I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

"No...that's not it...I did it for the Ming Dynasty...I did it for the Ming Dynasty..."

He tried to explain weakly, his voice so faint that he could barely hear himself.

Just then, Empress Ma's voice rang out again, cold and sharp, like a dagger piercing his already battered heart.

"This is only one aspect."

She looked at Li Shanchang, whose face was ashen, and said calmly, "Prime Minister Li, continue."

So how many shocking secrets are hidden in this box?

At this moment, Li Shanchang was already somewhat numb.

His hand mechanically reached into the sandalwood box and pulled out another stack of documents.

Unlike the previous secret edicts that recorded conspiracies and killings, this time he took out thick ledgers bound with thin rope.

The covers of these account books clearly bear the names "Ministry of Revenue," "Ministry of War," and "Imperial Treasury."

Everyone was stunned, wondering what Empress Ma was trying to do by bringing up these old grievances at this time.

Could it be that, besides indiscriminately killing innocent people, emperors also had the problem of embezzling and amassing wealth?

The thought flashed through everyone's minds, but then they felt it was somewhat absurd.

He owns the whole world, why would he need to embezzle?

Li Shanchang opened the first ledger, which was a record of military expenditures from the Ministry of War.

He cleared his throat and, in his hoarse voice, read: "In the winter of the eighth year of Hongwu, the border troops of Datong reported to the court that the weather was bitterly cold, winter clothing was thin, and more than three thousand people had frozen to death or suffered frostbite. They earnestly requested the court to allocate an additional two hundred thousand bolts of cotton cloth to make winter clothing."

"The Ministry of War approved the request and reported it to the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue allocated 300,000 taels of silver for the purchase of cotton cloth."

Up to this point, everything is still normal.

However, Li Shanchang turned to the next page, and his voice suddenly changed.

"In the same month, the Imperial Treasury received an entry. Item: Palace repairs. Amount: 300,000 taels of silver. Source: Allocation from the Ministry of Revenue."

"Whoosh!"

The main hall erupted in an uproar!

Nobody's a fool. These two accounts, one before the other, one out and one in, are exactly the same in amount and the timing matches up perfectly!

What this means is self-evident!

Three thousand soldiers in Datong Town froze to death because they did not have enough winter clothing!

The money they had saved to buy cotton-padded clothes was actually taken by the emperor to repair the palace!

If the previous slaughter of meritorious officials could be explained as "eliminating threats to ensure the stability of the empire," then...

They use such high-sounding reasons to justify themselves.

Therefore, withholding military pay and disregarding the lives of soldiers on the border is an act that is utterly devoid of conscience!

"Zhu Chongba!"

Lan Yu's tiger-like eyes instantly turned blood red!

Like an enraged lion, he charged at Zhu Yuanzhang, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him off the ground!

"Are you even human?!"

"We're at the forefront, braving the wind and snow, gnawing on ice, fighting the Tartars to the death! We'll freeze and starve to death without batting an eye!"

"And you! You son of a bitch, living in a warm palace and sleeping with a hot wife in the back, while you swindle our pay, taking our hard-earned money to build your own courtyard?!"

"You have no conscience! You've been eaten by dogs!!"

Lan Yu was so angry that she trembled all over. The veins on her hand that was gripping Zhu Yuanzhang's collar were bulging. She wished she could strangle this cold-blooded emperor to death on the spot!

"Insolence! Lan Yu! How dare you disrespect His Majesty!"

The civil officials were terrified and screamed.

"Go to hell!"

Without turning his head, Lan Yu roared, "Even if I kill him today, I'll have a clear conscience! You bunch of cowards who only know how to swing your pens, what do you know! Do you know how cold the winters are at the border? Do you know what it feels like to watch your brothers freeze into blocks of ice?!"

Lan Yu's roar silenced the civil officials instantly.

Meanwhile, Xu Da, Chang Mao, and other military generals all had bloodshot eyes and clenched their fists so tightly they cracked.

They had all crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; they knew better than anyone what the morale and fighting spirit of an army meant.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

Food and supplies are the lifeblood of an army!

Withholding military pay is tantamount to destroying one's own Great Wall!

Xu Da's lips trembled. This usually composed and unflappable general, who could remain calm even in the face of a collapsing mountain, now had tears welling up in his eyes.

He remembered those years when he led his army, chasing the fleeing enemy across the icy snows of the northern desert.

He remembered those young soldiers who, shivering in the cold night because of their thin clothes, still gritted their teeth and insisted on patrolling.

He remembered those veterans who had to have their hands and feet amputated due to frostbite, becoming disabled and unable to receive even full compensation.

He always believed that the national treasury was empty and the imperial court was facing financial difficulties.

He even used his own salary to subsidize military expenses on several occasions.

But he never expected that the truth would be so unbearable!

"Your Majesty... no... Zhu Chongba..."

Xu Da's voice was filled with endless weariness and disappointment.

"You...you have done right by the brothers who fought and died for you, without even leaving their names behind?"

These words, like a blunt knife, slowly cut through Zhu Yuanzhang's last defenses.

He could disregard the lives of meritorious officials because they threatened his imperial power.

He could disregard the lives of civil officials because they were merely tools of his rule.

But those ordinary soldiers...

Those lowest-ranking soldiers who followed him from Haozhou all the way to Yingtian, and then from Yingtian all the way to Dadu...

They are the foundation of his success!

Zhu Yuanzhang, who also came from a poor background, knew best what these soldiers were after.

They didn't crave high-ranking positions or generous salaries; all they wanted was a full meal, warm clothes, to return home alive after the war, receive a reward, and get married and have children.

But myself...

What have I been doing?

Zhu Yuanzhang's mind went blank.

The logic of "for the sake of the Ming Dynasty" that underpinned all his actions collapsed completely at this moment.

At this moment, all his moral high ground vanished.

Suspecting meritorious officials and slaughtering loyal ministers are ways to consolidate personal power.

Withholding military pay and treating soldiers coldly are all for personal gain.

He, Zhu Yuanzhang, was a selfish, cold-blooded, greedy tyrant.

That's it.

Zhu Biao stood aside, looking at his father's face that had aged twenty years in an instant, and the last bit of hope in his heart was shattered.

He was taught from a young age that his father loved his people and soldiers like his own children.

He had heard his father recount countless times the stories of how he had lived, ate, and died alongside his soldiers.

He always believed it was all true.

original……

It's all a lie.

In the dead silence of the main hall, everyone was speechless, stunned by the cruel truth.

Empress Ma's voice rang out again, softly.

She walked step by step to Zhu Yuanzhang, who was lying on the ground like a lump of mud, and looked down at him.

"Zhu Chongba".

Her voice was calm and undisturbed.

"Now, what do you have to say?"

What else is there to say?

No more.

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless.

He was like a swindler who had been stripped naked and thrown into the bustling city; all his lies and pretense were ruthlessly exposed.

All his crimes were laid bare for public scrutiny and condemnation.

The evidence is irrefutable, and it has aroused public outrage.

The main hall was eerily quiet.

Only the low sobs of some officials, barely suppressed, and the heavy, angry breathing of the military officers remained.

The trial is over.

All charges have been established.

So, what should be done next with this heinous founding emperor?

This problem, like an invisible mountain, weighed heavily on everyone's minds.

Kill him?

No.

He was the founding emperor, the first emperor of the dynasty.

Killing him would shake the foundations of the nation and plunge the world into chaos.

This is tantamount to negating the legitimacy of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Let him go?

Not to mention!

The crimes he committed were all enough to warrant his death ten thousand times over!

If we let this go so easily, how can we face the more than 30,000 souls who died unjustly?

How can we explain this to the soldiers who froze and starved to death?

How can we explain this to the world?

This is an unprecedented and difficult problem.

In the suffocating silence, a violent voice broke the deadlock.

"An emperor like that is better off without!"

With red eyes, Lan Yu was the first to step forward. He knelt on one knee facing the high steps of the palace, facing Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Muying, his voice booming like a bell!

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, and Your Highness the Prince of Ying, I humbly request that you issue an imperial decree!"

"Cripple him... cripple him!"

"The deposed emperor!"

These two words, like two black lightning bolts, struck the Fengtian Hall fiercely!

All the civil officials were so frightened that they trembled and almost fainted on the spot!

crazy!

Lan Yu, that brute, has truly gone mad!

Depose the emperor!

This is the most taboo and most outrageous thing in Chinese history!

Once this door is opened, will anyone who holds military power and dislikes the emperor be able to find a reason to depose him?

Where does that leave the ethical relationship between ruler and subject?

Where do we place the laws and regulations of our ancestors?

Wouldn't the world be thrown into chaos?!

"Lan Yu, you madman! We'll exterminate your entire clan!"

"No! Absolutely not!"

A large group of civil officials, led by Liu Bowen, knelt down with a series of "thumps".

"Your Majesty! Deposing the emperor concerns the very foundation of the nation and shakes the very foundation of the state! If this precedent is set, the consequences will be endless! Please, Your Majesty, reconsider!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Although His Majesty has made mistakes, he is ultimately the founding emperor. Deposing the emperor will inevitably draw criticism from the world, which plays right into the hands of the remnants of the Northern Yuan!"

The civil officials were crying and wailing, but they weren't pleading for Zhu Yuanzhang; they were making a last-ditch effort for the fundamental interests and political order of their own class.

However, Xu Da, the pillar of the military, had a different opinion.

He glanced at Lan Yu kneeling there, then at the weeping civil official, and slowly walked forward.

He also knelt down on one knee in front of Empress Ma.

"Your Majesty."

Xu Da's voice was steady and powerful.

"Although Lan Yu is rude, his heart is also for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. The act of deposing the emperor is indeed of great importance and should not be spoken lightly."