Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"Run! The border troops from Datong have broken in!"

Someone shouted, and the once-arrogant rebel army was thrown into chaos, abandoning their armor and weapons and scrambling to escape.

Chen Dayuan panicked. He glanced at the Prince Xin lying on the ground, gritted his teeth, and turned to run away.

"Zhao Si".

Gu Yannian called out softly.

A dark shadow flashed by.

"Pfft!"

The sound of the Embroidered Spring Blade being drawn from its sheath was crisp and melodious.

Chen Dayuan didn't even see how Zhao Si drew his knife before a fine head flew into the air, and warm blood splattered all over Zhu Qijun.

The headless corpse swayed and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The remaining rebel generals inside the hall were terrified. They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly.

"What I despise most in my life are those who break the rules and recklessly use weapons. If they dirty the floor tiles of the Qianqing Palace, it will take a lot of soap to clean them."

Gu Yannian glanced at the bloodstains on the ground with disgust, then turned and walked to Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen was still clutching the abacus tightly, completely stunned and in a daze.

"Eunuch Wang, the late emperor's edict can be brought out now."

Gu Yannian said gently.

As if waking from a dream, Wang Zhen looked at Gu Yannian, who seemed like a god descended to earth, and tears welled up in his eyes.

He knelt down with a thud and turned the sandalwood abacus over.

Inside the wooden groove of the abacus base, a hidden compartment was seamlessly embedded.

With trembling hands, Wang Zhen opened the hidden compartment, took out a roll of bright yellow silk, and respectfully held it above his head.

"The late emperor's edict is here! The throne shall be passed to His Highness the Prince of Cheng!"

Gu Yannian did not reach out to take it, but simply nodded slightly.

Just then, outside the Qianqing Palace, came the sound of armor clashing in unison, with a powerful clang.

The Datong cavalry had already reached the outside of the palace.

The heavy curtain was suddenly flung open by a short black iron stick stained with dried blood.

The cold wind howled and swept into the warm room.

Prince Zhu Qiyu of Cheng, clad in blood-stained heavy armor, held upside down the iron shovel that had once dug up countless corrupt and corrupt areas in Datong, strode across the threshold like a blood-soaked Asura.

His cold, icy eyes passed over the Prince Xin, who was slumped on the ground, and looked directly at the Grand Secretary Gu Yannian, who stood in front of the dragon bed, dressed in moon-white robes, spotless and immaculate.

Eyes facing each other.

There were no pleasantries of a long-awaited reunion, only a tacit understanding and scrutiny during the transfer of power.

Zhu Qiyu casually slammed the blood-stained iron shovel onto the floor tile with a clang, then slowly knelt on one knee, his voice steady yet filled with endless murderous intent.

"I arrived late to save the emperor, and the Grand Tutor was frightened."

Gu Yannian opened his folding fan, a deep smile appearing on his lips.

He slowly walked forward, took the bright yellow imperial edict from Wang Zhen, and handed it to Zhu Qiyu.

"Your Highness has arrived at the perfect time. From this day forward, the account books of the Great Ming Dynasty will be under Your Highness's control."

The first snow of the fifteenth year of the Zhengtong reign was ultimately stained a glaring crimson with the blood of the vassal kings and rebels.

And in this baptism of blood and fire.

The new emperor of the Ming Dynasty, known as the "Abacus Emperor," has firmly grasped supreme power, stepping over the corpses of treacherous officials.

On the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City, the snow, blown by the cold morning wind, fell softly into the courtyard.

It covered up the still-wet bloodstains outside the Qianqing Palace.

The chilling aura of the Datong cavalry still lingered over the imperial city, making it hard for the entire court to breathe.

The coup attempt by Prince Xin, Zhu Qijun, seemed like an absurd joke under the iron hooves of these 30,000 elite border troops.

It collapsed in less than half an hour.

Those rebels who dreamed of joining the emperor have now all been disarmed.

They were escorted to the imperial prison like lambs to the slaughter.

Below the steps of the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qiyu was clad in blood-stained mountain-patterned armor, and in his hand he held a large sandalwood abacus that symbolized power and rules.

He looked down at Prince Xin, Zhu Qijun, who was bound hand and foot and forced to kneel in the snow.

At this moment, Prince Xin's hair was disheveled.

The dark gold brocade robe with dragon patterns that symbolized a prince of the royal family was now covered in mud and blood, and there was no trace of his previous arrogance.

"Zhu Qiyu! Your victory was dishonorable! You arbitrarily mobilized border troops into the capital; you are the greatest traitor!"

Even though Zhu Qijun was pinned to the ground, he continued to roar like a mad dog.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the new ruler on the steps.

Zhu Qiyu's face was calm and composed, and there was not a trace of the arrogance of a victor on his face, which had been weathered by the winds and sands of the Nine Borders for four years.

There was only one kind of coldness and impatience in the old shopkeeper when checking the bad accounts.

"Is this an unfair victory?"

Zhu Qiyu snorted coldly and held the sandalwood abacus in front of his chest.

With a "clang," a bead was moved down.

"I spent four years surveying the land along the Nine Borders and witnessed the ugly behavior of those corrupt officials. Your conduct is so low that you wouldn't even rank among the top rats in those border towns."

Zhu Qiyu turned his head and looked at Zhao Si, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was standing solemnly to the side.

"Commander Zhao, lead your men to ransack the Prince Xin's mansion, along with all the imperial relatives and nobles who are dependent on him, and the generals of the Beijing Garrison—not a single one should be spared! Their residences, farmland, antiques, paintings, and all their silver, jewels, and jade should be thoroughly valued and accounted for."

"If this is not enough to make up for the loss caused by his smashing up the gate of the Qianqing Palace and trampling the flowers and plants in the Imperial Garden today, then the women will be sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), and all the men will be sent to the border to serve as forced laborers, repairing the walls of the Ming Dynasty for generations!"

Zhao Si bowed and accepted the order. His loud reply made the rebel generals present turn ashen-faced.

Zhu Qijun collapsed to the ground, knowing that he was completely finished.

They fell into the hands of this "calculating prince" who even haggled over the cost of trampling on flowers and plants.

The world has truly changed.

With the rebellion quelled, the Qianqing Palace returned to its solemn state.

The remains of the late Emperor Zhu Qizhen have been properly placed in the coffin.

The mourning hall was set up in Fengtian Hall, and all the civil and military officials were dressed in mourning clothes, their cries of grief shaking the heavens.

Some of those cries were genuine expressions of emotion.

How much of it stemmed from fear of that iron-fisted emperor is unknown.

A country cannot live without a ruler for a day.

With the late emperor's will abdicating decree in hand, and with 30,000 iron cavalry from Datong stationed in the capital, [the emperor's forces were formidable].

Zhu Qiyu's enthronement ceremony was thus put on the agenda.

The Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau consulted the calendar day and night, and finally decided on the auspicious day for the coronation as the fifteenth day of the eleventh lunar month.

In the past few days, the situation in the capital has remained as stable as Mount Tai under Gu Yannian's command.

Those members of the imperial family and generals who participated in the rebellion were eradicated by the swift and decisive actions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The gold and silver treasures obtained from confiscating property were continuously transferred into the imperial treasury.

Zhu Qiyu didn't even have time to grieve.

He then sat day and night in the Wenhua Hall, checking the accounts of those confiscated property, fearing that the clerks below would line their own pockets.