Chapter 224: Speaking Plainly

As soon as the words fell, the entire hall was shocked.

Zhu Gaoxu could be said to be someone who would not stop until his words were shocking.

These words were already very clear.

To put it plainly, he meant that in all of Shandong, regardless of rank, every official except those sitting here must be found a way to be brought down.

As if to verify everyone's suspicions, Zhu Gaoxu continued, "You gentlemen just said that you wish to share the Emperor's worries; I assume you were not joking. My Imperial Grandfather is sometimes impatient and unwilling to wait, and I am the same as him. But likewise, my Imperial Grandfather is never stingy toward those who are loyal to our Great Ming and those who have rendered service to our Great Ming."

In the end, both sides were unfamiliar with each other.

Although these officials had already expressed their intent to defect to him, the time was still too short.

Those so-called pledges of allegiance were merely a front; the only thing that truly held the other party was interest.

And the true pledge of allegiance was this one right now.

He wanted these officials to unite as one and leave only officials in all of Shandong who were for his use.

As for the rest, no matter what methods they used—framing, assassination, transfer, or anything else—he only wanted to see the final result.

And it had to be fast!

He sighed; they were still unfamiliar, and he had to beat around the bush for a long time when speaking. Once this matter was finished and both sides were familiar with each other, it should be much better.

Meanwhile, those officials all had their brows tightly locked.

The others were easy to deal with, but they still had superiors above them who were second-rank officials.

And in the military, there was still a Governor.

This matter was not easy to handle.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu smiled slightly, knowing what these people were thinking.

He simply stopped pretending and said directly, "Since we are all our own people now, I will stop beating around the bush."

After speaking, Zhu Gaoxu sighed; he really was a straightforward person, and beating around the bush for so long made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

When the group of officials heard Zhu Gaoxu say this, their expressions turned serious, and they stopped talking to listen to Zhu Gaoxu speak.

"I am too lazy to speak in circles. I will say it clearly now: the capital is not peaceful. The remnants of Hu Weiyong have not yet been purged, and many people are retaliating and secretly harming the pillars of the imperial court."

"You gentlemen all possess great talent, so I assume that entering the capital to rectify the court's discipline will be very easy."

"But I will say this first: wanting to enter the capital is easy—it is a matter of one sentence. But if you want to enter the capital, you must first get on the boat, and if you want to get on the boat, Shandong cannot be in chaos."

"I will tell you clearly: I did not come to the North this time just for those bandits and disaster victims."

"Bandits and mountain rebels must be cleared, disaster victims must be saved, and cities must be restored. I have many things to do, but not much time."

"Therefore, I am very anxious, and because of this, I value efficiency. In my view, only one's own people handle matters most reliably and efficiently."

"So, I want the entire Shandong to have only my own people now!"

"Once Shandong is no longer in chaos and you gentlemen have boarded the boat, you will have what you should have, and even what you shouldn't have."

While speaking, Zhu Gaoxu carefully tasted the food on the table.

At the same time, he was secretly observing everyone's expressions.

Seeing that everyone's expressions were normal, Zhu Gaoxu nodded with satisfaction and continued, "I won't hide it from you: Shandong is just the beginning. Afterward, Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan will all be like this. I tell you this to encourage you as well; you are not one person or a few people—we are a group."

"Furthermore, do not be afraid. I have brought a secret decree from my Imperial Grandfather to the North this time. If anything happens, I will take responsibility. Rest assured, I will not easily abandon any of my own people."

"At critical moments, I will take action. Besides, some people stepping down and vacating their positions is also good for you, isn't it?"

After finishing, Zhu Gaoxu stopped speaking and focused entirely on eating the food on the table.

It was as if the food were a delicacy from heaven.

At this moment, everyone else also remained silent, exchanged glances, and then silently lowered their heads, thinking about something.

Before long, these people raised their heads again.

They bowed to Zhu Gaoxu and said, "Whatever the Prince commands, we dare not disobey!"

Seeing this scene, Zhu Gaoxu finally smiled with satisfaction.

Afterward, Zhu Gaoxu finally stopped talking about serious business.

He chatted with everyone about daily life, and when it was about time, some officials proposed to take their leave.

Half an hour later, all the officials had left, and this banquet finally came to an end.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Gaoxu exhaled a breath of stale air and then returned to his room.

He had someone prepare a tub of hot bathwater.

He took a comfortable bath.

Zhu Gaoxu collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

Ever since he was captured by the Qishan Five Tigers, he had basically not rested well.

After arriving in Huangshan Town, one thing after another had lined up.

The key was that every matter was very important and had to be handled personally.

Moreover, everything is difficult at the start, and with so many starting matters, the difficulty could be imagined.

Now that one of them had finally been temporarily resolved, Zhu Gaoxu could finally set his mind at ease a little.

This officialdom in the North could be said to be one of the top three matters among all the things Zhu Gaoxu was managing; resolving this matter could be considered as lifting a heavy stone from his heart.

And the next matter was bandit suppression and affairs of the Jianghu.