Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 43: That's not how the script was supposed to go! [Requesting monthly votes]

"Your Majesty! The undergarment beneath my official robes has not been changed for three years, and it has eighteen patches! When I stand in court, I am afraid that if I move too much, the seams will snap and my buttocks will be exposed, which would be an insult to my civility!"

"Your Majesty, how can the dignity of the court be displayed in tattered clothes?!"

"I second that! The rats in my house are so hungry they're skin and bones. The night before last, they even ate my treasured copy of the Analects to stave off hunger!"

"This is a sign of the decline of civility and the collapse of propriety and music, Your Majesty! Even rats cannot survive in my home, how can I bear this!"

"Your Majesty! Please have pity on me and reward me with two taels of silver so I can buy some pig's head meat after court. The pig's head meat is incredibly fresh today!!"

Hearing these outrageous suggestions, Old Zhu's face turned a deep shade of liver.

Anger? Raging fury!

These bastards are absolutely outrageous!!
Did they treat his debate on establishing an heir as a scene of protesting unpaid wages?!

Shame and anger? A dignified emperor, besieged by his subjects in the Fengtian Hall demanding unpaid wages, a collective debt collection effort?!

Absurd? Dozens of officials, holding account books, shouting for braised pork head meat—what kind of court is this?!

"They've rebelled! They've all rebelled!!"

Old Zhu finally regained a voice amidst the immense absurdity and anger. He slammed his fist on the table in fury, his hair and beard bristling, and pointed at the group of "wage-demanding volunteers" below, his fingers trembling like leaves:
"Jiang Huan! Jiang Huan!! Get rid of these bastards! Those who have no respect for the emperor! Those who are roaring in the court!"

"Your Majesty!"

Before Old Zhu could finish speaking, Shen Lang stepped forward again:

"We risk our lives to offer this advice today, not for personal gain, but to awaken Your Majesty's ears and remind you of the bitter past and the sweet present!"

"May I ask Your Majesty, do you still remember the days when you were in Huangjue Temple, surrounded by ancient Buddha statues and lamps, barely clothed and starving, begging for alms?!"

Boom——!
It's like pouring a ladle of cold water into boiling oil.

The entire Fengtian Hall erupted in chaos.

All the officials gasped.

Huangjue Temple? Begging for alms?

This is the scar that the emperor least wants to be mentioned!
Shen Lang... has he gone mad?! Is he really courting death?!
Old Zhu's expression changed drastically, and a chilling aura, mixed with the fury of being blatantly humiliated, instantly swept over him.

His withered hands gripped the armrests of the dragon throne tightly, his knuckles turning white, and the murderous intent in his eyes was like a tangible ice spike, fiercely piercing Shen Lang.

But Shen Lang seemed oblivious to the murderous glare, instead straightening his back and raising his voice even louder, with a tone of compassion:

"Back then, the common people had a bowl of leftovers to give to beggars and help them survive, but what about now?"

As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, piercing straight to the emperor's face:
"Your Majesty, you possess the entire world and are rich in all, yet you refuse to open your eyes and look at these upright officials under your command!"

"They're not even as good as that little monk who used to beg for alms back then!"

"presumptuous!!"

Old Zhu could no longer contain himself. His face contorted in fury, his voice hoarse and twisted, filled with overwhelming killing intent: "Shen Lang! You're courting death!!!"

"Emperor calm down!"

Zhao Fengman, the Imperial Censor of Henan Circuit, darted out like an arrow, his voice equally loud and clear, his face gleaming with oil, but his eyes carrying a sincere 'I'm helping you recall those glorious years':

"While Imperial Censor Shen's words may have been somewhat extreme, his sincere heart is as clear as day!"

"Your Majesty! I dare to ask: Do you still remember the Battle of Poyang Lake, when Chen Youliang's 600,000-strong army besieged them, arrows rained down, their food supplies were cut off, and their soldiers killed horses for food, drank blood to quench their thirst, and faced the perilous situation of sharing life and death together?!"

"you!"

Old Zhu's pupils contracted sharply.

Before he could react, Zhao Fengman immediately pointed to her rosy face and the equally greasy ledger in her arms:
"In those desperate times, the soldiers could still share horse meat and drink hot blood! The ruler and his subjects were of one mind, facing the national crisis together! But what about now?"

Having said that, his voice suddenly rose, filled with a heart-wrenching accusation:
"Your Majesty, we can't even afford horse meat anymore!"

"Our salaries are in arrears, our rice bins are empty, and we can barely afford even salted vegetables and thin porridge! How can we, your subjects, stand tall and share your burdens?! How can we, like the soldiers at Poyang Lake, serve you to the death, Your Majesty?!" "This arrears in salary don't just chill our stomachs! It chills the hearts of scholars across the land who serve the court! It chills the bonds of brotherhood forged on the shores of Poyang Lake, a bond of life and death between ruler and subject, Your Majesty!"

"You guys"

Old Zhu was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at Zhao Fengman, his fingers shaking violently, his lips quivering, but he couldn't make a complete sound.

Poyang Lake!
That was the most glorious and also the most tragic battle of his life!
These bastards! How dare they compare this to something like this?!
"I second the proposal!"

Another censor jumped out: "Your Majesty! Back then, you drew your three-foot sword, slayed the tyrannical Yuan dynasty, and relieved the people from their suffering. What heroic spirit you displayed!?"

"You hate corrupt officials the most, those who exploit the people and suck their marrow dry! Therefore, you have established severe punishments to punish them severely and punish them severely, as a warning to others!"

"Of course!"

The censor then changed his tone and went straight to the heart of the matter:

"Those who owe us our salaries are the clerks of the Ministry of Revenue's granary. How are their actions any different from those of the corrupt officials you skinned alive and stuffed with straw?!"

"It's the same exploitation! It's the same sucking the marrow! The only difference is that they suck the blood of court officials! The blood of the emperor's loyal subjects!"

"Your Majesty! You've stripped the corrupt officials of their skin, are you just going to stand by and watch these parasites that suck the life out of the court go unpunished?!"

"Those who default on their salaries and withhold their allowances are guilty of a crime punishable by death!"

"Your Majesty, please follow the example of what happened back then and punish them severely without leniency! Restore justice to us, and restore your reputation!"

He emphasized the words "honorable reputation" very heavily.

"Your Majesty, I second that opinion! Do you still remember the Empty Seal Case? The Guo Huan Case? You slaughtered countless people, staining the Qinhuai River with blood! What was it all for?! Wasn't it to cleanse the bureaucracy and eradicate corruption?!"

"But what about now? One of the root causes of corruption is the meager salaries of officials, and the system of arrears is right in front of us, yet you turn a blind eye! No matter how many corrupt officials you kill, can you plug the loopholes in this system that keep producing new parasites?!"

"Has the knife you used to kill corrupt officials become dull now?! Or did you strike the wrong spot?!"

"Your Majesty, I second that opinion! You often say, 'The people are the water, and the ruler is the boat,' but look around, the water is almost dried up!"

"We, your humble servants, are on the verge of running aground and drowning on your shabby boat. How can we row for you?! How can we supervise the officials for you?! How can we scold and awaken those corrupt officials for you?!"

"We, your subjects, go to impeach others for corruption on empty stomachs, yet we ourselves cannot even afford a full meal. Isn't this the biggest joke of all?!"

"If this gets out, what will the people think of the court? What will the historians say about it, Your Majesty?!"

one by one!
It was like igniting a string of powerful explosives.

Dozens of low-ranking Beijing officials, including those from the Censorate, the Hanlin Academy, and the Six Ministries, with slicked-back skin and booming voices, took turns appearing on stage.

They spoke eloquently, their every word revolving around Old Zhu's glorious past:
Begging at Huangjue Temple, gnawing on horse bones at Poyang Lake, killing meritorious officials, the case of the empty seal, the case of Guo Huan with heads rolling, skinning people alive.
Every past event was cleverly and precisely used to demonstrate the same core argument:
You, Zhu Yuanzhang, suffered back then!

You hate corrupt officials!

You must impose severe penalties!

But now you owe us our wages!

They're raising bloodsucking parasites!
You are the greatest tyrant!

He's even worse than those corrupt officials you killed!

Old Zhu was completely stunned by the scolding.

His meticulously crafted script for establishing a successor, culminating in the 'democratic inquiry' segment, was utterly shattered by this group of glib-tongued scoundrels.

He sat on the dragon throne, his head buzzing, with dozens of oily, spittle-splattered faces before him and a deafening barrage of incessant chatter in his ears.

Extreme astonishment, absurdity, shame, and anger filled the entire Fengtian Hall.

Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin stood frozen in place, their expressions of tragic heroism and loyalty shattered, leaving only bewilderment and disbelief.

No, that's not how the script goes!

(End of this chapter)