Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 20 This is not someone that can be dealt with by 91% (or 91% of the time).

However, this is purely Wei Zhongxian's own imagination.

For Zhu Youjian.

Sending Xiao Hongzi on errands was simply to let them get used to the feeling of killing officials.

As for the so-called impeachments by those officials in the central government?

Zhu Youjian never actually paid any attention to this matter.

Under a feudal autocratic system, any impeachment or memorial to the throne must be approved by the emperor to take effect.

Most importantly, people across the country, including ordinary citizens, believe this is only natural.

This is what satisfies him the most.

Only this kind of political system exists.

Only then could he transform the Ming Dynasty into the most powerful war machine in the world.

Only this kind of absolute power, unrestrained by any constraints, can help him achieve the grand goal in his heart!

However, on the road to that great goal in the distance, there are still many immediate problems to solve.

Zhu Youjian took a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions, then instructed Cao Huachun: "Starting tomorrow, you will go to oversee the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but at the same time, do not neglect your duties at the Imperial Horse Administration."

"This servant understands. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Within six months, this servant will surely bring about a complete change in the atmosphere of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Within three years, this servant will surely restore the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the prestige of the founding emperor."

Cao Huachun was very confident when he said this.

The Imperial Guards have now been thoroughly purged by His Majesty, leaving only low-ranking officers. There is no longer any resistance to reforming them.

If Cao Huachun still can't completely control it, then he might as well go out and find a block of tofu and smash his head against it to his death.

Zhu Youjian ignored Cao Huachun's empty promises and directly gave his orders:

"Go find Guo Yunhou later and find out exactly how much salary is owed by officials at all levels in the capital. Then, collect some money from the imperial treasury and have the Embroidered Uniform Guard distribute it to the officials on the list of those who owe salary."

"At the same time, send a portion of the Embroidered Uniform Guards to investigate the local bullies and thugs around the capital. Compile a detailed list of these people and send it over. But don't touch them for now, just make the list."

Listen to these two instructions.

Cao Huachun didn't quite understand for a moment what the Emperor meant by making this special mention.

Distributing salaries and investigating local bullies.

These two things seem rather ordinary.

However, he also knew that the emperor's thoughts were no longer something he could guess.

So she hurriedly replied, "This servant obeys the order. After I go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters tomorrow to find out the relevant matters, I will immediately begin to take care of them and will make sure that these two matters are handled properly!"

Zhu Youjian nodded, and Cao Huachun immediately left to carry out his duties.

At this moment, Wei Zhongxian seemed to suddenly remember something, and bowed closer:

"Your Majesty, I have recently completed the confiscation of your property. A total of 1,075,300 taels of silver has been counted and will be transported to the Imperial Treasury in the next two days."

"Today, the entire Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) is guilty of corruption and embezzlement, deserving of death. According to the law, their property should also be confiscated. If we were to entrust them to this servant, the amount of silver confiscated would definitely not be less than this."

Since the people were killed, the money would naturally be confiscated.

Wei Zhongxian was very perceptive, and besides, it would be pointless for His Majesty to bring up such a matter himself.

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly.

Wei Zhongxian understood immediately and set off to make preparations for confiscating the property.

This day.

Busy activities and killings were intertwined in the imperial city of the Ming Dynasty.

The following day, news spread throughout the capital that 177 officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been murdered by the Eastern Depot, causing immediate shock throughout the court and the country.

No one expected that these people would meet such a fate after being arrested.

Even if an official is arrested for a heinous crime like treason, he should be executed only after going through a series of review procedures.

But His Majesty killed them all so easily?!

Some even died on the same day they went in!

Such horrifying things were only heard of during the reign of Emperor Taizu.

In a state of panic.

Some people, in comparison, felt a little more relaxed.

Tian Ergeng and his accomplices were executed immediately, and an imperial edict was issued to confiscate their property. The emperor did not take any further action.

These actions, to some extent, suggest that the matter is unlikely to escalate further.

The Emperor's move was probably intended to bring the Embroidered Uniform Guard under his control and, incidentally, to confiscate their property to extract some silver.

For some vested interest groups, this outcome is not unacceptable.

After all, they had only lost the first game, but it hadn't come to the point of mutual destruction yet.

Simultaneously.

These people also learned one thing from this Jinyiwei coup: beheading someone right after ascending the throne is not something that can be dealt with by Jiu Yikai.

Some people also see a deeper meaning in this incident.

The reason the emperor did not take any further action was probably because he was waiting for an opportunity to slowly weaken their power by gradually weakening them.

But at the same time, they are also waiting for an opportunity.

For over a thousand years, the struggle between imperial power and officials has never been decided overnight.

As a result, countless rumors about the new emperor's bloodthirstiness began to circulate among the people.

……

In a farmland outside Beijing.

A dark-skinned farmer was working in the field under the scorching sun when his wife, after chatting with some other women, suddenly ran up to him excitedly.

"Master, I heard that the newly enthroned emperor beheaded more than a hundred Jinyiwei officers yesterday."

The farmer stopped what he was doing and wiped the sweat from his brow with his calloused hands: "Where did you hear all this nonsense?"

The farmer's wife was somewhat displeased: "What nonsense! Even the village chief said it's true! He said the new emperor is ruthless; he'll chop off the head of anyone who makes him unhappy."

"Let them cut it down, what does it have to do with us? We haven't even paid all our taxes for this year yet. If the next harvest is bad, we'll probably have to sell the land."

The wife immediately became agitated when the topic of selling the land came up: "How can it not be related! Isn't Niu Er, the village bully, able to run rampant in the village because his brother-in-law is a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"Now that his brother-in-law is dead, do we no longer need to pay the share of land we previously gave him? Does that mean we won't have to sell the land anymore?"

The farmer sighed, "Alas, you woman are so ignorant of the ways of the world. If the centurion dies, will there be a new centurion?"

"If the new emperor is so ruthless, then the new centurion will definitely be even more ruthless. We might have to pay even more in taxes!"

At this point, the farmer's wife immediately wilted and stopped talking.

She glanced at the field her husband was cultivating, as if she were about to lose it in the near future.

This overwhelmed her with sorrow, and two lines of tears streamed down her equally dark face, falling to the ground.

(End of this chapter)