished with sixty strokes of the cane."

"If that's the case, then let's do it!"

"As you command!"

Luo Yangxing turned around and ordered, "Someone come here!"

Two burly generals stepped forward: "Your humble servants are here!"

"Zhou Jian, the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was found drinking and frequenting brothels while on duty. He is to be dragged out and flogged sixty times!"

"yes!"

The Han general, expressionless, dragged Zhou Jian out of the hall.

Immediately afterwards, a series of wails came from Fengtian Hall Square.

The assembled officials in the hall looked at each other, completely at a loss.

I never expected His Majesty to target the Zhou family!

Zhu Youjian's eyes swept over the crowd, and he said, "The emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people. Even if I were to break the law, let alone the Zhou family being imperial relatives, I should still be punished! Wang Chengen, Luo Yangxing!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Your subject is here!"

"The case of the Earl of Jiading's treason has been handed over to the Imperial Guard and the Secret Service for joint investigation. I only want the results!"

The two replied in unison, "As you command!"

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking, he turned and left Fengtian Hall.

Wang Chengen hurriedly announced the end of the court session and then followed.

"Your Majesty, shouldn't we reconsider this matter...?"

Without turning his head, Zhu Youjian asked, "What are you considering?"

"What about Her Majesty the Empress..."

Zhu Youjian suddenly stopped and said, "I made myself very clear just now. If you can't do it, I can arrange for you to guard the late emperor's tomb, and then find someone who can!"

"This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

Wang Chengen hurriedly knelt down and said, "This servant will certainly not fail Your Majesty's grace and will thoroughly investigate this case!"

"Go and call Luo Yangxing over!"

"yes!"

Wang Chengen casually grabbed a young eunuch and ordered him to summon Luo Yangxing, while he himself hurriedly went to the Eastern Depot.

"Eunuch Wang, what's wrong...?"

Upon seeing this, Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, hurriedly came forward to greet him.

Wang Chengen, panting heavily, said, "His Majesty has decreed that the Eastern Depot thoroughly investigate the case of the Earl of Jiading's treason. You... go and do it immediately!"

"The Earl of Jiading? Colluding with the enemy?"

Wang Dehua did not attend court and was unaware of what had happened.

After catching his breath, Wang Chengen said, "Something terrible has happened! The Earl of Jiading wrote a letter to Li Zicheng and even sent him money, but he was caught red-handed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. His Majesty is furious and wants a thorough investigation of the Zhou family!"

Wang Dehua then realized the seriousness of the situation and said, "But he is the emperor's father-in-law, we..."

"Just go when I tell you to! Stop talking nonsense!"

Wang Chengen also grew anxious, frowning as he said, "This is His Majesty's decree; we will obey it regardless of who he is!"

"I know I was wrong, I'll make the arrangements right away!"

Wang Dehua dared not say anything more, immediately took stock of his men, and marched in a grand procession toward the Zhou family.

Meanwhile, Luo Yangxing was reporting the results of the internal purge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Emperor Chongzhen.

"In just two days, officials voluntarily surrendered 320,000 taels of silver, and 580,000 taels of silver were confiscated. I estimate that after a thorough investigation, the amount of silver seized will exceed one million taels!"

Zhu Youjian didn't know whether to be happy or angry about this.

The fact that a million taels of silver were seized from within the Embroidered Uniform Guard shows that the officials in the imperial court were already thoroughly corrupt.

But it's all for the best; a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one. The Ming Dynasty needs a storm!

"How are the personnel arrangements going?"

"Your Majesty, the key positions in each of the thousand-household garrisons are all filled by people I have appointed, and they are absolutely trustworthy!"

"Just trusting them isn't enough; would they dare to kill someone?"

"Your Majesty, I will immediately lead men to the Zhou family. Any resistance will be met with utmost mercy!"

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly and said, "The Zhou family can't cause any trouble. Let the Eastern Depot handle it. I need you to fight a tough battle."

Luo Yangxing bowed and said, "The entire Imperial Guard is ready, awaiting only Your Majesty's command. We will face any danger, no matter the cost!"

"By imperial decree, Duke Zhang Shize of Yingguo is appointed Grand Commander of the Five Armies Commandery, in charge of the Beijing Garrison."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard took full control of the city's defenses, controlled all the key roads in the capital, and then..."

Zhu Youjian paused, his face as cold as frost, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"Go directly to the Duke of Cheng's residence and take him away!"