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

Chapter 9 Zou Aiqing, are you satisfied with your KPI?

Two days later.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the heart of the Ming Dynasty.

Morning light pierced through the carved windows that were several meters high, slanting into the hall and casting dappled shadows on the smooth, mirror-like gold brick floor.

The air was filled with the subtle fragrance of aged golden nanmu wood, as well as a suffocating sense of majesty.

Civil and military officials, dressed in their respective rank robes, stood quietly on both sides of the imperial steps, like carefully pruned trees.

Red, blue, green, brocade, embroidered, with insignia—the ranks were clearly defined, the barriers distinct.

However, beneath this seemingly calm forest, a powerful undercurrent is brewing.

The atmosphere was eerily unsettling.

The Donglin Party officials looked particularly solemn today.

They stood at the front of the civil officials' ranks, as solid as rocks, their gazes calm, yet subtly exchanging silent glances.

A barely perceptible nod, a slightly tense chin, a brief yet meaningful glance—these speak volumes.

Today, they will launch a final offensive.

A general offensive, with "public opinion" as its banner and "morality" as its sword, aimed at upholding the nation, purging the court of corrupt officials, and eliminating traitors.

On the throne, Zhu Youjian sat quietly, wearing a dragon robe with twelve imperial symbols.

He was too young, so young that he seemed somewhat out of place on the dragon throne that symbolized the supreme ruler of the world.

But his demeanor possessed a composure beyond his years, as if he were not a person, but a statue placed there without emotion.

Behind Zhu Youjian, Wei Zhongxian was like a shadow compressed to the extreme, hunched over, eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought.

The powerful official, now completely subdued, remained as still as a clay statue, seemingly oblivious to the impending storm.

Outside the massive palace gates, under the brilliant sunlight, Zhou Quan stood ready, his hand on his sword.

He stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his face expressionless.

Behind him, a row of guards in cloud-patterned uniforms stood like a row of silent stone statues, exuding a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

Inside the hall, however, lies a battlefield where no swords clash.

Outside the hall, the intimidating presence of sword hilts and sheaths was clearly visible.

The court assembly proceeded as usual, with discussions and audiences; everything seemed so ordinary.

However, everyone knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

Finally, when a eunuch's shrill voice uttered the formulaic lyrics, "If there is something to report, step forward and speak early; if there is nothing to report, roll up the curtain and leave the court," the taut string snapped.

Liu Zongzhou, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, slowly stepped forward.

He was dressed in a court robe with a xiezhi (mythical beast) embroidered on it, and he was slender but had a straight back.

Liu Zongzhou walked to the foot of the steps, lifted his robe, knelt down, and performed the grand ceremony of three kowtows and nine prostrations. Every movement was meticulous and full of solemn ritual.

"Your subject, Liu Zongzhou, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, has a memorial to present!"

His voice was clear and resonant, echoing in the empty hall.

Zhu Youjian slightly raised his eyelids, but did not speak; he simply made a "speak" gesture.

Liu Zongzhou raised his head, and tears welled up in his eyes. His face was filled with heartache and deep loyalty for the sake of a dynasty.

"Your Majesty!" Liu Zongzhou spoke, his voice resounding through the rafters, "I have heard that when there are treacherous officials in the country, loyal ministers are hidden; when there are powerful corrupt officials in the court, the nation is in danger. Today, the world is in turmoil, and the people are crying out in despair. This is not due to natural disasters, but rather to man-made calamities! The root of this man-made calamity is none other than the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Director of the Eastern Depot—Wei Zhongxian!"

The moment the words were spoken, the entire court was astonished!
Although it was expected, the first cannon shot still sent a chill down many people's spines when it exploded so directly and violently in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Wei Zhongxian's body trembled almost imperceptibly, but he kept his head down and remained motionless.

Liu Zongzhou didn't pause; his emotions seemed to be completely ignited at that moment.

"Your Majesty, I submit this memorial with tears streaming down my face, impeaching Wei Zhongxian for ten major crimes!"

"His first crime was to deceive the emperor and disrupt the government by forging imperial edicts! During the Tianqi era, the late emperor was in poor health, and the traitor Wei usurped the throne. He used the pen of the Directorate of Ceremonial to exercise the power of a prime minister. All his imperial edicts came from his mouth. He deceived the late emperor and oppressed the officials. This is the crime of disrupting the government!"

"His second crime was the indiscriminate killing of innocent people and the framing of loyal officials! Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong, Zhou Chaorui, and others were all pillars of the country and pillars of the court. Just because they refused to side with the rebels, they were framed and thrown into prison. Under torture, they died unjustly! This is the crime of harming loyal officials!"

"His crime is three..."

Liu Zongzhou's voice grew increasingly impassioned.

He quoted extensively from classical texts, from "The people are the foundation of the state" in the Book of Documents to "I have heard of the execution of a mere tyrant, but I have never heard of the murder of a ruler" in Mencius, firmly nailing Wei Zhongxian to the pillar of shame as a "traitor to the country".

His words were imbued with moral power, and his logic followed the sole standard by which the scholar-official class had judged loyalty and treachery for thousands of years.

He is not fighting alone!
Liu Zongzhou could feel that the eyes of the entire Donglin Party, and even all the righteous scholars in the world, were focused on him, giving him boundless strength.

He spoke passionately, tears streaming down his face, and at one point, he even kowtowed to the ground!

"...Your Majesty! Such a heinous traitor, a great thief of the nation, if not severely punished and brought to justice, where is the law of the land? Where is justice? How can the hearts of the scholars of the world be at peace? I earnestly beg Your Majesty to emulate the wisdom of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, and execute this national traitor to appease the world! Your subject will not hesitate to die ten thousand times!"

After saying this, he knelt on the ground, and the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Countless officials, especially those from the Donglin faction, held their breath, awaiting the final verdict from the throne.

In their view, with such irrefutable evidence and such a righteous indignation, if the emperor was still a monarch who had been raised by the classics, there would be no reason for him to continue to protect this eunuch.

On his throne, Zhu Youjian listened quietly to the whole thing.

He didn't look at Wei Zhongxian, nor did he show the slightest anger or impatience. He just stared at Liu Zongzhou, who was lying on the ground, and a faint...smile slowly appeared on his face.

It was a strange smile, devoid of any warmth.

"My dear minister, you've worked hard."

Zhu Youjian spoke.

The sound was soft, even gentle, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone in the hall.

This opening remark stunned everyone.

Thanks for your hard work?
What is this nonsense?

Liu Zongzhou also raised his head, looking at the emperor with some surprise.

Zhu Youjian leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows lightly on the imperial desk.

"I greatly admire your 'enthusiasm' and 'proactiveness'."

Work enthusiasm?

Motivation?
The words coming from the dragon throne caused Liu Zongzhou's mind to go blank for a moment.

This doesn't sound like something an emperor would say; it sounds more like... a shopkeeper praising his employee.
Before he could react, Zhu Youjian's words, like a cold, venomous snake, quietly extended their tongues.

“But,” he changed his tone, his gentle voice suddenly turning sharp, “we can’t just look at the process, we must also look at… the result!”

Zhu Youjian did not give them much time to think.

He clapped his hands gently.

A young eunuch immediately understood and carefully carried out a huge scroll of charts from the side of the imperial desk.

Two other eunuchs quickly stepped forward and slowly unfurled the scroll on the steps.

It was a huge table, measuring ten feet square, drawn on the finest Xuan paper.

The top is covered with clear, official-style small regular script and vermilion ink, filled with horizontal and vertical lines, as well as dense text and... numbers.

"what is this?"

"A diagram? It doesn't look like one... more like... a ledger?"

The officials craned their necks, whispered among themselves, and looked utterly bewildered.

Zhu Youjian pointed his finger at the chart from a distance.

"Minister Zou, this is a 'work report' that I ordered the Eastern Depot to compile for you overnight..."

“According to my ‘backstage data’,” his voice was steady and clear, “you, Liu Zongzhou, have initiated ‘impeachment proceedings’ a total of thirty-seven times in this quarter, that is, in the past three months.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Liu Zongzhou's face, which was beginning to change color.

"Of these thirty-seven impeachments, only two were ultimately successful in 'promoting the implementation of the project'—that is, bringing corrupt officials to justice—after being conclusively proven by the three judicial authorities."

"Of these, fifteen impeachments were found to be based on 'information distortion,' meaning they were unsubstantiated and entirely based on hearsay!"

"The remaining twenty cases were ultimately dropped due to insufficient evidence or partisan attacks."

Zhu Youjian's voice was like ice beads, each one striking a chord in everyone's heart.

"Thirty-seven impeachments, two of which were successful. Minister Zou, your 'performance rate,' according to my meticulous calculations, is... 5.4 percent."

He looked at Liu Zongzhou, and the smile on his face became even more meaningful.

"Zou Aiqing, are you satisfied with your performance?"

Performance?

what is that?
Backend data?

Project implementation?

Performance completion rate?
The entire court was completely silent!

They felt as if their brains had been hit hard by a heavy hammer.

All the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections they had studied throughout their lives, and the moral and literary works they were so proud of, seemed to have lost their power at this moment.

They were facing a completely new logic that they could not understand at all.

A terrifying logic that transforms the sacred "impeachment" that concerns the nation and its people into a cold, quantifiable "performance"!

Liu Zongzhou, who had just been righteous and radiant moral exemplar, was now completely dumbfounded.

His mouth was open, and his face turned from red to white, then from white to green.

He wanted to refute it, but found that he had no idea where to begin.

He could call the other party shameless, or he could call them sophistry, but he couldn't refute those numbers.

He felt like a learned scholar who had encountered an accountant who only knew how to use an abacus.

The accountant, in a language he couldn't understand at all, told him that he... had lost money.

The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony fell into an unprecedented and eerie silence.

(End of this chapter)