Chapter 228: Loss of Faith and Morality

With the continuous propaganda of the court officials, the news that Mo Qiu had died finally spread thoroughly.

The previously lively celebration scene turned into a vegetable market in the blink of an eye, and some people even cried without caring about their image.

Some knights from various states who admired the reputation of Mo Qiu and the Mohist school were the most excited. Even though they knew that there were Jinyiwei watching over them, they still caused quite a bit of trouble.

Especially the guy who shouted "Moqiu's fall" loudly, he was punched hard on the face and mouth, and blood was flowing out.

If the Jinyiwei had not arrived in time, he would have been beaten to death by the excited mob.

Seeing this riot happening on such a festive day, Xiaoying couldn't help but hold Gu Dan's sleeve and whispered, "Uncle Gu, don't you go help them?"

Gu Dan took a deep breath. With his ability, he could naturally see farther and hear farther.

It could have been stopped even before the official who spread the news was beaten.

But he didn't move.

"I won't be there all the time."

Gu Dan said: "Before something irreversible happens, let me see their capabilities first."

Personal power can indeed threaten a country's ruler, but a grandmaster is far from enough to truly control the world.

When necessary, Gu Dan needs to take action and he will not refuse.

But if he had to take action on everything, what was the purpose of establishing the Xia Dynasty? Since Wang Mang dared to choose today to announce the news of Mo Qiu's death, he should have made sufficient preparations.

We can't expect him to come forward and use force to suppress the agitated people, right? If he can't even handle this, it would be too disappointing.

Gu Dan watched there silently, and soon, the rebellious knight was captured on the spot by the Jinyiwei - these Jinyiwei were the people from Wang Mang's gang before, and they were also the ones he trusted the most.

Even if you don't have the talent to govern a country, being a knife in the hands of a monarch can be very useful.

The Jinyiwei did not hold back. They knocked the knights to the ground in no time, tied them up with ropes and took them away.

In broad daylight, in a clear and bright world, this rather familiar scene made the people of the Xia Dynasty at that time recall the days when they stayed in Dayue.

Especially the indigenous people of the imperial capital.

This scene looks damn familiar! Except that the Jinyiwei didn't draw their swords, there's no difference at all.

Gu Dan even saw an old man asking his child with a look of fear, "What year is it today? Is it the Xia Dynasty or the Dayue?"

"Isn't it said that a saint founded a country? Why is it still like this?"

"Didn't you hear what they said? The saint is dead! Now that the saint is dead, of course there will be scum who will use the saint's skin to get to the top. Disgusting, really disgusting! Even though the person is dead, you still want to use his name. Ugh!"

"Without the saint, who is the emperor? What deeds and virtues did he have?!"

Not only the knights-errant, but even some scholars stood up.

They didn't swing their fists or swords, but the words that came out of their mouths were no less powerful than swords! Some of these people were people who really couldn't stand the big moon and didn't want to enter the world; some of them saw that the Xia Dynasty was just established and there was a lack of officials and rushed to the imperial capital. It was indisputable that they had the best chance at the foot of the emperor.

But no matter what kind of scholar they are, they naturally hope for a wise and benevolent ruler in their hearts.

The human heart is difficult to measure, but it is also easy to measure.

When everyone says that you are a saint and admires your virtues, that means they truly appreciate and like you.

They gathered here because of Moqiu's fame and virtue, hoping to work under such a saint.

Unfortunately, the saint is gone.

And judging from the way they seem to have been prepared, they must have known the news a long time ago, but were just holding back. They will announce it only after the matter is done and everyone has been tricked into coming over!

With evil intentions!

His heart is damnable!

Do all the bad things!

If a saint is missing, a villain must be found to take his place.

As the first emperor of the Xia Dynasty who was seen by everyone as having stolen the fruits of the saint's victory, Wang Mang was the best target.

Countless people who had greeted him with joy and cheers when he was riding on the dragon chariot, now did not hesitate to greet his entire family with the most vicious words.

"The saints are gone, and jackals are in power! The country is no longer a country, and there is no peace in the world!"

There was even a scholar with gray hair and beard, wearing a tattered gown, who just fell to the ground and cried loudly, still gasping for breath.

Once someone takes the lead, all kinds of criticism will naturally follow.

"Who was the one sitting on the dragon chariot earlier? How come there was no news of him before the founding of the country, and he has always been doing things in the name of the saint?"

"You tricked us here just to announce the death of the saint? If that's the case, we don't need to wait for the Xia Dynasty!"

"You are grabbing the saint's tiger skin so that you can wear the yellow robe. You are dishonest and unrighteous. The news spread, and the Jinyiwei was well prepared. They must have known it long ago, but they refused to let the saint rest in peace. This is unkind and unvirtuous! How dare you be the emperor of the founding of the country if you are unfaithful and unrighteous, without kindness and virtue?!"

All kinds of doubts and insults were heard, and all the criticisms were directed at Emperor Xia, Wang Mang!

As the emperor of a country, when the people are angry and don’t know how to vent, it’s always right to curse the emperor.

Don’t ask me what this matter has to do with you, just tell me if he is the emperor!

Since you have become an emperor and enjoy the power of an emperor, you naturally have to bear the abuse that an emperor should bear. It is impossible for you to have all the good things.

Faced with the surging crowd's curses, the group of Jinyiwei did not take any action.

Zhong Yan, who is now the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, just glanced coldly at the group of rude scholars.

If it weren't for Emperor Xia's order not to control people with words, none of these people would have been able to escape today.

The group of scholars who were ready to sacrifice their lives waited for a while, and even they were almost tired of scolding, but the group of Jinyiwei still didn't react at all!

This did not make them happy, but made them even more angry.

There was also a daring young man who ran up to Zhong Yan and shouted, "Where did you hide the body of the saint, you bunch of rats? You thieves who stole our country!"

Zhong Yan, who had been silent at first, showed a mocking look in his eyes, "We are the thieves who stole the country? When Yuzhou was hit by a disaster, where were you scholars? When we were providing disaster relief to the people, where were you scholars? When we were suppressing rebellions in various places, where were you scholars? You learned a few words and studied for a few years, but you think you are the top figures, pointing fingers everywhere and criticizing at will. You say that Emperor Xia has no virtue. Where is your virtue? Is it in your mouth?"

After asking such a series of questions, the reckless young man's face turned red and white, and after a moment he cursed: "We are here for the saint! It is only natural to do things for the saint. Who do you think you are, you bastards? Are you worthy of establishing a country in the name of the saint?"

The sarcasm in Zhong Yan's eyes became even stronger. "Oh? You want to follow the saint? When did the Mo family close the door? The saint was born more than ten years ago, and the Mo family has followed him for more than ten years. Could it be that you were still in your mother's belly ten years ago, so you missed it? Today, you have finally grown up and finally got your parents' approval. Do you want to come and join the saint?"

“You you.”

The reckless scholar's chest heaved violently with anger.

Just looking at his appearance, his beard is already half a finger long, how could he have just reached adulthood?

These words were clearly meant to sarcastically attack him. When the sage was alive, he refused to join the Mohist School, but when he heard the news that a country was to be established, he hurried over to join it.

He knew clearly whether he came to join the Mohist school or to seek an official position.

"A dignified Jinyiwei can only show off his power through words!"

After holding it in for a long while, the scholar finally uttered a complete sentence. He raised his neck, his red face full of unyielding spirit, like a loyal and fearless soldier, "I'm standing here. You can kill me at most!"

"Oh."

Zhong Yan did not hesitate at all, and pressed the long sword in his hand directly on the shoulder of the reckless scholar.

The coldness of the iron touched the warm skin, causing the hairs on my body to tremble.

The scholar's teeth had begun to tremble, but his eyes were still fixed on Zhong Yan without saying a word.

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He was actually prepared to die.

Zhong Yan swung his sword suddenly! There was a sound of breaking wind! The reckless scholar stood there in a daze, his legs trembling, but he did not struggle, only his eyes were filled with endless anger.

Then he saw Zhong Yan walking away with a knife in his hand, and a voice could be heard faintly amidst the countless criticisms.

"He's quite a man."

The reckless scholar touched his neck and then his head.

Still here.

The hot blood rushing to my head began to recede rapidly.

The fear of death came over me.

He could hear the continuous curses and insults against Emperor Xia from all around him, and watched Zhong Yan walking away with a knife in his hand. He stood there for a moment, looking dazed and at a loss.

It's actually a little hard to tell.

And this is just a tiny part of the splendor that Gu Dan can see.

Similar yet different scenes were played out one after another in the imperial capital.

Just as many people as Wang Mang had recruited in the name of Mo Qiu before, so many people were now scolding him.

Especially after discovering that the Jinyiwei would not arrest anyone for their speech, the voices of abuse became more arrogant and rampant, and as it should be.

Why doesn't this Thief King arrest people for their words?

Of course it’s because of a guilty conscience! As long as scholars want to scold someone, no matter what he does, whether it is good or bad, they have thousands of reasons and are willing to scold him, and it sounds and looks very reasonable at first glance.

Before, during the big month, they didn’t dare to curse, because if they did, they would really be killed, and it might not just be one person who was killed, but a small disaster would affect the whole family, and a big disaster would affect the entire clan.

But the Xia Dynasty said that it was following the Mohist morality - even though some people don’t even know what the Mohist morality is, but since it wants to follow morality, it certainly can’t be the same as Dayue, right?

Otherwise, why change the name to Xia Dynasty? Wouldn't it be better to just keep it as Dayue?

If he were a saint, they would naturally bow down to him, but since he was a bastard who used the saint's name to rise to power, of course no amount of scolding would be enough.

Even though Wang Mang had secretly ordered that no one should be arrested for words, unless they were the ones who insulted Mo Qiu, there was not much time left before the prisons, dungeons, and even the sky prisons in the imperial capital were all full!

It’s not that those people have really committed such serious crimes, but the main thing is that we have to find a place to detain the prisoners, right?

The vast majority of those captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guards were knights who came from various states out of passion in their hearts, or simply because they had heard the story of Mo Qiu spread several times or even made up countless times, and they were inspired to rush to the imperial capital.

This group of people who have some martial arts skills, but not much; who understand some morality, but not too much, are the ones who are most capable of disrupting public order.

The knights use force to break the law, and this is not just talk.

If the Mohist school had not entered the imperial court, no matter how good its reputation among the people was, it would not have received the slightest favor from the officials.

It’s the same whether you do the right thing or the wrong thing!

This group of knights do not have the same high requirements as the Mohists, but they also want to wield a weapon to do justice. It is hard to say what their nature is like, whether they are good or bad.

But no matter what, arresting so many people is a big deal! Jinyiwei Commander Zhong Yan has rushed to the palace to inform Emperor Xia.

"Now the prison, dungeon, and even the sky prison are all full. There is no room for anyone. So the brothers had to tie up the rangers with ropes outside the prison and assign a few people to guard them. Some of them were good at martial arts, and four brothers died when they resisted."

Zhong Yan reported seriously.

After hearing this, Wang Mang said without any hesitation: "Those knights who only caused minor disturbances, confiscate their weapons, give them a warning, and then release them. As for those who resisted and killed people in anger, there is no need to wait, just take them out and behead them in front of everyone!"

Zhong Yan hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but say, "Those people will never be grateful for this. They will only laugh at you for not daring to kill more people. This will make it difficult to establish your authority, and it will not be easy to intimidate the remaining group of people. Should we kill a few more people?"

Wang Mang shook his head. "Governing a country is different from managing a sect. What we need to do is not for the people of one place to see, but for the people of the world to see. Now they are making a big fuss, but how many people are there in the imperial capital? How many people are there in the entire Xia Kingdom? I have nothing worth boasting about, so it is reasonable for me to be scolded. It is also normal for people to be dissatisfied.

As long as no one is killed, we can let them off. After all, there are not many founding emperors as lucky as me, right? If I were them, I would scold them too. "

Wang Mang had just ascended the throne and was not yet accustomed to calling himself "Zhen", but in front of his old subordinates, he didn't care and was even in the mood to make a joke.

But Wang Mang changed the subject and his expression became serious. "But those who dare to take advantage of the chaos to attack others, or even kill them, will be killed if caught! Kill them until no one dares to commit crimes! Tell them that this is the era of the Xia Dynasty, and lawlessness will not be tolerated! If you still treat it as Dayue in the chaotic times, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"yes!"

Zhong Yan nodded and walked away quickly.

Dayue has been at war for several years, and even the rangers in this land have begun to become wild in heart and accustomed to the lawless life. They even take these things for granted and continue to act as they did before, thinking that no one will catch them. How could such a good thing happen?

Facts have proved that the first things any country or emperor has to deal with are weapons and warriors.

Wang Mang looked around the empty hall.

There was no one beside him at this time.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Wang Mang was as calm as a Buddha statue.

Brother Gu, I am trying my best to be a good emperor. Have you seen what I have done today? Do you agree with me? (End of this chapter)