Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the wind and rain, lived a long and arduous life.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "You're getting on in years, be more composed. Why are you in such a rush?"

Fu Youwen quickly replied, "Your subject deserves to die ten thousand times!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked puzzled: "Tell me, what happened?"

He knew Fu Youwen; he was always calm and composed.

I'm afraid... he must have really encountered something extraordinary for this old guy to become like this.

Subconsciously.

Zhu Yuanzhang also perked up a bit.

now.

Fu Youwen trembled slightly as he said, "The memorials from the Left and Right Vice Censors-in-Chief of the Censorate have arrived. Please allow me to examine them."

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang had already vaguely forgotten about the account books.

He had too many memorials to review every day, and he hadn't taken the rules for investigating false documents that his father had told him through Xiong Ying to heart.

Fu Youwen said, "The investigation results for Ningbo and Fangtian are in."

Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment, then quickly remembered, his expression darkening: "Speak! Tell me quickly!"

Fu Youwen quickly bowed before saying, “Fangtian…Fangtian repaired the Xin’an River and hired more than 1,300 people. In reality, only about 300 people actually participated in the construction and management of the Xin’an River. More than 1,000 people were paid by the government without working, and their money was embezzled.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's face gradually turned cold. He stood with his hands behind his back, staring coldly at Fu Youwen, remaining silent.

Fu Youwen continued, "Furthermore, the marble and timber purchased from Huaixi and Guangdong to reinforce the dikes, as well as the local rammed earth and straw... all had the problem of being of inferior quality. Local officials in charge of engineering embezzled all the surplus silver; in Fangtian County alone, the embezzled silver amounted to over 90,000 taels..."

"And, there's also Ningbo..."

Fu Youwen's voice grew softer and softer; he could already feel the intense killing intent emanating from the old man.

"Speak! Keep going! Let us see just how corrupt our heroes of the Ming Dynasty can become of our land!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly.

Anyone could sense, even a fool, the overwhelming killing intent hidden beneath that calm tone.

Fu Youwen wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was only September, the sky was high and the air was crisp, but he felt that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

"Well, when Ningbo built the water fortress, the soldiers' salaries were embezzled. They were supposed to receive one or two silver coins per month, but in the end, they only received thirty large coins and two ounces of rice and flour."

"The soldiers in the southeastern naval strongholds have mostly started farming, and coastal defense has completely fallen into disarray; the ships in the garrisons, which should have been repaired, are now just covered with grease on the hulls, and the interiors are rotting, making them completely unusable at sea..."

Before Fu Youwen could finish speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang burst into laughter: "Good, hahaha, good! Absolutely good!"

"These men are all heroes! Hahaha! It seems our 'skinning and stuffing' incident in the third year of Hongwu's reign still couldn't scare these heroes! Excellent! Heroes!"

After he finished speaking, there was a long silence.

Fu Youwen dared not respond.

The old man is clearly furious, and he's afraid of being implicated.

soon.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have thought of something. Compared to these corrupt officials, he was more shocked by his father's rules for investigating fake documents!

How could... how could my father's words have come true?

That's kind of amazing!

The main hall fell into absolute silence.

Fu Youwen lowered his head, not daring to utter a single word, as if he could already sense the old man's unconcealable and overwhelming rage.

"Give me the memorial, you may leave."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained remarkably calm.

This time he used the character '朕' (zhen).

Fu Youwen knew that the Ningbo garrison and the Fangtian government were probably in for trouble!

Fu Youwen had no idea how many people would die.

But he knew that when the old man dealt with the Hu Huaiyong incident many years ago, not only Hu Huaiyong suffered, but the aftereffects were still lingering. Many people were taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard with the words "you are a remnant of Hu Huaiyong".

In just a few years, more than 10,000 people from the Ming Dynasty have been killed!

And this number is still growing!

This is absolutely unprecedented!

Years have passed, but the bloodstains on this land of Yingtian Prefecture seem still wet! They're even still flowing!

The old man's butcher's knife is still there, his skill undiminished, yet those people... dare to dance on the edge of it!

Do you really think the emperor is far away and the country is high up?

They really underestimated the old man and overestimated themselves!

These damned bastards are risking their lives for greed!

Fu Youwen respectfully bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, then clasped his hands and retreated step by step.

When he left the palace, the sun was shining brightly. The September weather was neither warm nor hot, but Fu Youwen was covered in sweat.

When Zhan Hui saw Fu Youwen in the capital, he asked in bewilderment, "Minister Fu, are you ill? Why are you sweating so much?"

Fu Youwen gave a wry smile and asked Zhan Hui, "Lord Zhan, what is this...?"

Zhan Hui chuckled and said, "Oh, there are a few memorials regarding personnel appointments and removals that I need to show His Majesty."

Fu Youwen tugged at his sleeve and shook his head slightly: "Don't go and provoke the old man."

Fu Youwen and Zhan Hui were good friends. In the turbulent court, they both felt fortunate to have such a friend, and therefore cherished their friendship.

Not long ago, the old man got angry, and Fu Youwen didn't know to approach him. It was Zhan Hui who reminded him.

This time, it was his turn to reciprocate.

Zhan Hui asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Fu Youwen looked up at the southeast, pointed to the sky, and said in a trembling voice, "The sky in the southeast... is about to turn red!"

Geek!

These were all seasoned veterans who had spent years navigating the complexities of court politics; those words instantly made Zhan Hui understand a great deal.

He froze, and seeing the sweat on Fu Youwen's forehead, Zhan Hui seemed to understand something. He slowly tucked the memorial in his hand into his sleeve, pursed his lips, and walked tremblingly toward the Ministry of Personnel's office.

There's no rush.

Come again tomorrow, come again tomorrow….

….….….….….…

Fengtian Temple.

Zhu Xiong Ying had just returned from Tianyun Temple and hadn't even had a chance to sit down properly when Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him here.

When I got here, I found that he wasn't the only one there.

My father, Zhu Biao, was also here.

"Father?"

Zhu Xiong Ying was taken aback: "Grandpa called you here too?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao turned around and was taken aback for a moment before letting out a long sigh and saying, "Yes."

“I was dealing with government affairs when my father sent someone to summon me. He said it was extremely urgent and the matter was very serious. Xiong Ying, you need to be prepared.”

Zhu Xiong Ying's heart skipped a beat, then she nodded: "Okay!"

The father and son both went inside.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a joyous occasion for family reunions, but both of them are in a very somber mood, mainly because the old man is feeling heavy-hearted.

Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Biao entered the main hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood behind the desk, his face somewhat ashen, his hands behind his back, as upright as a pine tree.

Zhu Xiong Ying rushed over and saw Zhu Yuanzhang standing there with an angry expression and murderous intent in his eyes.

Like a child who had made a mistake, he began, "Grandpa, I... I didn't help Grandma at Tianyun Temple, you shouldn't be like this..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him and said, "I'm not angry with you."

what?

Zhu Xiong Ying was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief.

Looking at his grandfather's face again, for some reason, he saw a trace of helplessness and regret in his grandfather's angry face.

Zhu Xiong Ying, not knowing what had happened, hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, what happened?"

Zhu Biao also came over and chimed in, "Yes, Father, what's wrong? I haven't seen you look like this in a long time."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhu Biao, asking, "What kind of complexion?"

Zhu Biao said solemnly, "They eat people."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly, "Haha! Cannibalism, yes! Yes, yes, yes! We're going to cannibalize people!"

After laughing,

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone changed abruptly, and he said sternly, "Here's what happened: we tried the method Xiong Ying had instructed us to use to check for false accounts, and then... the ledgers were found!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiong Ying raised the importance of the points system.

This has to do with him!

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "More than a thousand people were involved in the construction of the dike along the Xin'an River in Fangtian, but only three hundred actually participated. The thousand people were paid without working, and nearly forty thousand taels of silver were taken away!"

"When purchasing materials such as marble, firewood, and sand for reinforcing the dikes and dams, some people used inferior materials to make a profit of nearly 70,000 taels of silver!"

"A mere Fangtian County, such a tiny place, has swindled 110,000 taels of silver from the imperial court!"

"When Ningbo Garrison built its water fortress, the imperial court stipulated that the soldiers' salary would be one large silver ingot, but when they were actually paid, they only received a few dozen coins plus two ounces of rice and flour!"

"The imperial court allocated funds for the ship repairs, and they just gave it a fresh coat of paint. The ships have never been to sea. If problems arise along the coast in the future, will the Ming Dynasty still have warships available?"

"Tell me, if pirates and bandits invade, how will the coastal troops fight? Will they sail out to sea on leaky and dilapidated Ming Dynasty treasure ships? If the Ningbo Guard does this, they are trying to make the sons of our Great Ming die at the hands of their own people!"

With each word Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, his face turned three shades redder with anger, and Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying gasped repeatedly as they listened!

"Our Ming soldiers are not cowards. These are our children, protecting our homeland. They may die, that is their destiny, but we cannot let our children die a cowardly death!"

"Let them die at the hands of their own people! This is our failure! How can we face those children who gave their lives for the country? How can we face the people of the world?"

As Zhu Xiong Ying listened to Zhu Yuan Zhang's words, his heart began to fill with anger!

These people are incredibly audacious!

How many heads must they have to dare to do this!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Xiong Ying and sneered, "Grandson! Your grandfather has taught you many things. This time, tell me how to handle this?"

Zhu Xiong Ying remained silent.

Zhu Biao saw this and stepped forward to speak to Zhu Xiong Ying, but Zhu Yuanzhang stopped him with a gesture.

"Biao'er, don't move, let Xiong Ying speak."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at Zhu Xiong Ying.

He taught Zhu Biao many things, and Zhu Biao personally supervised the Hu Huaiyong case. He witnessed the whole process and was very satisfied with Zhu Biao's execution.

Zhu Biao didn't need him to teach anything, but now it's Xiong Ying's turn.

This is a perfect opportunity to teach Xiong Ying a lesson about how the Ming Dynasty's Zhu family dealt with corrupt officials!

now.

Zhu Xiong Ying remained silent, seemingly caught in a dilemma.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Xiong Ying and said with a slight smile, "Xiong Ying, look at you, you're such a wimp."

“Your grandfather, Zhu Shizhen, gave birth to all of us, and we are all brave and ruthless. How come you are such a coward? Cheer up a bit.”

"Don't hesitate or have any worries. Just think of yourself as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Someone is trying to steal your money, a lot of money. How would you deal with that?"

Zhu Xiong Ying pondered for a moment, then tentatively said, "We can have the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review jointly investigate the case, or we can send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate. We must find out who was involved in Fang Tian and Ningbo Guard, and show them no mercy!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "Grandson, we can't handle it this way."

"Huh?" Zhu Xiong Ying was taken aback.