Chapter 224
224
Those who were freed from slavery were directly taken to various factories. After they entered the factories, the first thing the factory managers taught them was that they were not allowed to be servile to anyone in the future, and that everyone would be an equal worker in the future.
But equality does not mean that you can bully others at will. Some people who used to be slaves and were used to being bullied now think they have turned the tables and can bully others. Such people will also be kicked out of the factory.
The factory here provides food and accommodation, the wages are not low, and there are holidays. The factory does not care where you go during the holidays, as long as you don't do anything illegal.
Of course, some people are happy and some are unhappy. Those who are unhappy are the aristocratic class. Cheng Yeran's actions have harmed their interests. Many of these people don't care what will happen after they die. They only care about how they are when they are alive. Many people gathered together and prepared to make trouble. They wanted to resist.
These days, Cheng Zhao discovered that many ministers were entering and leaving his father's study. Many of these ministers were his father's subordinates, and many were his father's students.
Before, his father was the prime minister, managing all matters in the court. Now many things have changed, yet they seem to have remained unchanged.
He waited until all the ministers had left before entering Cheng Yeran's study and saw
Nanxi
Cheng Yeran was lying on a recliner, wearing headphones, as if listening to something.
"Dad, are you listening to music?" Cheng Zhao asked as he sat next to his recliner.
Cheng Yeran put one earphone into Cheng Zhao's ear, and heard many voices, "What is this?"
"The former queen is plotting to overthrow me and let the second prince ascend the throne after he returns. She has also won over many court officials and is preparing to rush into the palace and kill me just like the people rushed into the palace and killed the emperor that day." Cheng Yeran installed a bug in the former queen's place. The former queen thought that if she drove away the servants he sent to take care of her, no one would monitor her. In fact, her every move was under the control of Cheng Yeran.
Cheng Zhao frowned and asked anxiously: "Then what should we do? Uncle Shao Hui also supports the second prince to be the emperor. If the queen convinces Uncle Shao Hui, then no one can protect us."
Cheng Yeran chuckled: "Your father has been the prime minister for so many years, but I have no power of my own, I am isolated and helpless, and I can only rely on Shao Hui. Do you believe it?"
Cheng Zhao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, "So Dad has been pretending to be isolated and helpless?"
Cheng Yeran smiled at him and said, "I am just a poor little thing."
Cheng Zhao saw his father's joking tone, but he felt that he was unfathomable. "But what are you going to do? The military power is in the hands of Uncle Shao Hui."
"He has an army of over one hundred thousand. I have privately asked Yuanbao and Yang Shiming to recruit soldiers. The recruited soldiers will be led by Ye Gou. The soldiers recruited this time will be completely submissive to me. And do you know about our fireworks factory outside the city?" Cheng Yeran asked him.
"Of course I remember. The fireworks at the Lantern Festival last year were all made by our factory." When Cheng Zhao said this, he suddenly thought of something. He was a smart kid and understood it immediately. "You also made gunpowder?"
"We have explosives, cannons, and muskets. Fortunately, this world doesn't have these yet. If we master these technologies, we will be invincible. This is why I mentioned before when we were chatting that if I had a gun, I would fight against imperialism and feudalism. Although it was just a casual remark at that time, it reminded me that without weapons, there is no way to resist." Cheng Yeran made a hushing gesture to him, "Don't tell your father about this. He is too kind and naturally can't bear to see the bloody side of war. But there is no revolution without bloodshed. It can't be done by pretending to be a ghost or a plane. We still need guns/cannons."
Cheng Yeran also gave Cheng Zhao a fire gun, "Go find your uncle Yang to learn how to use it. He has already learned how to use it. He is good at archery and shooting, and he is also good at it. He is teaching his men how to use it. You can learn from him too."
Cheng Yeran was impressed by the fact that Yang Shiming dared to resist his mother's emotions and knew that he was a man who dared to resist. He was right. Yang Shiming was only loyal to the leader who could make the country better, and he didn't care whether this person was the emperor or of royal blood.
Before the queen rebelled, the eldest prince proclaimed himself emperor in his fiefdom and formed his own army, preparing to attack the capital. It was said that he had already occupied two cities and massacred another.
When Shao Hui heard the news, he thought that what Cheng Yeran said was indeed true. As long as the royal bloodline became emperor, the evil spirit would enter the body.
Shao Hui asked Cheng Yeran for permission to lead troops to capture the evil eldest prince.
Cheng Yeran prepared a lot of explosives for him, taught him how to use them, and also urgently trained a convoy that could transport some soldiers over at a faster speed and could also transport food and fodder.
Cheng Yeran also distributed a lot of military boots to them. In the past, the shoes worn by the soldiers under Shao Hui were either cloth-soled or straw sandals. The generals with better conditions would wear leather-soled shoes. He distributed rubber-soled shoes, which are softer and more elastic than cloth-soled and straw sandals, and are more wear-resistant. They can walk farther and are less harmful to the feet.
The soldiers were overjoyed when they got the new shoes, and they thought to themselves, could these be the shoes that the gods in heaven wear? It is indeed more comfortable than shoes on earth.
Cheng Yeran controlled costs and only bought some shoes of ordinary quality, but they were already very good for people of that era.
He had a limited amount of money, and if he only used it for his family of three, he would never be able to spend it all in several lifetimes. But if he had to use it for so many people, he would have to be frugal.
He plans to open a factory that specializes in making rubber-soled shoes and tires, which will make both warfare and daily production more convenient in the future.
Now there are cement roads all over the country, and he has cars, so the raw materials can be transported in from outside and produced locally.
After Shao Hui left Beijing, the Queen saw an opportunity, but it would take some time for the Second Prince to return. If she waited for the Second Prince to return, she might miss the opportunity, so it would be better to act now.
They gathered forces from all sides, quietly entered the city from outside, and assembled hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, intending to break into the palace under the cover of night and kill Cheng Yeran just like the people killed the emperor last time.
When they were talking about the plan, Cheng Yeran was listening to their plan through a monitor and had made the arrangements.
When the rebels arrived at the gate of the imperial city, they found that there was no one guarding it. Could it be that Cheng Yeran was really a god and was not afraid of them?
The leader on horseback in the front commanded them to charge in, but before he finished giving the order, someone pointed at the city wall. A row of armored soldiers appeared on the wall and threw many bags at them.
Some fell on their heads and bodies, and some fell on the ground. Although it was painful, they did not die.
The general laughed and said, "What is this? Lord Cheng, you don't think these things can kill us, do you?"
Before he could finish his words, the explosive bags exploded. Where the explosive bags fell, people nearby were blown into the air, their arms and legs flying everywhere. It was a very bloody scene.
Some people ran back in fear, but they stepped on landmines buried in the ground and were blown away again.
…
Cheng Yeran listened to the thunder-like sounds outside and went to look for Shen Yuntang. Shen Yuntang was most afraid of thunder.
He looked around and found Shen Yuntang squatting in front of the drum washing machine. The humming sound of the washing machine covered up some of the banging sounds outside. Shen Yuntang didn't pay much attention to the sounds outside, but just asked Cheng Yeran casually: "Is it raining outside? Why is there such a loud thunder?"
He felt the ground shaking as he spoke, "Earthquake?"
Cheng Yeran put his arm around his shoulders and said, "No, you stared at the washing machine for too long and you got dizzy. It's an illusion, it's all an illusion."
He held Shen Yuntang in his arms and said, "What's the point of looking at a washing machine? Let's go to the movies. I bought a set of audio-visual equipment. It just so happens that we also have a generator now. We don't have to watch movies on such a small screen like a mobile phone or tablet anymore."
"A small one is also good and convenient. But I have never been to a cinema to watch a movie. Is the equipment you bought the same as that in a cinema?" Shen Yuntang asked him.
"Almost. Once you go and see it, you'll know how good the big screen is." Cheng Yeran specially asked someone to set up a soundproof room so that the effect of watching movies would be better and the outside sounds could be blocked out better today.
"Do you want to ask the kids to come and watch?" Shen Yuntang got up and went out with him. They found that the moon was very big, there were no dark clouds, and it was not raining. "Why is there thunder? Is it really thunder?"
Seeing his doubt, Cheng Yeran said, "It was a thunderous day without rain. I don't know what happened. The children were asleep, so we went to have some time alone."
The next morning, the bodies had been cleared and the ground had been cleaned and repaired, but the thunder-like sound in the middle of the night shocked the people of the entire city.
Some people didn't dare to go out to see, but they guessed that it was Lord Cheng who killed the rebels with lightning.
Some people were brave enough to take a few secret peeks, but as they were far away, they only saw arms and legs flying around and even rocks breaking apart. It was extremely terrifying.
Many people in the city who wanted to resist did not dare to take action. Instead, they quickly drove out their slaves and gave them indentures, for fear that they would not listen to Cheng Yeran and be struck to death by lightning.
Many slaves did not want to redeem themselves, but after being driven out, they were taken to factories and forced to work from nine to five, with five days off and two days off.
…
The eldest prince was no match for Shao Hui. After Shao Hui defeated the eldest prince, he met the second prince on the way back and told him what Cheng Yeran said that people of royal bloodline cannot ascend the throne. Once they become emperor, evil spirits will enter their bodies.
The second prince couldn't help but frown when he heard this: "The country cannot be without a king for a day. If we can't be emperor, then Cheng Yeran will be the emperor. Since he is a god, he won't be possessed by evil spirits. He will be a good emperor."
Shao Hui looked at the Second Prince with great admiration, "The Second Prince is righteous, but given his personality, he will definitely not be willing to do so."
The Second Prince: "Then force him to take the throne. He is simple-minded. Although his intentions are good and he wants the people to live a good life, he does not know the pros and cons. You and I need to be tough and pull him to that position."
If Cheng Yeran had said from the beginning that he wanted to be the emperor, Shao Hui and the Second Prince would not agree and might even have killed him. But now that he said he wanted equality and freedom and was causing unrest, Shao Hui and the Second Prince felt that they must have an emperor to stabilize the current situation.
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