Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 126 The storm is coming
The letter disappeared without a trace.

One day, two days, three days... ten days passed, and there was still no news from the Prince of Han's residence. There was no reply, no instructions, not even a vague message was sent back, as if those secret letters had never been sent.

“How could this be… His Highness the Prince of Han… Has he abandoned us?” An official who had sent the secret letter sat anxiously at home, his face ashen.

"He's pretending to be deaf and dumb! He's just pretending to be deaf and dumb!" Another official pounded his chest and stamped his feet in the secret room, both shocked and furious.

"They must be afraid of getting themselves into trouble! Afraid, afraid of being blamed by their master! They're unwilling to stand up for us before the situation becomes clear!"

"It's over...it's all over..." Despair spread like a plague.

The King of Han's silence terrified them more than any harsh rebuke. It meant that their last hope had vanished, and they had become utterly lost souls under the new policies, ready to be felled at any moment by the King of Qi's sharp guillotine.

Meanwhile, the new agency of Prince Qi's mansion, the "Rumor Bureau," is already operating efficiently under the personal supervision of Zhang Xiuping and the strict control of Wang Ao.

The office was located in an inconspicuous courtyard next to the Prince's Mansion. There was no plaque at the entrance, and a special waist tag was required to enter and exit. The internal personnel were a complex mix, including the Prince's Mansion's capable guards, literate old officials, street smarts who were good at reading people, and even former "gray figures" who had reformed and were familiar with the slang and intricacies of officialdom.

Their sole duty was to collect all rumors and information about officials' corruption, misconduct, and double-dealing with the new policies, organize, verify, and conduct preliminary investigations, and then report directly to Prince Qi, Zhu Gaoshuo.

The very existence of the Bureau of Rumors was a tremendous deterrent. Like an invisible, omnipresent net, it shrouded the officialdom of Xunzhou. Officials did not know who the Bureau of Rumors was, nor did they know which grumble or complaint would become "rumors" reported to Prince Qi.

For a time, everyone in the government office was cautious in their words and deeds. The previously unbridled banquets, gift-giving, and collusion disappeared instantly. Even the voices were lowered, for fear that someone might overhear them.

Those officials who already had something to hide were like frightened birds.

Walking on the street, I always feel like someone is watching me. When I get home, everyone looks like a spy from the Bureau of Rumors. At the slightest sound, I'm terrified.

Working every day felt like walking on thin ice; even back home, they were filled with anxiety and couldn't sleep at night. The shackles of the new policies and the shadow of the Bureau of Rumors weighed heavily on their minds, making their days incredibly agonizing.

On the surface, the officialdom of Xunzhou appears solemn and efficient, but beneath the calm surface lies the unease of evil spirits and the trembling, desperate struggle of corrupt remnants under intense pressure.

Zhu Gaoshuo used the "sweetener" of increasing salaries to encourage integrity, along with ironclad laws and prohibitions, and the "whip" of the Bureau of Rumors, to construct an unprecedented new set of rules for official governance.

This silent but profound struggle has only just begun. Will those resentful and desperate rats, driven by desperation, take desperate measures? Behind the suffocating silence of the Han Prince's Mansion, is an even greater storm brewing? Everything remains to be seen.

Zhu Gaoshuo was fully aware of all this, leaving everyone baffled as to how many tricks he still had up his sleeve.

A copy of the Xunzhou New Policies document, along with Zhu Gaoshuo's earnest and detailed memorial, which directly pointed out the drawbacks of the ancestral system of low salaries and requested the court to consider adjusting officials' salaries, were placed on Zhu Di's desk. However, to everyone's surprise, Zhu Di merely glanced at the memorial regarding salaries and casually set it aside. He did not immediately summon his ministers for discussion, nor did he mention a single word to the three brothers, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui.

It was as if it were just an ordinary memorial from a vassal king to pay his respects.

However, the commotion in Xunzhou, especially the establishment of the "Rumor Bureau," stirred up waves in Zhu Di's heart that were far more turbulent and dangerous than the salary reform.

Inside the warm pavilion, the atmosphere was oppressive. Zhu Di sat upright on the dragon throne, his fingers unconsciously tapping the rosewood armrests, producing a dull "tap, tap" sound. Before him lay a secret report presented by Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, regarding the new policies in Xunzhou.

The three characters “Fengwen Si” were heavily circled in red ink, with glaring red ink annotations next to them: “With a tight structure and a wide network of eyes and ears, they report directly to Prince Qi and supervise officials, acting as the king’s eyes, ears and mouthpiece!”

Zhu Di's gaze was fixed on the four words "eyes, ears, and mouthpiece." In his deep-set eyes, a cold light shone as sharp as ice. In Zhu Di's eyes, the princes' governance within their own fiefdoms—raising salaries, banning corruption, and establishing rules—even if the methods were somewhat drastic, was all "domestic affairs" and the rightful authority of the princes.

He might pay attention, but he might not interfere too much. However, what about establishing a "Bureau of Informant Information" that is independent of the imperial court system, directly under the prince himself, and dedicated to surveillance and intelligence gathering?

This is a completely different matter.

Two brand-new control systems. Forest rangers? That's their job to manage the mountains and forests, with clear responsibilities and objectives, unrelated to the court, so Zhu Di didn't even bother to ask.

But who does this Bureau of Rumors monitor? What does it spy on? Is it merely to arrest a few corrupt officials? Then why not utilize the existing Embroidered Uniform Guard, which is subordinate to the Emperor? With just a verbal order from Zhu Di, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's branch in Xunzhou could fully cooperate with Prince Qi in his anti-corruption campaign!
But the fourth one didn't have it!

He bypassed the imperial court and the emperor's personal guards, and started his own system, creating a "sight, hearing, and communication" force that only obeyed him, Prince Qi.

What does this mean? It means that in Xunzhou, an intelligence and surveillance agency has emerged that is independent of the Ming Empire's surveillance system and directly controlled by the prince! It means that the officials of Xunzhou are not only responsible to the court, but also to Prince Qi's personal "Information Bureau"!
This goes beyond the scope of a vassal king governing a region, and subtly reveals the intention of becoming a self-contained, state-within-a-state entity.

This is where Zhu Di truly touched a raw nerve. He had spent his life on the battlefield, starting as a prince and seizing the throne from his nephew. He was deeply wary of the loss of power and the growing power of princes. He could tolerate his fourth son's efforts in developing industry, training troops, promoting maritime trade, and planting new grains in Xunzhou, and even secretly admired his talent.

However, establishing such an intelligence agency directly under the princes challenged the absolute monopoly of imperial power over information and touched upon the most sensitive nerve in the emperor's heart.

"Tap, tap, tap..." The sound of fingers tapping on the armrest grew louder and louder, like a dull war drum, striking the tense heartstrings of the three princes below.

Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui all sensed the suppressed, impending rage emanating from their father, and their gazes involuntarily focused on the secret report that Zhu Di was staring intently at.

(End of this chapter)