Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1098

“It’s finally settled.”

Niu Ben breathed a sigh of relief as he read the newspaper that was just published this morning.

A few days ago, he and Luo Quan took a train to Qingzhou City. When they returned to their respective mansions, they received news from various sources.

A big show unfolded before them. It was then that they understood that so many things had happened in the Empire in just a few days.

At such a sensitive time, the two naturally did not dare to cause any trouble for Xiao Ming, so they stayed at home and calmly observed the development of the situation.

It was not until they saw the news in the newspaper this morning that they understood that this storm had ended smoothly.

“It is said that many people suffered this time, and many people were scared.” Luo Quan said. His hair had turned even whiter in the past few days.

He was not concerned about anything else now. He was only worried about Luo Xin and Luo Hong.

“They brought it upon themselves. If you think about it carefully, weren’t these people who suffered using their noble status to bully the common people in their daily lives? Now, they are just paying for it.” Niu Ben’s eyes were sharp.

He had been with Xiao Ming for a long time and naturally understood the Emperor’s temperament. It was ridiculous that people like Ge Yiren thought they could stand against him.

“Alas, I can’t do anything about the others. The survival of my Luo family is still uncertain. Luo Hong is involved in this, which is a capital crime that can lead to the extermination of the entire clan.”

When this was mentioned, Luo Quan beat his chest and stomped his feet, filled with regret.

Niu Ben sighed. He consoled him, “The Luo family has been fighting for the royal family for generations. The Emperor has his own judgment in his heart. You should not worry. It’s just that for Luo Hong… you must be prepared.”

“That rebellious son… alas…” Luo Quan stopped talking suddenly.

No sooner had his voice fallen than the butler suddenly came trotting in front of him and said loudly, “Master, my young master and second young master have returned.”

Luo Quan stood up abruptly. “Where are they?”

“They have just entered the city,” the butler said.

“That rebellious son!” Luo Quan picked up his treasured saber, which he had used for many years on the battlefield, and turned to leave his mansion.

Niu Ben immediately followed him, afraid that Luo Quan, in his anger, would do something impulsive.

At the same time, Xiao Ming also received the news that the Southwest Army had arrived in Qingzhou.

“Your Majesty, Commander Luo Xin only brought ten personal guards with him to Qingzhou,” Qian Dafu said.

“He wouldn’t dare to bring more.” Xiao Ming snorted coldly. Now, all six military region commanders had arrived in Qingzhou, except for Zhu Sansi, who was in Alaska.

After all, Zhu Sansi’s location was too far away, and he did not intend to have Zhu Sansi return.

Standing up and walking to the door, he said, “After all this commotion, the Empire has also been in a state of chaos for a while. It’s time to give a result and calm the world down. Let’s end this at the morning court tomorrow.”

With that, Xiao Ming walked out of the Imperial Study.

According to statistics, a total of over two thousand people who were involved with the Merchant Parliament were arrested this time. The number of old nobles who colluded with Ge Yiren and Luo Hong was over eight thousand. These people were scattered throughout the Empire’s various cities.

And in the army, in addition to Luo Hong, more than three hundred generals were arrested.

Some of these three hundred generals were Luo Hong’s former subordinates who had discussed rebelling with Luo Hong. The rest were generals from powerful families.

After the plot was exposed, these generals tried to lead their men in rebellion, but the result was that they were decisively arrested by the chief scribes in the army. Only a few of their confidants rebelled with them.

It was precisely for this reason that this farce began with a bang and ended in a dramatic way.

However, this incident also caused some damage to the Empire. In modern times, it was still not possible to guarantee a one-hundred-percent arrest rate.

In this era with a low population density and zero surveillance facilities, the difficulty of arrests naturally increased exponentially.

However, the unfortunate thing was that there were still people who escaped. These people were now completely missing. There were even a few generals among them. No one knew whether they were dead or alive.

And this was the only flaw in this incident. But Xiao Ming also understood that nothing in this world was perfect. You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

After resting for a day, Xiao Ming attended the court session on time the next day.

Upon receiving the order, all the officials also arrived at the Zhengda Guangming Hall on time. They understood that someone’s head was going to roll in this court session today.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Xiao Ming’s gaze swept over everyone’s faces. His gaze lingered on Luo Xin for a moment before returning.

“I believe all you ministers know what I am going to say today. A few years ago, the Merchant Parliament caused chaos in the south, which brought great disaster to the Empire. After the Merchant Parliament was defeated, Cao Kun and his son, the running dogs of the British, fled to Britain, and were made nobles by the Queen of England. Since then, these two traitors have been doing everything they can to cause chaos in the Empire, inciting the members who were lurking in the Empire to spread rumors and seek an opportunity to rebel. However, heaven helped the Empire. These two traitors were captured in the Battle of India, and the secret stronghold they established in India was also destroyed. Yue Yun even found a list on him. After cross-referencing and investigation, the people on this list are indeed closely related to the Cao family father and son, and this is not a false accusation.” Xiao Ming said, enunciating every word clearly.

Pang Yukun then stepped forward and said, “The Cao family father and son are treacherous rebels and scoundrels who have betrayed their country. I believe that these traitors should be executed by slow slicing to set an example! There can be no leniency.”

“I believe that even after the two of them are dead, their bronze statues should be made so that people can remember them for generations to come and curse them!” Zhan Xingchang stepped forward and said.

Xiao Ming nodded. Compared to Ge Yiren, he actually hated Cao Kun even more.

Ge Yiren at least competed with him for his own interests and lost. But this Cao Kun was a traitor who sold out his country and was willing to be a dog for others.

For such a person, he would not feel a single bit of compassion.

So he said, “Just as Elder Zhan said, after the two of them are publicly hanged, a bronze statue of them should be made for all generations to come to curse them. As for the masterminds on the list, they will all be killed without mercy!”

The Battle of India was only the initial stage of his formal war with the great powers. After this defeat, the Western powers might negotiate for peace.

But their wariness towards the Empire would only increase, and they would secretly accumulate strength to plot a comeback.

So, he did not want the Empire’s technology to be stolen by traitors and taken to Europe at this time.

And to make an example of them, he could only take ruthless measures and be merciless towards the remnants of the Merchant Parliament.

After pronouncing the Cao family father and son guilty, Xiao Ming sighed softly. “Next is a matter that deeply pains me. A minister of the Empire’s Cabinet actually used my name to oppose me. Ge Yiren, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Xiao Ming said, looking at Ge Yiren, who was in shackles.

The current Ge Yiren no longer had a single trace of his former elegance. He looked like a frail old man in his twilight years. But even so, he was destined to bear the blame for the mistakes he had made.