Ming Dynasty: Zhu Biao's younger brother, the most rebellious son in history

Zhu Kai was wearing a black nightgown and a bamboo hat, revealing only a pair of piercing eyes. Standing next to him were several of his confidants dressed in the same attire, each of them looking serious and focused.

"Everyone, tonight's mission is extremely important." Zhu Kai said in a low voice, "We must ensure the secrecy of the operation. Once it is exposed, the consequences will be disastrous."

"Don't worry, sir. We are all ready." A confidant responded.

"Okay, let's go." Zhu Kai nodded, turned around and led the team into the night.

They walked along the narrow alleys, trying to avoid the main streets to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. Although the night in the capital was quiet, it did not mean safety. Zhu Kai knew that any negligence could lead to the failure of the entire operation.

About half an hour later, they arrived near their destination. This was a seemingly ordinary house, but from the information Zhu Kai and others had, this was the core of the secret organization. It was pitch black all around, with only the faint light coming through the cracks in the window hinting at the activities inside the house.

Zhu Kai signaled everyone to stop, and then quietly assigned tasks: "Brother Li, you take two people to go around the back door to prevent anyone from escaping. Brother Wang, you and I will go in through the front door, and the others will stay outside to meet us."

After the assignment, each group quickly took action. Zhu Kai and Wang Xiong approached the front door cautiously, ready to break in at any time.

"Are you ready?" Zhu Kai asked in a low voice.

"Everything is ready." replied the king's brother.

Zhu Kai took a deep breath and pushed the door hard. With a loud bang, the door fell down and they rushed into the house.

The room was in chaos, and several figures tried to flee in panic, but Zhu Kai and others, who were well prepared, quickly took action. Brother Wang drew his sword and killed the first target with one blow. At the same time, Zhu Kai also fought with a strong man.

This strong man was obviously not an ordinary person. He held a short knife in his hand, and his movements were agile and deadly. But Zhu Kai was a military general and had practiced martial arts since childhood, so his skills were naturally extraordinary. The two fought back and forth, and it was difficult to tell who was better.

At this moment, Brother Li led his men into the house from the back door, and the house fell into even greater chaos. Those who were still resisting lost their will to fight when they saw being attacked from both sides. Some knelt down and begged for mercy, while others tried to find a chance to escape.

The fight between Zhu Kai and the strong man also reached a critical moment. The other party was careless and revealed a flaw. Zhu Kai seized the opportunity and punched him hard in the abdomen. The strong man cried out in pain and fell to the ground, losing the ability to resist.

"Don't move!" Zhu Kai shouted, "You are surrounded. Resistance will only make things worse."

As Zhu Kai finished speaking, the whole room finally fell silent. Everyone was subdued, including several important figures including the burly man.

"Search this place, don't miss any corner." Zhu Kai ordered, "See if you can find more evidence."

Everyone started to get busy, carefully checking every room, leaving nothing suspicious. After a search, they found a large amount of documents, including evidence related to anti-alteration reforms.

Just as Zhu Kai was about to order an evacuation, he suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps coming from upstairs. He immediately became alert and signaled everyone to keep quiet.

"There may be someone up there." Zhu Kai whispered, "We must be careful."

Several people walked up the stairs very carefully. In the room upstairs, a man was anxiously searching for something, seemingly destroying evidence. He was completely unaware that danger was approaching.

Just as he was about to open the window and jump out to escape, Zhu Kai and others rushed into the room and blocked him.

"Don't move!" Zhu Kai shouted, "You are surrounded."

Seeing this, the man knew he had no way to escape, so he surrendered. Zhu Kai had him tied up and taken back for interrogation.

Zhu Kai returned to the mansion with the evidence he had found. He knew the importance of the information and decided to personally review each document. In the study, under the flickering candlelight, Zhu Kai spread out the first file and read it carefully.

He found that the documents recorded illegal transactions between the organization and many officials, even involving some high-ranking people. Zhu Kai read and marked key information while circling it. He realized that this material was enough to uncover a huge corruption network.

After a night of hard work, Zhu Kai finally sorted out all the evidence and wrote a detailed report. As the sky was getting light, he called his personal guard and ordered: "Send this report to the palace immediately and be sure to hand it over to Zhu Yuanzhang personally."

The guards took the order and left, while Zhu Kai stayed in the mansion waiting for a reply. This day was unusually long for him, and every moment was spent in anxiety. It was not until the evening that the messenger from the palace finally brought Zhu Yuanzhang's order.

Zhu Kai quickly took the imperial edict, which read: "Zhu Kai, you are loyal and brave. I have learned everything you reported. From today on, a special task force will be set up to thoroughly investigate this case and bring all those involved to justice. You continue to assist in the investigation and make no mistakes."

Zhu Kai was delighted, knowing that Zhu Yuanzhang had approved his action. He immediately summoned several confidants, conveyed Zhu Yuanzhang's intention, and arranged the next step.

"Everyone," Zhu Kai said, "Zhu Yuanzhang has ordered a thorough investigation of this matter. We must go all out and cooperate with the task force to ensure that no detail is missed."

"Yes, sir." Everyone responded in unison.

The task force confirmed that several senior officials had a relationship of interest transfer with the organization and had sufficient evidence. Zhu Kai compiled the latest investigation results into a report and submitted it to Zhu Yuanzhang again.

When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about this, he was furious. He immediately summoned Zhu Kai to the palace to hear his report in person. "My dear Zhu," Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly, "If what you reported is true, you must be severely punished!"

Zhu Kai knelt on the ground and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty is wise, and every word I said is true."

"Good," Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "You did a great job. I have decided to arrest all those involved in the case immediately and will not tolerate any traitors!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhu Kai burst into tears of gratitude.

Zhu Yuanzhang added: "This incident reflects the serious problems in our administration, which must be fundamentally changed and reformed. Lord Zhu, do you have any good ideas?"

Zhu Kai thought for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I think we should start from three aspects: first, strengthen the assessment of officials and select people with real virtue and talent; second, improve the supervision mechanism to ensure the transparency of power operation; third, improve the living standards of the people and reduce the soil for corruption." Zhu Yuanzhang listened and nodded frequently, "That makes sense. I will consider adopting your suggestion. From now on, you will concurrently serve as the Minister of Personnel and be responsible for implementing these reform measures."

Zhu Kai was very excited, but he remained calm: "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to your trust."

He knew that in order to fundamentally solve the problem of corruption, he had to start with the selection and assessment of officials. Therefore, Zhu Kai proposed a series of measures to improve the quality of officials and put them into practice.

One morning, Zhu Kai arrived at the Ministry of Personnel early to hold a meeting to discuss the specific plan for reform. He sat in the spacious and bright conference room, waiting for his colleagues to arrive. Soon, several ministers arrived one after another. They were all like-minded people carefully selected by Zhu Kai.

After everyone was seated, Zhu Kai cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, we are gathered here today to discuss how to better select and evaluate officials. Everyone knows that in recent years, corruption in our officialdom has become increasingly serious. If it is not curbed, it will inevitably affect the long-term stability of the country."

A minister agreed: "Your Excellency is right, but selecting talented people is not easy. How can we do it?"

Zhu Kai nodded: "It is indeed not easy, but I think it can be done as long as the method is right. First of all, we must revise and reform the imperial examination system to make it more fair and just."

"How to do it specifically?" asked another minister.

Zhu Kai explained: "We can add more examination subjects. In addition to the traditional classics, we can also add political commentary, practical work and other content. In addition, we must strengthen the examination of the candidates' moral character to ensure that the selected talents are both talented and virtuous."

Everyone agreed. Then, Zhu Kai proposed his opinion on the assessment of officials: "In addition to selection, assessment is also a crucial link. We need to develop a complete assessment system to evaluate officials regularly and reward the good ones and punish the bad ones."

A young minister asked, "Sir, how do we implement this?"

Zhu Kai thought for a moment and said, "We can set up a special assessment agency with impartial and selfless people as examiners. We can conduct a comprehensive assessment of officials at all levels every year, covering many aspects such as political achievements, public sentiment, and morality. We can give corresponding rewards or punishments based on the assessment results."

"In this way, officials who are lazy and negligent in their work will be punished, while those who are truly capable will be promoted," added a minister.

Zhu Kai nodded: "That's right. Only in this way can we ensure a clean and upright officialdom."

The meeting lasted a whole morning and finally determined a series of reform measures. Zhu Kai decided to put these plans into a document and submit them to Zhu Yuanzhang for approval.

A few days later, Zhu Kai came to the imperial study with a thick memorial to report to Zhu Yuanzhang. He knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have prepared a plan for the reform of the civil service system. Please review it."

Zhu Yuanzhang took the memorial and read it carefully. After a while, he looked up with approval in his eyes: "Lord Zhu, the proposal you put forward is feasible. I agree to implement it."

Zhu Kai was delighted: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang added: "This reform is of great significance. You must personally supervise it and ensure that every measure is implemented."

"I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust." Zhu Kai replied firmly.

Zhu Kai was handling government affairs in his house when he suddenly received news that Zhang Wenyuan was coming to visit him. He hurried out to greet him and saw that Zhang Wenyuan was in high spirits and was obviously in a good mood.

"Brother Zhang," Zhu Kai said with a smile, "how are you these days?"

Zhang Wenyuan bowed and said, "Thanks to your support, I am now working in the Ministry of Revenue. I feel deeply honored."

Zhu Kai nodded with satisfaction: "Brother Zhang is talented and will definitely serve the country. However, when you are an official, you should benefit the people and remember not to forget your roots."

Zhang Wenyuan said seriously: "Students will remember your teachings."

The two had a great conversation and did not leave until late at night. Looking at Zhang Wenyuan's back, Zhu Kai felt a warm current in his heart. He knew that only by cultivating more outstanding talents like Zhang Wenyuan, the future of Ming Dynasty would be brighter.

The afternoon sun shone obliquely on the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City. Inside the Censorate, several officials were sitting together, discussing how to further strengthen the effectiveness of the supervision system. Among them, Zhao Cheng, the Chief Censor, an upright and incorruptible old official, cleared his throat and said, "We all know that the court is so large and there are so many officials. If they are not restrained, they may become lazy."

"That's right!" Deputy Censor Liu Jin nodded in agreement. "As censors, our job is to supervise officials and eradicate corruption. However, in recent days, there have been frequent reports of corruption among officials in various places, which shows that the current system still has loopholes."

Zhao Cheng pondered for a moment, his eyes sharp, "Then according to Lord Liu, how should we remedy this situation?"

"In my humble opinion," Liu Jin stood up and paced a few steps in the room, "we should set up 'secret agents' to secretly monitor officials at all levels, especially those who hold great power."

"Spy?" Zhao Cheng frowned slightly. "Although this method is effective, it must be used with caution. After all, if the information is leaked accidentally, it may cause trouble."

"Your Excellency is right." Liu Jin nodded in agreement. "Therefore, these spies should be appointed by absolutely loyal and reliable people, and their identities must not be leaked. In addition, personnel must be replaced regularly to prevent them from being bribed."

"Well, this is a good strategy." Zhao Cheng nodded, "However, relying solely on spies is not enough. We must also strengthen the moral education of officials so that they dare not do evil."

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, followed by the voice of the guard: "Zhu Yuanzhang has arrived!"

The officials in the room immediately stood up to greet them. Zhu Yuanzhang, who was wearing a dragon robe and looked dignified but approachable, walked in slowly. He looked around, gently sweeping his eyes over the faces of each official, and then said, "My dear ministers, I heard that you are discussing how to improve the supervision mechanism. This is exactly what I hope for."

Zhao Cheng stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am indeed worried about this matter. If we want to make the government clean and honest, we must first eradicate corruption, and if we want to eradicate corruption, we must start with supervision."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and turned his gaze to Liu Jin: "My dear Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Jin took a deep breath and reported the ideas he had discussed with Zhao Cheng to Zhu Yuanzhang one by one. After listening, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and then said: "This plan is feasible, but the spying must be done with caution and not disturb the people. In addition, I think that in addition to secret supervision, we should also publicly commend those officials who are honest and dedicated to their duties to set an example." (End of this chapter)