I am a demonic cultivator, not a capitalist with a conscience.

Chapter 83 The Star Lord's Secret

As the emperor, one's word is law; if one says so, one's house is confiscated.

Leading a hundred soldiers, Chen Yu followed the general straight to the Grand Secretary's residence.

As soon as the door was opened, two armored men kicked it open. The servant inside was about to shout when he was slapped across the face and then pinned to the ground, unable to move.

The two burly men inside the gatehouse jumped out with long sticks, but when they saw the soldier's gleaming broadsword and shiny armor, they immediately fell silent and dared not utter a sound.

Hearing the commotion, the Grand Secretary stood at the gate of the outer courtyard, pointed at General Li, and shouted, "General Li, this is a time of crisis! Instead of helping His Majesty, what are you doing here! Are you planning a rebellion?!"

Chen Yu pushed through the crowd and walked in, saying, "You said they wanted to share my burdens, but they really are sharing my burdens."

"Your Majesty? What are you doing here!"

"Of course he's here to share the burden! Men, seize him!"

Two soldiers rushed forward menacingly and pinned the ragged prime minister to the ground.

One of them pulled down the prime minister's trousers, revealing his silk underwear and his magnificent red long gown.

"The Grand Secretary is indeed frugal; he wears all his new clothes underneath, doesn't he?"

"That's an heirloom..."

"Do you think I'm stupid?! Why don't you just say it grew from itself?! Confiscate the property! Hurry up!"

One hundred soldiers pounced on the prime minister's mansion like hungry tigers, turning it upside down.

It's no wonder the prime minister suffered this calamity.

The other party had already realized that the country was doomed and had packed up their valuables and hidden them at home in preparation for fleeing. They even had more than a dozen mule carts ready, making it extremely convenient to raid them.

Seeing the hundreds of cabinets filled with gleaming silver, along with various jewels and silks, Chen Yu sneered.

Looking again at the letters that the Grand Secretary had hidden, revealing the secret communication with the rebels, he smiled and put the letters aside, then threw silver on the ground at the trembling Grand Secretary.

"frugal!"

丢。

"No money!"

丢。

"The Grand Secretary is truly a good minister of mine!"

丢。

After smashing the Grand Secretary's head until it bled, General Li stepped forward and respectfully asked, "What does Your Majesty intend to do with this silver?"

"Here's 1.8 million, enough for the Imperial Guards' pay. Take it and distribute it to them. What's the law about embezzling so much?"

"To be torn apart by five horses and to exterminate nine generations of his family."

"This is a crisis, and he's so old. Don't waste time, just slit his throat."

The trembling prime minister raised his head, looking at Chen Yu with resentment, his eyes filled with hatred that seemed to devour Chen Yu: "You tyrant, you will die a horrible death!"

"Perhaps, but some people won't see the day I die. Who will it be? It's so hard to guess."

Despite being scolded, Chen Yu didn't change his mind and killed him directly.

After instructing General Li to send the silver back to distribute wages, Chen Yu looked at the other houses and asked, "Do you think they have any money?"

Wang Zhi stepped forward and said respectfully, "They were also wearing four layers of clothing."

"That's fine, proceed with the raid."

All 100,000 Imperial Guards were mobilized. Having received their pay, they were extremely proactive and managed to raid all the nearby officials in a single day.

Seeing the accumulated 70 million taels of silver, Chen Yu instinctively felt uncomfortable.

Perhaps I'm dizzy with money, otherwise why would I feel uncomfortable seeing so much silver?

But now the rebels are heading this way, so money is no longer a big deal.

Some of the silver was distributed to the people, and some was scattered along the rebel army's route. The grain seized from their homes was also disposed of in the same way.

Although much of the supplies had been dealt with, the remaining goods still filled the oxcarts in the city, making Chen Yu shake his head repeatedly. The officials were filthy greedy, yet the people of the city were starving; it was no wonder this place was doomed.

After finishing the business, Chen Yu said to General Li and Wang Zhi, "Alright, now let's get ready to run away."

"...What! Is His Majesty planning to abdicate?"

"How could that be? I am wise and mighty, born to be an emperor. This world would not go far without me."

"Then why don't we fight the rebels to the death? Although we only have 100,000 men, we only need 50,000 to defend the city. We'll be fine!"

"What decisive battle? All those who die are my men. What about the demographic dividend? The rebels are just ordinary people. If people have money and food, they'll want to farm. Who would risk their lives to rebel? Where's the Imperial Seal? Give it to me."

Placing the imperial jade seal, representing the emperor, in the most prominent place in the Golden Palace, Chen Yu said, "Let's go."

"Don't you want the imperial seal anymore?"

"No, we don't need it. It's not that the emperor is the one who takes the imperial seal, but rather that the emperor is the one who holds the imperial seal. I'll let the rebels play with this for a couple of days while we raid other places. We'll come back once the rebels are in internal strife."

"I'll do as His Majesty says."

"Alright, take the grain and silver and let the people evacuate first. Give money and grain to those who can't leave. We will officially evacuate in three days!"

Three days later, Chen Yu headed south, beginning his raiding spree.

The rebel leaders who entered the capital city first immediately fell into internal strife upon seeing the imperial seal. The small seal became a deadly weapon and a cursed object; whoever obtained it would soon be caught in conflict and die a gruesome death.

A year later, Chen Yu, who had ravaged most of the south, finally led his troops back to the capital.

At this time, they were well-equipped and easily incorporated the chaotic rebel army, thus beginning the path to the revival of the dynasty.

Seeing the dynasty rise to prominence again, Chen Yu suddenly heard a voice in his ear: "Dream over, begin settlement."

Startled, Chen Yu realized he had returned to the previous level of the dream, and the dried fish he had ordered was still warm.

The previously blocked memories immediately resurfaced, reminding him that he had only had a long dream.

Reflecting on the content of his dream, Chen Yu realized that while he was dreaming, the dream was incredibly vivid, but upon waking, he would notice that many details were off.

However, the power of the Fire God is so vast that it can make people ignore these problems while sealing their memories, which is truly amazing.

But how can such a wonderful dream test one's moral compass?

In my dreams, I eat and sleep well, and I can even raid houses and fight wars. I can't describe how happy I am.

Where is the so-called moral test?
Puzzled, Chen Yu opened the final rating; something felt off.

[Dream over. Your assessment: Heretical and unorthodox!]

[The ruler and the subject act neither in accordance with the proper order of things, doing things that are wildly unconventional and unreasonable.]

Although they eventually succeeded in restoring their kingdom, what was the price they paid?

[Moral score +5! (Mock score does not count towards actual score.)]

Thankfully it was just a simulation, otherwise Chen Yu would have really gone to settle scores with the Fire God.

Adding five points is no problem, but what do you mean by calling me a heretic?
He had just finished reading it when he discovered a second review had surfaced:

[Dream over. Your rating: Ingenious and imaginative.]

Although their actions are unpredictable and erratic, they are not without reason. Even if their personal morality is flawed, it can be accepted for the sake of the greater good.

The eventual successful restoration of the nation further proves that your ideals were sound for both yourself and others.

Morality Score +10

Both conclusions were drawn by the Fire God, but the evaluations were completely different, which surprised Chen Yu.

After pondering for a moment, he asked Zhong Zheng, who was still playing video games, "Master Zhong, are there multiple Fire Gods?"

"How could that be? There's only one."

"Does He have multiple personalities?"

Zhong Zheng immediately put down his phone and looked at Chen Yu in astonishment, asking, "How did you know!"

(End of this chapter)