Chapter 1097

“Extra, extra! Today, the remnants of the parliament are causing chaos in the Empire, and people like Ge Yiren are attempting treason! At this time of a renewed crisis in the Empire, the Emperor calls on the people of the Empire to work together with the court to eliminate traitors and protect the Empire!”

The eastern sky was faintly turning white, and the clear voice of the newspaper boy was already ringing out in the streets and alleys.

Hearing the newspaper boy’s shouts, passersby stopped and paid money to buy a newspaper.

The big commotion that happened in Qingzhou City yesterday had scared many people and caused them to speculate wildly. Now that the Emperor had personally written an article to explain the whole story, they were a little impatient to know what had happened.

“I never thought that after so many years since the Merchant Parliament was eliminated, the evil has not yet died out.”

In front of a breakfast stall, a worker who was eating breakfast and preparing to go to the factory said with a sigh.

There were many workers just like him sitting beside him. They all worked in the industrial zone and came here almost every morning to eat tofu pudding and fried dough sticks.

“In my opinion, the main crisis this time is not the Merchant Parliament. After all, the Merchant Parliament is nothing more than a rootless plant now and cannot cause any trouble. The real harm is this former cabinet minister, Ge Yiren. They want to usurp power, and their influence is much larger than the Merchant Parliament’s,” another worker said.

“Exactly. Otherwise, the Emperor would not have called on the entire world to fight against the traitors,” someone else chimed in.

“This scene is a bit familiar. Ten years ago, the Emperor eliminated the powerful families of the six prefectures in the same way. More than ten years have passed, and now a similar crisis has reappeared. It seems that without a bloody fight, this matter cannot be settled,” a worker in his forties said.

“Old Brother Zhang, you are a local of Qingzhou. Was the incident from ten years ago really that terrifying?” a young worker asked.

The middle-aged man who was asked revealed a look of nostalgia. “Terrifying. Back then, it was a river of blood. The lotus pond outside Qingzhou City was stained red with blood.”

When the others heard this, they showed a look of fear. They all came from other cities and later settled in Qingzhou. They had heard about the elimination of the powerful families of the six prefectures but had never experienced it themselves.

But after hearing the middle-aged man’s words, they felt as if they were there themselves, and a chill ran down their spines.

Seeing that everyone was a little worried, the middle-aged man, known as Old Brother Zhang, suddenly laughed. He said, “Why are you worrying for nothing? This has nothing to do with you. It’s only those traitors who will have bad luck.”

After a pause, he pointed to the last paragraph of the article and said, “Do you see this sentence? The Emperor wants the militia to lead the common people to capture the traitors. I guess the Empire will act like it did in the six prefectures back then. At that time, there will be checkpoints everywhere, and everyone will be watching strangers. Not even a fly can escape from the Emperor’s grasp.”

Everyone sighed again when they heard this. Someone said, “Since the Emperor has given the order, we must obey. If it weren’t for the Emperor who stood against all opposition and gave the common people benefits, we wouldn’t have such good lives today. Now that someone wants to bring the Empire back to the former Great Yu Empire, I will be the first one to say no.”

“I won’t either. I’ve been living a comfortable life for so long. I can’t stand those scholar-gentry riding on our heads and urinating on us anymore,” someone else chimed in.

“In that case, let’s cooperate with the Emperor to wipe out these traitors and give the Empire a clean slate. Let’s go to the factory and gather the others to go from door to door and search for people.”

“Let’s go, let’s go together!” The others chimed in.

Qingzhou University.

The students who read the newspaper were all filled with righteous indignation. Since the Empire’s reform, they had represented the forces of the Empire’s innovation.

Faced with people like Ge Yiren who were trying to take them back to the dark ages, they were naturally unwilling to do so.

Therefore, after the news in the newspaper spread throughout the school, the students all organized themselves and left the academy to publicize the Merchant Parliament’s conspiracy and denounce the shamelessness of people like Ge Yiren in Qingzhou.

And as time went on, this sentiment spread to cities like Dengzhou, Jinling, and Suzhou one after another. For a time, the entire Empire was in an all-out effort to capture the traitors on the list.

Many of the traitors who tried to escape had nowhere to go and were quickly arrested and brought to justice.

However, in the process of the arrests, some people also used it as an opportunity for personal revenge. Many old nobles who were not involved with Ge Yiren also had bad luck. Some were cursed at, and some were beaten up.

And this situation quickly scared the old nobles who usually had a lot of complaints about Xiao Ming. Remembering what Xiao Ming did more than ten years ago, they all submitted memorials expressing their loyalty to the royal family and, at the same time, claimed to support the government decree that Xiao Ming had promulgated.

However, while the old nobles were scared, Pang Yukun was also very scared. Originally, he had planned to watch the demise of the old nobles of Chang’an, led by Ge Yiren and Luo Hong, with a nonchalant attitude. But now, if the situation were to continue, it would get out of control.

So he anxiously went to find Xiao Ming.

“Your Majesty, with the help of the people of the entire country, most of the remnants of the Merchant Parliament have been arrested. Some of the remnants have fled to the sea. Even if they don’t die at sea, it’s hard to say how many will survive and escape to Europe. As for the old nobles of Chang’an, all of those who colluded with Ge Yiren have been arrested, and those who tried to sit on the fence have also been dealt with. In my humble opinion, this matter should be concluded now, otherwise, it might backfire.”

Pang Yukun looked very apprehensive.

Xiao Ming was reading the intelligence provided by the secret guards in various places. Pang Yukun was anxious about this matter, but he was not, because from the beginning to the end, he had been controlling the development of the situation from behind.

And the secret guards were the invisible hand he used to control the situation, acting as the leaders. So he could be said to be pointing his finger at where to strike.

For things that the secret guards could not control, he would immediately dispatch the guards to take control.

In this way, on the whole, he did not let this matter get out of control, and at the same time, he achieved the effect he wanted.

The memorials submitted by the old nobles of Chang’an were proof. After this incident, they basically understood that the era of their reckless behavior was over.

From now on, it was fine for them to live a comfortable life, but if they wanted to cause trouble, they would have to think carefully.

“You are one step too late. I have already had the manuscript sent to the newspaper agency. Tomorrow, it will be announced that all the criminals have been arrested and this matter has been perfectly concluded,” Xiao Ming said calmly.

Pang Yukun breathed a sigh of relief. “It turns out Your Majesty had planned to stop at just this much. I am relieved now.”

After a pause, he continued, “Your Majesty, Niu Ben and Luo Quan have been in Qingzhou for a few days after taking the train. In a few days, the commanders of the other major military regions are also expected to arrive on time. As for Luo Hong…”

Xiao Ming said, “The Luo family has already proven their loyalty, but Luo Hong has committed a grave mistake, and I will not be lenient, otherwise, how can I make an example of him? This time, I can only cause old General Luo to be heartbroken.”