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

Xie Jinrong looked at the person in front of him, his eyes filled with doubt.

"You do look somewhat familiar. Is there some grudge between us?"

Hong Niangzi pulled off her hair bun, letting her long hair fall over her shoulders, revealing her true face.

Xie Jinrong looked at it again, and seemed to have some recollection of it, but he couldn't be sure.

After all, so much time has passed. How could he possibly remember that girl who used to perform on the street?

However, what puzzled him was why Emperor Chongzhen had a woman by his side, and a woman carrying a knife at that. What was her intention?

Hong Niangzi said coldly, "Have you forgotten what you did thirteen years ago in Xinyang Prefecture?"

"Xinyang Prefecture..."

Xie Jinrong's expression changed; Xinyang Prefecture was where he made his fortune.

He started as a county clerk and served for eight years before finally getting a chance to be promoted to magistrate of Dingxing County.

If you're talking about making enemies in Xinyang, there are just too many!

I have come this far not through political achievements, but through the hard-earned money of countless people.

Those troublemakers wish they could eat me alive, but so what?

Throughout history, the only constant rule has been the survival of the fittest.

Even if it weren't for me, Xie Jinrong, there would be Zhang Jinrong, Li Jinrong. In short, peasants can only be exploited; that's just fate!

"I don't remember. What grudge do you have against me? Just say it, no need to beat around the bush!"

The matchmaker looked desolate. The old troupe leader was a living person, but in the eyes of such people, he was not even worth as little as grass!

"Okay, let me remind you again, back then there was a troupe of acrobats who made a living by performing on the streets of Xinyang..."

"Is it you?"

Xie Jinrong suddenly remembered that little girl in tattered clothes from back then...

More than a decade later, the other person's appearance has changed.

However, the stubbornness and ruthlessness in his eyes and brows are unforgettable!

"You finally remembered me?"

"You, me, you..."

Xie Jinrong was somewhat at a loss, then suddenly shouted, "I know! You're Hong Niangzi! You're the thief!"

Thinking of this, he scrambled to Zhu Youjian as if he had grasped a lifeline.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! I recognize her! She is Hong Niangzi, the leader of the rebel army!"

"When I was serving as the county magistrate of Xinyang, I offended the rebel leader Li Zicheng, who attempted to assassinate me three times..."

"Your Majesty, as you know, after the rebel Li Zicheng's uprising and the fall of Shaanxi, we moved our forces to Henan. Facing the Li Zicheng's massive invasion, I led the county government troops in a bloody battle, repelling the rebels several times. I have shed blood for the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Youjian remained calm and said, "If I remember correctly, when the rebel army entered Henan, you had already left Xinyang to take up your post in Dingxing. That's strange. Where did you repel the rebels?"

"This, this..."

Xie Jinrong's expression changed drastically, and he was at a loss for what to do.

It was only when he left Xinyang that he learned of a rebel leader who called himself "Red Maiden" who had led his men to storm the county government office and was also searching for information about him.

After much investigation, the truth finally became clear: it turned out that the matchmaker was the little girl from back then.

Then, I heard that Hong Niangzi had joined Li Zicheng's forces and had been entrenched in the Central Plains for a long time, burning, killing, and looting, and countless wealthy families and gentry had suffered at her hands.

At the time, I secretly rejoiced that I left early, otherwise, my life would have been in danger!

"Your Majesty, how could you associate with traitors?"

Xie Jinrong suddenly realized something was wrong: why was Hong Niangzi by Emperor Chongzhen's side?

Wasn't she one of Li Zicheng's subordinates? What's going on?

"She is my subject, and Li Zicheng's million-strong army is also my subject!"

"But she...she's a traitor!"

"Weren't these rebels driven out of their positions by officials like you?"

Zhu Youjian grew increasingly angry as he spoke, continuing, "Since my ascension to the throne, I have worked tirelessly day and night, devoting myself solely to the revival of the Ming Dynasty. I have issued countless decrees, yet the entire court is filled with corrupt officials like you who outwardly comply but inwardly defy and oppress the people!"

"Leaving aside distant examples, take the edict I just issued in Baoding Prefecture. Unexpectedly, it became a worthless piece of paper by the time it reached Dingxing!"

"Xie Jinrong, Xie Jinrong, do you know that your salary and emoluments are all made from the blood and sweat of the people!"

"When people can no longer survive, what other path do they have besides rebellion?"

Zhu Youjian reprimanded Xie Jinrong loudly, and Xie Jinrong's face turned even uglier. His lips moved, but he could not utter a word.

Hong Niangzi held the knife to Xie Jinrong's neck and asked, "Now that things have come to this, what do you have to say?"

"I...I...I refuse to accept this!"

Xie Jinrong trembled, a hint of despair and madness flashing in his eyes.

He raised his head, looked at Zhu Youjian, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I am an official of the Ming Dynasty. Even if I am to die, I should be dealt with according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. How can you allow a rebel to humiliate me like this?"

Zhu Youjian coldly replied, "This is the right I granted her!"

"There are so many corrupt officials in this world, why target only me? Hong Niangzi, a rebel, stands here unharmed. Where is the law of the Ming Dynasty? Where is justice?"

Xie Jinrong's voice became hoarse with excitement as he continued, "Your Majesty, you keep talking about revitalizing the Ming Dynasty, but look at this court, how many people can truly be honest and upright?"

"I admit I was greedy, so what? In this world, how can you survive without being greedy? How can you give gifts without being greedy? How can you get promoted without giving gifts? Your Ming Dynasty is rotten to the core from top to bottom!"

"I, Xie Jinrong, am nothing more than a grain of sand in this torrent, drifting with the current!"

"If you truly wish to settle scores, then kill all the officials in the land! Let's see what's left of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Youjian's face was ashen, his eyes filled with both anger and sorrow.

Admittedly, the Ming Dynasty was rotten to the core. After 270 years of rule, the country had reached a point where it needed to be destroyed before it could be rebuilt.

From the very first day he transmigrated to this world, he had already made up his mind.

Even if it means a bloodbath, we cannot surrender this beautiful land!

"Do you think I wouldn't dare? Even if I kill you all, so what?"

"Do you think the Ming Dynasty would perish without scholars like you? When the country is in trouble, you run away faster than anyone else! The foundation of the Ming Dynasty lies in its people, not in officials like you who claim to have read the classics but ride roughshod over them!"

"Since my ascension to the throne, I have witnessed the decline of the court and the suffering of the people. The pain in my heart is beyond words. I once attempted to govern with benevolence, hoping to influence you all and restore the former glory of the Ming Dynasty. However, what was the result? The entire country is mired in a quagmire, refugees are everywhere, and both Heaven and the people are filled with resentment!"

"Today, I will not only kill you, but also give an explanation to the people of the world!"

"Hahaha!"

Xie Jinrong burst into laughter, like a dying beast, his eyes red as he said, "Chongzhen, you say we're corrupt, we deserve to die, but what about your Zhu family?"

"Look at those feudal lords. They don't need to embezzle because they are supported by the imperial court. But where does the court's money come from?"

"In the end, isn't it all just the people's hard-earned money?"

"Why should we die for making money, while you Zhu family members can reap the benefits? What right do you have to criticize us?"

"That's a joke, a complete joke!"

Zhu Youjian's face was grim as he slowly uttered a sentence: "So, they are all dead."

"What...what did you say?"

"I say that the vassal kings have been enjoying the fruits of the court's labor for 270 years without achieving anything; they deserve to die!"

"You, you... those words are quite treasonous!"

Zhu Youjian chuckled and said, "I am the Son of Heaven, and my words are law!"

"Don't forget the late Emperor Taizu's dying words..."

"Don't talk to me about ancestral rules. The founding emperor decreed that any official who embezzled more than sixty taels of silver would be skinned alive and forced to eat straw. How much silver did you embezzle? According to those ancestral rules, you should have died ten thousand times over!"

Xie Jinrong's face turned ashen; he hadn't expected the Chongzhen Emperor to be so calm.

He couldn't even win a few curses before he died. Is this still the Chongzhen Emperor I know?

Zhu Youjian turned around and asked, "Madam Li, how would you like him to die?"

With tears welling in her eyes, Hong Niangzi said, "Killing him with one blow would only be too good for him!"

Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "Then let it be death by a thousand cuts. You will carry it out yourself!"

Xie Jinrong's heart tightened, and he hurriedly shouted, "Kill me! I...I know I'm guilty, kill me!"

"Someone come here!"

Li Ruolian stepped forward: "Your subject is here!"

"Announce to the people of Dingxing: Magistrate Xie Jinrong is guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and treason. He is sentenced to death by slow slicing! And that salt merchant Fan Liuyang, he too shall be executed by slow slicing!"

"As you command!"