roccoschili Chapter 13 Soul Searching and Spirit Stealing, Blood Sacrifice at the Meridian Gate!
Chapter 13 Soul Searching and Spirit Stealing, Blood Sacrifice at the Meridian Gate!
Faced with Zhu Di's murderous gaze, the Jiajing Emperor's psychological defenses completely collapsed.
With a "thump," he knelt down in front of the entire court, hugged Zhu Di's leg, and wept uncontrollably.
"Ancestors! Ancestors, you are wise and just! Your grandson has been wronged!"
"All I know is that old scoundrel Yan Song is good at accumulating wealth, and... I did indeed receive some nominal 'tribute' from him, but I truly know nothing about his treasonous acts!"
"It was him! He's the one who deceived my grandson! If I had known he would dare to do such a despicable thing, I would have torn him to pieces long ago!"
Jiajing cried out, completely lacking the demeanor of an emperor, like a wronged child complaining to an elder.
The officials were dumbfounded. Was this still the Jiajing Emperor, who had been high above and out of sight for twenty years?
Zhu Di looked down at his good-for-nothing grandson, his brows furrowed.
He could sense that Jiajing was genuinely afraid when he said those words, but it was difficult to discern whether the truth in his words was genuine or not.
Although this grandson is a scoundrel, he probably doesn't have the guts to "sell out the country."
But Yan Shifan spoke with absolute certainty, making the matter even more confusing.
Just then, Zhu Zaiyi, who had been sitting on the dragon throne observing coldly, spoke up.
"No need to ask."
His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the entire hall.
He slowly stepped down from the dragon throne, walking step by step, until he reached Yan Shifan, who appeared to be insane.
Yan Shifan looked at the boy, who was even younger than his own son, his eyes filled with resentment and disdain: "What? You little brat, you think you can interrogate me? Let me tell you, it's useless! I'll drag your Zhu family's emperor down with me even in death!"
Zhu Zaiyi completely ignored his clamor.
He simply extended one finger, a slender, white finger, as if carved from fine jade.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, he gently touched Yan Shifan's forehead.
"What do you want to do?!" Yan Shifan shouted in terror, trying to dodge, but found that his body was as if it had been frozen in place, and he could not move at all.
"Soul Search".
Zhu Zaiyi uttered two words in a low voice.
The next instant, Yan Shifan's eyes became dull and empty, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away.
"what……"
He let out a groan that sounded inhuman, his body convulsed violently, and black blood slowly seeped from his seven orifices.
The officials had never seen such a bizarre and terrifying sight before, and they retreated in fear. Xu Jie and Gao Gong were also pale-faced and their minds were shaken.
Is this... the method of an immortal?
It's even more terrifying than torture in hell!
A moment later, Zhu Zaiyi withdrew his finger.
Yan Shifan collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, a sliver of clarity returning to his eyes, but it was replaced by endless emptiness and despair.
"Now you can speak," Zhu Zai Rui's voice was like a spell.
"It was...it was me who told it..." Yan Shifan's eyes were glazed over as he recounted the entire story in front of everyone.
How he conspired with his father Yan Song, and how he connected with the Mongols through the "holy woman" of the White Lotus sect.
He would cleverly disguise the money he smuggled as "auspicious omens" and "tribute" and send it into the palace to win Jiajing's favor, without mentioning the true source of the money.
He also confessed that, to prevent their scheme from being exposed, they secretly planted their confidants in the court and bribed generals on the border...
Every detail, every name, every time and place, is described clearly and without the slightest error.
The truth came out.
The Jiajing Emperor was only guilty of negligence and greed; he was genuinely unaware of the treasonous collusion with the enemy.
The Yan family father and son are the real culprits behind all of this!
When Yan Shifan finished speaking the last word, it was as if he had just woken up from an endless nightmare. He realized what he had just said, and he completely collapsed.
"No...it wasn't me! It wasn't me! It was him! He used sorcery to control me!" He pointed at Zhu Zai Rui and roared in despair.
But no one believed him anymore.
A murderous intent shrouded Zhu Di's face.
He walked to the center of the hall, his voice as cold as the wind.
"Issue my decree!"
"Grand Secretary Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan are corrupt, lawless, and traitorous—their crimes deserve to be punished!"
"Take him to the Meridian Gate immediately and execute him by slow slicing!"
"All of his family's assets shall be confiscated and deposited into the national treasury!"
"Anyone involved in his treason case, regardless of rank, will be thoroughly investigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Once verified, they will be executed without mercy, and their entire family will be exterminated!"
"Kill them without mercy! Exterminate their entire family!"
Zhu Zaiyi watched all this, then slowly walked back to the dragon throne. He added a sentence, bringing this grand drama to a close.
"Issue the imperial decree: at noon today, I will personally witness their execution from the Meridian Gate tower."
"And let it be proclaimed to the world that all citizens of the Great Ming are welcome to come and witness the execution. Let them see for themselves the fate of traitors!"
……
At noon, at the Meridian Gate.
This place has become a sea of people.
When Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son, along with dozens of core henchmen, were led to the execution ground, they were met with countless angry curses and rotten vegetable leaves thrown at them.
Zhu Zai Rui and Zhu Di sat atop the high city tower, coldly observing everything.
As soon as the executioner gave the order, screams, cries, and pleas for mercy echoed through the sky.
Blood stained the bluestone slabs in front of the Meridian Gate.
A huge cancer that had plagued the Ming Dynasty court for twenty years was completely eradicated.
Below the city gate, the officials watched this bloody scene in complete silence.
They no longer harbored any hope; all they felt for this young regent was awe.
On the city wall, Zhu Di looked down at the group of treacherous officials who had been executed, and the anger in his chest finally subsided.
He turned his head and looked at Zhu Zaiyi beside him, his eyes revealing a genuine appreciation for the first time.
This great-grandson may have been ruthless, but when dealing with parasites, such swift and decisive measures are necessary!
After dealing with Yan's faction, he felt much better and then remembered another important matter.
He turned to the Minister of Revenue, who stood to the side like a frightened bird, and asked:
"Now, tell me, including Yan Song's entire fortune, how much money is actually in the national treasury?"
The Minister of Revenue had just witnessed the horrific scene of being slowly sliced to death, and his legs were still trembling. When he heard the Emperor Emeritus ask him a question, he dared not be negligent and quickly took out the account book he had just prepared from his sleeve.
But when he looked at the numbers on it, his face, which had just recovered a little, turned ashen again.
He knelt on the ground, his voice trembling.
"Go back...back to the Supreme Emperor, Your Highness..."
"Yan Song may have a lot of wealth, but... but the deficits incurred by the imperial court over the years have been enormous! There are the military salaries for the nine garrisons in the north, the military expenses for fighting the Japanese pirates in the south, and the outstanding debts for repairing river embankments and providing disaster relief to people in various places..."
"All things considered, even if Yan Song's entire fortune were poured in, the national treasury... the national treasury would probably only have less than 300,000 taels left..."