Starting with his deathbed remonstrance to Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperors were brought to their knees.

"They're back."

Li Qing sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his throbbing temples. Strange memories from his time travel slowly flooded his mind, and the surrounding situation gradually became clear.

This time he became an imperial censor again, named Luo Yu.

"Zhu Yuanzhang, are you ready to face my death in remonstrance?"

Li Qing smiled slightly, stretched, and pushed open the wooden door, only to be met with a familiar face.

"Hey, Brother Zhang, good morning! Today is truly a perfect day for a desperate remonstrance."

Li Qing greeted him with a smile and a loud voice. Zhang Tu, who had just stepped out of his house, changed his expression drastically upon hearing the voice, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Old Zhang, why are you running so fast? Nobody's chasing you." Li Qing quickly caught up and said with a smile.

Zhang Tu stopped abruptly, his eyes warily scanning him, his voice trembling slightly:

"What...what is it you want? Just say it!"

He vaguely felt that the other person's greeting was somewhat familiar, as if someone else had said the same thing to him.

"Of course, it's to remonstrate to the death."

Li Qing shrugged and said.

"You...you want to end up like those censors who died before?"

Zhang Tu was startled when he heard this; the corpses of those censors were still hanging over the Meridian Gate, almost dried out by the wind.

"I'm different..."

Li Qing shook his head. Zhang Tu was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the second half of Li Qing's sentence.

"The previous methods of dying weren't exciting enough. Today I'm going to try slow slicing."

hiss!

They'll even have to be executed by slow slicing!

Zhang Tu gasped. In all his life, this was the first time he had ever seen such a crazy claim!

This guy must be crazy!

Zhang Tu's gaze towards Li Qing changed.

"What's wrong, Brother Zhang? Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you also want to die with me in this remonstrance?"

Li Qing was puzzled, thinking that he had met a like-minded friend who shared his views.

what?

Should I also die trying to remonstrate with him?

Zhang Tu was terrified, fearing that Li Qing would drag him down with him, so he hurriedly ran away.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, why did you leave?"

Li Qing watched Zhang Tu's retreating figure, shook his head in confusion, and strode towards the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang! I'm coming!

Inside the Fengtian Hall, the morning court session began as usual.

However, the atmosphere was more serious than usual, as the tragic deaths of the censors had put considerable pressure on the civil and military officials.

Everyone wore a cautious expression, fearing that Zhu Yuanzhang's knife would fall on their bodies.

"quiet--"

As the eunuch's shrill announcement rang out, Zhu Yuanzhang, clad in an ochre-yellow dragon robe, strode onto the throne and sat heavily on it. The murderous aura honed from countless battles and bloodshed instantly enveloped the entire Fengtian Hall.

His eagle eyes swept over the civil and military officials on the steps, his fingertips tapping the armrest of the dragon throne, a rare smile on his face:

"At the morning court session today, the first matter discussed was the enfeoffment of the princes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Minister of Rites stepped forward, holding the prepared imperial edict, and read it aloud:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The second son, Zhu Shuang, is enfeoffed as the Prince of Qin and shall be enfeoffed in Xi'an; the third son, Zhu Gang, is enfeoffed as the Prince of Jin and shall be enfeoffed in Taiyuan; the fourth son, Zhu Di, is enfeoffed as the Prince of Yan and shall be enfeoffed in Beiping..."

All the princes held the power of the three guards, received an annual salary of ten thousand bushels of grain, were granted ten thousand acres of fertile land, and were provided with mansions, residences, and servants.

All my sons and grandsons shall be granted official positions in life and proper burial in death, and shall forever enjoy the wealth and honor of the Ming Dynasty! So be it!

After the decree was read, all the civil and military officials bowed and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Everyone knew that enfeoffing princes was something Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to do.

He didn't trust the officials outside the capital, only his own bloodline, and wanted the descendants of the Zhu family to guard the four directions and protect the Ming Dynasty for generations to come.

Anyone who dares to utter a single word of dissent is considered to be going against the Zhu family and is courting death.

Zhu Yuanzhang, sitting on his throne, looked at the assembled officials bowing their heads, and his smile deepened.

He has suffered too much hardship and betrayal in his life. Now that he has the throne, he naturally wants his descendants to never have to suffer the same pain he endured.

"Do any of you have any objections?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked slowly, his tone carrying an undeniable air of authority.

The hall was deathly silent; even the sound of breathing seemed to have softened.

In the midst of the utter silence, a nonchalant yet utterly provocative voice, like a red-hot iron, seared into everyone's hearts:

"Haha, I think this isn't about granting fiefdoms; it's about digging a grave for the Ming Dynasty in advance!"

brush!

All eyes instantly turned to that direction.

At the end of the civil officials' line, Li Qing, dressed in a blue official robe, swaggered out and walked to the center of the main hall.

He didn't even bow, let alone lower his head. He just crossed his arms, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang on the throne with undisguised sarcasm.

The entire court was terrified on the spot, their faces turning deathly pale.

Zhang Tu nearly fainted on the spot, with only one thought in his mind: It's over! Judging from this, another madman has come to die!

Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze instantly, his eagle eyes narrowed sharply, and a chilling gaze fixed on Li Qing:

"What did you say?! How dare you! You publicly slander my national policies and curse the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Qing laughed even more unrestrainedly. He stepped forward, pointed at Zhu Yuanzhang's nose, and called him by his full name:

"Don't accuse me of slandering national policies! Everyone knows what you're up to."

You're afraid your ministers will rebel, so you've placed military power in the hands of your sons. But have you considered what if your sons rebel?!

In short, it was earth-shattering!

The civil and military officials in the hall were so frightened that they all knelt down with a "thump" and "thump," not daring to even raise their heads.

Zhu Yuanzhang abruptly stood up from the dragon throne, the Emperor's sword at his waist clanging softly with his movement, instantly filling the entire hall with murderous intent.

"You bastard, you're spouting nonsense! My sons are brothers, how could they possibly kill each other?!"

"A deep bond between siblings?"

Li Qing chuckled and laughed so hard he almost fell over, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Even fathers and sons can turn against each other in the face of power, let alone brothers."

You gave military power to the vassal kings, allowing them to recruit soldiers and stockpile grain in their respective regions.

Within twenty years, a regional prince will surely rise up in rebellion! At that time, war will rage on, and the people will be displaced!

Your Zhu family is fighting amongst yourselves, leaving you battered and bruised. Is this the Ming Dynasty you wanted?!

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he trembled all over, pointed at Li Qing, and couldn't say a word for a long time.

He himself has come a long way and understands what power means, but he just doesn't want to go to the box where his descendants would fight each other!

"That's not all!"

Li Qing gave Zhu Yuanzhang no chance to breathe, raising his voice higher and higher, almost lifting the roof off the Fengtian Hall.

"You say you want your descendants to enjoy wealth forever, but have you ever calculated how many descendants your Zhu family can have?"

You only have about twenty sons and grandsons now, which the imperial court can afford to support.

But what about ten years? Twenty years? A hundred years?

They have sons, their sons have grandsons, and so on, generation after generation, endlessly!

By then, all the taxes in the world won't be enough to support your Zhu family, you precious parasites!

The people toil in the fields all year round, barely able to feed and clothe themselves, yet they have to give up most of their grain to support a group of people who do no work and only know how to eat, drink, and have fun!

This isn't about bestowing titles upon descendants; it's about raising a bunch of golden maggots that suck the blood of the common people!

Zhu Chongba! You were driven to desperation by the oppressive policies of the Yuan Dynasty, which is why you rose up in rebellion!

But now that you sit on the dragon throne, you're even more ruthless than the Yuan Dynasty! The Yuan Dynasty merely exploited the people, but you've made your Zhu family descendants drink the blood and eat the flesh of the people!

This is truly forgetting one's roots!