Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 81: Of the seven cabinet members, five are from the same hometown.

Chapter 3 The Emperor's Furious State in the Court
A deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the hall, piercing the ears of every minister with its icy chill, as if the air itself had turned cold.

They were sweating profusely, fearing that the emperor's wrath would befall them.

Loyal and virtuous officials are naturally not afraid. They also want the Ming Dynasty to get through the crisis as soon as possible. However, if the current situation were handed over to them, they would probably only face certain death.

Among the ministers, those involved in or implicated in the matter were all subtly panicked and trembling with fear. Every word Zhu Di uttered, every syllable, every outburst of anger he uttered, was constantly assaulting their hearts, which were already on the verge of being torn apart.

Suppression, tension, helplessness... all of this is like a dry, thin ball of paper, the raging fire inside can no longer be contained.

With a series of hurried footsteps, the ministers knew, even without looking up, that the guards had brought Yang Shiqi and the others up.

The air above the main hall seemed to freeze, and everyone was tense, even their breathing was strained. The only sound could be Yang Shiqi's heavy breathing.

"Your Majesty, Yang Shiqi has arrived!"

The guards saluted and reported back, then pressed the limp Yang Shiqi to the ground, forcing him to kneel. At the same time, all the ministers from Jiangxi Province in the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers of the Cabinet were also escorted to the court by the guards.

The speed was so fast that it left everyone speechless.

These were Zhu Di's closest guards, each of whom was always ready to dedicate their lives to him, sacrifice themselves for the country, and die for the emperor—this was the most glorious thing in their hearts.

Amidst a cacophony of noise, Yang Shiqi, Hu Guang, and other ministers from Jiangxi knelt down beneath the emperor's steps.

They all kept their heads down, not daring to get up. In the silent hall, one could hear some people sobbing softly out of fear.

"Very good, very good, Yang Shiqi, I never expected all of this to be your doing! You are truly an excellent teacher to me!"

Looking at that aged, familiar yet unfamiliar face, Zhu Di sighed inwardly. At this moment, how was he any different from Zhu Qizhen when he saw his rebellious subordinates?
One was already a prisoner, and the other almost became a prisoner.

"Yang Shiqi, speak! Is this what you did?" Zhu Di angrily threw the imperial brush on the ground, breaking it into two pieces. Although his voice was not loud, in his rage, no one dared to utter a sound.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Yang Shiqi said nothing, but lay on the ground weeping and kowtowing repeatedly to admit his mistakes. However, Zhu Di showed no sign of softening his heart.

If Zhu Di had any doubts before, now there was no need to question them at all.

The corpse and blood on the ground, belonging to Yang Qing, were a testament to his attitude.

Zhu Di was well aware that the civil service group had betrayed the Ming Dynasty.

It's impossible that this will only happen in the future; the Ming Dynasty is probably already riddled with problems by now.

"And all of you officials from Jiangxi, report to me how much bribe each of you received from Yang Shiqi! And report to me truthfully how many muskets and bows and arrows were sent to the frontier!"

"Is there a single real word on this form? Is there?"

Zhu Di clenched his fists, squeezing the golden dragon throne armrests out of shape. In the midst of his rage in the court, his ability to remain so calm and analytical was truly exceptional.

"Yang Shiqi, raise your head and tell me everything you know!"

"Your Majesty! This old minister only begs for death!" Yang Shiqi knew that now it was no use saying anything. If the truth came out and Zhu Di discovered everything, he would surely die.

However, if all those accounts were brought out, he wouldn't be the only one to die.

His fellow townsmen, those who rose through the ranks because of his protection, those who benefited from his favors—none of them met a good end. This is no longer just corruption and bribery; it's the heinous crime of treason!

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes widened in anger. He stood up from the dragon throne and walked down the steps, his few steps causing all the ministers to hold their breath in shock.

Zhu Di grabbed Yang Shiqi by the hair, lifted his face up, and his hat fell off and rolled to the side.

Yang Shiqi kept his eyes closed, not daring to meet Zhu Di's gaze. Although tears streamed down his face, Zhu Di couldn't discern any remorse in him.

Was it because he was about to be killed by the emperor himself that he felt sad and afraid?

"Yang Shiqi, you think you can just die? You're making it too easy! If you don't confess all the dirty deeds your men have done today, I'll exterminate your entire family!"

Thunder rumbled in the main hall. Yang Shiqi, a man of both literary and military prowess, respected throughout his life, who could have imagined such an end? He wanted to protect his men, but he also couldn't allow his own people to be implicated.

"Yang Shiqi, if you dare to commit suicide, I dare to send your entire family and clan to their doom immediately! Do you believe me?"

Zhu Di stood before Yang Shiqi, his voice like a raging torrent, each slap landing on Yang's head.

"Your Majesty, please be merciful and spare my people!" Yang Shiqi finally relented, but even on his deathbed, he still wanted to protect the people he cared about most.

"That's none of your business. Speak!" Zhu Di ordered, returning to his throne and glaring at Yang Shiqi.

At this moment, Yang Shiqi called out, "Hu Guang, Lord Hu, come and report!"

Hu Guang, who was kneeling behind, shuddered and buried his head completely in the ground, crying out loudly, "Your Majesty, please sentence me to death!"

.

"Say it!"

Zhu Di didn't want to deal with them; he just wanted to know how many muskets these people had given to those ambitious people on the frontier.

Of the seven members of his cabinet, five were actually from the same hometown as Yang Shiqi.

He might have thought it was just a coincidence before, but now... it's simply absurd.

These people had planned this all along.

"Yes, yes!" Hu Guang dared not disobey at this moment. He crawled a few steps on the ground, took out a pen, and Zhu Di waved his hand. The eunuch next to him took the pen and ink away.

Hu Guang lay sprawled on the ground in a disheveled state, spread out the paper, and quickly wrote down the list that was so deeply etched in his mind.

Everything was listed out, including what each item was, how much it cost, and who was responsible for it.

Before him lay the blood-soaked ground where Liu Qing had been killed. He wrote on the blood-stained ground, each stroke trembling.

Everyone was shocked. How could such a lowly official remember this list so clearly? It seemed that he also knew the importance of this matter, so he was restless day and night and had unknowingly memorized the contents perfectly.

In the silent hall, only the sound of writing on paper and pen could be heard. The officials from Jiangxi who had been brought in were all trembling with fear, not daring to utter a sound.

Because their names will inevitably appear in Hu Guang's writings, and perhaps the next ones to have their blood splattered on the imperial steps will be them.

(End of this chapter)