The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

If it were another emperor,

Upon learning that the Empress and the Crown Prince were secretly gathering their own people, his first reaction was to feel apprehensive and suspicious.

He would definitely think: "I'm not even dead yet, and you're already in such a hurry to secretly raise manpower and train assassins. What are you trying to do? Are you planning a rebellion?!"

Throughout history, the most typical and vivid example is Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.

This man possessed great talent and ambition in his youth, sweeping away the Xiongnu and expanding the territory of the Han Dynasty, making him a truly great ruler.

But in his later years, he became extremely paranoid and suspicious, his mind clouded by imperial power.

The virtuous and wise Empress Wei Zifu ruled the inner palace for thirty-eight years, remaining respectful and virtuous, and never interfering in politics.

Crown Prince Liu is said to be kind, filial, diligent in his duties, and loves the people. He has been conscientious in his duties for decades and has never harbored any rebellious intentions.

As a result, because of a few slanderous words from a petty person,

He forced Empress Wei, who had been with him for half his life, to her death, and also forced the crown prince, whom he had carefully nurtured, to his death.

Because of this,

Even though Liu Che established a prosperous and glorious era in his youth,

In the end, he still suffered criticism and infamy for a thousand years.

But Lao Zhu is different!

Empress Ma was the white moonlight who accompanied him from scratch to build his empire.

When he was at his poorest and had nothing, Empress Ma disregarded the opinions of others and resolutely chose him.

Throughout this journey, Empress Ma has always stayed by his side, never abandoning him.

Besides, given Empress Ma's standing among the generals in Huaixi, why would she need to secretly cultivate assassins?

You're underestimating her!

Do you believe that one day Zhu Yuanzhang might lose his mind and suddenly issue an edict to depose Empress Ma?

He would have to become a monk again the next day!

As for Crown Prince Zhu Biao?

Let's put it this way: if one day Zhu Biao gets tired of being the crown prince and wants to change his status...

When Zhu Yuanzhang found out, he would immediately order the eunuchs to open the palace gates and then have someone tie him up and send him to the Eastern Palace.

If Biao'er doesn't know how to rebel.

He would also proactively package up Xu Da, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and other experienced people and send them to Biao'er.

So when Zhu De heard Mao Xiang's report, he was not angry at all, but rather wanted to laugh!

"Alright, from now on, you don't need to worry about the Empress and the Crown Prince. Just focus on doing what I've told you to do!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said casually.

"Your Majesty, I obey." Mao Xiang bowed and accepted the order, but still had some concerns. After some hesitation, he stepped forward and reported to His Majesty: "However, Your Majesty, with the three groups of people hiding together, a slight mistake could lead to misunderstandings."

"I fear that my men are too uncouth and might accidentally offend the people of the Eastern Palace and the Empress's Palace again. I am not sure how to deal with this."

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "You are right. If everyone conceals their identities, misunderstandings are indeed very likely to occur."

"Select two trusted confidants to secretly inform the leaders of the Crown Prince and the Empress, and the three parties shall agree on a unique identification code."

"If you see someone outside who gives you the same code word, they are one of our own. Keep your distance and do not fight."

"As for how the Crown Prince and Empress allocate manpower and how they operate, we will not interfere. They should each perform their duties."

"Your Majesty, I obey!" Upon hearing this, Mao Xiang sighed inwardly: It really is His Majesty who has come up with a solution so quickly.

Mao Xiang then turned around and prepared to leave to go to the military camp to select suitable men.

Before he could even reach the palace entrance, Old Zhu's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Wait!"

Mao Xiang paused, then immediately turned back, cupped his hands, and asked, "Your Majesty, is there another instruction?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not reply, but instead focused his gaze on the mountain of memorials piled on the table. He tapped his fingertips lightly on the surface, and his eyes gradually turned cold.

He thought of the officials in the imperial court, from Yang Xian in his early years to the endless stream of corrupt officials today.

Many people say one thing to your face and another behind your back, trying every means to deceive their superiors and subordinates, treating him as a blind and deaf tyrant to fool them at will.

He had considered ways to resolve this situation.

However, the officials in the court protected and shielded each other, and even the Censorate was staffed by their own people.

How can we find out what's going on underneath?

What he saw was probably what those parasites deliberately wanted him to see.

All those corrupt practices and acts of oppressing the people were covered up by them.

This is absolutely intolerable for Old Zhu, the domineering CEO.

"Mao Xiang, how many years have you followed us?"

"Your Majesty, I have been following you since the beginning of the uprising, which has been twenty-one years."

"It's been twenty-one years already!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, then suddenly let out a deep sigh.

As a result, this sigh...

Mao Xiang was so scared he almost peed his pants on the spot.

No, let's talk, why are you sighing for no reason!

Am I going to die?

Mao Xiang had followed Zhu De for so many years, and whenever he acted in this manner, it meant that someone was about to lose their head.

He began to rack his brains, wondering if he had been slacking off at work lately and had displeased his boss.

Or is there something wrong with what we did?

But before he could come to a conclusion,

A cold glint flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted sternly.

"Mao Xiang, we have an important matter to entrust to you..."

Mao Xiang was already in a state of high tension.

Hearing Old Zhu slam his hand on the table, he thought he was in deep trouble and knelt down with a thud, shouting.

"Your Majesty, spare my life..."

The two paused mid-sentence, looking at each other in bewilderment.

A moment later, Mao Xiang came to his senses and realized that he had made a huge blunder. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and he gave Zhu Yuanzhang an awkward laugh, feeling uncomfortable all over.

Zhu Yuanzhang, on the other hand, looked speechless as he gazed at Mao Xiang's timid and cowardly appearance, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

He is now seriously doubting whether this cowardly kid can shoulder any heavy responsibility.

However, there are no other suitable candidates besides this kid right now, so Old Zhu has no choice but to pick him!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mao Xiang kneeling on the ground, deliberately keeping a stern face and asking in a deliberately serious tone, "Speak, what have you done that you want us to spare your life?"

Mao Xiang's face fell, and he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, I have not committed any crime."

"You didn't do anything wrong, so why were you begging for mercy?" Old Zhu glared at him and said irritably, "Aren't you going to get up right now? Are you waiting for us to come and get you?"

Upon hearing this, Mao Xiang quickly got up from the ground, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and was too ashamed to look up.

"Nowadays, the Censorate and the Six Ministries are all civil officials who protect each other and try to fool us as a deaf and blind tyrant."

"Local officials were corrupt and extorted, and officials in the central government covered for each other. The memorials they submitted were full of whitewashing, and most of the people's suffering and officials' misdeeds were suppressed by their own people."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stood up from the dragon throne, put his hands behind his back, and said to Mao Xiang with his back to him:

"Therefore, we plan to set up another agency that will be directly under our command and not subject to the control of any other department. It will be responsible for secretly monitoring all officials, investigating corruption and embezzlement, and gathering intelligence on the realities of the court and the public. For any major cases that we designate, we can directly arrest and interrogate the perpetrators."

"Let's call it the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"