Chapter 64: A Court Full Of Jackals, Wolves, Tigers, And Leopards? I’ll Raise My Blade And Kill! Seeking Monthly Tickets
Brother Biao’s cry of “Beg Great Ming to die!” was like the fuse of an ignited dynamite barrel.
The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony Square was silent for only a moment.
Immediately!
“Boom—!”
It wasn’t an explosion, but a roar from the depths of the souls of the capital officials, more ferocious than any explosion.
“Beg Great Ming to die—!”
“Beg Great Ming to die—!”
“Beg Great Ming to die—!”
Dozens of “small fish” wrapped in straw mats, holding chamber pot lamps and broken shoe lamps, erupted with unprecedented, heart-rending roars as if injected with molten lava.
Their voices converged into a torrent, carrying the humiliation, anger, and unwillingness accumulated over countless years, crashing fiercely towards the imperial steps.
In fact, they had already resigned themselves to their fate before coming.
They knew that their arrival meant certain death.
But death weighs differently; some are heavier than Mount Tai, others lighter than a feather.
If they were here only for their owed salaries, for pig’s head meat, for Brother Biao, it would be nothing more than a death throe.
However.
Brother Biao’s words.
Had elevated their deaths to a new level.
A level that would be recorded in history and sung for eternity.
Therefore.
Shen Lang was the first to react.
He suddenly sprang out from his straw mat, scattering straw debris everywhere.
His face was flushed, veins bulging, and pointing at the nobles on the imperial steps, he roared in agreement, “Censor Zhang spoke well!”
“These bastards! They suck our blood, eat our flesh, and still find us foul! Today, I’ll fight them to the death!”
“That’s right! Censor Zhang is right!”
Sun Gui was even more deranged.
He raised the chamber pot, with its flickering candlelight, high above his head, like a burning projectile, and roared towards the imperial steps with all his might:
“You scoundrels! See the light in this chamber pot? Today, I will illuminate your coffins! Burn you, you vermin of the Great Ming!”
“Fu Youwen! You old dog!”
Li Mo stopped writing his tearful letter. He stood barefoot, his red, frozen foot planted firmly on the cold golden bricks, pointing at Fu Youwen and cursing him:
“Do you dare to reveal the Ministry of Revenue’s account books?! When I pawned my Analects to buy rotten rice to feed my mother, what were you doing with your seventh concubine drinking ginseng soup?! You deserve to die more than Zhao Qian!”
“And you! Li Jinglong!”
Zhao Fengman also struggled to sit up and pointed at Li Jinglong, who looked utterly bewildered, and lambasted him:
“Your Li family has received immense favor from the nation. Your father was a great hero! But what about you?!”
“Besides leeching off your ancestors’ achievements and squandering fortunes on pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River, have you ever shed a drop of sweat or accomplished anything for the Great Ming Empire?!”
“And you’re a Military Commission Investigator? Bah!”
“You’re a spendthrift! A second-generation noble! The shame of the Great Ming nobles!”
Countless curses, roars, and resentful shouts echoed through the Hall of Supreme Harmony Square.
At this moment, an extremely enraged voice suddenly shattered all the clamor:
“Deceiving the masses with demonic words! Such a traitorous fiend! He deserves to be struck down by heavenly lightning—!!”
Whoosh!
The entire place erupted in an uproar!
Almost everyone’s gaze snapped towards the direction of the voice.
There stood a man in a Hanlin Academy official robe, with the appearance of a scholar, but his face was filled with fury.
His name was Zhou Ya, a classmate and close friend of Huang Zicheng.
The reason he stepped forward was due to Huang Zicheng’s instigation.
Huang Zicheng’s original plan was certainly not to risk “dying for a cause” for Brother Biao.
Because Brother Biao was at the height of his power, and Old Zhu was reluctant to kill him.
However, when he witnessed the actions of Brother Biao and the others, and heard Brother Biao’s cry of “Beg Great Ming to die.”
He felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But he still dared not take the risk, so he incited Zhou Ya to “test the waters” for him.
If the “water temperature was suitable,” he would immediately step forward and agree.
Even if it wasn’t the foremost contribution, it would be an explanation to Consort Lü.
Zhou Ya said indignantly:
“Your Majesty! Your sagacity shines! This scoundrel, Brother Biao, is not mad, but a demon! Such demonic words, his heart is punishable, and his words are even more poisonous!”
“‘Beg Great Ming to die’ is a seditious statement that will sow chaos in the world, shake the foundations of the state, and overthrow our Great Ming Empire!”
Having said this, he fell to his knees with a thud, his head hitting the ground repeatedly as he kowtowed heavily:
“Your Majesty! Hesitation leads to disaster!”
“Your humble servant boldly implores Your Majesty’s judgment! Swiftly condemn this demonic person and his cohorts, for the crimes of treason, deceiving the masses with demonic words, and plotting to endanger the state, to the extreme penalty of flaying and stuffing, and grinding bones to scatter ashes!”
“Anyone who dares to spread these demonic words shall have their nine generations exterminated!”
He precisely attached the gravest charge of “plotting to endanger the state,” completely branding Brother Biao as a demon that must be eliminated immediately.
And his words quickly received a response.
“Indeed! Scholar Zhou speaks the truth! These are words of national ruin, treasonous statements, their existence and their words must be eradicated, their lineage extinguished!”
The one who responded was Fu Youwen, who had just recovered from the initial shock.
He knew that he had to eliminate Brother Biao and Shen Lang’s group of “small fish” immediately, otherwise, the suspicions against him would be difficult to clear.
He then cried out hoarsely:
“Your Majesty, these rebellious officials and traitors must not be spared! Your humble servant requests an imperial decree to arrest Zhang Biao and all his accomplices, interrogate them severely, investigate all their confederates, confiscate their property, and exterminate their clans to prevent future trouble!”
This was a classic case from the Three Great Cases of Hongwu.
He intended to classify Brother Biao and the others alongside the Four Great Cases of Hongwu, pushing even the Lan Yu Case further back.
The other nobles, as if waking from a dream, also knelt down one after another, their voices hoarse as they seconded:
“Your humble servants second the motion! We implore Your Majesty to swiftly execute the demonic person, to rectify public opinion!”
“Rebellious officials and traitors, everyone has the right to punish them!”
“Your Majesty! If this scoundrel is not eliminated, the nation will have no peace!”
“Hahaha—!”
Brother Biao’s laughter, like thunder, exploded again, drowning out all the acclamations:
“Zhu Chongba! Do you see?!”
“This is your glorious Great Ming! These are the pillars of the nation you’ve raised! All of them speak of benevolence and righteousness, loyalty to the nation! Little do they know, their blood is black, their hearts are rotten, and their bones are stinking!”
“You want to use Shen Lang’s blood to sharpen my knife!”
“Hahaha! My knife is meant for jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards! Do you dare to use it?!”
Hearing this, Old Zhu, who had orchestrated this “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” drama, froze completely.
On his sallow face, all the coldness of absolute control and the ruthlessness of forcing submission had vanished.
Only an extreme shock, as if he had seen a ghost, remained.
He had calculated Brother Biao’s stubbornness, his soft heart beneath a hard exterior, his concern for Shen Lang and the others; he had even calculated his own imperial authority and ruthlessness.
But he had never anticipated.
That Brother Biao would choose this method.
Just as the butcher knife was about to fall.
He turned all his rage, hatred, and venom towards the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards in the court, rather than towards him, the wielder of the knife.
It could be said that he had chosen a path even more insane than “dying for a cause.”
Enemies of the world.
He wanted to force himself to kill him, using the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards of the entire court.
If he didn’t kill him, then these jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards in the entire court…
Thinking of this, Old Zhu felt a chill he had never experienced before.
