Chapter 172: Zhang Biao: Please Address Me As Censor Zhang, Your Majesty! 【monthly Ticket Bonus Update 9 10】
“Wang Yong! Corruption and bribery, bullying colleagues, to be flayed and stuffed—”
When the old official from the Ministry of Revenue, who had previously betrayed Shen Lang and Sun Gui, had his name read out by the Imperial Guard, he was so terrified that he peed himself and frantically knelt and begged for mercy:
“Sir! I am innocent! I was forced by Fu Youwen and them! I have an eighty-year-old mother and young children at home.”
“Hold!”
Before Wang Yong could finish his tearful plea, an Imperial Guard next to him immediately interrupted and took the execution order from his colleague, correcting him:
“You misread it! This is Wang Yong’s sentence!”
“Oh, oh, it seems so, I misread it.”
The colleague reacted and re-read the sentence: “Wang Yong! Colluded with Fu Youwen, to be tried for rebellion, to be executed by Lingchi, and his family to be exterminated!”
“What?!”
Wang Yong was struck by lightning and was completely stunned.
“No! Don’t! My family is innocent, they are innocent!”
However, his cries of innocence did not elicit any sympathy from the Imperial Guard.
Before long, he was escorted to the execution ground, along with his entire family, old and young, in neat order.
The same situation was happening repeatedly in the Six Ministries’ yamen.
Blood stained the execution ground, stained the walls of the Imperial Prison, and stained the Imperial Court of the Great Ming.
This bloody storm, ignited by the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, mixed with Old Zhu’s grief for his lost son, the Emperor’s suspicion, and his resolve for a thorough liquidation, swept through everything in the most brutal and complete way.
However, Old Zhu’s butcher knife did not stop after bloodily purging the Six Ministries’ yamen; with even more ruthless coldness, it swung directly towards the power networks that the Prince Qin’s Mansion and Prince Jin’s Mansion had cultivated in the Capital City for many years.
This time, Old Zhu wanted not a secret purge, but a grand and vigorous trial and execution.
He wanted the entire city’s populace to witness how these worms, who had attached themselves to the princes and committed wicked deeds, were crushed.
In the early morning, just as the sky began to lighten.
A long line of prisoner carts, under heavy escort, slowly departed from the Imperial Prison and headed towards the execution ground.
Unlike in the past, the number of prisoners being escorted this time was extremely large, numbering in the hundreds.
They all wore white prisoner robes, with heavy wooden plaques inserted into their backs, on which their names and their grave crimes were written in cinnabar.
The onlookers had already crowded both sides of the street, making it impossible to move, and the noise was deafening.
“Look quickly! They’re out!”
“So many corrupt officials! They’re all people of Prince Qin and Prince Jin!”
“Heaven has opened its eyes! The Emperor is wise!”
Inside the prisoner carts, the officials who had once lorded over others now had ashen faces and listless expressions.
Some closed their eyes tightly, trembling all over.
Some tried to curl up, avoiding the contemptuous gazes and rotten vegetables thrown from the sides.
Others had vacant stares, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate.
The soldiers maintaining order loudly read out the crimes of some of the principal culprits, their voices booming and carrying throughout the entire street:
“Official Zhou Bao! Former counselor of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, affiliated with Prince Qin Zhu Shuang!”
“Crime One: During his tenure in Shaanxi, in collusion with Prince Qin’s guards, he forcibly occupied thousands of acres of farmland, leading to the death of dozens of peasants!”
“Crime Two: Deducted funds for river repair, embezzled the money, causing the Yellow River to breach its banks and drowning countless people!”
“Crime Three: Offered beauties and rare treasures to Prince Qin, fostering his decadent lifestyle! A grave offense, sentenced to Lingchi, and his clan to be exterminated!”
“Official Qian Yi! Former Director from the Ministry of Revenue, actually an informant for Prince Jin Zhu Gang in the Imperial Court!”
“Crime One: Abused his position to secretly sell the court’s grain transport at a discounted price to Prince Jin’s merchant fleet, making huge profits!”
“Crime Two: Leaked Ministry of Revenue secrets, helping Prince Jin hoard goods and manipulate grain prices!”
“Crime Three: Formed factions for personal gain, ostracized dissidents, and courted officials for Prince Jin, harboring ambitious intentions, sentenced to immediate execution, property confiscated, and his descendants exiled three thousand li!”
“Official Sun Wang! Former Deputy Commander of the Five City Patrols, a henchman of Prince Qin!”
“Crime One: Tolerated Prince Qin’s guards bullying merchants and citizens in the Capital City, beating people, and snatching women!”
“Crime Two: Used his authority to secretly transport contraband for Prince Qin!”
“Crime Three: Framed loyal officials, falsely accused merchants who disobeyed Prince Qin as bandits, and imprisoned and tortured them! Brutal and violent, sentenced to waist chopping!”
With each pronouncement of guilt, the surrounding crowd erupted in even more furious curses and cheers.
“Well killed! These damnable corrupt officials!”
“There’s not a good person among Prince Qin’s men! They harmed us in Shaanxi, and they still commit evil in the Capital!”
“Prince Jin appears refined, but his subordinates are so black-hearted! They deserve to die!”
“Long live the Emperor! Please be our judge, common folk!”
Rotten eggs, discarded vegetables, and even stones rained down on the prisoner carts.
The pent-up anger and grievances of the populace were thoroughly vented at this moment.
The scene was almost out of control, filled with a violent and primal sense of justice.
The prisoner carts finally arrived at the execution ground outside the Meridian Gate.
It was already heavily guarded, with banners flying, and Imperial Guard officers standing with their swords drawn, exuding an overwhelming killing intent.
Jiang Huan sat high on a platform, his expression stern.
Batches of prisoners were dragged from the carts and forced onto the execution platform.
The Lingchi execution was the most brutal, with the executioner’s skilled hands and flashing blades, flesh and blood flew, and the condemned officials’ screams were incessant and shrill, yet the onlookers below erupted in cheers.
“Slice! Slice them hard! Let him taste the retribution for causing so many deaths!”
“Thirty-six hundred cuts! Not a single one can be missed!”
The axe fell for the waist-chopping execution.
The official’s body was cut in two, his entrails spilling out, a gory scene that made one nauseous, but further stimulated the excited nerves of the masses.
“Satisfying! Let’s see if these corrupt officials dare to oppress the good people again!”
“This is the fate of being a prince’s running dog!”
The beheading execution was relatively swift. With the fall of the ‘ghost head’ saber, heads rolled, and headless bodies were dragged away carelessly, piled up to the side like a small mountain.
An extremely potent smell of blood permeated the air above the execution ground, causing even the old soldiers, who had seen many battles, to subtly change their expressions.
But the onlookers seemed to have fallen into a state of frenzy; they cheered for every death and applauded every drop of spilled blood of sin.
This was not just an execution, but a ‘performance of justice’ personally directed by the Emperor for the entire city’s populace.
He used the most extreme and bloody method to declare the absolute crushing of princely power by imperial authority, and also greatly satisfied the common people’s desire for a ‘just official’ to punish evil.
And before the smell of blood from the execution ground had even dissipated, the tea houses and wine shops in the city were already abuzz.
“Did you hear? Thirty-odd heads were chopped off at the market today! All were followers of Prince Qin and Prince Jin!”
“More than just beheadings! There was Lingchi and waist chopping too! It’s truly gratifying!”
“The Emperor is serious this time! These princes, it’s one thing for them to act like tyrants in their fiefdoms, but they dare to extend their reach into the Capital!”
“I say, kill them all! These officials, every single one of them, none are wrongly accused! They only know how to flatter princes and harm us common people!”
“It seems the Emperor sees everything clearly! No matter what prince or minister it is, as long as they dare to harm the Great Ming Empire and us common folk, they all deserve to lose their heads!”
At this moment, public trust had, unprecedentedly, turned towards the Hongwu Emperor, who sat on the dragon throne with his ruthless methods.
Through this bloody purge, he not only punished corruption but also dealt a heavy blow to the princes’ power, and subtly portrayed himself as the “defender” of the common people’s interests.
The forces of Prince Qin’s and Prince Jin’s mansions in the Capital were almost uprooted and severely weakened.
It can be said that this purge against the forces of Prince Qin and Prince Jin, with its cruelty and openness, greatly deterred the court and the public, and completely changed the power structure of the Capital City.
Old Zhu, with blood and death, once again declared to everyone:
【There can only be one sun in the sky of the Great Ming! 】
But this storm was far from over.
Next, it would be a thorough purge of the princes’ fiefdoms.
However, aside from the major purge in Yingtian Prefecture, which attracted much attention, there were also those who had caused a great stir with the ‘execution of Zhang Biao to rectify public opinion’.
Although they were not directly affected by the major purge, they were still extremely frightened.
“Li… Brother Li, did you hear? Last night, many people from Prince Qin’s and Prince Jin’s mansions were arrested by the Imperial Guard! The market today will likely be a river of blood!”
A young student from the Imperial Academy said to his classmate with a pale face, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
“It’s not just Prince Jin and Prince Qin’s people! My uncle works in the Ministry of Revenue, he said the whole Capital was arresting people last night! So many officials… disappeared just like that!”
“Are… are we still going to kneel here?”
Another person interjected, his lips trembling:
“This is no longer a petition, this is… this is dancing on the tip of a blade!”
Panic spread among the crowd like a plague.
Some began to secretly wipe away tears.
Some subconsciously shrank back, wanting to leave this dangerous place.
The ‘Ten Thousand Word Memorial’, which once symbolized righteousness and courage, now lay on the ground, stepped on by dirty footprints, appearing utterly ironic.
“Clang! Clang!”
Just then, the sound of heavy, neat footsteps and the clanking of dragging chains, approaching from afar, struck everyone’s hearts like a death knell.
Everyone looked up in terror—
They saw teams of Imperial Guards in shining armor, escorting a long line of prisoners in prison uniforms, with disheveled hair and wearing heavy cangues, slowly approaching the execution ground outside the Meridian Gate from the direction of the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance.
Among the prisoners were faces they vaguely recognized.
Officials who were still full of spirit on the Imperial Court just yesterday.
Now they were like lambs to the slaughter, their faces pale, their eyes hollow.
What was even more chilling was that the escorting Imperial Guards cast cold glances at the kneeling scholars, their lips even carrying a faint hint of mockery and killing intent.
An invisible fear instantly gripped everyone.
“I… I’m not kneeling anymore! I want to go home!”
A branch descendant of the Kong family, with a weaker psychological tolerance, finally broke down, crying out as he got up from the ground, scrambling to escape the crowd.
“I’m not kneeling anymore either! This… this is going to cost us our heads!”
“Let’s go!”
Like a dam breaking, with the first, there was a second, then a third… more and more people wavered, struggling to get up and flee this land that was about to be stained red with blood.
“Stop—!”
A furious roar, like a thunderclap, suddenly erupted.
Fang Xiaoru, who had been kneeling at the very front of the crowd, standing tall like a pine tree, suddenly turned around.
His gaunt face was flushed with extreme anger and disappointment, his once sharp eyes now like burning flames, staring intently at his wavering colleagues.
“You scoundrels! How dare you do this?!”
Fang Xiaoru’s voice was hoarse with emotion, but it carried a power of grief and indignation that stunned many who wanted to escape:
“What is the purpose of reading the books of the Sages?! ‘Wealth and honor cannot corrupt, poverty and lowliness cannot move, might and power cannot subdue’! This is the integrity of a true man!”
“Now, merely seeing a few weapons and hearing some bloodshed, you are as panicked as lost dogs, wishing to abandon righteousness?!”
He pointed at the prisoners being escorted, then pointed towards the Imperial City, roaring with grief and indignation:
“Look! It is precisely because the court has treacherous officials and the country has ominous forces that we must step forward to rectify public opinion!”
“Now that the treacherous officials are about to be removed, you want to desert in the face of the enemy?! Are you worthy of Confucius, the Sage Teacher? Are you worthy of your learning? Are you worthy of… are you worthy of this Confucian robe?!”
His scolding was like a whip, striking the hearts of every waverer, causing some to show shame and lower their heads.
However, fear was ultimately a more powerful force.
A formerly radical student from the Imperial Academy, now with red eyes and a crying voice, retorted:
“Mr. Fang… Mr. Fang! It’s easy for you to say! That’s the Imperial Guard! That’s the Imperial Prison! That’s extermination of the clan!”
“We… we are just scholars who can’t even lift a chicken! What’s the use if we die?! Can we change anything?!”
“That’s right, Brother Fang!”
Another person mustered his courage and said, “The Emperor… the Emperor is clearly angry! He’s being unreasonable! If we keep kneeling, I’m afraid… I’m afraid the next ones to be dragged to the market will be us!”
“Even ants cling to life, Mr. Fang!”
“We… we just want to live…”
The instinct for survival outweighed abstract righteousness and courage.
More and more people began to agree, their crying, justifications, and complaints forming a cacophony.
The crowd completely dispersed, the former spirit of common hatred gone, leaving only individual panic for survival.
Fang Xiaoru watched the scene collapse like an avalanche, watching his former comrades, who had made solemn vows and now scattered like birds and beasts, he extended his hand and it froze mid-air, his face gradually replaced anger with a sense of immense powerlessness and bewilderment.
He still held his back straight, but his figure appeared exceptionally lonely and desolate on the vast square.
Why… why would it be like this?
Is righteousness… really so vulnerable?
In the face of absolute imperial power and violence, is the integrity of scholars truly just a joke?
For the first time, he felt an ineffable tremor of doubt and deep suspicion about his own beliefs.
Finally, he slowly lowered his arm, dejectedly closed his eyes, and let out a sigh that was both extremely light and heavy.
Sunlight pierced the clouds, shining on the Meridian Gate Square, but could not dispel the heavy scent of blood and despair.
The once imposing ‘petition of the people’ melted away rapidly like ice and snow under the sun, under the ruthless butcher knife of the Hongwu Emperor.
Only the lonely and stubborn figure of Fang Xiaoru remained, still stubbornly kneeling in place, as if mourning an unrealistic dream that had already passed.
At this time, in Huagai Hall.
Old Zhu still sat on the dragon throne, listening to Jiang Huan report the results in a dry voice.
“Your Majesty, Fu Youwen and the other principal culprits have been executed by Lingchi. They bit several Dukes to death before they died.”
“Prince Qin’s Mansion, Prince Jin’s Mansion, and those related to the Crown Prince in Shaanxi have all been executed.”
“Prince Lu’s Mansion has also been forcibly dismantled, drawing many onlookers. Some praised Your Majesty’s wisdom, while others denounced Prince Lu Huang’s past actions.”
“In the Eastern Palace, everyone except the unimportant elderly servants attending Your Highness Mingyu, Your Highness Mingyue, and Your Highness Yunteng has been purged.”
“Of the scholars who knelt outside the city to ‘petition’, only Fang Xiaoru remains…”
Old Zhu closed his eyes, his face expressionless, and merely waved his hand slightly.
Jiang Huan, understanding, immediately withdrew.
In the empty Main Hall, Old Zhu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze seeming to penetrate the Palace Walls and see the land soaked in blood.
There was no pleasure, no relief, only a void of coldness and exhaustion that seeped into his bones.
【 Biao’er, rest in peace. 】
【 Father has offered a sacrifice to you with their blood. 】
【 This Great Ming Empire, Father will cleanse it with blood for your lineage. 】
Rivers of blood flowed.
But at the end of these rivers lay even deeper, unfathomable darkness.
Old Zhu felt a sense of bewilderment at this moment.
He didn’t know what he should do next.
And just then, Yun Ming’s voice gently sounded: “Emperor.”
“Speak.”
Old Zhu didn’t look at him, merely uttered a single word as a command.
Then, Yun Ming cautiously reported:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has investigated and confirmed that Guo Ningfei was instigated by Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei to go to Fengxian Hall.”
“They had previously received much favor and benefits from the maternal families of Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and Prince Zhou, thus they were worried about Your Majesty’s overly harsh punishment of the three princes and wanted Guo Ningfei to intercede for them.”
“Guo Ningfei had initially refused and even admonished them with ‘the inner palace must not interfere in politics’.”
“However, upon hearing that Your Majesty had gone to Fengxian Hall with his sword and summoned the three princes, they panicked, and thus…”
Yun Ming stopped speaking here, but his meaning was clear.
Guo Ningfei’s intrusion into the palace likely had no personal motive.
But to Old Zhu, it was utterly foolish.
Therefore, Old Zhu showed no sympathy towards Guo Ningfei and instead issued a cold order:
“Convey my decree: execute Li Xianfei and Ge Liffei immediately, to be buried with Guo Ningfei!”
Yun Ming trembled but dared not delay, quickly responding: “Your servant… obeys the decree!”
Having received the command, he prepared to turn and leave.
However, at that moment, Old Zhu suddenly reacted and said coldly:
“Who passed information to Guo Ningfei and the others? When did we acquire ‘gossips’ around us?”
*Swish!*
As soon as these words were spoken, Yun Ming’s face changed drastically, and he knelt with a *thump*, saying:
“Your Majesty, forgive my negligence! Your servant will thoroughly investigate this matter and provide you with an explanation!”
Old Zhu snorted coldly but did not reprimand Yun Ming, then said heavily:
“Go and summon Jiang Huan!”
“Yes!”
Yun Ming wiped away sweat that didn’t exist in his heart and scrambled out of the Main Hall.
Soon, Jiang Huan, who had been waiting outside the Hall Door, re-entered the Main Hall.
Old Zhu then said calmly and indifferently: “What is the progress on Wang Shi from Prince Qin’s Mansion and Deng Shi from Prince Jin’s Mansion?”
Through the incident in the inner palace, he increasingly felt that there were other instigators behind Biao’er’s death.
This was because neither Prince Qin, Prince Jin, nor Prince Zhou possessed the capability to orchestrate such a grand scheme.
After all, it was not easy to train “death warriors,” and their ability to commit murder under his nose indicated their extraordinary nature.
Jiang Huan paused for a moment, then quickly reported:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant just received news from Shaanxi. Deng Shi had fallen ill and died months ago, and shortly after, her entire family also died of poisoning, with no survivors.”
“As for Wang Shi, she also passed away shortly after Prince Qin arrived in the capital, reportedly of an acute illness. Her family members also met with misfortune, with none escaping.”
“Swish!”
Two chilling lights suddenly flashed in Old Zhu’s eyes, piercing Jiang Huan: “What were Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, and Ye Sheng doing? Weren’t they ordered to keep a close watch on everyone in the Prince’s Mansions?!”
“This…”
Jiang Huan broke out in a cold sweat, but he still braced himself and said:
“These circumstances were reported by my subordinates. Your servant needs to investigate thoroughly to understand what exactly happened. Perhaps, this was a premeditated act of silencing.”
“Ha!”
Old Zhu gave a sinister laugh and stated with certainty:
“Does this even need to be asked? This is silencing! The death of our Biao’er definitely involved others! The Second Prince, the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, they were all pawns!”
Having said this, he abruptly stood up from his seat and roared:
“Investigate! Uncover this mastermind piece by piece! I will have him dismembered!”
“Yes!”
Jiang Huan quickly took his leave and was about to turn to go.
Just then, Old Zhu seemed to remember something and narrowed his eyes:
“What about that bastard Zhang Biao?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, before Fu Youwen and the others were dragged out of the interrogation room, Zhang Biao mocked their arrogant words in the prison cell, saying that the Great Ming would continue to function without any of them!”
“Even if you flay those worms, others will replace them!”
“He also said that a Director named Yu Xin could replace Fu Youwen, and that Tie Xuan could replace Ru Chang, and do even better!”
“Additionally, he mentioned a few people from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Personnel. He cursed them until Fu Youwen and the others were disheartened and in despair…”
Old Zhu sneered, then murmured the names Zhang Biao had mentioned several times, and said:
“I want to see that bastard one last time! He might know who the mastermind is!”
“Ah? Your Majesty…”
Jiang Huan was startled and quickly tried to dissuade Old Zhu, as nothing good ever came of Old Zhu meeting Zhang Biao.
But Old Zhu looked at him coldly and said, “What, do you want to tell me what to do too?”
“Your servant dares not!”
Jiang Huan was terrified and dared not say another word. He immediately led Old Zhu towards the Imperial Prison.
Deepest part of the Imperial Prison, Room Jia Zi San.
Compared to the blood and turmoil outside, there was a strange sense of peace here.
Zhang Biao was still leaning on the bed, even wearing a relatively clean prison uniform and having tidied his hair slightly, as if he were not a prisoner awaiting death, but a guest about to attend an ordinary appointment.
The sound of heavy chains dragging from afar broke the silence of the prison cell.
The cell door opened, and Zhu Yuanzhang’s figure appeared in the doorway.
He was not wearing a Dragon Robe, but a simple black robe, yet the invisible imperial aura was more suffocating than any ornate attire.
Jiang Huan followed behind him like a shadow, standing respectfully with his hands at his sides, his breathing barely audible.
Old Zhu stepped into the prison cell, his gaze like two icy daggers, instantly locking onto Zhang Biao on the bed.
He did not speak immediately, but stood there, staring intently at him, as if he intended to see through and crush this ‘monster’ who had stirred up the entire Great Ming from skin to bone, from flesh and blood to soul.
The air in the cell seemed to congeal, so oppressive that it felt like the heart would stop beating.
Zhang Biao felt the gaze that seemed to pierce him, but he remained unconcerned, even lazily lifting his eyelids, a familiar smile of deep mockery curling on his lips:
“Oh? Isn’t this our Hongwu Great Emperor? What, have you come personally to see off this dying man?”
He tilted his head, his tone as flippant as if he were making small talk:
“I heard the outside is flowing with blood? Fu Youwen and Ru Chang, those old fellows, were cut into a thousand pieces? Tsk, what a shame, I didn’t get to see it myself.”
He paused, his gaze playfully sweeping across Old Zhu’s face, which revealed no hint of emotion, and deliberately asked in a casual tone:
“By the way, Emperor, your precious sons… Prince Qin, Prince Jin, Prince Zhou, how do you plan to deal with them? Will you confine them? Or depose them as commoners? You wouldn’t… kill them all, would you? Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, wouldn’t you agree?”
These words were extremely venomous, striking Old Zhu’s most sensitive point.
However, Old Zhu still showed no reaction.
He did not get angry, did not retort, did not even blink.
He simply stood there quietly, like an eternal rock, only his bottomless eyes still fixed on Zhang Biao, a complex swirl of emotions churning within them.
There was killing intent, inquiry, anger, and even an indescribable scrutiny.
It was as if Zhang Biao’s words were not heart-piercing remarks, but the insignificant chirping of insects.
This extreme silence was more unnerving than any roar.
Zhang Biao’s smile gradually faltered.
He was accustomed to Old Zhu’s fury and his own confrontations, but this complete disregard, this gaze as if he were an inanimate object, made him feel an unprecedented discomfort and a subtle unease.
He tutted, seemingly finding it boring, and shifted his gaze to Jiang Huan behind Old Zhu, who stood like a clay sculpture.
“Commander Jiang!”
He changed targets, his tone still relaxed:
“What’s wrong with Old Zhu? Is he mute? Or is he heartbroken for his sons and reluctant to act, so he’s come here to sulk?”
Jiang Huan’s body trembled, his head drooped even lower, cold sweat instantly soaking his back, daring not to respond.
Zhang Biao waited for a moment, and receiving no reply, let out a sneer: “Heh, boring.”
The prison cell fell silent again.
Only the crackling of the burning torches and Old Zhu’s heavy, suppressed breathing could be heard.
After an unknowable amount of time, seemingly an eternity.
Old Zhu finally made a move.
He moved his jaw extremely slowly, almost imperceptibly.
Without looking at Jiang Huan, his gaze remained fixed on Zhang Biao’s face like a nail.
But from the depths of his throat, he forced out an extremely suppressed, icy word devoid of any warmth:
“Speak.”
Just one word.
Jiang Huan received it as if it were a pardon, and yet as if he were being placed on a pyre.
He dared not hesitate for a moment, nor add any embellishment. In a voice as steady as possible, yet still trembling slightly, he clearly stated:
“By the Emperor’s decree…”
Jiang Huan recounted almost all of Old Zhu’s decree, including the handling of the four princes, the Eastern Palace, Shaanxi, and the factions of Prince Qin and Prince Jin.
With each sentence he spoke, Old Zhu’s gaze sharpened, like a scan, capturing the slightest change in Zhang Biao’s expression, such as muscle twitches, flickering eyes, and breathing rhythm.
As Zhang Biao listened, a look of undisguised surprise flashed across his face, seemingly not expecting Old Zhu to be so severe and thorough in his purge.
But this surprise lasted only a fleeting moment before he resumed his roguish demeanor, even chuckling softly:
“Heh, confinement? Guarding the ancestral temple? What a pity, truly a pity!”
He shook his head, his tone laced with exaggerated regret:
“The great Hongwu Great Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, who kills like slaughter, yet when it comes to his own sons, he still can’t bring himself to deliver the final blow!”
“I say, such scourges are a waste of food to keep around, better to just chop them all off!”
“However…”
His tone shifted, becoming playful again:
“It’s more or less the same. At least, my objective has achieved fifty percent of its effect.”
“What is your objective?”
Old Zhu finally spoke again, his voice still suppressed, but with an icy chill: “To force me to kill my sons?!”
“Heh!”
Zhang Biao chuckled, meeting Old Zhu’s gaze without fear: “Do you think your sons don’t deserve to die? The beastly things they’ve done, embezzling military funds, forming factions, even potentially indirectly causing the Crown Prince’s death! Which of these doesn’t warrant death?!”
“I’m forcing you to investigate because I want this Great Ming Imperial Court to be cleaner! I want you to see clearly what kind of characters those you place your hopes on as ‘protectors’ truly are!”
“Sharp-tongued!”
Cold light flashed in Old Zhu’s eyes: “Do you think you will live?”
“I never intended to live either!”
Zhang Biao spread his hands, looking like a carefree rogue:
“It’s you who won’t let me die. Since I can’t die, I might as well do something meaningful, right?”
“Meaningful my foot!”
Old Zhu’s anger seemed to ignite slightly. He took a step forward, his shadow almost engulfing Zhang Biao:
“You know everything, don’t you?! You’re forcing me to investigate further because you want to see me suffer! To see me personally deal with my own sons! To see this Great Ming Empire in turmoil! Is that it?!”
“No, no, no!”
Zhang Biao waved his hands repeatedly, a look of disgust on his face: “Don’t think of yourself so highly! Whether you suffer or not, whether your empire is stable, has nothing to do with me! I’m just giving it a little push so the inevitable explosions happen sooner.”
He paused, his tone suddenly becoming serious, his gaze fixed intently on Old Zhu:
“However, since it has come to this, with so much blood spilled, don’t let it go to waste.”
“Waste what?”
Old Zhu’s brow furrowed.
“Naturally, the system of stipends for feudal princes!”
Zhang Biao dropped a bombshell:
“Aren’t you always asking me how to solve the accumulated malpractices of the Great Ming? I’ll tell you now, the first step is to deal with these sons of yours!”
“Shut your mouth!” Old Zhu’s face turned ashen.
Zhang Biao ignored him and continued his own monologue:
“They are in the provinces, nurturing factions, embezzling from the National Treasury, preying on the common people, posing a great harm to the nation!”
“If you don’t deal with them, any policy is useless! Since you’ve chosen to act, why not do it on a grand scale?!”
“Anyway, this ‘righteous annihilation of one’s kin’ has also garnered you considerable public trust. Tsk, our Biao’er… you acted so well! Too bad there’s no Best Actor award for you…”
“Zhang Biao—!”
Old Zhu finally lost his temper.
Zhang Biao did not back down:
“Your Majesty, please address Censor Zhang—!”
……
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I wrote slowly and only finished now, sorry. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
