At the gate of the city, a crowd of prisoners were held captive, kneeling on the ground, prepared for execution. Some of them were loudly cursing those who had been rescued last time, calling them troublemakers and such.
However, no one paid any attention to them.
Everyone was on high alert, their eyes fixed on their surroundings, the sky, and any seemingly empty corners. They were determined to immediately detect and swiftly attack any sign of the enemy who could turn invisible and traverse the heavens and earth.
This time, Ding Yun did not make them wait long.
They didn't even have to wait until noon.
Ding Yun arrived smoothly and, upon arrival, deactivated the stealth function of her personal light-speed aircraft.
Simultaneously, she walked out of the aircraft.
The people below reacted swiftly. Before they could even discern if the person emerging was male or female, they had already drawn their bows, readied their hidden Zhuge repeating crossbows and powerful crossbows, and fired with all their might towards Ding Yun and the light-speed aircraft behind her. Instantly, the sky was filled with a rain of arrows.
But didn't Ding Yun have a protective shield pendant?
That pendant not only had protective functions but also a repelling function. Therefore, whether it was manually shot arrows or crossbow bolts fired from the Zhuge repeating crossbows and powerful crossbows.
As they flew to within one meter of Ding Yun, they were blocked by an invisible energy shield. At the same time, Ding Yun waved her hand with a flourish. To others, it looked as if Ding Yun had simply waved her hand, and the rain of arrows instantly halted and then shot back.
Many of the soldiers who had shot arrows died on the spot.
Meanwhile, Emperor Minghui, who had been secretly watching from the sidelines, angrily turned his head to glare at Sima Pu, the Minister of Justice who had declared in the imperial court earlier that the other party was soft-hearted and possessed womanly benevolence, and had never harmed anyone.
He now wished he could grab Sima Pu by the shoulders and demand, "Is this what you call womanly benevolence?
Which womanly benevolent person kills over a hundred people with a wave of their hand?
How could I have believed his nonsensical words?
And even come to watch this spectacle? Isn't this asking for trouble?"
In the next moment, Emperor Minghui dared not hide on the sidelines anymore. He feared he might inadvertently get caught in the crossfire.
He quickly began to retreat.
At the same time, he ordered the others to fight to the death to encircle and suppress the enemy.
Ding Yun, however, had been keeping an eye on Emperor Minghui with her fly robots. Although she knew Emperor Minghui was escaping, she did not specifically stop him. After all, where could he run? At most, he would flee back to the imperial palace. Never mind running back to the palace; even if he rode a thousand-mile horse to the ends of the earth, Ding Yun could catch him in an instant.
After repelling the arrows and crossbow bolts.
Ding Yun no longer fought alone. With a slight wave of her hand, she summoned the bodyguard robots she had brought, stored in the interdimensional free-travel gate's storage space.
Along with numerous mechs.
And various powerful industrial equipment.
She brought them all out.
She began the ultimate crushing, technological equalization mode.
With effortless sweeping, those so-called Zhuge repeating crossbows and Thunderbolt bombs were utterly useless. They couldn't even damage the mechs, let alone pierce the high-strength synthetic skin of the puppet robots. In addition, Ding Yun had also prepared many tranquilizer darts this time, so it wasn't long before the tens of thousands of soldiers responsible for the encirclement were all subdued.
Those who were used as bait.
Were all rescued by Ding Yun. However, this time Ding Yun did not leave with them directly. Instead, she left a few bodyguard robots to temporarily protect their safety, and then, with the remaining bodyguard robots, mechs, and various large industrial equipment, she headed towards the imperial palace.
Along the way, she encountered almost no resistance. The sheer terrifying size of the mechs and the imposing appearance of the massive industrial equipment were enough to scare people into fleeing. Who would dare to obstruct her? The only drawback was that the industrial equipment and mechs were too heavy. Even the good roads in the capital could not withstand their weight; they literally broke the road wherever they went. By the time she reached the imperial palace, the palace gate was a bit too small, forcing her to break through it directly. The journey caused considerable destruction.
Meanwhile, Emperor Minghui, who had just received news that the encirclement forces had completely collapsed and that an unknown woman was leading a large number of terrifying steel giants and steel beasts towards the imperial palace, felt the ground tremble and even the palace shake vaguely before he could react.
Outside, eunuchs rushed in with panicked faces, shouting that something terrible had happened, that monsters had appeared, and so on.
At this point, there was no time for any other reaction. They could only choose to resist head-on or flee immediately. Anyone who had seen the mechs and massive industrial equipment would not believe they could withstand the assault, so some immediately knelt and begged Emperor Minghui to leave the palace quickly.
"As long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn."
Of course, this was the sentiment of some. Others, however, had already turned pale and collapsed on the ground, muttering in low voices that they had offended immortals and gods, that it was impossible to resist, that the Great Jing was doomed.
Emperor Minghui was so enraged that he wanted to execute them immediately.
However, in just this short moment, the roof of the palace where Emperor Minghui was located was ripped off by Ding Yun, who commanded two mechs, exposing him completely.
Ding Yun originally intended to kill him directly.
But considering that it was improper and lacked legitimacy, it would not be conducive to taking over other cities later. It would be better to keep him for an abdication. Even if everyone knew he was not willing, at least there would be a nominal reason, which she believed would be beneficial for taking over other cities.
Therefore, Ding Yun ultimately did not deliver a fatal blow. Instead, she personally subdued Emperor Minghui with anesthesia and imprisoned him.
Then, she began to ravage the imperial palace without any restraint.
She swept through the capital, taking control of the entire city.
And successfully, by that evening, or more precisely, less than two hours after noon, she had completely controlled the capital. At the same time, she gathered all the officials, nobles, and imperial family members of the capital in the open space outside the entrance to the Hall of Political Affairs.
The main reason was that there were too many of them, and the Hall of Political Affairs could not accommodate them all, so they had to meet outside the hall.
To ensure that they could all hear her speak clearly.
Ding Yun, holding the anesthetized Emperor Minghui in one hand and an electronic megaphone in the other, loudly declared:
"I believe you all know what happened today, so I won't explain it to you. If you don't know, ask the person next to you. I will only tell you the result.
The result is that your plan has failed.
Even your emperor has been captured by me.
To be honest, if you had acted as if nothing happened after I raided the prison last time, I wouldn't have bothered with you. It would have been fine for everyone to be safe and sound. But you were too ungrateful.
To avoid continuous trouble in the future, I have no choice but to directly resolve the root of the problem, which is your emperor, and your Great Jing.
So, I am now going to announce a piece of news: your emperor has not only been captured by me, but he will most likely want to abdicate to me. As for the specific time, there is no better time than the present. We will prepare today.
Tomorrow, we will have the abdication and enthronement together.
If anyone opposes, they can step forward..."
At this moment, Ding Yun had nothing to fear, so she was not inclined to be hypocritical or deceive them with lies. Her intention was quite clear, just like Zhao Gao pointing at a deer and calling it a horse.
Those willing to admit it was a horse could live.
Those unwilling would have to die.
She did not have that much time to waste on them, or to persuade them one by one, or to make three visits to their humble abode.
Whether they liked it or not, even if she killed them all.
She had plenty of robots to help her handle state affairs.
The only drawback of robots was their slight lack of flexibility, but they also had an advantage that no one could match: absolute fairness and impartiality. The law applies equally to the emperor and commoners. Apart from herself, who held the highest authority over the robots, no one could bribe them or escape punishment.
After Ding Yun finished speaking, most people wisely remained silent. After all, their lives were in someone else's hands, and everyone knew the importance of self-preservation.
Especially the imperial family and the clan members, who dared not act.
They were now afraid of not being inconspicuous enough, so why would they actively draw attention to themselves?
However, in the end, someone did step forward.
Some officials came forward to oppose her.
They even loudly cursed Ding Yun as rebellious, treasonous, a hen ruling the roost, and doomed to divine retribution.
Although she didn't know their reasons for stepping forward, Ding Yun immediately beckoned the bodyguard robots responsible for raiding the ministers' and nobles' homes. She pointed to the few who were speaking and said:
"Identify these few, and then compare their information with your database. See how much silver was confiscated from their homes and whether it accurately corresponds to their normal monthly and annual salaries."
"Xu Si's home yielded thirty thousand taels of silver, and the estimated total value of deeds, houses, and other items was one million three hundred thousand taels.
Wang Dong's home yielded thirty-eight thousand taels of silver, seven thousand six hundred taels of gold, and the estimated total value of deeds, houses, jewelry, antiques, and other items was two million one hundred and thirty thousand taels.
Su Mingyuan's home yielded silver..."
The bodyguard robot truthfully reported the specific amounts confiscated from each household on the spot. Ding Yun didn't even need to hear more detailed data or understand their annual salaries.
She knew that these figures could not possibly be accumulated from annual or monthly salaries, and until the bodyguard robot finished reading, no household had assets less than five hundred thousand taels.
This showed that the difference was not about who was corrupt and who was not, but rather who was more corrupt and who was less corrupt. It was likely that the amount of corruption was only related to their official positions and the profitability of those positions, rather than who was more greedy than whom.
Upon hearing this, even if Ding Yun wanted to let a few go, she couldn't. She could only sigh and say:
"Alas, seeing you all step forward, I thought you were incorruptible officials with iron bones. But it turns out to be just this.
Drag them all away and imprison them in the celestial prison.
Their family members should also be imprisoned, and they will be thoroughly investigated when I have time. We must clarify the sources of their income and punish them strictly according to the law."
"Alright, is there anyone else?
If any of you can guarantee that you have not embezzled a single cent and have dedicated yourselves to serving the people wholeheartedly, then boldly step forward. Even if you step forward and curse me, I will still feel ashamed to kill you.
Perhaps I will even reuse you after I ascend the throne.
Is there anyone?
If so, step forward quickly. If not, and you wish to experience what the celestial prison is like, you can also step forward. I can send your entire family to experience it.
This is your only chance, so don't miss it."
Even in departments with no financial gain, few dared to claim they hadn't embezzled a single penny, let alone other officials. Moreover, who knew if this woman was telling the truth or lies, speaking earnestly or sarcastically? If it only affected themselves, perhaps some would be willing to step forward.
To die for the reputation of loyalty and patriotism.
But bringing their families into it from the start.
For the sake of their mothers, wives, and children, most people could only compromise for the time being, and silently comforted themselves by thinking that they were just pragmatic individuals who didn't want to make a futile sacrifice. Some were even already planning in their minds how to overthrow this strange woman later.
Therefore, after a long time, no one else stood up to oppose her.
At this point, although Ding Yun knew that most of them were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, she did not need their inner agreement.
As long as they verbally agreed.
And were willing to participate in the abdication ceremony later.
"Since there are no objections, you can all go back now. Remember to attend the abdication ceremony and my succession ceremony punctually tomorrow. By the way, people from the Ministry of Rites should not sleep tonight; get busy immediately.
If you have any needs, take them from the national treasury yourselves.
Or take them from Emperor Minghui's private treasury.
Also, draft an imperial edict to inform all the citizens of the capital that they should remember to come and witness my abdication ceremony and succession ceremony tomorrow."
"I hope you all recognize reality.
Although tomorrow is considered a good day for me, I am not afraid of bloodshed at all. If anyone makes me unhappy tomorrow, I might make your entire family unhappy. Alright, you can all go and prepare."
Ding Yun had brought them here mainly for the convenience of confiscating their property and to inform them of her upcoming enthronement and to get them busy.
Now that the tasks were completed.
She was no longer inclined to stare at them eye to eye.
With a wave of her hand, she had the bodyguard robots on the side drive them all back to where they came from, to attend to their respective duties. Then, she quickly dispatched several robots again to travel back to the deep mountains and forests to bring her family members over.
Tomorrow was her enthronement day after all. Although it was a bit rushed, at least her family could be witnesses.
Most importantly, she had to vindicate them.
Originally, Ding Yun was a bit worried that the original owner's final wish to clear her family's name would be difficult to accomplish. Now, it didn't seem too difficult. As long as the previous imperial family who convicted them was overthrown, it would be easy to reverse the verdict.
There was no other way. If the problem couldn't be solved.
Then the people who created the problem had to be eliminated.
If a verdict could not be reversed or vindicated, then by eliminating the people who made the conviction, it would naturally be meaningless to talk about reversing the verdict.