Ch 61: Ruthlessly Tormenting Ming Officials
As he spoke, Wang Cheng’en slapped himself hard across the face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth.
Chu Mo: “…”
Imperial Ancestor?! So, they still mistakenly think of him as Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzhu? But Chu Mo thought about it, and this time he didn’t clarify, because he was thinking about a very serious question!
If this era universally recognizes him as Emperor Chengzhu or Emperor Taizu, then when Heroic Spirits awaken in later generations… will that result in some extra skills? Or blessings?
After all, there’s no doubt that legends enhance Heroic Spirits and increase their quality!
“Then I won’t deny it for now, but I won’t admit it either. I’ll see what changes there are when the Heroic Spirit coalesces after I return,” Chu Mo muttered inwardly. If simply being universally recognized can strengthen a Heroic Spirit, then next time he travels through time, he can consider focusing on public opinion.
Pursing his lips, Chu Mo softly inquired, “What brings you here to find me?”
Seeing Chu Mo skip over the topic, Wang Cheng’en breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his head. “His Majesty wants to reveal your identity to the ministers. So you must attend court! And before, you were always inside, and we didn’t dare disturb you.”
“Alright.” Chu Mo nodded slightly, then, thinking of something, sensed his surroundings. Sure enough, he discovered that inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a large number of civil and military officials were standing. “Then I’ll head over now!”
“Oh… Ah?!” Wang Cheng’en’s expression changed drastically, wanting to stop him, but he discovered that Chu Mo’s figure had disappeared from before him. His expression changed several times, and with a mournful face, he rushed towards the direction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Something big is about to happen. Attending court has its own fixed rules and regulations… Suddenly inserting yourself like this! It’s very easy to cause huge chaos.
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Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Emperor Chongzhen sat on the Dragon Throne, his face gloomy as he looked down at the ministers below. “You’ve been discussing the matter of forming an army to resist the demon forces for almost ten days now! I only want to ask now, can this army even be built? Minister Ni, what do you say!”
Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu heard Emperor Chongzhen’s gloomy words, his eyes twitching several times, but he still recklessly said, “The national treasury is empty, wealth cannot be conjured out of thin air, so we have no way.”
Sun Chuanting lowered his eyes, silent. He was all too clear about the Ming Dynasty’s financial situation. The establishment of the Qin army, the Liaodong region that had yet to be lost, the rebels in the Northwest… the Ming Dynasty needed to spend money on too many things!
Not to mention the national treasury is empty, even if the national treasury suddenly had a few million taels of silver essence and tens of thousands of spirit stones, it would probably be spent clean in an instant.
“Minister Zhou.” Emperor Chongzhen again cast his gaze onto Zhou Yanru.
Zhou Yanru wore a bitter face.
Emperor Chongzhen’s face became extremely unsightly. He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to explode, and said in a low voice.
“The country is in dire straits! I want to borrow a sum of money from you!”
As he spoke, Emperor Chongzhen cast his gaze onto his father-in-law Zhou Kui, the meaning very clear. He hoped that Zhou Kui could take the lead as a representative!
Zhou Kui’s expression was wonderful. He gritted his teeth and said, “I am willing to donate four… three thousand taels of silver essence! This is already most of my family’s wealth. You know, and the Empress also knows, that my Zhou family has always been known for its integrity.”
Even if he had embezzled two thousand taels of the five thousand taels that the Empress had sent over last night, Zhou Kui was not ashamed at all. The situation in the world hasn’t rotted to that extent yet, and Liaodong hasn’t even fallen, so what is he afraid of?
Moreover, his daughter is the Empress! Even if the news really gets exposed… could Chongzhen really kill him?!
“Then I will also…” Zhou Yanru’s words suddenly stopped, his expression undergoing a drastic change. Not only him, but Wen Tiren, Zhang Zhifa, Sun Chuanting, and others also had extremely wonderful expressions.
“Three thousand? Interesting!” Chu Mo slowly walked into the hall, gazing at everyone present with great interest, finally casting his gaze onto Zhou Kui. “When did the Great Ming’s Father-in-law of the Emperor become so poor?”
“You, who are you!” Zhou Kui instantly became enraged when he saw someone questioning him.
The next moment, his neck was grabbed. Chu Mo lifted him up high, gradually increasing the force. His face turned red, and he struggled desperately.
“What?!”
◈◈◈
“Bold!”
“Guards, where are the guards?!”
“In His Majesty’s presence, how dare you?!”
Sounds of astonishment and panic erupted at this moment.
Apart from Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru, Zhang Zhifa, Sun Chuanting, and others who knew Chu Mo’s identity, their expressions were stiff, and they didn’t move. The remaining officials with cultivation all tensed up, already prepared…
Waiting only for the Emperor’s order, and they would swarm forward.
“…Imperial Ancestor.” Emperor Chongzhen spat out these three words, as uncomfortable as if he were dining in a latrine, his face turning green and white, but he still managed to say with difficulty, “The one in your hand has a rather special identity… I wonder if you could give me some face…”
Civil and military officials: “???”
What the hell… what did the Emperor call this young man?!
Imperial Ancestor… The civil and military officials even thought that there was something wrong with their ears! But when they looked at each other, seeing that the others were also dumbfounded, confirming that they had heard correctly, their brains all crashed.
Indeed, there must be members of the imperial family who are of a higher generation than the Emperor, but after the Emperor sits on that position, he is supreme. Which member of the imperial family would dare to act old in front of the Emperor?!
Especially since Emperor Chongzhen is notoriously moody. You dare provoke him like this… and it’s not even that person acting old, but Emperor Chongzhen taking the lead in uttering this title?!
A large number of officials present felt like their brains couldn’t process it, completely unable to understand what was happening.
“Oh!” Chu Mo released his hand, and Zhou Kui fell to the ground, gasping for breath. But before he could say anything, his foot was instantly stepped on by Chu Mo. With a calm exertion of force, it exploded into a blood mist.
“Ah… Ah?! You, how dare you…” Zhou Kui was in so much pain that he was almost driven mad, but he only managed to say half a sentence, because Chu Mo’s foot stepped on his other foot. “Three million taels of silver essence, plus ten thousand spirit stones! Otherwise, I’ll cut off all your limbs and subject you to a death of a thousand cuts.”
Chu Mo’s voice was calm and cold, but Zhou Kui’s body stiffened. Involving money, his brain was working faster than ever at this moment. Three million, plus spirit stones… this was almost all of his family’s wealth. He had to count it several times every day!
But, how could this be… in theory, he was the only one who knew this amount! The stewards who counted these different places of wealth every day weren’t the same person…
Moreover, why is the Emperor acting like that now? This, is he unable to do anything about this person?!
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty save… Ah?!” Zhou Kui screamed again. Because his second foot had also exploded into a blood mist…
Chu Mo stepped between his legs. “Three, two…”
“I have money! I have money! Three million I have.” Zhou Kui finally couldn’t hold on any longer, spitting out several precise addresses, pleading miserably, “They’re all hidden here! You can find them by entering the vaults of my other courtyards, let me go… I beg you.”
Emperor Chongzhen, who had a terrible expression and was thinking about how to plead for his father-in-law, had a stiff expression.
He was silent for a long time, then stiffly glanced at Zhou Kui…
What the hell, you actually really have three million?! Emperor Chongzhen’s mentality exploded at this moment!
