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

Chapter 40 I will use this money to support my army and fight my wars!

Zhu Youjian nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the answer, and turned his gaze to Tian Ergeng.

"Tian Ergeng".

"Chen is here!"

Tian Ergeng clasped his hands in a loud, booming gesture. His eyes burned with a thirst for blood and glory. He and his men had been waiting for this day for a long time.

“Zhangjiakou is yours.” Zhu Youjian tapped the sand table heavily with his finger.

"Apart from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, five hundred elite new troops will be assigned to you to lead. You will also leave the capital immediately tomorrow, at top speed!"

"My requirement for you is also just two words."

"Ruthless and comprehensive".

"The entire Fan clan, from eighty-year-old elders to infants in swaddling clothes, every single one of them, is to be captured! Anyone who dares to resist or attempts to destroy evidence will be killed without exception! Remember what I said!"

"In addition, the Fan family, as well as the other so-called seven major Shanxi merchants, have amassed a fortune over the years by smuggling goods, colluding with the Jurchens, and sucking the blood and flesh of the soldiers and civilians in the northern border of our Great Ming!"
When you leave Zhangjiakou, all their vaults, silver vaults, and granaries must be empty.

All their land deeds, house deeds, business deeds, loan receipts, and most importantly, all their account books and secret letters with the Jurchens—every single page of them must be brought back to me in perfect condition.

"On this trip, I not only want their lives, but also their money."

"I will use this money to support my army and fight my wars!"

The last few words were practically squeezed out by Zhu Youjian through his teeth.

A ferocious yet triumphant smile finally broke out on Tian Ergeng's perpetually numb face.

As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he knew better than anyone what these Shanxi merchants had been doing behind the scenes, but he couldn't touch them because they were involved with too many important figures in the court.

Now, the emperor himself has issued the execution order he has been dreaming of, which means that no one in the world can protect these fat pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered!

"Your Majesty!" Tian Ergeng grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth. "My sword has been thirsty for blood for a long time. Please wait for good news, Your Majesty. I guarantee I will dig out the roots of the entire Shanxi merchant family from that rotten land of Zhangjiakou for you!"

"Very good. I hope that after this, those court officials who have a misunderstanding of the Embroidered Uniform Guard will be able to clearly realize once again that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is still the same Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

After saying that, Zhu Youjian's gaze fell on Zhou Quan, who was always smiling.

"comprehensive."

"Your subject is here." Zhou Quan's smile now looked more like a sinister flower blooming on a corpse.

"The capital city, the center of this network is handed over to you. The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard should also allocate some people to you for unified command."

Zhou Quan's smile widened even more.

Zhu Youjian continued, "First, quickly seize all Shanxi merchants' businesses in Beijing—their shops, their banks, their warehouses—not one should be missed."

"Secondly, Zhou Yanru, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Feng Quan, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate... and all the officials at all levels who accepted money from Shanxi merchants to do favors for them, must be invited from their residences to the West Depot's prison for tea immediately."

Zhou Quan's heart began to pound.

He knew this was his best chance to soar to great heights.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured!" Zhou Quan pledged, "None of them will escape!"

Finally, Zhu Youjian's gaze fell on Zhang Weixian, who had remained silent from beginning to end. This Duke of Ying, as steady as Mount Tai, never uttered a single word.

"British Duke."

Zhu Youjian's voice softened somewhat.

"This old minister...is here."

Zhang Weixian's voice was dry, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"You will be in charge of the central command."

"After tonight, I will issue an imperial edict, in the name of rewarding the Beijing garrison with funds from the palace treasury, to bestow upon you the Imperial Sword, granting you control over the defense of the nine gates of the capital and the five city garrisons. The mobilization of the three major camps will also require your command seal to take effect." Zhu Youjian looked at him and said, word by word, "That night, no matter what happened outside the city, whether news of a mutiny came from Xuanfu or rumors of chaos came from Shanxi, and no matter how many ministers' residences in the capital were filled with the sound of weeping in the middle of the night."

"You must keep the capital firmly nailed to this place for me."

"The city gates must not be opened without authorization, the army must not be moved without authorization, and chaos must not be allowed in the imperial court."

A suffocating silence fell over the warm pavilion.

Only the massive, arm-thick tallow candle occasionally crackled softly, as if counting down to the impending bloody feast.

Zhang Weixian looked at the lines on the sand table that the emperor had drawn with his finger, representing death and slaughter.

The northern front was carried out by Wei Zhongxian's Eastern Depot and the emperor's most elite private army, targeting border troops who had betrayed the Ming Dynasty.

The western front was carried out by the emperor's most ruthless henchmen, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and another private army, targeting wealthy merchants who had connections with the court and the public.

In the capital, the operation was carried out by the emperor's most insidious informants, targeting high-ranking and powerful court officials.

This young emperor was not gambling.

He was carrying out a plan that he had rehearsed in his mind a thousand times over.

A terrifying plan to completely shatter everything he dislikes and considers corrupt, whether it be people or other things, and then reassemble them according to his own will.

Zhang Weixian took a deep breath and straightened his clothes, his movements slow and solemn.

"This old minister..."

His voice became incredibly clear and unwavering at that moment.

"According to the order."

Wei Zhongxian, Tian Ergeng, and Zhou Quan also knelt down at almost the same time.

"Old slave, I obey your order!"

The four voices merged into one, echoing within the small, warm pavilion.

There were no grand and impassioned vows, no passionate slogans.

Only cold, absolutely precise, mechanical obedience.

Zhu Youjian looked at the four men kneeling before him, who controlled the most powerful and darkest machine of violence in the Ming Dynasty, and his face remained expressionless.

"Let's all go back."

He said calmly.

"Remember, the fourteenth day, at the hour of Hai (9-11 PM)."

"Yes."

The four of them respectfully kowtowed, and then quietly withdrew from the warm pavilion.

The large, warm pavilion was now empty except for Zhu Youjian, as if the loneliness of the world was his alone.

Zhu Youjian walked to the window and pushed open a small window.

A biting cold wind immediately rushed in, dispersing the warm fragrance that filled the room and also ruffling a few strands of black hair on his forehead.

He gazed out the window at the bottomless, dark night sky.

There were no stars or moon in the night sky.

Only endless, profound darkness.

(End of this chapter)