Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 126: The Fake Emperor's Atrocities, the Ming Dynasty is about to change
After morning.

Jinyiwei Commander Shi Biao came to the Qianqing Palace in a hurry. He had recently arrested several officials in Beijing on other grounds. They were all officials who had received letters from the mysterious man and reported Xu Youzhen. Then, he made some surprising discoveries.

After paying homage, he found that the emperor was rubbing his eyes and looked a little tired. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, are you sick? Then we need to ask the imperial physician to take a look."

Zhu Qizhen shook his head and sighed, "I am so tired. The ministers are constantly fighting each other, all for themselves. No one cares about me."

"Your Majesty!" Shi Biao bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, you must always think about the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Qizhen looked up and asked, "What do you mean?"

Shi Biao looked serious and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the tone of your words just now was so dejected that I would feel depressed if I heard it. Your Majesty, you are the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, you will be vigorous and forge ahead."

Zhu Qizhen was shocked.

He didn't expect that Shi Biao, who was always vulgar, would be so sensitive to discover his mood. He took a deep breath and nodded: "Yes, at this critical moment of the implementation of the new policy, I can't be decadent."

Everyone can have a breakdown, but adults often break down in an instant.

But the emperor can't!
As an emperor, he can only be more ruthless than everyone else in order to defeat his enemies. The emperor's heart must be ground harder than pig iron.

This is the emperor's fate!
"Your Majesty, I have arrested several people and found out some things through interrogation." Shi Biao's face was solemn. "The Records of Officials' Conduct do exist. They were collected by Shen Yihuan when he was the Minister of Personnel."

Zhu Qizhen asked doubtfully: "How could he collect so much by himself?"

Shi Biao shook his head. "He is not alone. The Shen family was a top family in Jiangnan at that time. They had many retainers, many of whom were from the underworld. After Shen Yihuan became the Minister of Personnel, he used his position, with the support of those underworld people, to collect records of officials."

"Since this man has written "Biography of Officials", he should have been ambitious in officialdom. Why did he resign later?" Zhu Qizhen asked.

Shi Biao continued to answer: "It was because of Yang Pu, the elder Yang. He hated Shen Yihuan very much and made a comment: This person looks like a gentle jade, speaks warmly, but has a sinister mind and is very cunning, quite like Cao Cao, and cannot be used for important tasks. Because of this comment, Shen Yihuan could not make any further progress in the officialdom."

That's it!

Zhu Qizhen finally understood that Yang Pu was the longest-lived of the "Three Yangs". His prestige at the time was so high that even the Queen Mother had to give him some respect. With his comment, Shen Yihuan's career in the officialdom was naturally cut off.

"Shen Yihuan later took the initiative to resign and returned to Jiangnan." Shi Biao said, "I don't know what means he used to cooperate with the Weaving Bureau and became an imperial merchant. The Shen family's weaving and spinning workshops soon dominated Jiangnan. Later, Shen Yihuan participated in the river, customs, and salt sales. Ten years later, he was already the richest man in Jiangnan. Over the years, he used his wealth to bribe most of the Jiangnan officials. It can be said that in Jiangnan, he is a man who can call the shots. When the governor sees him, he has to respectfully call him Fourth Master."

Zhu Qizhen's face was as cold as ice. "Report everything you found to Xu Youzhen, and send more Jinyiwei to Jiangnan. Uh, send the pacification envoy Ding Xiu to assist Xu Youzhen. Make sure to find the so-called Records of Officials."

"As you wish." Shi Biao bowed and walked out.

……

Yangzhou.

Recently, scholars have been coming from all over Jiangnan, and they all come for the three thousand exiled scholars.

"Only the tyrannical Qin Dynasty burned books and buried scholars alive. How could such a thing happen in the Ming Dynasty? We should go to the temple of the sage and denounce the evils of the cruel officials and the evil policies."

In the governor's office, Xu Youzhen frowned after listening to Ke Qian's report. He knew there would be bigger troubles, and now they were finally coming.

"It's obvious that someone is behind this." Li Bing sneered, "Those scholars who came to Yangzhou will be provided with meals and travel expenses."

Xu Youzhen snorted: "It's already obvious who is behind this."

Ke Qian was very worried: "This time, those scholars have already gone to call on the people. If they all go to the temple of the saint to cry, it will be troublesome."

"I'm worried too." Xu Youzhen smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty means that whoever causes trouble will be arrested."

As they were chatting, a subordinate came to report: "Sir, someone has come from the capital, it's the Jinyiwei."

Xu Youzhen was startled: "Why don't you come in quickly?"

After a while, Ding Xiu, the Jinyiwei pacification envoy, came in and clasped his fists towards them: "Everyone, you guys are having a great time in Jiangnan, and His Majesty sent me to join in the fun."

"Your Majesty is wise and knows that we are in trouble, so he sent the Jinyiwei brothers to support us." Xu Youzhen was overjoyed, "Lord Ding, what is His Majesty's order?"

Ding Xiu spread his hands: "Can I have some tea first?"

Xu Youzhen personally picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Ding Xiu. Ding Xiu raised it, drank it all, and then began to talk.

Half an hour later.

Xu Youzhen and Li Bing were silent. Ke Qian was furious: "This Shen Yihuan should be executed!"

"To kill such a prestigious person, we need a real crime." Xu Youzhen's eyes flashed coldly, "Sir Ding, since you have come to Yangzhou, I will leave the investigation to you." Ding Xiu nodded: "That's right."

When he left Beijing this time, the emperor summoned him personally and gave him detailed instructions.

……

Ten days later, the Saint's Temple.

More than a thousand scholars gathered. They came to the temple today to cry and denounce the cruel official Xu Youzhen and his evil policies. They originally thought that many people would follow them, but when they arrived at the scene, they found that no one came.

The book "Bi Chen Zhuan" has made the people see the true face of the gentry. Still follow them? The people only have disgust and disdain in their eyes, and they want to spit at them.

If no people followed, there was nothing they could do. For these gentry, the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. So, they hugged the tablet of the saint and began to cry.

They cursed the government for its heavy taxes, oppression of the people, cruel officials and harsh laws. They were asking the court to severely punish the cruel officials on behalf of the people of the world.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves was heard. Thousands of Mongolian soldiers surrounded the Saint Temple. The Mongolian general who led the troops had received instructions that as long as there were no ordinary people, they should arrest anyone boldly.

The Mongolian general rushed into the crowd, grabbed the scholar who led the group, and slapped him three times with disdain on his face: "Hypocritical and shameless scholars, when our ancestors entered the Central Plains, you didn't cry. Now you're crying? I won't fall for your tricks, I'll take you all down!"

Damn it, not only arresting people but also destroying their hearts!

The Mongolian army rushed forward and captured more than a thousand gentry. Although they shouted and cursed the court, the people around them just watched coldly.

They were stunned and couldn't believe what they saw.

Foolish people, why don't you follow me? The government has arrested a group of people, and they still dare to arrest more?
But the Mongols didn't care about them and captured them all. Those who didn't obey were given a few slaps. The scholar who was just angry and wanted to plead for the people was immediately obedient.

……

When the news of what happened in Jiangnan reached the capital, it was truly earth-shattering.

Many officials once again petitioned His Majesty to recall the cruel official Xu Youzhen immediately, otherwise, the world would be in chaos. Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon throne, looking at the officials kneeling below.

He was in a very calm mood. Two years ago, he would have been a little scared when facing such a scene, but now, there was no ripple in his heart.

They are all thousand-year-old foxes, why are they pretending to be like Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio?
"Your Majesty, you said you would give an answer to all the officials." Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Justice, bowed, "It has been ten days. You should have read all the memorials submitted by the ministers, right?"

Zhu Qizhen slowly stood up, walked to the Danbi, and said in a cold voice: "I have read it and it is time to reply. Yu Shiyue, you accepted bribes from Jiangnan wealthy businessman Shen Yihuan, secretly colluded with hundreds of officials, impeached Xu Youzhen, and attempted to obstruct the new policy. Do you know your crime?"

Yu Shiyue knelt down and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I am innocent. If you want to establish your authority and punish me, I have nothing to say. However, a cruel official like Xu Youzhen is only interested in flattering the emperor and does not care about the lives of the people. I will report him even if I die."

These words were said with indignation.

Some other ministers also nodded in agreement, asking the emperor not to wrongly accuse upright ministers and to severely punish Xu Youzhen.

boom!
Zhu Qizhen angrily slammed the dragon throne, stood up suddenly, and an invisible pressure enveloped him, sneering:
"Today I will tell you that as long as I am still the emperor, I will never allow you, scholars who only know how to tell lies and empty words but do nothing and ignore the overall situation, to talk nonsense and disrupt politics."

Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Justice, stopped pretending and continued, "Your Majesty, it has been a practice for thousands of years that gentry do not serve and do not pay taxes. It is the ancestral system. Your Majesty, if you want to try it, you can see the result now. Scholars all over the world are against it. Your Majesty, please abide by the ancestral system and get rid of Xu Youzhen, a villain who flatters the superiors. Abolish the bad policy of 'serving and paying taxes together', and the world will be peaceful."

Zhu Qizhen laughed angrily.

What a bunch of scholars you are! You can't see that the national treasury is empty, and you also can't see that all the taxes are borne by the people who own less than half of the land.

The new policy only takes a small cut from your huge interests, but you don't give in at all. Just asking you to gain a little benefit in exchange for the people's safe housing, you actually oppose it in every possible way.

Without the will of heaven, how can you sit on the dragon throne!
"Come here, arrest Yu Shiyue!" Zhu Qizhen shouted, "Hand him over to the Ministry of Justice, and let the Dali Temple interrogate and convict him."

The Jinyiwei rushed over and tried to drag Yu Shiyue away. Yu Shiyue was desperate and shouted, "Your Majesty, are you going to kill a loyal minister?"

"Take him away!" Zhu Qizhen shouted angrily.

The Jinyiwei dragged Yu Shiyue away. Yu Shiyue was dragged away, still shouting: "Your Majesty, if you do this, aren't you afraid that you will be cursed for generations to come?"

"Good question!" Zhu Qizhen said in a loud voice, "I have never thought about leaving my name in history. As long as I can benefit the people and continue the Ming Dynasty, what does it matter if I seal the demon after my death?"

All the ministers were silent, knowing that His Majesty was serious.

This person is afraid of the strong when he is weak, the strong when he is strong, and the strong when he is strong. This emperor is risking his life for fun. The Ming Dynasty is about to change.

There was a lively scene in the court just now, and Yu Qian just stood there without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)