Chapter 537: The Great Purge of Nanjing

This time, Zhu Youxiao would wear the ceremonial crown and robes. The reason was simple — to show how seriously he took this, and to let everyone know exactly what he was here to do.

His main purpose in coming to Nanjing was to intimidate. This time, he would bring out his full strength and crush them.

Early the next morning, Zhu Youxiao was dressed in his ceremonial robes with the help of Chen Hong and the others, then went straight to the main hall to hold the morning court.

And beside Zhu Youxiao, Qi Yuanfu followed closely.

Glancing at Qi Yuanfu, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand at him and said, "Bring it."

This time, Zhu Youxiao would not only wear the ceremonial robes, but would also carry a sword into the hall.

Qi Yuanfu dared not be negligent. He quickly extended both hands and respectfully presented a sword before Zhu Youxiao.

Reaching out to take the precious sword, Zhu Youxiao strode into the great hall.

At this moment, everyone was already waiting there.

Wei Chao stood atop the steps and called out loudly, "His Majesty has arrived!"

At these words, everyone knelt to the ground and said, "Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Zhu Youxiao walked into the hall and sat directly down on the dragon throne, his gaze slowly sweeping across all his ministers.

After so many years, this great hall had finally welcomed an Emperor ascending his throne once more.

And after sitting down, what Zhu Youxiao thought of was Zhu Yuanzhang — the famed Grand Ancestor, the founding Emperor of the Great Ming.

Back then, the Grand Ancestor Emperor must have unleashed his bloody purge right here, hadn't he?

Planting the precious sword in his hand against the floor, it let out a dull thud, and then Zhu Youxiao said, "Rise."

After everyone had stood up, Zhu Youxiao continued, "I have called you here today because there is something I need to say."

There was no need to beat around the bush here. The ministers here were Nanjing ministers, not Beijing ministers. In terms of ability and in terms of power, they were a notch below.

Zhu Youxiao had not called them here to consult with them either. So Zhu Youxiao's stance was resolute, and his tone was very steady.

He said directly, "This matter is that I intend to conduct a thorough purge across Jiangnan. From the civil and military officials at the top, down to the peddlers and porters at the bottom — anyone who oppresses the good, breaks the law, or violates the bonds of ethics and morality will be punished severely without exception."

"I have called you here to tell you this: do not try to interfere with this purge. If anyone dares to obstruct or shield others, and I find out, they will be punished severely without exception."

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao looked at everyone and said again with a blank expression, "If anyone has objections, you may step forward and speak. I am an Emperor who is good at accepting opinions."

The great hall was dead silent — so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stood there dumbfounded.

In truth, no one had expected that the Emperor would summon them all here just to say something like this.

They all knew this wasn't any kind of summons at all — it was just calling everyone over to threaten them. This was not something an Emperor ought to do.

Quite a few civil officials below began to furrow their brows, their hearts filled with unease.

After all, what the Emperor had done in Yangzhou could be described as enormous. In all these years, there had rarely been such a bloody purge in officialdom. Such authority and might — apart from the Grand Ancestor Emperor and the Chengzu Emperor of those days, no Emperor had possessed it since.

Yet here and now, that young man sitting up above had inherited this very authority.

No one dared to speak. No one even dared to object.

The reason was simple — the current Emperor truly possessed such authority. Though his prestige was not yet as high as the Grand Ancestor Emperor's or the Chengzu Emperor's, he was already close to overawing the entire realm.

Whether it was the Imperial Guard Corps or the methods he had employed over these years, no one dared to underestimate His Majesty.

In fact, this was precisely why Zhu Youxiao had seized control of central power.

The Grand Secretariat, the Staff Office, and the Office of Transmission, along with the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard — all of these people now belonged to this Emperor. Even if the occasional one did not go along with him, that was merely a matter of individual choice.

Over these years, this Emperor had dismantled many things and built many new ones. By now, those who remained in the court were essentially all the Emperor's people.

If one wanted to oppose him, there was no way through the official channels — the only option was to rebel.

And facing Zhu Youxiao, rebellion was no easy matter. The Imperial Guard Corps in the capital was no empty boast — there was not a single army in the Great Ming that could be pulled out to fight them.

Moreover, those rebelling now were not common folk but officials like themselves, which made it even more hopeless.

To put it in plain terms: a peasant uprising is an uprising; something without peasant participation isn't called an uprising — it's called rebellion.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Youxiao said, "Very well then. This purge, I am entrusting to Duke Wei to preside over. All personnel, high and low, must fully obey Duke Wei's commands. If anyone dares to comply in name only or disobey orders, they will be punished severely without exception."

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao rose to his feet and walked out toward the rear.

And at this moment, Duke Wei's face was full of bitterness.

This was hardly a good assignment. Never mind that he didn't want to do it and was being forced by the Emperor — even if he had wanted to, this was a job that could cost him his life.

By doing this, he would offend the entire Jiangnan and would no longer be able to stand in Nanjing. Once he arrested many people and killed many people, he would have no reputation left at all.

But right now the Emperor was forcing him to do exactly this — forcing him to break with the people of Nanjing. To put it bluntly, you had aroused the Emperor's suspicion.

If he couldn't see that, then he didn't deserve to stay in the game. So he could only steel himself and push forward.

As for whether he could actually make the decisions?

That was impossible — he was merely a figurehead. Duke Wei's expression turned very ugly, yet he could only force himself to make his face look better.

After returning to the rear hall, Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Chao and said, "Tell them to make their move."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao hurriedly acknowledged.

The contents of this imperial edict were extremely severe.

Once this edict was transmitted, the entire city of Nanjing began to stir into motion.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Office of Transmission cooperated with each other — the Embroidered Uniform Guard's men arrested the merchants, the Office of Transmission's men began making arrests, and the Imperial Household Department handled the aftermath. They worked together with perfect coordination.

For a time, the whole of Nanjing was gripped by panic, instantly thrown into chaos like a pot of porridge.

Many people wanted to flee Nanjing with their families, but at that moment they discovered they could no longer leave the city. The reason was simple — Lu Xiangsheng had already brought men to seal off Nanjing.

Sealing off such a large city was bound to be troublesome. Still, it wasn't that no one was allowed to leave — sealing it for a few hours or most of a day was no problem. Nanjing could not be left for now.

Everyone had originally thought that since Duke Wei was presiding, there might be some room for leniency.

But unexpectedly, the moment things started moving, they were swift and thunderous — clearly this had been prepared long in advance.

Among the six ministries' offices in Nanjing, nearly four out of ten officials had been arrested. Beyond that, countless people had been seized from various lower and mid-level government offices as well.

Many merchants in Nanjing had also been arrested. On the main streets of Nanjing, a temporary court had been set up.

This court was a newly established provisional tribunal, accepting complaints from everyone in Nanjing. Any official who broke the law or any merchant who committed crimes could all come here to file accusations.

For a time, the entire city of Yangzhou was thrown into turmoil, as the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Office of Transmission struck out in all directions, racing toward other cities as well.

Zhu Youxiao held court from within the imperial palace in Nanjing.

Glancing at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao said, "Have your people keep watch. Don't let anyone stir up trouble in there. If someone exploits this, it'll be even more of a headache."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant has already passed the word down for them to keep watch." Chen Hong replied hastily.

After all, in every great purge, there are always those who use public office for private gain, or settle personal grudges under the guise of official duty. Put plainly, they exploit the purge to stir up their own schemes.

In the factional strife of the Ming dynasty, the capital inspections played a significant role. They were often a fine method for striking at political opponents, used for framing and false accusation.

Although this time the investigation was handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Office of Transmission, entirely removed from the original officialdom, Zhu Youxiao was still worried, and so he had Chen Hong's people keep watch. He had no desire for his purge to become a tool for others to profit from.

While Zhu Youxiao carried out his sweeping rectification campaign in Jiangnan, on the other front, the Imperial Household Department was developing quietly and without notice.

What they needed to do was also quite simple—using the lists they had compiled through years of investigation, they began making contacts and forging connections in all directions. Naturally, those recorded on their lists were the merchants with good reputations and favorable word of mouth.

Aside from some commercial practices, they had no records of wrongdoing or criminal behavior.

All of these people were absorbed and connected by the Imperial Household Department. Either they became suppliers for internal services, or they became outer affiliates of the department. They would take over from those merchants who had been confiscated, rapidly seizing control of the market.

On the one hand, this maintained market stability; on the other, it united the people's hearts and boosted morale.

This operation was done on a grand scale, and it probably touched quite a few people. Zhu Youxiao was also worried about its impact on the common folk's sentiment, fearing they might see him as a tyrant. Thus, propaganda and winning over the people's hearts became very important.

Under such pressure, these people agreed very readily.

Then they received their first task—and that was propaganda.

Quickly spreading word of all the circumstances, they went about telling everyone what evil deeds these people had done, making their crimes known to the public.

The Emperor was not being cruel in doing this—on the contrary, he was disciplining them for the sake of the common people.

At the same time, another thing was finally brought out by Zhu Youxiao.

That thing was the newspaper. On this day, throughout Nanjing, many newsboy children suddenly appeared, waving the newspapers in their hands and shouting at the top of their lungs.

Nanjing could essentially be called the gathering place of Jiangnan's literati—there were a great many scholars there. So once the newspaper came out, it rapidly became a hot commodity, with people everywhere scrambling to buy it.

And in the newspaper, the focus was on introducing the crimes of those people.

Of course, the main targets were the great villains and arch-criminals. So everyone came to know what evil deeds those people had done.

Extra! Extra! The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue turns out to be the hidden backer of the largest usury operation. Read all about the life of Lord Chen of the Office of Transmission!