Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 116 Outside the Meridian Gate, Observing the Staff

Noon the next day.

On the passageway along the central axis of the Meridian Gate in the Forbidden City.

Feng Bao stood facing the Meridian Gate, looking down at the two high-ranking officials who were being pressed against the bricks and stones.

He said it in a sarcastic tone.

"By imperial decree, Minister of Rites Xu Xuemo shall be flogged fifteen times, and Supervising Censor of Yunnan Circuit Yang Keli shall be flogged twenty times. Do either of you gentlemen have any objections?"

Several officers of the Imperial Guards pressed the two men firmly onto the floor tiles with their canes. The two men had already taken off their official robes, and their hair was in a mess.

Xu Xuemo looked up towards the direction of the Daming Gate and could vaguely see several figures.

His lips twitched, and he almost gritted his teeth, but in the end he sighed and said to Feng Bao behind him.

"Your Excellency, please carry out the order!"

His gaze fell on the toe of Feng Bao's boot, which pointed outwards in a V-shape.

Those who were frequently flogged knew that when the supervising eunuch made this gesture, it meant they wouldn't be beaten to death.

In the past, Xu Xuemo said he wanted to "leave a clean reputation in the world," but when the time came, his body still trembled honestly.

He's truly afraid of death! He's been an official for so many years, and he hasn't had enough of this good life yet!
Just now, that sentence was a warning to Feng Bao: don't kill me, or you won't be able to explain it to the emperor.

Feng Bao squinted, seemingly lost in thought, before speaking slowly.

"Minister Xu, please bear with it."

The two men were still very polite to each other, but when it came to Censor Yang Keli, it was a completely different story. Whether he was too scared or felt invincible because of the emperor's decree, he started shouting and yelling.

"You castrated dog! Use whatever tricks you have on me! You've aided and abetted evil, and you'll be remembered with infamy for eternity!"

"Shut up!"

The executioner used a court rod to press down on the man, increasing the force of his blows. These few blows caused Yang Keli to howl in pain.

Feng Bao glanced at the other man and said coldly, "Not one less than twenty strokes of the cane!"

Several captains subconsciously looked at Feng Bao's toes and found that there was no change. Then they lifted the two men up and began to strike the two high-ranking officials' buttocks.

For a moment, screams filled the air, accompanied by the muffled thuds of wooden sticks striking flesh, leaving the officials who witnessed the scene utterly silent.

Without an audience, this staff would naturally lose much of its intimidating power.

Therefore, when Ming Dynasty officials were flogged, the emperor would usually have relevant officials watch from the sidelines, both for the purpose of supervision and deterrence.

At this very moment, many of the officials who were in the court yesterday are standing in the Meridian Gate not far away.

Shen Shixing's face was ashen as he stared at the white undergarment that was being stained red, without uttering a word.

When Zhang Siwei heard the sound of the staff, his body trembled slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and turned his head away, unwilling to look.

On the contrary, Zeng Shengwu, the Minister of Works, seemed somewhat excited, carefully counting the number of floggings while muttering something to himself.

Phrases like "numbers, charts, severity of injury, mortality rate" are used.

Most officials remained oblivious to their own thoughts, clearly having a different assessment of the momentum of the "anti-Zhang" faction.

“Ouch!”

"Hey ya ya!"

"Oh no! It's absolutely awful!"

Below the city gate outside Duanmen, two young men were acting suspiciously, watching the court flogging process from afar. One was dressed in a brocade robe of a fourth-rank official with a tiger-patterned hat, while the other was wearing a plain Taoist robe. He had large eyes and looked harmless.

Zhang Jianxiu lowered his voice to remind him, "Shiyuan, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace. Don't let anyone discover you secretly watching the cane being used! Keep your voice down!"

Zhang Yunxiu, hiding behind the city wall, would occasionally peek out and look at the two "loyal ministers" being flogged on a bench, letting out strange cries as if he were the one being beaten.

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and said indifferently, "So what if they find out? As long as His Majesty doesn't say anything, what can they do to me? A few more lice won't bite. My reputation is already bad enough, so this little bit won't make a difference."

The dozen or twenty strokes of the cane were delivered quickly. Under the skillful manipulation of Feng Bao, a seasoned master of caning, the two "loyal ministers" felt good and fell into a deep sleep. From a distance, their lower bodies were covered in blood on the bluestone pavement outside the Meridian Gate—a truly gruesome sight!

Feng Bao was even a little afraid of killing people, after all, His Majesty's decree was to spare their lives.

He sent someone forward to check on him, and seeing that he was still breathing, he waved his hand in relief and said...

"Send it back!"

When the captains dragged the two out, bloodstains were left all over the ground.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty's ruthless methods are too terrifying; I simply cannot bear to watch any longer."

Zhang Jianxiu glanced at his younger brother speechlessly and couldn't help but expose him, saying, "You didn't even blink just now."

"Fourth Brother, don't wrong me." Zhang Yunxiu said righteously, "I'm just keeping an eye on things for them, so that if Feng Bao doesn't know his own strength and kills them, the upright officials of the world will not let it go, and their crimes will be left with no way to prove them!"

Before these individuals' crimes are definitively proven, they absolutely cannot die; otherwise, it would be too easy for them and give more righteous people a reason to cause trouble!
Having watched the entire ordeal with great sorrow, Zhang Yunxiu felt a sense of relief. He passed through several gates alone, and after having a eunuch announce his arrival, he went straight to the Qianqing Palace.

The investigation yielded some results, so naturally, it was time to "report" it to the emperor.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the gate of Qianqing Palace, he found that Feng Bao had arrived before him and was already waiting outside the palace.

Looking at the old eunuch with white hair and beard, Zhang Yunxiu smiled and went to greet him, cupping his hands in greeting.

"I just saw you supervising the executions outside the Meridian Gate, and I never expected to see you here."

Feng Baofa forced a smile onto his white, wrinkled face, as if he had been waiting for Zhang Yunxiu for a long time, and said.

“The task His Majesty has entrusted must be carried out properly, but His Majesty is currently short of people around him, and that Eunuch Zhang is a careless man. I must keep an eye on him to prevent His Majesty from making any mistakes as he did last time.”

Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes. He could sense that, compared to Zhang Cheng, Feng Bao had recently regained "favor." He sighed and said.

"Eunuch Zhang is still quite young. Last time His Majesty was angry, it must have been because of the court officials' dissent. He was just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire."

Upon hearing this, Feng Bao recalled Zhang Yunxiu's act of persuading the emperor to return a few days earlier, and respectfully bowed.

"Thanks to Young Master Zhang, His Majesty has regained his spirits. His Majesty's recovery warms our hearts."

As the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Director of the Eastern Depot, why would Feng Bao bow to me?

Compared to Zhang Cheng, Feng Bao is clearly a seasoned and shrewd man.

Zhang Yunxiu also exclaimed, "Eunuch Feng's loyalty is as clear as day!"

"Young Master Zhang is the same."

Is His Majesty inside?

Feng Bao answered truthfully, "His Majesty has been waiting for a long time."

"Then I cannot say more, for I cannot keep His Majesty waiting."

Zhang Yunxiu didn't want to argue with the other party and was about to enter the hall when he heard Feng Bao's voice behind him.

"Master Zhang."

"Hmm?" Zhang Yunxiu turned his head and looked at the other person in confusion.

But then Feng Bao forced a smile and asked, "How is the Grand Secretary?"

Zhang Yunxiu paused for a moment before replying, "I am seriously ill."

Feng Bao narrowed his eyes: "In the past, all matters of the court were handled with the help of the Grand Secretary, which enabled the new policies to operate. What I see today shows that we will need to rely on Young Master Zhang a lot in the future."

Zhang Yunxiu shuddered and sized up this eunuch who was famous throughout history.

Is this kid hinting at me?

(End of this chapter)