Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1092

Ge’s Mansion.

Ge Yiren looked as if he had aged ten years. Not long after Gao Yuan left, a group of people wearing black long gowns with golden long swords embroidered on their chests broke in.

The moment he saw these people, Ge Yiren understood that his power was gone, because the clothes these people wore were the standard attire of the secret guards.

And the golden long swords on their chests proved that they were the elite of the secret guards, the Imperial Secret Guards. The ministers in the court had always been guessing about this mysterious organization.

But even Pang Yukun knew very little. The public intelligence showed that the secret guards were mainly engaged in intelligence gathering, overseas infiltration, and the security affairs of the Empire.

And these Imperial Secret Guards were responsible for the Empire’s security affairs and specifically dealt with people who tried to harm the Empire’s security.

In the past, he had thought that this was just idle talk among officials, but now the facts proved that it was all true.

“Ge Yiren, you are under arrest!” The leading Imperial Secret Guard said coldly. “I advise you not to try to resist now, because this is an order personally given by the Emperor.”

Upon hearing this, Ge Yiren’s body trembled violently. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.

At this time, Ren He, who had been arrested, was escorted all the way to the palace by the guards.

In the Imperial Study, Xiao Ming was waiting for him. When Li San confirmed that Ren He was in Ge Yiren’s mansion, he ordered Li San to notify the guards and the Imperial Secret Guards to personally arrest the two of them.

Whether Ge Yiren knew that Ren He was related to the Merchant Parliament or not, it would be a disgrace to him if it were to be spread that a cabinet minister was harboring a person who had harmed the court.

“Are you Ren He? Why did Ge Yiren try to kill you?” Xiao Ming asked coldly, facing the kneeling Ren He.

Li San had been using the telephone to control the secret guards’ actions, so he naturally knew everything that was happening now.

Ren He knew that he was doomed to die, but he resented Ge Yiren’s viciousness. So he said, “Long live Your Majesty! Ever since the Merchant Parliament was rampant in the south, I was forced to join to protect my family. Now, I am once again threatened by the Cao family father and son to come to Qingzhou to cause chaos in the country. My crime is unforgivable. However, after entering the Ge mansion, this humble man realized that what Ge Yiren was doing was no different from us. Please allow this humble man to explain…”

With that, Ren He confessed to his conspiracy with Ge Yiren, and at the same time, also exposed the details of how Ge Yiren colluded with other powerful people to deliberately create public opinion and bribe radical students to cause trouble.

“But even so, this Ge Yiren is not the mastermind!” After listing Ge Yiren’s numerous crimes, Ren He suddenly said.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Study dropped to a freezing point. A layer of cold sweat also appeared on Li San’s palms, because he was not even aware of the things that Ren He said. And the words that Ge Yiren was not the mastermind were even more shocking.

This meant that there was a formidable force behind Ge Yiren.

“Who is it!”

Xiao Ming clenched his fists tightly. Although he knew that there was a force opposing him within the Empire now, he never expected this force to be so powerful. If Ge Yiren was just a pawn, then who was the mastermind?

Thinking of this, a chill also ran down Xiao Ming’s spine.

“Does Your Majesty still have no clue? Although Ge Yiren is bold, he would not dare to act recklessly without a powerful backing.” A look of madness appeared in Ren He’s eyes, and he suddenly burst into laughter.

He then said, “Your Majesty, do you still not understand? Ever since you conquered this empire, such a disaster was destined to happen. You can only blame yourself, Your Majesty, for not completely shattering the Great Yu Empire and leaving behind too many powerful families from the former dynasty. Now that Your Majesty is not giving them a way to live, they can only not give you a way to live.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Who is the mastermind? If you don’t tell me, I have a thousand ways to make you talk,” Li San said sternly.

“I will die if I tell you, and I will die if I don’t. I might as well not say anything.” Ren He had already made up his mind.

Xiao Ming took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart. He said, “I will spare your life. Tell me everything you know.”

Ren He was overjoyed when he heard this. He felt that he had made the right gamble. He said, “Your Majesty, why don’t you investigate Luo Hong!”

“Luo Hong!” Li San exclaimed in shock.

Xiao Ming suddenly stood up. He asked Li San, “Where is Luo Hong now?”

A layer of cold sweat appeared on Li San’s forehead. He said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, Luo Hong left for Yizhou a few days ago on the pretext of recuperating from an illness and has not yet returned.”

“Yizhou,” Xiao Ming murmured.

Qian Dafu reminded him cautiously, “Your Majesty, Luo Xin is now in Yizhou, but there is also another person in Yizhou.”

“The exiled imperial prince, the third imperial prince,” Li San blurted out.

Qian Dafu continued, “Your Majesty, we must be on guard against certain things. Although Luo Xin followed Your Majesty in campaigns in the north and south, he is still a member of the Luo family. If he is incited by Luo Hong, he might do something irrational. Moreover, when Luo Hong was stationed in the northwest, he also had a group of loyal subordinates. These people are now scattered in the various military regions. If they were to use the former third imperial prince to rebel, the Empire would fall into great chaos. To be safe, it is best for Your Majesty to make preparations in advance.”

Xiao Ming fell silent. If this matter was only led by Ge Yiren, it would at most be a small incident of scholars causing chaos in the country and could be easily settled. But now that Luo Hong was involved, it also involved the army.

“Take Ren He away!”

With this, he had to immediately deal with the most urgent matter at hand. Now that Ge Yiren had been arrested, this matter would surely spread quickly in Qingzhou.

This might be the fuse for a life-or-death duel between him and the old forces.

“Your Majesty, are you going to break your promise?” Ren He said in horror.

“I will give you your freedom after I have dealt with the internal chaos, but from then on, you must never set foot in the Empire again,” Xiao Ming said coldly.

Ren He breathed a slight sigh of relief and allowed the imperial guards to take him away.

“Your Majesty, should we have Lei Ming return?” Li San asked with concern. “If an accident occurs, the Southeast Military Region will be able to respond in time.”

“There’s no time. Now that we have arrested Ge Yiren, if there is to be a commotion, it will probably happen in the next few days.” Xiao Ming suddenly felt physically and mentally exhausted.

The obstacles he was facing this time were not small, but this was also the best time for him to rectify the Empire.

“Now, the Empire’s army is not a private army of a certain person. Does Luo Hong think that the Empire’s army is still the Luo family’s private army? As for Luo Xin, I do not believe he has the guts to do that!” Xiao Ming said.

“Your Majesty, if something were to happen to Luo Hong, could Luo Xin, to avoid suspicion, still remain in his position as commander? Luo Xin is also very clear about this. I am afraid he has no choice now,” Qian Dafu continued to persuade him.

“In that case, let’s test it. I will now have the General Staff issue an order to all the major military regions, asking all the military region commanders to come to Qingzhou to attend a military conference. Whoever does not come has something to hide!” Xiao Ming slammed the table heavily.