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

The fourth year of the Chenghua reign, in the third month.

Longjiang Shipyard on the banks of the Yangtze River.

Since the Imperial Guards forcibly brought in a mountain of supplies a few days ago, the previous deathly silence has completely disappeared.

Today is an auspicious day, and the sky is just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

A tall altar has been erected in front of the dry dock.

On the altar were offered three sacrificial animals: pig, cow, and sheep, and sandalwood incense as thick as a child's arm burned in the incense burner.

Wisps of smoke rose and lingered in the vast river breeze.

Pei Yuan, dressed in a gold-embroidered flying fish robe and with a rhinoceros horn belt around his waist, walked steadily onto the altar.

He washed his hands and accepted the three sticks of incense that Lu Zheng handed him.

He bowed three times respectfully to the surging river and the golden nanmu tree lying quietly in the center of the dock.

Below the stage, more than three thousand bare-armed craftsmen and thousands of laborers responsible for hard labor all held their breath in awe.

They looked at the infamous imperial envoy with awe.

"Lift the hoisting equipment and install the keel!"

Old Yan stood by the dock, and with a hoarse voice, he let out a loud shout.

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

Hundreds of strong winch operators worked together, stretching the thick hemp ropes straight.

Accompanied by the creaking sound of the winch turning.

The top-grade golden nanmu wood, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms and over ten zhang long, was slowly hoisted up.

It landed steadily in the base that had already been built with pig iron and huge stones.

"boom!"

The moment the keel was set in place, the entire dry dock floor trembled slightly.

"May the dragon's bones be secure, and all things be auspicious!"

Old Yan, tears streaming down his face, was the first to kneel down on the ground.

Three thousand craftsmen knelt down in unison and shouted in unison.

Pei Yuan turned around and inserted the incense sticks into the bronze censer.

He looked down at the group of pale-faced, ragged craftsmen.

These people were exploited by local officials and did the hardest work.

Yet they couldn't even feed their entire family.

Unlike ordinary civil officials, Pei Yuan did not launch into a long, pedantic discourse about loyalty to the country and gratitude for imperial favor.

This treacherous minister always followed only the most straightforward rules.

He waved to the audience.

Lu Zheng understood and immediately led two teams of Imperial Guards, carrying more than a dozen heavy mahogany boxes forward.

"Clang!"

The box lids were all lifted off at once.

The rising sun shone into the box, refracting large swaths of dazzling white light.

Those were all ten-tael silver ingots of perfect quality, neatly stacked in the box, exuding a simple and brutal shock.

The craftsmen below the stage stared wide-eyed, their breathing becoming heavy.

Pei Yuan walked up to a silver box, casually picked up two silver ingots, and tapped them together.

It emitted a crisp metallic hum.

"I am a rough man, I don't know how to compose poems or write essays, and I don't like to talk about those empty and pretentious principles."

Pei Yuan's voice carried far on the river breeze, exuding an undeniable domineering aura.

"His Majesty wants to build a thousand-ton treasure ship. If you do the work for His Majesty, I will give you silver."

Pei Yuan tossed the silver ingot back into the box and said loudly:

"This 100,000 taels of silver was stolen from the beds of those corrupt officials and wealthy merchants. Today, every master shipbuilder on the roster will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver."

"Ordinary craftsmen will each be rewarded with ten taels of silver, and laborers who do odd jobs will each be rewarded with five taels of silver!"

"This money is called the start-up bonus, and it will be paid immediately, not a penny less!"

Upon hearing this, the vast Longjiang Shipyard fell into a brief silence.

All the craftsmen could not believe their ears.

In the past, when the imperial court supervised the construction of large-scale projects, those honest officials would always talk about serving the court, but their wages and salaries were cut at every level.

What they received were just a few strings of rusty, low-quality coins, and they even had to pay extra for rice and grain.

This corrupt and ruthless official, rumored to be a heartless killer, has now issued such a generous reward as soon as he started working.

And it's real money, paid out immediately!

"Not only that."

Pei Yuan's gaze swept across the entire room.

"From today onwards, the shipyard's mess hall will provide meat with every meal. On the first and fifteenth of each month, there will be plenty of meat and wine."

"As long as you use your skills to build this ship as solid as a rock, I guarantee that your whole family will live a life of luxury in Nanjing."

Pei Yuan's tone shifted, and a chilling, treacherous murderous aura suddenly appeared.

"But let me make this clear from the start. If you take my money and then slack off or cheat on your work, or secretly resell the shipyard's tung oil and iron nails..."

"You should know that the Embroidered Spring Blade of the Embroidered Uniform Guard can not only demolish the houses of wealthy families in Jiangnan, but also behead people very swiftly."

"Your Excellency's kindness is like a second birth! We humble servants are willing to die for you, and for Your Majesty!"

Someone shouted something, and the more than three thousand craftsmen instantly erupted in excitement.

With red eyes, they kowtowed and thanked the emperor with all their might.

For these ordinary people, whoever provides them with enough money to eat is considered a benevolent and just official.

Regardless of what people say about this Lord Pei being a treacherous minister or a living devil.

In their eyes, the customer who gave them cash was the best person in the world.

Looking at the excited crowd below the stage, Old Yan couldn't help but wipe away a tear.

He spent his entire life in the shipbuilding industry and encountered corrupt officials who considered themselves to be upright and honest.

I have also encountered mediocre officials who only knew how to compose poems about the wind and moon.

But I've never seen an imperial envoy so open about money and weapons, and so decisive and efficient in his work.

After the rewards were distributed, the morale of the entire shipyard was at its peak.

The craftsmen swung their axes and chopped the wood with three times more force than usual.

The forge was glowing red-hot, and the sound of the hammer striking the iron was deafening.

Pei Yuan toured the shipyard and saw that everything was on track.

He then entrusted the specific matters of supervising the construction to Old Yan and Lu Zheng.

He then leisurely returned to Xichun Garden in the west of the city with a group of attendants.

To be a treacherous official, one must naturally have the pomp and circumstance befitting one.

He wouldn't do something like spending his days eating sawdust and dust in the dock.

At this time.

The capital city, the Forbidden City, is a thousand miles away.

The atmosphere inside the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace was incredibly lively.

Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianji, sat upright behind his desk, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

He looked at the group of civil officials standing below the steps with a half-smile.

Grand Secretary Li Xian, accompanied by the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was placing a thick stack of impeachment memorials heavily on the Emperor's desk.

"Your Majesty! Pei Yuan, the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, has only been in Jiangnan for a little over a month, yet his actions have been so outrageous and his methods so cruel that they have aroused the wrath of both Heaven and the people!"

The Left Censor-in-Chief lamented with great sorrow.

"Your humble servant received an urgent report from the Nanjing Censorate. Pei Yuan, on a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River, without a joint trial by the three judicial departments, arbitrarily had Sun Youcai, the supervisor of the Longjiang Shipyard, skinned alive on the shore!"

"Such blatant disregard for the laws of the Ming Dynasty is utterly appalling!"

Li Xian also stepped forward, his beard trembling.

"Not only that, Your Majesty! For a few pieces of timber, Pei Yuan actually led five hundred Imperial Guards to forcibly demolish the private garden of Qian Dafu, the richest man in Jinling."

"Even worse, he led his troops on horseback and stormed the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, forcing the Minister of Revenue, Zhao Guangting, to open the warehouse and loot all the war supplies inside."

"The gentry and officials of Jiangnan are now terrified at the mention of Pei; everyone is insecure. If this continues, Jiangnan will surely descend into chaos!"

Zhu Jianji listened quietly to the officials' scathing rebukes, his expression remaining impassive.

I casually flipped to the top of the book.

The folded book contains thousands of words, citing numerous classical texts.

Pei Yuan was denounced as the most tyrannical and cruel official in history, bringing disaster to the country and its people.

We earnestly request the Emperor to quickly arrest him and bring him back to the capital to uphold the law.

After reading it, Zhu Jianji was not angry but laughed.

He casually tossed the folding paper aside, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and glanced at the crowd below.

"My esteemed ministers have said that Pei Yuan has arbitrarily killed court officials, forcibly demolished people's homes, and forcibly entered the important territory of the Six Ministries."

"Any one of these crimes would be enough to get you beheaded."

The civil officials were secretly pleased to hear the emperor say this.

They thought the emperor was finally going to bring this treacherous minister to justice.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Jianji suddenly changed the subject, his tone turning cold.

"But, when you ministers wrote these memorials, did you investigate the reasons behind them?"