When the emperor comes to modern times, history collapses!

Faced with the overwhelming strength of the Allied Forces of Ten Thousand Dynasties, the tribes in the northern desert summoned by the little Tatar prince were simply vulnerable and had no ability to resist at all in the face of the brave and wise Allied Forces of Ten Thousand Dynasties.

Normally, as long as Zhu Gang led his army to launch a frontal attack, the enemy would instantly collapse and flee in a panic like fallen leaves swept by a strong wind.

It is quite rare for a tribe to be able to hold out for half a day without being defeated.

What amazed the civil and military officials of the Zhengde Ming Dynasty was that the efficiency of the combat was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Every day, he can move quickly on several different battlefields.

From the time we first received the news of the invasion of the northern desert tribes until we completely wiped out and pacified all the tribes, it only took a very short period of several days!

This series of brilliant victories made all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty during the Zhengde period feel somewhat stunned and numb.

Looking back, they once suspected whether Zhu Gang was trying to usurp the throne of the Ming Dynasty by taking advantage of the prestige of Emperor Taizu. Now it seems that they were too arrogant. With Zhu Gang's powerful backing, there was no need to use any sinister and cunning plots. Even overthrowing the Zhengde Ming Dynasty would be easy.

After experiencing the Battle of Tumu, the Ming Dynasty was once deeply depressed because of the disastrous defeat, but at this moment, it finally straightened its spine again and restored its former majesty and glory.

Zhu Gang returned triumphantly to Yingtian Prefecture.

In the court, no one dared to show even the slightest resistance to this general with great military achievements.

When Zhu Gang just finished the morning court and returned to the imperial study, he found that old Zhu, who had disappeared for several days, was sitting there with a gloomy face, as if he had some unspeakable worry or dissatisfaction in his heart.

Zhu Gang's heart suddenly tightened, but his face quickly filled with a flattering smile. He hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father! I wonder why you are here today? Is there something serious going on?"

Old Zhu's face was as gloomy as water, and he glanced at Zhu Gang with his eyes as sharp as a hawk, then he clenched his teeth tightly and squeezed out a word from between his teeth: "Old Third, I heard that you were so majestic in the battle recently!"

Zhu Gang's heart trembled when he heard this, but he reacted very quickly and replied with great fear: "Father, you are too kind! How dare I compare myself with you when you were fighting for supremacy? Whenever I think of your heroic spirit when you were galloping across the country and fighting in the north and south, I admire you and am fascinated by your heroic spirit!"

As he said this, he did not forget to secretly wink at Zhu Di standing beside him, signaling him to quickly help say a few good words.

Zhu Di seemed not to see it and turned his head and looked elsewhere.

I secretly complained in my heart: Third brother, please don't involve me! It's ok to help with other things on weekdays, but if you want to appease the emperor, you still have to ask my eldest brother Zhu Biao for this job. If I ask for it, we will both be beaten.

There was no other way, Zhu Gang had to turn to Zhu Ming for help again.

Zhu Ming walked up to him calmly, picked up a cup of tea from the table, took a sip, and then slowly asked, "Old Zhu, you don't look very well. Why don't you go to the hospital?"

Hearing this, Old Zhu sighed heavily, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it, there's no need to go to the hospital. Recently, I have been secretly investigating the corrupt officials here. I thought it was just a small matter, but I never thought that the investigation would be so shocking!"

Among all the civil and military officials in the court, it is as difficult to find an honest and incorrupt person as to find a needle in a haystack. The ministers in the court are all trapped in the quagmire of corruption to varying degrees.

Zhu Ming smiled and said, "This is not a very normal thing, but it's not like I'm not mentally prepared."

Old Zhu seems particularly obsessed with investigating and punishing corrupt officials.

Not only did he vigorously investigate corrupt officials in his own dynasty, he sometimes even took the initiative to go to other dynasties to lend a helping hand and help them crack down on such activities.

After a detailed data comparison, shocking results surfaced - the corruption situation in the Ming Dynasty was the most serious!

This fact was like a heavy hammer, hitting Lao Zhu's heart hard, making him feel frustrated and angry.

"I heard you say that the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not keep even a penny. I was skeptical at the time, but now I see that it is true! Please take a look at this detailed investigation report."

As he spoke, Lao Zhu angrily threw an extremely thick notebook heavily onto the table.

Seeing this, Zhu Gang, who was standing by, quickly reached out to pick up the book and began to flip through it hastily.

All I saw was the densely packed text recording familiar names, and almost all the officials who could be named were listed without omission.

Even Li Dongyang, whom Zhu Gang had always respected and favored, was on the list, but the amount of corruption he was involved in was relatively small.

After putting down the notebook filled with dense text, Zhu Gang raised his head with a hint of hesitation and caution in his eyes, and asked his father who was sitting on the dragon throne: "Father, this... we can't kill them all, right? Think about it, if we kill all these people now, there might not be even a minister who can stand and speak in the court! At that time, do you want me to go to the court alone to handle government affairs?"

Hearing this, Old Zhu slammed the table and roared in anger: "Not killing them? Do we have to keep them for the New Year? This group of corrupt and law-breaking people are simply the cancer of our Ming Dynasty! If we don't punish them severely, how can we be worthy of the people of the world?" After saying that, he was so angry that his chest heaved, and he quickly took out a heart-saving pill from his arms and swallowed it.

Zhu Ming, who was standing by, quickly stepped forward and filled a cup of hot tea for Old Zhu, while earnestly advising him, "I've told you long ago that this matter can be left to other people to investigate. Why do you have to do it yourself? Look at you now. If you continue like this, I'm afraid you won't even survive until the 31st year of Hongwu."

Old Zhu took the teacup, took a sip, and calmed down a little, but his face was still full of anger and disappointment: "When we founded the Ming Dynasty, we wanted to create a clean and honest dynasty without corrupt officials. But who would have thought that the corruption in the Ming Dynasty would be so serious today? It really makes us sad!"

Zhu Ming said comfortingly: "If there is corruption, just deal with it properly. The current Hongwu Ming Dynasty is much better than in previous years. Otherwise, you don't have to investigate corrupt officials in other dynasties. In fact, compared with the dynasties after the Ming Dynasty, the current situation is still good. If everyone is really arrested, wouldn't the entire court be paralyzed immediately?"

Zhu Gang said hurriedly: "Father, when you went to other emperors of the Ming Dynasty before, you always shouted that you wanted to execute all corrupt officials, but in the end, you couldn't do it, right? So this matter needs to be considered carefully and we should do it step by step."

Old Zhu took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, shook his head helplessly, then sighed heavily and said, "Alas... It seems that this is the only way. Let's act according to the method we discussed before. You see, all the people marked here have embezzled huge amounts of money, and they are all flatterers without real talent and knowledge. They can be used to scare the monkeys."

After saying that, he pointed to the list in front of him.

Zhu Gang, who was standing nearby, finally relaxed his tense heartstrings after hearing his father's words. He took a long breath and responded, "Since the emperor has made the decision, I will obey. Everything will be done according to your instructions."

This time, Zhu Gang personally led the army to the battle, led the troops by example, achieved a brilliant victory, and returned triumphantly.

This battle not only allowed the civil and military officials in the court to witness Zhu Gang's outstanding military talent and strong leadership ability, but also made everyone deeply feel the tremendous strength behind him.

Originally, Zhu Gang also planned to take advantage of this good opportunity to vigorously rectify the order in the court.

The next morning.

The sunlight shines through the palace windows into the magnificent hall, illuminating it brightly.

Zhu Gang, dressed in gorgeous dragon robes, walked into the court with great dignity.

The ministers filed in.

To the great surprise of all the ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had not been seen for many days, actually appeared in the court at this time.

Sitting upright in the dragon throne, he still exuded a terrifying murderous aura that made people feel chilled.

All the ministers could not help but feel nervous when they saw this, and the Hongwu Emperor in history, who was decisive and feared by the world, instantly appeared in their minds. At this moment, the huge court was so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling to the ground could be heard clearly, and no one dared to speak out to break the silence.

Even those officials who usually liked to flatter and curry favor with others kept their lips tightly shut at this moment, not daring to breathe.

"Upon—"

With this shout, the originally silent court suddenly became solemn and dignified.

Because Lao Zhu was present, everyone else was like being cast under a spell and dared not say a word.

Old Zhu raised his mouth slightly, revealing a chilling sneer, and said in a cold voice: "You are the pillars of the Ming Dynasty, but no one has come to report today? Well, in this case, I have something to say. I have traveled through many dynasties, including the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty, the prosperous Sui Dynasty, the glorious Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, and several courts of the Ming Dynasty. You might as well tell me, among these dynasties, which dynasty had the most serious corruption?"

As soon as Old Zhu said this, it was like a thunderclap exploding in the court, and the originally quiet hall suddenly became silent.

Many ministers turned pale, beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

These ministers knew very well about Zhu's past deeds and preferences.

This iron-blooded emperor was ruthless to corrupt officials during his decades in power, and beheaded countless people.

A rough estimate is that several corrupt officials are sent to the guillotine almost every day.

Many ministers knew very well that Zhu Yuanzhang would vigorously rectify the atmosphere in the court when he came to the dynasty. However, no one expected that this day would come so soon.

Especially those officials who were most rampant in corruption and bribery on weekdays were already scared out of their wits at this moment, their legs were as weak as sieves, and their bodies were shaking constantly.

Faced with Zhu Yuanzhang's questioning, the entire court fell into silence and no one dared to answer easily.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened with anger. He slammed the dragon throne and roared, "No one dares to answer? I tell you, it's our Ming Dynasty! Our Ming Dynasty is the most corrupt and serious dynasty in history!"

Old Zhu's roar was deafening and echoed in the hall.

For a whole quarter of an hour, there was no sound in the court.

Old Zhu looked around at everyone: "Minister Jiao!"

Jiao Fang's body trembled, and he immediately knelt on the ground: "I am here!"

Holding the notebook, Old Zhu said calmly: "Minister Jiao is indeed an important official of the court. His actions over the years have opened my eyes. He has many businesses under his name. I haven't fully investigated them yet. Can you give me some information?"

"I deserve death for my crime!"

Minister Jiao knew his situation. After confirming the identities of Lao Zhu and others, he felt that he did not have much time left.

He dismissed his tribesmen for several days and had people build several coffins for him.

"Come here, take him away and interrogate him severely."

Old Zhu sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy face. He swept his eyes like a torch over the ministers below, and then called out their names again.

Every minister whose name was called couldn't help but tremble when he heard the familiar and majestic voice. His face instantly turned pale as paper, as if all his strength had been drained away, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Because they know very well what they have done.

Although I was prepared, I didn’t expect this day to come so soon!
Those ministers who had not been named were even more silent and terrified, their bodies already drenched in cold sweat.

Everyone was praying silently that they would not be picked, and at the same time they were regretting: Why didn’t they listen to some music to relax, or enjoy a sumptuous and delicious meal when they returned home yesterday?
In this way, in extreme tension and fear, time passed by minute by minute, until noon.

Finally, Lao Zhu stopped calling the roll.

Everyone raised their heads and looked towards the top of the court.

The court, which was packed with people in the morning, was now nearly one-third empty.

Seeing this scene, the ministers present felt mixed emotions.

Old Zhu said slowly: "I didn't expect time to pass so quickly. It's already lunch time. In this case, my dear ministers, please go to the imperial kitchen to have your meal together."

When the ministers arrived at the imperial kitchen, they stared at the exquisite food on the table with complicated expressions on their faces.

Someone murmured to himself, "I'm afraid this is the legendary meal before execution... Never mind, who cares? Let's eat a few more bites while we still have the chance. Maybe we won't have such a good meal again in the future."

Another person echoed, "That's right! Even if you are facing death, being able to taste the imperial meal once before leaving can be considered a life without regrets!"

Some even shouted out loudly, "That's right. There are only a few people like us who can have the imperial meal as their last meal before execution!"

As a result, many ministers simply threw aside the last bit of concern in their hearts and began to eat and drink voraciously.

In a short while, all the food on the table was eaten up.

But these ministers still seemed unsatisfied and even asked for more food and dishes.

For a moment, the entire imperial kitchen was filled with an atmosphere that was both tragic and comical.

Imperial Room

"Master, there is not enough food." A young eunuch said anxiously.

"What's going on? Didn't these ministers have no meals yesterday?" The imperial chef was very confused.

I provided lunch according to the standard.

Normally, there is some left.

"Hurry up and light the fire!" (End of this chapter)