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

Chapter 13: Execution!

Zhu You樘 watched coldly as official after official stepped forward to request retirement.

Among them were the three Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, Wan An, Liu Yu, and Liu Ji.

There were also several ministers of the Six Ministries: Ye Qi, Minister of Revenue; Zhou Hongmo, Minister of Rites; Yin Min, Minister of Personnel; and Liu Zhao, Minister of Works.

Besides the Grand Secretaries and ministers, there were also vice ministers and advisors.

Censors from the Censorate, officials from the Six Offices of Scrutiny, and vice ministers from the Five Courts…

Many high-ranking officials, and even more lower-ranking ones.

A group of hundreds of people.

Grand Secretary Wan An, seeing so many officials following him in requesting retirement, felt somewhat calmer.

No matter how ruthless Zhu You樘 was, he couldn't possibly let all these ministers retire, right?

Without them, who would govern the country for him?

If Zhu You樘 had to do it all himself, he would be worked to death dealing with so much official business!

Wan An secretly looked around, and Liu Yu and Liu Ji both gave him reassuring glances, which made Wan An even more composed.

Forced abdication!

That's what they were doing, forcing the emperor's hand!

They absolutely could not let His Majesty reopen the West Depot!

If that madman Wang Zhi was allowed to supervise the West Depot again, the surveillance would be too harsh, and the people would not be able to bear it.

Zhu You樘 sat back on the dragon throne, indifferently watching these officials.

Then, his thin lips slightly parted.

"I grant it!"

"Each of you submit your retirement requests."

"Dismissed!"

Zhu You樘 stood up and quickly walked back to Fengtian Gate.

He got on the imperial carriage, and instructed them to return directly to the Imperial Study.

Huai En quickly followed Zhu You樘, looking somewhat anxious.

"Your Majesty, did you really let those ministers go?"

"Then who will handle the memorials for Your Majesty afterwards?"

Zhu You樘 glanced at Huai En: "If the Grand Secretariat is gone, can't I form another one?"

"Go, send someone to Nanzhili to summon Wang Zhi back to the palace, I need him."

"Also, invite Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian to the Imperial Study for a discussion."

Huai En quickly agreed: "Yes, Your Majesty."

On Fengtian Gate Square, Zhu You樘 had been gone for a long time, but the civil and military officials remained on the square.

The civil and military officials were all stunned, and had not yet recovered.

Was Zhu You樘 trying to end his reign?!

He dismissed hundreds of high-ranking officials in the capital in one breath, including three Grand Secretaries and four ministers!

Was he really not afraid that no one would handle government affairs?

Liu Yu, the Second Assistant Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, looked at Liu Ji with a blank expression: "This… His Majesty really approved it?"

"How could this be?" Liu Ji was both bewildered and shocked.

"This… what should we do?" Ye Qi, Minister of Revenue, also panicked.

It wasn't just the Grand Secretaries and ministers who were panicking, but the other officials who had requested retirement were also alarmed.

"Grand Secretary Wan, His Majesty really approved it, so the West Depot is definitely going to be reopened?"

"This, this is simply absurd, dismissing so many officials at once, unprecedented!"

"If the West Depot is really reopened, will we still have a way out?"

"…"

The officials were in chaos, all looking at Grand Secretary Wan An, hoping he could come up with a solution.

But what solution could Wan An come up with?

He sighed and stood up: "What are you all looking at me for?"

"Go home and write your retirement requests."

Wan An really wanted to retire.

The West Depot was too terrifying, he had to escape the capital before it reopened.

Wan An left.

The remaining officials looked at each other.

Helpless, they also left Fengtian Gate Square.

Outside the palace gate, the wealthy officials got on horses or into sedan chairs, while the poor officials could only walk home.

Wan An, Liu Yu, and Liu Ji didn't live too far apart, so they traveled together.

As they approached the Caishi Street area, they suddenly saw a sea of people on the street, all gathered near Caishikou.

And everyone's face wore a joyful expression, the whole street was as lively as if it were the New Year.

From time to time, people were calling out to their friends and running towards Caishikou.

Wan An, Liu Yu, and Liu Ji seemed to remember something, and their faces all showed embarrassment.

Wan An got out of his sedan chair and stopped a commoner who was rushing to Caishikou.

"This official asks you, what are you going to do?"

The man saw that Wan An was wearing an official uniform, his eyes showed some fear, and he respectfully replied.

"Reporting to the official, we… we are going to watch the execution…"

Sure enough!

The three exchanged glances and immediately got back into their sedan chairs.

"Quick! Go quickly! Go around Caishikou!"

"Yes, sir."

After Wan An and the others left, the person who had just been stopped quickly ran towards Caishikou.

At this moment, Caishikou was crowded with people watching the excitement.

He struggled to squeeze into the inner three layers and outer three layers of the crowd.

He saw Earl of Qingyun Zhou Shou, Earl of Changning Zhou Yu, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Zhang Yuan, and a group of officials, wearing shackles and chains, pinned down at Caishikou.

Caishikou was a very prosperous street in the capital, named for the fruits and vegetables sold around it.

But after the mid-Ming Dynasty, there was an added program here every year.

That is, every year before the winter solstice after autumn, death row inmates would be publicly executed here.

But today Zhu You樘 had ordered a special exception, without waiting for the autumn, Zhou Shou, Zhou Yu, Zhang Yuan and others were executed immediately.

Zhou Shou, Zhou Yu and others looked at the surrounding crowd with desolate eyes, regretting it in their hearts.

They really didn't expect that Zhu You樘 would really disregard blood ties and order them to be executed by dismemberment.

The executioner in charge was Xie Xiaoyan, an old executioner from the Ministry of Justice. He stripped Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu naked and tied them to pillars with a fine fishing net.

As long as the fishing net was pulled back hard, Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu's flesh would overflow outward through the holes in the net.

Xie Xiaoyan looked at Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu, his eyes flashing with substantial anger.

"Do the two Earls still recognize this humble one?"

Without waiting for Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu to speak, Xie Xiaoyan began to introduce himself.

"In the seventeenth year of Chenghua, the two adults built courtyards, forcibly occupied the land of twenty-one farmers' families, and beat to death seven farmers who tried to stop them."

"One of them was this humble one's only son!"

"I never thought that you two Earls would fall into this humble one's hands one day!"

"Today, I will not let you die before I cut you three thousand six hundred times!"

After speaking, Xie Xiaoyan's knife danced, and he began the execution.

"Ahhh!!! It hurts so much!!!"

"Kill me! Kill me quickly! I can't take it anymore! Ahhh!!!"

Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu were originally from Changping, and after gaining power, they ran rampant and harmed the villagers.

Many people here had been persecuted by Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu, and they couldn't wait to eat their flesh.

Now seeing Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu being subjected to dismemberment, how could they not applaud?

Zhou Yu let out a shrill scream.

Xie Xiaoyan's knife did not stop, and he simultaneously dismembered Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu.

For a time, Caishikou was filled with the screams of the two.

"Ahhh! Pain! It hurts so much!"

"Please! Please! Kill me quickly!!! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Kill me! Kill me!!"

"…"