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

Chapter 55: The Two Grand Secretaries are Truly a Blessing to the Nation!

Silence reigned within the Imperial Study.

Three ministers knelt on the ground, trembling from head to toe, their hearts filled with profound dread.

They dared not doubt the words of Zhu You樘 in the slightest.

The weight of his promises was immense, as evidenced by the corrupt officials crushed by the Assault Battalion.

Zhu You樘 stared coldly at the three men, suppressing the anger in his heart several times.

"Get out."

Zhu You樘 uttered the word softly, and the three ministers felt as if they had been granted a new lease on life.

Xu Pu and Liu Jian didn't even dare to mention the matters they wanted to report to Zhu You樘, and silently, quickly, they left the Imperial Study.

As they passed the entrance of the Imperial Study, Wang Zhi stood there, his ancient, unwavering eyes fixed intently on them.

The gazes made Xu Pu and the others' hearts palpitate, and they quickly quickened their pace, fleeing away from the Imperial Study.

After the three had gone a distance, Wang Zhi entered the Imperial Study, looking somewhat worried: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu You樘 raised his hand, stopping Wang Zhi from continuing.

Emperor Zhu You樘 calmed his breathing.

Then, when he opened his eyes again, Zhu You樘 had returned to his composure.

"Wang Zhi, the West Depot must keep a close watch on the Great Ming Bank and the Hongzhi Treasure Notes."

"These are crucial to the reforms of the next few years, and we must not relax our vigilance."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Wang Zhi lowered his head.

Then Wang Zhi asked again: "Your Majesty, should we also have the West Depot monitor the palace renovations?"

"No need, the West Depot is busy enough. Go and find Huai En for me."

"Yes."

Wang Zhi did not show any disappointment, quickly left the Imperial Study, and ordered the West Depot agents to find Huai En in the East Depot, according to Zhu You樘's command.

At that moment, Huai En and Li Guang were standing in the secret room of the East Depot, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads from nervousness.

"Foster father, do we really have to continue investigating?"

"This has already... reached into the inner palace."

Li Guang's voice was very hoarse, and his face was very unsightly.

He looked as if he wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

Huai En wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and felt even more admiration for Zhu You樘 in his heart.

"You're saying that these clues were all discovered by Liu Jin?"

"Yes, this person is strange."

Speaking of Liu Jin, Li Guang also looked impressed.

"When he first entered the East Depot, that man was timid, and although he was a Chief of Punishments, he was even afraid of carrying out executions."

"But in less than ten days, this kid has changed as if he were a different person, not only is he very familiar with the East Depot's tortures, but he has even invented two tortures himself."

"Even the skilled executioners in the East Depot think these punishments are too cruel."

"It was by relying on these two tortures that he pried open the mouth of a palace maid and obtained these clues."

"Liu Jin is born to be an East Depot agent."

Huai En was even more impressed in his heart. When he first recruited Liu Jin as the Chief of Punishments of the East Depot, he didn't pay much attention to him because of his timid and weak character.

He didn't expect that after only a few days, Liu Jin would have made such a great contribution.

Liu Jin's arrival at the East Depot was truly like a fish in water, allowing his abilities to be fully displayed.

His Majesty was truly insightful, recognizing Liu Jin's abilities at a glance and arranging for him to go to the West Depot.

Just then, an East Depot agent suddenly came to report.

"Director Huai, a West Depot agent has come to report that His Majesty has summoned you to the palace for an audience."

Huai En's expression changed, and he immediately put down all his affairs and hurriedly walked out of the East Depot, heading towards the Forbidden City.

Before long, Huai En arrived at the Imperial Study and respectfully saluted Zhu You樘.

"This old servant greets Your Majesty."

"Rise, Huai En, I have something for your East Depot to do."

Zhu You樘 sat in front of the dragon desk, writing a memorial.

"Yes."

Huai En lowered his head and got up, walking closer to Zhu You樘.

"Today, I ordered the officials to raise funds for me to renovate the palace."

"During the renovation process, let the East Depot keep an eye on it for me."

"If there are any who are slacking off, being perfunctory, or using inferior goods, arrest them all for me!"

Huai En's heart trembled, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

...

On the other side, after Xu Pu and the other two left the Imperial Study, they didn't even return to the Grand Secretariat, and went straight out of the palace.

Then, Xu Pu and the others immediately sent out their servants to notify the principal officials of the capital's various departments to come to Xu Pu's residence for a meeting as soon as possible.

The six ministries and nine courts didn't know what was going on, but only knew that Grand Secretary Xu Pu was urging them urgently, and they quickly set off to Xu Pu's residence.

Before long, Xu Pu's house was filled with officials from the six ministries and nine courts, all of whom were officials of the fourth rank or higher.

There was no room that could accommodate so many people, so they held the meeting in Xu Pu's backyard.

All the servants were driven to the front yard, and no one was allowed to approach.

After the notified officials had all arrived, Minister of Personnel Wang Shu asked: "Grand Secretary Xu, what is the matter that you have summoned us so urgently?"

Xu Pu, Liu Jian, and Jia Jun hesitated several times, the words reaching their lips, only to be swallowed back.

They really didn't know how to convey Zhu You樘's orders to the officials.

Xu Pu sighed and looked at Jia Jun: "Minister Jia, I think you should be the one to tell them about this."

Jia Jun's face was full of bitterness, but the words of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet were still very effective, and he could only nod in agreement.

After Jia Jun organized his words in his heart, he slowly opened his mouth: "Your Majesty summoned me to the palace just now to discuss the renovation of the three great halls of Fengtian."

"Originally, His Majesty wanted the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Treasury to each contribute half of the silver, but under the dissuasion of Grand Secretary Xu and Grand Secretary Liu, His Majesty finally gave up this idea."

Having said that, the officials present all knew what was going on.

Wang Shu's expression was serious, and he nodded slowly, his tone full of praise for Xu Pu and Liu Jian.

"The two Grand Secretaries have done well. Building palaces is a waste of money and manpower, and it is indeed not appropriate to engage in large-scale construction now."

"The two Grand Secretaries were able to dissuade His Majesty from giving up the idea of building a palace, which can be said to be a great contribution to benefiting the people."

"Yes, this is a good thing."

Wang Ji, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, also echoed: "The two Grand Secretaries are dedicated to the country and the people, and speak frankly and offer advice. With the two Grand Secretaries in the Cabinet, it is a blessing to our Great Ming, and a blessing to the nation."

Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, the Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, and others all smiled and praised Xu Pu and Liu Jian.

However, after hearing the compliments from the crowd, Xu Pu and Liu Jian did not show any joy on their faces, but instead looked bitter.

The two of them knew very well that the colleagues who were praising them now would probably bombard them with accusations after they knew the full story.

Thinking of this, both of them felt a lot of pressure in their hearts.

And the person with the most pressure at the moment was still the Minister of Works, Jia Jun.

After swallowing his saliva, he stammered out the second half of the sentence.

"So His Majesty asked... asked all the civil and military officials in the capital to jointly raise funds for His Majesty to renovate the palace."

"If they can't afford to repair it, or if they don't repair it well, His Majesty he... he will investigate all... all the officials in the capital one by one..."

"Not only will he investigate the capital, but he will also investigate their old homes in the provinces. If he... finds out any problems... then he will... execute the entire family..."

As soon as these words came out, the faces of all the officials present changed drastically!

Everyone widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and their faces were full of horror!