The morning sun was shining brightly, and as Yun Zhe was doing his early morning exercise, Gao walked over with a gloomy expression.
"My lord, something terrible has happened! The refugees are causing a disturbance!" Gao, of course, didn't think he had handled the situation poorly. His first thought was that these refugees were extremely difficult to deal with. Most of the troublemakers were from the capital; they couldn't farm, were terrible at manual labor, and spent their days either loudly discussing current affairs or flirting with men and women. Gao had long since reached his limit of tolerance for them. He had come to ask Yun Zhe if he could simply expel them all.
Yun Zhe stopped what he was doing and looked at Gao. "Why are they causing trouble? What are you planning to do about it?"
"Hey, it's all because of the food. They complain that the food they're given is monotonous and bland, and they feel resentful, just like the poor. In my opinion, why don't we take this opportunity to just kick them out?"
"Oh, that's not a good idea. After all, these refugees from the capital have a significant impact. Here's what we'll do: you take the troops, arrest and kill the ringleaders, and control the others. Starve them for a couple of days, observe their reactions, and then make a decision."
Gao had long wanted to use force against these guys, and now that Yun Zhe had given his approval, he was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly as he prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute," Yun Zhe called out to Gao, "have these guys been unemployed all this time?"
Upon hearing this question, Gao's face fell again. "My lord, don't even mention it. These people can't lift a finger, and they all claim to be nobles, yet they have no proof. They refuse all jobs and just gather together to argue and make a ruckus every day after they've eaten their fill. They're much harder to deal with than other vagrants."
"So you're just going to support them like this? Indefinitely?" Yun Zhe asked in surprise.
Gao scratched his head sheepishly. "My lord, these people are indeed scoundrels, but they are from the capital, and not just those from the surrounding areas. They are residents of the lower and upper districts. I'm worried that if there really is a duke or earl among them, that would be bad."
Yun Zhe nodded. "Take me there, and bring the soldiers with you. I'll go and meet them."
When Yun Zhe arrived at the place where the group of people lived on the west side of the city, three people were standing on a high platform made of wooden barrels and sandbags, giving a passionate speech.
"Residents, as I just said, can you really tolerate being treated so brutally? Behind their apparent equality lies their naked contempt for us!" a young man in black shouted, raising his arm. Immediately afterward, a middle-aged man in a yellow shirt, wearing glasses and appearing refined, stepped forward to his right.
"Yes, it's not just contempt for us! It's contempt for civilization! They won't let us do business, they only want us to farm and build houses. What is this? This is a regression in history, this is barbarism's brutal deprivation and cruel restriction of civilization!" The middle-aged man in yellow spoke in a very steady voice. Although he didn't have as much imposing presence as the young man in black, he spoke slowly and deliberately, with a strong voice, and he had a good grasp of people's emotions.
The soldiers' appearance interrupted the man's eloquent speech on the stage. The third boy in blue hesitated, staring intently at the approaching soldiers.
Yun Zhe turned to Gao and asked, "Why aren't we allowed to do business? I see plenty of vendors selling things in the square."
Gao sighed. "The business they want is to open all kinds of brothels, taverns, gambling dens, and sell tobacco and people. It's not the same as what you're talking about, sir."
Yun Zhe took a deep breath and finally understood where these troublemakers came from.
"Sir, the boy in blue is the youngest son of the largest casino in the capital, named Emil Teira. The boy in black is Omar Libby, the second-in-command of the underground auction house. As for the middle-aged man in yellow, I'm not sure, he's probably a teacher."
Yun Zhe took a deep breath. Casinos, underground auction houses—these were all dark industries stained with human blood. He never imagined he would one day have to deal with such things. Realizing he wouldn't be able to handle this situation, Yun Zhe felt a little flustered, but he knew he couldn't show even the slightest bit of fear.
"My lord?" Gao looked at the scene and then at Yun Zhe. Clearly, the soldiers' arrival was something they had anticipated. Instead of scattering and fleeing, they gathered even closer, tightly surrounding the raised platform, as if protecting their leader.
Yun Zhe's soldiers also spread out in two rows, surrounding them. The situation was on the verge of erupting. Yun Zhe glanced at the three people on the platform, and then he noticed the middle-aged man in yellow. He was dressed in a refined manner, and his face had a very aloof appearance. Yun Zhe secretly speculated that this man was very likely similar to the public intellectuals of his time, here to provide theoretical support for these criminals.
If that were the case, things would be much easier. Yun Zhe was overjoyed and decided to focus his attack on the middle-aged man in yellow.
Yun Zhe arrived near the high platform and looked at the three people on it. The distance was perfect; he could sense what the three were thinking. The three were confident and showed no panic in their eyes, clearly indicating that they were prepared.
“Omar Libby, the second-in-command of the underground auction house. I didn’t expect him to be so young.” Yun Zhe’s few words shocked the black-clad youth. He hadn’t expected the other party to know his name. However, he quickly calmed down. He had come prepared, and the other party certainly hadn’t come blindly.
“Emile Teira, that’s a strange name. He probably isn’t a local,” Yun Zhe continued. The boy in blue snorted in response. His family had fled to the capital from the south; realistically, they were from Belvedere.
"As for this one..." Yun Zhe paused deliberately, looking at the middle-aged man in yellow.
As Yun Zhe had predicted, Yun Zhe's actions made the middle-aged man in yellow feel slighted. This Aruru man had investigated even two juniors thoroughly, yet ignored his existence, which greatly hurt his pride. He snorted heavily, "Ignorant fool! I am Gao Chaizeng Wu Fangyuan, a lifelong Grand Priest of the Imperial Academy of the Capital and an authority on historical research."
Yun Zhe was taken aback. This name sounded awkward; it was a very Eastern-style Western name.
"Ah, so it's him. He wrote 'The Paradox of the Refugee Environment,' 'Why Belvedere is Called a Civilization,' and 'Six Reasons Why the Slave Economy Cannot Be Abolished.'" Gao's eyes lit up as he recited several of his works as if they were his own treasures.
Yun Zhe looked at Gao in surprise, while Gao scratched his head sheepishly. "Sir, didn't you ask me to deal with the refugees? So I looked for some books and materials to read, and I happened to have read a few of his articles..."
"A big impact, huh?"
Gao nodded emphatically, "That's quite big!"
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