area51novel Chapter 439 Reforming the Empire? Fairness!
Chapter 439 Reforming the Empire? Fairness!
Tang Hao raised his head, his face streaked with tears, and looked at Ah Yin.
Why?
"You won't even let me die?"
Ah Yin looked at him, her eyes showing neither extreme hatred nor rekindled affection, only a deep disappointment.
"Tang Hao, you're still the same."
"Back then, when something happened, you forced me to make a sacrifice."
"Now that the truth has been revealed, you want to escape it all by dying."
Tang Hao's body trembled.
Ah Yin gently shook her head.
"Your life is not something I'm giving back."
"If you die, will the pain I've endured all these years disappear?"
"If you die, will the people Tang San killed be able to come back to life?"
"If you die, will those from the Haotian Sect who were turned into undead find peace?"
"Your death simply spares you from having to face all of this."
Tang Hao stood there, stunned.
The hammer slipped from his hand and crashed to the ground.
Ah Yin slowly retracted the Blue Silver Emperor Vine, her voice growing softer and colder.
"I used to think you were just too proud. I used to think that even though you were rude and impulsive, you would at least genuinely protect me."
"But now I realize that the person you love most isn't me, it's yourself."
"It is the dignity of the young master of the Haotian Sect."
"It is the pride of Haotian Douluo. It is your arrogance that refuses to bow down, refuses to back down, and refuses to admit that you cannot protect anyone."
Tang Hao opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Ah Yin looked at him, her tears gradually receding.
"Tang Hao".
"I'm really disappointed."
This sentence carries more weight than any angry rebuke.
Tang Hao seemed to have his last bit of strength drained away, and slowly knelt down on the ground.
"A-Gin..."
Ah Yin took a step back.
This step completely froze Tang Hao.
She didn't let him come any closer.
Ah Yin whispered, "From this day forward, there will be no further connection between us."
Tang Hao suddenly looked up.
"No……"
"A-Yin, no..."
"I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!"
You can curse me, hate me, hit me, or even kill me.
"Don't say we have nothing to do with each other anymore..."
Ah Yin looked at him, her voice so calm it was heartbreaking.
I won't kill you.
"Because there's no point in killing you."
"I will never hate you again."
"Hating you will only keep me trapped in the past."
"Tang Hao, I've already died once. This time when I wake up, I don't want to live for your regrets, your pain, and your self-blame again."
"I still have Chuan'er, and the Blue Silver Emperor clan."
"And those innocent lives that Tang San harmed need to be protected."
"And you..."
She paused, looking at Tang Hao kneeling on the ground.
"You stay here."
"I'll spend the rest of my life watching over it."
"See what kind of fruit the seeds you sowed back then will eventually bear."
Tang Hao knelt in the mud, his body trembling violently.
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
Ah Yin turned and walked out of the courtyard.
The morning light had fully illuminated Holy Soul Village.
Blue silver grass swayed gently at her feet, like a gentle path, escorting her away from this place that had borne so many mistakes and pain.
Tang Hao suddenly shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Gin!"
Ah Yin paused for a moment, but did not turn around.
Tang Hao knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Ah Yin remained silent for a long time, and finally, she whispered:
"It's not necessary."
After saying that, she didn't linger.
With a flash of blue-gold light, Ah Yin's figure gradually disappeared into the morning mist outside Holy Soul Village.
Tang Hao knelt on the spot, gazing in the direction she had left, as if his soul had been emptied in an instant.
In the distance, the laughter of children could be heard from the village.
A villager carrying a hoe walked by the roadside and saw Tang Hao kneeling in the yard with tears streaming down his face. He couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that the slovenly blacksmith had gotten drunk again.
No one knew that on this very morning, a once-renowned Haotian Douluo had completely lost what he had been trying to hold onto.
Tang Hao looked down at the iron hammer on the ground.
That iron hammer was very ordinary, so ordinary that it had nothing to do with the Haotian Hammer.
But at this moment, it seemed to be mocking him silently.
Tang Hao suddenly laughed, but as he laughed, he started crying again.
Then he reached out and grabbed the hammer, staggering back to the furnace.
The fire in the furnace was almost out. Tang Hao added charcoal and started the bellows again.
The flames slowly rose.
The hammer fell again.
clang.
clang.
clang.
The voice was dull, hollow, and numb.
It's like hammering iron.
It's like knocking on his head, a sin he can never repay in this lifetime.
After Tang San disappeared, the Douluo Continent experienced a rare period of peace.
This calm was not because the war was over, but because everyone knew that the real disaster was not yet over.
Tang San did not die.
Rakshasa God personally intervened and rescued him from the encirclement and attack of Tang Chuan, Qian Renxue, and Di Tian.
Although Tang Chuan sensed through the Blue Silver Emperor Life Network that Tang San's aura had disappeared from Douluo Continent, no one would naively believe that he had truly perished.
Such a person, as long as they have a breath left, will definitely climb back up.
Therefore, the Spirit Empire temporarily suspended its attacks on Heaven Dou and Star Luo.
The Star Dou Great Forest also withdrew its outer spirit beasts, ceasing large-scale conflicts with human cities.
The Martial Soul Empire army outside Tiandou City retreated thirty miles, maintaining only the defensive line and ceasing its attack on the city.
And within the Heaven Dou Empire, a real change finally began.
This change was not initiated by Avalanche, but rather by Tang Chuan himself.
After Tang Chuan returned to the Heaven Dou Empire, the people of Heaven Dou City rallied to an unprecedented level of support for him. With Tang San massacring the city and devouring souls, and Qian Renxue besieging the city, the Heaven Dou royal family was almost powerless to resist. Ultimately, it was Tang Chuan who truly gave the people hope.
Therefore, when Tang Chuan proposed reforming the Heavenly Dou Empire, even though countless nobles harbored discontent, no one dared to openly oppose it.
Because they all knew that in the current Heavenly Dou Empire, the person who could truly save their lives was not Emperor Xue Beng, but Tang Chuan.
The atmosphere in the main hall of the Heavenly Dou Imperial Palace was oppressive.
Avalanche sat on the throne, his expression complex.
Ning Fengzhi stood to the side, his expression calm.
Dugu Bo crossed his arms and coldly surveyed the ugly faces of the noble ministers below.
Although Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo did not speak, they stood outside the hall, demonstrating the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's attitude through their actions.
Tang Chuan stood in the center of the hall, neither holding the Trident of Poseidon nor releasing his Martial Soul.
But standing there, he was more impossible to ignore than any emperor.
"From this day forward, the Heaven Dou Empire abolishes the right of nobles to carry out private punishments."
Tang Chuan's voice was calm, yet it resonated throughout every corner of the hall.
"No nobleman may use his fief, title, or family name to take the life of a commoner without authorization. If a commoner has a grievance, he may appeal in the city's court."
"Nobles who break the law are punished the same as commoners."
These words immediately caused an uproar in the main hall.
An old nobleman couldn't help but step forward and said urgently:
"Lord Tang Chuan, this is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Historically, noble fiefdoms have been governed by the nobles themselves. If the right to administer vigilante justice is abolished, where will the authority of the fiefdoms be? Where will the family order be?"
Tang Chuan glanced at him.
"Is your authority built on killing civilians?"
The old nobleman's face turned pale.
Tang Chuan continued:
"If your family can only maintain order by arbitrarily disposing of civilians, then such order is better off not existing."
The old nobleman's lips trembled, but he dared not speak further.
Tang Chuan ignored him and continued:
"Second, re-examine the Imperial Land Register."
"Any nobles, clans, or merchant guilds that seize land from commoners by borrowing at exorbitant interest rates, forcibly occupying it, or forging contracts shall be reported and their land returned within three months."
Those who voluntarily report will be dealt with leniently.
"Those who conceal or fail to report will have their titles downgraded and their fiefs confiscated by the Empire once the facts are verified."
This time, the ministers' expressions were even more unpleasant.
Land is the true lifeblood of the nobility.
Over the years, the nobility of the Heavenly Dou Empire has become corrupt, and many commoners in the fiefdoms have been forced to sell their land and bodies, eventually becoming tenant farmers and servants in the noble manors.
If the land registers were to be re-examined, it would be tantamount to tearing away the fig leaf covering the entire aristocratic class.
But Tang Chuan didn't stop.
"Third, establish the Imperial Soul Master Academy."
"From now on, all six-year-old children in the Tiandou territory, regardless of whether they are nobles or commoners, can participate in the Martial Soul Awakening program at the Soul Master Academy established by the Empire, free of charge."
"Those who awaken their soul power can enter local soul master academies for training."
"The tuition will be covered by the Empire."
"The situation where noble children monopolize the education of Soul Masters and commoner geniuses are buried must not be allowed to continue."
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up slightly.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has always valued talent.
Tang Chuan's approach almost fundamentally broke the aristocracy's monopoly on Soul Master resources.
If the Heavenly Dou Empire can truly establish a system for cultivating commoner Soul Masters in the future, the number of Soul Masters in the Empire will inevitably increase significantly, and the commoners' identification with the Empire will also greatly improve.
Tang Chuan continued:
Fourth, the Control Yuan was established.
"The supervisory authority will be temporarily assumed by Sect Leader Ning and Senior Dugu."
"Supervise all imperial officials, nobles, local city lords, and members of the Soul Master Academy. Anyone who embezzles disaster relief funds, withholds military pay, oppresses civilians, or colludes with Tang San's Rakshasa Divine Court shall be executed."
As the last word was uttered, the hall fell silent instantly.
Those noble ministers felt a chill run down their spines.
They finally realized that Tang Chuan wasn't consulting with them.
This is an order.
Xue Beng sat on the throne, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
These powers should have been held by the emperor.
But now, Tang Chuan, in front of all the officials, has handed over the power of supervision to Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo, which is almost like hanging a knife over the heads of the entire Tiandou aristocratic system.
But the avalanche dared not object.
Because he knew better than anyone that without Tang Chuan, Tian Dou City would have fallen long ago.
Moreover, the people now support Tang Chuan, the military respects Tang Chuan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School supports Tang Chuan, and Dugu Bo also stands by Tang Chuan's side.
Opposing Tang Chuan at this time is tantamount to courting death.
Tang Chuan looked at the avalanche.
"Does Your Majesty have any objections?"
Avalanche felt a jolt in his heart, but managed to force a smile.
"What Lord Tang Chuan said was all for the sake of the people of Tiandou."
"I will naturally support it."
Tang Chuan nodded.
"Then issue the decree."
Avalanche's fingers tightened slightly.
"it is good."
On this day, the Heavenly Dou Empire issued eight new policies in succession.
Abolished aristocratic private punishments.
Re-examine the land register.
Reduce taxes for ordinary people.
Abolished some unreasonable corvée labor.
Establish the Soul Master Academy.
Establish the Control Yuan.
Reorganize local military equipment.
Open up channels for commoners to enter officialdom.
The news sent shockwaves through the entire Heavenly Dou Empire.
The nobles were filled with wails.
The common people, however, seemed to have suddenly seen a ray of light in the darkness.
Many people who had been oppressed by nobles for years learned for the first time that nobles could also be tried.
It turns out that even commoner children can awaken their martial spirit for free, and that those high-ranking city lords, tax officials, and noble lords are not forever beyond anyone's control.
Of course, reforms are never smooth sailing.
Soon, local resistance broke out.
Some nobles secretly destroyed land registers, some city lords refused to implement the new policies, some fiefdom private soldiers drove out officials of the Supervisory Council, and some even tried to assassinate the teachers of the Soul Master Academy at night.
Tang Chuan showed no mercy.
He didn't go to every place in person, but his Blue Silver Emperor clones did.
The second soul skill, Blue Silver Clone, is combined with the first soul skill, Simulation.
In a short time, "Tang Chuan" appeared all over Tian Dou.
Sometimes, he appears as Tang Chuan himself, wielding a trident.
Sometimes, he would disguise himself as an ordinary inspector and infiltrate local cities to secretly investigate nobles.
Sometimes, he would even impersonate a nobleman's servant and overhear the nobles discussing how to defy orders in a secret room.
The first to run into the blade was a hereditary marquess in the North.
This man forcibly seized tens of thousands of acres of fertile land from commoners, and privately set up dungeons within his fiefdom, causing the deaths of hundreds of people. After the new policies were implemented, he not only refused to hand over the land registers, but also sent his private soldiers to kill three officials of the Censorate.
That night, Tang Chuan's blue silver clone appeared at the Marquis's mansion.
There was no fanfare.
There was no army besieging the city.
Only countless blue silver grasses grew from the Marquis's mansion's underground, sealing off the entire residence.
The marquis tried to argue, but Tang Chuan's clone immediately retrieved the account books from his secret room, the skeletons from the dungeon, and the commoners who had been forced to sign indentures.
The next morning, the Marquis was taken to the city center.
The title of peerage was abolished.
The fiefdom was reclaimed.
The ringleader was beheaded.
Accomplices were exiled.
The occupied land was redistributed to the people.
After this strike, the entire Heavenly Dou noble class fell into complete silence.
They finally understood that Tang Chuan wasn't bluffing.
And finally understood that the so-called inheritors of the Sea God, controllers of the Blue Silver Emperor, and nemesis of Rakshasa are not only capable of killing enemies on the battlefield.
It is equally terrifying when such people seek to clean up internal corruption.
In just three months, the Heavenly Dou Empire underwent earth-shattering changes.
Nobles in various regions no longer dared to openly exploit the common people.
Many of the seized fields were redistributed.
Soul Master Academies began to be established in major cities.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School invested a large amount of money to provide teaching materials, medicinal herbs, and basic Soul Master teachers.
Dugu Bo then presided over the Supervisory Council, suppressing all dissent in the name of the Poison Douluo.
Some people privately cursed him as a poisoned knife in Tang Chuan's hand.
When Dugu Bo found out, he just sneered.
"I wasn't a good person back then."
"If I can use this as a weapon to cut down a few damned nobles, that would be considered doing a good deed."
Ning Fengzhi was even more aware that Tang Chuan was doing something unprecedented.
He didn't simply protect Tian Dou.
Instead, it is reshaping the Heavenly Battle.
A new Tiandou where no nobles arbitrarily oppress, commoners can receive Soul Master education, imperial officials are subject to supervision, and the army and tax system are gradually standardized.
If this succeeds, the Heaven Dou Empire may not be able to surpass the Spirit Empire in a short period of time.
But at least, it is no longer just the empire of the old aristocracy.
Instead, it began to have a real foundation belonging to the people.
Of course, this also made Xue Beng increasingly uneasy.
When the people of Tiandou mention Tang Chuan, their eyes no longer hold just awe, but faith.
But Tang Chuan didn't care about this.
He didn't want to be emperor.
I have no interest in sitting in that position.
He only knew that if he didn't change anything during Tang San's absence, the corrupt empire would only become a breeding ground for Tang San's massacres and soul-devouring once again when Tang San returned.
A country that has been exploited to the point of numbness by the aristocracy has no power to resist.
Only when people truly feel they deserve to be protected will they be willing to stand up and defend their homes when disaster strikes. (End of Chapter)