Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

"Master, I have found it."

A middle-aged foreigner in his forties stood bowing before Xing'an and reported.

Xing'an looked up at him and said, "Speak."

The servant said, "As instructed by the eunuch, I visited the former servants who worked at Wang Zhen's residence back then."

An old eunuch now lives out his days in a small Taoist temple in the west of the city.

He said it was in the winter of the twelfth year of the Zhengtong reign.

Wang Zhen once ordered a batch of chests to be transported out of the capital, supposedly to be sent to his estate.

Xing'an's gaze sharpened: "Send it to the village? Which village?"

The servant said, "Wang Zhen owns several estates outside the capital."

The largest one is in Changping, covering an area of ​​over 300 hectares.

The old eunuch said that there were more than twenty people transporting the chests back then, filling five large carts.

Xing'an stood up: "Changping? A farm of over three hundred hectares?"

When Commander Lu searched Wang Zhen's house, he didn't find a estate this large.

The servant whispered, "Master, that estate isn't under Wang Zhen's name."

Xing'an looked at him: "Then under whose name is it registered?"

Fanzi: "According to that old eunuch, the estate is nominally owned by a distant nephew of Wang Zhen, but in reality, it is Wang Zhen's private property."

After Wang Zhen's death, his nephew disappeared without a trace.

That estate should still be abandoned by now.

Xing'an sneered, "Very well, Wang Zhen knows how to hide. Pass down the order, he'll come with me to Changping first thing tomorrow morning."

The next day, Xing'an led more than thirty agents from the Eastern Depot.

Guided by the old eunuch, they found the estate.

Zhuangzi was surrounded by vast stretches of fertile fields.

The gate to the manor was tightly shut, with a rusty padlock hanging on it.

Xing'an waved his hand, and several barbarians rushed forward and chopped open the gate with axes.

The village was in complete disarray.

The house was covered in dust, clearly indicating that it had been uninhabited for a long time.

The old eunuch pointed tremblingly to the back of the main hall: "Master, there is a cellar in the back."

Those chests and crates were carried into the cellar back then.

Xing'an led his men around to the back of the main hall and indeed found a cellar entrance.

The entrance was covered by a thick stone slab, on which several large stones were placed.

The barbarians moved the large stone and pried open the stone slab.

A musty, rotten smell wafted over me.

After waiting for a while, Xing'an covered his nose and ordered someone to light torches, then he was the first to go down into the cellar.

The cellar was very deep, about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) square.

Dozens of large wooden crates were piled up in the corner, covered in dust.

Xing'an ordered his men to pry open the lids of the boxes one by one.

Inside the box was a roll of yellowed paper, neatly stacked.

Xing'an took out a scroll, unfolded it, and then his pupils suddenly contracted.

It was a visitation form that detailed the private affairs of a certain high-ranking official:

When, where, and from whom did you receive bribes?

When, where, and with whom to have a private conversation.

When, where, and what kind of memorial was written...

The visit form was stamped with the seal of the Eastern Depot.

Xing'an's hands trembled slightly.

He then opened another wooden box, which also contained confidential documents.

The third one, the fourth one...

Each wooden crate was filled with confidential documents.

The old eunuch said in a trembling voice, "Master, I saw it with my own eyes when Wang Zhen had these secret documents transported out."

It took three days to load all five large trucks.

The servant asked one question, but after being flogged twenty times, he dared not ask again.

Xing'an ignored him; a tidal wave of emotions was surging within him.

These secret files are the accumulation of the Eastern Depot over several decades since its establishment in the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign.

They recorded countless court officials' privacy, incriminating evidence, and crimes.

With these things, you can control anyone.

What was Wang Zhen planning to do by hiding the secret documents here?

Is it intended to be used to blackmail court officials at a crucial moment?

Should I leave myself a way out?

Xing'an didn't know.

But he knew these things had to be transported back to the capital and handed over to His Majesty immediately.

That evening, more than thirty large carts drove into the capital in a grand procession, heading straight for the Eastern Depot's office.

Xing'an escorted the entire journey, not daring to leave for even a moment.

That evening, at the Qianqing Palace.

Xing'an knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, these secret files record the private affairs of officials in the court."

It involves bribery, forming cliques, and other illegal activities.

Zhu Qiyu walked up to a wooden box.

He reached out, took out a scroll of confidential documents, unfolded it, looked at it, and then put it back.

He took out another scroll, glanced at it a few times, and chuckled softly, "Interesting."

He turned to Xing'an and asked, "How much of this stuff have you seen?"

Xing'an kowtowed: "Your subject dared not look at it too much, only flipped through a few scrolls, and closed it after confirming that it was a confidential document."

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Get up. I know you are a cautious person."

To whom were these confidential documents originally intended?

Zhu Qizhen!

Wang Zhen was his confidant, so these things were naturally collected on his behalf.

With these things, Zhu Qizhen could control any minister in the court.

Anyone who dares to disobey will have their dirty laundry exposed.

This is the art of emperors, and also the art of eunuchs.

Unfortunately, Zhu Qizhen went to study in the Oirat Mongols before he could use these things.

Now these things have fallen into the hands of Zhu Qiyu.

Fate is a strange thing.

The next day, outside Zuoshun Gate.

More than three hundred civil and military officials stood in order of rank.

Half an hour ago, they received an imperial edict: there would be no court assembly today, only a ceremony to observe.

What ceremony are we observing?

no one knows.

Dozens of large wooden crates were stacked neatly in the center of the square.

Dozens of burly generals stood around the wooden crate, swords in hand.

The officials whispered among themselves, none of them knowing what was in the boxes.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Zhu Qiyu walked up to the pile of wooden crates: "Do you know what these are?"

No one answered.

Zhu Qiyu continued, "These are secret files sealed by the Eastern Depot."

The accumulation of decades since the establishment of the Eastern Depot in the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign.

"You can guess what's recorded inside without me telling you."

Some of the officials' expressions changed slightly, while others tried to remain calm.

"These boxes were just transported back from Changping yesterday."

Wang Zhen hid them in his estate.

No one except Wang Zhen has ever seen these things.

I haven't seen it either.

Do you think I should see this?

The square was deathly silent.

Some people had cold sweat on their foreheads, and some people's hands trembled slightly in their sleeves.

A moment later, Zhu Qiyu suddenly turned around and waved towards the edge of the square.

Soon, more than ten burly generals carried over several large vats.

The jar was filled with kerosene.

Zhu Qiyu pointed to the pile of wooden crates: "Pour the water on all of these."

The pungent smell of oil permeated the square.

The officials stared wide-eyed at the scene in disbelief.

Some people opened their mouths wide, while others took a half step forward and then shrank back.

Zhu Qiyu took a torch from Xing'an and threw it into the wooden box.

boom!

The kerosene ignites instantly upon contact with fire, and the flames spread rapidly.

"I will burn these things."

Whatever you have done, said, or thought in the past, I will not investigate.

But from this day forward, anyone who dares to offend again will have their entire family executed!

The square fell silent once again.

After a long silence, Yu Qian was the first to kowtow:

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Immediately, more than three hundred officials shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"