You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"Oh," Iori nodded and asked, "And then?"

"...we can complete the revolution at a lower cost, and the country can develop in a better direction, right?" Nadezhda frowned.

"maybe."

Iori held up five fingers and explained to Nadezhda like a treasure: "In terms of size, the only ones who can really influence the situation now are the Revolutionary Army, Onest, General Budd, Esdeath, and the Little Emperor.

Among them, the little emperor was like a puppet and had only pure prestige. However, as a symbol of the thousand-year-old imperial system, many nobles and officials were actually still loyal to him, and General Bud was a representative.

And Ernest can no longer make any waves. If Esdeath expresses her willingness to cooperate with the revolutionary army, I will kill Ernest and perform a "return of power".

In other words, the three parties, including Esdeath, the Revolutionary Army, and General Bud, will rule together and the country will be stabilized quickly without too much unrest. "

"……yes!"

Nadezhda only had an idea, and she didn't see it as clearly as Iori. But after hearing what he said, she suddenly felt that the situation became clear.

"In this way, the country and the people will——"

"Nothing can be changed."

Iori said without any emotion: "There was no real 'revolution', it was just a redistribution of power at the top.

The so-called peace is nothing more than hiding the contradictions without actually resolving them.

Sooner or later, the people will find that their lives have not changed at all, and they are still ruled and oppressed by the nobles and bureaucrats. The only difference is... this time the top leaders have absolute force, and their hope of resistance is zero.

In the end, it was just a more solid birdcage.

- Nadezhda, do you really think that such a future is good for the country... no, for the lower classes?"

Volume 68: The White Moonlight of the Entire Seireitei: Chapter : Make your choice, Nadezhda!

To be honest, whether it is overthrowing the empire and becoming the emperor himself, or changing the system from top to bottom, it is an easy thing for Iori now, and history books also give him enough reference templates.

If you want it to be fast, you can wear the yellow robe; if you want it to be slow, you can become the Sima of Cao Wei; if it is neither slow nor slow, you can become Wang Mang's successor to the Han Dynasty. Of course, this is all in the real world. With super military power, Iori can play some unconventional scenes.

For example, hell politics or something... although it's a bit raw~

But Iori knows very well that there is no perfect country in the world, nor is there a real utopia. A society maintained by force will most likely go to extremes, and groups united by interests will fight with each other. No matter how perfect a system is, there will be loopholes, and over time it will become a tumor.

This is a bug that exists at the bottom of human thinking. If you look at the out-of-control AI brains in many science fiction works, you will understand that even without any constraints, humans cannot imagine what a "perfect system" looks like.

Therefore, Iori had no intention of establishing a heaven on earth from the beginning. His goal was simple:

End this chaotic era, establish achievements that are enough to be elevated to legend, and make the entire "Aka Kill" a copy world where you can steadily brush up your style value.

And in this process, if he can bring a relatively normal society to the people, a country where people can live in peace... then he can be said to have balanced his own efforts with a great mission, and he can be proud of it.

So, when Nadezhda dreamed of peace talks among all parties to end the war, Iori mercilessly shattered her beautiful vision.

"Ernest was undoubtedly a very bad regent. The empire has declined to this point, although he definitely contributed to it by stepping on the accelerator - you don't need to understand what the 'accelerator' is, but you can never say that the country's corruption is all his fault.

If we attribute all the misfortunes to one person and then kill him, all the problems will be solved, and everyone can sit down happily and work together to create a better tomorrow?

That is the logic in religious texts and chivalric novels. The reality is much more complicated than this, and you should understand that.

Nadezhda, even if I really do what you said and kill Ernest, do you have the confidence to make the Revolutionary Army and the Empire put aside their past grudges and sit at the same table?"

Iori's words left Nadezhda speechless. She was stunned for a long time and an expression of regret and helplessness gradually appeared on her face.

She finally realized that she was too excited and lost her mind and made such an unrealistic suggestion:

Not to mention, the revolutionary army could not believe the sincerity of the court, just as the court could not believe the revolutionary army.

Even if the two sides can achieve basic mutual trust, they will definitely be on edge at the negotiation table, and will try to fight for various interests. Moreover, they will still maintain the original size of the army, and will never reduce armaments and live with the people.

if not?

Put down your swords and give up your territory? You must be kidding!

Even if Iori could use his great power to act as a mediator and force both sides to negotiate, it would only be a temporary ceasefire and there would be no possibility of true mutual understanding.

Moreover, there are too many unstable factors here. For example, General Bud is a true emperor, a staunch royalist, and a single word from the little emperor can make him risk his life. So, the little emperor, who seems to be a puppet, actually possesses extremely strong potential power.

If the system of nominal monarchy is unreliable, then tripartite co-governance is even more absurd...

This is just the conflict at the top level. At the local level, among the people, and in the military, all kinds of unimaginable conflicts will emerge one by one. Even if a god comes, there will be no way to save it!

"So... in the end, the only way to solve everything is through war?"

Nadezhda held the prosthetic limb of her right hand and said in a heavy tone: "I am a soldier, but I don't like war, because no matter what the outcome of the war is, the cost will eventually be transferred to the people.

But if there is no other choice..."

“Wars come in many forms, and all of them may bring misfortune, but we can try to minimize their damage.”

"You mean..."

"I have an idea. If all goes well, we should be able to end the war in the most efficient and quick way possible, while accurately resolving all conflicts.

But this cause cannot be accomplished by me alone, or by force alone. I need people with both ability and ideals to help me - such as you, Nadezhda."

"Me?" The short-haired female general's eyes showed realization, "Are you trying to win me over?"

"I really want to say something nice to trick you, but I know what kind of person you are, so I will tell you honestly 'yes'."

Iori said seriously, "I'm trying to win you over."

"...As an Imperial general?"

"Your status is not important, and you should not be bound by formalities. As long as it can reduce the suffering of the people, you will agree without hesitation, right?"

Iori stared into her single eye: "Think about it carefully, Nadezhda."

"You want me to... betray the revolutionary army?" Nadezhda's face was solemn.

But Iori asked back easily: "What drove you to give up your high position and high salary to join the revolutionary army was better treatment and a higher position? Since you have been loyal to your conscience from beginning to end, how can you talk about betrayal?"

"You said you have a way to end this war and get rid of all the worries?"

Nadezhda stared at his mask: "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I could have unified the world by force, but I didn't do that."

Iori asked seriously, "The tiger is willing to sit down and negotiate with the rabbit. Isn't that very sincere?"

"...That's true." Natacha felt a sense of absurdity in her heart, but she did dispel many of her doubts and began to believe Iori's promise.

"So what are you going to do? This is not an easy task. As you said before, both the Revolutionary Army and the Empire are hiding many thorny problems."

"Yeah, it's a headache just thinking about it."

Iori spread his hands: "I don't have the energy to solve them one by one."

Nadezhda suddenly became anxious: "Then you——"

"But if we change our thinking, as long as we solve the problem, won't it be okay?"

“………………Huh?” Nadezhda was stunned.

"The situation seems complicated, but to put it bluntly, it's the nobles, bureaucrats, powerful people, ambitious people and the like who are fighting for their own interests, right?"

"Yes... but you can't kill them all!" Nadezhda had this incredible guess in her mind, and hurriedly persuaded Iori, "If you wipe them out, this country will definitely fall into great chaos!"

"Of course I won't kill them all indiscriminately." Iori smiled.

Although Huang Chao's chrysanthemum poem is very exciting to recite, doing so will not only hurt the powerful and wealthy, but it will also easily lead to losing control.

Iori's idea is more practical and more suitable for the extraordinary world:

"Nadetta, you need to make one thing clear first:

The vast majority of powerful people do not have the idea of ​​forming their own faction and working on their own. When faced with the tide of the times, their first reaction is to join a certain camp, or to act as a fence-sitter between multiple camps at the same time.

What we need to do is to keep putting pressure on certain groups so that they will take the initiative to jump out, join a certain camp, or support a certain boss.

Just like after I took action against the local governor, many governors with guilty consciences began to send letters to question Ernest, and it became clear who was loyal and who was treacherous.

At that time, we can screen these people and selectively classify them.”

“It doesn’t seem like a simple thing to do.”

Nadezhda murmured, "You need an extremely large intelligence network..."

"Ministers, the emperor, the leaders of the revolutionary army - they will help me collect it."

Iori smiled grimly: "I kept them so that they could become lights and attract all the ghosts hidden in this chaotic world!"

Nadezhda was shocked: Iori is confident that he can get the private files of these three people at any time!

She had already thought highly of Iori, but she was still surprised again and again...

"But I can't do it alone. Someone must help me."

Iori held out his hand to Nadezhda: "What's your answer?"

Volume 69: The White Moonlight of the Seireitei: Chapter : Yes, He Is Indeed the God of Death

Ernest did not wait for his reinforcements. After sending the secret letter, it fell into the sea. There was no response from Esdeath, which made him extremely uneasy.

Is it that the northern barbarians are preparing for a massive attack and Esdeath is unable to get away, or has that woman changed her mind and no longer wants to cooperate with him?

But in any case, not even a reply is too...

Calm down! Calm down, Ernest!

You are the chief minister. Although the situation is not favorable to you, as long as the little emperor is still in your hands, you don't need to be afraid of some storms.

——Having said that, his son Sheila has become someone else’s puppet, the Four Rakshasa ghosts should have been killed, and now even Esdeath has abandoned him... The minister looked back and suddenly realized that his wings had withered to this point!

The little emperor is indeed a trump card. Strictly speaking, the royal imperial weapon [Supreme Throne] he inherited has the power to suppress all rebellions, and this imperial weapon is equivalent to being indirectly controlled by ministers.

But since it is called a trump card, it naturally cannot be used at will. The little emperor himself is not mature enough. Activating the imperial weapon requires a huge amount of energy. Using the [Supreme Throne] to quell a small-scale rebellion is completely not worth the cost.

Sitting in the imperial capital, using a large-scale destructive attack at the most critical moment to destroy the elite of the revolutionary army in one fell swoop, that is the correct way to use the royal imperial weapon.

The problem is here:

The cards in Ernest's hand were just a king with a bunch of small cards that were not up to par. Compared with the enemy who had a straight and a bomb, he was really stretched thin during the game...

He was keenly aware that he was in a very dangerous situation. Just as Nadezhda and Iori had analyzed, he originally relied on three legs to walk, but now two of them had been broken. He was just a little emperor and was in danger of overthrowing at any time.

However, a minister is a minister after all, and he still has some adaptability. He immediately went into the palace to "report" his son Sheila to the young emperor.

It is claimed that when Sheela was captured by the Revolutionary Army, she was cruelly brainwashed and controlled by the enemy, and then sent back as an undercover agent, secretly working for the Revolutionary Army without telling him, and that the "Masked General Izo" is the puppeteer of the Revolutionary Army!

The young emperor was shocked and angry, but he believed Ernest without hesitation, and announced to the whole country that Shila and Yi Zang would be stripped of all their positions, and listed them as traitors, calling on the garrisons in various places to eliminate them!

In this way, the minister temporarily stabilized the senior officials of his faction and made them believe that it was not him who instructed Sheela to do so, but that the revolutionary army was using his name to sow discord.

Although it would have a rather bad impact - some people would definitely question his control over the situation, but between losing face and losing his life, he decisively chose the former.

Then he began to conduct a large-scale conscription among the people in the name of the emperor, selecting elite warriors and searching for hidden users of imperial weapons. He invited them to the imperial capital with extremely generous treatment and prospects to form a special police force directly under the emperor.

In addition, he sent a large amount of wealth and supplies to the northern border as rewards to Esdeath and the border troops.

He did not dare to directly ask Esdeath whether she had any ulterior motives, so he simply chose a very smart confidant as the material escort officer and asked him to understand the local situation and Esdeath's personal attitude.

Finally, they tried to transfer General Bud to quell the rebellion of the revolutionary army, but General Bud did not accept it. Instead, he insisted on defending the palace on the grounds of "duty" and rejected the transfer order - he was not at ease to hand over the entire imperial capital to the minister.

In just a few days, the minister issued a series of decrees. Although it did not reverse the situation, it at least pulled himself back from a precarious situation. From politics to military affairs, the advantage of holding the emperor hostage to control the princes was undoubtedly revealed at this moment!

But he's not the only one taking action:

Now Iori has become famous throughout the empire. The wanted order signed by the young emperor himself has in a sense increased his popularity and established a very clear and specific image in the hearts of the people.

During this period, Iori continued to carry out purges in various places in an orderly manner. Especially after being listed as a "rebel", he did not even pretend to be a rebel and used tyrannical force to clear away obstacles. Moreover, he was more thorough than before. Not only local governors and senior bureaucrats, but even powerful landlords were included in the scope of the crackdown.

Of course, he did not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach and only killed the big villains with definite evidence of their crimes. He would show leniency to officials and powerful people who had a good reputation in the past.

After all, in troubled times, although the majority of the powerful are scum, there are also relatively "normal" people, and these people can be used to stabilize the local area and appease the people.

It's not that no one has tried to eliminate him, but it has been proven that all military operations against Iori are futile. Anyone who dares to stand against him must be prepared to have his head chopped off at the next moment.

After witnessing the exaggerated scene of "taking the general's head in the midst of thousands of troops", the soldiers often lose their will to fight... As the saying goes, why do the weak fight?

Even though Iori only has a few hundred men under his command, he is completely invincible when operating within the empire, and his marching routes are unobstructed!

The only thing that comforted the ministers was that Iori did not follow the example of the revolutionary army in stationing troops and seizing territory, nor did he recruit soldiers to expand the army. He seemed to be just showing off his military power by touring between provinces...

It was difficult to understand his motives, and the minister could only think that this was a manifestation of Iori's lack of ambition and political wisdom.

The overwhelmed minister did not notice some insignificant information, such as that wherever Iori passed, the local An Ning Dao would always have a lot more believers, the overall scale had become much larger, and there was a tendency to cooperate with local powerful people.

Unconsciously, some people began to associate the image of a certain god in the An Ning Taoist scriptures with the way Iori appeared to the public.

The priests of An Ning Dao will specifically tell you "don't make random associations", but they always look like they want to say something but stop, which makes people unable to help but have all kinds of thoughts... The more they deny, the more people want to explore.