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

Chapter 80 Zhu Di Unleashes a Bloodbath

"Find out for me all the names of the generals in these three towns over the past twenty years, as well as all the records of the entry and exit of military equipment!"

Zhu Gaochi's lips moved, wanting to advise his father to take care of his health, but seeing Zhu Di's face, which looked like it was made of ice for ten thousand years, he couldn't utter a single word.

After tonight, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty will be transformed.

Zhu Gaoshuo stepped forward and personally began searching through the pile of files.

Having once served as regent, he was most familiar with these documents. Soon, he extracted the list of officers in Xuanfu Town and presented it to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di took the long scroll and shook it violently on the open ground. With a whoosh, the scroll unfurled, revealing hundreds of names densely packed before his eyes.

His gaze didn't linger at all, sweeping directly down from the General and the Deputy General.

"Tianmu says there is a general surnamed Shi." Zhu Di's voice echoed in the empty hall. "Investigate for me: where are all the generals surnamed Shi in the Xuanfu army? What are their current positions? Who recommended them?"

As soon as the order was given, a fourth-rank official from the Ministry of War, dressed in his official robes, stepped out of the ranks with a deathly pale face and knelt down with a thud.

"Your Majesty! You must not do this!"

The doctor kowtowed and said, "The words of the heavens are vague and unfounded. How can they be taken as ironclad evidence in a case? Xuanfu is an important town on the nine borders of our Great Ming Dynasty, and General Yang Hong is a pillar of the country. If the military commanders are investigated without cause, it will surely cause unrest in the border troops and panic among the people. At that time, the northern barbarians will take advantage of the situation and invade. It will be too late to regret it then!"

He spoke with great passion, appearing as a loyal minister devoted to the country and its people.

Zhu Gaochi's heart also tightened. These were indeed wise words. Matters on the frontier were such that a single move could affect the whole situation.

Zhu Di didn't even lift his eyelids. His finger slowly moved along the list, finally stopping on a name.

"Shi Heng".

He read the name aloud.

“Father, I know Shi Heng.” Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice, “His father, Shi Qing, was an old man who rose up with you and died in battle. This kid got into the army because of his father’s influence. He is quite brave in battle and seems to be a deputy commander now.”

“Brave and powerful?” Zhu Di sneered, throwing the list on the ground. “I think he is the bravest among the rebels!”

He turned around and finally looked directly at the Ministry of War official kneeling on the ground.

"What's your name?"

"Your subject is Liu Qing, Director of the Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of War."

"Liu Qing," Zhu Di nodded, "you just said that the border troops should not be moved, otherwise the country will be unstable."

"Your Majesty, this is my intention," Liu Qing said, sweating profusely but managing to stay calm.

"What a loyal minister who cares for the country!" Zhu Di suddenly changed the subject and looked at the eunuch beside him. "Go and bring me the inventory of the military equipment losses from the Armory!"

Soon, another, even thicker booklet was brought up.

Zhu Di kicked the page aside and turned to the page about Xuanfu Town.

"Second Prince, you've been leading troops for years. Tell me, how much would it normally take for a 30,000-strong border army to wear out their swords, spears, halberds, bows, crossbows, and muskets after a year of training?"

Without hesitation, Zhu Gaoxu replied, "Father, in ordinary training, the success rate is one in a hundred. Even considering the replacement of old weapons, the success rate is at most one in ten. In wartime, the success rate is unpredictable."

"Very good." Zhu Di's gaze returned to the booklet. "Since the first year of the Zhengtong era, there has been no major battle in Xuanfu. Yet, according to this account book, the annual reported losses of military equipment in Xuanfu Town are all above 30%! Especially for muskets and divine arrows, the losses are as high as 50%!"

He suddenly raised his foot and kicked the booklet in front of Liu Qing.

"Physician Liu, you are from the Ministry of Personnel, explain to me where these extra two or three tenths of the military equipment went? Did the soldiers of my Great Ming Dynasty eat them?"

Liu Qing trembled violently, his face turned ashen, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"Can't say it?" Zhu Di's tone grew even colder. "Then I'll say it for you!"

"Sold! They've all been sold! Sold to whom? Sold to those bastards on the grasslands! They'll use the weapons I gave them to come back and kill my soldiers and slaughter my people!" Zhu Di approached Liu Qing step by step, the Emperor's Sword in his hand dragging on the gold brick ground, making a series of ear-piercing scraping sounds.

"Since you're so protective of them, you must have a stake in this business too!"

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I'm innocent!" Liu Qing was terrified and kowtowed desperately, his forehead instantly becoming a bloody mess.

Liu Qing's body trembled violently, and he dared not speak.

The hall was deathly silent; everyone could hear Liu Qing's teeth chattering.

Zhu Di did not wait for his reply.

He turned around abruptly, his gaze sweeping over an inconspicuous little eunuch in the corner.

"Read!"

The little eunuch trembled with fright and quickly opened the thin notebook he had been holding, which was specifically for recording the contents of the celestial canopy.

The young eunuch read in a high-pitched, trembling voice: "It is said in the heavens that Yang Shiqi is from Jiangxi, and his hometown is near the Battle of Luchuan."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap exploding in the Fengtian Hall!
Zhu Gaochi's body swayed violently, and he almost lost his balance.

Yang Shiqi!
How could it be him!
He was his teacher, the Grand Secretary whom he relied on and trusted most! He was a role model for all civil officials!

Zhu Di's gaze became deep and terrifying as he stared intently at Liu Qing, whose face was ashen.

"You, Liu Qing, are also from Jiangxi. You are all good fellow villagers and good students of Scholar Yang!"

"What a Grand Secretary! What a leader of the civil service! While I am fighting a bloody battle in the north, he is behind me, undermining my foundation, replacing my generals, and selling my weapons!"

"This is no longer just corruption!"

Zhu Di's voice suddenly rose, and his roar echoed throughout the entire palace.

"This is treason! This is betrayal of the country!"

He no longer hesitated when he drew his sword.

puff!

There was a flash of blood.

Liu Qing's head flew into the air and rolled to Zhu Gaoshuo's feet, his eyes still wide open, filled with extreme fear and disbelief.

The headless corpse spewed out a fountain of blood several feet high, staining the ground in front of Zhu Di and the piles of documents.

"what!"

Several civil officials were so frightened that they collapsed on the spot, and the stench of blood filled the underground palace.

Zhu Di, however, seemed not to hear him carrying a blood-dripping sword, turned around, walked back to the imperial steps, and put the sword back in its original place.

He looked at his three sons, especially Zhu Gaochi, whose face was deathly pale.

"Boss, do you still think they're just after some money?"

Zhu Gaochi's lips were pale and his body swayed precariously. He barely managed to stay upright by holding onto the palace pillar beside him.

He wanted to explain that there might be a misunderstanding, but Liu Qing and Shi Heng's Jiangxi background and their connection to Yang Shiqi shattered all his illusions like a heavy hammer blow.

"Guards!" Zhu Di sat back on the dragon throne, his voice regaining its previous coldness. "Bring Yang Shiqi to me! And all the ministers of the cabinet, the six ministries, and the nine ministers—every single one of them who is from Jiangxi—arrest them all and bring them before the palace!"

(End of this chapter)