Chapter 119: Drawing Firewood from Beneath the Cauldron

"It is indeed true! My North Bureau of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has conducted a thorough investigation, and the South Bureau has done the same. The findings are beyond doubt!" Liu Mian, Commander of the North Bureau, declared with resounding force.

The relentless praise from the Commander of the North Bureau made Yang Shiqi’s heart bloom with delight. As the head of the civil officials, Yang Shiqi was known for his extreme caution; he never gave anyone a handle to use against him. Moreover, there was no reason for him to engage in any illicit activities. Unless the North and South Bureaus were fabricating charges, the Imperial Guard was clearly acting with impartiality.

However, the next words turned Yang Shiqi’s heart to ice.

"While Grand Secretary Yang is a man of integrity and high moral character, his son, Yang Ji, has run rampant in the countryside, acting with cruelty and malice. Between the seventh and tenth years of the Xuande reign, Yang Ji committed over a hundred atrocities, harming thousands of people. The number of those driven to their deaths by his wickedness is countless," Commander Liu Mian said, his tone measured and steady.

"Is there concrete evidence?" Zhu Qizhen asked calmly, his expression remaining entirely unmoved.

"The testimony and physical evidence are complete; the entire population of Taihe, Jiangxi, can attest to this. It is not just the Grand Secretary’s son, Yang Ji—the Grand Secretary’s entire clan is even more base and despicable. They stop at nothing for profit, disregarding the law and morality. Their methods are so vile that they defy description. I am a man of little learning and truly cannot find the words to describe it; even saying their crimes are too numerous to record fails to capture the depths of their depravity! In Taihe, Jiangxi, they only recognize the Yang clan; they do not recognize Your Majesty!" Liu Mian held the evidence high and spoke in a booming voice.

The officials were in an uproar once more, deeply struck by the brilliance of Zhu Qizhen’s stratagem. It was true—you might guarantee your own purity and integrity, ensuring you commit no crimes, but can you guarantee that your descendants and your clan will not break the law? It is impossible; one need only think for a second to know that.

Your own clan is likely using your name to hoard wealth and seize land everywhere. In the past, you might have turned a blind eye as long as the benefits reached your own pockets, but this young Emperor had broken the rules of the game. He had taken a perilous path, striking precisely at the vulnerability of their descendants and clans.

Jin Ying immediately stepped forward to take the evidence from Liu Mian and presented it to Zhu Qizhen. The Emperor glanced through it briefly, knowing the Embroidered Uniform Guard had not framed Yang Ji; these were all facts.

"Guards!" Zhu Qizhen commanded in a deep voice.

Thirty members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately marched into the hall. They did not carry their signature Xiuchun sabers; instead, they moved in groups of three. Two carried a square apparatus covered in thick ink, while the third carried a stack of thick white paper.

This was the manual ink printing press that Yang Xin had introduced. It was the same type of simple machine used in village primary schools during the eighties to print examination papers.

"Print!" Zhu Qizhen ordered.

The guards had already prepared the film plates, secured them in place, applied the ink, and loaded the paper.

The three-man teams worked in coordination: two operated the press, and one handled the paper. With each turn of the rubber roller, a sheet was printed. The guard responsible for receiving the paper would immediately remove the finished print, and the other two would continue, repeating the cycle. Ten machines were in operation at once.

As the officials stood stunned, within the span of just a few breaths, hundreds of sheets were already printed.

"Where is the Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Zhu Qizhen let out a thunderous roar that echoed in everyone’s ears.

"Liu Mian, Commander of the North Bureau, is here!"

"Distribute the record of the crimes committed by Yang Ji, son of the Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and the Yang clan, throughout the entire country—from every prefecture and province down to every township and village. Let not a single detail be omitted. Arrange for literate individuals in every village to read this aloud, ensuring every subject of the Great Ming knows of their sins. Have the records carved into stone in Taihe, Jiangxi, and inscribed into the state, prefecture, and county annals as a warning to future generations!"

This was Zhu Qizhen’s trump card; all the preceding steps had been merely to pave the way for this moment!

You, Yang Shiqi, are a legendary minister? Very well, I shall spread your fame. But as for your son and your clan—well, I am sorry, but I shall ensure they are disgraced and humiliated. Not only will they be disgraced, but I shall ensure your son and your clan are reviled for ten thousand generations to come.

"Your Majesty, you cannot!" Yang Shiqi gasped in terror. His eyes widened, his face turned deathly pale, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably. He looked at the smiling Zhu Qizhen upon the throne—a smile that seemed like that of a dragon—and with a wail of "Wa~", he vomited a large mouthful of blood. His heart and gallbladder shattered from the shock, and he collapsed to the floor, mourning, "Your Majesty, you cannot... you cannot do this..."

Zhu Qizhen’s strike had hit the snake’s seven-inch mark—the Achilles' heel of the civil officials. In the past, the literati controlled the pens and public opinion among the people. But with a small printing press and the Embroidered Uniform Guard spread across the nation, all of that was destroyed. From now on, the literati would never again be able to rely on their pens to manipulate public opinion or stifle the voices of the people; it was a pipe dream.

Newspapers were the ultimate weapon against the literati! You want to start a newspaper? Do you really think the Xiuchun sabers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are not sharp?

"Wanting to die? It’s not that easy!" Zhu Qizhen strode down from the throne, walked to Yang Shiqi’s side, and rested his right hand on the man’s back.

Yang Shiqi’s heart and gallbladder had truly shattered—not metaphorically, but physically, from the sheer terror of having his lifelong reputation destroyed and being condemned to eternal infamy. How could a man who prided himself on the integrity of a scholar endure such a thing?

But as Zhu Qizhen channeled a surge of green, life-giving chakra into him, Yang Shiqi’s organs were repaired, and his deathly pale face regained a healthy flush with visible speed.

"Your Majesty, you cannot! Your Majesty, you cannot!" Yang Shiqi clung tightly to Zhu Qizhen’s legs, weeping bitterly.

Zhu Qizhen ignored him entirely. With a flick of his leg, he shook off Yang Shiqi’s grasp and returned to his throne. "I am impartial in my public and private affairs. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Merits shall be rewarded, and crimes shall be punished!"

"Rest assured, Grand Secretary. I will only publish the crimes committed by Yang Ji and your clan to the world; I will not implicate you personally. Given this tragedy, I assume you have no heart to continue as an official, and I would not presume to keep you. Guards, bestow upon the Grand Secretary a grand mansion and ten thousand taels of silver, and order him to retire to his hometown to enjoy his remaining years."

"As for your son Yang Ji and your clan, their crimes are flagrant and unforgivable. They deserve to be executed as a clan this autumn. However, considering your love for your son and your lifelong service to the nation, I shall grant you a mercy: their death sentences are commuted. But while the death penalty is spared, their crimes cannot go unpunished. Have the Embroidered Uniform Guard place Yang Ji and your clan in prisoner carts and parade them through the entire country..."

How ruthless! The officials trembled in their hearts. What "retire to his hometown"? This was to trample a man into the dust, ensuring he could never rise again! To kill someone is but a single stroke of the blade, but this was far worse. They believed Yang Ji and his clan would wish for death, and Yang Shiqi would suffer even more; he might even commit suicide right there in the hall.

Moreover, the officials dared not plead for Yang Shiqi. None of their own hands were clean; if they pleaded, Zhu Qizhen would use the same methods on them. Beyond total disgrace and eternal infamy, there was no other outcome. No longer daring to force the Emperor’s hand, the officials quietly stood back, leaving only Yang Shiqi collapsed on the ground.

"You tyrant! I’ll fight you to the death!" Yang Shiqi suddenly leaped up, claws bared, and lunged at Zhu Qizhen.