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

Chapter 66 There's Always a Way to Die, Suitable for Certain Unruly Ming Emperors

"Retreat."

On his throne, the young emperor left behind these two words.

The sound was very soft, like a snowflake quietly falling into the Huangji Hall, which had frozen into an ice cave.

Zhu Youjian no longer looked at any of the kneeling faces below, nor at the black mountain that symbolized his thunderous methods. He straightened the folds of his dragon robe with a calm and unhurried movement, as if the bloody cleansing just now was merely brushing away a speck of dust from his clothes.

He turned and left.

The sound of his dragon boots stepping on the white marble steps was swallowed up by the boundless silence. His figure, elongated by the dim light in the hall, resembled a moving mountain, pressing down on the spines of every minister below.

No one looked up.

No one dared to look up!

They could only sense the emperor's departure by the slow movement of that enormous shadow, which swept over them one by one with a chilling coldness, as if it were remeasuring each of them with an invisible knife.

Finally, the shadow, along with the figure, disappeared into the bottomless darkness of the back hall.

The world seemed to resume its flow at that moment.

However, the main hall remained deathly silent.

The words "retreat from court" are clearly a blessing of liberation, but at this moment they seem like the most vicious curse, nailing everyone's limbs and souls to the ground.

No one moved.

One breath, two breaths, ten breaths...

Perhaps it was only a moment ago, or perhaps a whole year has passed.

Finally, a suppressed sound, as if the bones were groaning, rang out.

"Ho..."

An elderly imperial censor tried to support his numb body with his arms, but his arms, which he used to use to hold a pen all year round, were now as weak as a noodle. He swayed and almost fell to the ground again.

This subtle movement was like a pebble thrown into the still, frozen water.

Ripples began to spread.

The second, the third...

The courtiers began to try to stand up.

This normally simple action became incredibly difficult at this moment; their knees had long since lost all feeling from kneeling on the cold, hard gold bricks.

So, a trembling hand reached out to the arm of the colleague next to him.

The other hand also silently came over.

They began to help and support each other. The political enemies who once fought fiercely in the court for an official position or a comment were now like two brothers in distress, relying on each other to help each other get up from the ground in a disheveled state.

However, there was not a trace of warmth in this act of helping.

The touch of their hands was icy cold, and their gazes met with evasiveness.

They supported each other physically, yet deep in their souls they guarded against each other with the deepest vigilance.

The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony was silent, without conversation, not even a cough could be heard, only the heavy, dragging footsteps, as if each step was filled with the grating sound of lead.

Everyone had their heads down, staring intently at the small patch of ground beneath their feet, as if the golden bricks were inscribed with scriptures that would allow them to live.

Their eyes were like those of a group of frightened rabbits, darting around in a panic, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Because at this moment, any exchange of glances could be interpreted in countless ways.

Is it a test? An attempt to win someone over? Or... a fatal accusation?

The dark mountain standing in the center of the hall is like a black monument, standing there silently.

A symbol, a sign in general.

It symbolizes the emperor's unfathomable will, and also the sword of guilt hanging over everyone's head!
Who can guarantee that their name isn't in that mountain?
Who can guarantee that this colleague who has been your brother for decades won't, in the next instant, offer your name as a pledge of allegiance to the emperor in order to protect himself?
trust.

The very foundation that holds the entire bureaucratic system together, and all the unspoken rules of factionalism and mutual support, has been cracked by the emperor in the most violent way.

Tiny fragments were scattered all over the ground.

Each piece gleams with the cold light of suspicion and betrayal!

……

Among the crowd, an old man was being helped by two disciples as he slowly moved out of the hall.

Qian Qianyi. This spiritual leader of the Donglin Party, this bigwig who had just been slumped on the ground like a defeated rooster, now had little expression on his face. Gone were his previous impassioned words and his earlier dejection.

His face was like a sheet of rice paper that had been soaked in water and then dried, wrinkled and with a deathly white hue.

His eyes had lost their former smugness and became cloudy and deep.

Qian Qianyi didn't look at anyone, but just let his students support him as he mechanically walked forward step by step.

In his mind, however, was a storm far more intense and bloody than the one inside the Imperial Palace.

lost.

At least in the series of events involving Shanxi merchants, their defeat was so complete, so decisive, so... without any suspense.

From the very beginning, this was a setup!

A grand scheme, using Shanxi merchants as bait and ancestral laws as a trigger, with the ultimate goal of blowing them all to smithereens.

The emperor, the young ruler they had always thought they could "guide" and "correct," turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, a ruthless and cunning wolf in disguise.

He wasn't breaking the rules.

He is...making new rules!
A new set of rules that belonged to him, written with the sword and blood, and centered on the absolute supremacy of imperial power!

Under this new rule, what are these so-called scholar-officials who "share the world with the emperor"?
Zhou Yanru's fate is the answer.

Thinking of Zhou Yanru, not a trace of pity appeared in Qian Qianyi's cloudy eyes, only a chilling coldness like a blade slicing across ice in the dead of winter.

They believed that every emperor needed them, that they needed their knowledge to govern the country, their prestige to appease the people, and that their presence to form a complete and stable court.

wrong!

This new ruler doesn't care at all!
What should you do when an emperor stops reasoning with you, stops discussing the rule of law, stops playing the game of checks and balances, and instead chooses to overturn the table?
Kneeling and begging for mercy? Like Zhou Yanru?
The consequence would be being dragged out and executed by slow slicing like a dog, and bearing eternal infamy!

No.

Qian Qianyi suddenly paused.

The two students supporting him immediately stopped, looking tense, and asked in low voices, "Teacher?"

Qian Qianyi did not answer.

He slowly raised his head, the first time he had looked up since leaving court.

His gaze finally settled on several familiar figures, all dressed in scarlet official robes.

Those were several core members of the Donglin Party.

They seemed to sense the gaze as well, and their bodies stiffened in unison.

They also raised their heads very subtly.

Four, five, six gazes silently converged in the air.

That gaze, though silent, spoke volumes.

There was fear, confusion, and anger...

that's it?
Do not!
Qian Qianyi spoke to himself in an almost roaring voice.

It's impossible!

Once it collapses, each of them will become Zhou Yanru!
They will all become fish on the emperor's chopping board, to be slaughtered at will!

When an enemy no longer abides by any rules and wields the power to destroy everything in your path, your only option is not to adapt to their rules, but rather...

Destroy him!
This thought, like a black lightning bolt, instantly cleaved through all the fog in Qian Qianyi's mind.

His body stopped trembling.

His eyes sharpened again.

A will that was more resolute and colder than the previous fervent passion for "serving the country and the people" was re-formed within him.

They've done it before!

This thought, like a venomous snake, quietly peeked out from the depths of his memory.

Not all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty died of old age.

Falling into the water, poisoning, medicine...

There's always a way to die that suits certain unruly Ming emperors!
(End of this chapter)