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

Chapter 82: Smuggling firearms began during the Yongle reign!
The eunuch beside him was also shocked when he saw the writing on the ground. After he finished writing on the paper in his hand, the eunuch handed it to him again. Before long, a dense list appeared before everyone.

The main hall remained silent; the only sound in the tense atmosphere was the rapid, tense breathing of the crowd.

Zhu Di stood in the main hall, staring coldly at Hu Guang, who was lying on the ground writing furiously. Hu Guang's disheveled appearance was heartbreaking. Zhu Di could not believe that the Ming Dynasty had almost been destroyed by these parasites.

A quarter of an hour later, a eunuch handed Zhu Di several sheets of paper covered in writing. Upon seeing them, Zhu Di nearly stopped breathing.

"A total of 334 guns, 300 Divine Machine Bows and Divine Machine Arrows were transported to the entrance of Xiaotun Village in the north of the city. The person in charge was Hu Guang, and the person who received the goods was Huo Lianye."

"560 muskets, Shenji bows, and 800 upgraded arrows. The delivery location is the Sanchakou intersection in Sihe Village, south of the city. The person in charge is Hu Guang, and the person receiving the goods is Huo Lianye."

"110 muskets and 200 arrows, transported to Liufeng Inn in Lianghe Town, north of the city, handled by Hu Guang and received by Yu Qing."

……

Zhu Di was increasingly shocked as he looked at the weapons. First, he couldn't believe that over the years, these corrupt officials had smuggled out the Ming Dynasty's weapons, which were worth a fortune, numbering in the thousands.

In addition, he was shocked that this lowly official could write down these items in such a short time, which showed that he had been anxiously memorizing them.

Instead of being angry, Zhu Di laughed, but this laughter sounded more like a harbinger of a dragon about to roar, making everyone even more terrified.

"Yang Shiqi, these are your fellow townsmen, the talented individuals you recommended? If they hadn't been instructed by you, I doubt they would have dared to commit such treasonous acts. Do you acknowledge this?"

Zhu Di suppressed his anger, his voice piercing Yang Shiqi's ears.

He knelt down and collapsed to the ground, too terrified by the enormous upheaval to stand up straight. Whenever Zhu Di reprimanded or questioned him, he would barely manage to kneel properly, bury his head deep in the ground, and cry out in anguish, "Your Majesty, I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

This sentence again!
Zhu Di was so angry that he didn't want to say another word. He looked at the headless corpse on the ground that was still bleeding, and then at these traitorous officials. He was burning with rage.

They were once people I trusted, but now they are the ones who have put the Ming Dynasty in such a dangerous situation.

If he doesn't kill them, it will be difficult to quell public anger and quell the hatred in his heart. But if he kills them all in a fit of rage, he still won't know where those weapons are, and the Ming Dynasty might really be doomed.

At this moment, no one around him dared to say a word, awaiting Zhu Di's judgment.

Zhu Di remained silent, pacing back and forth in front of the dragon throne, pondering how to break the deadlock. At this moment, Zhu Gaochi and his two brothers, seeing their father so heartbroken, couldn't bear it and exchanged glances.

At this moment, Zhu Gaochi said, "Father, we can't kill them yet! We must find out where these weapons are and find a way to collect or destroy them, otherwise there will be endless troubles."

"Easier said than done. These things have already fallen into enemy hands, in such a remote place. How are we supposed to investigate? If we launch a frontal attack, they'll use our muskets against us. How can we possibly win?"

"Then let's secretly investigate and adapt to the situation to find a more suitable method. We must get rid of these weapons, otherwise we will not be able to change the situation."

No one dared to speak, and given the current situation, they dared not offer any advice. However, Zhu Gaochi and his two brothers did start discussing things in the hall, which finally put the minds of the ministers at ease.

Although Zhu Di did not respond to them, he was also pondering a solution. Zhu Gaochi's suggestion was excellent; the most urgent task was to find out the whereabouts of these weapons. So many had been sent out over the years; it was impossible that they had all been distributed to everyone. There must still be places where they were stored.

Having thought of this, he already had a plan in mind. He said to everyone, "Gentlemen, this is a critical moment for the survival of the Ming Dynasty. I will not let any of these traitors and parasites of the Ming Dynasty go unpunished, but now is not the time to kill them..."

"Alright, I understand," Zhu Di interrupted Zhu Gaochi sternly.

Zhu Gaochi thought his father was angry, so he immediately fell silent. His two other brothers, who were about to speak, were also too frightened to say anything.

"Hu Guang! Tell me the truth, how many muskets and how many divine arrows are left in the barracks? How many horses, provisions, and other supplies are there?"

Although Zhu Di was furious, he asked the question in a cold and calm manner.

Hu Guang, who thought he was about to die, was greatly alarmed by Zhu Di's question. These were all important military secrets, and to discuss them so openly in the main hall was a test for anyone with a brain.

Although Hu Guang had taken a lot of money from Yang Shiqi and the enemy and done many heinous things, he was no fool now and immediately buried his head in his hands.

"Your Majesty, these are all matters of military importance, and I can only inform Your Majesty."

Zhu Di snorted coldly. He had already sold those weapons abroad, and now he was pretending to worry about others finding out the news? How ridiculous.

"Speak!" Zhu Di roared.

Enraged by the Emperor's fury, everyone in the hall was so frightened that their legs almost gave way and they knelt on the ground. Hu Guang knew that he dared not offend the Emperor any further and could only risk his life to walk into Zhu Di's trap. He quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, there are still more than 3000 muskets and more than 1 divine arrows."

"Is that all?" Zhu Di asked again.

Hu Guang was terrified, but he still spoke out word by word.

"Yes, these are all the weapons in the main camp."

The moment the words were spoken, the previously quiet and tense atmosphere instantly turned into panic. The ministers had initially assumed the main camp would have at least tens of thousands of troops and weapons, but now it only had a few thousand? Weren't they completely at the mercy of others?

This small force is simply no match for those attacking armies.

"Hu Guang, immediately tell those you've contacted that you need to send them another 3000 muskets and 10000 divine arrows, and have them send someone to collect them. Tell them that these are the last weapons the Ming Dynasty has left, and Yang Shiqi went to great lengths to obtain them all, so you're in charge. After you've done this, resign and return to your official post, because once these weapons are sold, the Ming Dynasty will surely perish! Therefore, have them prepare the money and come to collect them immediately!"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Inside the main hall, murmurs erupted again; no one knew what Zhu Di was up to. Even if some guessed it was a trap, they lacked the courage and ability to seize anyone within it.

(End of this chapter)