plumnovel Chapter 31 The Capital, Thunderous March South
Chapter 31 The Capital, Thunderous March South
As soon as Zhu Zaiyi finished speaking, the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony fell silent.
Southern Tour?
The officials were on tenterhooks.
The emperor's southern tour was a momentous event.
But now, His Highness the Regent speaks of it so casually, as if he were just going to visit his neighbor.
Moreover, it was the retired emperor who went?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes lit up immediately.
"A southern tour? Great!"
He slapped his thigh, stood up, and his joints cracked and popped all over his body.
"I've wanted to go south for a while, but I've never had the chance. Perfect timing! I'll go see those bloated, smug gentry of Jiangnan and see if they're really the loyal and patriotic 'virtuous officials' they claim in their memorials!"
His voice was undisguised, and the undisguised menacing aura made the kneeling civil officials bury their heads even lower.
This isn't a southern tour; it's clearly an expedition to confiscate property!
"Your Highness, Your Majesty the Emperor Emeritus, you mustn't!"
Grand Secretary Xu Jie was the first to step forward; his face was pale and his voice was trembling.
"Jiangnan is a vital economic center for our Great Ming Dynasty; a single move here can have far-reaching consequences. The new policies have just been implemented, and the people in the region are already filled with anxiety. If the Emperor Emeritus were to follow suit… and launch such a large-scale military campaign southward, it might incite a popular uprising and shake the very foundations of the nation!"
"A popular uprising?" Zhu Di scoffed, walked up to Xu Jie, and looked down at him. "Grand Secretary Xu, I ask you, who are the people?"
Xu Jie was taken aback by the question: "Heaven... all the people under heaven are..."
"Nonsense!" Zhu Di interrupted him rudely. "Are those gentry who monopolize tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and cause countless people to be displaced the people? Are those wealthy merchants who collude with the government, monopolize salt and tea, and drive prices sky-high so that the poor can't even afford salt the people?"
"In my eyes, they are not commoners, they are thieves! They are traitors who are undermining the foundations of my Great Ming Dynasty!"
"When dealing with traitors, I've always had only one method," Zhu Di said, patting the Yongle sword at his waist, his voice as cold as ice. "That is, kill!"
Xu Jie was speechless after hearing Zhu Di's words, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
He knew that reasoning with this killing machine was pointless.
He could only turn his pleading gaze to Zhu Zaiyi on the dragon throne.
Zhu Zaiyi looked at the trembling officials below and spoke calmly: "Grand Secretary Xu, I understand your concerns. But rest assured, the Emperor Taizu will not bring a single soldier, will not conscript a single laborer, and will not spend a single penny of the national treasury on this trip south."
Everyone was stunned by these words.
No troops? No money? What kind of southern tour is that?
Does the Emperor Emeritus want someone to go on an incognito visit?
"Your Highness means..." Xu Jie asked, somewhat puzzled.
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard, there are still three thousand men idle, aren't there?" Zhu Zai Rui's gaze turned to Zhu Xi Xiao, who was standing at the corner of the hall.
Zhu Xixiao jumped in surprise and immediately stepped forward and knelt down: "Your Highness! The Embroidered Uniform Guard currently has five thousand elite cavalrymen, all of whom are battle-hardened and ready to be dispatched at Your Highness's command at any time!"
"No need for five thousand." Zhu Zaiyi waved his hand. "Select three thousand men from the Northern Garrison Command. The best of them, those who have been on the northern frontier battlefield, seen blood, and killed people."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhu Xixiao's heart skipped a beat; he knew that something big was about to happen.
"The men have been selected. They will assemble at the old site of the Western Garden at midnight tonight." After saying this, Zhu Zai Rui looked at Zhu Di and asked, "Your Majesty, three thousand men should be enough for you, shouldn't they?"
Zhu Di grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth: "Enough! Back when I was waging war, this was all the men I had. More than enough to deal with those nouveau riche in Jiangnan!"
The officials were completely bewildered.
Three thousand Imperial Guards? Gathering in the capital? What does this have to do with the Southern Inspection Tour? Are they supposed to run all the way from the capital to Jiangnan? That would take forever.
Zhu Zaiyi did not explain further to them.
He simply took out a thick stack of yellow paper talismans from his sleeve.
Each talisman was inscribed with mysterious and complex runes in cinnabar, with a faint, swirling light.
"This is a 'Swift Travel Talisman'." Zhu Zai Rui handed the talisman to Zhu Xi Xiao. "One for each person, stick it on your leg. As long as you silently think of your destination, you can travel three thousand miles a day, shrinking the distance to an inch."
"This..." Zhu Xixiao's hands trembled as he took the stack of talismans. They felt warm to the touch, as if he were holding a ball of flame. He looked at the runes on them and felt like his head was about to explode.
Traveling three thousand miles a day?
This was beyond his comprehension.
"Grand Ancestor," Zhu Zai Rui handed Zhu Di another piece of paper, densely covered with names, "This is a list of 'visits' that I have prepared for you. When you arrive in Suzhou, you can go and 'sit' at each of these addresses."
Zhu Di took the list, glanced at it, and then laughed.
The first name on the list was "Gu Xiancheng of the Gu family of Songjiang".
"Excellent! Excellent!" Zhu Di laughed loudly, "I love this kind of 'surprise'!"
He turned around, looked at the group of civil and military officials below who were completely dumbfounded, and waved his hand.
"Get out of here! Go back and properly implement the new policies for me!"
"Anyone who dares to cause trouble for me in the capital, when I return from Jiangnan, the first thing I'll do is demolish their house!"
After saying that, he strode out of the hall, excitedly calculating whether to kill the chicken or the monkey first when he arrived in Jiangnan.
Inside the main hall, the officials looked at each other in bewilderment, each one as if in a dream.
They felt as if they were not participating in a court assembly.
Instead, they were watching a play where... a deity descended to earth to rectify the court.
The next scene of this play seems to be even bloodier and more exciting than all of the previous ones.
Late that night, at the former site of Xiyuan.
This place was once Emperor Jiajing's "paradise on earth," but now, all that remains is a white expanse burned clean by the Samadhi Fire.
Three thousand elite guards, handpicked from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stood solemnly in the open field, dressed in flying fish robes, carrying embroidered spring knives, and with muskets at their waists.
Each of them wore a look of doubt and tension.
Why were you urgently summoned to this place in the middle of the night? What secret mission were you on?
Zhu Di, dressed in a tight-fitting black suit of armor over a black chainmail, stood at the very front of the formation. Beside him stood Zhu Xixiao, also dressed in military attire.
At midnight, the moon was high in the sky.
Zhu Zaiyi's figure appeared silently on the high platform.
He didn't waste any words, but simply said to the three thousand guards below, "Affix the talismans."
Zhu Xixiao immediately ordered everyone to stick the mysterious "Swiftness Talisman" on their calves.
The moment the talisman touched their skin, it transformed into a warm current that seeped into their bodies.
"Destination: Outside Suzhou city, on the shore of Yangcheng Lake."
Zhu Zaiyi's voice clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Set off."
As soon as he finished speaking, he formed a hand seal and pressed his hands down hard on the ground!
Om-!
A massive golden magic array, composed of countless runes, instantly spread out from him, enveloping the entire former site of the West Garden, along with the three thousand Imperial Guards!
The three thousand guards felt their feet lighten, and the scene before them began to distort and recede rapidly in an incomprehensible way!
The land beneath their feet no longer seemed to be land, but a rapidly flowing river!
The scenery on both sides transformed into streaks of light!
They could even feel the wind whistling past their ears!
This isn't walking!
It's flying!
No, it's faster than flying!
This is the magic of immortals!
An overwhelming sense of fervor and awe surged within the hearts of all the Imperial Guards.
They looked at the figure of the young man in flowing robes on the high platform as if they were gazing up at a true deity.
And they are the sharpest knife in the hands of the gods!
Tonight, this sword will be drawn.
Bloodshed in Jiangnan!
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