If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Feng Wei's lips moved, and he glanced at Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming was also looking at him, his gaze as calm as a still mirror, without any intention of exerting pressure.

He took a deep breath, lifted the hem of his court robes, and knelt down, his forehead slamming heavily against the gold-brick floor.

"Your Majesty's will is my humble servant!"

The officials behind him seemed to have their last hesitation dispelled by that voice, and they all knelt down, kowtowing in unison.

"We humbly obey Your Majesty's will! Your Majesty is wise!"

Su Mingyue slowly withdrew her gaze from the officials in the hall, and then turned to Zhou Ming.

She reached out and grasped the hilt of the longsword stuck in the steps in front of the dragon throne. With a slight exertion of her wrist, the longsword was pulled out with a clang.

The sword traced a cold arc in the morning light, and the moment the tip left the gold brick, it emitted a clear and long hum.

She held the sword horizontally in front of her, her gaze calm and serene.

"Zhou Ming, I bestow upon you my personal sword. It is for everyone, from princes and nobles to commoners."

"Anyone who does not comply with the new law may be killed with a single sword stroke."

Zhou Ming took the longsword from Chunlan, held it with both hands, and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I thank you. I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust and implement the new policies as soon as possible."

Su Mingyue nodded and didn't say anything more, while Chunlan beside her shouted loudly.

"Resigning from court"

Carrying the sword given to him by Su Mingyue, Zhou Ming did not return to his residence, but went straight to the military camp outside the city.

Upon arriving at the military camp, Zhou Ming met with the garrison commander and, without any further pleasantries, directly placed the military tally on the table and mustered five thousand troops.

Five thousand armored and armed soldiers from Youzhou lined up in the camp.

Zhou Ming mounted his horse and uttered only two words.

"Set off."

Five thousand soldiers marched into Yongning City in a grand procession, their hooves echoing dullly and rhythmically on the bluestone streets.

People along the way quickly made way for them, and some of the bolder ones tiptoed to peek into the procession.

She spotted Zhou Ming riding at the front of the line and was so startled that she quickly pulled her head back in and closed the window that she had just propped up tightly.

As soon as the procession passed, the people in the city began to discuss it.

"What is Steward Zhou up to now?"

"Is this another case of them confiscating our property?"

"Very likely..."

"That's right. Last time they brought troops into the city, they just went to confiscate property."

"That's right, not only in Yongning City, but several other aristocratic families in other cities have also been wiped out."

"Well, at least he only wiped out the powerful families and didn't target us ordinary people."

Zhou Ming led 5,000 men straight to the west of the city, completely surrounding the entire neighborhood where aristocratic families lived.

All the alleyways and the back and side gates of every mansion were sealed off, and the soldiers stood in formation along the walls, their armor forming a cold, iron wall.

Zhou Ming's order consisted of only eight words.

Only entry is permitted; exit is not allowed.

After setting up the outer defenses, Zhou Ming led over a thousand soldiers and a group of officials from the Ministry of Justice.

They walked straight through the deserted street and surrounded the Zheng family's mansion completely.

The Zheng Mansion was the largest mansion in the west of the city. Its vermilion gate was over ten feet high, with a gilded plaque hanging above it. Two stone lions sat majestically on white marble pedestals at the entrance.

But at this moment, the two stone lions were surrounded by black-armored soldiers, and they looked like two trapped beasts in an iron cage.

The gate swung open, and Zheng Yaoming strode out, followed by a large group of servants and guards armed with swords.

His gaze swept across the faces of the soldiers surrounding the mansion, finally landing on Zhou Ming, his cloudy old eyes almost spitting fire.

His second son was thrown out of the Minister's mansion by Zhou Ming like trash, becoming the laughing stock of the whole city.

His face was trampled and crushed in front of everyone in the imperial court by Zhou Ming.

Now Zhou Ming has surrounded his house with his troops.

He had lived for over sixty years and had never been bullied to this extent.

He stood on the steps in front of the door, pointing a dagger at Zhou Ming, his voice hoarse and shrill, filled with barely suppressed rage:

"Zhou Ming! How dare you! You openly besiege an official of the imperial court! Are you plotting a rebellion?!"

The sound echoed down the long street. He couldn't understand how someone who was just a lowly servant dared to challenge the Zheng family like this.

During the Great Xia Dynasty, the Zheng family, though not among the most prominent in the entire Nine Provinces, was still considered a prestigious family.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, its territory consisted only of the small Youzhou.

With the Zheng family here, they can be said to be the largest family in Youzhou besides the Su family.

His students and former officials were spread throughout Youzhou, and in terms of power, they were only slightly less powerful than the Su family.

Who gave Zhou Ming the audacity?

Even the current empress has to give the Zheng family some face.

Zhou Ming, mounted on his horse, looked down at Zheng Yaoming.

Upon hearing Zheng Yaoming's words, his expression faltered slightly, as if he had been stumped by Zheng Yaoming's question.

However, after a moment, Zhou Ming's expression returned to normal. He tilted his head slightly and asked in a slow and deliberate tone:

"Oh? An official appointed by the imperial court? May I ask which court you are appointed by, and what your position is?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

Zheng Yaoming's roar came to an abrupt halt, his face instantly turning from a flushed red with anger to an ashen, embarrassed expression.

His lips opened and closed repeatedly, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He has indeed been attending court every day these past few days, standing in the front row of civil officials and participating in every court assembly.

However, after Su Mingyue ascended the throne, she only officially appointed Zhou Ming as her sole official official.

Although the others also handled affairs in their respective government offices, strictly speaking, they were all temporarily serving in their positions and did not have formal appointment edicts.

He was not an official appointed by the imperial court; he was nobody.

This fact being exposed by Zhou Ming in public was more humiliating to him than any insult.

Zhou Ming didn't give him time to process this embarrassing situation.

He dropped the half-smile from his face, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable air of authority:

"Zheng Yaoming, let's not beat around the bush. Choose one of the thirteen prefectures in Youzhou and go to implement the new laws."

His gaze swept across Zheng Yaoming's face as if he were looking at a piece of merchandise waiting to be sold.

"Don't you keep saying you're an official appointed by the imperial court? I'm giving you this chance. Go and push down the new law yourself."

Upon hearing Zhou Ming's words, Zheng Yaoming's face contorted in pain.

He had lived for over sixty years, ruling the Youzhou region with absolute authority for most of his life, and now this mere brat was forcing him to personally undermine the foundations of his aristocratic family.

The implementation of the new law was to force aristocratic families to hand over their land to the state and relinquish their privilege of hereditary titles.

This made him feel worse than if he had been killed outright.

His chest heaved violently, his white beard trembled in the wind, and finally, a hoarse roar escaped from deep within his throat:

"You want me to implement new laws? You're making us dig our own graves, you brat!"

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! I think you're playing with fire!"

The last two words were almost roared out, the sound echoing down the long street in front of the Zheng residence.

Even the soldiers surrounding the ward wall couldn't help but put their hands on the hilts of their swords.