The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 901 Leader
Ye Xiao continued to listen patiently to Kingsning's nonsense from the audience. He stood in the middle of the crowd, observing the situation around him while waving his arms and shouting some incomprehensible slogans with his mouth wide open.

"Eliminate private property! Confiscate all property!"

"Disband the army! Be friendly to neighbors!"

"Eliminate the brothels! Eliminate selfish desires!"

In Ye Xiao's opinion, all the programs of the "Tianxin City Rescue Organization" in front of him are unrealistic. These people have poor discipline and can even be said to be a group of loose sand. Perhaps they are even worse than the White Lotus Sect that has disappeared for many years.

These foolish men and women just follow the party leader and shout slogans. They don't care what the slogans mean. They just want to take advantage of the chaos to smash up shops and rob other people's wealth.

Kingsning claimed that the "rescue organization" had gained widespread support from the armies of various fiefdoms and possessed more than two hundred first-class battleships and dozens of airships.

However, Ye Xiao judged that this was all nonsense. This group of people had no combat power at all, and they probably didn't even have a decent cannon.

The emperor sent the Suoyi Guards and the Zhongwei Army to encircle and suppress the rebels, which was completely an overkill. To deal with this group of rabble, Ye Xiao only needed to bring a few brothers.

Party leader Kim's speech continues.

"Join the Tianxin City Rescue Organization, and you'll be one of us from now on! The world belongs to everyone. There will be no more emperors, no more landlords, no more factory directors or foremen! No one will bully you anymore! You can be the masters of your own house!"

Seeing that Kingsning was so excited that he was almost out of breath, a fat man next to the party leader raised his left arm and shouted:

"Take charge! Long live the Tianxin City Rescue Organization!"

Several members of the organization around them followed suit and shouted:

"Long live the Tianxin City Rescue Organization!"

There were sporadic responses from the crowd, and some people had already started to slip away. A middle-aged woman in front of Ye Xiao reluctantly raised her left hand, her mouth wide open but no sound came out.

The woman's pockets were bulging with eggs. Only then did Ye Xiao remember that everyone who participated in the rally could receive twelve eggs.

"Oh no! I haven't even received my eggs yet!"

Just when Ye Xiao was regretting, a "bang" sound interrupted Kingsning's speech.

Before everyone could react, a group of fully armed soldiers emerged from both sides of the square. The soldiers in black uniforms were divided into two teams, like a vast tide, instantly submerging the edge of the square.

The leading officer pointed at the crowd and shouted, "Central Guards, arrest the people. Anyone else, please stand back!"

Kingsning hurriedly squatted down and hid behind the podium. The fat man who had just shouted was blocking the front, and he couldn't see clearly from below. Kingsning said bitterly:
"Damn it, I'm afraid I'm going to die here today!"

"Let's kill them! Let's fight them!" He took out his pistol and prepared to make a final fight.

The fat man was one of the eight Vajra under the party leader, nicknamed the Living King of Hell. Seeing that the party leader was in danger, he quickly advised:
"Marshal, if you live in peace, you will never run out of firewood! The emperor's minions are all over the capital, and hard steel is no match for them! Marshal, please leave Tianxin City immediately! I will protect you!"

"As long as Gangling is here, I'm not afraid of dying alone!" Kingsning said in a resolute tone, "Tianxin City is our battlefield. I will stay with my comrades! I will never leave Tianxin City! I will never abandon my brothers!"

"Marshal, let's go!"

While the two were still struggling, a stray bullet whizzed over and just passed over the fat man's head. The living devil immediately wet his pants and fainted.

Kingsning turned around and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~
The believers of the "Tianxin City Rescue Organization" in the square fled in all directions, but heard another explosion in the crowd.

Ye Xiao raised his revolver, pulled the trigger toward the sky, and shouted loudly to all around: "The Suoyi Guards are arresting people. If you don't want to die, stay away!"

"The Suoyi Guards are arresting people. If you don't want to die, stay away!" Almost at the same time, five or six identical voices sounded from other directions of the crowd.

The sound of uniform footsteps came from the distance, and four phalanxes of infantry gathered around with muskets in hand, followed by the neighing of horses. About twenty field guns approached from four directions and finally stopped in front of the infantry phalanx. The officers shouted orders to start loading, and the artillerymen immediately began to load ammunition like a clockwork machine.

"preparation!"

"aim!"

The enthusiastic citizens surrounded in the center of the square had never seen such a scene. They were just waving their arms and shouting that they wanted to expel the emperor and kill him, but now they only wished their parents had not given them two more legs.

The square was in a mess, with broken eggs and stray shoes scattered all over the ground.

Dozens of core members wearing uniforms printed with "Tianxin City Rescue Organization" stood alone in place. Their targets were too obvious and they had nowhere to escape.

When the Central Guard soldiers surrounded them, these people were still taking off their outer clothes.

The soldiers raised their bayonets, and the sharp blades gleamed coldly in the air.

The officer shouted, "Don't move! Arrest them all!"

The soldiers surrounded the core members and searched them carefully, but they could not find the leader, Kingsning. They hurriedly said to the officer, "Captain Zhang, we can't find him!"

Zhang Ming looked around, his eyes fell on a straw raincoat guard, and he said loudly:

"Old Ye, did you catch anyone?"

Ye Xiao put away his revolver and shook his head helplessly.

Zhang Ming said angrily, "What the hell! Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on it?"

"He just took advantage of the chaos and escaped! Let's interrogate his men!"

Ye Xiao suppressed his anger and swung the scabbard to hit a fat man's knee.

"Where's the guy surnamed Jin?"

The Living King of Hell shuddered and nearly passed out from the pain. Without waiting for Ye Xiao to hit him a second time, he said in a panic:

"He cut his beard, put on a woman's skirt, and escaped by blending into the crowd."

Ye Xiao sheathed his sword and pointed it at the direction where the crowd was dispersing a hundred meters away. He squinted his eyes for a while, then suddenly his eyes moved and he pointed the sword at one of them and shouted:

"catch him!"

About two hundred meters away, a woman in a gray long skirt with waist-length hair was walking towards the gate of Tianxin City with her head lowered, going against the crowd. When she heard someone shouting behind her, she quickly quickened her pace. Her skirt was torn, revealing a leg covered with black cats.

Zhang Ming turned around and winked at the two cavalrymen. The cavalrymen shouted, whipped their horses and chased after the man in the long skirt.

When the man heard the sound of horse hooves, he immediately quickened his pace and ran forward. After running for a while, he was out of breath and heard someone behind him shouting at him to stop.

Perhaps realizing he couldn't escape, he suddenly turned and fired several shots at the cavalrymen chasing him. By then, the distance between the two sides was less than ten meters. With a bang, the cavalrymen in front fell to the ground, unable to dodge. "Damn it, you want to catch me? No way!"

Before he could finish his words, a black shadow came flying from behind and smashed the runner's calf with a three-pound iron bone ball. Kingsning fell to the ground with a thud, holding his broken calf and wailing in pain.

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch."

Kingsning endured the pain in his calf and raised the pistol with his trembling left hand. Before he could take aim, the warhorse, which seemed to be demanding his life, had already arrived in front of him. The cavalry roared and whipped him. Kingsning felt a sharp pain in his left hand, and blood and flesh flew in front of his eyes. The pistol flew into the air with a few drops of blood.

~~~~~~~
In the eastern warm room of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Jingyan summoned Prime Minister Zhang Tingyu, Grand Secretary Nian Gengyao, Finance Minister Yue Zhongqi and others.

After a few pleasantries between the king and his ministers, Liu Fan got straight to the point:

"Da Qi is a country ruled by law, not a barbaric nation. We do not have conspiracy politics. We cannot execute a prisoner simply because he is an opposition leader. If we do so, it would be a personal revenge, which would tarnish the reputation of the royal family and affect the reputation of our country! I have a bottom line in what I do. Let's sentence him according to the law."

Nian Gengyao, his hair and beard all white, trembled and said, "Your Majesty, this is wrong. If it were forty years ago, this thief would have been executed by slow slicing at Caishikou, and the people of Tianxin City would have scrambled to eat his flesh!"

Liu Fan said unhappily: "That was in the past, I'm talking about now!"

Zhang Tingyu took over the conversation, saying worriedly, "Having a bottom line is good, but that villain may have none. Your Majesty, didn't you see what happened to Emperor Taizu when he met Du Du? Are you planning to repeat the mistakes of Emperor Taizu?"

Emperor Jingyan's thoughts flew far away.

Like his ancestors, Liu Fan has a tolerant character. Tolerance is Liu's first reaction to anyone.

The emperor murmured: "Dudu..."

Zhang Tingyu coughed. "Back then, Emperor Taizu eliminated all the warlords, swept through the country, captured Hetuala, and killed the slave chief Huang Taiji. Jianzhou Beile Dudu surrendered, so he spared his life. But a few years later, this villain betrayed him again. Later, Emperor Taizu suffered heavy casualties before he finally eliminated him. The lesson can be said to be profound..."

Liu Fan remained silent.

Of course he had heard of Du Du's story, but that happened more than a hundred years ago.

Nian Gengyao said: "We should use our remaining courage to pursue the enemy and eradicate them completely. Your Majesty must not tolerate this."

“It’s just that the British side doesn’t look good…”

Liu Fan hesitated to speak. He knew this truth very well, but eradicating the problem completely was not the emperor's style.

More importantly, the British side was very concerned about the riots in Tianxin City. Old George reminded the Emperor of Da Qi more than once that the basic rights and interests of the people must be protected.

The emperor turned to Yue Zhongqi, the Duke of Wei, and asked, "What does Lord Yue have to say about this matter?"

Yue Zhongqi did not answer the emperor's question immediately, but reported to the emperor the recent news in London.

"Your Majesty, the British have made accusations against the Daqi factory and their attitude is very tough."

Liu Fan frowned. He didn't know how what Yue Zhongqi reported was related to today's agenda.

"Your Majesty's donkey and carriage factory in Liverpool was recently sanctioned by the British and fined one million Qi currency!"

"Sanctions? Fines?" Liu Fan looked surprised.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Yue Zhongqi said cautiously.

"British unions say our Baolu is abusing workers and breaking their laws."

Only then did Liu Fan realize that the Da Qi workers working in Liverpool had to work eighteen hours a day, with more than thirty people living in one room. There was no heating in the winter, not enough meat, not enough quilts, and not even gloves when working. Many people had frostbite on their hands that looked like rotten sweet potatoes... The most important thing was that these people's wages were still in arrears by the Qi factory owners.

Liu Fan said disdainfully: "Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle this kind of thing."

"Your Majesty, please be patient. I have something to say."

The emperor's finance minister, this direct descendant of Yue Fei, was not good at fighting on the battlefield, but at providing the most valuable financial advice to Emperor Jingyan.

"explain."

"Your Majesty, Da Qi needs to make concessions to the British if you still care about the European market."

"Your Majesty, please take a look at this: Overseas sales of Baolu brand carriages over the past twenty years."

Liu Fan said with a hint of dissatisfaction: "What does this have to do with today's topic?"

"Your Majesty, please read this first."

Liu Fan suppressed his anger, took the thick stack of sales reports handed to him by Yue Zhongqi, and listened patiently to the report from the Minister of Finance.

"Your Majesty, please take a look. In the eleventh year of Jingyan, which was last year, the sales of Baolu brand carriages in the UK were 1.2 million, and the sales in Europe were 9.8 million. In the tenth year of Jingyan, which was the year before last, the sales in the UK were 980,000, and the sales in Europe were 8.2 million. You should know that ten years ago, when Your Majesty had not yet ascended the throne, the sales of Baolu brand carriages in Europe were less than 500,000..."

Liu Fan listened patiently to Finance Minister Yue Zhongqi's words and then asked, puzzled, "Why is the growth so rapid?"

The sales of Baolu brand carriages in Europe are showing a growing momentum, which is something that anyone with a discerning eye can see.

Of course the emperor knew this, and he also knew that the sales of carriages alone could generate tens of millions of coins in revenue for Da Qi every year.

"Your Majesty, in addition to the precious donkey and carriage, Da Qi's trade in Europe for clothing, perfume, telegraphs, minerals, and many other things has also grown rapidly in recent years."

"I know."

Emperor Jingyan was quite dissatisfied with the Finance Minister's hesitant speaking style.

Yue Zhongqi quickly said, "It is only because Your Majesty has promoted a policy of good neighborliness and friendship with Europe that trade has flourished. As Minister of Finance, I do not want to see this trend change."

Yue Zhongqi's meaning was quite clear. Great Qi could not be at odds with Europe. He then added:
"If the situation worsens, tens of millions of people will lose their jobs. This happened once before, twenty years ago, and I believe Your Majesty does not want it to happen again. Furthermore, the various feudal lords are demanding a public trial for the opposition. This is the public sentiment."

Liu Fan was silent.

So we must follow Old George's wishes and publicly try the enemies of Tianxin City?

Nian Gengyao rapped his cane and angrily said, "Your Majesty, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Besides, how dare that Englishman interfere in the internal affairs of the Great Qi? How many legions does old George have!"

Yue Zhongqi retorted, "I don't know how many corps the British have, but if the rule of law is lost and European investment is withdrawn, Da Qi will be flooded with refugees. We will have to import 30 million tons of grain every year..."

Zhang Tingyu wanted to persuade him, but Liu Fan sighed and seemed to have made up his mind:
"The livelihoods of millions of Cao workers depend on this, and we cannot neglect it! I have made my decision. On the first day of next month, Kingsning will be publicly tried in the Tianxin City Court! He will receive the punishment he deserves, and not a single drop will be spared!"

(End of this chapter)