nycdaug Chapter 147
Chapter 147
The following day, the entire capital city was instantly filled with a climate of fear and unease.
Under Zhou Chu's command, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, through the Northern Garrison Command, borrowed countless Embroidered Uniform Guards from other garrisons to launch a massive purge of officials in the capital, unprecedented in a century.
In the capital, whether merchants or ordinary people, seeing the Imperial Guards everywhere, they were all too frightened to go out. Many shops even closed down, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.
In just one morning, the Northern Garrison Command arrested more than 300 officials of all ranks in Beijing.
In no time, the prison in the Northern Garrison was full, so some people had to be sent to the prison in the capital. Just in case, Zhou Chu sent hundreds of Jinyiwei guards to guard the prison, making the jailers and the guards tremble with fear, wondering if they hadn't returned the money to the commander and had displeased him.
The fact that Zhou Chu rose to become the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in one fell swoop almost made the jailers' eyes pop out of their sockets.
Since then, they have all been very uneasy, wondering whether they should return the money that Zhou Chu had given them.
However, many people had already spent their money, and some felt that with Zhou Chu's wealth, he wouldn't care about this small amount. After all, no one wants to give back money they've already received, so the matter was left unresolved.
Such a large-scale operation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard was seen as utter arrogance and domineering by the officials, causing a stir throughout the court and among the officials.
Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe both realized that something was very wrong. They never expected that the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be so crazy, as if he wanted to overturn the table.
Even though Yang Yiqing had lived for over sixty years, he had never seen such a scene before and was at a loss for what to do.
At this moment, they wished they could hold a court meeting immediately, but the continuous court meetings that lasted for half a month at the beginning of Jiajing's reign had long ended. Now, the court meetings were held every three days. The court meeting had just been held yesterday, and the next court meeting would not be held for another two days.
Thinking of this, Yang Yiqing and the others couldn't sit still, but they didn't dare to go to the Northern Garrison to demand the people.
After all, the lessons of the past are right before our eyes. Who knows what Zhou Chu, the commander, might do if he goes crazy? Isn't the current situation precisely because we impeached him, which has caused him to go insane?
No one wanted to mess with Zhou Chu in this state. Yang Yiqing didn't want to, Yang Tinghe didn't want to, and Xia Yan especially didn't want to.
Others may not have a clear understanding of Zhou Chu's ruthlessness, but Xia Yan does. He knows very well that Zhou Chu's current state is just his final madness, and once this fervor passes, it will be over.
Xia Yan wants to become the Grand Secretary, but he needs to surpass Yang Ting and Yang Yiqing. This is impossible to achieve in the short term. So why should he be the one to stick his neck out? There is absolutely no benefit to him, and he is also taking on huge risks.
He hoped that Yang Yiqing would bring down Yang Tinghe. In that case, even if Yang Yiqing became the Grand Secretary, given his age, he wouldn't be able to serve for more than a few years. Moreover, Yang Yiqing would not have the support of the Jiangnan Group after taking office, and his foundation would be much weaker. It would be much easier for Xia Yan to bring down Yang Yiqing.
Therefore, in the previous dispute over etiquette, Xia Yan seemed to be putting in effort, but in reality, he was just putting up a fuss. He couldn't wait for Yang Tinghe to retire and return to his hometown.
Yang Yiqing and his men summoned their subordinates and headed to the palace, intending to go directly to the emperor and have him issue an edict to arrest Zhou Chu. In that case, everything would be resolved.
However, as soon as the group arrived at the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, they were stopped by Zhang Yong, who was already waiting there.
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen."
Zhang Yong said with a helpless expression.
He never expected that the Emperor, as if he had anticipated this, would order him to stop the civil and military officials. Yet, he had no choice but to do so, otherwise he would be disobeying the Emperor's order.