The emperor's words were utterly merciless, opening the eyes of his ministers.
At this point, it seems there's an explanation for how Princess Ningding got her sharp tongue—it appears to be inherited from their emperor!
They really are father and daughter.
None of the ministers dared to utter a sound; they could only listen quietly to the muffled thuds of the boards hitting flesh coming from outside.
The emperor's chief eunuch personally supervised the punishments, and every blow was delivered with full force, each sound piercing flesh and breaking bones. One could almost hear the excruciating pain as the skin was torn open, sending chills down one's spine.
The emperor remained silent, letting the cries of the beaten men fill the air. This chill ran from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads, making them shiver involuntarily.
No one dared to plead for her, just as they hadn't dared to plead for Rong Ning in the past.
After all, who can bear the wrath of the emperor?
Humans are naturally inclined to protect themselves; the emperor's attitude was already so clear that they wouldn't invite trouble upon themselves.
At the beginning of the execution, they were still howling like ghosts, and the sound could probably be heard throughout the entire imperial palace. But after less than ten strokes, the sound gradually subsided.
After all twenty strokes of the cane were finished, they had already passed out and lost consciousness.
The chief eunuch checked each person's breathing to confirm they were still alive before entering the main hall to report, "Your Majesty, the twenty strokes of the cane have been completed. Please give your instructions!"
The emperor watched the scene unfold before him expressionlessly, his heart unmoved.
He said calmly, "Drag him away and throw him outside the palace gates. Let the people in the manor take him back themselves. Don't dirty my place."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The chief eunuch withdrew, waving his hand to signal the imperial guards to drag the man away.
Several people were dragged away like rags, and the ministers broke out in a cold sweat.
The emperor leaned back on his dragon throne, watching coldly, his imposing presence evident.
Only after everyone was filled with fear and unease did the emperor slowly speak, "Issue my decree: Jin Siliang is dismissed from his post as Minister, and the others are to be confined to their residences for one month and have their salaries reduced by half a year."
"Does anyone have any objections?"
All the ministers lowered their heads and remained silent, not daring to utter a sound.
Upon seeing this, the emperor's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible sneer.
He knew that although these ministers appeared to be compliant, they might not truly agree with his decisions.
This can be easily seen from their eyes and expressions; they may have chosen to remain silent for the time being out of awe of power.
However, he didn't care about this, because he knew clearly that in order to consolidate his rule and promote reforms, he had to take tough measures to establish his authority.
He had been looking for an opportunity, but unexpectedly, Minister Jin stepped forward on his own, so there was no better time than to seize the day.
Today is a perfect day to establish authority.
Who would dare to object?
Now that the emperor has absolute power, anyone who dares to stand up and express opposition is undoubtedly courting death.
The emperor will demonstrate through his actions that he is the true ruler of the country and that his will is inviolable.
In this tense atmosphere, the ministers dared not be negligent in the slightest.
They knew all too well that angering the emperor would have dire consequences. Therefore, all they could do was shout in unison, "Your Majesty is wise! Long live Your Majesty!"
This slogan was both a compliment to the emperor and a reluctant compromise.
At that moment, their voices seemed to converge into a torrent, impacting every corner of the hall.
"Um……"
The emperor nodded…
"My esteemed ministers, please remember this scene from today. As officials appointed by the court and pillars of the nation, you should be clear about your duties!"
The imperial court provides you with salaries and gives you so many benefits, so I must see what use you are.
If they look around and find nothing of use, yet still jump around and displease me, then their fate today will be your fate tomorrow.
As you all should know, I am not someone to be trifled with, having ascended to this throne. If you want to do something foolish in front of me, you should first consider whether you can bear the consequences.
To put it more plainly, I have already made peace with the Great Jing, ceding territory, sending my daughter to marry into the state, and sending countless silks, satins, gold, silver and jade artifacts to the Great Jing in order to appease them.
Based on these reasons, future generations' evaluation of me will likely not be very good; in fact, future historians will use every negative word to describe me.
Moreover, I have just ascended the throne and there are many things I haven't figured out yet, so it's inevitable that I might be biased in handling some issues.
Since that's the case, I'm not afraid of adding more bad reputation. As Princess Ningding said before, I'll kill all of you idiots who occupy positions without doing anything. Becoming a bloodthirsty tyrant isn't out of the question.
At least it provides some peace and quiet, and it also leaves openings for truly talented people; it's not a bad thing.
The emperor's casual remarks, like these chilling words, were not spoken by him.
He threw down all the memorials on the table concerning the impeachment of Rong Ning, and then said, "But I believe that all of you ministers standing here have some ability, and even if you don't have ability, you should at least have a brain."
I'll give you one night to go back and carefully consider how to write these memorials about Princess Ningding.
I've thought it through. I'll present it to me tomorrow.
"Did you... understand?"
Upon hearing this, the ministers immediately knelt down, assuming their proper attitude, and said, "Your Majesty's orders are to be obeyed."
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