Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 164: The Great Purge, Rivers of Blood!
Reformist officials such as Jiao Fang and Xu Jin are really scared now!

Because through this incident they discovered that if the Emperor died, these reformist officials would really be tortured to death by their opponents, and there would be no mercy on them!
Even now, not only are the political ideas of these reformist officials not tolerated by these gentry, but even the benefits their families have gained through cooperation with the royal family will be deprived.

Reformist officials such as Jiao Fang and Xu Jin now realize that even for the benefit of their own families, they cannot tolerate these political enemies! Otherwise, the shares of the Royal Bank will also be taken away! I am afraid that more interests will be taken away in the future.

These reformist officials not only knew that these political enemies must not be tolerated, but they were also more certain of the importance of the emperor to them. Not only was the emperor important, but the future crown prince was also important!

Not only did Jiao Fang and others think that opponents should be severely punished, even Ma Wensheng, who always advocated moderate political struggles, expressed his support through silence.

The trap set by Zhu Houzhao this time made these reformist officials feel more strongly the cruelty and irreconcilability of the struggle. At the same time, Zhu Houzhao also used this incident to give these reformist officials a solution to deal with unexpected crises. If the emperor is killed again next time, the reformist officials can completely use the excuse that the emperor faked his death!
And the civil servants and gentry who opposed the reform should no longer think that they could easily stop the reform process of the Ming Empire by dealing with the emperor.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao had to teach these civil servants who had committed crimes a severe lesson and give them another lesson to let them see once again the consequences of regicide and attempting to obstruct reform!

Zhu Houzhao asked Jiao Fang to be responsible for the trial of the Minister of Works Zeng Jian, the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng, and Duke of Chengguo Zhu Feng. Jiao Fang's methods were more ruthless and tougher than Ma Wensheng's, and he was also ruthless in the executions.

"Zhang Sheng! You falsely claimed that His Majesty had passed away, and colluded with Duke Zhu Feng, the eunuch Zhang Yong of the Imperial Horse Administration, and the Minister of Works Zeng Jian to plot treason. You may plead guilty!"

At this time, Jiao Fang began to interrogate the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng!

"I do not plead guilty! I did not commit treason! I was deceived by a traitor! If the Minister of Works had not falsely reported that Your Majesty had been killed in the explosion, Zhang Sheng would never have done such a thing!"

However, the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng continued to defend himself.

"How dare you! Your rebellious intentions have long been exposed. Even Zeng Jian himself has admitted that you are the mastermind and that you intend to kill the king and seize the throne. How dare you quibble!"

After Jiao Fang gave the order, he asked Zeng Jian again: "Zeng Jian, tell me again, is Zhang Sheng the mastermind behind this conspiracy?"

"Reply to the Second Assistant! It was the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng. He colluded with me and others to blow up Your Majesty and then seize the throne. Otherwise, he would not have murdered the Queen, causing Her Majesty to be injured and Her Majesty the Queen Mother to be frightened!"

Zeng Jian now knew that only if he cooperated with the court to convict Zhang Sheng and others of treason could he avoid exterminating a whole clan and reduce the punishment, so he honestly admitted it.

"Zeng Jian has admitted it, Zhang Yong and others have also admitted that you are the mastermind, the evidence is already conclusive! Zhang Sheng, whether you plead guilty or not, you are guilty of treason! Come, drag him away, I am ready to ask His Majesty to torture you, a traitor, with 5,200 cuts and execute all ten of your clans!"

Jiao Fang said:

"In addition, Zhang Yong, Zhu Feng, Du Long and the others will also have their entire clans executed, and will be tortured to death with 3,600 cuts! Their homes will also be confiscated!
Especially Zhang Yong, as an eunuch, he plotted against His Majesty, he should be severely punished, his flesh should be eaten by the eunuchs! His shares in the Royal Bank and the Royal Industrial Company should be taken back!
In addition, Duke Chengguo disregarded the emperor's grace! His hereditary title shall be stripped!"

Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng now knows that he can no longer change the outcome of the matter, and he only hates Zeng Jian!
He hated Zeng Jian so much now! Because if it weren't for Zeng Jian! He wouldn't have to be so anxious to expose his true colors. He would have stayed dormant for a long time, at least until he entered the cabinet.

But now, because Zeng Jian lied about the news that Zhu Houzhao had been killed in a bomb, he was exposed in advance, and also caused the loss of two heavyweight allies he had worked so hard to establish, namely the eunuch Zhang Yong of the Imperial Stables and Zhu Feng, the Duke of Chengguo!
Therefore, the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng wanted to eat Zeng Jian alive and rushed towards him, "Zeng Jian! You are such a bitch! You bitch! Bah! It's you who harmed me! It's you who framed me, it's you who ruined my future and career, it's you who caused my entire clan to be exterminated, I will never forgive you in hell! I will never forgive you!"

Upon seeing this, Jiao Fang quickly ordered the officers to restrain the furious Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng with a chain.

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me! I really didn't expect that they had spread the false news of your death! I really don't want to murder you. I am loyal. I just can't stand Liu Jin and I just want to be the seal of the Imperial Household Department!"

At this time, Zhang Yong also begged desperately, and suddenly rushed towards Zeng Jian:
"It's you! It's you who hurt me! It's you who made me lose all my wealth and fame in my life! I want to eat you!"

Zhang Yong actually bit off one of Zeng Jian's ears, causing Zeng Jian to scream in pain.

At this time, Duke Cheng was also begging for mercy and was furious to come over and kill Zeng Jian. Fortunately, the officers held him tightly, otherwise Zeng Jian would have died on the spot.

Seeing that the situation had calmed down a bit, Jiao Fang said, "Zeng Jian has made meritorious reports and actively cooperated with the court, so his punishment can be mitigated, but his crime of regicide cannot be forgiven. I am going to sentence you to death by 1,500 cuts! And exterminate all nine generations of your clan!"

"Ah! My lord! His Majesty said that he would be spared lightly. Can you change the death by slicing to beheading?" Zeng Jian said.

"Don't argue! Even though His Majesty has said you'll be forgiven, I still wish I could eat your flesh and drink your blood. If I don't kill your entire clan, I'll be forgiven!"

Jiao Fang announced the adjournment of the court, and then submitted the verdict to Zhu Houzhao, who immediately asked the Imperial Household Department to approve it.

then.

A great purge began again.

A few days later, at the execution ground in the capital, a group of civil servants were brought up and pressed directly onto wooden stakes. However, they were still shaking and shouting, "It's unfair! It's unfair! We never thought that His Majesty was not dead! We were just coerced! We really didn't mean to force the emperor to abdicate!"

The supervising officer Jiao Fang showed no mercy. No matter how the offending civil servants cried out, he simply waved his hand and said, "Behead them!"

Click!

Suddenly, heads fell to the ground!
Rivers of blood!
"cut!"

"cut!"

"cut!"

With each shout from Jiao Fang, the heads of civil servants and gentry fell to the ground!
When the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng saw his relatives and old friends being chopped down one after another in front of him, he was also very distressed and could not help but curse Jiao Fang:

"Jiao Fang! You are also a civil servant, why are you so cruel!"

Jiao Fang replied loudly: "Because if you were me today and I were you, you would not let me off easily! Moreover, I will use your blood to intimidate other officials who oppose the new policy! What do you mean we are all civil servants? That day in the palace, you showed no mercy when you were aggressive!

Traitor! This is the crime you deserve. Are you angry and helpless? Hahaha! But you can’t do anything to me now, because you are a traitor. You will still be a traitor in the future. I will help His Majesty make you infamous for eternity! Let future kings only remember you as a traitor! "

Zhang Sheng and the others were furious. They watched Jiao Fang being so rampant in front of them, but they had no choice but to shout, "Oh God! Why is this happening? How did we become traitors? Is your Majesty really a god who cannot be blasphemed or deceived?!"

"That's right, your majesty is God, the Son of Heaven, the king favored by God, and your ancestor! You want your majesty to die, which is blasphemy against your ancestors! Therefore, you deserve to die!"

Jiao Fang shouted loudly: "Cut it off! Chop it off for me! No leniency! No mercy!"

Click!

Click!

Click!

With one knife and one bullet at a time, Jiao Fang expressed his anger towards these reformist officials in the toughest possible manner.

The Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng, Duke of Chengguo Zhu Feng, and the eunuch Zhang Yong of the Imperial Horse Administration could only watch helplessly: "No! No!"

Soon after, these main culprits were also executed by slow slicing one after another, and their families were naturally confiscated!

The Ming Dynasty lost a group of high-ranking officials and nobles who only knew how to suck the fat of the people, and the power of the gentry class was weakened again!
……

Many days later, Jiao Fang came before Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty, all the executions have been completed. No one will be spared or tolerated!"

"Very good! You are indeed worthy of being my beloved minister Jiao, with an iron-fisted approach!" Zhu Houzhao nodded.

Thanks to the book friend Yangfanqihang for 500 starting coins. Thank you to the book friend Eight Million Warriors for 500 starting coins. Thank you to the book friend 160620192315769 for 1000 starting coins. Thank you to the book friend Dian Niang owes me an explanation in this life for 1000 starting coins. The fifth update is sent to the author. Today, more than words have been updated in one breath! It's so hard and tiring to finish a plot in one breath! Please reward and monthly ticket!

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(End of this chapter)