Chapter 63 Let's See Whose Neck Is Harder, Theirs or the Blade

Splendid!
Truly splendid!
No sooner had he issued the order to execute Niu Liang than these people came rushing over!
What they were trying to accomplish was crystal clear.
Those wretched dogs!
"Tell them all to get lost! No one is allowed to plead for Niu Liang!
Whoever dares to beg for Niu Liang's life shall be dashed to death right beside the massive trench where the laborers are buried!
They shall be buried together to offer sacrifice to the souls of the brutally murdered commoners!"
Murderous intent surged in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.
Did everyone think they could pressure him, the Emperor? Did they genuinely believe he could no longer lift his saber?
The common people were the very foundation of the Great Ming, and the brutal slaughter of the populace would never be tolerated. He had to make this explicitly clear to all the officials across the realm!
If words alone proved insufficient, or if many chose to remain willfully ignorant, he would use his saber to converse with them, forcing them to understand this truth.
And he would carve it deep into their hearts!
He truly wanted to see whose skull was harder: their stubborn heads, or his gleaming blade!
When Eunuch Wang stepped outside to convey the Emperor's decree to Zhan Tong and the others, Liu Ying, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also led a contingent of guards along with him.
"My lords, please turn back. His Majesty refuses to see you.
His Majesty has declared: whoever pleads for Niu Liang shall likewise be dashed to death right beside the massive trench where the laborers are buried, to be offered as a sacrifice alongside the wretchedly slain commoners!"
As soon as Eunuch Wang uttered these words, the officials—who had just moments ago been emotionally agitated and secretly sworn to make the Emperor change his mind—
were instantly struck as if by a thunderbolt, seeing stars before their eyes.
How dared the Emperor utter such words?
How dared he treat them, loyal and patriotic subjects, in such a manner?!
Too tyrannical!
Yet, the blow proved exceptionally effective, snapping many whose heads had been hot with passion back to sobriety in an instant.
Take Zhu Mengyan, a Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites, for instance. He had never been truly willing to make this trip.
It was only because Niu Liang, the Minister of Rites, was his direct superior, and Zhan Tong, the Minister of Personnel, had taken the lead, that the remaining officials from the Ministry of Rites accompanying the Emperor to the Central Capital had all come along.
Under such circumstances, no matter how reluctant he was, he could not show it and had no choice but to follow the crowd.
Hearing Eunuch Wang's words now, his knees involuntarily turned weak.
He instantly made up his mind, watching his surroundings out of the corner of his eye, ready to feign sudden physical collapse and faint on the spot if things went awry, so as not to wade into this muddy waters any further.
The score of officials who had come subconsciously cast their gazes upon Zhan Tong, the Minister of Personnel standing at the very front.
When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up.
Zhan Tong held the highest official rank among those present and was the one who had led them all here.
Now that they faced such a situation, it was only natural that Zhan Tong should make the decision.
Sensing numerous gazes converging on him, Zhan Tong felt immensely emboldened, yet at the same time, a crushing pressure weighed upon him, making him feel as though needles were pricking his back.
The events unfolding before him completely defied his prior calculations.
Previously, he had assumed that even if leading a delegation here failed to win mercy for Niu Liang, the Emperor would at most utter some harsh words.
Surely His Majesty would not actually do anything severe to them.
Never could he have imagined that upon arriving here, they would not even catch a glimpse of the Emperor's face,
only to hear this message delivered by a eunuch...
He desperately wanted to cast aside all caution and continue pleading for Niu Liang, begging the Emperor to pardon Niu Liang and retract such a reckless command.
He longed to stiffen his neck, lock horns with the Emperor, and declare that he *was* pleading for Niu Liang, daring the Emperor to have them all seized and dashed to death...
All sorts of rebellious impulses churned fiercely within his chest.
Yet, when he caught sight of Liu Ying standing expressionless nearby, flanked by those menacing Embroidered Uniform Guards,
those words ultimately remained unuttered.
Other emperors might merely be speaking in anger, not daring to actually dash so many officials to death, but the current Emperor dared to do it for real!
The atmosphere grew oppressive to the point of suffocation.
Despite the bitter cold, sweat poured down Zhan Tong's forehead.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he finally broke the silence, causing the hearts of those who had followed him to leap into their throats.
Zhu Mengyan, the Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites, began to sway visibly from side to side, on the verge of collapsing.
"Your ministers have not come to plead for Minister Niu, but rather because we feel His Majesty has been away from Yingtian for quite some time, and we wish to request that the Imperial Carriage return at the earliest convenience."
Zhan Tong said with a straight face.
The officials who had followed Zhan Tong felt their hearts, which had risen to their mouths, instantly drop back into their bellies.
They hurriedly chimed in with nervous agreement,
as if they had indeed come solely for this matter all along.
Even the nearly fainting Zhu Mengyan recovered in a flash,
joining the chorus of agreement.
He even added that they ought to seek instructions regarding the proper rituals and specifications to be observed for His Majesty's upcoming ancestral sacrifices.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew remarkably warm and bustling, with everyone strictly avoiding any mention of Niu Liang, the Minister of Rites.
It was as though they had collectively erased him from their memories, as if such a person had never existed in this world...
"Damn it, a bunch of spineless cowards!"
Upon learning of the situation outside, Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lip and cursed with utter disdain.
He had genuinely thought Zhan Tong and his cohorts possessed some backbone; he had even prepared himself to kill, only for them to fold instantly.
"Biao'er, do you see this? This is the true nature of these court officials.
If you show weakness, they grow arrogant; if you take one step back, they try to advance ten!
They are masters of pushing their luck.
Yet the moment you show strength, they cower and dare not go too far.
Had I shown even a shred of weakness today, Niu Liang could not have been executed!
Everything I wish to accomplish would be compromised.
The principle of putting the people first, from the very moment of its inception, would be riddled with flaws.
If one wishes to accomplish things, encountering resistance is inevitable—especially since I intend to sweep away the prevailing winds of corrupt officials that have run rampant since the Yuan Dynasty.
If we wish to walk the path rooted in the common people, the opposition will undoubtedly be fierce.
They will resort to all manner of ways to obstruct us.
Thus, bloody struggles cannot be avoided.
Niu Liang is the first, but he will certainly not be the last.
Biao'er, let me make it unequivocally clear to you today: placing the people first, sharing the realm with the masses, and breaking the three-hundred-year dynastic cycle cannot be mere empty talk—they require concrete action.
This is not a polite dinner party where everyone plays the gracious host, nor is it an essay-writing contest.
It cannot be done with refined elegance, calm leisure, or gentle courtesy.
This requires bloodshed, this requires struggle!
We must use the methods of struggle to eliminate these obstacles!
When our methods must be iron-fisted, they shall be iron-fisted; we must never harbor the slightest thought of compromise."
Zhu Yuanzhang seized the opportunity once again to lecture Crown Prince Zhu Biao,
seeking to reshape his eldest son's perceptions and worldview.
Zhu Biao nodded slowly, a contemplative look resting on his features.
Clearly, he had not yet completely digested the incident and remained deep in thought and realization.
Zhu Gang and Zhu Di similarly wore thoughtful expressions.
Even King of Qin Zhu Shuang, who rarely ever used his brain, appeared to be deep in thought this time.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was fairly satisfied...
...
Xue Xiang, the Minister of Works of the Central Capital Xinggong, found himself in a state of torment, unable to eat or sleep. In the few days since Zhu Yuanzhang's arrival in the Central Capital, he had scarcely closed his eyes.
In just a short span of time, he looked visibly haggard.
He had said it was wrong to do things this way!
He had argued that Li Shanchang's approach would not work.
How many times had he privately and subtly advised Li Shanchang?
Yet Li Shanchang simply refused to listen!
Look, hadn't disaster struck now?
Li Shanchang had claimed the sky wouldn't fall and that no matter what happened, he could hold the line.
Well, looking at it now, holding the line my ass!
The mere thought of Li Shanchang now made Xue Xiang want to leap up and hurl curses.
He had been utterly dragged down and ruined by this fellow!
While cursing Li Shanchang in secret, he simultaneously berated his own stupidity for being unable to resist whenever he saw architectural blueprints and the magnificent engineering plans for the Central Capital.
If only he could have emulated the Marquis of Zhongshan by falling ill every few days and staying out of this muddy water, how wonderful that would have been.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he involuntarily raised a hand and slapped himself twice.
Ever since witnessing the fates of Ding Bin, Li You, Zhu Xiang, and even Li Shanchang, he had simply been waiting for his own executioner's blade to fall.
Yet, stubbornly, right up until this moment, His Majesty had yet to pronounce his verdict.
This left him enduring a torment akin to having his liver and gallbladder scratched.
Especially today, upon receiving the news that Niu Liang, the Minister of Rites, had been dashed to death beside the mass grave of the innocent, unidentifiable victims simply because he refused to kneel during the Emperor's sacrificial rites for the commoners' souls, and afterward stubbornly refused to admit his wrongdoing while insisting the common people were lowly—upon hearing all this, Xue Xiang could not suppress a violent shudder.
This torment instantly reached its absolute peak.
Death was not the most terrifying thing; the most terrifying thing was knowing with certainty that death awaited, yet remaining entirely ignorant of when the axe would fall, enduring the agonizing suspense of waiting for the end to arrive...
...
"Father, how do you intend to deal with Xue Xiang?"
Crown Prince Zhu Biao asked, looking at Zhu Yuanzhang...