Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

After a moment, Prosecutor Zhu slowly said, "You two, get up!"

"Now that the eunuch stationed at the warehouse is dead, aren't there still people alive in the two warehouses? Take them all to the Eastern Depot!"

Having said that, Zhu Jian looked sharply at the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, who was also Wang Dehua's confidant: "You know what I want! I won't give you a timeframe; you figure it out yourself!"

"This servant obeys the decree!" The eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot stood up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and hurriedly ran towards the Eastern Depot.

Zhu Jian stared at the departing figure of the Eastern Depot's chief eunuch and said, "Wang Dehua, aren't some of these eunuchs outside the palace betraying us?"

"This servant will make the arrangements immediately!" Wang Dehua said firmly, standing to the side with his head bowed.

Zhu Jian pointed to the burning granary and said, "Don't rush, put out the fire first!"

"As you command!"

After several hours of firefighting, the open flames in the granary were extinguished, but a large amount of black smoke was still billowing out, accompanied by a pungent odor.

Zhu Jian's gaze swept over the ruins of the grain warehouse, and he asked, "Was this an accidental fire?"

"Your Majesty, this servant suspects the location of the fire is suspicious! It seems to be an accident!" Wang Dehua whispered to Zhu Jian.

Tell me!

Without hesitation, Wang Dehua reported in detail, "This servant just went in and checked. Four areas in the North New Warehouse are severely burned; it seems the fire started at the same time!"

One fire starting point could be considered an accident, but the probability of four fires starting simultaneously is extremely small!

Zhu Jian nodded slightly without saying a word. This was the Minister of Revenue's inspection of grain rations, which had alarmed the big rats. Some people couldn't hold back anymore and wanted to set fire to get rid of the problem.

"Return to the palace!!"

After saying this, Zhu Jian lifted his leg and walked towards the Forbidden City.

As soon as Zhu Jian returned to the Wuying Hall, the head eunuch of the Eastern Depot rushed to him, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the supervisor of the Beixin Granary has confessed. He colluded with the granary clerks to smuggle grain, and when the Minister of Revenue sent people to inspect the granaries, he resorted to this desperate measure!"

"oh!"

After hearing this, Prosecutor Zhu asked nonchalantly, "Are you saying that a mere grain warehouse supervisor has the power to pull off something like this?"

In Zhu Jian’s mind, there must be someone higher up involved in this matter; these people are just scapegoats being pushed out by others.

"Your Majesty, there are some...some details to this matter..." the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot stammered.

"Speak!" Wang Dehua, standing next to Zhu Jian, shouted angrily.

To stammer and hesitate before the emperor is suicidal. Although the Eastern Depot's director is his confidant, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial is extremely dissatisfied with the director's actions. While there aren't any major problems, the director's competence is somewhat lacking, and it seems the Grand Eunuch is considering replacing the Eastern Depot's director...

Upon hearing this, Prosecutor Zhu did not stop him. He kept his eyes closed, leaned back in his official chair, and tapped his fingers on the armrests, making a clicking sound.

The eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed to the ground, his throat bobbing: "The granary supervisor is only responsible for transporting the grain out of the city to the civilian granaries outside the city! The civilian granaries and their personnel come from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and the Duke of Chengguo's mansion!"

When the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot was interrogating him, he stopped after hearing this. If this matter involved too many top nobles, the emperor might use him, the head of the Eastern Depot, to take the blame in order to save face.

Wang Dehua, who was standing to the side, was also taken aback when he heard this. He did not expect that it would involve the two Dukes' mansions!

His expression then changed slightly: "If they want to escape punishment, they'll implicate the Duke's mansion, and you reported this to His Majesty without investigating thoroughly. Do you know what crime they're being charged with?"

As the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the head of the inner palace officials, Wang Dehua was not afraid of the two Dukes of Xun Gui. However, if this matter was false, he would be hard-pressed to escape blame. Therefore, he increasingly felt that the Director of the Eastern Depot was incompetent and that the matter should at least be definitively settled.

Once the matter is settled, the truth or falsehood becomes irrelevant; what matters is whether the emperor wants the truth or the falsehood!

Upon hearing this, the Eastern Depot Commander trembled all over: "Reporting to...Reporting to Eunuch Wang...Ling...Lingchi..." As the Eastern Depot Commander, he knew what crime it was.

Zhu Jian stood up and waved his hand: "Go back to the Eastern Depot and find out the location of the civilian granary and who organized it. If it involves the two Dukes' mansions, then stop for now!"

"As you command!"

Upon hearing this, the Eastern Depot's commander felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly stood up, took two steps back, and turned to leave.

As Zhu Jian watched the retreating figure of the Eastern Depot's commander disappear, he casually remarked, "Is it difficult to find a suitable candidate for the Eastern Depot's commander?"

Clearly, this statement reflects Zhu Jian's dissatisfaction with the Eastern Depot's director. What kind of department is the Eastern Depot? It is authorized by imperial power to execute first and report later, and it is above all civil and military officials, nobles, and princes! It is a knife in the emperor's hand.

Now, this Director of the Eastern Depot, seeing that two dukes' mansions are involved, has actually backed down. He probably hasn't realized that this isn't just the Eastern Depot backing down, but rather the imperial power it represents backing down—how could that be tolerated?

Upon hearing this, Wang Dehua hurriedly knelt down: "Your Majesty, this servant is guilty; I did not choose the right person!"

As the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, his authority would immediately be halved if he lost control of the Eastern Depot. He secretly regretted choosing this incompetent person to oversee the Eastern Depot...

Zhu Jian stood up, walked slowly to the window, looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, and said meaningfully, "Get up!"

He paused, then continued, "Some people, though utterly loyal, reveal their inadequacy when given responsibilities! They hesitate, unsure of who's truly in charge!"

Wang Dehua was startled by these words and didn't dare to get up. He didn't know if the emperor was referring to the Eastern Depot's director or using the director's name to subtly criticize him...

"Your Majesty is my heaven!" Wang Dehua's voice trembled.

Wang Dehua was well aware that all the power of the eunuchs came from the emperor. All the other civil and military officials and nobles had a way out, but the eunuchs did not.

At the top of the power pyramid, it's not entirely accurate to say that court officials are replaced by new ones with each new emperor. Even when a new emperor ascends the throne, there are still some old ministers who will be employed. But for eunuchs, it's absolutely true that they are replaced by new ones with each new emperor. No new emperor will employ the previous eunuch, especially a eunuch in such a high position as him!

After Wang Dehua finished speaking, seeing that Zhu Jian remained silent, he quickly added, "This servant will select a few people for Your Majesty to review!"

"No need! The Eastern Depot Commander, you decide!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Jian slowly walked to Wang Dehua's side, bent down, and whispered in Wang Dehua's ear as he knelt on the ground, "Do you still remember the Inner Factory?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dehua's eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "The...the Imperial Workshop..."

The Inner Depot, officially known as the Grand Inner Depot, was established by Liu Jin during the Zhengde era. It was the most terrifying secret police agency in the Ming Dynasty, and indeed, in the history of the Qin and Han dynasties. Its methods were far more horrific than those of the Eastern Depot and Western Depot! Yet, it only existed for five years!

During Emperor Wuzong's reign, the Eastern Depot was an institution used by the emperor to check and balance civil officials, the Western Depot was a product of interrogating civil officials, while the Inner Depot was a hellish place for the complete destruction of the civil official group. In the Inner Depot, there was no regard for law or morality; once someone entered the Inner Depot, being skinned alive was considered the mildest form of punishment…