The old emperor only desires immortality; you must not rebel.

The courtiers were in uproar!

As imperial censors, their duty was to criticize the emperor.

If the emperor isn't criticized, what's the point of having censors?

Any emperor who aspires to be a wise ruler rarely offends the censors.

This group is a pile of dog shit; whoever gets involved with them is doomed.

If the emperor punishes someone because of what the censor said, it means that the emperor was wrong.

This is also why Lord Ma was so fearless before.

The fact that the emperor didn't punish him after he had been cursing for so long at the palace gates made Lord Ma extremely arrogant.

Punished for speaking out!

This single criterion was enough for the upright officials to label the emperor as a "tyrant".

Throughout history, all those who killed imperial censors were incompetent rulers.

Is Lord Ma innocent?

Whether it was cursing the emperor or taking several concubines in secret, both violated the rules of propriety and law. Even if he were killed ten times over, he would not be innocent.

Who among those standing here today dares to say they are clean?

But such an absurd reason was used to punish a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, which they could not accept.

The Holy Emperor sat upright on his dragon throne, gazing at the crowd outside the hall, and said with a mocking smile, "Don't any of you intend to enter the hall?"

Hearing the emperor's words, everyone had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.

"Zuo Hongju, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"Zhang Wang, Grand Censor of the Censorate!"

"He Song, Associate Commander of the Five Military Commissions!"

……

As if calling out a roll, the emperor made each official's name tremble as they entered the hall.

The courtiers whose names were called were so frightened that they knelt down on the spot.

Qin Xiong thoughtfully tossed out a few small pebbles.

"hiss!"

The courtiers grimaced in pain, yet dared not move their bodies.

Looking at the terrified courtiers, the Holy Emperor's eyes revealed a mocking glint, his gaze as if he were looking at a group of corpses.

Look at these seven people!

"Which of them wasn't a key minister of the court? Which of them didn't have graying temples? Which of them wasn't a pillar of the government?"

The Holy Emperor rose and pointed at the seven kneeling high-ranking officials, his words sharp and incisive:

"They're rotten!"

"They colluded with powerful families, they colluded with the Prince of Liang, and they betrayed me!"

"They are taking my salary and rebelling against me!"

With each increase in the emperor's voice, the kneeling ministers grew paler and paler, banging their heads against the ground.

The Holy Emperor picked up the list of crimes from the table and threw it into the hall, shouting, "Look at this!"

"This is truly my good minister!"

"He owns ten houses with four courtyards, more than ten shops and properties under his name, and receives no less than 100,000 taels of silver in tribute every year!"

"What a grand gesture!"

The Holy Emperor was furious!

When the Liang King's army was defeated and surrendered, the Liang King's deputy general presented evidence of all the court officials' collusion with the Liang King, which enraged the Holy Emperor.

They offered the King of Liang all their silver and money!

Two hundred thousand taels!

An imperial censor could produce 200,000 taels of silver, but couldn't produce 50,000 taels of tax money!

Taking my money and rebelling against me!

As a wise and virtuous emperor, he was already wise enough!

"And you all!"

The Holy Emperor pointed at his trembling ministers: "You're all dressed in your finest clothes, standing on this dry bank, do you really think you're so clean?"

"I have a piece of advice for you!"

"Let's all lay our hearts and minds out, air them out, wash them, and tidy them up!"

The Holy Emperor's roaring words echoed within the Taiji Hall, and the dragon's might emanating from him made everyone breathe heavily.

All the ministers looked uneasy!

"You think that because I killed the censor, I am a foolish ruler!"

"If that's the case, then I'll show you what a tyrant really is!"

"Someone come here!"

"Strip these seven men of their court robes, drag them outside the Meridian Gate, and behead them as a warning to others!"

In an instant, all the court officials standing in the hall knelt down in fear, trembling all over.

The Holy Emperor stood atop the crimson wall, radiating a terrifying dragon's might, and sternly rebuked:

"You're all taking my money and rebelling against me!"

"My money!"

"It's all my money!"

"You took eight million taels of silver to support the Prince of Liang, and then gave me five hundred thousand taels. Am I supposed to thank you?!"

At this moment, the officials kneeling in the Taiji Hall were pale-faced and kowtowed repeatedly on the ground.

"I deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"I deserve to die ten thousand times!"

The officials kowtowed repeatedly.

In the past, when the courtiers knelt down and shouted "I wish to die ten thousand times," the emperor would simply let it go.

Could the emperor really kill all his ministers?

The Great Qing Dynasty will eventually have to operate.

The Holy Emperor grinned maliciously and shouted, "Yes, you all deserve to die!"

"I have been too lenient with you!"

The Holy Emperor took out his golden mace and slammed it down on the head of the Vice Minister of Revenue.

"Bang!"

Blood stained the gold bricks.

The Holy Emperor did not stop, and then struck the head of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy again with the golden mace.

This high-ranking official, who was only a few years younger than the emperor and a renowned Confucian scholar, embezzled a full two million taels of silver.

He only handed over three thousand taels to the Holy Emperor!

Even so, they are still cursing the emperor for being incompetent and denouncing his numerous crimes, saying that he only knows how to exploit the people.

The courtiers finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Your Majesty, spare my life! I am willing to hand over all my family's wealth..."

Some timid officials had already begun to kneel down and beg for mercy, their courage completely shattered.

The ministers' minds went blank.

At this moment, they finally experienced what a foolish and incompetent ruler truly meant.

The Holy Emperor ignored the wailing crowd and continued playing whack-a-mole with great enthusiasm.

The imperial guards then dragged out the officials whose heads had been smashed one by one.

The officials kneeling in the Taiji Hall were already overwhelmed by intense fear.

After smashing the heads of seven ministers in succession, the Holy Emperor finally turned around and returned to his dragon throne.

The courtiers, who had been gripped by fear, breathed a sigh of relief as if they had been granted a pardon, and felt as if they had been soaked in water.

"My ministers, I believe you are all my good subjects."

"Regarding the matter of taxes, I am willing to give you time."

"Within seven days, I wish to see my money!"

The courtiers knelt on the ground, trembling with fear and unease.

The Holy Emperor was ultimately wise; the effect of making an example of them had been achieved, and he was willing to give these hypocrites a chance.

The old foxes kneeling below exchanged a silent glance, sighing helplessly in their hearts.

Just when the courtiers thought the matter was about to end, the Holy Emperor suddenly spoke again.

"After you gentlemen have left, please take stock of your own land and measure it!"

"You all receive salaries, so keeping the land is of little use to you. Hand over 60% of it, and I plan to distribute the land to those displaced people so they can farm for me!"

Why 60%? Because once the land is gone, the beasts will soon start thinking about plundering the land from the people again.

This method may not be a fundamental solution, but in the current chaotic world, why worry about so much? At least we should give those refugees who fled from Hedong due to the flood a place to settle down.

The ministers were pale-faced, but dared not utter a single objection.

As a minister of the Holy Emperor, it is my duty to offer something of value!