Looking at his newborn son, Joo Yoon-young was in a very good mood. This was mainly because his wife was healthy and the baby looked strong, which naturally brought him great comfort.

However, for an emperor, matters of personal affection were a luxury. There were still many matters in the court that Zhu Yunying needed to handle, especially at such a crucial juncture, he certainly couldn't afford to be negligent.

After attending court again and presenting the usual reports, some matters began to be discussed further.

This time, however, everyone was relatively smart. They naturally wouldn't talk about linking 'refined taste' with violating court laws, like Huang Zicheng did. And most normal people wouldn't think like Huang Zicheng.

In reality, Huang Zicheng was simply too eager for public good and personal gain. He only wanted to help scholars obtain more privileges and envisioned a so-called "rule of the world together with the scholar-officials." However, this guy lacked political wisdom at all.

Ru Chang didn't want things to escalate, but she didn't try to cover it up either.

"Your Majesty, the corrupt official Liu Yong has had dealings with many officials. He extorted a thousand taels of silver to help the prefect of Guangxin Prefecture pass the performance evaluation. The assistant prefect of Ganzhou Prefecture is an incompetent official, and Liu Yong colluded with officials of the Ministry of Personnel to abuse his power. Liu Yong obtained three thousand taels of silver and several pieces of jewelry."

One thing after another made Emperor Zhu Yunying's face turn ugly.

This isn't just about a three-year term as prefect accumulating 100,000 taels of silver; it also involves some officials colluding privately and selling official positions.

This left Huang Zicheng feeling utterly devastated. He had only received the news that Liu Yong was a fellow Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of his own caliber. Huang Zicheng considered himself to know Liu Yong quite well; he was a man of great literary talent, capable of writing exquisite essays, and well-versed in the classics.

When Liu Yong first came to us, he only mentioned engaging in refined conversations, poetry, and wine with like-minded individuals—a matter of elegance. But how did Liu Yong end up doing something so significant?!

Zhu Yunying sighed and said, "The three judicial departments shall conduct a joint trial, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard shall be ordered to confiscate the property. The proceeds of the crime shall be confiscated and sold to replenish the national treasury. All officials involved shall be severely punished."

The sale of titles and official positions was something Zhu Yunying would absolutely not allow. The Ming Dynasty was currently full of vitality and prosperity, and did not yet need to sell titles and official positions to obtain gold and silver to replenish the national treasury; it had not yet reached that point.

Faced with such a situation, Zhu Yunying would naturally punish it severely without hesitation. Such behavior could not be tolerated; if a warning was not issued at this point, this unhealthy trend would only escalate.

Such a thing is absolutely unacceptable to Zhu Yunying, and this trend must be curbed.

The emperor's decisions were not unexpected. Any capable and ambitious emperor would not allow such things. It can only be said that the corrupt official Liu Yong was caught in the eye of the storm, his offenses occurring just as the emperor was trying to rectify official corruption, which naturally meant a harsher punishment.

Many people are now living in fear. When Emperor Hongwu launched his vigorous anti-corruption campaign, the duration, the severity of the measures, the ruthlessness of the methods, the cruelty of the punishments, and the number of people killed were unprecedented in thousands of years of feudal history.

For example, Emperor Hongwu once stipulated in the "Great Proclamation" that the people could report corrupt officials. If an official was found to be corrupt, the local virtuous, upright, and heroic people could arrest him and send him to the capital. Anyone who dared to intercept him en route could be beheaded and their head displayed to the public.

There are examples of this. For instance, Guo Xuan'er and others from Jiading County went to the capital with a "Great Proclamation" to accuse Yang Fengchun, the county's chief archer, and others of harming the people. They were obstructed by the patrol inspector He Tianguan, and the archer Ma Dewang demanded money. After the incident, Ma Dewang was beheaded and his head was displayed in public, while He Tianguan had his feet cut off and was displayed in shackles.

In previous feudal dynasties, it was the government that arrested and bound ordinary people. Giving the people the power to directly arrest corrupt officials was truly unprecedented and unheard of. Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang set up the "Drum of Appeal" outside the Meridian Gate, which allowed the people to "report to the Emperor."

Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, it was not uncommon to see a group of ragged commoners escorting corrupt officials on the road to the capital.

Embezzling sixty taels of silver resulted in beheading and public display of the head, followed by skinning and stuffing with straw. Thus, in the Ming Dynasty, in front of government offices everywhere, there was often a skinning field and a long pole specifically for picking up the heads of corrupt officials; next to the desks in government offices, there was a human skin stuffed with straw, used to intimidate and frighten officials who harbored corrupt intentions, making them feel horrified.

It was precisely because of these strict measures that the corruption left over from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was effectively curbed.

During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, the Ming Dynasty enjoyed peace and prosperity, and the people lived in contentment. This was largely due to the fact that many officials were genuinely terrified of Emperor Hongwu's ruthless and decisive methods. After Zhu's iron-fisted purges, incidents of officials harassing the people were extremely rare, and honest and upright officials were everywhere, creating a truly righteous and harmonious society.

Although such incidents decreased after Emperor Ying Shi ascended the throne, it seemed that corrupt officials had some room to survive, or that previously honest officials saw a chance to catch their breath.

Compared to the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Ying Shi seems to have indeed fallen short in rectifying official corruption.

But things are different now, because the once infamous Embroidered Uniform Guard has been released again by Emperor Ying Shi.

Everyone knows that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not actually abolished, but its power was slightly reduced. Everyone also knows that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is still helping the emperor monitor officials, but in recent years the Embroidered Uniform Guard has really kept a low profile, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard has not been out on missions as before.

This was an extremely bad sign, because Emperor Ying Shi had also begun to heavily rely on his henchmen, just like Emperor Hongwu. This wasn't just done privately; it was being discussed openly in court, a clear attempt to intimidate the civil and military officials.

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