You were asked to write a political intrigue drama, but you wrote "Da Ming 1566".

"Let You Write a Political Intrigue Drama, You Write 'Da Ming 1566'" is causing a reading frenzy on Cola Novels. Haven't you read it yet?

Zheng Bichang didn't even touch the cup of pre-rain Longjing tea that had long since gone cold. He let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart. The demeanor of a high-ranking official he used to maintain was completely gone. The veins on his forehead could not hide the surging anxiety. He was restless and unable to sit still.

[Big labels don't work anymore, let's get down to business.]

He Maocai, standing to the side, even had his official robes askew, his belt hanging loosely. He slammed his hand hard on the rosewood table, his eyes bulging red, his throat burning like it was filled with embers. He paced back and forth on the blue brick floor, the dull thud of his boots hitting the ground echoing one after another. He could no longer maintain the airs of a high-ranking official in charge of criminal matters; he was also getting anxious.

[What more could be said? The Japanese pirates were already on the execution ground, and at noon the executioner dared to release them—this alone is a capital offense.]

Zheng Bichang abruptly raised his head, his voice cracking with barely suppressed rage and despair. His knuckles turned pale from pounding the urgent report from Chun'an on the table, and he practically screamed the words through gritted teeth. The moment those words left his lips, the last shred of defense he had been holding onto crumbled completely. This shattered Zheng Bichang's defenses, and he slumped back into his armchair as if his bones had been removed. He sighed repeatedly against the rafters, shaking his head violently, feeling utterly lost and trapped in a hopeless situation.

[This one point alone is untenable. There's no confession, no case file. The person was arrested in the early morning, and the report was filed in Hangzhou by the morning of the same day. They even claimed it was a sentence of over ten years. How could you leave such a huge handle for them to use against you!]

Zheng Bichang slammed his hand on the table and jumped up from his chair, his chest heaving. Pointing at He Maocai's nose, his voice was filled with exasperated anger and barely concealed, near-collapse panic. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, and the last syllable trembled uncontrollably. He simply couldn't understand how this seasoned veteran of the criminal investigation circle, who had been navigating the world for over a decade, could make such a basic and fatal mistake. He hadn't even prepared the most basic statements or case files properly before daring to report a major case of collusion with Japanese pirates. This wasn't just setting a trap for Hai Rui; it was practically handing his own neck to Hai Rui's knife!

This heated, frantic, and desperate conversation was broadcast live, word for word, and the screen was already flooded with comments. Most viewers saw that Zheng and He seemed to have been driven to desperation by Hai Rui, their anxiety palpable. Many marveled that this lowly seventh-rank county magistrate had managed to push two powerful provincial officials to such a predicament.

However, some more perceptive and insightful viewers felt a chill run down their spines, with the hairs on the back of their necks standing on end. A bone-chilling coldness shot from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads, spreading down their spines and throughout their bodies, even chilling their fingertips.

It's important to understand that He Maocai is currently the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, a third-rank official appointed by the imperial court, in charge of criminal matters in the province. He is the highest authority over the laws of the Ming Dynasty in Zhejiang, holding the power of life and death over the people of the province. And what is his way of handling things?

When his schemes are exposed, his goals are thwarted, and his career and life are threatened, the first thought that pops into his mind is never to reflect on his mistakes or seek solutions within the legal framework. Instead, his immediate thought is to kill, to eliminate the person who raised the issue and obstructed him. In his eyes, a seventh-rank county magistrate appointed by the imperial court, a colleague serving in the same court, or even a living person, are nothing more than obstacles in his path. If he can't move them, he'll smash them without the slightest hesitation.

Even as a criminal investigator who had climbed the ranks from a lowly prison clerk to the position of Provincial Surveillance Commissioner for over a decade, He Mao knew the entire code of the Ming Dynasty better than anyone else. He could recite the procedures for every case and the punishments for every crime with his eyes closed, flawlessly. Yet, this highly skilled criminal official, when Zheng Bichang asked him how he planned to commit murder, He Mao…

Cai's first reaction was not to kill someone through legitimate legal reasons and procedures, but rather his mind was filled with the most primitive, barbaric, simple, and violent methods of hacking, slashing, poisoning, and strangling. He would either send thugs to intercept and kill the person in the street, or secretly poison them to take their life silently. If all else failed, he would find a pretext to imprison the person and end their life with a strangulation rope, only reporting that they died of a sudden illness. In his eyes, killing never needed the backing of the law; all he needed was a knife, a packet of medicine, and a rope.

Otherwise, in such a anxious moment, why would he unconsciously blurt these words out? He didn't think about them at all; they just came out naturally, as casually as drinking water or eating.

If he hadn't done these things, if he had even a shred of respect for human life or fear of the law, and if he considered these acts of disregarding human life as an inviolable bottom line, he would have struggled with these words, hesitated, and weighed the consequences. He would never have spoken so frankly and directly.

The fact that He Maocai could so casually and naturally describe such a ruthless approach only shows that in his more than ten years of criminal career, he had probably done this kind of thing—using his power and violence to secretly kill people—not just once or twice, but countless times. It had long become his instinct for dealing with trouble and eliminating dissidents. Countless innocent people had died under his knife, poison, or noose. The official seal of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner in his hands was not a seal of authority over the law, but clearly a death warrant stained with countless blood.

As for Zheng Bichang, his behavior was somewhat more respectable than He Maocai's, with a touch of hypocrisy to cover his true intentions, and he wasn't as blatantly and directly calling for violence. He didn't directly say how he wanted to kill Hai Rui, but instead frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What reason would you use to kill him?"

This seemingly casual remark completely exposed his logic, showing that Zheng Bichang always needed a reason to kill, even if it was fabricated or false, it had to be flawless, at least appearing respectable and leaving no room for criticism. His statement to He Maocai that accusations of collusion with Japanese pirates, embezzlement, and disobeying imperial orders reveals Zheng Bichang's usual method of killing: first, he would brand the victim with the stigma of collusion with Japanese pirates, corruption, and disobeying imperial edicts, thus condemning them to shame before using the law as a pretext to eliminate the person who raised the issue.

This seems somewhat better than the straightforward brute He Maocai, but a deeper analysis reveals that it is even more chilling. Because He Maocai's murders were blatant abuse of power for personal gain, naked wrongful killings, and anyone could see his wickedness. Even after the victims died, people still knew that they had died unjustly.

Zheng Bichang's killings, however, were not only driven by the essence of abusing power for personal gain, but also cloaked in a veneer of righteous justice. He used the banner of upholding the law and loyalty to the court, and even went so far as to completely smear the victim, firmly pinning the charge of exterminating nine generations of their family on them. The killings were made to seem reasonable and in accordance with every provision of the Ming Dynasty law, leaving the victim speechless and unable to defend themselves, and ensuring that they would bear eternal infamy after death. This perfectly embodied the procedural justice in everyone's eyes.

These bureaucrats, wielding power and relying on their familiarity with the rules, exploit legal procedures to achieve their own corrupt and despicable ends, turning the national law into a weapon for personal gain and the elimination of dissidents—far more terrifying than He Maocai! But ultimately, whether it's the straightforward and callous He Maocai, or the hypocritical and ruthless Zheng Bichang, these two types of bureaucrats entrenched in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom are undoubtedly chilling. They have no regard for the court, the law, the people, or any moral compass; they are completely ruthless in pursuing their goals. Now, driven to this dead end, the appalling darkness they usually conceal beneath their official robes and veiled in benevolent rhetoric is laid bare before everyone's eyes.

After Zheng Bichang coldly rejected his plan to kill Hai Rui outright, He Maocai, in a frantic rush, quickly devised a new and even more insidious scheme. He sidled up to Zheng Bichang, lowered his voice, and gritted his teeth as he revealed his plan: immediately dispatch men at top speed to Chun'an to slaughter the Japanese pirates who had been used to frame Hai Rui for colluding with them, as well as the innocent disaster victims who had been forcibly accused of treason, leaving no survivors in the Chun'an county jail.

As long as all the prisoners are dead in jail, with no witnesses or physical evidence to corroborate their claims, they can pin the colossal crime of "releasing Japanese pirates and silencing the prisoners" entirely on Hai Rui. Then, they can use this charge to immediately arrest him. Once Hai Rui, their biggest obstacle, is detained, their forced purchase of land from the people in Chun'an will be unimpeded, allowing them to continue smoothly, make up for the deficit left by Shen Yishi, and give the palace and Grand Secretary Yan an explanation. Only in this way can they survive!

This time, after listening to He Maocai's plan, Zheng Bichang did not refuse again, nor did he shake his head and sigh. Instead, he sat in the armchair, tapping his fingers on the table. After a moment of silence, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He then began to add details to the plan, polishing the originally crude conspiracy into something more and more meticulous and insidious.

This time, after listening to He Maocai's plan, Zheng Bichang did not refuse again, nor did he shake his head and sigh. Instead, he sat in the armchair, tapping his fingers on the table. After a moment of silence, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He then began to add details to the plan, polishing the originally crude conspiracy into something more and more meticulous and insidious.

For example, he first calmly decided who should carry out the task. Should he give Commander Jiang and Commander Xu full authority?

He knew better than anyone that Commander Jiang and Commander Xu were He Maocai's tools, adept at killing and silencing witnesses, and capable of handling such dirty work cleanly and efficiently. However, the two commanders of the garrison were of low rank and had no right to detain a county magistrate of the seventh rank in the imperial court, let alone convict Hai Rui of the serious crime of colluding with Japanese pirates to silence him. Relying on the two of them alone would only leave behind a lot of incriminating evidence.

Therefore, in that instant, Zheng Bichang made a move that was both brilliant and extremely vicious.

That is to still have Commander Jiang and Commander Xu lead their men to Chun'an overnight, secretly infiltrate the county jail to silence witnesses, and make the scene look like Hai Rui silencing his criminals. At the same time, immediately issue an official document in the name of the Zhejiang Provincial Governor's Office, ordering the Hangzhou Prefect Gao Hanwen to set off for Chun'an immediately to supervise the major case of collusion with Japanese pirates. Calculate the distance and time accurately, so that by the time Gao Hanwen arrives in Chun'an, the matter will have been settled, and there will be no room for reversal.

Gao Hanwen, the prefect of Hangzhou, was Hai Rui's superior and had the power to govern Chun'an and investigate his subordinates. Moreover, according to the explicit provisions of the Ming Dynasty law, if the official in charge of guarding prisoners allowed a serious criminal convicted of treason who was sentenced to death to die in the prison, regardless of whether he was the one who did it, he would bear inescapable responsibility and would have to detain Hai Rui, who caused the criminal to die in prison.

Zheng Bichang's calculations were meticulous. Once Hai Rui was apprehended, Gao Hanwen, the Hanlin Academy scholar whom they already had leverage over, would pose no obstacle and would be completely at their mercy, entangled in this precarious situation. Furthermore, since Gao Hanwen had personally detained Hai Rui and handled the case, even if the truth came out later, the blame wouldn't fall on them. Everyone would only see it as infighting within Prince Yu's faction, or even as another round of court struggle between Prince Yu and Yan's faction. The two of them could then remain unscathed.

And so, in this tightly closed signing room, Zheng Bichang and He Maocai finalized this extremely insidious plan in just a few words, completely disregarding the dozens of innocent lives in the prison, with only their own official positions and personal safety in their eyes.

The subtlety and malice of the story were dissected and analyzed word by word by the bigwigs in the live broadcast room who were well-versed in court politics. The viewers in front of the screen stared wide-eyed and gaped, feeling as if their blood had frozen and they had even forgotten to breathe.

After a brief silence, the live stream chat exploded with a dense barrage of comments that filled the entire screen. Most viewers were focused on one thing: repeatedly spamming the same phrase in the chat.

"To come up with such a vicious plan in such a short time."

"Zheng Bichang and He Maocai are utterly wicked, their hearts are black to the core, they've reached the point of being insane!"

"Is this the true face of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom? Is this what those high-ranking officials, who spout benevolence and morality, are actually doing behind the scenes?"

"This is terrifying! This is practically a breeding ground for Gu worms! Only the most venomous and powerful Gu worms are fit to survive in here. Anyone with a kind heart or a slow mind would be devoured to the bone!"

"If an ordinary person like me, who can't even handle the backstabbing and infighting in the workplace, went in, I'd probably be sold out in no time and still be counting the money for them, not even knowing how I died, not even a bone left!"

"I used to daydream every day, imagining myself traveling back to ancient times and wielding power in the officialdom. Now it seems that the Ming Dynasty is truly an educational drama. These few minutes of the plot have given me a huge slap in the face, clearly telling me my own limitations. With my limited intelligence, I wouldn't survive more than one episode."

"This is incredibly intellectually stimulating! After watching this part, I feel like my brain is about to explode. This isn't just watching a drama; it's like taking a political intrigue class!"