Great Xia: At the start, summon the Net of Heaven to suppress the martial arts world.

Inside the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) headquarters, as more and more gold and silver jewelry were delivered, the boxes piled up in the courtyard resembled a small mountain.

At the same time, bloodshed broke out throughout the capital, and screams and wails could be faintly heard everywhere.

The people in the city locked their doors and windows tightly, not daring to be curious in the slightest.

The actions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard also instilled fear in various forces in the city, who prayed that these ruthless individuals would not target them.

The Crown Prince used the principle of "kill first, then gather evidence" and "execute first, report later" very clearly at this time.

Previously pampered officials had never witnessed such ruthless and vicious methods.

For a moment, everyone was like a frightened bird, on tenterhooks, fearing that they might become victims of the Embroidered Uniform Guard at any time.

Under such intense pressure, the entire capital city fell into a deathly silence, with only the occasional sounds of battle serving as a constant reminder that this nightmare was far from over.

Late at night, inside the Qianming Palace, the sleeping quarters of Emperor Xia.

The Xia Emperor, who had just fallen asleep, was gradually awakened by the shouts of battle from the city.

Emperor Xia lifted his heavy eyelids, no longer wanting to sleep, and softly called to Wei Yong, asking:

"Wei Yong, what's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"

Upon hearing the Xia Emperor's call, Wei Yong hurriedly took small steps to arrive.

"Your Majesty, I just sent someone to inquire, and His Highness the Crown Prince sent a message saying that he is raising funds for Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia asked in confusion, "Raise money? What kind of money are you raising in the middle of the night?"

"Your Majesty, according to my understanding, it is the Imperial Guards under the Crown Prince's command who are punishing corrupt officials throughout the city! However..."

Wei Yong hesitated at this point.

"But what?" Emperor Xia asked hastily when he saw him stammering.

"However, according to the Imperial Guards, the Duke of Lu's mansion and the Minister of Rites' residence have been completely wiped out by the Embroidered Uniform Guards!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia was instantly wide awake.

One of them was a powerful and noble figure who held the title of Duke, a position that was the most prestigious below the title of King.

The other held the important position of Minister of Rites, a high-ranking official of the second rank in the imperial court.

Faced with these two high-ranking and powerful figures, Emperor Xia couldn't understand why the usually composed Xia Taige would so rashly choose to target them.

However, things have already come to a head, and even though the Xia Emperor was filled with all sorts of inner turmoil, he had no other choice but to feel a headache coming on.

Emperor Xia frowned, his sharp gaze fixed on Wei Yong, who was carefully attending to him. His face was full of helplessness as he asked:

"Such a serious matter has already occurred, why didn't you inform me beforehand?"

Upon hearing the Emperor's question, Wei Yong bowed deeply and carefully replied:

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince had previously stated that he would personally report this matter to Your Majesty during the morning court session today."

"This servant saw that it was almost time for the morning court session to begin, and thought it would be good for Your Majesty to rest a little longer, so..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Yong saw the Emperor Xia wave his hand and then stopped talking.

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Xia let out a long sigh and lamented:

"This matter is not so simple! Not to mention the Minister of Rites, the Duke of Lu alone has legendary stories from his early years that are widely circulated among the people."

"If this incident is seized upon by certain people with ulterior motives who wantonly spread rumors detrimental to the court, then if this continues, the common people, unaware of the specifics, will likely think that the court has discarded them after using them!"

Upon hearing of Emperor Xia's concerns, Wei Yong bowed and offered words of comfort:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. This servant firmly believes that His Highness the Crown Prince is not a reckless person. There must be a deeper meaning behind his actions. I hope Your Majesty can put your mind at ease."

Emperor Xia narrowed his eyes slightly, pondered for a long time, and then slowly nodded.

Judging from Xia Taige's recent behavior, he is not a reckless person. Since things have come to this point, we might as well wait and see how Xia Taige develops.

Thinking about these things now is pointless.

Emperor Xia thought for a moment, then took out a token and handed it to Wei Yong, saying:

"With this order, dispatch 5,000 troops from the Red Feather Camp outside the city to the capital to maintain order and prevent petty thieves from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble!"

"The four gates of the capital are under martial law, and all those entering or leaving the city will be strictly checked."

"Yes!" Wei Yong stepped forward, took the token, bowed, and turned to leave.

With such a dramatic change taking place in the capital, it's inevitable that some unscrupulous individuals will try to take advantage of the situation.

······

Just after the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the actions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard gradually ceased.

Inside the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters, Jiang Huan sat upright in the courtyard, having spent the entire night without sleep, awaiting the results from the Four Envoys of the Azure Dragon.

Before long, the four Azure Dragon Envoys each led their teams back to the yamen to tally the day's gains.

Overnight, a duke and a minister were both raided by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

There were also many officials of the third or fourth rank and below.

As soon as the four Qinglong envoys entered the yamen courtyard, they saw that Jiang Huan had been waiting there for a long time. Upon seeing this, the four quickly stepped forward, cupped their hands, and respectfully greeted him.

"Reporting to my lord, the mission is complete, and I have come to report back!"

"Tonight, a total of 33 houses were raided, and 17 million taels of silver, 1.5 million taels of gold, and countless other jewels and paintings were seized!"

"The ledger is here; I hope Your Excellency will examine it carefully!"

While respectfully reporting, Qinglong presented the account book to Jiang Huan with both hands.

Upon hearing Qinglong's words, Jiang Huan expressionlessly reached out and steadily took the account book.

He gently opened the ledger, his eyes quickly scanning over the dense numbers and records, and a look of satisfaction gradually appeared on his face.

Sure enough, when the whole country was in financial trouble and short of funds, those corrupt officials were absolutely rolling in money.

Preliminary calculations show that the gold and silver recorded in this account totaled a staggering 32 million taels of silver, an amount that is simply astonishing and almost equivalent to the total revenue of the Great Xia Dynasty's national treasury for the entire previous year!

Moreover, this is only a small part of the list of Zhenwu Division, yet it already possesses such an astonishing accumulation of wealth.

If it weren't for the possibility that the normal operation of the Great Xia Dynasty might be affected, Jiang Huan would have wanted to immediately order the confiscation of the property and execution of all the officials on the list to vent his anger.

After carefully examining the ledger from beginning to end, Jiang Huan slowly closed it and handed it back to Qinglong, who was standing to the side waiting.

Then, he raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the four Azure Dragon Envoys before him, and said in a gentle tone:

"Thank you all for your hard work tonight. I will personally speak to His Highness the Crown Prince on your behalf later."

"However, we still need to follow up on the follow-up matters to prevent some unscrupulous people from taking advantage of the situation."

"Yes! Rest assured, sir, we will do our utmost to live up to your expectations!"

The four Azure Dragon Envoys responded in unison with clasped hands.