Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 89 I am actually a benevolent emperor
The executioners chopped off heads with their swords, from the continuous winter rain to the clear sky after the rain, and finally, they chopped off heads one by one on the ground mechanically like robots.

The officials who were watching the execution had gone from being horrified and frightened to being numb. They just stood there like wooden chickens.

Ma Wensheng also had a sullen face and did not smile. Frankly speaking, he could not bear to see so many upright civil servants being beheaded. But when he thought of the death of the late emperor and how these civil servants helped Liu Jian and others control the government and make things difficult for the late emperor, he had to admit that doing so might really be the quickest and most effective way, and the only way to shock people's hearts, ensure the safety of His Majesty, and ensure the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty’s preferential treatment of Confucian scholars made these officials and gentry too arrogant, even to the point of regicide!
Ma Wensheng couldn't imagine that if these people were not severely punished this time, would they dare to kill the emperor again if the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not meet their expectations? !
Zhu Houzhao was also watching all this coldly. He had experienced such cruel things in his previous life, so he was able to remain calm. But when he saw these clean civil servants losing their heads and bleeding in front of him, he also questioned himself whether these people were innocent.
But Zhu Houzhao thought about it and felt that these people could not be considered innocent. Not only these people, but the families of the rebels could not be considered innocent. As the saying goes, when an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent. Liu Jian and other rebels represented their interests, and it was they who gave Liu Jian and other rebels the confidence to murder the king. Therefore, the gentry group represented by these upright civil servants were the culprits who killed Emperor Hongzhi!

Killing them is not at all a massacre of innocent people!

Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and other disciples and old friends of the rebel party, that is, this group of clean civil servants, have now all been killed!

There were a total of 116 civil servants, most of whom were Hanlin poets, censors, or at least civil servants from various ministries and agencies in Beijing. These people were the source of the complex power of the three cabinet ministers, and now they have been wiped out!

All that remained on the ground were 116 human heads, the blood that dyed the execution ground red, and the crying and eerie atmosphere that still lingered around.

"Go ahead and take a look!"

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he brought Liu Jin and others to the execution ground. He did not ride in a sedan chair, but came on foot, and stepped on the blood-stained ground. However, Zhu Houzhao did not feel fear. He never thought that one day he would be able to behead so many people with just a stroke of his red pen.

Zhu Houzhao had to admit that being an emperor with the power of life and death really allowed him to do whatever he wanted!

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao looked at the officials present and the common people who were stopped outside by soldiers a hundred steps away. He had a feeling that all living beings were ants. No matter whether they were peddlers or kings and generals, anyone who went against his will would still become a dead soul under the sword!
Zhu Houzhao ordered a curfew in the capital, but it was only a city defense order that prohibited civilians from leaving the city to prevent the rebels from escaping. However, it did not ban the commercial and entertainment activities of the people in the city, so many people came to the execution ground to watch the execution.

However, killing officials was something that made them happy to see, so no one showed dissatisfaction. The people showed more indifference. In fact, the people's indifference was the greatest support for Zhu Houzhao. Once they were no longer indifferent and became interested in the struggle for political power, it would be time for them to rebel and they could no longer survive.

When all the officials who were watching the execution saw Zhu Houzhao appear, they all bowed obediently, not daring to breathe, and even afraid to look Zhu Houzhao in the eye!
There is no way, the young emperor in front of me is too terrifying!

In less than three months, he had killed all the censors and rebels, and now he had killed more than a hundred upright officials! This was no longer a killing god, but a butcher!
"I am a very kind and benevolent emperor!"

When Zhu Houzhao said this, he didn't even believe it himself, but at this moment no official dared to refute it.

"We are doing this now only for the sake of the long-term development of the Ming Dynasty. It is in accordance with the wishes of all the ministers." Zhu Houzhao's words still left the officials helpless and unable to refute. The emperor killed people, but they had to take the blame.

"And I didn't want to stain the capital with blood. I just wanted to make money with you officials and build a prosperous Ming Dynasty. I am the Son of Heaven, and you are his disciples. We are one family, and you are my subjects. The same goes for the civil servants who were killed. They were my disciples and my subjects. I love them, but they abandoned their emperor and father and followed the traitor. I had to kill them. I am very sad!"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, he couldn't help but sigh to the sky!
"Your Majesty! These officials do not understand the intentions of the emperor and father. They flatter the traitors and deceive the holy master. Killing them is to correct people's hearts. I hope Your Majesty will not hurt yourself!"

Ma Wensheng was now worried that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would lose his determination to govern the country because of the murder of the previous emperor. Seeing Zhu Houzhao so sad and reluctant, Ma Wensheng tried to persuade him. Jiao Fang and Xu Jin also tried to persuade him, saying that the officials who were killed deserved it and hoped that Zhu Houzhao would not be sad.

Other officials also began to persuade him. After all, they also knew that standing on the emperor's side was politically correct now!
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "If they were as loyal to me as you are, how could they have ended up like this? If Liu Jian and the others were loyal to the late emperor, we wouldn't be in this situation today. What a pity!"

After Zhu Houzhao finished his sad drama, he frowned and became serious again: "My dear ministers, you have seen it now. This is the end of regicide! You are all my disciples. You should not form a party. Even if someone plots to usurp the throne and regicide, it will not implicate you. But some of you like to join the nobles and serve as ministers of the cabinet instead of the emperor. But even if you look for a master, you must open your eyes and don't find a regicide as your master. If you implicate yourself and your family, it will be more trouble than gain! Just like these officials who were killed!"

After hearing this, the officials present couldn't help but lower their heads. They began to worry whether the ministers they relied on were really reliable. At the same time, they also secretly hoped that the ministers they relied on would not think of killing the king!

"I have made it clear today that the Ming Dynasty prohibits the formation of cliques and that you must serve the public wholeheartedly. Since you are the officials of the Ming Dynasty, you eat the salary of the emperor and receive the grace of the emperor, and you are loved by the people, you should have the heart to seek the welfare of the people and the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty!

"Of course, I also know that when the granaries are full, people will know etiquette, and when they have enough food and clothing, they will know honor and disgrace. I am not the only one who knows how to love the people but also sympathizes with you officials. Ma Gefu proposed that the first thing to be implemented in the new dynasty is to reform the civil service and implement a new performance evaluation system. I have taken into account that your salaries are gradually insufficient for daily expenses, and the first purpose of implementing the performance evaluation system is to increase your salary and benefits!

"Starting from next year, which is the first year of Zhengde, your salaries will be linked to your official positions and political achievements. The performance evaluation method includes not only punishment but also rewards. The rewards will naturally depend on your contributions. The rewards may be four or five times your salary, or one or two months' salary. In addition, I will also formulate regulations for annual rewards. How much salary and rewards you will receive will depend on how much wealth you can seize from the traitors this time!"

Zhu Houzhao initially warned all officials of the threat of killing the upright civil servants, which made all officials even more frightened. Now that they heard that Zhu Houzhao was going to improve their treatment, most officials felt more grateful to him.

Because they had heard that the emperor was going to implement new policies to reform bad governance, but they did not expect that the first item of the emperor's new policies would be to improve their own treatment. All of a sudden, they felt a little fear towards Zhu Houzhao but also had some good feelings for him, thinking that His Majesty was not really only good at killing people.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao's implementation of the performance evaluation system and increase in salaries were only good things for officials who did practical work. It was still not a good thing for some corrupt officials who only cared about making money. After all, they could guess that no matter how much their salaries were increased, they would never be able to earn more than their gray income. No matter how the court reformed the civil service, it was to reduce their gray income and force them to focus more on doing real work rather than making money.

However, Zhu Houzhao never thought of winning over those corrupt officials who only cared about making money and making a living. He just wanted to provide good material guarantees and spiritual support to some officials who wanted to do practical things, so that at least some officials with ideals would not sell their ideals for the sake of food and clothing!
As for those officials who only care about making money without restraint, the most effective way is to kill them until they are afraid!
Only in this way can good money drive out bad money, and only in this way can officials know that there is no need to risk being skinned and fed straw to make money when they can also earn generous income through legitimate means.

In addition, Zhu Houzhao now said that the increase in the salaries of all officials was related to the income from the confiscation of property. Therefore, the officials were no longer very opposed to the court's large-scale confiscation of property against the rebels, and each of them was calculating in his mind how much income he could get from the confiscation of property.

Zhu Houzhao himself was also thinking about it. What he lacked most now was money. After all, he still had to train troops, build ships, and develop industry in the future.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but ask Liu Jin: "How is the house search going?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, Marquis Taiping and his men have already started!" Liu Jin replied.

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(End of this chapter)