Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 181 Zhu Jinzhen: Please, Emperor, Go to Your Death

Zhu Jinzhen was an unparalleled genius.

Zhu Houzhao's undisguised thoughts were naturally exposed in his eyes.

He turned his head and said coldly, "Isn't the emperor curious why I can support a million-strong army with only Shaanxi? I ​​can tell you the answer now."

"Because the Ming Dynasty is almost rotten to the core."

"In every department and bureaucracy, the power of civil officials is immense. There is no place where the civil official group cannot reach, including mining tax, salt tax, customs tax, land tax, and corvée labor. They resell weapons, embezzle public funds, exploit soldiers, embezzle salaries, create pretexts, and falsify military pay reports. There is nothing they dare not do."

“The salt, iron, and tea monopolies of the imperial court, as well as the military supplies and provisions of the army, all became tools for them to make profits.”

"From the Zhang, Chen, and Tang families in Shaanxi alone, we found stolen goods worth approximately 43 million taels of gold."

"Sixteen first-class noble families, four earl and marquis mansions, and three governor's mansions were destroyed, and the value of the seized items was approximately 86 million taels of silver. Among them, nearly 70 million taels of silver were seized from the martial arts sects, gangs, and bandit strongholds that colluded with various forces of the Ming Dynasty."

With each word Zhu Jinzhen spoke, Zhu Houzhao's expression grew increasingly grim.

The annual revenue of the Ming Dynasty was only ten million taels of silver. The fact that Zhu Jinzhen seized more than five hundred million taels of silver worth of stolen goods from the entire Shaanxi province shocked Zhu Houzhao and fueled his murderous intent.

Zhu Houzhao's gaze was sharp as he looked at Li Dongyang and the other cabinet ministers, who had their heads bowed. "Nearly six hundred million taels of silver, how dare they?"

That's almost fifty years' worth of the Ming Dynasty's annual revenue!

In the first few years after he took over the Ming Dynasty, Shaanxi officials complained of poverty every year, asking for money for this and that.

But the result?

In Zhu Houzhao's perception, Shaanxi was impoverished and destitute, yet more than 500 million taels of silver were confiscated.

What a huge irony.

"Back then, the Grand Secretariat, along with the Six Ministries and the Censorate, submitted successive impeachments." Zhu Jinzhen looked coldly at the Grand Secretariat and asked with a sneer, "Does the Emperor know why?"

"I don't know." Zhu Houzhao shook his head; he still didn't understand this matter to this day.

Even Zhu Wushi looked completely bewildered.

"Because I discovered that after I defeated the Mongol Yuan dynasty, officials in Shaanxi, regardless of their appointment or the crimes they committed, even if they had been dismissed, could not only be released without charge with a little bribe, but could also be quickly reinstated."

“Some people even openly told me that even if his heinous crimes were compounded, so what? He has connections in the court, and even if he is executed in the autumn, he will be safe and sound.”

"It's really awesome!"

“They even disregarded the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty.”

By the time he finished speaking, Zhu Jinzhen's gaze towards Yang Yanhe and the others was as if he were looking at dead men.

Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he trembled all over and gritted his teeth, saying, "Those traitors and villains dare to treat the law so lightly and disregard the laws of the Ming Dynasty. They all deserve to die."

Even Zhu Wushi's expression changed.

Five hundred million taels of silver was by no means a small sum for the imperial court.

Not to mention what Zhu Jinzhen mentioned.

That's not just forming cliques for personal gain or engaging in corruption and bribery; that's uprooting the Ming Dynasty.

Li Dongyang and Yang Yanhe finally succumbed to Zhu Jinzhen's pressure and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, Prince Su, please investigate. We were completely unaware of this matter!"

“If you were implicated, you would have been dead four years ago.”

Zhu Jinzhen gave a disdainful sneer. When he purged Shaanxi back then, he had already uprooted the influence of the officials involved, and there was indeed no trace of Yang Yanhe and Li Dongyang, the two Grand Secretaries.

However… “You are even worse than them!”

"You dare to deceive even the emperor and manipulate him? You're so audacious! What else wouldn't you dare to do?" Zhu Jinzhen said, glancing sideways at Zhu Wushi. "Fool, do you know what it means to set this precedent?"

"Today, you can collude with them, deceive the public, and steal the country."

"Who knows if someone else will follow suit one day and seize the Ming Dynasty's territory?"

What has happened will happen again.

Just like the Xuanwu Gate inheritance law initiated by the second emperor in history.

This led to the entire Tang Dynasty almost following suit.

If Zhu Jinzhen doesn't come today, even if he condones Zhu Wuwei's successful usurpation of the country, setting a precedent for a blatant theft, will the cabinet and various forces that have benefited greatly stop there?
No, they will only demand even more.

Until the Ming Dynasty was completely plunged into an endless abyss.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wushi broke out in a cold sweat. He was still dreaming of the throne, which was within his grasp, and thought that by using this method to ascend the throne, he would have a chance to fight against Zhu Jinzhen's forces.

However, they did not expect that this would almost lead to an irreparable mistake.

Then, disregarding their thoughts, Zhu Jinzhen suddenly asked Zhu Wushi a very hurtful question: "Moreover, if I remember correctly, you don't seem to have any children, do you?"

"Think about it with your head. At your age, there's no hope of breaking through to become a terrestrial immortal. Even if you get the throne, it will eventually fall into the wrong hands. To put it another way, even if you were to have children in the future, how many would you crush? With a young ruler, the country is in turmoil. You've set a precedent by stealing the throne. Do you think the cabinet officials, having tasted the sweetness of success, will stage another 'switcheroo'?"

"When that time comes, a false emperor bearing the surname Zhu seizes the Ming Dynasty's territory, sits on the throne, and flaunts his power, how will you face the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty?"

"I……"

Zhu Wushi opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but the words caught in his throat as he couldn't find the right words to rebut.

Zhu Jinzhen's reprimand is merely speculation.

However, if things develop as Zhu Jinzhen predicted, the speculation will eventually become a reality.

This is what makes Zhu Wushi most upset.

"They truly deserve to die. Confiscating their property, exterminating their entire clan, and even being torn to pieces would not quell my anger." Zhu Houzhao's words were still tinged with anger, yet also full of doubt: "But what does this have to do with me?"

Zhu Houzhao still hadn't forgotten what Zhu Jinzhen had mentioned earlier about the emperor's impending death.

Zhu Jinzhen smiled slightly and pointed at Zhu Wushi and the cabinet ministers behind him: "The emperor is so smart, he guessed that they would make a fool of themselves, how could he not have thought of that?"

"They depose the emperor and install a fake emperor to take the throne, attempting to steal the throne and deceive the emperor, thus giving me a legitimate opportunity to raise an army to quell the rebellion."

Even so… Zhu Houzhao was still puzzled.

"Don't rush, let me continue." Zhu Jinzhen smiled, but his voice was so cold that it made people's hearts tremble: "The case of the false emperor will at most purge the cabinet and punish those involved as treasoners. It will not achieve the purpose of deterring future generations."

"But what if the emperor dies, killed in a conspiracy?"

"I have been ordered by Heaven to quell the rebellion, and I can raise my butcher's knife and slaughter countless heads. I will also take this opportunity to establish a new ancestral precept: if the emperor dies by accident, regardless of the cause or the truth, all members of the cabinet will be buried with him. This decree shall not be changed for all eternity, and anyone who dares to speak against it will have their entire family exterminated."

"This is the land of my Great Ming Dynasty, the Zhu family's plan for a thousand years to come."

"so……"

"Please, Your Majesty, embark on your journey!"

(End of this chapter)