Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 91 Go to heaven to listen!

[You've always tried to avoid conflicts with the government. This isn't because you're a coward, but rather because you need to thrive.]

Life experience has long taught you that before you have sufficient strength, it's best not to provoke the imperial court. After all, no matter how corrupt it is, it is still a behemoth. If you directly confront it, you will definitely suffer!

So you've always treated corrupt officials as the "elephant in the room," pretending not to see them, while focusing solely on plucking the spinning tops of the weak landlords, thereby increasing your divine power.

If Liu Yizhao hadn't been so determined to flatter you, you might have actually chosen to become a "Shilipo Sword God," first leveling up in the Novice Village and then taking on the ultimate boss, the Divine Emperor...

[But who told Lao Liu to praise you so much? ]

[Now that they've taken action, you can't just sit there and do nothing anymore. So, you start reporting corrupt officials, proving you're not just someone seeking fame, and establishing your reputation as a "mad saint" among the people!]

[But even at this point, you still don't dare to directly pull out the official's spinning top...]

Because you are ultimately just a "desperate scholar from northern Shaanxi," your status dictates that you only have the power to report crimes, not the power to execute them. Therefore, you can only report the offending officials to higher authorities, but you cannot privately take advantage of their spinning tops.

[But you didn't rush, because you knew that your reporting would definitely violate the government's bottom line... How many people in the officialdom can have a clear conscience?]

[So, as long as you deliberately display the aura of a whistleblower addicted to reporting, the officials, who are already feeling insecure, will definitely take action!]

[Openly, they can't mess with you. They even have to praise you with deep emotion, saying you're a young hero who's not afraid of power, the "rising star" of the Ming Dynasty, and that the future pillars of the Ming Dynasty must be young heroes like you.]

[But secretly... they've probably already prepared more than one way for you to die, including but not limited to: "Big brain", "Broad-minded", "Shot seven times in the back, suicide"...]

[Anyway, you've already anticipated their tactics.]

[And as you guessed, they took action immediately... and that's exactly what you wanted!]

[You finally have a reason to make a big news story and whip the top hard!]

【…】

"We beg the Governor to show mercy! Please make this decision for us!"

[You emotionally knelt in the Governor's Office, tearfully accusing the various prefects of assassinating you to the volatile Lord Liu in front of countless curious onlookers!]

[And the members who followed you to testify also used the words you taught them in advance to express their sympathy for you and their indignation towards the Ming government!]

"What about the Ming Dynasty? Ask for details!"

"I'm shivering with anger! I'm lost in thought!"

[“In this land where the flowers of evil bloom, may the truth come out soon!”]

【“…”】

They roared furiously, and although no one present could quite understand what they were yelling, they inexplicably found it incredibly exciting!

[Hearing this excitement, the crowd of bloodthirsty spectators, eager to watch the fun, couldn't help but join in.]

[Wow! Seeing such an exciting tower rush is worth the price of admission even if I die! ! !]

Liu Yizhao: ...

Liu Yizhao's face flushed red, his eyes blazing with rage. "Zhou Liang! Do you know what you've done? You arrested and detained officials like the county magistrate and prefect, and even resorted to lynching them... Are you planning a rebellion?!"

He was truly furious: "Admittedly, he didn't expect you to survive the assassination attempt... but he also didn't expect you to actually attack an imperial official! How is this any different from rebellion?!"

[Now, he really wants to capture you without hesitation, even behead you on the spot! With such heavyweight news coming out of Shaanxi, you can imagine how shocked the imperial court will be. If the higher-ups investigate, he, the governor, will definitely be implicated!]

【But... he didn't dare to do it. 】

Your swift and powerful methods have surpassed his imagination. He truly cannot comprehend how you managed to survive the assassination attempt. Furthermore, after the assassination attempt failed, you were still able to capture these prefects and county magistrates... You're only seven years old. Even if you possessed the divine power of a Juren-level scholar, you couldn't possibly have accomplished such a feat, could you?!

[It is precisely because of this that he is now angry at you, wary of you, and even afraid of you... You have exceeded his control. If you decide to kill officials and rebel, the court will certainly be able to suppress it, but he, the Liu family, will definitely not survive...]

Despite the Governor's stern yet timid rebuke, you still stubbornly cried out, "Please, sir, stand up for the students and severely punish these corrupt officials!"

【"you!……"】

Liu Yizhao trembled with anger: "Are you trying to challenge me?"

You refused to give in: "A family with a son who speaks out will not ruin it, and a country with loyal ministers will not perish! I simply want to rid the country of pests and treacherous officials. Why do you say such things, sir?" [Liu Yizhao: ...]

[He's really at his wit's end now. The assassination attempt failed, and even his power struggles can't scare you... What else can he say?]

【What can I say？】

The governor, so angry he was practically vomiting blood, could only turn his head and glare fiercely at the group of prefects and county magistrates who were more trouble than help.

At this moment, they could no longer display their usual authority, and from beginning to end, they dared not speak. Ever since being whipped like a top by the insane and unruly people, they could only lower their heads and silently shed tears... These tears were shed not only for the pain in their bodies, but also for the tragic fate that was to come.

They weren't fools. The situation had gotten so bad that even the governor, the most powerful official in Shaanxi, couldn't contain it. So the only option left was to report it to the capital.

[And reporting this to the capital would mean the end of everything! This sudden incident was beyond everyone's expectations...]

【…】

【This is indeed the case! 】

In the fiftieth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhou Liang, a child prodigy and successful candidate in a juren exam in northern Shaanxi, brazenly arrested local officials, alleging that the prefects and county magistrates in Shaanxi were conspiring to assassinate him. He then reported the matter to the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Office, causing a major uproar in Shaanxi.

[That year, the Provincial Governor Liu Yizhao did not dare to accept the case, so he sent a message to the capital, requesting the court's instructions!]

[That year, the imperial court was greatly alarmed, and the Minister of War sternly wrote a letter: "Send elite troops immediately to suppress the rebellion!"]

The other officials also unanimously supported the idea: Shaanxi has always been a bitterly cold land, and the people are warlike and bloodthirsty. Furthermore, it had produced such vicious bandits as Li Zicheng and Xian Ni, making it truly a haunted place teeming with unruly people… Now, along comes Zhou Liang, a child who has been able to arrest and capture so many prefects and county magistrates. This is truly even more bizarre than Li Zicheng!

If this strange child were to raise a cry, he might turn out to be another Li Chuang... The imperial court should take precautions and strangle the evil little Chuang in his cradle!

The Minister of War even volunteered righteously: "You inherently evil little brat from northern Shaanxi! I will personally..."

However, the yellow-robed figure atop the Jade Dragon Throne remained silent about the officials' petitions, instead lapsed into prolonged contemplation. No one knew what this unpredictable Supreme Divine Emperor was thinking...

[After some thought, He finally made a choice.]

【…】

In the fifty-first year of Chongzhen's reign, the emperor issued an edict to the Ministry of Justice, sentencing the prefects of Xi'an and Pingliang, among other officials implicated in the case, to "skin and straw" on charges of corruption and illegality, and exiling their relatives to Ningguta in Liaodong to appease public anger!

[Later, on the grounds that Shaanxi Provincial Governor Liu Yizhao had neglected his duty, he was demoted to the position of magistrate of a county in Guangdong and fined 100,000 silver coins!]

[As for you, who whipped the imperial official, you are not guilty...]

This verdict immediately caused shock in Shaanxi. The public wasn't shocked by the officials sentenced to skinning and straw. After all, the idle Jinyiwei in various places would occasionally investigate corruption, using it as a big news to gain promotions. It wasn't really new.

【What really shocked everyone was actually your innocence! 】

"You've officially stormed the government office and even secretly arrested a ruthless man who had captured an official appointed by the imperial court. This is no different from rebellion, right?"

[Can this be acquitted?!]

For a time, not only Shaanxi was shaken, but even the two capitals and thirteen provinces were all discussing it. Everyone was speculating: Does Your Majesty have some hidden purpose behind this move? Even a case that was tantamount to rebellion could be acquitted. Could this mean that Your Majesty has finally come to his senses and is intending to clean up the bureaucracy?

This speculation is outrageous, but considering the case itself is outrageous, and your Majesty's train of thought has always been outrageous, all these outrageous things combined, it doesn't seem so outrageous after all...

Some were expectant, some were uneasy, and many were simply watching: Since His Majesty had issued such a strange verdict, there was a high probability that other actions would follow...

【It turns out that they were right.】

[In the fifty-first year of Chongzhen's reign, just after a group of criminal officials were brutally skinned and stuffed with straw, another imperial edict was delivered to you, far away in northern Shaanxi!]

The imperial edict was not complicated: "...I have heard that there is a loyal man in the northwest, wholeheartedly serving the country and the people, and not afraid of corrupt officials. I truly love him...I hereby summon him to the capital and entrust him with important tasks to benefit the country..."

You held the imperial edict in your hands, squinting your eyes for half the night before finally making out two words between the lines...

"Announcement of peace!"

……

(End of this chapter)