The fierce grandson of the Ming Dynasty

evening.

Inside the Hall of Literary Glory, candlelight flickered.

Zhu Yuanzhang, dressed in ordinary clothes, sat on the dragon throne, his square face showing an unpredictable mood.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao, on the other hand, stood below, maintaining a solemn posture.

Mao Xiang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, wearing a flying fish robe, knelt on one knee, not daring to look up at the emperor's face, as he reported on the daytime arrest operation.

"Your Majesty!"

"Wang Daoheng, Vice Minister of Revenue; Zhao Mao, Minister of Rites; Wang Zhong, Vice Minister of War; Wang Huidi, Minister of Justice; and Mai Zhide, Vice Minister of Works, along with the other principal offenders, have all been apprehended and none have escaped!"

"As for the secretaries, clerks, and officials of the Six Ministries, as well as key officials of various prefectures and circuits, all those involved in embezzlement, collusion, and fraud—more than a thousand officials at all levels—have been placed under full control!"

"We await only His Majesty's command to imprison them..."

Since Guo Huan confessed, the investigation has become increasingly shocking and chilling!

Of the six departments.

Primarily from the Ministry of Revenue, almost everyone from the Vice Minister down was implicated!

The Minister of Rites and his subordinates were mostly uprooted.

The same applies to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Personnel!

Therefore, this grain theft case is the most significant corruption case since the founding of the Ming Dynasty!

After Mao Xiang finished reporting, he knelt quietly and waited, not daring to make a sound.

"What's the situation in Beiping?"

But the voice from the imperial desk was icy cold and filled with boundless rage.

Mao Xiang shuddered and continued, "Your Majesty is wise! All the officials of the Beiping Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Surveillance Commission, including Li Yu and Zhao Quande, have been apprehended and are now under tight surveillance by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, heading south to the capital by water..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, looked at his eldest son, and said in a low voice, "Biao'er, have you finished compiling the personnel lists we asked you to gather these past few days?"

Since the Guo Huan case broke in early March, the father and son, one in the open and one in the shadows, have been constantly busy.

Among them, Zhu Yuanzhang was in charge of the overall situation and handled the important affairs of the country as usual.

In addition to overseeing the case, Crown Prince Zhu Biao also reviewed the outstanding students of the Imperial Academy and the virtuous and upright individuals recommended by various prefectures and counties.

In addition, there are clean officials within each department who did not participate, and alternative candidates for the position of Minister.

So that after the operation is completed, personnel can be quickly replenished to ensure that the operation of the imperial court continues uninterrupted!

This achieves the goal of ensuring that arrests are carried out without chaos, that those arrested are replaced, and that punishments are not ignored.

At this moment, her father asked about it.

Zhu Biao took two steps forward, bowed, and handed over the small notebook, saying, "Please take a look, Father!"

"These are 360 ​​students of the Imperial Academy selected by your son, 152 talented and virtuous individuals from various regions, and 276 local officials who have ranked highly in performance evaluations over the past five years... They can be assigned to the Six Ministries at any time to perform their duties and ensure the smooth operation of government affairs!"

The subsequent promotion of lower-level officials was inspired by his grandson Zhu Xiong Ying a few days ago, and he specifically asked the Crown Prince to select them.

This will allow us to gather these capable officials into the six ministries, reform the atmosphere, and get things done!

Just as he took the book and turned two pages...

Then the Crown Prince added, "In addition, regarding the chief officials of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice, I recommend that Duke Xu Da of Wei concurrently serve as the Minister of War, Duke Li Wenzhong of Cao concurrently serve as the Minister of Justice, and Duke Tang He of Xin concurrently serve as the Minister of Personnel..."

"Furthermore, the Duke of Liang, Lan Yu, who is about to return to the capital, will temporarily serve as the Vice Minister of War..."

In recent years, founding heroes such as Xu Da and Tang He have been living in the capital, some recuperating from illness and others retiring at home!

In times of crisis, these heroes are the ones we can rely on!

After so many years of experience, Zhu Biao has become both firm and flexible, and his governance skills are formidable!

In some personnel adjustments, the principle of appointing the virtuous and capable without regard to personal relationships was upheld.

Trusting his eldest son, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't look at it much. He stood up, walked over, nodded, and said, "Good! These appointments will be carried out as Biao'er said!"

"From this day forward, urgent matters from the six ministries may be submitted directly to the Emperor, without being bound by conventional procedures!"

"All matters concerning money, provisions, criminal cases, and military affairs must be reported every three days. You, Biao'er, should compile them and then inform us!"

"The joint meeting of all departments, and subsequent cooperation, will also be convened and presided over by you, Biao'er, at the Eastern Palace!"

"As for the officials selected from the Imperial Academy and other regions to enter the Six Ministries, they must undergo monthly assessments; the excellent ones will be retained, and the poor ones will be eliminated!"

"Furthermore, as our eldest grandson suggested the other day, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, and the Six Departments must ensure mutual oversight to prevent a repeat of this situation!"

The arrangements here.

Old Zhu had surprisingly handed over all the power in the court, including personnel, administration, and supervision, to his beloved son!

They also thought they could use this case to help Zhu Biao establish his prestige, win people's hearts, and build his team!

After all, this great Ming Dynasty will eventually be handed over to my beloved son!

Conquering a country is easy, but maintaining it is difficult; this is also a test.

Zhu Biao was well aware of Zhu Biao's good intentions.

His eyes showed no sign of retreat, only a gentle yet resolute determination. He bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

After arranging these things.

Zhu Yuanzhang, with his hands behind his back, walked to the center of the hall, looked down at the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and said, "Zhao Mao, Wang Zhong, and the others have been successfully captured!"

"Hmph, those bastards down there, don't let a single one of them get away with it!"

"Starting tonight, immediately seal off all gates of the capital and all official road crossings. Detain and guard all those involved, and strictly prohibit the escape of even one person!"

"We're short-handed, so let the Imperial Guards assist..."

"Anyone who communicates privately or harbors criminals will be punished the same as a corrupt official, and their entire family will be exterminated!"

"You've written it all down?"

Mao Xiang kowtowed deeply and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

"If even one corrupt official flees to escape punishment, I will personally bring his head to Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang, his face contorted with murderous intent, merely snorted at Mao Xiang's pledge and returned to his desk.

After letting Mao Xiang go down.

Then, he glanced at his eldest son, Zhu Biao, and said, "According to the date chosen by the Imperial Observatory, the day after tomorrow, our eldest grandson will go to the southern slope of Zhongshan Mountain to sweep his mother's grave!"

"We've discussed it with your mother, and we plan to have Chang Mao and the others accompany us. In addition to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Biao'er, you can choose some elite guards from the Eastern Palace to protect them!"

"The etiquette and procedures will be conducted according to standard protocol..."

Before the eldest son, Zhu Xiong Ying, was to pay respects to his deceased wife, Zhu Biao had already arranged everything in the Eastern Palace.

Upon hearing his father mention it, he immediately replied, "Yes!"

One hour later.

A light rain began to fall in Yingtian Prefecture.

On this rainy night, under Mao Xiang's command, the Embroidered Uniform Guards pounced on the homes of numerous officials like hungry wolves, arresting not only the officials themselves but also their families.

Those who resisted were killed on the spot, and blood flowed like a river!

In the following two days, this sense of panic not only spread among the officials, but also among the common people, who kept their doors tightly shut, fearing that they would get into trouble.

Within the imperial city.

Although Zhu Xiong Ying has not left the palace these days, he has also felt the severity of the situation.

For example, Emperor Zhu stayed in the Huagai Hall for several days in a row, handling important matters day and night.

For example, Empress Ma's face has lost its smile!

It is obvious that, as the Guo Huan case has unfolded, his imperial grandfather has begun a large-scale arrest and killing spree!

The entire Ming Dynasty will tremble!

However, given the current state of the Ming Dynasty, this painful but necessary reform is unavoidable!

……

It was March 13th.

Today is the day to commemorate my deceased mother, Madam Chang.

Early in the morning, Zhu Xiong Ying changed into plain clothes, bid farewell to Empress Ma, and went to the Huagai Hall to inform Old Zhu.

Seeing that Old Zhu's face didn't look good, he must have been upset about something!

He was curious, but didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Under the protection of attendants, they walked towards the outside of the palace.

As soon as they stepped out of the palace gate, they found a large group of people kneeling beside the grievance drum, constantly crying out for justice.

Some even shouted, "We beg Your Majesty the Empress to uphold justice!"