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

Chapter 339 The Most Fearful Thing
Although Zhu Jinzhen succeeded in suppressing the rebellion.

Zhu Houzhao also handed over power in the court, revealing his will to all officials, and the news of his abdication spread throughout the capital.

But the capital city did not become peaceful; instead, it became increasingly turbulent and unpredictable.

Without him.

Upon Zhu Jinzhen's arrival, he swept away the entire cabinet.

Despite the various forces probing him in the Fengtian Hall, he remained unmoved, seemingly unaware of the situation, yet revealing a cold and ruthless side, leaving most officials and factions somewhat confused about Zhu Jinzhen's temperament and style.

Coupled with He Jian's warning, Yu Huatian went to the Eastern Depot's prison overnight to interrogate many officials. The presence of the Cangyun Army and Tiance Army throughout the capital made those officials and forces even more hesitant.

They wouldn't dare to take action.

Although they have raised many experts, under the emperor's nose, especially with Cangyun and Tiance Mansion suppressing all sides, no matter if you are a Xuanzong Master or a Tianxiang Realm Grandmaster, you are still a formidable opponent.

Once it shows its true colors, there's only one outcome.

They either die, or are imprisoned in the imperial prison or the heavenly jail.

"Why has the master summoned us here in the middle of the night?"

"Guanqi, and... Jili, something has happened."

Shen Zhou's words were like a heavy hammer blow, leaving everyone who stepped into the courtyard dizzy and disoriented.

One official forced a smile and asked, "Sir, what's happened?"

"According to our intelligence, Yu Huatian, on the orders of Prince Su, entered the imperial prison to investigate the matter of Grand Secretaries Yang and Li, among others, defending the cabinet in the Fengtian Hall." Shen Zhou's words were concise, yet revealed a great deal of information.

"Is it wrong for us to speak out for the Grand Secretary and Minister Li?"

"Could it be that we gave ourselves away somewhere?"

"Yes, that's a heinous crime of regicide and treason, which often involves thousands or tens of thousands of people. What's wrong with us speaking out for the justice of these senior ministers?"

The officials present exchanged bewildered glances, seemingly puzzled as to why Zhu Jinzhen would want to investigate this matter.

"Even He Jian can see this clearly. Do you think Prince Su is so young and easy to fool?" Shen Zhou snorted coldly, dissatisfied. "He is not the same emperor we had before. Even if he saw through it, he would choose to pretend to be ignorant."

"Can……"

"Lord Shen, even if we had the intention of testing you."

"It's nothing more than an attempt to test the balance in our relationship with Prince Su, or rather, our new Emperor."

"He can't possibly be intolerant of even this, can he?"

Some officials gave awkward smiles, putting on innocent expressions.

It seems that he spoke up for the cabinet in the Fengtian Hall, verbally attacked Zhu Jinzhen, and pinned all the blame on him. He even tried to persuade Zhu Jinzhen to be lenient and forgive the cabinet's actions, but it was all unintentional.

“I am not that person, and I have no interest in listening to your excuses.”

Shen Zhou glared at the man, slowly shook his head, and said, "I summoned you here tonight just to tell you to be prepared. New officials always make a show of things when they take office, and our new emperor, having just ascended the throne, will certainly make an example of someone."

"Yu Huatian's nighttime intrusion into the Eastern Depot's prison was a signal."

"The one in the palace is very likely..."

An official stepped forward, a mocking glint in his eyes: "Lord Shen, even if His Highness Prince Su is domineering, he can't possibly kill us all just because of a single test, can he?"

Although Zhu Jinzhen acted domineeringly, he believed that as long as he did not cross the other party's bottom line, even if the other party got angry, at most he would only punish a few who were jumping around too much.

Today in the Fengtian Hall, there are at least eighty to one hundred officials who spoke up for the cabinet or even probed Zhu Jinzhen with their words. If they were all executed, even if the court did not collapse, many departments would come to a standstill.

Where does your confidence come from?

"The Tang family of Jiangnan? The Tang clan of Sichuan? Or yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhou stared at the other person with a gloomy expression and asked, word by word, "Why do you think that Prince Su will definitely not punish the masses?"

"Before the four major cases of the Hongwu era, who could have imagined, dared to imagine, that the Taizu Emperor would cause such a commotion?" "Although Prince Su has not yet formally ascended the throne, he already has the power of an emperor."

“He could not have remained indifferent after being tested in the Fengtian Hall.”

"He only sent Yu Huatian to infiltrate the prison at night to investigate Guan Qi and Ji Li, and he didn't make a big fuss about it. Isn't that enough to wake up your pig brain?"

Upon hearing this, the official who had intended to argue, as well as the other officials in the hall, instantly changed their expressions.

Xiao Shu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, frowned, a look of worry on his face: "Lord Shen, do you mean..."

"Will Prince Su unleash a massacre?"

"A replay of the four cases from the Hongwu era?"

"No way?" many people said in unison.

His voice trembled uncontrollably.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhou fell into a long silence.

After a while, he slowly shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Before anyone else could speak, Shen Zhou continued, "But I always feel something is wrong. Prince Su has secret guards under his command, and it is said that no secret can be hidden from them. If he really wanted to know something, the people who would go to the Heavenly Prison should be the secret guards, not some random person from the Western Depot named Yu Huatian."

"Moreover, according to reports from our informants in the Eastern Depot's prison, Yu Huatian's attendants from the Western Depot address him as... Supervisor."

Xiao Shu frowned, looking thoughtful, and soon his expression changed.

Shen Zhou looked at him, "What are you thinking about?"

Xiao Shu raised his head, his face grim, and uttered a name that made everyone's expressions turn pale: "Liu Jin".

Liu Jin?
Some people were still in shock and didn't understand what it meant.

Some people gasped, their scalps tingled, and they became restless.

“Great minds think alike.” Shen Zhou nodded, a bitter smile on his face: “The Prince of Su did not make a big fuss or start a major war. Instead, he sent Yu Huatian, who appeared out of nowhere, to investigate the matter and even intended to appoint him as the head of the Western Depot. My first thought was that the Prince of Su wanted to support Liu Jin.”

"Or...Cao Zhengchun."

Whether it was Liu Jin, the leader of the Eight Tigers, or Cao Zhengchun, the later-rising head of the Eastern Depot.

For the officials of the Ming Dynasty, he was an object of great fear and dread.

Without him.

These two officials, one before the other, were both vicious dogs trained very well by the emperor. They knew how to please their masters while also knowing how to prey on those they chose to kill.

Zhu Jinzhen did not choose to let the secret guards get involved in this matter. Instead, he sent out Yu Huatian, who already had the title of "Supervisor of the Western Depot".

The purpose behind it is self-evident.

"If that's the case, the situation is serious."

Xiao Shu nodded heavily, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He now understood why Shen Zhou had summoned his colleagues overnight.

Even the official who had been optimistic just moments before was now sweating profusely and trembling uncontrollably.

Zhu Jinzhen openly sent his secret guards to investigate them without fear.

Although they were all corrupt, as the saying goes, "too much clarity leaves no room for fish," and Zhu Jinzhen might have genuinely killed them all because of his corruption and bribery, protecting them for some minor offenses.

While it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, it's hard to guard against a hidden arrow.

They had a general idea of ​​how much the secret guards could find out, and even if some unlucky ones were implicated, as long as they weren't implicated, it didn't matter.

Once the Eastern Depot or Western Depot enters to investigate.

Think about the ways the Eastern Depot or Western Depot operated in the past. They would fabricate pretexts, make up stories out of nothing, and forge evidence. They would stop at nothing to make anyone feel that the future was bleak.

(End of this chapter)