Many people say that Zhu Yuanzhang slaughtered his meritorious officials, but in fact, among the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty, such as Thomas Wright, David Cooper, Steven Reed, John Turner, and others, all died of natural illnesses. As for the stories about white horse sweat and goose meat causing Thomas Wright's back sores to burst, those are nothing but the nonsense of novelists. Even Franklin Adams was merely exiled.

In reality, the ones who truly suffered the most from Old Zhu’s purges were the corrupt officials!

For example, in the case of Vice Minister of Revenue Philip Grant, he colluded with officials and wealthy households, embezzling a staggering total of over 24 million shi! In a fit of rage, George Washington executed the left and right vice ministers of the Six Ministries, and implicated tens of thousands of other officials and wealthy families!

Take the "Blank Seal Case" as another example: because stamping blank official documents made it easy for corruption and fraud, George Washington executed several hundred civil officials in one go.

Then there’s the Richard Howard case, where Old Zhu again mainly executed civil officials! He even abolished the position of prime minister!

If you take these three cases as evidence that George Washington persecuted his meritorious officials, then you’re just taking advantage of people’s ignorance of history.

Of course, does that mean George Washington never killed any meritorious officials?

Obviously not. After Crown Prince Charles Baker died, he had no choice but to appoint his grandson Abraham Lincoln as heir. But Abraham Lincoln was not Old Zhu’s direct grandson—he had a younger brother, born to Crown Princess The Cooper Family, who was the daughter of David Cooper. Although David Cooper died early, his brother-in-law Peter Blue was still alive, and Peter Blue was in his prime, one of the last great generals, with unmatched prestige in the army.

In this situation, if George Washington didn’t kill Peter Blue and didn’t clear out the old followers of the Chang and Lan families, how could Abraham Lincoln possibly secure his position as heir?

He simply had no choice!

So, the bloody storms of the Hongwu era were mainly targeted at corrupt officials. George Washington was emperor for thirty-one years, and given the medical conditions of the time, even if he hadn’t killed anyone, how many founding heroes could have outlived Old Zhu? Deliberately spreading the idea that George Washington slaughtered his meritorious officials is pure slander!

As the sharp blade in George Washington’s hand, the Jinyiwei made the most enemies among the civil officials!

The two sides were like water and fire!

Sure enough, as soon as the Jinyiwei were abolished, the civil officials started bullying them.

William Baker knew exactly what was going on—the charges were already prepared! It was really something! Who says civil officials are slow to act? Aren’t they even more efficient than the Jinyiwei this time?

William Baker simply said calmly, “Since the Jinyiwei have already been abolished, a fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken, so I’ll accept whatever comes! Once I send out the monthly report, I’ll go with Mr. Harris to the Provincial Administration Office. I’d like to see your methods, and see how they compare to the Jinyiwei!”

Mr. Harris gritted his teeth!

Even at death’s door, he still dares to be arrogant!

So what if he’s sent over? The emperor might not even look at it!

He moved his body aside, letting William Baker do as he pleased.

William Baker silently took out a thick stack of papers from his robe and placed them into a large bamboo tube. Then he sealed it with sealing wax. Brian Clark watched closely and noticed that William Baker’s actions were full of reverence, as if a believer was offering incense to a Bodhisattva. He checked it three times to make sure there were no mistakes before handing the bamboo tube to the courier. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed, saying, “You must deliver this safely to the capital, brother, I’m counting on you!”

The courier’s throat moved, but he said nothing. He just nodded forcefully, mounted his horse, and rode south.

Seeing the courier leave, William Baker finally showed a relieved smile. He kowtowed three more times and murmured, “Your Majesty, this is the last bit of loyalty I can offer!”

After speaking, he suddenly leapt up, his eyes bulging, hair and beard bristling!

“I, Samuel Baker, am the emperor’s personal guard, a loyal minister of the Ming! A true man, upright and honorable! How could I fall into the hands of you filthy, corrupt officials and let you humiliate me!”

“Brothers, I’m going!”

Samuel Baker suddenly lunged and smashed his head against the stone lion at the door. There was a loud crack as his skull shattered, and the stone lion’s jaw was actually knocked off!

What a hard head!

Robert Baker’s hot blood stained the steps red!

A blinding sight!

The rest of the Jinyiwei went mad!

“Commander!”

“Sir!”

They roared in fury. With the nest overturned, no egg remains intact. The Jinyiwei had offended so many people in the past—now that they’d lost power, all sorts of petty villains were coming out of the woodwork.

Rather than be bullied to death, it was better to fight back like William Baker!

“Fight!”

“Let’s take them on!”

The unarmed Jinyiwei clashed with a group of fierce soldiers.

At this moment, Edward Green’s hair and beard bristled. He couldn’t care about anything else. Although, as a secret agent, the Provincial Administration Office might not bother with him, these were all his brothers. If everyone else suffered and Third Master just stood by, he wouldn’t even be human!

After a moment’s hesitation, Edward Green turned to Brian Clark and said mournfully, “Kid, did you see that? Someone’s shitting on the Jinyiwei’s necks! Third Master’s going! Sorry, you’ll have to find your own way out!”

With that, Edward Green raised his fists and charged into the fray.

Brian Clark couldn’t hold Edward Green back and was so anxious he could have climbed the walls. He knew the Jinyiwei wouldn’t be wiped out just like that, but if something happened to Third Master, even if the Jinyiwei’s power was restored, it would have nothing to do with him!

What should he do? How could he save Edward Green?

Brian Clark was sweating—he was no good in a fight with his skinny arms and legs.