The first and fifteenth day of the lunar month were over, and the nobles and relatives were trembling with fear. Those who had contact with Zhu Chunchen returned to their mansions to reflect on themselves. Under the surveillance of the East Factory thugs outside the mansion gate, they carefully recalled any other rebellious remarks and actions by Zhu Chunchen.

Verbal deterrence alone was clearly insufficient. The emperor flew into a rage at court and stripped Xue Lian of his title and executed him.

Xue Lian, the Marquis of Yangwu, was known for his violent nature and his penchant for plundering the people's property. Given the emperor's intelligence, it was impossible that he had just learned of this.

But the emperor had been forbearing and finally seized the opportunity to impose severe punishment, which undoubtedly had a stronger effect than verbal deterrence.

When Xue Lian was dragged out of the hall crying, the nobles turned pale with fear. They were really frightened by the emperor's ruthless treatment.

The news would soon spread to all corners of the country as it appeared in newspapers, serving as a resounding alarm bell, especially for the nobles and their relatives living in Nanjing.

Don't think that you can rest easy just by relying on the achievements of your ancestors. Although the emperor is young, he has learned some of the essence of Taizu.

In fact, Zhu Baba's killing of meritorious officials is not an uncommon occurrence in history. The saying "generals can be dismissed, but the country cannot be destroyed" is the best explanation for the feudal emperors' habit of "killing the dog after the rabbit is dead and hiding the bow after the bird is dead".

No matter how great your achievements are or how great your abilities are, as long as you are detrimental to the inheritance of the throne and the stability of the country, you can be killed.

With this analysis, what are the current meritorious officials? It is already seven or eight generations later. No matter how meritorious their ancestors were, so many years have passed. Can they still overdraw the court's preferential treatment for meritorious officials?

The grace of a gentleman is cut off after five generations. According to the laws of inheritance, the grace and blessings left by ancestors to their descendants will almost be consumed after seven or eight generations.

This also applies to Zhu Youxiao. The country passed down by his ancestors is no longer as prosperous as it was when it was first established. In this declining and ill-fated situation, he can only rise up and reform to restore the former glory of the Ming Dynasty.

A tyrant or a fool? To Zhu Youxiao, it didn't matter. What about the reputation after death? He just closed his eyes and didn't care about it!

Of course, he still paid close attention to the wars in Liaodong and the southwest. His continuous victories gave him the confidence to push forward reforms; the increasingly improved military situation also reduced resistance to reforms and alleviated many rumors.

Counting the days, Liu Xingzuo's rebellion in southern Liaoning was about to begin. Zhu Youxiao was very concerned and looking forward to whether it would succeed and how much results it would achieve.

Walking back and forth in front of the sand table, Zhu Youxiao wished he could fly to the front line and learn the actual situation firsthand. But in the end, he could only accept the speed of ancient communication, walked to the window with a wry smile, and stared into the distance in a trance.

A soft and crisp laughter attracted the emperor's attention. Turning his head, he saw that it was Li Chengcheng and Fan Xiaohui, two close friends, teasing some kittens.

Beautiful women playing with cats?! Zhu Youxiao smiled. Against the backdrop of the red flowers and green trees in the palace, two laughing young and beautiful women, and several fur balls crawling and meowing all over the ground, it was a truly pleasing picture.

Li Chengcheng stopped, took out a small telescope, and called his good sisters to play with it.

This was the first time that Fan Xiaohui got this new gadget. After learning how to use it, she held the telescope and looked around, exclaiming in surprise from time to time.

No matter how good the telescope is, it can't see the Liaodong battlefield! Zhu Youxiao lowered his eyes and sighed in his heart.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through the emperor's mind. Could this telescope be used to increase communication speed?

…………………….Dividing line………………………….

The waves continued to surge, crashing into the rocks on the cliff, rolling up countless waves and foam.

Liu Xingren looked up at the sea, completely ignoring the mercury drops blowing in the wind hitting his body.

Today was the day the Liu brothers would raise their banners and rise in rebellion. After enduring days of agonizing anxiety, he finally waited for this day, and his mood became apprehensive.

In fact, although they were raising the flag of rebellion, the Liu brothers were not fully prepared. After the Ming army landed, they basically took on all the military operations.

But when it comes to the probability of success, the Liu brothers believe it is quite high.

The reason is very simple. People's hearts want to change. The Liao people have suffered from the rule of the Jiannu for a long time. Even the Han soldiers have to fight against their will because of the burden of their families.

It might be an exaggeration to say that a single call to arms brought a flood of responses. However, with tens of thousands of Ming troops arrayed before their eyes, and with Liu Xingzuo and his men suppressing and inciting them, I believe few diehards dared to resist.

As for the primary targets such as Li Yongfang's eldest son in Fuzhou City, they have been identified and can be captured in one fell swoop.

Since the grand plan of covering the three states of Hai could not be implemented, catching these big traitors would be a great achievement, and Liu Xingzuo was very concerned about it.

"Brother Liu." Following the greeting, a telescope was handed over. Jinyiwei Zhang Zhenben said with a smile: "Use this to see clearly."

Liu Xingren bowed in thanks, took the telescope, and peered through it briefly before putting it down. He gave Zhang Zhenben a knowing smile and said, "I'm sorry to have laughed at you, Brother Zhang. I was a little nervous, but seeing you so calm, I'm not so nervous anymore."

Zhang Zhenben chuckled and said, "It's human nature, why laugh at it? We've painstakingly planned for so long, and today is the day to see success or failure. Everyone would be a little nervous."

After a pause, Zhang Zhenben consoled him, "Brother Liu, look at the sea. There are no huge waves. If we set out from Lushun, there will be no accidents for the army."

Liu Xingren really looked at the situation on the sea. Just as Zhang Zhenben said, the weather was good and the wind and waves were not strong. He immediately felt relieved.

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