Chapter 71: Kill Your Whole Family
Zhu Yuanzhang hummed calmly, and said in a detached manner: "Call it."

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The right prime minister Wang Guangyang, who was in charge of criminal law in the Secretariat, led the chief justice of the Supreme Court Li Shilu into the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright and saw Li Shilu. He smiled and said, "Mr. Li, you are here to see me. There must be a big case."

Li Shilu said: "I am a vain official, and I feel ashamed for doing nothing."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Why should your family be ashamed?"

Li Shilu said: "Today, I received a case of corruption in Jiangning County. I am ashamed that this case happened under the feet of the emperor, but the Dali Temple was completely unaware of it... But the Jiangning County Magistrate..."

Speaking of this... Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly changed!
The smile on Zhu Yuanzhang's face began to disappear. He turned cold and said, "Go on."

Li Shilu said: "This case was exposed by Deng Jian, the magistrate of Jiangning County. The Dali Temple received the report and learned that there were such corrupt people in Jiangning County. I still remember that when your majesty promoted me to the position of Dali Temple, you taught me: Dali Temple is like the ancient court judge. Only by being fair, discussing laws and being lenient, and not wronging people in court can it be passed down from mouth to mouth and passed down through the ages. Your majesty has appointed me to the position of Dali Temple. I should judge the situation and make the law clear and fair, so that the punishment must be appropriate to the crime, so as not to disappoint your majesty's expectations. The sage Confucius also said: If the name is not right, the words will not flow, if the words are not flowing, the things will not be accomplished, if the things are not accomplished, the rituals and music will not flourish, if the rituals and music are not flourishing, the punishment will not be appropriate, and if the punishment is not appropriate, the people will have no way to point their hands and feet..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly angry and shouted: "I asked you what happened, why are you chattering here? Get to the point!"

Li Shilu wanted to show off his knowledge, but he was criticized by His Majesty as soon as he mentioned this saint. He felt uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly, so he could only say angrily: "Jiangning County Magistrate Deng Jian exposed that the county magistrate in the county was greedy for the treasury's money. The Dali Temple just learned about it and wanted to send personnel to investigate. However, Jiangning County has already presented all the witnesses and evidence. I have checked and found that there is indeed conclusive evidence. Because this matter involves a major corruption case in Jing County, I have come to see you and implore Your Majesty to... take a look."

In fact, what Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know was that Li Shilu and the right prime minister Wang Guangyang were close friends, while the Jiangning County Magistrate was a member of the Jianghuai Party. Wang Guangyang had always been at odds with the Jianghuai Party headed by Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong, and they had attacked each other.

Although he was only a small county magistrate this time, Wang Guangyang thought that he could use this opportunity to attack the Jianghuai party, so he decided to meet the emperor together with Li Shilu and report to the emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was moved. The information he had received before was that Deng Jian had a very harmonious relationship with the county magistrate Liu Ji. Deng Jian even compromised and handed over all the affairs of the county, big and small, to Liu Ji for handling.

But in the blink of an eye...

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became interested and asked, "Where are the so-called witnesses and material evidence?"

"Your Majesty." Li Shilu held up the file and said, "They are all here. Please take a look."

An eunuch took the file and presented it to the palace. Zhu Yuanzhang spread it out and looked at it carefully.

After seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang became more energetic. His eyes were like lightning as he studied the confessions of different people inside, as well as the confession of the county magistrate, and the small accounts presented to him.

Zhu Yuanzhang was encouraged at first, but then he began to feel frightened.

"Just a county magistrate...just a county magistrate..." Zhu Yuanzhang's expression became more and more ferocious. He muttered, "Just a county magistrate...how dare you do this? This is the blood and sweat of the people...it's all the blood and sweat of the people!"

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang looked up and asked, "Is this all reported by Deng Jian?"

Li Shilu said, "Your Majesty, this is exactly what Deng Jian, the magistrate of Jiangning County, presented."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and asked, "He has only been in office for a short time, and he has been able to obtain such a detailed report?"

"This..." Li Shilu paused, but still said, "I also find it incredible, because there are many complaints from other officials in the county. Logically speaking, these officials did not expose the crimes before, but waited until the new official Deng Jian took office and then exposed them one after another. This goes against common sense."

What Li Shilu said was the rule in the government. Generally speaking, these officials have been in the local government for a long time and are all corrupt officials. Even if they are not involved in anything, as bystanders, most of them will adopt an attitude of not getting involved.

After all, no one wants to offend others.

Even if they wanted to expose someone, they would usually go to a trusted superior. But the problem was that Deng Jian had only been in office for less than a month...

Officials are cautious and would never trust others easily. How did Deng Jian make these people expose the county magistrate in such a short time?
Zhu Yuanzhang certainly understood the doubts here. He narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but say, "Deng Jian, Deng Jian, I really underestimated him. He has been dormant for thirteen years...but his claws are still so sharp."

Wang Guangyang, who had been standing silently by the side, smiled and agreed, "Your Majesty, this Deng Jian is indeed a capable official."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly became full of murderous aura: "How dare a county magistrate do this? In your opinion, how should we deal with him?"

Li Shilu paused for a moment before saying, "This man has embezzled a huge amount of money. I think he should be executed!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "You are right, he should be executed! But if he dies, those who followed him to enjoy the good life will be very sad. His parents, wife and children, now without him as a backbone, how can they enjoy the wealth and prosperity in the future? How will they make a living in the future? This family, old and young, all rely on a backbone to make a living. Without Liu Ji, what will happen in the future?"

"Ah... this..." Li Shilu said, "God is merciful, Your Majesty is so kind that at this time, you can even consider the relatives of the guilty officials. This is so great that I am far inferior to you."

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned back in his chair, still smiling: "I've thought about it, let them go to the underworld together, to accompany Liu Ji. They followed Liu Ji and enjoyed so much happiness in the world, how can I bear to let them separate? Kill all of their family members, leaving no one alive."

After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wang Guangyang and Li Shilu calmly. Every word he said was gentle, but the meaning of every word was murderous: "As for Liu Ji, don't kill him easily. First skin him and then dismember his body. He must not be buried or have a coffin covered after his death. After peeling off his skin, fill the skin with grass to make a fur man. Hang it in the City God Temple. In this way, it will serve as a warning to others!" Li Shilu felt suffocated, and even his hair stood up. He shuddered and subconsciously glanced at Wang Guangyang.

Wang Guangyang seemed frightened as well. His throat rolled, but he still said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Seeing the two people's expressions change, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have sensed their thoughts and asked, "Why, do you have anything else to say?"

Wang Guangyang wanted to say something, but suddenly paused, looked dejected, and finally said nothing.

Li Shilu hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty, is this too harsh? If we rely solely on severe punishments, I think..."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Li Shilu, his eyes gradually turning cold.

But at this moment, an eunuch entered the palace and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has something to report."

Zhu Yuanzhang then withdrew his gaze.

But Li Shilu felt that every day was like a year, as if he had walked through the gates of hell, and had an indescribable fear.

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly: "Send the memorial here."

The memorial from the Ministry of War should also be submitted first.

Zhu Yuanzhang only glanced at them and said, "In this battle, Xu Da and others have made great contributions. The soldiers have fought bravely, which makes me very happy. With just this one battle, the backbone of the rebels of the Yuan Dynasty was broken. It seems that it is only a matter of time to capture Wang Baobao alive. I have repeatedly urged the Ministry of War to evaluate the merits, hoping that the court will issue rewards as soon as possible to avoid disappointing the soldiers. The current regulations of the Ministry of War are not bad, but... Deng Qianqiu's contribution... is worth discussing..."

He fell into deep thought, as if he was thinking about something. After a long while, he suddenly took out a red brush and wrote his comments on the regulations. He then handed it to Ye Gaixian and said, "Everything else is fine, but regarding the reward for Deng Qianqiu, I have my own considerations. Please follow my comments. Draft the decree quickly and announce it to the world without any hesitation."

"Here."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and glanced at Wang Guangyang and Li Shilu: "You can leave now."

His expression was cold and indifferent, like a grim devil.

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Deng Qianqiu's place has become lively in the past two days. Some people have even started to visit him and try to make friends with him.

In this regard, Deng Qianqiu's desire to purchase a property became stronger and stronger.

If I had my own house instead of living in Xianliang Temple where all kinds of people gather, perhaps I wouldn't have so many troubles.

However, the person who came today forced Deng Qianqiu to bite the bullet and greet him obediently.

The ones who came were Lu Zhongheng, Marquis of Ji'an, and Fei Ju, Marquis of Pingliang.

"Brother Deng, Brother Deng...hahaha...it's been a while since we last met, I miss you so much."

Lu Zhongheng was extremely attentive. As soon as he saw Deng Qianqiu, he held Deng Qianqiu's hand and refused to let go.

Deng Qianqiu felt sick in his heart, but he immediately said: "When I saw the magpie leaping onto the branch this morning, I knew that a distinguished person was coming. Sure enough, the two brothers are here."

It seemed that Lu Zhongheng had long been numb to the word "virtuous brother". This kind of thing was like this. Naturally, he was unwilling to accept it at first, but over time, he got used to it.

In fact, he had no choice. Mr. Hu was becoming more and more interested in Deng Qianqiu, and kept urging the two of them to get closer to Deng Qianqiu.

Lu Zhongheng really couldn't imagine this. Even if Deng Qianqiu had some connections with the palace, he was just a centurion after all. There were many people close to His Majesty and the Queen. Why did Mr. Hu care so much about it?

Lu Zhongheng just calmed down.

Deng Qianqiu asked bluntly, "Where is my Hu Ji?"

Lawrence Lu and Fei Ju looked at each other in bewilderment.

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The first update has been sent, there are three more to come.

(End of this chapter)