The Crown Prince put down his teacup and continued, "What we need to do now is to get rid of the rotten flesh and get rid of the sores and warts. At the same time, we need to strengthen our foundation and rebuild our flesh and blood. These so-called important officials in the court are the backbone of the Great Ming Dynasty. If one official is corrupted, thousands of commoners will suffer. If ten officials are corrupted, half of the Great Ming Dynasty's sky will collapse! If the officials are gone, we can promote them based on merit, but if the people's hearts are gone, then we have nothing left. Today, not to mention a dozen officials, even if the entire court is oppressing the commoners, I will still kill them without hesitation! "
Bang!
As the Crown Prince spoke, he slammed his palm on the wooden table.
The Crown Prince was going to start a massacre tonight! The old eunuch was shocked.
Well said!
In the hall, Ye Fan secretly applauded the Crown Prince's words.
He originally thought that the Great Ming Dynasty was beyond cure. Now, it seemed that there was still a ray of hope.
"Your Highness is wise and farsighted. This old servant is inferior," the old eunuch said to the Crown Prince.
"In a moment, when everyone is here, you order people to bring up the evidence of their crimes. Let them be convinced," the Crown Prince said calmly.
"And then?" The old eunuch looked up at the Crown Prince and asked, "How should we deal with them?"
"Kill," the Crown Prince said.
"Yes," the old eunuch replied.
"Let them die cleanly and don't dirty this place," the Crown Prince continued, "As for their wives and children, don't implicate them. Leave them a way out."
"This old servant understands," the old eunuch bowed.
On the roof of the hall, Ye Fan nodded repeatedly.
This Crown Prince not only had thunderous Vajra means, but he also had the heart of a Bodhisattva. He was indeed a rare and wise ruler.
Whoosh … The dark clouds in the sky became thicker and thicker. In the blink of an eye, a torrential downpour poured down.
Ye Fan circulated his spiritual energy and activated the Water Avoidance Pearl in his pocket.
Buzz … A light sphere that was ten meters in size appeared around Ye Fan, enveloping him and the white fox, Xiao Zhao, as well as the hole in the main hall in an instant.
In less than an hour, more than twenty officials dressed in court attire and holding umbrellas entered the Crown Prince's Palace.
"They are here, Your Highness," the old eunuch said to the crown prince.
The Crown Prince put down the brush in his hand and leaned back in his chair. His expression was cold as he looked at the officials walking in.
After the ministers entered the door, they put away their oilcloth umbrellas and lined up neatly in a wet line, kneeling in front of the Crown Prince.
"This humble subject kowtows in salute to Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness live for thousands of years!"
The Crown Prince picked up his teacup and drank his tea quietly.
The ministers kneeling on the ground looked at each other, not knowing what the Crown Prince was up to.
However, they weren't stupid.
The dozen or so bamboo slips that had been thrown in front of them told them that the Crown Prince had summoned them in the middle of the night for no good reason.
On the other hand, the ministers kneeling at the back were calm and composed.
"Everyone, rise." The Crown Prince put down his teacup and said calmly.
"Thank you, Your Highness." The ministers stood up and stood on either side of the Crown Prince.
"Is everyone asleep?" The Crown Prince looked at the ministers who were soaked by the rain and smiled. "Am I disturbing everyone?"
"This humble subject doesn't dare." The ministers replied in unison.
"This time, I summoned all of you here to show you something." The Crown Prince glanced at the old eunuch beside him.
The old eunuch understood and waved his hand. Immediately, four junior eunuchs carried a large wooden box in from the side room.
Bang!
The wooden box landed heavily on the ground.
The ministers looked at each other, not knowing what was in the box.
"Show it to them." The Crown Prince's voice was cold.
When the four junior eunuchs heard the Crown Prince's words, they quickly opened the box.
All the ministers craned their necks and craned their necks to look inside.
Inside the wooden box, there were at least a dozen large paper seals with the names of the ministers on them.
What is this? The ministers muttered in their hearts.
The four junior eunuchs distributed the thick paper seals to the dozen or so ministers according to the names on them.
Among the ministers, only the eight people standing at the back didn't get a paper seal. The others all got a copy.
"Open it and see." The Crown Prince smiled.
"Yes." The ministers answered and opened the paper seals in their hands. They took out the papers and looked carefully.
However, when they saw the contents of the papers in their hands, their expressions changed greatly and their faces turned ashen.
The papers in their hands were densely packed with records of all the crimes they had committed since they entered the court. Corruption, abuse of the people, forming cliques for personal gain, and betraying the country.
Accepting bribes, buying official positions, cheating for personal gain, colluding with officials and merchants … one by one, the time, place, person involved, amount of money, testimony, everything was there.
Cold sweat appeared on the foreheads of the ministers.
The evidence was irrefutable. At this time, they couldn't even say a word of rebuttal.
In the hall, it was so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping on the ground could be heard.
"What else do you have to say?" The Crown Prince looked at the panic-stricken ministers and asked calmly.
"I … I am guilty. Your Highness, please be merciful and spare my life!" The leader of the ministers cried and said. His legs went soft and he knelt on the ground.
"I am guilty!"
"I know I was wrong …"
"Your Highness, please spare my life …"
The psychological defense of the ministers completely collapsed. They knelt on the ground and cried.
They were very clear about the Crown Prince's way of doing things.
He did business according to the rules and didn't care about personal feelings. If a prince broke the law, he would be punished the same as the commoners.
They thought that they could retire and return to their hometown before the old Emperor abdicated and live the rest of their lives comfortably. Now, it seemed that they were wrong, very wrong.
"Seeing that you have done good for the country, I will let your wives and children go." The Crown Prince slowly closed his eyes. "You can go in peace."
"Your Highness, please spare my life …"
"Your Highness, I don't want to die …"
"Your Highness, I am willing to atone for my sins …"
The ministers wailed.
The old eunuch made a hand sign and his eyes widened.
Thump … thump …
More than a dozen ministers instantly stopped breathing and fell to the ground in a disorderly manner.
Ye Fan, who was on the roof, was dumbfounded when he saw this!
What kind of technique did the old eunuch use? He actually took the lives of more than ten people without a sound!
"You can all go back." The Crown Prince opened his eyes and said to the eight stunned ministers.
"We … we … we will leave …" The eight ministers stammered and walked out of the hall. They even forgot to take their umbrellas.
They were completely frightened.
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