I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

Zhu Houcong could naturally see through the lean eunuch's ulterior motives. Of the four princes, he dared not speak of any of them.

Without pressing further, he instead asked, "Hehe, okay, what's your name?"

"This servant is Cao Zhichun."

"A good name."

The emperor smiled meaningfully and glanced at the remaining three.

Are there any differing opinions?

At this moment, the old eunuch who had just read the memorial suddenly said, "Your Majesty, this old servant believes that it is inappropriate for the princess to marry anyone, even a prince, as it would disrupt the balance of power in the court!"

hiss! !

As soon as the old eunuch finished speaking, the other four gasped, their eyes filled with horror as they stared at this reckless old man.

How could you say such a thing?

The old eunuch met the emperor's gaze, a strange glint flashing in his cloudy eyes.

They had no idea that the old eunuch was always going to say something shocking.

There is no shortage of smart people in this world.

Clearly, he had already guessed Zhu Houcong's thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Good! Good! Good!"

This deep palace is indeed a place where dragons and tigers hide!

There are many intelligent people.

His gaze locked onto the old eunuch: "What's your name?"

The old eunuch bowed even lower.

"Your Majesty, this lowly servant is unworthy of a name. Everyone in the palace calls me Xiao Song."

"Xiaosong?"

Zhu Houcong called out softly, his fingertips tapping out a dull rhythm on the dragon table.

"This name doesn't sound very nice."

Upon hearing this, the old eunuch trembled, and beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead, dripping onto the gold brick with a soft "tap" sound.

"I will bestow upon you a new name!"

Zhu Houcong straightened up, his voice suddenly rising in pitch.

"From now on, your surname will be Yan, and your name will be Yan Song, how about that?"

The old eunuch suddenly looked up, a glint of disbelief flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

Strict means severe!

Song means the highest mountain!

This is clearly an unparalleled grace.

"This servant, Yan Song, thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

He kowtowed heavily, the dull thud of his forehead hitting the gold bricks echoing in the hall.

Zhu Houcong's lips curled into a meaningful smile.

I hope you will not let this name down.

He waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop kowtowing, get up!"

He then strolled up to Yan Song and looked down at the newly appointed servant.

"Since you think Princess Nihuang shouldn't marry, do you mean you want her to return to Yunnan to continue guarding the region?"

Yan Song, who had just straightened up, bent down again, but said calmly, "This servant believes that it would be best if we could find a way to allow the princess to reside in the capital permanently."

"Oh?"

Chapter 6 Establishment of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Eastern Depot

Yan Song's voice was like a dull knife, slowly cutting through the heavy atmosphere in the hall.

"With the princess in the capital, the 100,000 cavalry are leaderless. If we let the tiger return to the mountain, the princess may not be willing to come back next time."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong frowned and kicked Yan Song in the back of the knee.

"You filthy lackey! How dare you sow discord between me and Princess Nihuang!"

The kick was powerful and heavy, knocking Yan Song to the ground with a thud.

He forced back his cry of pain, crawled two steps, and knelt down, his forehead pressed against the cold gold brick.

She said in a trembling voice, "This servant is foolish and ignorant, and uttered such absurd words; I deserve to die a thousand deaths."

"snort!"

Zhu Houcong turned around with a flick of his sleeve, his dragon boots stepping over Yan Song's prostrate figure, and sat down heavily in front of the desk.

"You certainly deserve to die, but since I have spoken the truth, I will not punish you for what you said, even if you were wrong. This time, I will spare your dog's life!"

Yan Song hurriedly expressed his gratitude: "This servant kowtows to Your Majesty for sparing my life."

Zhu Houcong squinted at the old eunuch.

That "treasonous" remonstrance just now clearly showed that he saw through my fear of Princess Nihuang.

What's even more remarkable is that this person was willing to take the blame.

The more he looked, the more satisfied he became; even the cold sweat beading on Yan Song's forehead seemed exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

"Know the facts, and know when to advance and retreat."

Zhu Houcong said calmly, "You are right. It is precisely because you are ignorant and unable to make the right judgment that you utter such rebellious and arrogant words."

"Your teachings are correct!" Yan Song quickly flattered.

Zhu Houcong tapped the memorial lightly with his fingertips, producing a dull "tap-tap" sound.

"The key to making the right judgment lies in highly keen observation, analytical ability, and a large information gap."

"Therefore, the five of you will form a new government office starting today, called the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"His sole responsibility was to read and review memorials, and to approve them on my behalf."

Zhu Houcong spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Yan Song is appointed as the Grand Eunuch, and the four of you are all appointed as scribes of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and you shall obey his orders."

boom!

Zhu Houcong's voice, like a thunderclap, exploded in the minds of Yan Song and the other four.

They froze, speechless, their throats bobbing.

Yan Song felt a surge of electricity shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making his whole body numb.

He lost his grip on the whisk and it fell to the ground with a "thud".

Is this an imperial edict issued on behalf of His Majesty?

They knew all too well what this meant.

From then on, all memorials submitted by court officials had to be handled by the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the emperor's vermilion annotations could also be written by them.

This power is comparable to that of half a prime minister!

This is beyond just a windfall; it's like a peach from the Peach Garden has been smashed into your mouth.

"hiss!"

A series of synchronized gasps filled the hall.

Yan Song's withered fingers dug into his palms so hard that he could barely suppress his wildly beating heart.

He quickly fell to the ground, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"This servant will serve you to the death, to live up to Your Majesty's trust!"

The other four then seemed to wake from a dream, and knelt down one after another with a "thump," the sound of their knees hitting the ground echoing in the hall.

Zhu Houcong looked down at the group of trembling eunuchs from his high position, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

"Get up. You must read and study the books in the palace extensively. Simply knowing how to read won't be enough in the future."

"We will obey Your Majesty's decree!" the five replied in unison.

[Ding! Playing as Jiajing +1, obtained Crimson Sky Sword Pill]

???

Good guy!

That's awesome! There are even rewards for establishing the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Zhu Houcong was overjoyed. So, it was possible to emulate the system of the Ming Dynasty?

He immediately thought of the names of those government offices from the Ming Dynasty.

Eastern Depot, Embroidered Uniform Guard, Grand Secretariat, Imperial Horse Administration...

If we could bring all these government offices out into the open, wouldn't we be flying high?

With that in mind, he immediately decided to try and see if it was feasible.

Zhu Houcong's gaze turned to Cao Zhichun like that of a hawk.

"I also intend to establish another agency, called the Eastern Investigation Bureau."

"You, Cao Zhichun, will be appointed as the supervising eunuch, responsible for spying on secrets both inside and outside the Great Liang Dynasty and monitoring all officials."

Cao Zhichun trembled as if struck by lightning.

East Factory?

To oversee all officials?

Spying on secrets?

Is His Majesty trying to make me his eyes and ears?

This is an immense favor!

Zhu Houcong's voice was unhurried, yet every word carried immense weight.

"The necessary funds will be drawn from the imperial treasury, and the manpower will be selected from the 100,000 eunuchs in the palace, those with exceptional martial arts skills."

Cao Zhengchun immediately fell to the ground, kneeling down, his voice hoarse with excitement, his forehead slamming heavily against the gold brick.

"This servant...this servant would gladly die for her country!"

"Um."

Zhu Houcong's calm and composed voice rang out.

"Remember, the Eastern Depot only obeys my orders, and no one else may mobilize it."

"Yes, I understand."

Yan Song listened intently from the side, his withered fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of his clothes.

Xia Jiang, the head of the Suspended Mirror Bureau, has been in charge of surveillance for many years, but now His Majesty wants to establish the Eastern Depot.

This has a profound meaning!

The others exchanged glances, seemingly understanding something.

Zhu Houcong was secretly laughing his head off, because he had just established the Eastern Depot and a reward message had actually popped up.

[Ding! Playing the role of Jiajing +1, obtained Martial Arts Golden Elixir]

Martial Arts Golden Core?

Is it possible to break through to the Grandmaster level in one fell swoop and become one of the strongest people in the world?