Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 17 Death is the most effective command!
An hour after Zhu Chunchen smashed his cup and left, a group of people quietly rode out of the imperial city and headed straight for the Duke of Ying's mansion.

The leader was a handsome young man with a cold expression.

He was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit that was completely different from the official attire of the Ming Dynasty. A long, narrow embroidered spring knife hung at his waist, and the collar and cuffs of his clothes were embroidered with intricate and strange cloud patterns in gold thread.

During the thorough purge within the palace, he completely won Zhu Youjian's trust, which in turn emboldened him—making him the first non-eunuch to become the Director of the Western Investigation Depot!

Zhou Quan dismounted in front of the Duke of England's mansion, followed by two hundred elite guards from the Yongwei Battalion and the Western Depot, all dressed in tight-fitting clothes and exuding a murderous aura.

They stood like a hundred silent statues of slaughter, quietly on the street in the dim morning light, sending a chill down the spines of all the early risers.

Zhang Weixian was already dressed and waiting in front of the mansion gate.

He changed into a military officer's uniform and looked very energetic.

"Admiral Zhou." He nodded calmly to Zhou Quan.

"Your Excellency." Zhou Quan bowed respectfully, but his eyes were devoid of any emotion. "His Majesty has decreed that I escort Your Excellency to the capital garrison for inventory and verification. Anyone who obstructs military affairs may be executed without prior notice by Your Excellency. If Your Excellency is unable to act, I may do so on your behalf."

Zhang Weixian felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew this was a military supervisor sent by the emperor, but more importantly, a sword—a sword to cut off all obstacles for him.

"Thank you for your trouble." He didn't say much, and mounted his horse.

The group, in a grand procession, headed straight for the Beijing garrison camp outside the city.

The news had already reached the camp.

When Zhang Weixian and Zhou Quan arrived at their post, they were not greeted by a neat procession or respectful generals.

Instead, it was a lifeless, chaotic scene.

The camp gates were wide open, but no one was guarding them.

On the drill ground, the small groups of soldiers, seeing this large group of men enter, merely raised their eyelids lazily, their eyes filled with mockery and disdain.

The walls of the barracks were peeling, and the roof tiles were broken. It didn't look like a military camp, but rather like an abandoned slum.

This is the Divine Machine Battalion of the Ming Dynasty.

They were once a firearms unit that struck fear into the hearts of the Tatars at Tumu Fortress and Yingzhou.

Now all that's left is a pile of rotten wood.

Zhu Qian, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, was the nephew of Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Cheng.

He slowly walked out of his tent, still smelling of a hangover, and lazily cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Weixian.

"Oh my, isn't this the Duke of England? What brings you here? You didn't even give me a heads-up so I could have welcomed you properly." His words were full of sarcastic mockery.

Zhang Weixian stared at him coldly, his face ashen.

"Commander Zhu, I have come on His Majesty's orders to take stock of the soldiers, weapons, and provisions in the camp. Please immediately gather all registered officers and soldiers at the drill ground and hand over the roster of soldiers and the keys to the armory and granary."

Zhu Qian picked at his ear, making a troubled expression.

"Oh dear, Your Excellency, aren't you putting me in a difficult position? Look, it's freezing cold, some of the brothers are sick, and others have family matters to attend to. I'm afraid we won't be able to gather everyone together in a short time. Besides, the register and keys are locked in the storeroom, and the storeroom manager just happened to have diarrhea today and went back to the city to see a doctor. Why don't you go back and rest first, and in three to five days, I'll have everything prepared for you and then send someone to invite you?"

His words were impeccable, yet they were full of subtle criticisms.

His trusted officers behind him burst into laughter.

They wanted to use this passive resistance to tell Zhang Weixian that this was their territory, and he had no chance to interfere here!
Looking at Zhu Qian's arrogant and foolish face, Zhang Weixian felt all the last bit of sympathy vanish.

He didn't say another word.

He simply took a booklet out of his pocket.

Zhang Weixian unfolded the booklet and said loudly, "Zhu Qian, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, has neglected his duties, embezzled military funds, seized military farmland, and resold military equipment. The evidence against him is conclusive!"

Zhang Weixian's voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap!

"In the third month of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, you secretly sold 300 shi of newly arrived gunpowder from the armory to merchants in Xuanfu, making a profit of 1,200 taels of silver!"

"In May of the same year, you falsely reported 300 soldiers and embezzled 900 taels of military pay!"

"In September of the same year, you forcibly seized eighty hectares of military farmland in Tongzhou, rented it to tenants, and collected 1,500 taels of silver in rent annually!"

"...Every single one of these incidents is supported by concrete evidence! Will you accept it or not?!"

Zhu Qian's face turned deathly pale instantly.

He never dreamed that his secretive activities would be so thoroughly investigated!
This...this was done by the Eastern Depot?!

While he was still in shock, Zhang Weixian had already read out the final verdict.

"By His Majesty's decree, Commander Zhu Qian has neglected his duties and obstructed military affairs. He is hereby dismissed from his post and imprisoned for further investigation!"

"You...you dare!" Zhu Qian shouted in shock and anger, "I am a third-rank military officer of the imperial court! I am the Duke of Cheng's...ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, a scream rang out.

comprehensive.

No one saw how he made his move.

All I saw was a black afterimage that flashed by.

The next moment, Zhou Quan was already standing behind Zhu Qian, and the scabbard of his Embroidered Spring Blade slammed hard into the back of Zhu Qian's knee.

Zhu Qian screamed and fell to his knees.

Two soldiers from the Brave Guard Battalion held him down tightly, like iron clamps.

"Take him down!" Zhou Quan's voice was icy cold, devoid of any human emotion.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone present. Zhu Qian's trusted men reacted quickly, drawing their swords and charging forward with a roar.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! How dare they touch the Commander!"

"Brothers, let's fight them to the death!"

After all, the law does not punish the public.

Zhang Weixian didn't move; he just watched coldly.

Zhou Quan didn't even lift his eyelids.

He simply uttered a single word.

"kill."

The two hundred elite guards and handpicked soldiers from the Western Depot behind him moved.

There was no roaring, no howling.

The only sound was the uniform, synchronized sound of knives being drawn.

"Choke!"

Two hundred gleaming blades flashed, forming a forest of death under the winter sun.

They marched in unison towards the officers who rushed forward.

There were no fancy moves, no grappling.

Only the simplest, most efficient chopping, hacking, and stabbing techniques.

The light of the knife flashed.

Blood spurted out.

Several officers who still wanted to resist didn't even have time to scream before they clutched their throats or hugged their ripped chests and fell in disbelief into pools of blood.

The whole process took only a few breaths.

The battle was resolved as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

They sheathed their swords and stood back behind Zhou Quan as if nothing had happened.

Only the warm corpses at their feet and the thick smell of blood in the air reminded everyone what had just happened.

The entire training ground was deathly silent.

Those soldiers who had been watching the spectacle were now deathly pale and trembling uncontrollably.

As they stared at the several corpses with their eyes wide open in death, and at the expressionless black-clad killers, fear gripped their throats like an invisible hand.

Zhou Quan slowly walked up to the corpses.

He kicked open the head of a man who was dying with his eyes wide open, then raised his head, his cold eyes slowly sweeping over everyone present.

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Those whom the Eastern Depot dares not kill, the Western Depot will kill!"

"What the Eastern Depot dares not handle, the Western Depot will handle!"

He paused, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"In short, I will manage what the Eastern Depot can manage, and I will manage what the Eastern Depot cannot manage!"

"Execute first and report later, special permission granted by the Emperor!"

He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"This is the Western Depot!"

"Now, who still has any objections to the Emperor's decree?"

No one dared to speak.

No one dared to make a move.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

Fear is the best discipline.

Death is the most effective command!
Zhang Weixian stood there, looking at the bloody scene before him, at the young man who was like a demon from hell, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew that from this moment on, there was no room for sentimentality in the reform of the Beijing garrison.

Anyone who stands in their way will be crushed by this violent machine built by the emperor himself.

He succeeded!

The emperor established his authority in the most direct and bloody way!
However, he also completely stood on the opposite side of the entire aristocratic group.

Zhang Weixian could feel countless pairs of resentful eyes staring intently at him from the shadows.

He looked up at the menacing soldiers of the Brave Guard Battalion behind him, then at the chaotic, filthy military camp before him, filled with death and fear.

This is the fury of the entire aristocratic group, the corrupt yet deeply entrenched old forces.

Zhang Weixian walked on the steel wire suspended above the abyss between steel and rotten wood.

Behind it all lies utter ruin.

Before him lay a bottomless abyss.

out on a limb!

But who's afraid?
Behind me is the emperor!
(End of this chapter)