Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
A million troops surrounded the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Defender of the Realm was having a conversation with Lu Chen at the East City Gate, their voices echoing in the air.
This time, both the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Defender of the Realm finally took notice of Lu Chen, who represented Sun Zizhao's Daiwa Dynasty.
Initially, Sun Zizhao relied on a Governor and a few Commissioners to establish his power. At that time, he was not taken seriously by the Great Zhou Court because they believed that Sun Zizhao, being a bandit, colluding with local officials, would not amount to anything significant and would eventually be destroyed.
The people within the Great Zhou Court thought that Sun Zizhao's Daiwa Dynasty would meet the same fate as other rebel factions like the Peasant Uprising Army, believing it would self-destruct without needing to be attacked.
In contrast, Korea and the Great Qi Dynasty were seen as real threats to the Great Zhou Dynasty, deserving of their attention.
However, under the monetary sanctions imposed by the Great Zhou Dynasty, only the Daiwa Dynasty stood firm against them without falling.
Among several vassal states, most industries were affected to such an extent that overseas trade became hesitant to engage with them. Ultimately, it was the Daiwa Dynasty that salvaged everything and even became a model for other vassal states to emulate.
It was precisely because they did this that they saved their own vassal state. In fact, Lu Chen and Sun Zizhao intentionally spread their methods because they wanted things to become increasingly chaotic, especially under the embellishments of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Only in this way could the Daiwa Dynasty avoid becoming isolated. The methods learned by the Great Zhou Dynasty from the Earth Book were indeed sophisticated but ultimately failed at Lu Chen's hands and those of the Daiwa Dynasty, leading them to win this gamble.
By that time, the Great Zhou Dynasty had begun to pay attention to the Daiwa Dynasty; however, it was still insufficient. During their later campaign against the Daiwa Dynasty, they only sent one or two Loyalty Barons. From these signs, it was clear they still did not regard the Daiwa Dynasty highly, thinking they might have some means to counter economic sanctions but lacked military strength. Thus, for the first time, they dispatched a Loyalty Baron named Luo Yi, who ultimately met a tragic end. After his defeat in battle, Luo Yi committed suicide in his camp with a longsword as an apology.
The second time, facing pressure from the Three Kingdoms Alliance, the Great Zhou Dynasty had no more troops available to deal with the Daiwa Dynasty. Besides a few hundred thousand Regular Army soldiers led by two Loyalty Barons—brothers Wang Chao and Wang Zhong—they later withdrew these commanders due to escalating warfare and retreated their forces. At that time, the main force of the Great Zhou Dynasty was still engaged on the battlefield in Qi Kingdom to the north.
"Rebels? You call me a rebel? Defender of the Realm, think back to when your Xiongnu united with various ethnic groups like Steppe People to invade Central Plains and attack Han Dynasty—were you not rebels then? Moreover, your actions afterward were quite inhumane; anyone who disagreed within your Alliance was almost exterminated. Don't tell me you as Defender of the Realm are unaware of such records in the archives of the Great Zhou Court?" Lu Chen stated emphatically.
What he said was factual; when Xiongnu united various ethnic groups to enter Central Plains, apart from Xiongnu themselves and their close allies, almost no one from the Alliance had a good outcome—they were either driven away or killed.
Lu Chen had also heard about this from Huangfu Qi. Logically speaking, Huangfu Qi should not have known about such matters, as it was a top secret of the Great Zhou Dynasty that ordinary people had no right to know and could not know. Yet, Huangfu Qi was aware.
This was due to Huangfu Qi's status; he was not just a prince. His father-in-law, Zhang Yan, was the Imperial Historian of the Great Zhou Court, responsible for overseeing officials. It was during a review of documents that he unexpectedly came across records related to this matter in the archives.
Huangfu Qi himself learned about this from his father-in-law. However, the current Imperial Historian, Zhang Yan, had long ceased to serve the Great Zhou Dynasty. When the Daiwa Dynasty rose in rebellion, Huangfu Qi secretly sent people into the capital to retrieve his family members, including Zhang Yan himself, who were discreetly escorted away from the Great Zhou Dynasty to Baiyang City.
Zhang Yan's service in both the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Daiwa Dynasty was essentially the same because of his seniority and rich experience. He even gained considerable favor from Sun Zizhao, finding it much more comfortable than at the Great Zhou Court. Moreover, at the Great Zhou Court, he was supposed to oversee officials; in reality, Zhang Yan had long lost that authority. Even if he had some power, there were bureaucrats he could not supervise. When memorials were submitted to the foolish monarch, they were suppressed. Eventually, Zhang Yan became reluctant to write memorials anymore and exhibited signs of laziness in governance; he was left with no choice.
The root cause of this negative outcome lay with the Great Zhou Court itself; it had nothing to do with anyone else. Their time had come; that was a fact.
In front of hundreds of thousands of people, Lu Chen exposed the dark secrets of the Great Zhou Court, revealing one scandal after another, causing everyone to look on in astonishment.
After hearing about so many scandals within the Great Zhou Dynasty, with evidence and witnesses gathered together, it became an undeniable fact that left people sighing.
However, the Defender of the Realm atop the city wall remained unmoved. His expression was stern and his demeanor unchanged as he said, "You spread falsehoods to confuse the public, Lu. I do not know where you heard these rumors that slander our great nation. You are all rebels trying to beautify yourselves and misrepresent your treasonous actions as righteous deeds. You are merely glorifying yourselves while attempting to sway public opinion; you are rebels."
The Defender of the Realm showed no signs of backing down as he pointed at Lu Chen below the city wall and shouted fiercely, his voice echoing like rolling thunder across the sky.
"Hahaha! Defender of the Realm, have you lost control? Calm your anger! Our actions may be deemed righteous or wicked; feel free to criticize us. Justice lies in people's hearts, and history will judge us in due time. Furthermore, this land belongs to the common people—not your Huangfu Family or Xiongnu. Do not think you can claim it for yourselves. If you insist on doing so, you will only bring disaster upon yourselves and suffer dire consequences. You must have seen how things will end; even if you are a War God, you cannot withstand overwhelming public opinion."
Lu Chen countered by accusing the Defender of the Realm. He paid no mind to the Defender's scornful remarks and instead retaliated with reasoned arguments.
Indeed, this land did not belong to the Huangfu Family or Xiongnu nor any individual or group; it belonged to the common people.
That's right—the land does not belong to individuals but rather to everyone. Those who seek to concentrate power within themselves or their groups are selfish and delusional; they will ultimately face dire consequences and be submerged by public opinion. What is public opinion? Public opinion is paramount; only with faith in public opinion can there be a nation. Otherwise, it is all meaningless drivel.
Lu Chen's words left everyone present stunned, as they had never heard of anything like "Public Opinion surpassing the nation" or "Public Opinion being the law." It seemed utterly outrageous and overly grandiose.
Under the oppression of the Great Zhou Dynasty, everyone had been well-versed in Confucian texts and poetry, and deep down, they believed themselves to be lowly commoners, useless and forever incapable of surpassing the nation. However, if one were to set aside the Confucian doctrines and traditional theories, it was clear that the people were the foundation of everything. The populace sustained the nation and built it up; everything that existed now was a result of their efforts.
Without the people, where would the nation come from? Where would power originate? Similarly, Public Opinion is rooted in belief; without faith in Public Opinion, nothing holds value.
"What a Demon, spreading heretical words to confuse the masses! How dare you insult our great dynasty? Without the court, where would the common people find their sustenance? Do you know how difficult it is to feed so many? The court implements benevolent governance; in times of disaster, they allocate funds for relief. They are like parents to the Common People. How can you defile that parental bond? You traitor, you rebel, deserve death."
At that moment, an official from the Great Zhou Court stood up on the city wall to accuse Lu Chen of nonsense, speaking with righteous indignation.
Hearing this, Lu Chen laughed heartily and said, "Where did you find this lapdog? With your official tone, I see nothing but nonsense. Are you saying that the court feeds the people? If so, does that mean that the people are merely a burden to you? May I ask where your disaster relief funds come from? Who sows the food you eat? If it weren't for the people sowing their own crops, would you still be able to eat? Is that what you mean?" Lu Chen boldly challenged.
Upon hearing this, many nodded in agreement. Lu Chen was right; all of the court's money was actually extorted from the common people. If life and death are natural laws, then there is no law stating that commoners must pay taxes to support those Lackey officials who then harm them. In reality, it is the court that acts as a parasite, devouring the fruits of the people's labor.
In such circumstances, an **Incompetent Court** becomes even more detestable and lacks any real purpose. Therefore, it should be overwhelmed by Public Opinion, criticized by those beneath them, and ultimately perish, becoming mere History.
"Demon, no need for more words; let actions speak for themselves. If I do not take your head today, I will take my own life as an apology."
Comment 0 Comment Count