Seeing Zhu Yunying arrive, the old Zhu, who had been feigning sleep, was in a good mood. "So, they're going to take away even the last few people we have? Yin'er couldn't persuade you, so you came here to cause trouble, huh?"

Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "This task is quite important. We were just wondering if we should ask Grandfather for help. It would be best if it could be done, but it's okay if it can't. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot can handle these tasks well."

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "Then let the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot do those things. They've done their fair share of shady dealings. To be honest, the people we have aren't good at these things either. We should save them for other uses."

Hearing what Old Zhu said, Zhu Yunying naturally understood; it seemed that those people really weren't going to leave.

However, Joo Yoon-young wasn't exactly disappointed. He probably knew from the beginning that Joo wouldn't give up, so there was no need for him to feel discouraged, since it was something he had expected.

In truth, Joo Yoon-young probably knew the significance of Old Joo's last trump card. It wasn't meant to protect Joo Yoon-young; it was a group of incredibly loyal people who could protect Joo Yoon-young and Little Joo if anything really happened.

Ultimately, they are a force that should be ignored by many, and only in this way can their existence be guaranteed.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunying and asked, "What happened that made you all think about the people we have?"

Zhu Yunying said irritably, "It's still about smuggling. We need to crack down on it properly."

Old Zhu was puzzled, and also a little disappointed. "Ying'er, you are the emperor of our Great Ming Dynasty. They say that a kind heart cannot command an army, but if you ask me, you are just too kind-hearted. If you don't take drastic measures against those arrogant soldiers and corrupt officials, those scoundrels will never know fear!"

Zhu naturally understood that it was impossible to eradicate corruption and bribery, but he believed that ruthless measures would make some officials wary, thus ensuring as much clean governance as possible, rather than having corrupt officials throughout the government and the country.

Seeing that Zhu Yunying remained silent, Old Zhu continued, "Everyone outside says that we are harsh on officials, that we like to kill. I admit it. If we didn't kill those corrupt officials, they would dare to make the people of the Ming Dynasty have no way to survive. When I was a child, I suffered so much, not only because of natural disasters but also because of man-made disasters. The Mongol Yuan dynasty's bureaucracy was completely rotten!"

Zhu Yunying naturally understood these things. Old Zhu hated corrupt officials as if they were his enemy, not only because of his personality, but also because the corrupt atmosphere of officialdom left over from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was very bad. Old Zhu needed to use iron-fisted methods to reverse the trend.

Therefore, Zhu felt that killing corrupt officials was something he should do, and he never regretted it.

Even if those officials cursed him in private, Zhu's reputation in Shilin was indeed not good.

But none of that matters. Old Zhu doesn't care about empty titles. What he wants to do is to ensure that the people of the Ming Dynasty have a way to survive and to ensure that the Zhu family's empire is passed down smoothly.

It didn't matter if officials weren't used to the Hongwu Emperor; Old Zhu really didn't care about those things.

Zhu Yunying then said, "Grandfather, I understand what you mean. We are not soft-hearted people, and we have killed some people. It's no big deal if the officials don't like us."

Hearing Zhu Yunying say this, Old Zhu nodded slightly. His precious grandson was indeed not a soft-hearted person. He was ruthless and decisive when dealing with certain matters.

However, Zhu was a little puzzled. It seemed that he had been away from the court for a long time, so he didn't care much about many things.

After considering Zhu Yunying's usual behavior, Old Zhu felt more at ease. If it really required being ruthless, I didn't need to worry so much.

Although Zhu Yunying was indeed not as good as Zhu Yuanzhang, he seemed to be kind and benevolent in many ways.

But Old Zhu knew even better that these methods were quite effective, and his beloved grandson had personally approved the killing of countless people.

Since Zhu Yunying had his own ideas about some things, Old Zhu was puzzled. "So, you know what to do? You are the emperor of our Great Ming Dynasty. You can handle many things with just an imperial edict."

Looking at Zhu Yunying, Zhu Yunying said with a hint of helplessness, "Grandfather, I suppose you know that this smuggling operation is no small matter. We reckon that quite a few people are involved, including one or two nobles of some standing."

Old Zhu nodded slightly. He understood what Zhu Yunying meant. Old Zhu also understood that such a matter was not something that local officials could handle well. Those corrupt officials did not have such ability. There must be some important figures involved.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunying with a half-smile and teased, "Are you scared? I reckon if we investigate further, it might be a military officer who has some dealings with the Prince of Kaiping."

Everyone here is a sensible person. Although this case is still under investigation, or even just begun, we can make judgments based on the information gathered so far.

Judging from the current situation, there is a high probability that Wu Xun from the Chang faction is involved in this matter.

Zhu Yunying said calmly, "So we're going to have Xu Huizu investigate this matter. We only found out today that eleven cannons were lost from the Datong Prefecture dock. Although they were all replaced, it's still no small matter."

Old Zhu's face instantly turned incredibly grim. He already knew this was a smuggling case, and probably not a small one. But now, it wasn't just tea and ironware anymore; there were even firearms!

Firearms were no ordinary weapon. As an expert in firearms during the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had used them extensively during his conquest of the empire and was well aware of their power.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!