Chapter 1059

“Hmph, these people are too arrogant. Now, the only person the people of the Empire trust is the Emperor. Restrict the imperial power? Let these fat-headed, overbearing nobles control the power of the Empire? They’re dreaming. Dad, you don’t have to worry about this. This kind of gossip won’t cause any major trouble. Now, the students in the academies are all very vigilant against these inciting words. If they want to harm the Emperor, we won’t allow it!”

Li Chengwan said loudly.

“You’re absolutely right, Dalan. It seems you didn’t waste your years studying. You see this matter very clearly. Our Emperor is a good emperor. The people have their own judgment on how the Empire has come this far over the years. To us, as long as the Emperor allows us to live a good life, who would be so foolish as to want to restrict the imperial power?” Li Laosi said.

“Hey, there really is such a group of foolish people. In fact, this matter is, in the end, because the government decrees introduced by the Emperor made some nobles dissatisfied, which is why this talk of restricting the imperial power came out. Their purpose is nothing more than to continue to ride on our heads and act arrogantly.”

“Bah! They’re dreaming. Back then, the powerful families of the six prefectures also wanted to restrict the Emperor’s power and make the Emperor their puppet, but what was the result? Weren’t they all wiped out? I think if this matter gets big, the result will be the same,” Li Laosi said, forcefully patting the table.

Li Chengwan shivered a little when he talked about the events of more than ten years ago. He was still a child back then, but he still remembered the terrifying atmosphere very clearly.

“Logically, our Emperor is not an indecisive person. It’s very strange that the court has not taken any action despite all this gossip in the streets.” Li Chengwan was a little puzzled.

“What’s so strange about that? The Emperor did not act on a whim when he eliminated the powerful families of the six prefectures back then. At that time, it was all meticulously planned. In my opinion, the Emperor has definitely written down all these restless people in his little notebook. Don’t look at how happy they are jumping around now. I’m afraid the little notebook will be used on them in the future,” Li Laosi laughed.

Li Chengwan nodded slightly. As a person from a poor background, he was well aware of the people’s reverence for the Emperor, and the series of beneficial policies that the Emperor had introduced also showed the Emperor’s political philosophy.

In his opinion, the Emperor wanted to establish an empire with the common people as its foundation, not the old system where the Son of Heaven governed the scholar-gentry, the scholar-gentry governed the feudal lords, the feudal lords governed the officials, and the officials governed the common people.

From the political philosophy he had studied over the years, he concluded that the Emperor was preparing to directly select officials from among the common people, and then have these officials, who came from common families, govern the common people. At the same time, the common people would have the right to govern the country by impeaching officials through meetings.

Now that the first step of this matter had begun, the next step would probably be the second step. However, in his opinion, the prerequisite for implementing this policy was to abolish the nobles’ privileges, so that they would lose the right to inherit official positions. And it was no coincidence that the Emperor was now dealing with the nobles. It was just that he had a reason to do so and was simply going with the flow.

“Dad, now that you’ve said that, I don’t want to go to Australia anymore. I’d rather stay here in Qingzhou to watch the show. Maybe when these old nobles are uprooted, another subversive government decree will be introduced,” Li Chengwan said with a chuckle.

A smile appeared on Li Laosi’s face. He still hoped that his son could enter officialdom. He laughed and said, “That would be for the best.”

While Li Laosi’s family’s enthusiasm for supporting the imperial power was high because of the Empire’s welfare policies, in every place the newspapers could reach in the Empire, the welfare policies were also causing a stir.

And the feedback from these places soon reached Xiao Ming’s Imperial Study.

“Your Majesty, after this welfare policy was announced, the people’s support for Your Majesty has reached a new level. According to reports from officials below, many people are now hanging up portraits of Your Majesty and setting up sculptures of Your Majesty to worship. Their reverence is in no way inferior to that of the red-faced Guan Gong and the Three Pure Ones.”

In the Imperial Study, Pang Yukun said with a smile.

In a flash, a month had passed since the welfare policy was announced, and the feedback from it was very good.

Hearing this, Xiao Ming smiled. He had no intention of stopping the people from doing this voluntarily. Firstly, there was no need to. Secondly, the people’s personal worship of him was also conducive to strengthening the rule of the imperial power and ensuring that the people of the Empire would complete any order he gave them with quality and quantity. This was very important for an empire that was still in its initial stage of development.

Secondly, it could also be an important bargaining chip for him when he finally fought with the old nobles.

Over this past month, the welfare policy had spread quickly, but the discussions about restricting the imperial power also showed signs of getting more and more intense.

To address this situation, Pang Yukun demanded the immediate arrest of those who were causing trouble, but after some hesitation, he gave up on this plan.

Because of comprehensive intelligence, he discovered that this action to restrict the imperial power was not as simple as it seemed. It was organized and premeditated.

To nip this group of people in the bud, he had to be patient for a while, using the ruse of “letting the prey go in order to catch it later.” He would wait for all those with malicious intentions to take the bait, and then he would deliver a devastating blow.

Otherwise, if he were to startle the snake, these people would only hide deeper, which would be detrimental to long-term peace and stability.

Thinking of this, he asked, “It is, of course, a good thing that the people’s hearts are with me, but what about those who are eating my food and preparing to break my pot?”

“I have the plainclothes agents of the security office keeping an eye on them. According to Your Majesty’s instructions, I have not alarmed them and have been collecting evidence. As soon as Your Majesty gives the order, we can immediately arrest these treacherous villains who harbor malicious intentions.”

Pang Yukun’s expression became serious when he mentioned this.

After a pause, he continued, “However, according to my investigation during this period, I have discovered something interesting.”

“Oh? Tell me about it.” Xiao Ming said.

Pang Yukun’s eyes became sharp. “Most of the people involved in this matter are dissatisfied with the Empire. A large part of them are former powerful family members. These people hate Your Majesty the most. They did not dare to say anything before, but now that they see Your Majesty has incurred the public’s wrath, they are becoming restless.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ming laughed. He was not surprised by this. The eliminated class would always hate the person who destroyed them the most.

There was no doubt that Xiao Ming was that person.

“Back then, to unify the country as quickly as possible, I compromised with the powerful families. Now, the lingering evil of this matter is finally not going away. Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless. You will continue to keep an eye on this matter, and Li San will also help you. This time, just let them vent to their heart’s content and see how far they can go. At the same time, let the people see their true faces clearly,” Xiao Ming said.

Pang Yukun’s eyes became sharp. He said, “Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will handle this matter cleanly and neatly.”