Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu's miserable roars awakened Zhang Yuan, who was still in shock, and those who were pleading for the Zhou family.

In an instant, regret, fear, apprehension, anger, hatred, and many other emotions surged into their hearts.

At this moment, they truly hated the Zhou family to death.

They never expected that the Jinyi Wei would charge them with treason.

If they had known this, they would have been beaten to death rather than say a word for the Zhou family.

Zhang Yuan's intestines were now green with regret, and he had cursed the Zhou family ancestors up and down hundreds of times in his heart.

But now that he had been dragged into the water by the Zhou family, he could only help the Zhou family escape their predicament if he wanted to survive.

At the very least, they couldn't be convicted of the serious crime of treason.

Having figured out the stakes, Zhang Yuan immediately wailed and pleaded to Zhu You樘.

"Your Majesty, how could the Grand Empress Dowager Zhou commit treason?"

"There must be treacherous villains at work here, please investigate, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, the Zhou family's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty is evident to heaven and earth, please think twice, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Yuan was the most ruthless, directly invoking filial piety.

"Your Majesty, the founding emperor Taizu advocated filial piety as the most important virtue, and Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, should set an example for the world and expound on filial piety!"

"Your Majesty, confiscating the Zhou family's property is unfilial!"

"…"

The ministers below the steps were in an uproar, and the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, as well as the five Ministers of the Six Ministries, were also uneasy at this moment.

The Zhou family had secretly colluded with foreign officials, and those officials were these Grand Secretaries and Ministers.

If the Zhou family really fell, and His Majesty investigated, they would not be able to protect their heads.

However, if His Majesty really took their heads, who would govern the country for the Emperor?

Did Zhu You樘 really have the guts to kill several of their Grand Secretaries and Ministers in one breath?

Wan An and several Grand Secretaries and Ministers exchanged glances, and immediately everyone shut their mouths and sat as if on pins and needles.

Zhu You樘's face grew increasingly gloomy, and his patience had reached its limit.

"All of you, shut up for me!"

"Anyone who speaks again will be punished the same as the Zhou family, exterminated to the third degree of kinship, and executed by slicing!"

The civil and military officials were as quiet as cicadas in winter!

"The Zhou family's treason has already been decided. Considering that the Zhou family is my elder, I will spare them the death penalty, but the Zhou family cannot escape punishment for their crimes!"

Zhu You樘 threw the Zhou family genealogy in front of Mou Bin again.

"Mou Bin, I order you to exterminate the Zhou family to the third degree of kinship and execute them by slicing!"

"Execute them at the vegetable market and expose their bodies to the public!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Mou Bin knelt down to receive the decree.

Zhu You樘 pointed to the thirty or so officials who had pleaded for the Zhou family.

"Confiscate their property, behead them, and execute them together!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Mou Bin waved his hand, and a group of Jinyi Wei rushed out, dragged the kneeling officials to the outside of the Meridian Gate.

The officials on the ground were so frightened that their souls flew away, and they kowtowed like pounding garlic.

Zhang Yuan was so frightened that he collapsed on the ground, and filth flowed from under him.

"Your Majesty, have mercy! I was deceived by the Zhou family, I knew nothing about it!"

"Please, Your Majesty, have mercy! I really didn't know that the Zhou family dared to harbor evil intentions!"

"Your Majesty, I am your uncle, your own uncle! Your Majesty cannot kill me!"

"…"

After the Jinyi Wei took the Zhou family and the remnants of the Zhou faction away from Fengtianmen Square, the court session filled with miserable cries finally quieted down.

The remaining officials trembled, their hearts filled with fear.

They never expected Zhu You樘 to be so ruthless.

He exterminated his own uncle to the third degree of kinship as soon as he said it.

Not to mention those officials who pleaded for the Zhou family, he confiscated their property and beheaded them at every turn, he was simply a tyrant!

Looking up at the dense Jinyi Wei in Fengtianmen Square, the officials silently lowered their heads again.

After Zhu You樘 dealt with the Zhou family and the remnants of the Zhou faction in the court, he was finally about to enter the theme of this court meeting.

Zhu You樘 glanced at the ministers, and everyone below the steps lowered their heads, no one dared to meet his eyes.

"Since I ascended the throne, countless forces have opposed me, from the harem to the court, from the capital to the provinces."

"I will never allow the Zhou family's treason to happen again."

"Therefore, I have decided that from today onwards, I will reopen the West Depot!"

Boom!!!

Like a thunderclap, it exploded in the ears of the officials!

Everyone raised their heads, their faces pale, looking at Zhu You樘 in disbelief.

Some with timid hearts collapsed with weak legs, or fainted with their eyes rolling back.

From the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet to the Assistant Directors, whether high officials or low-ranking clerks, everyone changed color upon hearing this, as if mourning their parents.

"Your Majesty, absolutely not! The West Depot must not be reopened!"

"Your Majesty, the West Depot is fierce and unreasonable, investigating crimes without evidence. Reopening the West Depot will make the officials unwilling to share Your Majesty's worries!"

"Your Majesty, reopening the West Depot will inevitably make officials all over the world feel insecure, shake the foundation of the country, and will not benefit the country!"

"…"

With just four words, the civil and military officials presented their memorials one after another, trying to prevent the reopening of the West Depot.

Zhu You樘 knew that it was because the West Depot had hurt and frightened these civil officials.

In the thirteenth year of Chenghua, Emperor Xianzong initially established the West Investigating Depot.

Wang Zhi, who was not yet twenty years old, served as the director of the West Depot at that time.

The first case Wang Zhi handled after taking over the West Depot was to confiscate the property of Yang Rong's family.

Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi used the power vacuum period when Yingzong succeeded to the throne at the age of eight to collude with the harem and dominate the court.

Their power was comparable to Zhang Juzheng, who claimed to be regent during the Wanli years.

The Yang family had been operating in the Minzhou area for generations, causing harm to the local people, running rampant and domineering, causing dozens of deaths and hundreds of people to be displaced.

After this matter was heard by Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Xianzong sent Wang Zhi to investigate the case.

Wang Zhi directly escorted more than a hundred members of the Yang family from Minzhou to the capital for questioning and execution.

The Yang family, which had been operating in Minzhou for more than half a century, was directly wiped out.

The West Depot, which was supervised by Wang Zhi, had confiscated the property and exterminated the families of more than ten officials above the third rank in just a few years.

The struggle between the officials and the West Depot never stopped during the Chenghua Dynasty.

The West Depot had already been ordered to be closed twice by Emperor Xianzong. If Zhu You樘 reopened the West Depot, it would be the third time the West Depot had been established.

No one in the court was willing to see this scene.

"Please think twice, Your Majesty!"

"Please withdraw your order, Your Majesty!"

This time, the civil and military officials knelt down together to plead, numbering hundreds of people!

Zhu You樘's expression was as usual, unmoved.

"My mind is made up, no need to persuade me further!"

Wan An, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, gritted his teeth and stepped out of the ranks: "If Your Majesty insists on reopening the West Depot, I request to retire!"

Liu Xu, the Second Assistant Secretary of the Cabinet, followed closely behind: "Your Majesty, I also request to retire!"

"Your Majesty, I also request to retire!"

Liu Ji also stood up.

At the same time, the only three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet jointly requested to retire.

In the Ming Dynasty, this was simply unheard of.

Immediately afterwards, the resignation of the three Grand Secretaries seemed to trigger some kind of switch.

One after another, the officials all stood up and requested to retire.

"Your Majesty, if you want to reopen the West Depot, I request to retire!"

"Your Majesty, I also request to retire!"

"Your Majesty, I also request to retire!"

"…"

For a time, a collective, panic-stricken, and escapist wave of retirement appeared in Zhu You樘's court.

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