Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 85

Chapter 85
Expanding the territory

When the city’s pear blossoms withered and the sweet pears ripened, Emperor Chong’an finally returned to the palace from the ancient temple. During the months he was away from the palace, he did not meet any civil and military officials who came to the temple to seek an audience. Even if urgent matters needed his decision, Emperor Chong’an only asked them to go to Wuying Palace to find the Sixth Prince, as if he had entirely handed the government to Zhu Ming.

The Emperor was alive, but the prince was acting as the government. The deep meaning of this was self-evident. However, when the officials thought that the crown prince had been secretly decided, Emperor Chong’an, who returned to the palace, took back the power of government from Zhu Ming, reprimanded him for neglecting government affairs on the spot in the court, and ordered him to reflect on his mistakes.

At this time, Li Heming reported the whole story of the Ji County Unsolved Case. In Wuying Palace, after Li Heming left, Imperial Guard Commander Guo Fang looked at the Emperor, who had been silent for a long time on the dragon throne. He glanced at Wei Lin behind him and said tentatively: “The unsolved case involves profound implications. The Sixth Prince has always been concerned about the country and the people. There may be some secrets in this…”

Guo Fang listened to the Sixth Prince Party in the court, and Emperor Chong’an knew this very well. That was why he ditched him and reused Li Heming. He suppressed his anger, slowly opened his eyes, and looked at Guo Fang coldly: “Are you saying that Li Heming investigated wrong?”

Guo Fang bowed his head and thought, “There’s this possibility. Why not let someone reinvestigate?”

Emperor Chong’an interrupted him with a sneer: “Are you questioning the ability of your Imperial Guard, or are you worried that Li Heming will take your position in two years?”

Guo Fang was about to answer when he heard Emperor Chong’an say: “Or, Commander Guo wants to do a favor for the Sixth Prince and say a few words?”

His voice became increasingly loud. Guo Fang heard this, his face changed, and he knelt: “I dare not!”

Wei Lin glanced at Guo Fang calmly, stepped forward, and said: “Your Majesty, Lord Li handled the case, but he did not interrogate the person personally. It was the captain named ‘He San’ beside him. The confession should not be false. But as the commander said, the Sixth Prince may have hidden reasons for this action.”

It was unknown whether he wanted to save Guo Fang’s life or add fuel to Emperor Chong’an’s anger. Upon hearing this, Emperor Chong’an suddenly raised the confession on the table to them: “It’s all written clearly. The evidence is solid! Hidden secret? Is his hidden secret bully and killed innocent people?”

The rice papers fluttered in front of them, and Wei Lin knelt, saying in unison with Guo Fang, “Your Majesty, calm down…”

The Buddhist scriptures that Emperor Chong’an had been meditating on for the past few months seemed ineffective. He slammed the table and stood up, feeling dizzy with anger: “I am an Emperor, but my own son has been exploiting the people behind my back, taking bribes and perverting the law, and you still want me to calm down.”

He held the table with one hand and angrily pointed at Guo Fang: “If you were me, how would you calm down?”

Guo Fang’s forehead was sweating, and he raised his voice: “I dare not!”

Eunuch Liu Jian’an was trembling as he picked up the confession on the ground and knelt down after hearing what Emperor Chong’an said. The three of them knelt in front of Emperor Chong’an with trepidation, cursing Li Heming, who had caused the disaster, and then ran away from head to toe. Liu Jian’an wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then he understood why Li Heming hurriedly left the palace after submitting his confession. It was because he was worried about being scolded like they were now.

Emperor Chong’an took a few deep breaths, and the sandalwood scent filled his nose. He calmed down a little from his anger. He turned around, took down his sword, and threw it on the ground. The long sword slid on the ground for a long distance, making a cold and harsh sound.

He pointed at Liu Jian’an on the ground and then raised his hand to point outside the palace. His tone was strangely calm: “Go, send this sword to Old Sixth’s mansion, and ask him to chop off his head and bring it to Wuying Palace.”

Liu Jianan’s thighs trembled. How dare he take this fatal task? He hurriedly pleaded: “Oh! Your Majesty! Please don’t!”

Emperor Chong’an kicked the sword before him, suppressed his anger, and said in a deep voice: “Go! Otherwise, I will chop off your head with this sword.”

Liu Jian’an wanted to cry but had no tears, so he had to stretch out his hand tremblingly, but before he touched the sword, Zhu Ming, wearing a black robe and a crown, strode into the hall. Seeing this, the eunuchs at the door did not dare to stop him and only reported after he entered the door, “The Sixth Prince is here–“

When Zhu Ming saw three people kneeling in the hall, he raised the hem of his robe and followed to kneel. He probably knew what he had done.

“Father.” Zhu Ming’s face was calm: “Your son has come to apologize to you.”

Guo Fang and Wei Lin were silent. Emperor Chong’an waved his hand, and the two stood up and left: “Your humble servant will take your leave–“

After the door closed, Zhu Ming lowered his head and continued: “A few years ago, the military defense needed money, and your son took 10% from the disaster relief in Ji County.”

Emperor Chong’an looked at his good son, who was self-righteous and utterly unaware of his faults, and sneered: “10%? 10% have turned the houses in Ji County into rotten wooden houses. You take 10%, your subordinates take 10%, and the people below take another 10%, 10% after another. Tell me, how much will be left?”

Zhu Ming said: “That 10% is my fault, and I’ll bear my subordinates’ fault. The rest should be the fault of the Ministry of Works and Ji County officials–“

Before he finished speaking, Emperor Chong’an picked up a bamboo slip on the table and threw it at Zhu Ming. Emperor Chong’an had led troops to fight in the past, and he was pretty strong. The heavy bamboo slip hurt his forehead before falling to the ground and rolling around. Zhu Ming did not move and took the blow hard.

“Asshole!” Emperor Chong’an cursed angrily: “You didn’t mention the land tax. Do you know how many people died in Ji County because of you? The people of the county have lived in dire straits for several years because of you. Don’t you still not regret it?”

Zhu Ming raised his hand to wipe the blood from his forehead and explained: “This is an inevitable method. The Ministry of Revenue can’t allocate money. The north is bitterly cold, and 150,000 brothers are hungry. If I don’t think of a way, how can I raise elite soldiers to defend against the enemy?”

Emperor Chong’an suddenly realized and said, “Oh.”

“So, the people will have to suffer due to raising the soldiers. The soldiers are your soldiers, and you care for them. But the people are not your people, so you treat them as pigs and dogs.”

Zhu Ming frowned: “That’s not what I meant.”

Emperor Chong’an interrupted him harshly: “That’s what you did!”

He looked at his son, who had battled for half his life, and growled: “Do you know what is written on your face?”

Seeing that Zhu Ming did not answer, Emperor Chong’an said word by word: “Expand the territory!”

“You only want the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, but you don’t care about the people of the Ming Dynasty. The people want to have enough food and clothing. With your war-loving nature, how dare I give you the position?”

Zhu Ming’s heart trembled, and he argued: “Just conquer it! Wouldn’t we have it if we robbed it? Isn’t that how my grandfather founded the country?”

Emperor Chong’an was annoyed by his bandit nature and suddenly laughed a few times. He shook his head: “Good, good. You dare to compare with your grandfather.”

Zhu Ming wanted to say something, but Emperor Chong’an turned around. The bright yellow dragon robe wrapped around his no longer strong body. The world’s supreme ruler had aged a little in an instant. He said disappointedly: “Get out.”

Zhu Ming said anxiously: “Father!”

“Get out! After the Mid-Autumn Festival, leave here and go to the north to bring the elite soldiers you have been thinking about!”