Chapter 48 Appealing to the Throne

Issue our command! Immediately deliver an adequate supply of grain, at the fastest speed possible, to all the places where the forced laborers are detained.

Set up cauldrons and start fires to cook right on the spot!

Two large bowls of meat porridge per person... and no extra helpings allowed!

Watching Ding Bin breathe his last, seeing even his bones smashed to pieces after the crowd dispersed, Zhu Yuanzhu felt no discomfort whatsoever.

What he felt instead was a slight sense of clarity and ease.

Suppressing the intense urge to continue killing, Zhu Yuanzhu issued these orders.

While some men certainly deserved to die, saving lives was far more urgent right now.

The sooner the laborers got food into their bellies, the fewer lives would be lost.

The sooner they could be delivered from their bitter suffering.

As for the killing... once he had arrived here, not a single one of those deserving death would be able to escape!

Zhu Yuanzhu had originally intended to provide an open supply of food, allowing these people who had starved for days to eat their fill and make up for their grievances.

But as the words reached his lips, he recalled some knowledge he had encountered in later times.

He changed his mind, altering the order to two large bowls per person.

These people had starved to the extreme; otherwise, they would never have committed such inhumane acts.

If the food was not rationed, quite a few would undoubtedly eat themselves to death.

A good intention would yield a disastrous result.

Zhu Yuanzhu would not blame the laborers for their inhumane acts; when driven to the brink of starvation, desperate people would do anything.

The truly inhumane, the ones who truly deserved to stand trial, were those who had driven them to this point!

Find warm clothing and firewood immediately, and send warmth to the numerous laborers.

Not a single detention point for the laborers may be missed!

Repair the laborers' shacks overnight, patching the holes so they can withstand the wind.

The laborers currently working in the Central Capital city shall also halt work immediately.

Meat porridge and warm clothing shall be provided to them as well.

Immediately summon all physicians from the vicinity of the Central Capital, Linhuai, Fengyang, and other surrounding areas, as well as the military doctors from all nearby garrisons, to rush to the Central Capital at the earliest possible moment to treat the sick laborers...

Zhu Yuanzhu issued a succession of orders.

Following his commands, the Central Capital began operating at a rapid pace in accordance with his will.

Before Zhu Yuanzhu's arrival, Li Shanchang was the sky above the Central Capital.

Now that Zhu Yuanzhu, the Emperor, had arrived, the heavens and earth had instantly been overturned!

Li Shanchang's words carried no more weight; he could no longer command a single soldier in the Central Capital, nor did his political decrees count for anything.

Control had been seized by Zhu Yuanzhu at the very first moment...

Shen Jing was trembling so violently with excitement that his teeth chattered.

By this point, he was certain of one thing: he had wronged the Emperor, he had misunderstood the Emperor!

The Emperor truly had been entirely ignorant of the affairs in the Central Capital in the past!

It really was Li Shanchang and his ilk who had concealed the truth from above and deceived those below.

The Emperor truly stood on the side of poor, persecuted people like them, seeking justice for them!

Otherwise, the Emperor would never have appeared here, nor would he have taken such actions.

And he certainly would not have disposed of Li Shanchang's nephew, that piece of garbage Ding Bin, in such a manner!

Clutched tightly in his hand was a pale piece of bone.

It was the ring finger bone of Ding Bin's left hand!

To present a grievance to the Emperor!

He must present a grievance to the Emperor!

Just as he was thinking this with surging excitement, three imperial princes clad in dragon robes, escorted by armored guards, walked toward him.

Shen Jing instantly dropped to his knees.

"Brother Shen, rise. Take a look at who I am."

Zhu Jiong said with a smile as he looked down at Shen Jing.

Kneeling on the ground, Shen Jing was stunned upon hearing this voice.

This voice... why did it sound so familiar?

And besides... dignity as grand as an imperial prince, of imperial blood and divine stature, actually addressing him as Brother Shen?

When had he ever commanded such immense prestige?

If he truly possessed such prestige and rubbed shoulders with such figures, why would his Shen family and he himself have fallen to such a miserable state?

Yet... this voice really was familiar, sounding just like...

Filled with doubt and overwhelming disbelief, he mustered his courage and raised his head to look.

He saw three faces covered in chapped cracks.

He was very familiar with these three faces; they were precisely the three Wu brothers!

At this moment, they were smiling down at him.

"What, don't you recognize us?"

Zhu Jiong said with a smile.

From Shen Jing's reaction at that moment, Zhu Jiong derived a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

Shen Jing was completely dumbfounded at this point.

Wait... these three Wu brothers were actually... truly the Emperor's biological sons?!

No wonder!

No wonder their words had been so bold before, casually offering official posts and heavy rewards to people.

So their father truly was the Emperor!

Recalling then that he had lectured Wu Xing because of this, even boasting that his own family background surpassed the other's,

he felt utterly ashamed yet intensely thrilled.

What on earth had he been doing?!

"Your... Your Highness, I... this humble subject, this humble subject previously..."

After a dazed silence, Shen Jing immediately wanted to say something in explanation.

In his agitation, however, he could no longer string a coherent sentence together.

Zhu Shuang, Zhu Jiong, and Zhu Di pulled him up from the ground.

"Say no more, we understand everything in our hearts.

When you stepped forward to save the Second Brother back then, didn't you also say nothing?"

At that moment, Zhu Jiong possessed an extraordinary air of grace.

"Exactly, exactly!"

Zhu Shuang also nodded vigorously.

Shen Jing's eyes grew moist.

He felt both incredibly fortunate and entirely lightheaded.

Who could have imagined that a mere casual act of kindness on his part would yield such a generous reward!

"Brother Shen, didn't you want to present a grievance to the Emperor?

Go on, my Imperial Father is right over there.

Let's see who dares to stop you this time!"

Zhu Di looked at Shen Jing and spoke, his voice carrying a hint of murderous intent.

What he had seen and heard upon arriving in the Central Capital had truly shattered his previous perceptions.

It made him see clearly how the Ming nobility, headed by the Duke of Korea Li Shanchang, could reach the heavens with their methods, deceiving superiors and subordinates alike, daring even to hoodwink his Imperial Father.

It made him realize how swiftly those who had poured blood and sweat into founding the Ming dynasty had rotted and corrupted once peace and stability were established!

These people had truly gone too far!

No wonder his Imperial Father had executed the Marquis of Deqing, no wonder his Imperial Father had secretly dispatched his sons to the Central Capital.

Without seeing it with one's own eyes and experiencing it firsthand, who would dare believe such things could happen?

"Right! Go and present your grievance!

Let me see who dares to intercept you again!"

Usually inclined to argue with the Fourth Brother, the Third Brother stood firmly alongside the Fourth this rare time.

"Go on, my Imperial Father will surely seek justice for you."

Zhu Shuang also spoke.

Having endured countless hardships, having dried his tears and believing he would never cry again in this lifetime, Shen Jing felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

He nodded forcefully and, escorted by the three Ming imperial princes, walked toward the Emperor.

Upon witnessing this scene, the face of Li Shanchang's nephew, Li You, turned green!

Having Ding Bin's fate as a precedent, how could he dare let this dog slave Shen Jing babble nonsense before the Emperor?

He desperately wanted to execute Shen Jing on the spot.

Yet he dared not.

Setting aside the fact that the Emperor was right there, just the three imperial princes walking beside Shen Jing meant he dared not act with such arrogance.

Shen Jing alone was already fatal enough, but seeing the three princes alongside Shen Jing reminded him of a few days earlier, when he had dragged Shen Jing away and casually lashed three oafs from Shen Jing's squad with a whip.

He hadn't thought much of it at the time; after all, over the years—especially since the reconstruction of the Central Capital began—he had beaten countless people.

As a figure standing high above, why would he care about creatures as lowly as ants?

Yet now, it suddenly dawned on him: weren't those three oafs he had beaten actually the Emperor's three sons?

This... was too damn thrilling!

"Father, save me!"

Dragging his weakened legs, he struggled over to his father's side, lowering his voice as he spoke with a trembling quiver.

He was practically on the verge of tears!

"This humble subject Shen Jing pays respects to Your Majesty, and wishes to accuse the Duke of Korea's nephew, Li You!"