sovbooks Chapter 11 I will make all of you extinct!
Chapter 11 I will make all of you extinct!
Before these officials could even process the fears they were experiencing, Zhu Houzhao spoke again.
"What I just said applies to every official!"
"The premise of 'misfortune not extending to one's wife and children' is that good fortune does not extend to their wife and children!"
"If I discover that you are using your power to benefit your descendants, I will kill your entire family!"
"I will completely eradicate the idea that you should suffer alone to benefit dozens of your descendants!"
"I want you to understand that the benefits you gain through the power you wield will not only fail to benefit your descendants, but will also harm them!"
"I will ensure that all of you have no male heirs!"
As Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, all the civil and military officials in the court were struck dumb, their eyes wide with despair.
The saying "misfortune should not befall the wife and children" has been a tradition for generations.
Apart from Emperor Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang) and Emperor Taizong (Zhu Di), no other emperor frequently resorted to confiscating property and exterminating entire clans.
Isn't the reason they become officials to benefit their wives and children?
Now that Zhu Houzhao has clearly ordered that if one person commits a crime, their entire family will be executed, how can they continue to hold their official positions?!
In an instant, the civil and military officials harbored resentment towards Zhu Houzhao, but since Zhu Houzhao held great power, they dared not act recklessly.
At this moment, they were completely awake. The emperor they were facing was no longer the Emperor Xiaozong they had seen before.
They are now facing Zhu Houzhao!
After dealing with these people, Zhu Houzhao turned to Zhuge Zhengwo and asked, "Was Xie Qian not involved in this case?"
Zhuge Zhengwo cupped his hands and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the Six Doors have not found any direct evidence that Lord Xie Qian was involved in this case."
"Firstly, Xie Qian had no direct motive to participate in this matter, and secondly, no one confessed that Xie Qian was involved in the case."
Zhu Houzhao lowered his head in deep thought, pondering to himself.
The fact that Xie Qian colluded with these people and pressured Zhu Houzhao to send troops had already made Zhu Houzhao suspicious of Xie Qian.
Whether the Six Doors found any evidence of Xie Qian's involvement in the case was actually of no importance to Zhu Houzhao.
If he wanted to kill Xie Qian, he wouldn't need any reason; he could just kill him directly.
But the problem is, if Xie Qian is killed, who will be assigned to do his job?
At this moment, there are only three people in the cabinet: Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian.
Liu Jian also got involved in this matter, but he quickly wisely shut up.
Both Liu Jian and Xie Qian still had value to Zhu Houzhao at this moment.
With them around, his daily work is much easier.
And so far, neither of them has shown any sign of trying to seize power from him.
It wouldn't be impossible to spare Xie Qian's life.
Zhu Houzhao made a decision: "Xie Qian is incompetent in handling affairs. He shall be stripped of his titles of Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and his salary shall be reduced by two months."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Afterwards, Zhu Houzhao continued to handle some official business and then adjourned the court session.
Meanwhile, a bloody storm affecting dozens of families is unfolding.
After Shen Lian left the imperial court, he first set up an execution ground at Caishikou.
They then publicly beheaded all these officials and had their bodies displayed in the marketplace. They also sent people to slowly torture Ma Wensheng and Zhang Mao by a thousand cuts.
After all that happened last night, Shen Lian returned to the Northern Garrison and immediately summoned several of his capable subordinates.
"Azure Dragon Guard, White Tiger Guard, Vermilion Bird Guard, Black Tortoise Guard!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
Four Imperial Guards stepped forward together and bowed to Shen Lian.
These four men were the four vice commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and were collectively known as the Four Guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
"By order of His Majesty, Yi Baiqing, the Commander-in-Chief of Shuntian Prefecture, Wei Shaojie, the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, and other officials shall have their entire families executed, and Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War, shall have his entire family exterminated!"
"You shall immediately lead your troops to ransack the homes and execute all the family members and relatives of these officials!"
As Shen Lian spoke, he pulled a list from his pocket.
"yes!"
The four men, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, bowed and accepted the order. They immediately copied the list several times, then mustered their troops, divided them into four teams, and left the Northern Garrison.
The four chief guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guards left the capital in full force, departing from the four city gates in the east, west, south, and north.
They will carry out Zhu Houzhao's decree and march on the hometowns of those officials, making their families pay for the officials' mistakes!
……
During this period, the selection of imperial concubines, which affected the entire Ming Dynasty, also came to an end.
Over the past month, more than 100,000 women have participated in the selection of imperial concubines for the Ming emperor.
The number of participants is ten times that of previous years.
The reason is that this selection of concubines is the first time that the young emperor, who has just ascended the throne at the age of fifteen, has chosen his first concubines.
In other words, the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty does not have any concubines.
The future empress, who will rule the world, may very well emerge from this selection of concubines.
As a result, women of suitable age and meeting the requirements throughout the Ming Dynasty eagerly signed up, hoping to enter the palace and gain the favor of the Ming Emperor.
But this opportunity is extremely slim.
The process of selecting imperial concubines in the Ming Dynasty was extremely rigorous.
Not only must they have a clean background, but they must also be handsome and healthy.
The most important thing for the emperor's concubines was to give birth to princes for him and to continue the lineage of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, when selecting officials, the selection criteria for women were extremely high. They wanted women with firm breasts and shapely hips, who looked like they were good at bearing children.
Under such stringent conditions, women with even the slightest flaw would be eliminated.
The women selected to enter the palace were all exceptionally beautiful, one in a million.
At this moment, eighteen beauties, each with their own unique charm and all sorts of figures, have been sent to the palace and trained by female officials for several days.
On this day, after personally examining and testing these young ladies in Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Zhang instructed the eunuchs around her to quickly invite the Emperor to come and take a look.
The eunuch dared not delay and hurriedly went to the Qianqing Palace to inform Zhu Houzhao of Empress Dowager Zhang's imperial decree.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager summons you to the Cining Palace."
"Understood, I'll go shortly."
After receiving the news, Zhu Houzhao did not set off immediately. Instead, he completed the revisions of all the memorials in his hand before ordering the emperor to proceed to Cining Palace.
Upon arriving at Cining Palace, before even entering the hall, Zhu Houzhao could smell the strong fragrance of cosmetics.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
As soon as Liu Jin announced this, the palace maids and eunuchs around immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."
No need for formalities.
As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he looked into the Cining Palace.
Inside the Cining Palace, a dozen or so young ladies, each with their own unique charm, were quietly waiting for something.
"Your son greets Your Majesty."
Zhu Houzhao entered the Cining Palace and bowed slightly to Empress Dowager Zhang.
Empress Dowager Zhang waved to Zhu Houzhao, gesturing for him to sit down beside her.
"The Emperor is here! Come quickly and see if these women meet his approval!"
"Yes, Mother."
Zhu Houzhao sat down next to Empress Dowager Zhang, then raised his head and looked carefully at the dozen or so beautiful and stunningly gorgeous young women.