Chapter 4

As soon as these words were spoken.

Whose home could possibly be seized?

Any home that could be seized.

Is this the place to say such a thing?!

The court and realm were plunged in grief, yet only Ru Taisu stared in shock at Su Qiao, a faint flicker of admiration for his talent stirring within him.

He hurried forward and bowed his hands.

"Your Majesty, this candidate has waited too long—perhaps he is confused. Please forgive his offense."

Having finished, Ru Taisu turned to glance back at Su Qiao and frantically signaled with his eyes.

"You, candidate—step down at once!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the table and roared at Ru Taisu.

"Did I ask you?!"

"When I asked you earlier, you said not a word—but now someone speaks, and you silence them?! Get out!"

Ru Taisu shuddered and fell silent at once, retreating.

Zhu Yuanzhang fixed his gaze on Su Qiao, teeth clenched, and asked:

"Young man—speak!"

Su Qiao paid it no mind and replied calmly:

"First seize the homes of civil officials and physicians, then the imperial princes and royal kin, finally the meritorious ministers!"

Four: seize homes, must seize homes—start with the civil officials of the Zhu family!

In Jianshen Hall, not even a pin could fall without being heard.

Everyone involuntarily held their breath.

To say such a thing in the imperial hall—is it not the same as seeking death?

Not even Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even the ministers here—all are civil officials, physicians, or meritorious ministers.

And the princes.

Who are the princes?

They are Zhu's own sons!

Good heavens—you'd seize them all?!

Even Ru Taisu regretted having stepped forward to defend Su Qiao just now.

What if Zhu Yuanzhang punished him as an accomplice?

Yet at this moment, Su Qiao's gaze burned brightly.

He stared fixedly at Zhu Yuanzhang.

He might as well have gone outside Wumen and waited for his head to be chopped off.

Get on with it, Old Zhu!

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright on the dragon throne, his mind racing swiftly.

After a long while, he finally uttered one word.

"Good!"

Su Qiao instinctively bowed his hands.

"Thank Your Majesty! Huh?"

Su Qiao looked up in confusion, as if unable to believe his own ears.

Not just Su Qiao.

Even Ru Taisu and the others thought they had misheard.

Had Old Zhu changed his nature?

Why wasn't he killing anyone?!

Only Zhu Yuanzhang silently whispered another "Good!" in his heart.

In the final years of the dynasty, disasters struck year after year—the imperial treasury had no silver, no grain.

Who still had silver?!

Of course—the princes, the meritorious ministers, the civil officials!

Zhu Yuanzhang stared hard at Su Qiao and asked:

"Explain—why seize the homes of those people?"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang ask this, Ru Taisu and the others' hearts sank again.

He still meant to kill.

But before killing, Old Zhu wanted to toy with Su Qiao.

Su Qiao quickly realized this, and without further hesitation, continued:

"Your Majesty, why do the people rebel?"

"Because wine and meat rot behind Zhu's gates while the road is littered with frozen corpses!"

"So the people rebel—because they know that if they overthrow the realm and enter Zhu's gates, they too can live in luxury!"

"If Zhu's gates were everywhere strewn with frozen corpses, why would the people even think of rebellion? Already starving and freezing, why waste strength fighting?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes suddenly lit up.

A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

Isn't that exactly it?

Even if your court lacks funds, and the Zhu family gates need not leave bones to freeze, the common people, seeing officials starve alongside them, will not rise up in rebellion.

Not rebelling means starving; rebelling also means starving.

Who would idle about and rebel for no reason!

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes grew even brighter.

Staring fixedly at Su Qiao, he continued to ask

"What if the food in the households of vassal kings and dukes and ministers is insufficient?"

Su Qiao said calmly

"Even simpler."

"Abolish Your Majesty's ancestral instructions!"

If the old Zhu's "good" just now might have saved Su Qiao,

then Su Qiao's words "abolish the ancestral instructions" were equivalent to nailing the coffin lid shut again himself.

What does the first chapter of the "Ancestral Instructions of the Ming" say?

"Civil and military officials shall immediately impeach and report, and the criminal's entire family shall be executed by slow slicing!" (Original words)

Ru Taisu's gaze toward Su Qiao could not help but become somewhat of a mix between laughter and tears.

Boy.

You have lived long enough yourself.

Have your nine clans also lived long enough?

Only Su Qiao paid no heed at all, after all, he had previously accepted a few fragments of memory.

This body had been an orphan since childhood.

Executing nine clans is no different from executing himself.

Hearing Su Qiao wanted to "abolish" his ancestral instructions.

The old Zhu instinctively wanted to order someone to push Su Qiao out and behead him.

But in the end, the old Zhu still could not help but restrain the anger in his heart.

If future descendants, following his ancestral instructions, still reached that point,

would that not mean his ancestral instructions also had problems?!

Zhu Yuanzhang quietly sized up Su Qiao.

"Why abolish our ancestral instructions?"

Su Qiao paid no heed at all, and said calmly

"Because of the sea ban!"