Chapter 103 Change
The emperor's decree to expel the alchemists was truly thunderous and powerful, and fully demonstrated the Zhu emperors' habitual harshness and ungratefulness. The order was issued and executed on the same day. In the morning, the alchemists were still the personally-appointed great sages and immortal masters with prominent status and high position, and they were rampant in the capital with arrogance. At noon, the Jinyiwei came to their door. In name, the purpose was to notify the alchemists and masters to move out of the capital as soon as possible, but in reality, they were directly driven out. As for some resentful people who insisted on denying and delaying in an attempt to stall for change, the Jinyiwei simply confiscated their homes - all their savings were taken away, so how could they survive in the capital?
All I can say is that the most ruthless one is Lao Deng, who praises you to the nine heavens when he likes you, and throws you to the eighteenth level of hell when he hates you, and even steps on you with ten thousand feet; things change from prosperity to decline in an instant, but Master Fei Xuan is so ruthless that he can change the situation unpredictably without even any psychological preparation. A month ago, he was being treated with sweet words and generous rewards, but a month later, he was being fryed, roasted, and tortured. We will drink from the golden cup together, and we will not spare each other with swords. Even civil officials and military generals cannot escape this, let alone the sorcerers and barbarians who are hated by everyone?
Therefore, just a few days after the decree was issued, Mu Qi saw a chaotic scene on the street - the Jinyiwei used courtesy first and then force, and if the dignitaries did not submit after verbal threats, they would be forcibly whipped out of the mansions with whips and chains, and beaten and pushed, making the pampered alchemists crawl on the ground, wailing and crying, disturbing the surrounding dignitaries. Previously, the alchemist was very favored, and the mansion he was rewarded with was adjacent to the Western Garden, and the neighbors on both sides were either rich or noble. Now, the Jinyiwei beat people in the street, and all the nobles, civil and military officials at home could hear it clearly.
Don't be fooled by the alchemists' usual arrogance and majesty; at such a critical moment, the subtle difference in their status can be seen. If the Jinyiwei beat up a noble civil official or a military general in the street, the nobles who knew the news would probably try their best to stop it, even if it meant turning against their own lackeys - they were all subjects of the emperor, and if they were guilty they could be punished according to the laws of the court and their ancestors. How could they be so wantonly and abuse private punishment? But these quacks and sorcerers are wild creatures. To put it nicely, they are free and unrestrained; to put it bluntly, they have no protection at all. Their status is equivalent to that of the emperor's pets. What can you say if the emperor wants to beat his pet?
But even if you are beating your own dog, there must be a limit. Perhaps they had lived in luxury for too long and had forgotten their identities. Many of the expelled alchemists started cursing in desperation. At first, they only cursed the Jinyiwei, the Eastern Depot, and the various lackeys of the court, but in the end, they could not bear the beating anymore and actually started cursing Master Feixuan. Many of these alchemists were from the underworld who roamed the streets, and the swear words they uttered were more cruel and vicious than each other. It was really unbearable to listen to. However, the Jinyiwei did not need to listen carefully. As long as they realized that these people dared to slander the king, they would immediately hit them with a stick, causing their internal organs to rupture, their tendons to break, and their bones to fracture, and they would die in a moment.
This was totally unacceptable to everyone. It would be fine if the Jinyiwei beat people in the street, but why did they beat them to death with just one stick? The streets are covered with bloody brains and internal organs. Don’t the nobles celebrate the New Year?
They were all people who had a say in the emperor's court, and no one could swallow this humiliation in vain, so they quickly wrote a memorial together and asked Li Zaifang to submit it on their behalf. Eunuch Li did hand it in, but soon came out again with a memorial:
"Let me tell you all that the Emperor said that the behavior of these Jinyiwei was inappropriate, and he will order people to severely reprimand them..."
When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked. A few brave ones even whispered quietly, their voices just loud enough for everyone to hear:
"Reprimand? What's the point?"
"That's right! How many times has the one from Duke Mu been reprimanded? I think he just does what he wants..."
Unfortunately, the eldest son of Duke Mu happened to be at the scene, so he immediately glared and tried to search for those foul-mouthed characters from the crowd. It was the mature and prudent Xu Guogong who was in the lead who interrupted this dangerous complaint in time and bowed to Eunuch Li:
"Your Majesty said that you want to reprimand me, and I dare not say anything. But after all, this is an important place in the capital, and killing people in public is bound to be shocking. Could you please report this to His Majesty, or should we prioritize peace and harmony?"
"Of course we have reported it to the emperor." Eunuch Li sighed, "But the emperor has already said that if these people had left the capital on their own, there would not be these disasters. Now they are seeking their own death, and the emperor can do nothing about it."
"But it's not a good idea to kill people indiscriminately..."
"What can we do if we start a massacre?" Li Zaifang interrupted him, "Did you know, Duke, that yesterday the Emperor issued a special decree to execute several members of the royal family in the imperial prison?"
The shocking case caused by Prince Yin's rebellion is still under investigation, and the key charges will not be determined in a year or two. But the evidence of the crimes of marginal figures was quite easy to deal with. By now, most of it had been collected and all that was left was for the emperor to convict them. Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor was also unambiguous and decisively issued the most severe punishment:
All were executed.
Of course, treason and rebellion are so heinous that theoretically one should be punished by being cut into pieces, let alone just being sentenced to death? But theory is just theory after all. In fact, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the previous dynasty, members of the royal family often rebelled. Except for the main culprit who had to be killed, the rest were basically imprisoned behind high walls in Fengyang. This kind of execution without distinction of kinship is really, really——
Duke Xu took a deep breath:
"Is this..."
Halfway through his speech, Duke Xu came to his senses and realized that he must not show any mercy to the rebels at this moment, so he quickly changed his words:
"Isn't this a little too hasty? The New Year is almost here."
One of the three traditional Chinese golden medals for immunity from death: Chinese New Year. It's a bit unreasonable to shout and kill on New Year's Day, right?
"It's not New Year yet." Li Zaifang snorted, "Besides, killing one or two people is nothing. Your Majesty said that Emperor Gaozu also skinned people on New Year's Eve!"
Duke Xu's eyes widened even wider - Master Feixuan could have used any other example, but he had to use Emperor Gaozu. His words were so accurate and every move was fatal, which instantly pierced everyone's heart and brought everyone back to the magnificent and bloody Hongwu Dynasty hundreds of years ago - Emperor Gaozu was a ruthless person who only had one day off during the Chinese New Year, and he was the ultimate existence who could make even dogs keep their tails between the legs of civil and military officials just by moving his fingers; what exactly did Master Feixuan mean by citing Emperor Gaozu's old example?
You don't really want to follow the example of Emperor Gaozu, do you?
Talk is talk, joke is joke, but this joke can't be made casually. So all the nobles were silent for a moment, staring at Eunuch Li blankly, as if expecting him to suddenly burst out laughing and erase all his previous words. Unfortunately, the chief steward of the inner court had spoken his mind and there was no reason to take back what he had said; even if everyone stared at Eunuch Li's face for a long time, they could only get an answer that they absolutely did not want to believe.
Compared with this answer, even if all the alchemists in the capital were beaten to death in the streets, it would definitely not be a big deal. No one present was able to speak. The nobles standing in the front all quietly retreated to the back. The atmosphere was quite weird.
In such a strange atmosphere, the newly appointed Gui Zhenchuan and Zhang Taiyue felt a little uneasy. In fact, they were not part of the noble circle. They were invited to dinner by Duke Mu's mansion and watched this wonderful drama temporarily. However, since they did not know which side to stand on, they were quite confused for a while:
"This is……"
"This is part of His Majesty's new personality." The prince standing next to him explained calmly: "I suggest you adapt to it as soon as possible."
"……ah?"
"Perhaps you don't know yet." The prince said calmly: "Just three days ago, Qi Yuanjing was secretly summoned to the capital. If he was still confused before, now with General Qi as the judge, the current emperor may finally be able to understand the level of the musketeers under his command..."
"…Ten years in the east, ten years in the west; don't despise the young - you will be poor in old age."
·
The prince's guess was not wrong at all. After finding Qi Yuanjing's name from the corners of the Heavenly Book, Master Feixuan immediately changed his strategy. He could not wait for the official procedure of the military generals entering the court, but instead issued a secret decree to the post station to escort Qi Yuanjing to the capital urgently. After arriving in the capital, he did not even let the general rest for a few days, and immediately took people to the suburbs to watch the musketeers' drills. Rockets flew across the guns and cannons, and they showed off their military power at all costs, just to allow Qi Yuanjing to judge it carefully - how powerful is this armed force now in the hands of the emperor?
After all, he was a general named in the Heavenly Book and a top figure who was famous in history. Qi Yuanjing was ordered to visit for several days. Although he was confused, he still inspected it carefully according to the order and wrote a report honestly with his own eyes. Of course, there are some euphemisms and subtleties in this report, but after reading it thoroughly, Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor quickly summarized the core idea:
This season, my strength is terrifyingly strong.
——It’s settled.
As the saying goes, wear pants that fit your butt; but as the saying goes, with a hammer everyone looks like a nail. Although Master Feixuan usually behaves in a weird and unnatural manner, he does not have much blood on his hands; so far, he has only beaten or beheaded thirty to fifty ministers. Not to mention being comparable to his renowned ancestor, he is even slightly inferior to the Huai Zong on the old crooked tree in later generations. Such restraint and conservatism is certainly not because the emperor is kind-hearted and compassionate, but purely out of necessity after the power shift - people's hearts have become slack after a long period of peace, and how can the emperor in the deep palace compete with the emperor who conquers the country on horseback? The power held by the emperor was gradually declining, and of course he could not emulate the decisiveness of his predecessors in killing.
...Oh, Huai Zong was an exception; he killed people indiscriminately and changed the cabinet every year on average; it was not surprising that such behavior, which did not look like that of a monarch, ended up like that. All we can say is that power has its own rules. Even if you are an emperor, you will suffer if you violate them.
But now, now, it’s time to attack and defend the aliens!
Once the power he possessed was confirmed by professionals, Zhenjun's mind immediately became active. All his previous mercy (yes, in the eyes of the True Lord, he was still merciful after all) was just a last resort because he was not as strong as others. And this kind of forced mercy is exactly what he resented the most and could not tolerate for decades. Whenever I see the big and small gangs of thieves, disloyal and unjust people brazenly jumping up and down, this kind of anger becomes more terrifying:
He should have been killed long ago!
Now, the long-standing resentment finally has a space to vent, so everyone should be able to understand how pure and exciting the joy that surged in Zhenjun's heart was when he knew that he could overturn the table and take revenge.
Although he has been doing good deeds all his life, he only loves killing people and setting fires. Suddenly the golden rope was untied and the jade lock was broken. Hey! Rockets are coming at the school field, and today I know who I am!
Those who are disloyal should be killed! Those who don't believe it can be killed! Unfilial people should be killed! The Japanese pirates dared to poison me, kill them! The alchemist actually dared to be an accomplice, kill him! The prince is rebellious and should be killed! ——These disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust people should all be killed!
Kill kill kill kill kill kill! As the book “A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality” says, the greatest happiness in the world is to kill an entire family and wipe out the entire family.
Facts have proved that Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor is indeed the biological descendant of Emperor Gaozu, and his usual conservatism and indifference is just a cover-up for his declining power. Now that the three-year period has passed and the Dragon King has returned, the emperor must take back the insults and grievances he suffered a hundredfold - as for where the emperor has been insulted and wronged, I suggest you don't ask too much.
When the power changes, the mentality also changes. True Lord Fei Xuan was of course well aware that his indiscriminate beating would likely drive a group of people into rebellion. But in the past, the capital could not even muster a full garrison of troops, so Lao Deng was naturally wary of the possibility of rebellion; now that he had muskets and rockets in his hands, he was only afraid that his subordinates would not rebel - if they did, he could just catch them all in one fell swoop without leaving any stigma; luring the snake out of its hole would be exactly what he wanted.
And the facts developed exactly as he imagined. Three days before the Chinese New Year, urgent intelligence finally arrived from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places; it said that the spies planted by the Jinyiwei had received accurate information along the coast that the Japanese pirates seemed to be gathering rapidly and planning a new round of large-scale invasion.
The Japanese pirates usually plundered in summer and autumn when the wind was favorable; now they have suddenly changed their usual routine, obviously they have received some crucial news. But Master Fei Xuan was not afraid at all, and only sneered in response:
I've been waiting for you for a long time!
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