The Ming Dynasty: The opening scene features Zhu Di angrily accusing him of illegitimate succession.

Zhu Di was furious, while Lin Yue continued to talk eloquently.

"The taxes and grains of the four provinces of Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang accounted for half of the country's total, and were all collected by the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing. The grain transport and salt permits were all under the jurisdiction of the Six Ministries in Nanjing!"

Southern Zhili is the central hub of the empire. If Your Majesty is truly capable, you should clean up the bureaucracy in Nanjing and strive to govern well!

"Isn't it a foolish move to waste more than a decade building Beiping instead of using the readily available Nanjing?"

As we all know, once a person enters a state of debate, it becomes difficult for them to think in other directions; they are determined to argue with the parties involved to determine who is right and who is wrong.

The current Yongle Emperor is in a similar state, with his desire for debate growing stronger.

Enraged by the rebuke, Zhu Di pointed at Lin Yue and shouted angrily, "My temporary handling of state affairs in Nanjing does not conflict with moving the capital to Beiping!"

"I have already established the Beijing Regional Military Headquarters and the Rear Military Command, and all preparations have been carried out step by step. The mobilization of manpower has also been restrained and cautious. How can this be considered foolishness?!"

Lin Yue immediately retorted, attacking the Yongle Emperor's weakest point once again: his abnormal succession was always a sore spot for Zhu Di.

"Conscripting a million laborers and consuming billions of grains and fodder, is this called gradual progress and restraint?"

Heh, Your Majesty is doing this simply because you feel your throne is unstable and want to move the capital to Beiping to stabilize the government.

This is putting one person's own interests first, and exhausting the world!

Your Majesty claims to admire Emperor Taizong of Tang the most, but after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he first pacified the internal affairs and then dealt with external threats. The Zhenguan era was completed in four years, and he never spent so much money and effort on the people!

You emulate Emperor Taizong of Tang in seizing the throne, but instead of learning how to govern, you follow the example of Emperor Yang of Sui in engaging in extravagant construction projects. Do you intend to let the Ming Dynasty perish after only two generations?

Upon hearing keywords such as usurpation, Emperor Yang of Sui, and the dynasty's demise after only two generations, Zhu Di's blood rushed to his head, and he erupted in fury.

What utter nonsense about being broad-minded, accepting good advice, and recruiting upright officials! Today, he's going to kill this ignorant little censor.

"You fool, you're asking for death! I'll beat you to death today!" Emperor Yongle roared, his voice echoing through the stone walls of the prison cell. "Ji Gang! Open the door!"

The bolt fell to the ground, and Zhu Di rushed in like a tiger pouncing on its prey, throwing a punch as he did so.

One punch left Lin Yue with a bruised and swollen face, and blood spitting from the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty!" Ji Gang was immediately shocked. They were really going to fight.

He wanted to step forward to stop them but didn't dare, so he could only stand there frozen in place.

Lin Yue was dizzy from the beating, but this time he was prepared. He was already unhappy about being beaten at Fengtian Hall before, so how dare they come again?

A real man fights back!

Lin Yue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and roared, "You tyrant! You dare hit me? Take this punch!"

He threw a punch straight at Zhu Di's face.

With a muffled thud, a fist slammed into Zhu Di's nose, and blood gushed out instantly, dripping down the Yongle Emperor's chin onto his dragon robe.

Zhu Di was stunned, as were Ji Gang and the others.

How dare anyone in this world strike the emperor?!

Lin Yue pointed at Zhu Di, whose face was covered in blood, and spoke in a deafening voice.

"A ruler should treat his ministers with courtesy, and a minister should serve his ruler with loyalty!"

I will risk my life to offer my advice, even if my words are unpleasant to hear, it is all for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!

"If you can't stand loyal advice, then take my head! But you've repeatedly beaten and humiliated me, a court official who dares to offer honest advice!"

Seeing that Zhu Di's forehead veins were bulging and his expression was not right, Lin Yue was afraid that another fight would break out. He was just a young man and he could not beat a fierce general who had been on the battlefield.

Getting hit still hurts.

He quietly created some distance, quickly walked towards Ji Gang on his left, and took advantage of Ji Gang's unpreparedness and extreme horror to pull out his embroidered spring knife.

Then, just as Ji Gang was about to face death and launch a desperate attack, the knife was shoved back into his hand.

"You're a piece of trash! You can't even hold a knife properly, how can you protect His Majesty? Take it!" Lin Yue roared, his gaze refocusing on Zhu Di, and he spread his arms as if to sacrifice himself for righteousness.

"A scholar may be killed but not humiliated!"

I, Lin Yue, am a dignified man of eight feet tall. My grandfather and his descendants all sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty. Even if I die today, I will not tolerate such humiliation from you!

If Your Majesty still considers yourself a wise ruler, then order my execution instead of committing such a despicable act as beating an advisor!

Lin Yue stood with his back straight, and the imposing aura of someone ready to die for their life made everyone in the prison afraid to make a move.

Zhu Di was also somewhat shocked.

That son of a bitch Lin Yue has given him far too much shock in such a short time.

This madman beat up the emperor and dared to publicly denounce the emperor for usurping the throne, yet his composure in accepting his fate was so shocking.

In an instant, reason returned to his mind, and Zhu Di's rage gradually subsided.

Zhu Di took a deep breath, followed by an undisguised sense of exhaustion and helplessness.

"Am I really that bad? In your eyes, am I just a tyrannical and rebellious emperor?"

Do you know what Zhu Yunwen did after he ascended the throne?

Heeding the slanderous words of Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, he hastily and opportunistically reduced the power of the princes, resulting in the imprisonment of the Prince of Zhou, the deposition of the Prince of Min, and the unbearable humiliation of the Prince of Xiang, Zhu Bai, leading his entire family to commit suicide by self-immolation!

When Zhu Di recalled the past, pain and resentment flashed in his eyes.

"The blood of the imperial clan flowed like rivers, and the people of the world were filled with fear. Could Zhu Yunwen be some kind of wise and sage ruler?"

"I was forced to raise an army to quell the rebellion; if I hadn't, I would have been the next to self-immolate!"

Zhu Di's voice suddenly rose, filled with indignation.

"You criticize me for wasting money by moving the capital, but if you look at the civil and military officials in the court, who among them is not a former official of Jianwen?"

Nanjing is Zhu Yunwen's base of power. I am on tenterhooks every day, and if I am not careful, I may repeat the same mistakes!

"Without moving the capital to Beiping, how can we get rid of these constraints? How can we stabilize the northern border? How can we convince the people of my legitimacy?!"

He stared at Lin Yue with a complex and unreadable expression, a mixture of anger, regret, and even a hint of barely perceptible grievance.

"I know that moving the capital would be too much for the people, and I know that leaving the succession undecided is not a good idea, but everything has to take time!"

It's not that I don't want to be a wise ruler; I desperately want to prove that I am one!

But can't you... give me a chance?

An opportunity to prove himself superior to Zhu Yunwen and all previous emperors?!

The prison was deathly silent, save for Zhu Di's heavy breathing.

Ji Gang and the jailers lowered their heads even further, wishing they could gouge out their own ears and blind their own eyes.

Having witnessed the emperor and his ministers fighting, and seeing the current emperor's outburst of behavior, I wonder if I'll be punished later.

This time it was Lin Yue's turn to be shocked. He had anticipated Zhu Di's rage and killing, and he had anticipated Zhu Di storming off, but he never expected that this emperor would start to complain to him in front of him.

Thinking carefully about Zhu Di's situation before the Jingnan Campaign, it was indeed quite tragic.

But then he thought, what does it matter to him if Zhu Di has any troubles? He's going back to be the happy superhero of the motherland. Lin Yue immediately retorted with his neck stiff.

"If Your Majesty wants a chance, then the people will not have a way to live?"

A million laborers were conscripted, and thousands more starved to death on the road!

If Your Majesty truly wishes to prove yourself, then immediately halt the relocation of the capital, establish an heir apparent, and stabilize the nation!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di was deeply disappointed and remained silent, walking out of the prison surrounded by people.

The next day, Lin Yue was released and even promoted to the position of a seventh-rank official.