Chapter 613: Laying the Cards on the Table—I Am the Emperor

Ma Qiandao said urgently, "Quick, quick—go out and receive them!"

Zhu Youxiao did not have to wait long outside before he saw a Centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard emerge from within.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at this Centurion, said nothing, and strode directly inside.

Ma Qiandao tried to come forward to greet them, but Qi Yuangong blocked him with a stern face.

Wei Chao walked up to Ma Qiandao, flashed the token in his hand before him, and said, "Centurion, why don't we go inside and talk?"

"I wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare." Ma Qiandao said hurriedly, "Please, everyone, come in."

Having said this, Ma Qiandao quickly took a few steps and went ahead to lead the way.

Soon, the group walked inside and arrived at the Centurion's main hall.

The entrance was naturally taken over by Qi Yuangong and his men, who absolutely would not allow any nearby Embroidered Uniform Guard to approach.

Zhu Youxiao sat directly in the seat of honor.

Ma Qiandao stood below.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Ma Qiandao and asked, "What's your name?"

Ma Qiandao was taken aback. Isn't this a bit too arrogant? Even the Southern Provost Office wouldn't act like this, would it?

Still, he said cautiously, "This humble one is Ma Qiandao. May I ask how you, sir, are to be addressed?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao said nothing.

He hadn't figured out how he should introduce himself.

Wei Chao, quick to react, stepped forward and said, "You need not know our master's name. We have come this time because there are matters we need to ask you."

"Sir, please forgive me, but if you have only a single token, I'm afraid this humble official cannot comply." Ma Qiandao said expressionlessly.

He had already begun to doubt the identities of these people before him. A single token alone proved nothing.

"Fair enough." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Your thinking is very correct. Then I'll tell you my name—I am Xu Xianchun."

Upon hearing this, Ma Qiandao directly shook his head, reached out to grip the saber at his waist, and said in a somewhat fierce tone, "You cannot be Xu Xianchun, Lord Xu. I have met Lord Xu Xianchun before—I was once a Colonel under his command. Who are you? Why not state your name? What purpose do you have in coming here?"

"Guards!" Having said this, Ma Qiandao shouted loudly toward the outside.

Zhu Youxiao was helpless, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

His attempt at showing off had failed.

A token of the Southern Provost Office indeed could not make men below believe him. In truth, that was exactly the case—he had no official credentials, so the impersonation could not be sustained.

Impersonating Xu Xianchun had actually failed—this fellow actually knew Xu Xianchun. A miscalculation, a miscalculation.

"I didn't expect you to actually know Xu Xianchun." Zhu Youxiao stood up and said with a smile, while saying to Wei Chao beside him, "Alright then, let's lay our cards on the table. I won't pretend any longer."

Upon hearing these words, Ma Qiandao was stunned.

"I"?

The Emperor?

This made him hesitate.

It wasn't because he believed Zhu Youxiao, nor because he was frightened, but because the crime of impersonating the Emperor was punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family—ordinary people truly wouldn't dare do such a thing.

Could this man really be the Emperor?

Ma Qiandao had no choice but to be extremely cautious.

Would anyone truly dare to impersonate him?

Ma Qiandao hesitated, standing frozen in place for a moment.

Just as Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, Wei Chao came directly to Ma Qiandao's side and showed him the items.

The official credentials and seal of a brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Qi Yuangong also stepped forward and showed Ma Qiandao the waist badge and official credentials of the Commander of the Imperial Guard. Most importantly, he also showed him the short firearm at his waist, saying with a smile, "Do you recognize this? Since you're one of Xu Xianchun's men, you should be familiar with this, shouldn't you?"

The moment Ma Qiandao saw the pistol at Qi Yuangong's waist, he was instantly stunned.

He did not look at Qi Yuangong, but turned to look at Zhu Youxiao instead. Without the slightest hesitation, he fell to his knees with a thud, his body trembling as he kowtowed and said, "Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty! Your servant did not recognize the Imperial countenance and was rude in his offense—I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"

"Rise." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "You did very well."

Ma Qiandao stood up trembling with fear and retreated to one side.

Reality left him no room to disbelieve—a eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial attending at his side, the Commander of the Imperial Guard protecting beside him; besides the Emperor, no one else enjoyed such treatment.

Look at the official seal in that man's hand, and then at the firearm tucked at his waist.

Ma Qiandao had indeed seen this pistol before, because Xu Xianchun also had one—it was bestowed by the Emperor, covered with various markings and numbers. Ma Qiandao had only seen it once from a distance.

Because that firearm was enshrined in Xu Xianchun's home and was rarely to be seen.

Xu Xianchun had also once told Ma Qiandao that this type of firearm was essentially impossible to see elsewhere—aside from meritorious officials receiving them as rewards, the only ones equipped with such firearms were Your Majesty's personal guards. There was no one else besides that.

Under such circumstances, Ma Qiandao had no choice but to believe.

By the time he stood up from the ground, Zhu Youxiao had already sat back down.

He hadn't expected that before he'd even left Shuntian Prefecture, having only reached Xianghe County, his identity would already be exposed.

It seemed this incognito inspection plan was going to fail.

"I came here because I saw refugees on the road—all of them traveling from Xianghe to the capital seeking survival. I was very curious: Xianghe County has suffered no famine or disaster, so why would these people be fleeing their homes?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Ma Qiandao and said, "So I came here, wanting to ask whether you of the Embroidered Uniform Guard know what's going on."

Upon hearing these words, Ma Qiandao was not afraid in the least, nor was he alarmed—on the contrary, he grew excited.

Stepping forward, Ma Qiandao said, "Your Majesty, your servant knows about this matter!"

Ma Qiandao had long since begun investigating this affair, and had already sent the information up the chain.

Originally, he hadn't taken it to heart. From what he understood, several of the surrounding counties had this same situation—it wasn't just Xianghe County alone.

So he had merely reported the situation upward and waited for a reply from above. To be honest, he hadn't taken the matter too seriously; it was just routine official business.

But now it was different—the Emperor was paying attention, and had even come down personally. So what did this mean?

This was his chance to distinguish himself! As long as the Emperor valued this matter and he investigated it beautifully, then he'd be in a fine position. At that time, if the Emperor came to value him, the opportunity for meteoric rise would be his.

He had managed to find a position in Xianghe County of Shuntian Prefecture solely because of Lord Xu Xianchun. Everyone knew that this lord had deep roots within the Embroidered Uniform Guard—even when he had committed a grave error years ago, the Emperor had not punished him, and in recent years he had risen even higher, his power growing ever greater.

Some said that sooner or later Lord Xu would once again command the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and even if he had not yet retaken that command, his status and power were already considerable. If he distinguished himself this time, he might well be transferred back to the capital. And one day in the future, perhaps he too could reach Lord Xu's level.

How could Ma Qiandao not be excited?

"Then speak," Zhu Youxiao said, neither approving nor disapproving of Ma Qiandao's attitude.

If the man truly was talented, he wouldn't mind promoting him a bit—let's see how he handles matters.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ma Qiandao hurriedly replied, "Ever since word spread that the capital was going to audit the land, many great households began releasing people. Besides tenant farmers, there were also concealed persons."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao furrowed his brow and looked at Ma Qiandao, asking, "Concealed persons? In this day and age there are still concealed persons?"

One had to understand—this was the Great Ming, not the Sui or Tang dynasties.

In this era of the Great Ming, even servants had to be registered in the household system. The household registration system that Zhu Yuanzhang had established back then was extremely strict—without an official travel permit, you couldn't even walk ten li before being stopped by someone, let alone reach the capital. Even scholars who wished to travel for study needed a travel permit and identity documents.

The Great Ming placed tremendous importance on its population. Although the Ming had grown somewhat corrupt in recent years, this system had not been abandoned. How could there be such a large number of concealed persons?

This was wrong! Even refugees shouldn't be in the Shuntian Prefecture area.

Zhu Youxiao stared at Ma Qiandao, hoping he would provide an explanation.

Ma Qiandao, somewhat intimidated by Zhu Youxiao's gaze, quickly said, "Your Majesty, these people are called concealed households, but in truth they don't quite qualify—most are descendants of servants belonging to the great households, who never had household registration to begin with. Another portion are escaped hereditary military household members—actually, most of them are escaped military household members. These people were gathered up by the great households to farm their land. This sort of thing never happened before, and no one knew about it; only now has it come to light. The great households got frightened and released the people."

"Escaped hereditary military household members?" Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao let out a helpless sigh.

This matter was hardly new—military household members of the Ming fled every single day.

Life was hard for hereditary military households; they were squeezed by officers at every level, and the only way they could survive was to run away.

Once they fled, they lost their household registration and became unregistered persons, naturally becoming targets for the great households to gather up.

These people had nothing and sought only a way to survive, so naturally they made the best subordinates.

And since they were unregistered, no matter how they were exploited, they wouldn't dare complain. As long as they weren't allowed to run off, they could be made to do anything.

Zhu Youxiao understood now.

This needed no explanation—it was just like undocumented migrant workers. They themselves were illegal entrants, carrying an original sin with them, so when they were exploited they didn't dare resist, because the consequences of resistance were dire—some were even killed outright and buried without anyone ever knowing.

After all, they were unregistered—if no corpse was discovered, no one would seek justice for them.

Even before he had transmigrated, Zhu Youxiao had seen such things. If even later generations were like this, how much more so the present-day Ming?

Zhu Youxiao continued, "What are they panicking about?"

"Because some say that this time the court is investigating not only land but also tenant farmers. With all that land in their households, who was tilling it? They're afraid of being punished."

Sheltering escaped military household members was also a grave crime. If truly pursued to the fullest, it could even be tied to rebellion.

So once this matter became known, these people grew afraid and drove out all the escaped military household members, creating this tide of refugees.