The world shook when the news spread. Li Haoâs latest actions were more reprehensible than his elimination of the Four Seas Company. This wasnât just a matter of killing one hundred people. If he wanted to kill people, the various institutions wouldnât mind it if he destroyed an entire city!
The strong had such privilegeâhe possessed that privilege now.
However, killing noblesâno matter how minor or major, no matter how many, and a public beheading at that, was an upheaval of class. That was exceedingly deplorable! This meant that the authority of the ruling echelon might be overturned! Everyone would know afterward that there was no difference between the emperor or a peasant committing a crime!
Before that, even though the royal family had retreated behind the curtains and the nine ministries formed, there was no such thing as sentencing nobles for their crimes. The Steadfast Dukeâs brazen initiative to lob city annihilation missiles had only resulted in a demotion.
Hou Xiaochen had killed the Steadfast Dukeâs younger brother in private, giving rise to rumors that circulated among the nobles. Where Li Hao was most terrifying was that he wanted to behead his victims in public!
......
The Avenues of the Nine Ministries.
Every ministry was packed with people. A crowd of aged nobles knelt on the ground, howling and wailing with outrage.
âWe cannot let this northern savage publicly execute the descendants of various families! He can kill them all if he wants, but in private! He can use them to establish his authority if he wishes, but he cannot pass judgment on them and execute them in front of crowds!
âMinister, this is a subversion of authority and a sign of the dynasty toppling!â A grief-stricken old man presented a petition requesting that nobles could not be judged and sentenced in public. The world would be thrown into disarray!
Li Hao could kill people if he wanted to, but he couldnât do so openly. It would be enough that everyone knew he killed a few of them in private. Whether it was out of intention to intimidate his enemies or to cut down some people against him, it didnât matter.
But this time, the young man thoroughly encroached on their bottom line. When this happened, the nobles would no longer be able to maintain their dignity, authority, and privilege.
So it turned out that nobles could also be sentenced and die! Their heads werenât prettier than the rest when they hit the ground. Li Hao was breaking through the blockades of the heart! The nobles themselves also knew that once this happened, everyone would realize that the ruling class could be overthrown!
It would pull down a wall in the hearts of the people, a barrier that they should not cross!
......
The Ministry of Finance.
Liu Yunqing had wanted to go into closed door cultivation, but opened his eyes when he heard the wailing outside. It came from more than one ministryâit originated from all nine. There were even people kneeling in front of the palace with petitions upheld.
Li Hao could not be permitted to succeed. The dynasty would be over otherwise!
A cold sneer appeared in the depths of Liu Yunqingâs eyesâa sarcastic bent. Iâd thought that Iâd need to wait for a very long time, but it seems that the other nine ministries will be regretting their actions today. Theyâll see that they shouldnât have permitted Li Hao to have his way yesterday!
Liu Yunqing leered and gave no reaction. He didnât say a word or appear in front of the crowds. What did it have to do with him? No one said anything when the Ministry of Finance lost so many powerhouses, but now they were in a rush?
âI knew it, the kid wouldnât rest easy after that. If he dares ignore royal power and act against us, then heâll also dare turn this world upside down. Just wait and see!â Liu Yunqing snorted and chose to turn a blind eye.
Let the world wail itself to exhaustion, let those old men cry their eyes out!
......
The Inspectorate.
The inspector general didnât seem as excited or happy today as he was yesterday. Sobs and shrieks echoed outside while Yellow Dragon raged inside.
âInspector General, Li Hao is completely insane with this move! He wants to drag the Inspectorate and Night Watchers down with him! Itâs one thing to destroy the Four Seas Company and Skystar Colosseum like he did yesterday, but now he wants to publicly execute one hundred nobles! Heâs even arrested thousands of them! Heâs... an absolute lunatic!
âI want to depose him from his position of Skystar vice commander. Didnât he say that this was his right?!â Yellow Dragon shouted with veins bulging in his forehead. âThen Iâll remove that right from him! He will implicate the entire Inspectorate and Night Watchers when he slaughters innocents. Heâs too selfish!â
Everyone was as quiet as could be; no one said a word. Even the inspector general was reservedâhe wouldâve censured Yellow Dragon in times before when the man raged like this. At this moment, he hesitated.
He knew that Li Haoâs group was unbridled and arrogant, but he truly hadnât thought that Li Hao would choose to execute hundreds of nobles in public. This matter could be big, and it could be small. If it was big, this matter was a subversion of two hundred years of dynastic law and rule.
Revolution!
That was the term that came to the mind of the well-educated inspector general. Li Hao was conducting a revolution. He was bringing about the downfall of the bourgeois and privileged.
All of them, including the young man himself, were part of this social class. As a peacemaker commissioner and proposed-to-be deputy director of the Night Watchers, Li Hao himself was a noble. The royal family had also just made him the Skystar Duke.
Does the royal family regret their actions? The inspector general laughed. Perhaps they did. They wanted to use him to suppress the nine ministries, but the first thing he did was something that would make the royal family draw back in horror as well.
âSir!â Yellow Dragon couldnât help but chide when he saw his superior officer suddenly laugh. Iâm talking hereâare we removing him or not? Tell me outright. âYou see it too, sir. Nobles are gathered at the doors of the nine ministries and royal palace. These people are the key to maintaining the dynastyâs operations. The nation will fall if anything happens to them!
âLi Hao isnât using his brain at all!â Yellow Dragon frowned. âThatâs exactly how brutes are. He doesnât understand itâs not that the Night Watchers refuse to take action, but we cannot be so impetuous! We need to take things one step at a time. Once hearts shake from terror after the nobles are dead, it wonât be long before the entire dynasty collapses!â
Some agreed with his words, while others sighed, âThatâs right. The Inspectorate wishes to go all out in improving ourselves and also wants to strictly enforce the law, but has Li Hao given thought to what he should do when he rocks the world with his actions?â
Despite benefitting from the young manâs actions before, the Inspectorate also found Li Haoâs radical methods to be inappropriate now.
âInspector general, people will easily think that weâre secretly supporting Li Hao. Where else would he get the courage to do something like this?â
âHis position of Skystar vice commander needs to be reconsidered. He wonât have the authority to conduct himself like this once he is removed!â There were those who approved of the young manâs actions, and those who disapproved. It was too difficult to truly accept responsibility for this.
âOle Yao, what do you say?â the inspector general said slowly when he looked at the distracted Yao Si.
It was only then that Yao Si seemed to awake from his reverie with the big teacup. âWhat did you say?â he asked blearily.
The inspector general nearly rolled his eyes. âYouâre the one who gave him the position of Skystar vice commander. The entire office of the Skystar commander is an internal Night Watcher contraption. It does not come under the Inspectorate umbrella. We approve of the principal appointment whereas you determine the secondary ones. So I ask you, how do you view Li Haoâs matter!â
He explained himself a bit more because he had a lot of thoughts in mind, but didnât find any of them particularly appropriate. Otherwise, with his personality, he wouldnât have asked Yao Si. Clearly, he had his doubts.
Do they continue?
Li Haoâs actions might bring a lot of authority to the Inspectorate and even help the institution fully find its footing to set its cap as the greatest ministry, but it also brought a lot of trouble down on the Inspectorateâs head!
Heâd approved of and supported the young man before this. Though he didnât say so openly, he promoted Li Hao while demoting the Steadfast Duke. Regardless of whether or not it was in pursuit of strengthening the Inspectorate, it bestowed support to Li Haoâs faction.
But now, he hesitated. This was a revolution, one that would cost him in his life!
Yao Si didnât seem to be fully focused on the meeting at hand. âItâs just the execution of one hundred wrongdoers...â he responded in a rather... senile manner after a long moment. âSo they die, whatâs the matter when there are so many nobles?â
âItâs not just a matter of killing one hundred people,â Yellow Dragon immediately rebutted with dissatisfaction. âHe can do so privately or for different reasons. Nothing will be a problem so long as he doesnât openly execute them. Itâs not like the dynasty lacks for nobles.
âDoes the director not see things clearly in your old age or think that the matter doesnât have to do with you? You shouldnât have given him the position of Skystar vice commander! You also signed the order without saying anything! Why didnât we have a meeting about it? I only learned after the fact that Li Hao had become vice commander!
âItâs clear to see that I didnât think much about it.â Yao Si smiled and coughed gently. âHou Xiaochen isnât weak and he had someone send over a document. Iâm old, is there a need to start a feud with him?â
âHeâs just an outsider, you couldâve pushed it all to me, director,â Yellow Dragon snapped irritably. âWhat are you afraid of him for?â
Yao Si breathed out gently and looked around the gathering, ignoring Yellow Dragonâs impertinence. He whispered to the inspector general, âDo you want to remove Li Hao from his position? That can be done as well. However, the arrow is notched and we have finally increased our authority after so long. If we switch out Li Hao now, Iâm afraid weâll have even less dignity than before when the dust settles.
âOle Huang makes sense,â the old man continued slowly. âBut he also forgets that our current position comes from the Inspectorate and Night Watchers. If we remove Li Hao now, that also means we hand over the authority to enforce the law to someone else. We would be offering it up with both hands.â n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yao Si spoke softly without the intent to censor anyone. He simply rambled slowly.