Chapter 238: Your Majesty, Are You Crazy?

In a blink, the forty-seventh year of Taixing passed, and time came to the forty-eighth year of Taixing.

The old Emperor was healthy, and the Crown Prince's succession to the throne was indefinitely far away. The Princes were eyeing covetously,

The atmosphere in the palace became increasingly tense and suffocating, and the plight of the people in Dongzhou was unbearable to witness; families being ruined and clans being wiped out were everywhere.

Jiang Tu became a national traitor whom everyone had the right to punish.

In the third month, bandits from the Great Mountains in Dongzhou launched a surprise attack on the local county seat, killing officials and rebelling. Seven days later, the cult bandits of Dongzhou rose up, instantly sweeping across the entire Dongzhou region and killing their way into the prefectural capital without any effort. The Prefect of Dongzhou hanged himself, and of his wives, concubines, and children, only one son escaped with his life.

After the cult bandits occupied the prefectural capital, they opened the government granaries to provide relief to the people. Afterward, they forced the commoners to head south, advancing like a hot knife through butter, killing scholars, landlords, wealthy households, and officials. As long as one did not believe in their cult, regardless of status, they were killed without exception!

The landlord gentry who had originally wanted to spend money to buy peace could no longer stand it. They contributed money and grain, organized tenant farmers, local militia, and village braves, picked up hoes, sickles, knives, spears, swords, and staves, and began organized resistance against the cult bandits.

With money, grain, and men, the local government offices gained the confidence to resist. The cult bandits' offensive encountered great obstacles.

At this time, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was taking action, but the government troops kept wandering nearby without moving, waiting for orders from above. The superiors demanded they not move to kill the cult bandits for the time being, so the government troops could only watch helplessly as the cult bandits ravaged the region.

Impeachment memorials from local officials flew into the capital and into the imperial palace one after another. They did not impeach the local government troops for inaction, but rather impeached Jiang Tu, who incited the cult bandit civil unrest, and Jiang Tu's lackeys.

Officials in the capital also began to take action, especially the censors of the Censorate; their level of cursing was absolutely top-tier. Without using a single dirty word, they managed to curse Jiang Tu's ancestors back eighteen generations.

During the court assembly, some emotionally agitated officials spat directly onto Jiang Tu's face.

Jiang Tu:...

Aggrieved and wronged, he wiped the spit off his face himself.

The more grievances he suffered today, the more the old Emperor would feel sorry for him, and he would give him double the compensation afterward.

Therefore, he just stood there, letting the court officials criticize and insult him, not talking back when scolded, not fighting back when hit, looking exactly like an honest man; his posture was managed with extreme precision.

Qiu Defu, who was serving beside the old Emperor, snorted coldly, inwardly cursing Jiang Tu for his wolfish ambition, deliberately acting pitiful, and being two-faced. Acting like an honest man in front of the old Emperor now, once the old Emperor was not around, it was absolutely impossible for Jiang Tu not to talk back or fight back; he would jump higher than the court officials.

The old Emperor was completely and thoroughly deceived by Jiang Tu.

The only people present who remained silent throughout were the group of nobles. Watching the chaotic court assembly, they were all like clay statues, not saying a word, not making a sound, and not even frowning.

Some emotionally agitated nobles wanted to stand up and express their views, but were killed back by the gazes of other nobles: Why add to the chaos! In this court assembly, can you expect to discuss anything useful? Don't waste your breath. Anyway, as long as there is a war, it cannot be separated from the nobles. As long as there is a war, it cannot be separated from money and grain. The final result had already been made clear: the nobles had won big. Since that was the case, there was even less need to show off one's eloquence, lest it invite jealousy.

The Marquis leaned on his cane; he had been specially permitted by the old Emperor to sit while attending the court.

Throughout the whole process, he just sat in his chair, accompanying the two Grand Secretaries in closing their eyes to rest their minds.

Seeing that the chaos had become unseemly and the old Emperor was not saying a word, the Marquis asked the Left Grand Secretary Li Liangcheng beside him, "Does the Secretariat not have any plan? At least show some regard for decency."

Li Liangcheng half-closed his eyes; a man of seventy or eighty, he looked like he could enter a coffin at any moment, his gray beard hanging to his chest, trembling two or three times with his breathing, "Does the Marquis have any high-minded views?"

"No high-minded views, but I do have a few low-minded ones."

The Right Grand Secretary Wu Dashou next door heard this witty remark and couldn't help but pull at the corners of his mouth and laugh.

"Then let's hear the Marquis's low-minded views first."

"It is clear that His Majesty will protect Jiang Tu at all costs; it would be better to prune his claws and teeth first to appease the public grievance. In this way, the Dongzhou cult bandit civil unrest can be stopped overnight."

"Marquis, what a high-minded view!" the Right Grand Secretary Wu Dashou said softly.

The Marquis returned a smile, but inwardly sneered; such a simple matter, everyone understood it, yet no one took the initiative to speak up. A bunch of cowards, only wanting to keep their official positions, not intending to do anything at all, all afraid of angering the old Emperor.

He looked at the old Emperor sitting on the dragon throne; his features were becoming increasingly mean-spirited and ungrateful, greedy and treacherous. A perfectly good Emperor had turned himself into something like a treacherous villain; if the ancestors of the Song family knew, they probably wouldn't be able to keep their coffin lids down.

The old Emperor keenly sensed the Marquis's gaze and swept a glance over, his eyes cold and ruthless, carrying heavy killing intent.

The Marquis was very tactful and immediately lowered his head, adopting an attitude of submission. Only then did the old Emperor shift his gaze and look at the group of people arguing the most fiercely.

"People are going to die!" the Marquis thought to himself. This bunch of people arguing the most fiercely today would inevitably have to take a trip to the Heavenly Prison. Whether they could survive would depend on whether their backer was strong enough. It was a pity for these young people, used as pawns and cannon fodder by others, their prime years about to be spent in prison.

This bunch of old officials in the court, just like the old Emperor, were becoming increasingly mean and vicious.

In one court assembly, just listening to the arguing, not a single piece of real business was resolved.

Finally, the old Emperor flicked his sleeves and left, and the court assembly was dismissed.

The two Grand Secretaries and the ministry officials were invited to the Taiji Palace for a small court assembly. The small court assembly was the meeting where problems were actually solved; eight out of ten times, the grand court assembly was used for arguing and venting anger.

In less than two months, the cult bandit civil unrest had affected three prefectures and twelve counties, and countless people had been slaughtered.

Finally, the imperial court issued an order to suppress the bandits.

The government troops, who had long been hungry and thirsty, advanced like a hot knife through butter, killing their way onto the battlefield. The bloody grinding wheel of slaughter began.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard accurately conveyed the old Emperor's order: Kill! Kill them all! Even if the entire population of Dongzhou were killed, it wouldn't matter. No prisoners, leave not a single one. However, it must be done secretly, and no evidence must be left behind.

The order was conveyed through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, bypassing the court, not stamped by the Secretariat, and not going through the normal postal system, obviously to cover people's eyes and ears. The old Emperor's anger had to be appeased with the entire Dongzhou region; he did not want a single prisoner, he wanted to kill all the cult bandits. Even those forced to join the rebel army, even the commoners who were coerced, could not escape the Grim Reaper's summons.

Once the slaughter began, human life was as cheap as livestock. Who knows how many innocent souls died under the blades of the government troops.

Paper cannot wrap up fire.

Even with the Embroidered Uniform Guard helping to cover it up, the fact that the government troops treated good citizens and cult bandits alike, killing indiscriminately, was eventually exposed. For a time, the Embroidered Uniform Guard became the target of public criticism.

In fact, everyone knew clearly that without the old Emperor's order, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would not dare to act like this. As for that bunch of government troops, it was a long story, better left unsaid. Of course, impeachment was definitely necessary; those generals leading the troops, one by one, none of them could escape.

But for now, the urgent matter was what attitude the old Emperor sitting on the dragon throne actually held.

An official who was bold enough to defy the heavens questioned the old Emperor to his face: "Your Majesty, have you gone mad?"