Chapter 201: Passionate Verbal Sparring! Old Zhu, Times Have Changed! 【 Monthly Ticket Bonus Update 20 】
Inside Huagai Hall, the atmosphere was even more somber and oppressive than during the previous Grand Court Session.
Old Zhu stood with his back to the hall door, gazing at the massive Great Ming Territory Map on the wall, his chest rising and falling with suppressed rage.
The plan to establish the Crown Prince had once again been indirectly thwarted by Zhang Biao, and he could not swallow this insult.
That madman must be given an explanation, or rather, he must be made to understand who was the true master of the Great Ming Empire.
“Your Majesty, Zhang Biao has been brought.”
Yun Ming’s cautious voice sounded from behind.
Old Zhu did not turn around, only squeezing a cold word from his throat: “Let him in.”
Footsteps sounded, and Zhang Biao was still in his washed-out seventh-rank Censorate robe, but his face showed no trace of fear. Instead, it held an almost languid calm, as if he were merely visiting.
“This humble servant, Zhang—”
“Zhang Biao!”
Before Zhang Biao could even complete a polite bow, Old Zhu abruptly turned, his gaze like two cold bolts of lightning, piercing Zhang Biao:
“Today, outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance, you incited the masses with demonic words, disrupted the court order, and indirectly obstructed the grand deliberation on the imperial heir! Do you admit guilt?!”
Zhang Biao dug at his ear and said nonchalantly:
“Your Majesty, if you called me here just to say these repetitive words, then I shall take my leave. I am busy.”
Old Zhu was infuriated by his attitude, erupting in anger, and slammed his imperial desk:
“Busy? Busy with what? Busy figuring out how to force us to kill our son?!”
“If Your Majesty speaks like this, then I cannot indulge you!”
“Indulge us?!”
Old Zhu acted as if he had heard the greatest joke, a bloodthirsty expression on his face as he stared intently at Zhang Biao, saying word by word:
“We know you are not afraid of death, but besides death, there are many ways to make one wish they were dead or alive. Would you like to try?”
“Since Your Majesty intends to treat me like this, I will not miss this opportunity!”
Zhang Biao calmly raised his head, the hint of languor on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by a sharpness like a blade’s edge: “This humble servant offers a dying remonstrance!”
“You!”
Old Zhu’s pupils constricted. He thought, what new trick was this madman up to now? But he couldn’t help but ask, “A dying remonstrance? What are you remonstrating against?”
“This humble servant offers a dying remonstrance to Your Majesty!”
Zhang Biao’s voice was exceptionally clear, carrying a resolute tone:
“Grant the Censorate Censors, and the Great Ming Anti-Corruption Bureau acting director, permission to audit the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang!”
Boom—!
This statement, more than ten times more potent than the previous declaration of ‘auditing the Princes’, struck like lightning.
Old Zhu froze on the spot as if struck by thunder, his eyes wide as saucers, his mouth agape, his mind blanking completely for that instant.
【Audit… Audit me?!】
【This bastard… is he truly mad! Does he truly not want to live!?】
【His proposal to audit the Princes was already treasonous enough, but now… now he’s set his sights on me!?】
Following the extreme shock came an overwhelming, all-consuming rage.
“You… you…”
Old Zhu trembled with anger, pointing a finger at Zhang Biao, unable to articulate his words:
“You are presumptuous! Arrogant! Lawless!”
“I am the Emperor! The Son of Heaven! What right do you have to audit me?! You have rebelled! You have rebelled against heaven!”
“Guards! Guards! Drag this bastard out—”
“Hahaha—!”
Before Old Zhu’s order was finished, Zhang Biao unexpectedly burst into wild laughter, interrupting him:
“Zhu Chongba! Look at the pathetic state you’re in now!”
“I really want to find a mirror and show it to you!”
“You think being Emperor makes you untouchable?!”
“You think the rules you set are infallible and will last forever?!”
Seeing Old Zhu’s fury, Zhang Biao did not flinch. Instead, he stepped forward, his voice becoming sharper, like a sword’s edge, piercing Old Zhu’s heart:
“Fine! Today, I, Zhang Biao, will ‘audit’ you, the Hongwu Great Emperor.”
“Silence—!”
Old Zhu roared, an uncontrollable surge of anger erupting, even abandoning his imperial demeanor, and cursed at Zhang Biao:
“Zhang Biao! You madman! Ruffian! Scoundrel! Damn it! You utter idiot—!”
“We spared your life! It’s bad enough you’re ungrateful, but you push your luck and want to audit us?! You’re an ungrateful wretch!”
His voice echoed like thunder in the vast hall, making Yun Ming and the others’ legs go weak, nearly causing them to kneel.
The guards’ faces turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on their hands gripping their swords.
In the corner, the historian’s brush paused, a drop of ink falling onto the paper, but he quickly regained composure and began to record frantically.
“Why would Your Majesty say such a thing?”
Zhang Biao became calm upon hearing Old Zhu’s tirade:
“My heart is devoted to the country, and I worry day and night. Every action I have taken has been for the eternal stability of the Great Ming Empire. How can Your Majesty insult a loyal minister like this and not chill the hearts of all aspiring patriots?”
“Bah! Loyal minister? You’re a troublemaker!”
Old Zhu rushed down the imperial steps in anger, almost poking Zhang Biao’s nose:
“From the moment you offered a ‘dying remonstrance’ for your own death at the court assembly! You’ve been plotting against me!”
“You calculated our expenses! Calculated how much silver the imperial family consumes for eating, drinking, and living! You made my Zhu family look like leeches sucking the Great Ming!”
“You incited those penniless capital officials to demand their salaries! You turned our Crown Prince establishment ceremony into a joke!”
“You called all the court officials jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, and worms!”
“You audited the Six Ministries! You caused chaos in Yingtian Prefecture!”
“You targeted the nobles! You almost turned over the fortunes of my old brothers!”
“You want to dismiss Confucianism?! Why don’t you try to ascend to heaven!?”
“We imprisoned you in the Imperial Prison, hoping you would quiet down, but you were restless even inside! You unearthed the Shaanxi old case and stirred up trouble in the palace!”
“Even… even how my Biao’er died, you dared to bring it up!”
Mentioning Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Old Zhu’s eyes instantly reddened, his voice choked with emotion and fury; it was his deepest pain.
“And your Public Order Memorial, every word stabbed at my heart! Xiong Ying… the death of my grandson… you used that to cause trouble too?!”
“You’ve turned this Great Ming Dynasty upside down! Beacon fires are rising everywhere, and memorials of rebellion are piling up like a mountain! Are you proud of yourself?! Huh?!”
The more Old Zhu spoke, the angrier he became, his spittle almost flying onto Zhang Biao’s face:
“Now! You’ve come up with ‘auditing the Princes’! And some damned ‘Anonymous Complaint Box’! Are you determined to force my sons to rebel and tear down the heavens of the Great Ming before you’ll be satisfied?!”
“Do you think all the officials in my court are fools? And only you, Zhang Biao, are wise?!”
“Do you think I, the Emperor, am an incompetent ruler, and if I don’t listen to you, Zhang Biao, the Great Ming will immediately fall?! Tell me! Is that right?!”
This string of roaring accusations, like a fierce storm, poured out all of Old Zhu’s resentment, fear, helplessness, and the shame of having his truth exposed towards Zhang Biao.
He was no longer the high and mighty Hongwu Great Emperor, but more like a ‘head of the family’ cornered and enraged.
Yun Ming and the guards were terrified out of their wits, almost suffocating.
The young historian’s hand moved like a blur, his face flushed with extreme excitement and fear. Suddenly, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted from sheer emotion!
【To be recorded in history, it is today!】
【Why the hell didn’t I eat breakfast. I hate myself!】
【If only I had learned from Censor Zhang back then, not eating enough meant no energy to write history.】
Regardless of the historian’s regrets or Old Zhu’s relentless scolding, Zhang Biao remained remarkably calm:
“Yes! I do think most of them are fools! Idiots! Worms!”
He pointed outside the hall, as if at the entire bureaucratic system:
“The National Treasury is empty, border troops are owed salaries, the people are suffering! And them? They are all focused on their own little domains, thinking only of how to skim money and scheme!”
“The feudal lords are too powerful, encroaching on civilian land, raising private armies, and posing hidden dangers! Who dares to speak up? Who dares to manage this?!”
“I offer a dying remonstrance? That’s because if this alarm bell isn’t rung, you’ll all continue to pretend to be asleep!”
“I calculate the imperial family’s expenses? That’s because if we don’t, the foundation of the Great Ming will be gnawed away!”
“I incited salary demands? That’s because they aren’t getting what they deserve! They can’t survive!”
“I audit the Six Ministries and the nobles? That’s because they are already rotten through and through! If we don’t investigate, are we just waiting for them to rot to the core?!”
“I said the Crown Prince’s death was unclear? I said the Imperial Eldest Grandson’s death was suspicious? That’s because there were problems involved! You know it better than anyone! You dare not investigate! Or rather, you cannot investigate anymore!”
Zhang Biao’s words were heart-piercing and unyielding:
“As for auditing the Princes? Establishing complaint boxes? Aren’t these the quickest and most effective ways to expose worms and deter wrongdoing?!”
“Must we wait until they have grown strong enough to take up arms before regretting it?!”
“Zhu Chongba! You keep saying you’re doing it for the Great Ming Empire, but every action you take is pushing this empire closer to the cliff!”
“Do you think silencing me will bring peace to the world?”
“I tell you, if I, Zhang Biao, am silenced today, there will be others to follow!”
“The illness of this Great Ming has penetrated to the bone! Without drastic measures and a thorough reckoning, it will be finished sooner or later!!”
“You… you are presumptuous!”
Old Zhu’s blood surged, and his vision went black. He raised his hand as if to slap Zhang Biao, but forcibly stopped himself. Zhang Biao’s fearless, even mocking gaze made him feel powerless.
“I… I curse your mother…”
Old Zhu gasped for breath and uttered the most common of curses: “What exactly do you want?! What do you want us to do?!”
Zhang Biao looked at the almost losing-his-composure Old Zhu, took a deep breath, and softened his tone slightly, but remained firm:
“I don’t want anything. I just want you to open your eyes and see the real Great Ming! Hear the cries of the people of the world!”
“Stop dwelling on your deceased wife and children! If you truly care for the Great Ming, you should display the Hongwu Emperor’s resolve! Cut the bone to cure the poison, a strong man cuts off his arm!”
“Instead of enacting a ‘Dismissal of Confucianism Salary System’ and then having yin-yang contracts, which ones are dismissed and which are not? What the hell are you dismissing then?! All thunder and no rain! Who are you fooling?!”
“You!”
Old Zhu was rendered speechless by the retort.
Inside Huagai Hall, only his heavy breathing and Zhang Biao’s unwavering gaze remained.
The air seemed to congeal.
Yun Ming and the guards held their breath, feeling as though they were witnessing an unprecedented, ultimate confrontation between an emperor and his minister.
Old Zhu stared intently at Zhang Biao, his chest heaving, his eyes seeming to want to devour Zhang Biao alive.
After a long while, he abruptly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the historian in the corner who had just woken up and was preparing to write furiously, emitting a beast-like growl from his throat:
“Scram! All of you get out! Not a single word is to be recorded!!”
The historian trembled in fear, nearly dropping his brush. But between his professional duty and the Emperor’s fury, he chose self-preservation.
He scrambled to gather his things and, along with the equally pale Yun Ming and the guards, fled Huagai Hall as if pursued, tightly closing the heavy door.
Silence!
A deathly silence!
Inside Huagai Hall, only the heavy breathing of the Hongwu Great Emperor and the rigidly standing, nonchalant seventh-rank mad censor remained.
After an unknown period, Old Zhu seemed drained of all strength, staggering back a few steps, leaning against a cold, coiled dragon golden pillar.
He no longer looked at Zhang Biao, but at the intricately painted ceiling, his voice hoarse and weary, yet with a directness that shed all pretense:
“Now… there are no outsiders… Zhang Biao, tell us the truth…”
“You’ve stirred up so much trouble, offering dying remonstrances, calculating expenses, demanding salaries, auditing, unearthing old cases… even disrupting the establishment of the Crown Prince twice. What is your ultimate goal?”
Zhang Biao looked at the Old Zhu, who seemed to have aged considerably in an instant. The playful expression on his face slightly receded, but his gaze remained sharp.
He did not answer directly but began to count on his fingers:
“You ask my purpose? Alright, let’s break it down properly!”
“The next step after the ‘Dismissal of Confucianism Salary System’ is abolishing feudal lords; you should understand this. I’ll tell you something else!”
“The household registration system you established, which ties peasant households rigidly to the land, appears stable but is actually rigid and stifles circulation. The people are confined to poor regions, and any natural disaster leads to widespread starvation. Is this called governing a country?”
“Your military registration system, which treats soldiers as household slaves, has bred countless corrupt garrison posts. Do you still expect them to have any fighting strength?”
“Your ‘Precious Notes’, only issued and never collected, without any reserve funds, have rendered Precious Notes as worthless as old paper. The people complain bitterly, prices are soaring! Is this any different from outright robbery?!”
“Your maritime ban, forbidding even a single plank from sailing, is self-imposed isolation. Coastal populations lose their livelihoods, vast overseas profits are handed to others, leaving only Japanese pirates to harass the coast. Is this called enriching the nation?”
“Your salary system for the imperial clan has directly bred a group of parasites on the nation. In a few generations, the wealth of the entire empire may not be enough to support the descendants of the Zhu family. Is this called securing the nation?”
“You are harsh on officials, with meager salaries that make it difficult for honest officials to survive, leading to unending corruption. Can it all be solved by killing? Is this called managing subordinates?”
“And your…”
“Silence!”
Old Zhu interrupted him sharply. Though weary, his imperial dignity prevented him from enduring such complete negation. He pushed himself up, supporting himself on the pillar, and roared:
“What do you know?! We don’t let people wander randomly because we fear they will become vagrants and cause unrest!”
“Our military registration system is for soldiers to be self-sufficient, with military registration distinct from artisan registration, each performing its own duties!”
“Our ‘Precious Notes’ were issued because there wasn’t enough silver. Do you think we don’t know the consequences of issuing too many ‘Precious Notes’? What choice do we have? The country has no money!”
“We banned the sea to prevent Japanese pirates and treacherous civilians from colluding with foreign powers!”
“We provide generous stipends to the imperial clan so they will behave themselves and protect the imperial family!”
“We are strict with officials so they know to fear and understand the consequences of greed!”
“Everything we have done is for the stability of the Great Ming Empire!”
“Do you, a mere youth, understand the difficulties of governing such a vast country?!”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Biao was not intimidated. Instead, he sneered, his laughter echoing piercingly in the vast hall:
“Stability? Old Zhu, you call this stability?”
“Is caging the people like livestock considered stability?”
“Is allowing soldiers to build luxurious mansions and courtyards for your princely sons considered stability?”
“You say there’s no money, yet you watch as overseas silver flows into others’ hands. Is this stability?”
“Raising a group of parasites who will eventually drain the National Treasury. Is this stability?”
“Forcing officials to be corrupt just to survive, and then using the butcher’s knife to kill them, leading to a court where everyone is on edge and government functions are paralyzed. Is this the stability you desire?!”
He paused, looking at Old Zhu with a mocking gaze, and spoke again: “I see you are using the sword of a previous dynasty to strike down officials of the current one, aren’t you!?”
“No, you are using the methods you employed during your conquest, to deal with the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty and arrogant generals, to govern a vast empire that needs recuperation and development!”
Having said this, he clicked his tongue and shook his head: “Times have changed, Old Zhu! Your methods are no longer effective!”
“They will only cause the Great Ming to stagnate, or even… to go backward in history!”
Zhang Biao’s words were like heavy hammers, striking Old Zhu’s heart with each blow.
Especially the phrases ‘times have changed’ and ‘using the sword of a previous dynasty to strike down officials of the current one’ made Old Zhu tremble, a flicker of confusion and immense shock flashing in his eyes.
These ideas were completely different from what he had learned, practiced, and believed his entire life, even heretical.
Yet, for some reason, combined with the current decadent situation, it generated an indescribable fear within him.
He stared intently at Zhang Biao, as if truly recognizing him for the first time, his voice trembling slightly, a tremor he himself hadn’t noticed:
“Your… your heretical theories… are you truly… intending to… to reform our Great Ming?”
He had finally asked the question.
This question had lingered in his mind for a long time but he had never dared to ponder it deeply.
“Heh!”
Zhang Biao looked at Old Zhu’s expression, a mixture of shock, anger, fear, and a hint of inquiry, and suddenly laughed.
“Reform?”
He repeated the word, as if hearing a great joke.
“Old Zhu, are you perhaps still dreaming?”
“From ancient times to the present, how many reformers have had a good end? Shang Yang was dismembered by chariots, Wu Qi was shot by arrows, Wang Anshi died in frustration!”
“To reform and strengthen the nation? That would touch upon the interests of so many people! It would require bloodshed!”
“Do you think I, Zhang Biao, am the kind of loyal minister who would willingly place myself in the fire for your Zhu Ming empire, willing to be pointed at by thousands, willing to die without a burial place… a loyal and capable minister?”
“Go dream on!”
Old Zhu was choked into silence by the merciless mockery and direct refusal, his face turning pale and then red.
Zhang Biao’s tone shifted, a wicked smile playing on his lips, and he spoke slowly:
“Unless…”
Old Zhu asked almost subconsciously, with a trace of urgency he himself didn’t understand: “Unless what?”
Zhang Biao took another step forward, his gaze fixed on Old Zhu, and clearly uttered his earth-shattering demand:
“Unless… you agree to let me audit your—Imperial Treasury!”
Boom—!
This sentence exploded in Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind like a thunderclap from the heavens!
Audit… the Imperial Treasury?!
The Emperor’s private vault?!
That was the most secret, untouchable forbidden zone of imperial power! The symbol of absolute authority!
“You… you scoundrel!!”
Old Zhu instantly flew into a rage. The momentary shock and inquiry vanished without a trace, replaced by an extreme fury at the violation of his core interests.
For ‘auditing the Imperial Treasury’ was, in his mind, a hundred times more shocking than ‘auditing’ him, the Hongwu Emperor!
After all, he could represent himself, but the Imperial Treasury represented the face of the Zhu Ming imperial family.
If the Imperial Treasury were to be audited, would not future emperors have their every secret laid bare for all to see? Where would the sanctity of imperial power lie?!
Old Zhu straightened his body, veins bulging on his forehead, pointing at Zhang Biao, his voice distorted and sharp with extreme anger:
“You still dare to covet our Imperial Treasury?! Do you truly not rest until you are dead?!”
The entire Huagai Hall seemed to tremble under the Emperor’s overwhelming fury.
Zhang Biao, however, showed no fear, even with a mocking expression of ‘as expected,’ he stood his ground, meeting Old Zhu’s murderous gaze.
Inside Huagai Hall, the atmosphere, which had slightly eased, instantly dropped back to freezing point.
It was even more dangerous and tense than before!
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