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

Chapter 322 Such beautiful sunshine, we'll never see it again.

Li Zicheng suppressed his overwhelming joy, straightened his new robe, and then took a step with his already somewhat weak steps, following closely behind the Imperial Guard as they entered the main hall of the post station.

This main hall was originally where he received high-ranking officials.

At this moment, it has already been set up as a temporary temporary residence.

The incense burner in the hall was filled with the finest ambergris, its faint fragrance mixed with an indescribable sense of majesty that made it almost impossible to breathe.

Li Zicheng entered the hall, not daring to look up at the emperor's face on the throne.

He kept his head down, eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought. In his mind, he was still calculating how to respond when His Majesty asked him a question, so that he could appear both respectful and clever, and perhaps win favor and obtain an official position.

But for some reason, the smugness and fantasy he had just felt were now washed away by a strange chill. He felt cold all over, inside and out, as if countless invisible needles were pricking his flesh.

Is this the might of Heaven?

Li Zicheng muttered to himself.

Even though he had cursed this young emperor a thousand times in his heart, when he actually faced the might of the emperor, he realized that his little bit of cleverness and his dirty thoughts were like a puddle of urine in the snow, instantly frozen into ice, unable to emit even a trace of heat in the face of the emperor's majesty.

The invisible pressure was so great that his entire body, from head to toe, trembled involuntarily.

Lee Ja-seong was preparing to kneel down on both knees and shout "Long live the Emperor!" at the top of his lungs to show his loyalty.

But at that moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a foot wearing black cloud-patterned boots flying over without warning, as if it were a ghost!

Before Li Zicheng could even process what was happening, that foot had already landed squarely on his chest!
There was a muffled sound!
Li Zicheng felt a heart-wrenching pain in his chest, as if he had been hit hard by a sledgehammer weighing a thousand pounds.

His obese body flew backward uncontrollably, like a kite with a broken string!

It flew seven or eight feet away before crashing heavily to the ground with a "thud".

Immediately afterwards, he heard a powerful yet icy shout, like a thunderclap in a clear sky, resounding throughout the main hall:
"Get things done! Seal off the people, seal off the property, seal off the accounts!"

Li Zicheng felt an unbearable pain in his chest, as if several bones had been broken, but the shock and fear in his mind instantly overwhelmed the excruciating pain!

What do you mean?
Getting things done? What kind of things? Sealing off people? Sealing off property? Sealing off accounts?
Emperor, what does this mean?
He forced himself to endure the excruciating pain that nearly made him faint, and struggled to lift his head to look up at the throne.

Upon seeing this, Li Zicheng felt as if the blood in his body had frozen into ice in an instant!

On the throne, the young emperor, who had been calm just moments before, was now staring coldly and intently at him, who was lying on the ground, with the same look he had when looking at a dead man.

There was no anger, no disgust in his eyes, only a chilling coldness and indifference, as if Li Zicheng was no longer a living person, but a corpse about to be thrown into a mass grave.

At that moment, Li Zicheng's brain, dulled by wine, women, wealth, and power, finally belatedly recalled some clues!

The fact that the emperor insisted on staying at post stations in every place he passed on his journey north was no coincidence, nor was it out of any consideration for the people's plight!
That little brat!
This emperor, who looks even younger than his own son, actually wants to disrupt the post stations of the entire country!

This thought struck him like a thunderbolt from the heavens, shattering his dreams of promotion and wealth.
But... but how is that possible?

The post stations throughout the land are intricately connected, linking everyone from the capital to the frontier, from governors-general to local officials. Who among them isn't reaching out and reaping benefits?

The relationships and human connections involved are ten or even a hundred times more complex than the canal transport system that was uprooted long ago!
How dare he?
How dare they target this post station immediately after disrupting the canal transport?
Aren't you afraid that the world will be thrown into chaos because of this?

How could he dare to do it at the same time...?

But this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before Li Zicheng immediately thought of all the terrifying news that had come from Jiangnan over the past few months.

The execution of the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner was a minor incident compared to the devastation of the Jiangnan gentry, whose heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers…

He had no intention of thinking about it, but once he started thinking about it... countless bloody heads seemed to be flashing before his eyes, and the heavy stench of blood seemed to be hitting his nose!
An indescribable, extreme fear, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed him!

"what……"

Li Zicheng only had time to let out a short and shrill scream before his eyes rolled back, his mouth opened, and he fainted from the sheer terror of his own imagination!

The instant Li Zicheng fainted, the entire post station, like a tightly wound mechanism, was activated on command and began to operate with cold precision.

Those Imperial Guards and New Army soldiers who had been like wooden sculptures just moments before were now like tigers released from their cages, each performing their duties according to the previous meticulous arrangements and starting to work!
The first step is to "seal off" people!
Squads of Imperial Guards, dressed in flying fish robes and wielding unsheathed embroidered spring knives, swiftly seized control of all the exits of the post station like ghosts.

Then, another group of people rushed to the backyard.

Whether it was the cook busy at the "private kitchen," or Chun Tao and Qiu Yue applying makeup in the side room, or the couriers and clerks who usually bullied Li Zicheng, they were all dragged out of the house, isolated on the spot, and placed under guard, not allowed any opportunity to communicate or coordinate. As for the notorious "courier gang leaders" who usually oppressed merchants and exploited the people in the post station, they were shown no mercy whatsoever.

Several officers of the Imperial Guard stepped forward, tied them up tightly with cowhide rope, stuffed rags into their mouths, and arrested and detained them without even bothering to interrogate them, awaiting further punishment.

The second step is to "seal the item"!
The combination of veteran and new soldiers proved their worth at this moment.

They quickly took over the post station's stables, hay sheds, wagon depots, and warehouses storing various supplies.

Then, the clerks brought from the Ministry of Revenue, carrying abacuses and account books, under the supervision of soldiers, began to inventory all the supplies, including horses, fodder, vehicles, rice, and grain, and made a detailed list.

Whether a horse is old or strong, whether a bag of rice is old or new, is all recorded clearly and plainly.

The third step is to "close the accounts"!
This step is of utmost importance.

Several officials, who appeared refined but whose eyes were sharp as knives, went straight to the post station's accounting office under the protection of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They collected and examined all the account books, documents, correspondence records, and even the crumpled paper in the wastepaper basket!
In an instant, the post station in Huating County was completely turned upside down by this swift and decisive action.

Meanwhile, across the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, an even larger and more brutal storm is quietly sweeping across the land.

Half a month ago, starting from Jiangnan, the renowned female general Qin Liangyu was leading her 40,000 newly trained soldiers from Jiangnan northward along the official road.

From the capital, Duke Zhang Weixian of England personally led his newly trained 30,000-strong Shenji Battalion southward along the official road.

These 70,000 elite Ming troops, like two incredibly sharp scissors, used the official road and post station as their axis, moving from the south and the north, and at this moment, they attacked simultaneously!

In more remote areas where troops could not reach, they relied on the ubiquitous Imperial Guards and local military camps.

From Liaodong to the capital, the operation was carried out by Sun Chengzong's Liaodong Guan Ning cavalry, Man Gui's Xuanda border army, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As for the remaining prefectures and counties, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, who had been lying in wait for a long time, took direct action!

Almost every post station of any size within the Ming Dynasty's territory was experiencing the same scenario unfolding on the same night as at Huating Post Station.

"Sealing off people," "sealing off goods," and "sealing off accounts!"
Following these three "seals," a series of ruthless yet incredibly efficient purges ensued.

In each of the sealed-off post stations, a small temporary courtroom was set up to cross-check and verify the people, accounts, and goods.

Interrogate the arrested postmasters and clerks to extract the amount of money they had embezzled, as well as the unspoken rules about kickbacks, outsourcing, leasing, and other practices that were not recorded in the books.

Compare the amount of horse feed consumed recorded in the ledger with the actual inventory counted in the warehouse, and the true health condition of the horses in the stable.

Examine the records of all official documents delivered through this station over the past few years, identify those with unusual delays, and then trace the reasons for the delays to see if there were any human factors involved, or if someone accepted bribes to deliberately delay the process.

After those punches, even the most cunning fox in the world wouldn't be able to hide its tail.

Of course, it wasn't just about killing. Zhu Youjian was well aware that the problems with the post stations were not new, and not everyone inside was a heinous criminal.

Therefore, he also issued an edict: all those low-level post station workers and clerks who voluntarily confessed their problems and reported the crimes of others could be promised "no punishment for past offenses and to be employed according to their talents".

As for those "courier gang leaders" who usually acted arrogantly and those post station officials who still resisted and refused to confess at this moment, they showed no mercy.

He should be tried severely and swiftly for the serious crimes of "delaying military operations and embezzling state funds"!
Zhu Youjian issued a secret edict: those whose crimes were irrefutable and whose guilt was unforgivable should not be sent to higher authorities or subjected to the cumbersome joint trial by the three judicial departments. To save manpower and resources, they should be executed on the spot as a warning to others!
This night was a sleepless one for countless "Li Zicheng"s on the official roads of the Ming Dynasty, a night of bloody slaughter!

Inside the main hall of Huating Post Station, the young emperor was fast asleep, wrapped in his blankets.

It was as if the faint screams and wails coming from outside were nothing more than a lullaby to lull him to sleep.

Zhu Youjian didn't wake up until the first rays of dawn shone through the window into the hall the next morning.

Overnight, all the evidence against Lee Ja-seong was clearly compiled and piled up on the imperial desk.

Li Zicheng himself lay limp on the ground below the hall like a dead dog.

He woke up several times that night, and each time he saw the cold eyes of the Imperial Guards and the files recording his crimes.

Then, time and again, he was so terrified by the boundless fear that he fainted.

This time, when he slowly woke up again, the first rays of dawn were appearing, and the light outside the window had a cool yet bright beauty, so beautiful it seemed otherworldly.

But... he glanced at the emperor on the throne, who was already fully dressed and was making an impatient gesture; then he looked at the Imperial Guards around him, who were looking at him as if he were a dead object.

Li Zicheng knew that he would never see such beautiful sunshine again!
(End of this chapter)