Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 2 I need a knife now!

The two palace gates, seemingly capable of isolating the world from all its noise, slowly opened in silence.

There were no high-pitched chants from eunuchs, no ceremonial procession, only two young eunuchs who opened the door a crack and then retreated quickly like startled rabbits.

A beam of light squeezed in through the crack in the door, casting a long, bright trail on the gold bricks on the floor.

Wei Zhongxian knelt at the end of the radiant light.

He straightened his python robe, the magnificent garment that represented the ultimate honor bestowed upon an inner court official. In the past, it was a symbol of his power, a totem that made all officials tremble with fear.

But at this moment, the clothes felt like a heavy prison uniform, making it hard for him to breathe.

He lowered his head and crawled very slowly on his knees into the Qianqing Palace, which he had once regarded as his own backyard.

The gold bricks were cold; even through the thick fabric, a chill seeped into your bones.

Wei Zhongxian could hear his own heartbeat, heavy and suppressed, like a drum covered with a wet cloth.

He had prepared his speech all night long; those tearful confessions, those oaths of loyalty, those meticulously crafted logical loops to explain all his past actions—all of it was now churning and rehearsing in his mind.

Wei Zhongxian knew that the new emperor wanted to kill him.

This is inevitable.

Throughout history, this has been the fate of most powerful eunuchs!

The first thing a new emperor does upon ascending the throne is to sacrifice powerful ministers from the previous dynasty in order to win over the people and establish his prestige. Moreover, Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin Party in the court are mortal enemies who are irreconcilable!

Wei Zhongxian was the most conspicuous and plump sacrificial offering.

Wei Zhongxian finally moved to the center of the main hall, still dozens of steps away from the empty dragon throne.

He didn't dare to look up, but instead slammed his forehead heavily against the cold floor tiles, making a dull thud.

"This servant, Wei Zhongxian, kowtows to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

His voice was hoarse, with a deliberate yet perfectly timed tremor.

The main hall was deathly silent.

no respond.

Wei Zhongxian remained motionless, bowing deeply. He knew this was a show of force, a fundamental element of imperial strategy.

He must wait, and he must be more patient than the new emperor.

Time passes minute by minute.

The fragrance, a blend of ambergris and sandalwood, now smelled like a deadly poison.

Just as Wei Zhongxian felt his neck beginning to stiffen, he suddenly heard a soft footstep.

The sound didn't seem to be coming from the direction of the dragon throne; instead, it seemed to be coming from... his side?
Wei Zhongxian felt a chill run down his spine, but still dared not raise his head.

A figure stopped in front of him, and a pair of dark blue cloud and dragon patterned boots appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Get up."

A cool, clear voice sounded from above.

Wei Zhongxian trembled, as if he could not believe his ears. He hesitated for a moment before daring to reply, "This servant... dares not."

"I tell you to get up."

The voice remained calm, but carried an undeniable air of authority.

This time, Wei Zhongxian dared not disobey in any way.

He shakily propped himself up and stood up, but his waist was bent at a ninety-degree angle and his head was lowered, like an old goose with its neck being choked, without any trace of his usual arrogance.

He was prepared to face a barrage of questions.

About Madam Ke, about the Five Tigers, Five Leopards, Ten Dogs, and Ten Children, about the tortures of the Eastern Depot, about the seized imperial estates, about... everything.

He had even already decided which crimes he would confess to and which people he would throw out as scapegoats.

However, Zhu Youjian's next words were like a heavy hammer blow, shattering everything he had planned.

"Wei Banban".

The emperor's voice was very soft, as if he were chatting casually.

"Tell me, how many more years can my Great Ming Dynasty survive?"

"..."

Wei Zhongxian suddenly raised his head, his face full of astonishment and disbelief.

He saw the new emperor's face.

It was a face that was too young, with delicate features and even a hint of boyish naiveté, but those eyes, those deep and calm eyes like a cold pool, made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

That's not the look a teenager should have.

There was no anger, no hatred, no fear, not even... any emotion in it.

There is only one kind of pure scrutiny.

It was as if Wei Zhongxian was not a living person, but an object placed on a table waiting to be appraised.

"Your Majesty..."

Wei Zhongxian's throat went dry, and all the ten thousand arguments he had prepared were stuck in his throat, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

How do I answer this question?
To say it can last for a thousand generations? That's deceiving the emperor! Everyone knows the mess we're in right now.
To say he won't live more than a few years? That's cursing the dynasty, and a path to certain death!

This is a dead end.

A deadly trap, devised by the emperor, unlike anything he had ever encountered before.

Zhu Youjian did not urge him, but turned around and slowly walked back into the hall. In the end, he did not ascend the high throne, but casually sat on the steps in front of the throne.

This action once again made Wei Zhongxian feel a strong sense of unease.

That's not how an emperor sits.

"It seems you can't answer. Very well, I'll answer for you."

Zhu Youjian extended one finger.

"The first problem is the turnover of money and supplies."

"Money and grain...circulation?" Wei Zhongxian muttered, his brows furrowed. He seemed to have heard this phrase before, but he felt there was a deeper meaning in the emperor's words.

"The national treasury's money cannot be stagnant. It must have a steady flow of funds, constantly flowing in and out, to nourish the nation," Zhu Youjian said with great patience, as if instructing a mischievous child. "Last year, the court's annual revenue was four and a half million taels. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?"

Wei Zhongxian nodded subconsciously; he knew the data from the Ministry of Revenue very well.

"But what about the expenditures? The military pay for the nine border regions alone is four million eight hundred thousand taels a year. This doesn't include the capital garrison, the local guard posts, the salaries of the imperial family, the salaries of the officials, or even the expenses of the palace."

Zhu Youjian's voice was calm and clear, each number like a needle piercing Wei Zhongxian's heart.

"The money collected isn't even enough to pay the soldiers' salaries on the frontier. Wei Banban, tell me, how can a family that can't even afford security costs survive?"

Fine beads of cold sweat began to seep from Wei Zhongxian's forehead.

He knew these things, and the ministers in the court also knew them, but everyone kept quiet and pretended that everything was fine.

Who would dare to tear off this fig leaf so blatantly, like this new ruler?
Zhu Youjian raised his second finger.

"The second problem is internal corruption. Or rather, there are too many parasites."

For the first time, his gaze turned sharp as it fell upon Wei Zhongxian.

"I know you, Wei Zhongxian, are greedy. Your nephew Wei Liangqing, your adopted sons, and those lackeys who depend on you are all greedy! You are like a swarm of leeches clinging to the deck, frantically sucking the blood from this wrecked ship!"

coming!

Wei Zhongxian's heart tightened suddenly, his legs went weak, and he was about to kneel down again.

"Stand and listen!" Zhu Youjian snapped.

"I haven't finished speaking."

Wei Zhongxian stood frozen in place, unable to move.

"But do you think you're the only parasites?"

Zhu Youjian stared coldly at Wei Zhongxian.
"Those self-proclaimed upright members of the Donglin Party, aren't they corrupt? They spout Confucianism and Mencius, constantly preaching benevolence and righteousness, calling you a traitor and wishing they could tear you apart. Yet, why are the gentry of Jiangnan behind them the wealthiest in the land? Why are the court's commercial and mining taxes so difficult to implement? Are they against corruption? No, they're against you slaves who dare to compete with them, these scholars, for food!"

“They are another, even bigger group of parasites, only they eat more elegantly and discreetly, and even erect a facade of ‘speaking out for the people’!”

Wei Zhongxian was completely stunned.

He spent his whole life fighting against the Donglin Party members, which he thought was a life-or-death struggle over political lines and power.

He never imagined that in the eyes of this young emperor, they... were actually the same kind of people?
Are they all woodworms?
"The third issue is the external market."

Zhu Youjian's voice became indifferent again, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"The Jianzhou Jurchens of Liaodong, I prefer to call them... rivals. They are strong and energetic, like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing our doorstep!"

And us?

We are an old, sick, fat pig!

It's fat, but it can only lie in the pigsty and grunt; it doesn't even have the strength to stand up!

"Cash flow is disrupted, internal corruption is rampant, and external threats are everywhere."

Zhu Youjian stood up from the steps and walked step by step back to Wei Zhongxian.

He reached out and gently patted Wei Zhongxian's face, which was cold with fear.

This gesture was humiliating, yet it also carried a strange intimacy.

"Wei Banban, now tell me, if it's your turn to clean up this mess, where do you even begin?"

Wei Zhongxian's brain had completely shut down.

He felt as if he were facing not a seventeen-year-old boy, but a demon who had lived for hundreds of years and knew everything.

The new emperor neither killed him nor even scolded him.

He simply laid bare the bloody reality of the entire Ming Dynasty before him with calm and ruthlessness.

This feeling terrified him more than any form of torture.

This means that all the means he had previously relied on for survival—scheming, factional strife, flattery, and cruelty—became laughable like children playing house in front of this young emperor.

He saw it; in the eyes of the new emperor, he, Wei Zhongxian, was no different from those Donglin Party members whom he hated to the core.

They are all... problems.

These are all problems that need to be solved!
At that moment, the last glimmer of hope in his heart was completely extinguished.

Just as he lost his composure and fell into an abyss of endless despair, Zhu Youjian's voice rang out again like the whisper of a devil.

"Therefore, I do not intend to kill you."

Wei Zhongxian suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with a desperate glint of hope.

"Because if I kill you, I will have to use those Donglin gentlemen who spout benevolence and morality. They will abolish commercial taxes, spare the gentry, and then place all the burdens on the peasants who can't survive. In less than three years, the whole country will rebel!"

"I cannot wait that long."

Zhu Youjian's gaze was like two sharp knives piercing into the depths of Wei Zhongxian's soul.

"You are a knife, Wei Zhongxian. A dirty, dull knife, one that might even cut its master. But you... are ultimately a knife!"

"And those Donglin Party members, they are all talk, all they know how to do is eat and talk."

"What I need now is a knife."

Zhu Youjian withdrew his hand, stood with his hands behind his back, and an invisible imperial pressure descended suddenly!

"In the past, you made a mess of the court and the country in order to amass wealth and consolidate your power. From now on, I will give you a new target."

"I will not kill you; in fact, I will give you an important position. As the Grand Eunuch and the Director of the Eastern Depot, I will ensure your position is even more secure!"

"I will give you power, I will support you, and I will let you continue to be your Ninth Prince!"

Wei Zhongxian's breathing became rapid; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

This...this is an immense blessing!

"but!"

Zhu Youjian abruptly changed the subject, his voice suddenly becoming icy and chilling.

"Your target is no longer the Donglin Party, nor those impoverished officials who dare to speak out. I want your sword to be aimed at all the corrupt officials who have emptied the national treasury! At all the imperial relatives who evade taxes! At all the Shanxi and Anhui merchants who hoard goods and refuse to share the burden of the country!"

"Before, you amassed wealth for yourself. Now, you amassed wealth for me!"

"I want you to spit out everything they've swallowed, with interest!"

"That's...my...money!!!!"

"I want you to use your most proficient methods to confiscate their property and fill my national treasury!"

"You are my blade! A blade that cuts through thorns and clears obstacles for me!"

"Wei Zhongxian, are you willing?"

These words struck Wei Zhongxian like thunderclaps.

He stared blankly at the young emperor before him, an unprecedented emotion sweeping over him.

It wasn't gratitude, it wasn't loyalty, it was a kind of... utter terror.

He got it.

He understood it all.

The new emperor wasn't going to let him go; he was going to... make the most of him!
He wanted to put his fiercest, most insane dog back on its collar and then go and bite a pack of fatter, more ferocious wolves!
This is a dead end, a dead end that is far more dangerous than being sentenced to death!

He will offend everyone in the world!

But... did he have a choice?

He didn't!
Refuse means death!

Accept it, and perhaps... I can live a few more days.

An indescribable chill instantly rose from Wei Zhongxian's tailbone and shot straight to the top of his head!
But he felt that the young emperor in front of him had become unimaginably terrifying in that instant.

Any thought of rebellion, any wicked intention, seemed so absurd and ridiculous at this moment.

"Slave...slave..."

Wei Zhongxian's lips trembled. He wanted to say "I'm willing," but found his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

He looked at Zhu Youjian again; his eyes remained calm, but to Wei Zhongxian at that moment, that calmness concealed a bottomless abyss capable of swallowing everything.

He finally mustered all his strength and knelt down again, this time in complete submission.

"This servant...is willing to be His Majesty's blade, and will gladly die for it!"

Zhu Youjian looked at him quietly, revealing a satisfied but cold smile.

He leaned down and asked softly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"very good."

"Then... is my blade fast enough?"

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(End of this chapter)