In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 107 A hundred years is too long, seize the day!

"Absolutely not!"

The strongest opposition to Chen Qi's statement came from Enshiodis.

Seeing Enshiodis jump out immediately, the heads of the families were so moved that they almost shed tears.

Indeed, the Prime Minister is the one who cares most about Shelag and thinks about them the most!
Now, the only one who can stop this tyrant is probably the prime minister.

Prime Minister, please keep up the good work!

However, Ensiodis, who was extremely anxious at the moment, had no time to consider the thoughts of these family heads.

Having actually studied in Victoria and learned about the collapse of too many countries from books, he knew better than anyone else present just how dangerous a move his brother was making!

"Your Majesty! I understand Your Majesty's desire to get Shelag out of poverty as soon as possible, but I urge Your Majesty to proceed step by step and carry out the plan in a methodical manner."

"To achieve in three years what takes thirty years to develop is simply impossible!"

"Even if it comes true, the people of Shelag will suffer terribly! Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Having said that, in full view of everyone, Ensiodes knelt down with a thud, pleading with his brother to retract the decree in an almost begging tone.

This was the first time in his life that he had contradicted the decision of his elder brother, whom he regarded as a father.

Ensiodis didn't understand why his brother had made such a hasty decision after he brought back news of the Leitanian emperor.

But he knew he couldn't stand by and watch his brother plunge Sheragra into the abyss.

He couldn't bear to watch his elder brother truly degenerate into a cruel and tyrannical ruler who disregarded the people's will and acted arbitrarily.

"..."

However, as soon as Ensiodis finished speaking, the scene fell into a deathly silence.

Ensiodis, who was keeping his head down with a tremor in his heart, could only feel his brother's footsteps getting closer and closer until they stopped in front of him.

For a moment, Ensiodis, who was being stared at by eyes filled with extremely clear killing intent, felt as if he had been enveloped by a chilling cold as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

—Brother, would you really kill me?
Enciodes, who couldn't help but have this thought in mind, didn't know that in other people's eyes, he was practically a dead man.

"Click."

Suddenly, the clear sound of a revolver's safety being released rang out, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

At this point, some people finally couldn't sit still any longer.

"Qi! Are you crazy?! Stop it!"

At Chen Huijie's shout, she and Fiona immediately stepped in front of Ensiodes.

However, the two women, their eyes filled with disbelief as they looked at the gun in Chen Qi's hand, which had its safety off, both questioned him.

"Qi, he's your brother! How could you—"

"—Watch your words."

However, before they could finish speaking, Chen Qi's eyes suddenly narrowed, and in an extremely cold tone, he warned his two friends:

"This is my palace, and this is also my territory. What I discuss with my ministers is state affairs."

"If you are discussing private matters with me, then please do so after the council concludes."

"If you are discussing official business, then observe proper etiquette and report to me as a subject."

"Have you all remembered this?"

"..."X2
As soon as Chen Qi said this, he could clearly feel that the gazes of his two friends towards him, which were initially filled with disbelief and shock, gradually became either fragile or cold.

Chen Qi knew very well that his cold remarks had probably deeply hurt his two friends.

But he will never regret it.

As a monarch, especially during a time of internal and external troubles, he must maintain absolute firmness as a monarch.

He couldn't let any petty person see his weakness, and he couldn't let anyone think that he would make concessions.

Once this precedent is set, one's absolute rule will be shaken, and one's decrees will be impossible to carry out.

Therefore, he must not back down.

Even if it's your own brother or friend standing in your way, you can't.

"……it is good."

After understanding Chen Qi's meaning, Chen Huijie took a deep breath and almost squeezed out the address through clenched teeth:

"Then, Your Majesty, please hear my humble opinion."

“In my hometown of Dayan, there is a proverb that says, ‘Haste makes waste.’”

"If an emperor places excessive burdens on the people, he would be criticized by civil officials as 'dictatorial' in our Great Yan."

"As the ruler, I hope Your Majesty can be considerate of the people's plight, cherish their strength, restrain your warlike heart, start anew with the people, and bestow grace upon the world."

Chen Huijie's words were quite official; if one did not listen to his voice and only looked at his words, one would think they were official documents from a civil official of the Great Yan Dynasty.

However, this declaration, which was like that of a subject, also proved Chen Huijie's current attitude towards Chen Qi.

She had come to regard him solely as a king, not a friend.

She no longer wanted to save her former friend; all she wanted to do was save the civilians of Sherag.

"...Are you done talking?"

However, Chen Qi responded to Chen Huijie's heartfelt advice with a dismissive and indifferent reply.

"Chen, Ensiodis, you seem to have misunderstood something."

"I have summoned you here only to inform you of my new decrees."

"I have never permitted you to question, refute, or even oppose my decrees!"

In an instant, a ferocious glint flashed in Chen Qi's eyes, and his hoarse voice echoed clearly within the royal court as he roared:

"This is my territory! My decrees are hereby issued; you only need to carry them out."

"As for the waste of manpower and resources, and the depletion of national strength—that is something I should consider!"

"And now, anyone who dares to disobey the imperial decree will only have one fate!"

"—Exterminate the entire clan!"

The moment the words "extermination" were uttered, it was like the roar of dragons and the howl of tigers. Everyone present felt their bodies go limp, and overwhelmed by fear, they all knelt down, drenched in cold sweat.

Faced with this unbearable price, no matter how tough they had been before, they had no choice but to yield.

"Now, answer me, Chen."

Chen Qibing stared coldly into Chen Huijie's trembling eyes, which were filled with suppressed anger, and said, word by word:

“If you continue to contradict my decrees, I will have no choice but to randomly select a tribe and annihilate it to demonstrate the might of Heaven.”

"So now, will you continue to disobey my decree?"

"You, you—!"

With gritted teeth, Chen Huijie stared at Chen Qi, who stood before her as the epitome of a beast in human form, and placed her hand on the Chixiao sword at her waist.

But at that very moment, Fiona, who noticed Chen Huijie's actions, pressed down on Chen Huijie's hand almost immediately!
"Calm down, Chen Chen!"

Fiona's anxious voice quickly came to Chen Huijie's ear:
"Do you really want to wipe out an entire Sherag family because of a moment of impulse?"

"Things have already come to this, and no one can persuade Qi now—let's still believe that he can do it!"

That being said, judging from Fiona's hesitant tone, it was clear that this country girl wasn't entirely convinced that Chen Qi's idea could actually be realized. However, Fiona's dissuasion did have an effect; after a long, deep breath, Chen Huijie's grip on Chi Xiao's hand gradually loosened.

Ultimately, unable to accept Chen Qi's decrees, Chen Huijie chose to leave alone as a final act of resistance against Chen Qi's brutal rule.

Chen Qi, who coldly watched Chen Huijie leave, only spoke calmly to Yela after the other's figure disappeared:

"Yela, write this down."

"General Chen Huijie of the Left showed no respect for the emperor. He was demoted to a guerrilla general and ordered to obey orders while in disgrace."

“Yes,” Yera replied in a flat voice.

"So……"

Chen Qi turned his gaze to the group of family heads and Enshiodis once again. Having successfully established his authority, and seeing that no one dared to dissuade him this time, he finally gave the formal order:

"Since everyone has no further objections, let's proceed as planned."

"From this day forward, Sherag will treat children as women, women as men, and men as pack animals!"

"Except for infants, children under ten years old, and the dying elderly, all the people of Shelag will devote themselves to the construction of Shelag."

"I will not allow anyone to be idle at this critical juncture of life and death for Kherag."

"I will pay wages accordingly based on the length of labor and the working environment."

"The specific implementation will be discussed by the King, the Prime Minister, and the Holy Maiden, and everyone must abide by it."

"Anyone who secretly obeys orders, abuses their power for personal gain, or disobeys imperial decrees will be executed!"

"...Yes." XN
Ultimately, faced with Chen Qi's uncompromising and unyielding attitude, and the threat to their families' lives, none of the family heads dared to object further and all obeyed the order.

Ensiodis and Fiona wanted to say something more, but in the end they only opened their mouths and chose to give up.

They all understood that continuing to persuade you was futile; it was better to do their best to help Sherag get through these turbulent three years as smoothly as possible.

Only after everyone had left did Enya speak to her brother, who sat alone on the throne in silence, with a hint of resentment:
"Brother, Sister Chen is probably going to hate you to death now..."

"Why are you unwilling to talk to her and express your concerns? Why are you in such a hurry to develop Sherag within three years?"

"—Would it have been useful to say it?"

However, in response to Enya's various questions, Chen Qi, who had regained his identity as her brother, simply sighed and replied calmly:

“Enya, if I told you now that I have analyzed the current international situation and determined that a great war that will sweep across all of Terra is about to break out.”

"In the future, we in Shelag will likely be affected by this great war and become part of an empire that unifies the western continent."

"Tell me, Enya, do you believe me, or do you think I'm just worrying unnecessarily?"

"This……"

Faced with Enya's inability to answer immediately, Chen Qi smiled helplessly—this was the result he had long anticipated.

In this world, apart from Chen Qi, who truly knows who his opponent is, no one can predict the future.

The feat of an empire unifying the western continent was beyond the comprehension of anyone in this era.

No one will believe him until they witness that day arrives.

Even if he were to say it, it would only diminish Chen Qi's dignity as a king.

Since that's the case, he might as well just continue to go his own way and become a tyrant in the eyes of others.

At least this way, as long as he is alive, no one in Shelag will dare to disobey his orders.

At least in this way, he could still use coercion to force Sherag into a united front.

"Alright, there's no need to say any more, Enya."

"I think if we persevere for these three years, they will know whether what I said is right or wrong."

With no one else around, Chen Qi stretched wearily and then forced himself to speak:

"Let's quickly formulate a three-year plan for our Sherag and figure out exactly how to implement it."

"These will be a very difficult three years. Everything must be done with meticulous care. The time to test my abilities as king is now."

If I can micromanage well and prevent Sherag from collapsing in these three years, then I could at least become Sherag's Emperor Wu of Han.

If you're bad at micro-management... then you'll end up like Yang Guang (a historical figure known for his tyranny).

Faced with this polarization, Chen Qi had to handle it with caution.

"Your Majesty, there is still one thing I do not understand. May I ask if Your Majesty can enlighten me?"

At this moment, Yela, who had been silent all along, surprisingly took the initiative to ask Chen Qi a question.

At Chen Qi's prompting, Yela gathered her thoughts before cautiously asking:
"Your Majesty has such good intentions, yet you insist on going your own way."

"Isn't Your Majesty afraid that when the heavy burden of labor is borne by the people of Shelag, you will be hated by them?"

"……Ah."

However, Yela's question made Chen Qi laugh after a moment of silence.

"As the king of Shelag, whatever my decrees may bring to the people of Shelag, is the price I must bear."

"If I govern poorly and am attacked by the people of Shelag, that would be my just deserts."

Chen Qi's answer was exceptionally frank.

"Now, all I know is that I would rather have the people of Shelag as my slaves than have them become slaves of an enemy country."

"In my hands, I might still only be using women like men, and men like livestock."

"But at the very least, I will make sure they live as long as possible, so they can live to see the day when their efforts are rewarded."

"If they are ruled by an enemy country, their only fate will be endless exploitation and enslavement."

"If I am destined to be hated by the current Sherag people in order to survive in the future."

Chen Qi paused, and under the dazed gazes of Enya and Yela, he still resolutely read aloud:
"Then let them hate me and slander me all they want."

"Anyway, one or two more people who hate me won't make a difference. If I'm afraid of being hated and so I cower in fear, then what's the point of being a king?"

"It's just that after I die, my tombstone will be smashed and people will spit on it."

"All I know is that if we are to make Sherag rise, we must not be timid or hesitant!"

"A hundred years is too long, seize the day!"

Chen Qi's strong and resounding response echoed clearly within the royal court.

Deeply shocked by this aura, Yela, after a moment of disorientation, felt that the flesh-and-blood person in front of her seemed to be even more robust and taller than herself, who was a "god".

He was like a fearless warrior, always on the front lines.

He was so captivating, so touching.

"A hundred years is too long, we should seize the day..."

As Yela muttered to herself, a hint of determination seemed to burst forth in her bright eyes.

Perhaps, this is the greatness of being a "human being".

It may not be easy for an ant to shake a tree, but if we don't try, who can say for sure that it's impossible?
Pray, you human beings who wish to perform divine deeds.

Let me witness with my own eyes how far you can go and how high you can stand.

(End of this chapter)