My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence.

After a long pause, it was Liu Che who first let out a soft sigh.

"Putting aside that kid's picky eating habits... he has indeed been quite devoted to us."

Li Shimin nodded and replied.

"More than just doing my best."

"Recalling Chengqian's leg injury, then Guanyinbi's critical illness, and then Lizhi and Sizi accompanying him to seek medical treatment..."

"Manager Chen worked tirelessly without ever shirking his responsibilities, nor did he demand exorbitant prices for us extraordinary people, nor did he consider himself a rare commodity."

Li Shimin paused.

"But he kept insisting that he was just an ordinary person!"

"Ordinary? We don't see anything unusual about it!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted.

"We've been beggars, fought in wars, and sat on the throne! We've seen it all."

"Someone like Chen, who can suppress his temper and run around helping a group of strange people of unknown origin who are always causing trouble and trying to get something for nothing, contacting the hospital, arranging food and lodging, explaining the rules..."

"Most of the people we encountered back then would have either exploited us to the bone or avoided us like the plague!"

Old Zhu, unusually, spoke a fair word.

"This kid isn't a bad person, he's just too comfortable and doesn't know the value of money!"

"besides……"

Zhu Yuanzhang paused.

"They're acting strangely here now too."

"We still remember that when we went to the hospital last time, we heard people complaining about the high cost of medical care, others complaining about not having jobs, and complaining about how bad the government was."

"If this were in our Great Ming Dynasty, if anyone dared to discuss the court like this, dared to criticize the court for anything, hmph!"

Old Zhu sneered.

"Regardless of whether he's right or wrong, let the Imperial Guards arrest him first!"

"Dare to tarnish the imperial court's reputation? Someone must have instigated it!"

"Send him to the imperial prison for a few days of severe torture first!"

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, showing no surprise whatsoever.

"Suppressing the people's voices is more difficult than preventing a river from overflowing. This is a fundamental principle of governing a country. Local gossip and political discussions are the beginning of chaos in the law. The Qin law also has clear penalties for this."

Upon hearing this, Liu Che frowned slightly.

"Aren't the people of later generations far too audacious? Or is the current imperial court too lax in its oversight?"

"That's not all!"

Old Zhu snorted.

"Guess what that kid told me last time?"

Zhu Yuanzhang cleared his throat and spoke in the manner of Chen Mo.

"What corrupt officials? There are no corrupt officials now. They are all public servants who serve the people. How can there be such a thing as corrupt officials?"

Zhu Yuanzhang slurped up a mouthful of instant noodles, but his eyes were fixed on the others.

"Let me ask you this: do you believe that?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

Do they believe it?

Would you believe it?

"You don't believe me? We don't believe you either!"

Old Zhu chuckled.

"Corrupt officials can never be eradicated, no matter when."

Liu Che nodded.

"Everyone has desires, and desires can be amplified."

"Once desires grow too strong, trouble is bound to follow."

"Don't be fooled by my policy of suppressing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism. In reality, I still govern the country using Legalism, outwardly Confucian but inwardly Legalist."

"Confucianism is fine for teaching ordinary people and others, but if you really use Confucianism to manage those officials..."

"hehe……"

Liu Che scoffed.

Other emperors could naturally understand his meaning.

"Confucianism was never very good to begin with!"

Ying Zheng also looked disdainful.

"They've all led our Fusu astray!"

"To truly govern a country, one must rely on the law!"

"No! I believe that law alone is not enough; we also need—fear!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the silent crowd and gave a cold smile.

"How can they do their jobs properly without enough fear?"

"Those who embezzled more than sixty taels of silver before were to be skinned alive and their skin hung on the street as a warning to others!"

"Hiss~!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Che and the others all gasped in shock.

"You're being too ruthless!"

"ruthless?"

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a cold laugh through his nose.

"If we're not this ruthless, they won't know fear!"

"They have no fear, yet they dare to reach into the national treasury and the people's food supply!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was filled with murderous intent.

"Do you think it's cruel to hang peeled daylilies on the city gate?"

"Let me tell you, every tael of silver swindled by corrupt officials may represent the wronged souls of an entire family who starved to death! It may represent the frostbitten fingers of soldiers on the border! It may represent the widows and orphans who drowned when the riverbanks collapsed!"

"We used to be monks and beggars. Our parents both starved to death because of these corrupt officials!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze swept over the group of emperors.

"To be merciful to these people is the greatest cruelty one can inflict on the people of the world!"

"We'd rather bear the stigma of being a 'tyrant' than let them be too afraid to lay a hand on us!"

"To carve out an honest and upright officialdom! Is the prosperous era you've built solely on benevolence and virtue, without the bloodshed of corrupt officials?"

This question caused Liu Che, Li Shimin, and others to fall into a brief silence.

They certainly fought corruption and used severe punishments, but it was rare to see them use such a ruthless and public method of deterrence as Zhu Yuanzhang did.

Li Shimin remained silent for a moment, then sighed.

"The law is valued for its strictness, but also for its impartiality. If laws and regulations are clear and enforced consistently, so that people know what to do and what to avoid, then strict laws can form the foundation of order. However..."

Li Shimin paused, then changed the subject.

"Such a cruel public display may damage the benevolent spirit of heaven and earth, and also harm the dignity of the imperial court."

Liu Che also spoke up.

"I also think this method is too cruel!"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu immediately snorted coldly.

"That's because you've never experienced the oppression of corrupt officials, and you don't know how much harm they inflict on ordinary people!"

"Everything has a beginning. Don't think they'll stop just because they've been greedy. Their desires will only grow stronger, not weaker!!!"

"I can't control what happens in the future, but as long as we're alive, those corrupt officials will live in constant fear!"

"Unless we're dead!!! Those corrupt officials will never have an easy time!!!"

"Father..."

Zhu Di opened his mouth.

"Manager Chen already told us about the situation in the Ming Dynasty... so..."

"We know!"

Zhu Yuanzhang then changed the subject.

"Young Chen wasn't wrong about some of what he said before, so we went back and made a lot of changes, and the officials' salaries have been increased significantly. If they still dare to be corrupt, then... hmph!!!"

Old Zhu gave a cold laugh and didn't continue.

He finished the soup in the bowl.

"That's enough for today! We can discuss it again if anything comes up later."

After finishing his sentence, Old Zhu patted his belly and left, leaving behind a final message.

"That kid is definitely hiding something! You all better keep an eye on him, or it'll be too late if we find out too late."