Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

The prison in Yangzhou Prefecture was filled with people overnight.

The three major salt merchants, Chen, Li, and Wang, arrested more than 470 people, from the heads of households to the managers, from the accountants to the guards.

The Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner's Office arrested eighty-three people, from Salt Transport Commissioner Zhang Mingde down to the lowest-ranking clerk.

Although the prefect of Yangzhou was not directly involved, he was dismissed from his post and imprisoned in a solitary cell for knowing about the matter but failing to report it and accepting bribes.

The prison was filled with cries, shouts of injustice, and curses.

Zhao Zhen led the Imperial Guards in interrogating the prisoners overnight, their torches illuminating the cells as bright as day.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Li were resting in a side room in the backyard of the government office.

Zhu Li lay on the table, watching his elder brother organize his confession under the lamp.

The confessions, bearing fingerprints, were piled up like a small mountain.

"Brother, will all these people die?" Zhu Li suddenly asked.

Zhu Biao raised his head, rubbed his temples, and said, "The ringleader will die, the accomplices will be exiled, and those who are coerced will have their property confiscated."

"Oh..." Zhu Li didn't quite understand these things, but he felt that his older brother looked very tired.

The sound of the night watchman's drum came from outside the window; it was already past midnight.

Zhu Biao put down his pen, got up and walked to the window, looking at the dark night outside.

The city of Yangzhou is much quieter at night than during the day, with only the occasional boatman's chants coming from the distant canal.

"Second brother, do you know why we must kill these people?" Zhu Biao suddenly asked.

Zhu Hui scratched his head and said, "Because they stole money from the imperial court?"

"More than... ten years, eighty million taels of silver. This money could build three Yellow River dikes, provide relief for five major disasters, and feed 500,000 border troops for three years."

"But this money went into their private pockets and became mansions, beautiful concubines, and treasures in Yangzhou." Zhu Biao turned around and pointed to the pile of confessions on the table.

He paused, then his voice grew even colder: "There are hundreds more lives lost. In order to monopolize the smuggled salt trade, they killed thirteen salt farmers who wanted to report them, and threw their bodies into the canal to feed the fish."

Zhu Li fell silent.

He recalled that when hunting in the mountains, if the wolf pack killed too many sheep, the hunters would go into the mountains to wipe them out.

"He deserves to die," he said seriously.

Zhu Biao smiled and patted his younger brother on the shoulder: "Go to sleep! We have errands to run tomorrow."

……

The next morning, Caishikou in Yangzhou was already crowded with people.

The news spread throughout the city overnight, and His Highness the Crown Prince personally came to publicly execute those convicted of the salt smuggling case.

People were talking about it.

"Have you heard? Master Chen has been arrested!"

"Master Li, Master Wang has also been arrested, and Salt Commissioner Zhang has been stripped of his official robes!"

"Serves them right! These parasites, they've driven up the price of salt so high!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince is wise!"

"..."

The crowd grew larger and larger, stretching from Caishikou all the way to three streets away.

At 3:45 AM, a procession of prison carts came from the direction of the government office.

At the very front were the heads of the three major salt merchants.

Chen Wanjin, Li Maocai, Wang Fuhai.

The three men were dressed in prison clothes, their hair was disheveled, and their faces were ashen.

Behind them were Zhang Mingde, the salt transport commissioner, and twenty-six officials of various ranks, followed by more than a hundred salt smugglers, managers, and thugs.

The prison van stopped at Caishikou.

The execution platform had been set up, with Zhu Biao sitting in the center and Zhu Li sitting beside him.

Twenty-seven executioner's knives were laid out below the stage, and the executioner, shirtless, stood to one side holding the knives.

"Bring the criminals!" Zhao Zhen shouted.

The prisoner was brought onto the platform and forced to kneel.

Chen Wanjin suddenly struggled to his feet, shouting hoarsely, "Your Highness! This humble subject is willing to offer up all his wealth, just to spare my life!"

Zhu Biao remained expressionless.

Li Maocai, tears streaming down his face, cried out, "Your Highness! I...I am willing to report! There are many more people involved—in the Jiangnan Textile Bureau, the Grand Canal Transport Office...people from all sides are involved!"

Zhu Biao then spoke, saying, "Speak! Tell me, and I'll leave you a whole corpse."

Li Maocai was stunned for a moment, then collapsed to the ground.

He knew there was no hope.

Zhu Biao stood up, walked to the front of the stage, and faced the sea of ​​people.

He took out the imperial edict, unfolded it, and read it aloud:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: In the case of the smuggled salt in Lianghuai, the main culprits, Chen Wanjin, Li Maocai, Wang Fuhai, Zhang Mingde, and twenty-seven others, have committed embezzlement, perverted the law, and harmed the people. Their crimes are irrefutable. In accordance with the Great Ming Code, they are sentenced to immediate execution, and their property is confiscated and deposited into the national treasury."

One hundred and forty-three accomplices are sentenced to exile three thousand li, with no possibility of pardon. So be it!

The voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire Caishikou area.

The crowd was silent for a moment, then erupted into a thunderous roar of cheers.

"Your Majesty is wise! Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise!"

Zhu Biao raised his hand, signaling for silence.

He looked at the twenty-seven kneeling men and said calmly, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Chen Wanjin gave a bitter laugh and said, "The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's nothing more to say."

Li Maocai closed his eyes and awaited death.

Wang Fuhai was still muttering to himself, "My money... my money..."

Zhu Biao stopped looking at them, turned around and sat back in his chair, nodding to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zheng shouted, "It's noon...execute!"

The executioner raised his executioner's blade.

Sunlight shone on the blade, reflecting a blinding light.

The first cut landed.

Chen Wanjin's head rolled off, and blood spurted three feet high.

The second cut, the third cut...

The ground at Caishikou was quickly stained red, and the stench of blood filled the air.

Zhu Li sat next to his elder brother, watching this scene unfold.

He had killed wild beasts and monsters, but this was the first time he had ever seen so many people beheaded.

Blood flowed down the steps, forming a small stream.

A salt smuggler struggled before his death, and his head was not completely severed. The executioner finished him off with a blow, and blood splattered down the execution platform.

Zhu Hui looked down at the bloodstains splattered on her boots.

"Are you scared?" Zhu Biao asked softly.

"I'm not afraid... I just feel... there's so much blood," Zhu Li replied, shaking her head.

"It's good to shed more blood. The more blood is shed, the more people will remember what can and cannot be done," Zhu Biao said calmly.

Twenty-seven heads were neatly arranged in front of the stage.

The crowd fell silent, and some people covered their children's eyes.

Zhu Biao stood up again and walked to the front of the stage.

"Fellow villagers," he began, his voice much gentler, "the case of smuggled salt is now closed. From today onwards, the price of salt in Yangzhou will be reduced by 30%. Half of all the confiscated silver will be put into the treasury, and the other half will be used to repair the flood control projects in Yangzhou."

Furthermore, the Salt Transport Commission will re-select officials, and in the future, if any salt officials oppress the people, they can be reported directly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then erupted into even more enthusiastic cheers.

"Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince!"

The shouts were deafening.

Zhu Biao nodded slightly, turned around and walked back to his seat.

The executions continued, with accomplices being brought in one by one. They weren't beheaded, but flogged—one hundred strokes each, before being exiled.

Screams echoed throughout the room.

Zhu Hui watched for a while, then asked softly, "Big brother, when are we going back?"

"This afternoon...after we finish cleaning up here, we'll return to Yingtian," Zhu Biao said.

"Oh...so...how much money was found after the house was raided?" Zhu Hui asked curiously after a pause.

Zhu Biao finally smiled slightly and said, "Guess..."

Zhu Hui counted on his fingers and asked, "Ten thousand taels?"

"Guess again."

"One hundred thousand taels?"

"continue."

Zhu Hui's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "One million taels?"

Zhu Biao shook his head and held up one finger: "Thirty-three million taels of silver, plus antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jewelry and jade, land and shops, not to mention some precious medicines and treasures, which are worth about eighty million taels in total."

In total, it amounted to over one hundred million taels...

Zhu Li opened her mouth wide.

The most money he had ever seen in his life was sixty taels of silver from a bear he hunted in the mountains.

One hundred million taels... He couldn't keep up with the calculations.

"With so much money, how much mutton could I buy..." he murmured.

Zhu Biao chuckled and said, "That's enough for you to buy all the sheep in the entire Ming Dynasty."