Counterattack System appeared when I'm already At The Mahayana Realm-Chapter 168 - 167: I indeed harbor thoughts of rebellion

Chapter 168: Chapter 167: I indeed harbor thoughts of rebellion

Translator: 549690339

“Jiang, Brother Jiang.”

They awkwardly greeted Jiang Li.

Everyone was gathered in the prison, except for Commander Liu. Should they call for him too?

Jiang Li quickly dismissed this dangerous thought.

Upon seeing Jiang Li, Mr. and Mrs. Ma Zhuo opted to lower their heads and diminish their presence.

“Kong Hu, tell me, what’s going on?” Jiang Li’s purpose in coming here was to meet Zhang Konghu and work on his thinking.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Ma Zhuo, well, they’re on their own.

“Brother Jiang, 1…1 just don’t get it. I didn’t kill anyone or start any fires. I was just walking down the street, chatting with people, and simply said ‘let’s talk again tomorrow’ as I was leaving. How…how did that make me a criminal?” Zhang Konghu frustratingly smacked his head, unable to understand the issue.

If he had made a mistake and was locked up for it, he’d admit it. But if they were saying he was imprisoned just for saying the word “tomorrow” , he’d die before admitting it.

Yet he felt he was missing something, the Emperor must have had his reasons. But he hardly knew what those reasons were, hence Zhang Konghu was agonizingly torn.

The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. His eyes started to redden, and he even felt the urge to cry.

Seeing earnest, hardworking Zhang Konghu being wronged, Jiang Li felt himself becoming angry.

Jiang Li tried to soothe Zhang Konghu: “Kong Hu, you are right, the Emperor is wrong.”

“Really?” Zhang Konghu looked up, trying to hold back his tears, “But the

Emperor is running a whole country, could he make a mistake too?”

“Definitely, everyone makes mistakes. I make mistakes, you make mistakes, even the seemingly wise Ji Zhi makes mistakes,” Jiang Li said softly.

“A hundred years ago, Ji Zhi thought that alcohol was the root of all crimes and obstructed spiritual practice, so he issued a prohibition on alcohol. He declared that production, sale, or transport of alcoholic beverages were forbidden within the territory of the Zhou Empire.”

“The original intention of the ban was good, and with its enforcement, alcohol visibly disappeared from the Zhou Empire. However, it could not eliminate people’s desire for and demand of alcohol. The black market expanded exponentially, illegal production and sale of alcohol products brought great profits, and more and more people became involved in crime. The crime rate of the Zhou Empire increased year by year.”

“Finally, Ji Zhi had to admit the failure of the alcohol ban and rescinded it.” Jiang Li painstakingly explained the origins and consequences of the alcohol ban, while Zhang Konghu listened as if he understood, yet didn’t quite understand.

Ji Zhi had made very few major mistakes in his life, and the alcohol ban was one of them.

“Everyone makes mistakes, the Emperor, of course, also make mistakes,” Jiang Li said with a smile, “Kong Hu, there are no saints in the world, you must not blindly believe in anyone, you need to learn to think for yourself.”

Zhang Konghu nodded bewilderedly.

“And you, Old Huang, keep your Cultivation Technique in check. You’re making Konghu want to cry,” Jiang Li said to Commander Huang offhandedly.

The Cultivation Technique that Commander Huang practices affects the emotions of people within a certain radius. People near him feel the same emotions he does. Since Commander Huang is always a sad person, people close to him also feel sad.

Zhang Konghu usually doesn’t care about Commander Huang’s Cultivation Technique, but now he’s deep in thought and his mind isn’t stable, so he’s easily influenced.

“What? I didn’t cry.”

“Little Wood, who are they? And who are you?”

Despite the fact that they didn’t mention phrases like “Human Emperor” or “Body Integration Realm”, Zhang Konghu’s cellmate, the young cultivator, felt something was off.

A group of commanders, an elder brother surnamed Jiang, and the casual talk about Emperor Ji Zhi of Zhou — all these made him think of something he dared not venture into.

Commander Mu explained awkwardly: “Actually, we’re all commanders of the Imperial Palace. This is our Hall Master; you might have heard of him, Jiang

The young cultivator’s eyes widened.

There were seven people here, one in the Mahayana Realm, five in the Body Integration Realm. How did he, a Qi Cultivation Rank 6 cultivator, have the luck to be locked up with them?

Was his tomb spewing green smoke?

The young cultivator felt that even if his tomb was on fire and his ancestors returned from the dead, they wouldn’t be able to place him by the side of the Human Emperor.

“You all, come and see the Emperor.” The government officer was ecstatic; to his knowledge, the numbers from the nearby cities hadn’t reached the Emperor’s target, only theirs had.

Following today, he was surely going to be promoted.

“You all are doing pretty well, with over 300 people harboring a desire to return to the monarchical Enlightened rule. This number is considered satisfactory.” The Emperor, clad in a yellow robe and seated on his seat of authority, read the numbers handed to him from below, and gently nodded. Officials of various ranks stood in two lines.

Seeing that the Emperor was content, the officials hurriedly kowtowed and exclaimed in unison, “May Your Majesty’s enlightened rule and Your Majesty’s protection bless our Great Yong for thousands and thousands of generations.”

“Your Majesty, among them are a few rebellious subjects that harbor resentment towards your Majesty, and have hidden their ill-feelings deeply. I had to spend significant efforts tracking down evidence to find them,” an official shamelessly took credit for the government officer’s efforts, picturing a future promotion for himself. As for the officer, some benefits would suffice, surely he wouldn’t dare disobey his superior?

“Then bring them up for a look.” Intrigued by the introduction, the Emperor wished to see what these deeply embedded insurgents looked like.

“Bring them up!” The official happily ordered, and the government officer sternly brought them up with a poker face.

This was his superior stealing merit, so the government officer naturally had to steal it back.

“Your Majesty, behold, these two individuals are a cake seller and a banana seller. The former’s cakes are big and round, like the sun, they call it ‘day’, while the latter’s bananas resemble the moon, they call it ‘month’. When you bring the two together it forms ‘ming’ (in this case meaning ‘bright’, synonymous with the banned ex-Emperor’s name). According to our investigations, these two individuals have been selling cakes together for 16 years, which reflects their deep-rooted resentment!” the government officer said with a smug look, taking the time to emphasize his process of deduction.

“Your Majesty, I have been wronged! How could this humble one harbor thoughts of rebellion?” Both the cake seller and the banana seller cried out, proclaiming their innocence. They were merely at the Qi Cultivation third rank — it would have taken a death wish to support the former Emperor.

Moreover, the former Emperor only held the position for half a month before the current Emperor unseated him, who would support an Emperor with such a short reign?

If it weren’t for the current ban on the word “ming”, they wouldn’t even remember the name of the former Emperor Luo Ming.

By now, probably everyone in Yong knew that the former Emperor’s name was Luo Ming.

The official ignored the pleas of these civilians and continued with his introduction.

“And this person here, with no respect for law and order, ate the round cake into a crescent shape, thereby replacing ‘day’ with ‘month’. Forming not only ‘ming’ but also suggesting an overthrow of power, we believe this individual undoubtedly harbors thoughts of rebellion!”

The person who ate the cake then nodded: “Indeed, I do harbor rebellious thoughts. I want to change the Emperor.”

The official was delighted, he didn’t expect to stumble upon a real insurgent, and the man even stupidly admitted to it. He was sure to rise swiftly through the ranks.

The Emperor shot up from his seat, trembling all over.

“The Human Emperor jests,” the Emperor forced a smile. The idiots below might not recognize Jiang Li, but how could he, as the Emperor, not? It was customary for the Emperors of the Nine Great Empires to pay a visit to the Human Emperor once they ascended the throne.

When he first took up his position, he had wanted to visit Jiang Li, but Jiang Li was still in the zombie world at the time, so he did not get the chance to meet him.

Now he had finally met him, but he would rather not have.

“Is that so? It seems the Emperor knows me better than I know myself, I didn’t even realize I was joking,” Jiang Li said casually, appearing somewhat cold.

Zhang Konghu was wronged, and he, as an older brother, had to get justice for Zhang Konghu.

Even the Human Emperor can be partial..

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