You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

As autumn deepened, the cold wind grew stronger day by day, sweeping fallen leaves across the banks of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, and also carrying the bloody stench of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion in Lin'an to all directions.

The imperial decree to buy back the land of wealthy families at a low price, along with the horrifying news that all the male members of the Yongning Earl's family had been slaughtered and their heads hung at the door, spread like wildfire throughout Jiangnan, like cold water thrown into a boiling oil pot.

In Suzhou, near Maple Bridge outside Hanshan Temple, there is a simple tea stall.

Several porters sat around a square table, eating dry rations with tea from rough earthenware bowls.

A dark-skinned, thin man, fresh from a sea voyage in the north, exclaimed, spitting as he spoke: "I saw it with my own eyes!"

"A row of heads on Qingchun Gate in Lin'an City!"

"I heard they're all 'Lords' or 'Masters,' people who always look down on others!"

"Just because they refused to sell their land to the imperial court to grow garlic, they were all cut down!"

"The commander in charge is a guy surnamed Yang, and wow, he's incredibly ruthless!"

An old farmer standing nearby, his hand trembling slightly as he held his bowl, exclaimed with suppressed excitement, "Serves him right! Well done!"

"Zhang Laowu, do you still remember the drought two years ago? The Li family in the west of the city took away the three acres of paddy fields that your father had passed down."

"These wealthy people are all black-hearted!"

"This time, the imperial court has finally done something decent!"

The man called Zhang Laowu had reddened eyes and said in a muffled voice, "If the land could be returned, even if it's just for the imperial court to grow garlic, it could be ours in ten years..."

"Now my mother can finally close her eyes in peace, even at the bottom of the river."

He slammed his fist on the table: "Who cares who kills whom!"

"Whoever gives us land and lets us live is our benefactor!"

The tea stall owner, a one-armed veteran, chuckled as he wiped the table:

"I heard from the brothers coming and going in the military camp that His Majesty kills the Jurchens in the north like cutting vegetables, so cutting down these bloodsucking parasites in the south would probably be a piece of cake for him too!"

"At least there's some hope in this world."

......

Inside an exquisite painted boat on the banks of the Qinhuai River in Jiangning Prefecture.

The faint sounds of string and wind instruments drifted from the river, but the atmosphere inside the boat was tense.

Several men dressed in brocade robes and exuding an air of refinement sat around a table, their wine and delicacies barely touched.

"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous!"

A middle-aged scholar with a long beard and a lean face suddenly slammed his wine cup on the table, spilling the wine.

"The Earl of Yongning, a hereditary noble title, can be killed at will, and his land can be seized without hesitation!"

"How is this any different from banditry? How is this any different from the tyrannical Qin dynasty?"

He was a well-known local gentry in Jiangning Prefecture, with a collection of tens of thousands of books in his home. He considered himself a man of integrity and also owned considerable land.

A fat man who looked like a wealthy businessman next to him said with a worried expression, "Brother Zhao, please calm down."

"This current emperor is a peerless martial artist, holds immense military power, and can even execute the Jin marshal at will, let alone..."

"What's more, a count who has lost power?"

"I heard that not only in Lin'an, but also in Pingjiang Prefecture and Jiaxing Prefecture, several families have 'suddenly' suffered disasters, either from fires or bandits. Their land deeds and house deeds were burned to ashes, and as for the people... sigh!"

Another old man with a gloomy face slowly said, "No matter how high one's martial arts skills are, can one govern the world?"

"Ultimately, governing a country depends on scholar-officials; it requires adherence to rules and the importance of kinship!"

"Such forceful plundering has chilled the hearts of the gentry and officials; who would still be willing to serve the court?"

"Where do the taxes come from?"

"This is clearly self-destruction, cutting off one's own foundation!"

The gaunt scholar sneered: "Gentlemen, we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom."

"When we jointly petition the government, we must clearly state the advantages and disadvantages! Jiangnan is the foundation of the nation's finances, and we, the gentry, are the pillars of the region."

"Your Majesty, misled by treacherous officials, has committed such tyrannical acts; you will surely be punished by Heaven!"

"We will let the imperial court know that he doesn't have the final say in Jiangnan!"

Despite this, a deep fear lingered in the eyes of everyone present.

A joint petition?

The head of the Earl of Yongning is still hanging on the city gate.

But if we don't resist, are we really going to hand over our ancestral property to others?

......

In a secluded mountain villa in Luzhou.

This area falls within the influence of the Jianghuai Grand Camp, a place frequented by figures from the martial arts world. In the backyard training ground, several men dressed in tight-fitting clothes are sparring, their punches whistling through the air.

A burly man wielding a staff forced his opponent back with a single blow, then exhaled as he finished his stance and said to an elderly man with a sword on his back who was watching the fight, "Old Tan, you've traveled all over the country and are very well-informed."

"What's your opinion on the imperial court's recent crackdown on wealthy families in Jiangnan?"

The old man with the sword on his back stroked his beard and pondered for a moment: "Thunderous methods, compassionate heart."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"As for ruthless methods, you all know the story; the Yongning Marquis's mansion was decimated. As for a compassionate heart..."

The old man pointed outside the manor: "Those lands, once seized, will not be put into the imperial treasury or rewarded to nobles, but will be distributed to displaced people to cultivate. After ten years of cultivation, they will belong to the individual."

"The cement workshops and garlic workshops all hire migrant workers, providing them with food, lodging, and wages."

"Tell me, whose pockets did this money, grain, and land come from?"

The burly man wielding the stick suddenly realized: "It's flesh cut from the wealthy to subsidize the poorest people!"

"Exactly."

"I have traveled the world for decades and have seen officials who are tyrannical, weak and incompetent, and colluding with the wealthy."

"I've never seen anything like it before, where someone like the current emperor dares to use the handle of a knife to cut flesh from the fattest people to feed the starving poor."

A young swordsman nearby interjected, "But wouldn't that offend all the rich people in the world? Can that last?"

A young swordsman nearby interjected, "But wouldn't that offend all the rich people in the world? Can that last?"

The old man chuckled, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes: "Long-lasting?"

"In the martial arts world, people talk about quick revenge; in the imperial court, people fight for a century-old foundation."

"I don't understand those big principles."

"But I know that whoever gives us ordinary folks and outlaws food to eat, land to cultivate, and protection from the humiliation of the Jin dogs, we will follow!"

"Kill as many of those parasites that leech off the people as possible!"

"This world is long overdue for a change!"

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to be deep in thought, and looked towards the direction of Yingtian Prefecture in the north, their gazes holding something different from before.

......

Yingtianfu, the Imperial Palace, outside Xuande Gate.

On the Imperial Road Square paved with white marble, a group of people in crimson, purple, and blue knelt down.

There were twenty or thirty officials, ranging from censors and officials to secretaries and assistant secretaries of various departments, of different ranks, but at this moment they were all kneeling neatly in front of the tightly closed palace gates.

Most of them were old, many wore worn-out official robes, and some even held imperial tablets bestowed by the late emperor. They were all in tears, banging their heads on the ground, their cries echoing in the empty square, sounding particularly mournful and piercing.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please open your eyes!!"

An elderly imperial censor with graying hair beat his chest and stamped his feet, his voice hoarse: "The gentry are the pillars of the nation and the foundation of the countryside!"

"Such harsh treatment and the forcibly seizing of private property are no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs!"

"With this decree, the people are disheartened, the foundation of the nation is shaken, and the country will cease to exist, Your Majesty!!"

"Even if the Earl of Yongning has a thousand faults, he is still a descendant of noble birth and a descendant of Emperor Taizong!"

"Without a joint trial by the three judicial authorities, without proper legal punishment, arbitrarily resorting to force, slaughtering entire families... this is tyranny!"

"Your Majesty, the actions of Jie and Zhou are appalling!" Another middle-aged official prostrated himself on the ground and wept bitterly, his forehead hitting the cold ground, leaving a bruise.

"Your Majesty, please rescind your decree! Cease the forced requisition of land!"

"Severely punish the generals who commit indiscriminate killings! To appease the people and secure the foundation of the nation!!"

The crowd cried out in unison, their cries rising in waves, as if they had suffered a tremendous injustice, as if the Song Dynasty's empire was about to collapse because of this decree.

On the palace wall, the imperial guards stood expressionless, their sharp eyes scanning the area below.

The palace gates remained tightly shut, as if those inside could not hear the deafening pleas for remonstrance.

Seeing that there was no movement at the palace gates for a long time, the officials who knelt to remonstrate cried louder and their words became more intense. Some even began to list examples of "foolish rulers" and "tyrants" in the past, making veiled accusations.

Just as the cries reached their peak, the side gate of Xuande Gate suddenly opened with a loud "bang".

It was neither the emperor's carriage nor a eunuch delivering imperial edicts.

Instead, they were squads of Imperial City Guards, dressed in dark red outfits, with narrow swords at their waists, exuding a sharp and cold aura!

They surged out silently and swiftly, like a dark red tide, instantly splitting into several rows that subtly surrounded the kneeling officials.

The crying and shouting stopped abruptly.

The officials looked up in astonishment at the sudden appearance of the emperor's personal guards. Many of them still had snot and tears on their faces, but their expressions had turned to bewilderment and panic.

The leader was about forty years old, with an ordinary, even somewhat dull, face. However, his eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and seemed to have hooks when he looked at people.

He stood with his hand on his sword, dressed in the deep purple robes unique to the Imperial City Guard, his gaze slowly sweeping over the group of officials on the ground, who were weeping and spitting tears.

"By imperial decree, investigate and punish those who obstruct national policies, slander the emperor, and engage in corruption and bribery."

"I am Pei Xuan, the Commissioner of the Imperial City Guard."

Pei Xuan!

This name sent shivers down the spines of many officials. The newly promoted clerk of the Imperial City Guard was said to come from humble origins, act ruthlessly and decisively, and was deeply trusted by the emperor. He was a "cruel official" who emerged during the purge of Qin Hui's remaining followers.

Pei Xuan stopped looking at them, pulled a thick scroll from the pile of documents held by his deputy, opened it, and began to read aloud in his monotone voice:

"Censorate, Attendant Censor, Liu Yong."

The old censor who was kneeling at the front and had been crying the loudest just now trembled and looked up in astonishment.

"In the early years of the Shaoxing era, he accepted a bribe of 1,200 taels of silver from Wang Shouli, a wealthy merchant in Jiangning Prefecture, to cover up his son's cheating in the imperial examinations."

"They forcibly seized 67 mu of farmland in Qiantang County, drove two tenants to their deaths, and later closed the case as 'troublemakers resisting rent'."

"Using his position as an imperial censor, he covered up evidence of three instances of embezzlement of grain transport funds by his relative by marriage, Sun, the prefect of Hangzhou, obtaining a total of more than 5,000 taels of silver in bribes."

With each sentence Pei Xuan read, Liu Yong's face paled a little more, until finally it was ashen. Local.

A personal attendant behind Pei Xuan stepped forward and unfurled a scroll containing photocopies of correspondence, account books, and confessions signed by aggrieved parties. Although the specific contents were not clearly visible, the bright red handprints and official seals were striking and alarming.

"Zhou Ting, Director of the Personnel Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Personnel." Pei Xuan turned his gaze to another middle-aged official whose face was green.

"He sold official positions, including the position of registrar of Jiangyin County, to the son of a salt merchant for three thousand taels of silver."

"He used his power of performance evaluation to coerce his subordinates into donating money, obtaining a total of 1,800 taels of silver and a number of antiques and paintings."

"His son, Zhou Bing, ran amok in his hometown and trampled and injured two civilians, crippling them. Zhou Ting used his connections to have it treated as an 'accident,' and settled the matter by paying thirty taels of silver in compensation."

Similarly, the evidence scroll was displayed in public.

The time, place, amount, witnesses, and physical evidence are all irrefutable.

Those officials who had just been so passionate and self-proclaimed "loyal ministers" and "pure officials" now felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave; some trembled with fear, while others were as cold as mud.

They finally understood that this was not a spur-of-the-moment arrest. It was a meticulously planned purge!

The emperor had long known their weaknesses, and may have even been waiting for them to come forward on their own!

When the last name was read, the square fell into a deathly silence, with only the sound of the cold wind howling past.

Pei Xuan closed the file, his gaze sharp as a knife, and swept it once more over the group of pale-faced officials: "You eat the emperor's food, yet you think of repaying it; instead, you form cliques for personal gain, embezzle and pervert the law, and prey on the people!"

"Now they dare to collude, kneel before the emperor, slander him, and obstruct national policies!"

"His intentions are despicable, and his actions deserve to be punished by death!"

He suddenly waved his hand, his voice abruptly turning stern: "Take him down!"

"Take him to the Imperial City Guard and interrogate him rigorously!"

"Confiscate their property and deposit it into the national treasury!"

"Yes, sir!"

The officials of the Imperial City Guard responded in unison, their voices shaking the rooftops.

They pounced on them like wolves, two at a time, roughly dragging up the officials who had just been wailing and wailing, and putting them in shackles and chains.

Cries for mercy rang out again, but this time they were no longer sincere remonstrances, but rather, "Your Majesty, spare my life! I know my crime! Lord Pei, have mercy!"

……

Inside the Imperial Study.

Li Qingzhao gently placed a thick stack of documents next to Lu Zuo.

These are all secret reports that have been urgently sent from various places recently through the network of informants.

It meticulously details the crimes of many officials over the years, including embezzlement, fraud, and extortion, with detailed and shocking evidence.

She stood to the side and asked softly, "Your Majesty, should all of these... be punished according to the law?"

The prisons are probably already overcrowded. If another wave of imprisonment occurs, the court will be even more turbulent.

Lu Zuo's gaze shifted from a secret report detailing a vice minister's collusion with grain merchants to inflate canal transport prices. His face remained expressionless as he casually closed the file and tossed it back into the stack of "evidence."

"Let's keep it for now."

Lu Zuo leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. "In the imperial court, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

"If we arrest and execute all these people, who will do the work?"

"Governing a country is not like fighting in the martial arts world, where you can settle scores and kill everyone without hesitation."

"Sometimes, having a knife in your hand is more useful than immediately stabbing someone with it."

"Keep these things covered up tightly."

"But... it's okay to leak a little information out, appropriately. Let those who need to know know what I have."

"Let them be restless and uneasy, let them weigh for themselves whether they want to continue to oppose me with that little bit of land, or obediently listen and atone for their sins."

Li Qingzhao understood instantly.

His Majesty does not intend to settle scores with everyone now; he intends to turn these incriminating facts into a sword hanging over the heads of all officials, and into an invisible whip to promote new policies and even more changes in the future.

Anyone who disobeys will have their sword fall.

In order to prevent the sword from falling, many people had to act even more "loyal and diligent in serving the king" than before.

"Your Majesty, I will handle this properly and keep the rumors... within the necessary scope."

Li Qingzhao curtsied and prepared to leave to make arrangements.

Suddenly, my waist tightened, and an irresistible force struck me. I instantly lost my balance and was swept up in a horizontal embrace as the world spun around me!

"Ah! Your Majesty..."

Li Qingzhao gasped softly, her hand instinctively gripping Lu Zuo's chest.