Ming Dynasty: At the beginning of the game, Lao Zhu resigned and retired.

Mao Xiang came back very quickly.

Of course, he didn't dare to be unhappy.

After all, he knew how much was hidden in here.

If something really went wrong, he might not even know how he died.

So, when he rode his horse at full speed back to the Fengtian Hall, only a quarter of an hour had passed.

Looking at Mao Xiang who was rushing over, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting high up, slightly opened his eyes which had been closed and snorted coldly.

"Now that Mao Xiang is here, don't just sit there!"

"Tell me, how many people do these loyal ministers and generals of the Ming Dynasty have in their families, how many acres of land do they have, and how loyal and patriotic they are!"

"Tell me in detail!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Mao Xiang didn't hold back at all. He simply spread out the several large boxes that he and his men had carried over, picked out the book on the top and began to read aloud.

"Huang Zicheng, a native of Fenyi, Jiangxi, passed the imperial examination in 1899 and won the first place, the third place in the palace examination, and was appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy by the grace of the emperor!"

"His parents and brothers owned a total of 3,400 acres of good land in their hometown, of which 2,700 acres were in Huang Zicheng's name."

"Their ancestral home..."

Seeing that Huang Zicheng's past was revealed by Mao Xiang on the spot, not only Huang Zicheng was stunned, but other officials were also stunned.

There is not only Huang Zicheng's current situation here, but also too many shocking things.

For example, how Huang Zicheng's brother relied on Huang Zicheng's power to do evil in the local area.

Even the private letters Huang Zicheng wrote to the local county magistrate and his brother after he got into a murder case, the original texts were copied here.

This is simply horrifying.

Who is not afraid of officials?

You know, even today, Huang Zicheng is just an ordinary Hanlin compiler.

In terms of official position, he is just a young guy who has just entered the court a few years ago.

What the hell is he?

But the result?

His family's storehouse was completely cleared out.

Even Huang Zicheng himself might not know how much cash and grain his family has?

But the Jinyiwei had a record of it, and it even clearly stated where it came from.

Isn’t this scary?
All the court officials who did not stand up today felt panic for no reason when they saw Huang Zicheng kneeling on the ground with cold sweat and pale face.

Damn it, I’m glad I didn’t stand up today!

Otherwise, this unlucky thing will fall on me.

Everyone understands Huang Zicheng's fate and there is nothing to say.

Confiscate the property and exterminate the clan!
Apart from this, there is no other thought.

After all, in the past, you just had to confront the emperor to gain fame and benefits for yourself.

But who told you to go against His Majesty when you yourself have a dirty trick?

And the facts have proved that Zhu Yuanzhang is still the decisive and ruthless Zhu Yuanzhang.

After listening for more than an hour and hearing the stories of all the officials who stood up to "give advice" on the spot, he sneered.

"Well, we've finished listening!"

"But after listening to it, I only have one idea!"

"We still didn't kill enough people before!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only those officials who were about to die, but even those officials who were standing still and had nothing to do with them felt a chill all over their bodies.

Damn, haven’t you killed enough?
If a case involves a large number of people, tens of thousands of people will be killed.

How many do you have to kill to be satisfied? But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about that. He slapped the imperial desk hard.

"If you are truly incorruptible and are speaking for the people, then although we want to save face, at most we will just give you a few beatings and lock you up for a few days, and then this matter will be over!"

"After all, we can't be unreasonable!"

"But what do you have to say now?"

"Obviously, you are not officials who plead for the people at all!"

"What you are talking about is still for your own family!"

"Then what the hell are you talking to us about?"

"Mao Xiang, these people should be thrown into the imperial prison, their homes should be confiscated, and they should be investigated strictly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Mao Xiang bowed and accepted the order, then called a group of Jinyiwei from outside and started to recruit people on the spot.

Even when these officials started to protest their injustice, he punched them without hesitation and then neatly stuffed a piece of rag into their mouths.

After those people were taken away, the eyes of all the court officials involuntarily fell on the large boxes that the Jinyiwei had just carried in.

Good guy!
Mao Xiang just picked out a few "account books" from it, and was able to explain the whole story of more than a dozen officials in the court.

What about the others?
Are the other "account books" still recording your own family's troubles?

No one doubts this.

So, when will Zhu Yuanzhang execute him?
At this moment, waves of chills surged into everyone's hearts.

But Zhu Yuanzhang looked at this group of people without any intention of comforting them. Instead, he sneered.

"We've warned you many times!"

"But you always think I'm kidding you!"

"After that, we started to pick up knives and kill people. We would kill anyone who took bribes, deceived their superiors and lied to their subordinates!"

"I thought, if you don't believe a few words, then you will believe this rolling head, right?"

"As a result, we found that you are really brave!"

"The knife is right in front of your neck, and you still dare to rush forward!"

"But, I've come to terms with it!"

"There's an old saying that goes, 'Your salary is the blood and sweat of the people. It's easy to abuse the people, but it's hard to cheat God!'"

"If you have the guts to continue being greedy without fear of death, then we have no shortage of knives to kill people!"

"Therefore, I am here to warn you one last time. Don't take it for granted that I didn't warn you!"

"Retreat!"

With the announcement of the dismissal of the court, the court officials bid farewell to Zhu Yuanzhang tremblingly, and then after looking at each other, they left the Fengtian Hall cautiously but sweating profusely.

At this moment, their hearts were filled with pain.

My god, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be an official in the Hongwu Dynasty.

If an official doesn't make money and accumulate some wealth, then isn't it a waste of time?
Do you really think that those who become officials do so in order to leave their names in history?

You know, I don't have that ability, so I can only make a little money, buy some land, marry a few concubines and live on it.

But now, Old Zhu and his son obviously want to make them suffer a great loss.

This is a big problem.

Looking at the court officials leaving, Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head to look at Zhu Biao who stayed behind. His expression immediately collapsed and was replaced with a wry smile.

"Biao'er, you see, this is just the beginning and so many people have already jumped out. Do you really intend to stick with it all the way?"

"When the whole court rebels, what will we do?"

Zhu Biao raised his brows and arrived proudly.

"Father, there is no need to panic. If it really comes to that, what can we do if we kill them all and replace them with another group?" (End of this chapter)