Shen Yanzhi opened his eyes and was reborn as a powerless seventh-rank judicial commissioner in Jiangning Prefecture, Great Yin.
From the start, he was in a dead end: a powerful court eunuch had pinned a 300,000-tael shortfall in the silk workshops on him, forcing him to sign off overnight and preparing to make him "take his own life out of guilt" as a scapegoat.
Everyone thought the frail scholar would be an easy lamb to slaughter.
The next moment, Shen Yanzhi used a shard of porcelain to slash a throat, then pinned Li Fengji, the fourth-rank prefect, hard against the official desk. "Lord Li, there are quite a few interesting things hidden in the secret accounts of your Buddhist shrine..."
From that day on, Great Yin had a new "Living Yama" who ignored the rules and dealt decisively with anyone in his way!
To corrupt officials: You dare embezzle disaster relief grain? I'll tank the grain market and leave you bankrupt and begging on your knees!
To the powerful clans: You dare monopolize the world of scholars? I'll forge ironclad evidence of treason, have you tortured to death in open court, and execute your entire clan!
To the emperor: You dare use me as a pawn to kill? I'll sweep through the northern frontier, command an army of 300,000, and fight my way back to Zichen Hall in full armor, forcing the Son of Heaven to write a bloody decree of abdication!
"Everyone thinks I'm a lone minister. But when 300,000 iron cavalry shatter the gates of the capital, who, exactly, is the one playing this game of power over this vast empire?"
