Chapter 208: Why Has The Emperor Rebelled?! Seeking Monthly Tickets
Just as Old Zhu issued the imperial decree to summon Zhang Biao, the streets and alleys of Yingtian Prefecture were intermittently filled with the sounds of children.
They were innocent and uninhibited, their voices clear and melodious:
“Lord Hongwu, the storeroom is vast, what is truly hidden inside?”
“Gold ingots, silver ingots, not as fragrant as pig’s head meat!”
“Anti-corruption Bureau, conducting audits, why won’t they let us in the door?”
“Could it be, there are too many mice, afraid they’ll startle us little children?”
These nursery rhymes, filled with mockery yet piercing the veil of hypocrisy, had made Zhang Biao’s ‘storytelling’ over the past few days the focus of all Yingtian Prefecture.
He had skillfully utilized the era’s lack of entertainment, not only attracting countless onlookers but also resonating with many people.
Even more people began to stand up and express their support for him.
For instance, under a certain overpass, One-armed Old Zhou, squeezed among a group of old men basking in the sun, sighed:
“Alas, you don’t know! Censor Zhang is a great loyal minister! He just wanted to help the Emperor review the account books, fearing the Emperor’s private funds would be embezzled by his subordinates, but what happened?”
“The Emperor, perhaps swayed by some corrupt official’s slander, directly barred Censor Zhang from entering the palace gates!”
“You tell me, if one has nothing to hide, what is there to fear?”
The old men listened with great interest and nodded one after another.
“Yes, yes!”
“The Emperor’s little treasury must have problems!”
“Censor Zhang is a good man!”
Then there was the teahouse, where a storyteller, feeling his professional career was facing a huge turning point, banged a brick on a worn-out table like Zhang Biao:
“Last time we spoke of Censor Zhang’s single sweet potato shaking the heavens! Today, we continue, with Censor Zhang intending to ‘cleanse the ruler’s assistants’ by auditing the Imperial Treasury to show his loyalty!”
“Little did he know, the palace gates are as deep as the sea, and loyal words offend the dragon’s scales!”
“Who is the culprit? What secrets lie hidden within the Imperial Treasury? We shall reveal all in the next installment!”
The teahouse patrons listened in rapturous delight and generously tipped.
“Tell us quickly!”
“The Emperor is foolish!”
“Support Censor Zhang!”
Even more so, some secretly posted big-character posters on the walls of the yamen.
For example, one early morning, on the wall outside the Ministry of Personnel, a freshly written, sharp-tongued, and easy-to-understand poster titled ‘From a single sweet potato, to understand the Ming Dynasty’s muddled financial accounts’ appeared, drawing a crowd of officials just arriving for work, who looked on with surprise and uncertainty.
And it wasn’t just the Ministry of Personnel that was plastered; similar posters appeared simultaneously in other ministries, such as ‘Shocking! Why is the Hongwu Emperor’s little treasury afraid of the light?’, ‘Secrets I Must Tell About the Imperial Treasury: Temptation of Home’, and ‘On the Necessity of Supervising the Emperor’s Imperial Treasury: A Philosophical Reflection Triggered by a Sweet Potato’, and so on.
The Imperial Guard were running around tirelessly every day, unable to tear them all down.
Even in front of Wang Mazi’s butcher shop, Zhang Biao’s deeds were being casually spread.
Wang Mazi, while chopping meat, said conspiratorially to a customer:
“Did you hear? Censor Zhang is offering a reward! Whoever has clues about corruption will receive free pig’s head meat for life from my shop!”
“Tsk tsk, how great must the injustice be!”
Various rumors, true or false, embellished with artistic license, spread like a virus throughout Yingtian Prefecture.
The core content was highly consistent:
【 Censor Zhang is a loyal minister, wanting to help the Emperor! 】
【 The Emperor is being deceived, and there are problems with the Imperial Treasury! 】
【 Those opposing the audit are all corrupt officials! 】
And Zhang Biao, the initiator of this public opinion event, as usual, arrived punctually at his ‘storytelling’ stall outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance to begin his new day.
But this time, Zhang Biao seemed different from before.
He didn’t have his storytelling fan, nor did he use a brick as a ‘startling block’; instead, he appeared before the crowd holding a porridge bucket.
“Esteemed audience, esteemed colleagues! Today, we will not talk about ‘Chronicles of Anti-Corruption’; we will talk about the current Emperor’s past!”
Zhang Biao’s voice carried an unusual heaviness. He raised his finger to point at the bucket of porridge and looked around at the crowd, saying:
“Do you recognize what this is? This is called ‘Pearl Jade White Jade Soup’!”
“This is the ‘good stuff’ that our Lord Hongwu used to eat when he was a monk at Huang Jue Temple, and later when he joined Marshal Guo Zixing’s uprising!”
As he finished speaking, he scooped a ladleful, and the murky liquid dripped down.
It was unappetizing at first glance.
“Back then, to have even a mouthful of this was a blessing from heaven!”
“Our Emperor, back then, ate this, wore a tattered cassock and a worn-out soldier’s coat, and resisted the Yuan dynasty!”
“So, what was in the Emperor’s heart at that time? It was the common people! It was the regeneration of China!”
As soon as he said this, a wave of sighs rippled through the entire audience.
Even Song Zhong, who was responsible for monitoring Zhang Biao, and those Imperial Guards couldn’t help but be surprised, thinking, has this madman changed his ways?
It should be known that the public opinion Zhang Biao had been stirring up had put the Emperor, the princes, and even the entire court on the spot.
If Yingtian Prefecture were not the capital city, defended by a large army, it would have likely descended into chaos long ago.
And now, at the height of public opinion, Zhang Biao had stopped his frenzied ‘storytelling’ and instead turned to ‘praising the Emperor’s virtues’, which struck everyone as odd.
Perhaps due to his extensive dealings with Zhang Biao, Song Zhong instinctively felt something was amiss. However, he did not stop Zhang Biao, merely staring at him with heightened vigilance, as if trying to penetrate Zhang Biao’s true intentions.
Zhang Biao, ignoring the attention from Song Zhong and the Imperial Guards, began his performance.
He was no longer the clownish madman; instead, he was like a storyteller truly immersed in the past, his voice sometimes low, sometimes impassioned:
“Do you know, back in Haozhou City, there was a Battalion Commander named Li who withheld military provisions, enriching himself, and causing the frontline soldiers to fight on empty stomachs!”
“Our Emperor, who was then just a mere personal guard of nine soldiers, learned of this. Without a word, he directly stormed into the Marshal’s mansion and, in front of Marshal Guo, slammed the evidence onto the ground!”
“Then he pointed at Battalion Commander Li’s nose and cursed: ‘The brothers are risking their lives on the frontlines, yet you are drinking the soldiers’ blood in the rear! Have you let dogs eat your conscience?!'”
Zhang Biao, imitating the imagined young Old Zhu, straightened his slender spine, his eyes sharp, his voice carrying irrefutable righteousness, and declared loudly:
“Marshal Guo wanted to protect Battalion Commander Li, what did our Emperor say?”
“He said: ‘Marshal! If you protect him today, more will follow tomorrow! Then this Rebel Army will no longer be one fighting for the people; what’s the difference between it and the Yuan Tartars?!'”
“In the end, that Battalion Commander Li was beheaded! And the military provisions were distributed to the soldiers!”
“From then on, the discipline of the Haozhou Rebel Army was greatly improved!”
“Why?”
“Because our Emperor could not tolerate even a grain of sand in his eye! He detested corrupt officials!”
“Because our Emperor’s parents and siblings were all killed by corrupt officials! He personally witnessed how corrupt officials oppressed the good and how the Yuan did not treat us Han Chinese as humans!”
“Because our Emperor wanted to change this world that should not be this way! He swore to expel the barbarians and restore China!”
As he spoke, Zhang Biao recounted how Old Zhu shared hardships with the soldiers, how he distributed captured wealth to the impoverished common people, and how he personally went in disguise to investigate a county magistrate who oppressed the populace, executing him publicly after confirmation, which drew cheers from all the people…
He narrated vividly, with rich details and abundant emotion.
The stories of Old Zhu’s early simplicity, his hatred for evil, and his love for the people were portrayed by him with utmost realism.
Many elderly people who had experienced the chaos of the late Yuan dynasty wept as they listened, as if seeing again the ‘Zhu Chongba’ who led them out of darkness.
Even some young officials and clerks were moved by this ‘founding history’, developing a genuine respect for the majestic emperor on the dragon throne.
“You tell me—!”
Zhang Biao’s voice suddenly rose, filled with reverence and passion:
“Shouldn’t an Emperor like this! A Lord Hongwu like this! Be worthy of us passing down his great achievements through generations? Shouldn’t we be grateful for his rebuilding of China?!”
Hearing this, the crowd instantly erupted.
“Long live Lord Hongwu!”
“The Emperor is wise!”
“If only the Emperor could always be like this!”
Cheers and exclamations of emotion rose one after another.
Song Zhong and the Imperial Guards listened. Although they felt Zhang Biao’s words were exaggerated, the content was, after all, praise for the Emperor, so they could not intervene. Instead, they breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, just as the emotions reached their peak and everyone’s reverence for Old Zhu was at its highest, the passion on Zhang Biao’s face receded like a tide, replaced by extreme sorrow, confusion, and heartache.
He fell silent, his gaze slowly sweeping over the excited crowd, the sorrow in his eyes almost overflowing.
The cheers and exclamations gradually subsided, and everyone was caught off guard by his sudden change.
Zhang Biao slowly raised his hand, pointing towards the tall and majestic palace walls, towards the direction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, his voice trembling, with a heartbroken question, like a cuckoo’s cry:
“But… but an Emperor like this… a Lord Hongwu like this…”
“Why is he now obstructing the Anti-corruption Bureau from auditing the princes who might be corrupting the nation and harming the people?!”
“Why is he now wary of the Anti-corruption Bureau investigating the Imperial Treasury, which is funded by the people?!”
“Why is he now so suspicious of and suppressing the Anti-corruption Bureau, which he himself approved, and which should be like the sharp sword in his hand, just as he resisted the Yuan dynasty?!”
With each question, his voice grew louder, and his sorrow deepened.
It pierced the hearts of everyone present, causing waves of sadness.
However, his words were not yet finished.
He raised the soup ladle in his hand, as if it were Old Zhu’s sharp sword, and said forcefully as he threw it down:
“The Emperor of those days wished he could sweep away all the corrupt officials in the world!”
“The current Emperor, why does he now turn a blind eye to potential corruption among the Imperial Clan?!”
“The Emperor of those days could share a bowl of coarse porridge with the soldiers!”
“The current Emperor, why is he now afraid to let anyone even look at the account books?!”
“Your Majesty—!”
Zhang Biao threw his head back, exerting all his strength, and let out a thunderous, utterly absurd, yet soul-piercing cry of grief:
“Tell me! Why did you rebel back then?!”
“Did you not rebel precisely to overthrow the old order that, like today, protected privilege, tolerated corruption, and silenced the common people?!”
“How is it that now that you sit firmly on the dragon throne, you yourself have… become the very thing you hated most back then?!”
“Your Majesty—! Why did you rebel?!”
The last cry, like thunder from the heavens, like the tolling of a funeral bell, struck each person’s heart with immense force.
The entire place fell into sudden silence!
Everyone was stunned into a state of shock by the extreme contrast and soul-piercing questions!
The people who had been fired up for ‘Zhu Chongba’ moments ago were now doused with a basin of ice water from head to toe. An indescribable sense of absurdity, coldness, and recognition spread through their hearts.
【 Yes… why? 】
【 Was the Zhu Chongba of those days, who cared only for the people and hated evil, truly the same person as the current Hongwu Great Emperor, who obstructs anti-corruption and protects the princes? 】
The old soldier’s cane with missing teeth clattered to the ground. He gaped, his cloudy old eyes filled with confusion and pain.
The street vendor’s carrying pole slipped, scattering his goods, but he remained oblivious.
Those few old military officials exchanged glances, seeming to see shock and a hint of undeniable resonance in each other’s eyes.
They had all fought alongside Old Zhu and had seen him at his most down-to-earth, most hating of corruption. Now, hearing Zhang Biao’s words, recalling past events, and comparing them with the present, their hearts were filled with mixed emotions.
Meanwhile, Song Zhong and the Imperial Guards’ faces were ashen, their bodies chilled. They lacked even the courage to step forward and apprehend him.
This was no longer mere insolence; it was like using the Emperor’s own sword to cut the Emperor’s flesh!
Zhang Biao stood there, his chest heaving, as if he had expended all his strength.
He looked at the silent crowd, at the towering palace walls, his face etched with boundless sorrow and a trace of loneliness.
He said no more, simply dropping the soup ladle into the porridge bucket.
“Boom—!”
The moment the ladle hit the porridge bucket, the scene exploded!
The common people were incensed; they had been completely swept up by Zhang Biao’s story and questions!
“Censor Zhang is right!”
“Didn’t the Emperor rebel precisely because he couldn’t stand corrupt officials?”
“Why isn’t he allowed to investigate now?!”
“We want the Anti-corruption Bureau! We want Director Zhang!”
Some low-ranking officials also listened, their blood boiling and hearts surging, feeling that Zhang Biao had voiced the words they dared not speak.
Song Zhong and the Imperial Guards, mixed in the crowd, had faces that could not be described as merely grim; they were pale, terrified, and filled with the despair of seeing the end of the world!
【 This Zhang Biao… how dare he?! 】
【 He isn’t seeking death; he is piercing hearts! He is digging at the roots of imperial power! 】
Song Zhong could no longer hold back and prepared to rush forward with his men to drag Zhang Biao away.
However, Zhang Biao was prepared. Just before the Imperial Guards surged forward, he suddenly knelt down facing the Imperial Palace, bowed his head to the ground with a dull thud, and cried out with tears streaming down his face:
“Your Majesty—!”
“Your humble servant, Zhang Biao, has a heart as pure as the sun and moon!”
“What I have said today is by no means slander against the sovereign, but rather because I cannot bear to see Your Majesty’s reputation tarnished, nor can I bear to see the foundation that Your Majesty so painstakingly laid being eroded by worms!”
“I offer this frail body to implore Your Majesty… to never forget your original intention and to firmly remember your mission!”
“Reactivate the grand undertaking of anti-corruption, and purify the realm, for the benefit of all people, and for the prosperity of the Great Ming Empire—!”
After shouting this, he ‘fainted’ and collapsed to the ground, his acting incredibly convincing.
Song Zhong looked at the ‘unconscious’ Zhang Biao, then at the surging crowd around him, and felt his vision go black, almost following Zhang Biao’s ‘predecessor’.
He was now in a complete standstill, unsure whether to arrest him or not.
Just then, a sharp voice rang out: “By imperial decree! The Emperor summons Zhang Biao to an audience—!”
Upon hearing Old Zhu’s decree, Zhang Biao sprang up as if startled awake from near death.
【 Hehe, mission accomplished! 】
【 Old Zhu, here I come again! 】
Seeking monthly votes~
