Chapter 891

“Li Cheng-jae, shall we act, or will you surrender?”

At Li Cheng-jae’s residence in Chongming City, twelve generals looked on coldly. Behind them were soldiers armed with live ammunition.

Watching the generals, who had once conversed and laughed with him, suddenly become his enemies, Li Cheng-jae felt a mix of emotions in his heart. At this moment, he felt utterly disheartened, as if he had fallen into an ice cavern.

“I’ll go with you!” Li Cheng-jae had no choice now. At least this way he could preserve a last shred of dignity.

Two days later, under the custody of the Goryeo new army, Li Cheng-jae arrived at Haigucheng.

Looking at the bustling and prosperous Haigucheng, with people coming and going, a wave of regret suddenly surged in his heart. He had to admit a fact: despite being occupied by the Great Yu Empire, Haigucheng was radiating a vitality more powerful than ever before.

Haigucheng had now truly become the most prosperous place in Goryeo.

“Can I see Army Commander Ye?” Li Cheng-jae asked.

“No!” The answer was two cold words. Soon, he and the soldiers who had participated in plotting the rebellion were escorted into the Haigucheng prison.

Passing through the cells, he was surprised to see Kim Hyun-sung and the King of Goryeo. Seeing this, he forced a wry smile.

“Li Cheng-jae, you truly outsmarted yourself!” With a bitter laugh, Li Cheng-jae murmured to himself. He could have had a bright future, but now everything was ruined by his ambition.

At the same time, Ye Qingyun, Qu Dong, and Yun Changfeng received an imperial edict from Qingzhou Province in the Governor-General’s office.

The content of this imperial edict was very simple, only four characters: “斩草除根” (rooting out evil).

“His Majesty’s meaning is very clear. All powerful elite who participated in this rebellion are to be executed, completely eradicating Goryeo’s rebellious forces, to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”

Ye Qingyun said loudly.

Yun Changfeng nodded. If this Goryeo rebellion hadn’t been discovered in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. He said, “The Goryeo people are very skilled at schemes and tricks. If they are not completely controlled, they will sooner or later become a menace. His Majesty’s foresight is profound; rooting out evil must surely be with careful consideration.”

“His Majesty is truly decisive! Since that’s the case, we cannot be polite. Tomorrow, we will execute all these people by firing squad as a warning to others,” Qu Dong said.

“That might be a bit too hasty. Although this common people’s rebellion is directly related to these powerful elite, the common people of Goryeo must also have some level of acceptance in their hearts. Therefore, now is the time to implement reform policies to gain the common people’s support, and then execute them. Only then can we solve the problem once and for all,” Ye Qingyun mused.

Qu Dong clapped his hands. He said, “Army Commander Ye now serves as the Governor-General of Goryeo. His methods are now much more astute.”

Ye Qingyun’s face showed a triumphant expression. After all, the Governor-General also handled government affairs, and he had actually learned from Pang Yukun and others.

Having settled this matter, Ye Qingyun signed the Governor-General’s Office’s first order: effective immediately, the Equal Field System would be implemented throughout Goryeo. Nobles’ land would be confiscated and returned to the common people, while some Goryeo taxes would be reduced. The name “State of Goryeo” would be abolished and changed to “Goryeo Prefecture…”

In addition, Ye Qingyun also required Goryeo Prefecture to establish public schools, where impoverished children could enter to study the Great Yu Empire’s culture and language, thereby realizing the terms of the treaty step by step.

The order reached Ryukyo City. Hwang Ja-man dared not delay. They immediately sent the order to local officials, instructing them to implement it at once.

Now that the King of Goryeo was imprisoned, they no longer dared to harbor any extravagant thoughts.

“Who said the Great Yu Empire was bad? Look, now they’re going to distribute land to us and exempt us from taxes! And our children can even go to public schools to learn to read and write, and participate in examinations in the future! Did the nobles ever give us all this before?”

The area in front of the Ryukyo City gate was filled with Goryeo common people surrounding the proclamation. The moment the “Equal Field System” was announced, it immediately caused a sensation. Now, the common people of Ryukyo City and its surroundings were all discussing this matter.

Many people even personally rushed to the proclamation to confirm.

“You’re right! Those powerful elite never treated us as human beings before, and they’re not as good to us as the Great Yu Empire. I’d rather be a dog of the Great Yu Empire than a commoner of Goryeo.”

A radical voice rang out.

As these words were spoken, everyone looked at the young man who had spoken. Many people sighed. This young man had some local renown.

Because a day earlier, he was the target of Kim Hyun-sung’s hunt. Two years ago, Kim Hyun-sung seized his family’s land. In a fit of rage at the time, the young man killed Kim Hyun-sung’s household servant, and was thus declared a murderer.

Now that Kim Hyun-sung had fallen, his case was overturned by Hwang Ja-man. Hwang Ja-man not only cleared him of the crime but also granted him twenty mu of fertile land.

Many common people naturally dared not speak such rebellious words like the young man, but they gradually accepted it in their hearts.

They never cared about what country it was, because whoever ruled, they still had to pay taxes. Now that a court had come that made them live comfortably, they naturally accepted it.

As the reform decrees signed by Ye Qingyun gained increasing influence in Goryeo, Ye Qingyun, having gained widespread popular support, felt that the time was ripe to execute the King of Goryeo.

A month after the Ryukyo City rebellion, he escorted Kim Hyun-sung, the King of Goryeo, and other powerful elites who participated in the rebellion, to the execution ground.

To his satisfaction, the common people of Haigucheng were very excited, but this excitement was not opposition, but the excitement of watching a spectacle.

And in Ye Qingyun’s view, the common people of Goryeo had completely lost all feeling for these individuals.

“Governor-General, the time has come.”

In Haigucheng’s city square, over seven thousand people knelt on the ground. These were all individuals who had directly or indirectly participated.

Behind each person stood a shooter, ready for Ye Qingyun’s command at any moment.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Kill! Kill!”

“…”

Just then, the Goryeo common people watching suddenly let out a deafening cheer. A smile appeared on Ye Qingyun’s lips. He threw down the command arrow he held.

“Execute!” The orderly shouted loudly.

The soldiers, hearing this, immediately raised their firearms. They aimed their muzzles at the back of the prisoners’ heads. Immediately, many released yellow liquid beneath their bodies.

Many of the powerful elite, including the King of Goryeo, had soiled their pants from fear, but all this was their own doing.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Continuous gunshots rang out. Goryeo powerful elite fell one by one into pools of blood. The surrounding Goryeo common people then cheered.

These powerful elite, who had committed many evils on normal days, should have died long ago in their hearts.

The execution lasted only two minutes. Over seven thousand people all fell in pools of blood. The rampant Goryeo rebellion came to an end with the sound of gunshots.

“Now Goryeo is clean. But this is just the beginning. We need to make Goryeo a supply base for the Great Yu Empire’s grain and minerals. To achieve this goal, you all need to cooperate fully.” Ye Qingyun smiled broadly. This was the duty of a Governor-General.

Only by making Goryeo continuously provide benefits to the Great Yu Empire could the development within the Great Yu Empire be accelerated.