Chapter 20: This Is Not Something That Can Be Handled by Luck Alone

However, this was purely a product of Wei Zhongxian’s own overactive imagination.

For Zhu Youjian, sending Xiao Hong and the others to handle these tasks was merely intended to help them get accustomed to the sensation of executing officials. As for the so-called impeachments from the court officials? In truth, Zhu Youjian had never once taken them to heart. Under a feudal autocratic system, no impeachment or memorial could take effect without his explicit consent.

Most crucially, everyone in the country, down to the common people, viewed this as the natural order of things. This was the aspect that satisfied him the most. Only through such a political system could he transform the Great Ming into the most formidable war machine in the world. Only this absolute, unconstrained power could help him realize that grand ambition burning within his heart.

Yet, on the path toward that distant, great goal, there were still many immediate problems to be solved.

Zhu Youjian took a deep breath to settle the excitement stirring within him, then turned to Cao Huachun and instructed, "Starting tomorrow, you will take charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. However, do not neglect your duties at the Imperial Horse Bureau."

"This servant understands. Please be at ease, Your Majesty. Within six months, I will surely cleanse the atmosphere of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and within three years, I will restore it to the prestige it held during the reign of the Founding Emperor."

Cao Huachun spoke with absolute confidence. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had already been thoroughly purged by the Emperor; those who remained were merely low-ranking officers, leaving no resistance to his reforms. If he could not gain total control under these circumstances, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash his head against it.

Ignoring the empty promises Cao Huachun was painting, Zhu Youjian ordered directly: "Later, go find Guo Yunhou and determine exactly how much salary is owed to officials of all ranks in the capital. Then, draw a sum from the inner treasury and have the Embroidered Uniform Guard distribute it to the officials owed pay, one by one. At the same time, dispatch some agents to investigate the local thugs and bullies in the vicinity of the capital. Compile a detailed list and bring it to me, but do not take any action against them for now. Just list them."

Hearing these two instructions, Cao Huachun was momentarily puzzled as to the deeper meaning behind the Emperor's specific requests. Distributing salaries and investigating local bullies—these two matters seemed rather mundane. However, he knew that the Emperor’s thoughts were no longer something he could fathom.

He quickly responded, "This servant accepts the decree. Once I have clarified the relevant matters at the Embroidered Uniform Guard office tomorrow, I will immediately see to it that these two tasks are handled properly!"

Zhu Youjian nodded, and Cao Huachun left to attend to his duties. Just then, Wei Zhongxian, as if suddenly remembering something, bowed and leaned in: "Your Majesty, I have completed the confiscation of property from the previous case. A total of 1,075,300 taels of silver has been tallied, and I will arrange for it to be transported to the inner treasury within these next two days. Furthermore, the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who were executed today for corruption and lawlessness deserve their fate. According to the law, their family assets should also be confiscated. If you entrust this task to me, the silver recovered will certainly not be less than that amount."

Since the people were already dead, the money naturally had to be confiscated. Wei Zhongxian was very self-aware; besides, it would be unseemly for the Emperor to bring up such matters himself. Zhu Youjian nodded slightly. Wei Zhongxian understood and immediately set off to begin preparations for the property seizures.

On this day, the Great Ming imperial city was a weave of frantic activity and bloodshed.

***

The following day, news spread throughout the capital that 177 officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been executed at the Eastern Depot, shaking the entire court. No one had expected that such would be the fate of those who had been arrested. When officials were captured, even for a crime as grave as treason, they were supposed to undergo a series of procedural reviews before being sentenced to death. Yet, the Emperor had killed them all so easily! They had entered that day and were dead by the end of it! Such a shocking event had only been heard of during the reign of the Founding Emperor.

Amidst the fear, some felt a slight sense of relief. With Tian Ergeng and his associates executed immediately and orders for property confiscation issued, the Emperor had taken no further action. These events suggested, to a certain extent, that the matter would not escalate further. The Emperor’s intent was likely to bring the Embroidered Uniform Guard under his control and use the confiscations to raise some funds. For some vested interest groups, this outcome was not entirely unacceptable. After all, they had lost the first round, but it had not yet reached the point of mutual destruction.

At the same time, these people realized one thing through this upheaval: a ruler who started beheading people the moment he ascended the throne was not someone who could be dismissed with a simple compromise.

Others saw deeper implications. The reason the Emperor stopped further action was likely that he was waiting for the right moment, intending to weaken their power slowly, like a frog in boiling water. But they, too, were waiting for their chance. For thousands of years, the struggle between imperial power and the bureaucracy had never been settled in a single day. Consequently, countless rumors about the new Emperor’s bloodthirst began to spread among the common people.

***

On a farm outside the capital, a dark-skinned farmer was working under the scorching sun. After his wife finished chatting with some other village women, she ran over to him, looking agitated.

"Husband, I heard that the new Emperor had over a hundred Embroidered Uniform Guard lords beheaded yesterday."

The farmer stopped his work, wiping sweat with his calloused hands. "Where are you hearing this nonsense?"

His wife looked displeased. "It's no nonsense! Even the village chief said it's true! They say the new Emperor is ruthless—whoever crosses him gets their head chopped off."

"So he chopped them off, what does that have to do with us? We haven't even finished paying this year's taxes. If the harvest next season isn't good, we'll likely have to sell our land."

At the mention of selling land, his wife became anxious. "How can you say it has nothing to do with us? That village bully Niu Er only acts so arrogantly because his brother-in-law was a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard! Now that his brother-in-law is dead, the protection fees we paid him... maybe we don't have to pay them anymore? Does that mean we won't have to sell the land?"

The farmer sighed. "Oh, you woman, you don't understand the ways of the world. Even if the centurion is dead, won't there be a new one? The new Emperor is so ruthless, surely the next centurion will be even worse. We might end up having to pay even higher fees!"

At this, the wife’s spirit wilted, and she fell silent. She looked at the field her husband was plowing, feeling as though she would lose it in the near future. A wave of sorrow washed over her, and two lines of tears traced paths down her sun-darkened face, plopping onto the earth.