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

Zhu Jianji took the file and tore off the seal.

He glanced at it once, and his face turned ashen, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

That scroll contained not only detailed confessions from Li Xian, Wang Hua, and other renowned scholars from Jiangnan who conspired at Baiyun Temple to "force the emperor to abdicate and establish an heir apparent."

There were even several secret letters that Li Xian wrote to his students and former officials in various places.

The letter was strongly worded, denouncing the current emperor as incompetent and proposing to use the Crown Prince to revitalize the upright officials and the court.

"Bang!"

Zhu Jianji slammed the scroll hard into Li Xian's face, laughing in his anger.

"What a steadfast and loyal heart, as clear as the sun and moon!"

Zhu Jianji suddenly stood up and pointed at Li Xian's nose, cursing loudly.

"You, Li Xian, resent that I don't obey your orders, so you secretly formed a faction, attempting to control the Eastern Palace!"

"Seeing that the Crown Prince had followed Pei Yuan and seeing through your hypocritical and pedantic ways, you gathered all the officials at Fengtian Gate to stage a deathbed remonstrance, hoping to use someone else to kill me and eliminate my most trusted minister!"

Zhu Jianji's roar echoed throughout the hall, frightening all the civil officials into prostrating themselves on the ground, trembling with fear.

"You keep saying that Pei Yuan is using the emperor to command the feudal lords."

"In my opinion, those who truly want to seize the Emperor and control the Ming Dynasty are you corrupt officials and factions!"

Li Xian was hit by the scroll, and picked up the letters scattered on the ground to take a look.

He was struck dumb, as if by a thunderbolt, and collapsed onto the gold bricks.

A complete loss.

Pei Yuan, that venomous snake, had been watching him from the shadows for a long time.

We're just waiting for him to jump out on his own so we can deliver the fatal blow.

The power of the prime minister overshadows that of the emperor, and factions are formed to interfere in the affairs of the state.

In the Ming Dynasty, this was a capital offense.

"Your Majesty! This old minister is innocent! This old minister has absolutely no intention of treason; it was all for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!"

Li Xian let out a desperate cry.

"Gag him!"

Zhu Jianji waved his hand in disgust and issued that cold decree.

"Grand Secretary Li Xian has formed cliques for personal gain, interfered in the affairs of the state, and framed important court officials. He is hereby stripped of all official positions, removed from his court robes, and imprisoned in the imperial prison! He shall be handed over to the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for rigorous interrogation!"

"The rest of those who knelt and remonstrated with him will all be fined one year's salary and confined to their homes to reflect on their mistakes!"

Several fierce-looking Imperial Guards immediately rushed into the hall.

In a few swift movements, they stripped off Li Xian's scarlet crane-patterned robe, which symbolized the highest honor for civil officials in the Ming Dynasty.

This veteran chief minister, who had served three emperors and held the highest position in the court, was thus met with terrified stares from all the officials.

They were dragged out of Fengtian Gate like a dead dog.

Pei Yuan stood still, coldly watching this scene.

His handsome face remained completely expressionless.

Why do you have to kill someone yourself?

The highest level of power for a minister is to use the emperor's sword to cut off the head of his political enemy.

That night.

Northern Garrison Command, Imperial Prison.

This prison, buried deep underground, never sees the light of day.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, mold, and burnt flesh.

The torches on the walls flickered, illuminating the torture instruments in the cell as if they were in a hellish abyss.

Inside a death cell at the deepest part of the imperial prison.

Li Xian had disheveled hair and was wearing a dirty prison uniform.

With his hands and feet shackled in heavy steel chains, he sat slumped on the cold haystack.

In just half a day, this Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty fell from grace into this bottomless abyss.

He was not tortured because Wantong knew his identity and dared not use torture lightly.

But his inner defenses had long been completely shattered by that imperial edict.

In the quiet passageway, a series of unhurried footsteps suddenly echoed.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The footsteps echoed crisply in the empty prison.

The heavy lock on the iron fence was opened with a clatter.

Pei Yuan wore a black crane cloak and carried a pot of warm Shaoxing rice wine and two white porcelain wine cups.

He walked calmly into the stench-filled death cell.

He walked up to Li Xian, brushed a cleaner stone slab, and sat down cross-legged.

Then, he slowly and deliberately placed the two wine cups and filled them.

"Grand Secretary Li, the nights in this prison are cold and damp, so I brought a pot of warm wine with me. Come, have a drink."

Pei Yuan picked up one of the cups and handed it to Li Xian.

Li Xian slowly raised his head.

Those once wise old eyes were now bloodshot, staring intently at Pei Yuan.

"You scoundrel Pei... what exactly do you want? I am already a prisoner, do you still want to humiliate me?"

Li Xian's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

Pei Yuan chuckled and placed the cup of wine on the dry grass at Li Xian's feet.

He picked up another cup and took a small sip.

"Ridiculous? Grand Secretary overestimates himself. In my lifetime, I have fought countless political enemies. Although you are stubborn, you ultimately act for the good of the Ming Dynasty, making you a respectable opponent."

"I have come here today simply to have a few heartfelt words with you before you depart this world."

Li Xian sneered, "You treacherous villain who brings disaster to the country and its people, do you even have the truth to say?"

Pei Yuan was not angry. He looked at the flickering light of the torches, his eyes becoming incredibly deep.

It was as if I could see through the dark prison cell and into the distant future.

"Your Excellency, you upright civil officials, you claim that you can govern the world by simply reading the classics."

"But as you know, it's just the same old dead end of agriculture that has been repeating itself on this land for thousands of years."

Pei Yuan extended a finger and gently tapped the rim of the wine cup.

"You demand that the emperor be benevolent and that taxes be light. But there is only so much land in the land, while the population continues to grow. In years of famine, can the meager grain reserves in the granaries save Henan or Shaanxi?"

"It's hopeless! In the end, won't there be countless starving people, countless refugees, then a change of dynasty, and then rivers of blood?"

Li Xian's breath hitched, but he stubbornly argued, "This...this is destiny. As long as the ruler and his ministers are of one mind and diligently cultivate virtuous governance, it can be resolved."

"madness."

Pei Yuan uttered two words without any mercy.

"In this world, there is no such thing as destiny. Only real wealth and power can resolve a crisis."

Pei Yuan stood up, looking down at Li Xian, his voice gradually becoming deep and fervent.

"Your Excellency, do you know why I built large ships and why I lifted the sea ban? It's because beyond this vast ocean lies vast tracts of fertile land untouched by human hands, and inexhaustible wealth of gold and silver."

"We possess spices and grains that will ensure the people of the Ming Dynasty are forever well-fed and clothed!"

"You adhere to the rules of our ancestors, preferring to let the people toil and starve in the yellow earth rather than let them risk their lives at sea. You think I am greedy and mercenary."

"But I tell you, it is precisely this greed, this profit-driven market mentality, that drives the Ming fleet to cut through the waves and continuously draw back wealth from all corners of the world!"

Pei Yuan stepped forward, his gaze piercing Li Xian's heart like a sharp sword.

"One day, the warships of the Ming Dynasty will fill the South Seas, and the cannons of the Ming Dynasty will be mounted on the capitals of foreign lands."

"Our people, even if they don't farm, can still eat their fill with the grain they get from overseas trade."

"By then, who will care about your few moldy copies of Mencius?"