Bad People Must Be Punished, Even If We Are "Friends" / The Sudden Attack of the Delinquents and the Drunks

They simply couldn't find a replacement for the emperor, so they had no choice but to continue using this system.

This is why every emperor of the Yan Country has never wanted to sit on this throne.

There's no enjoyment to be had, but there are a ton of problems and government affairs to deal with.

Recently, it happened to be the annual Yan Country officials' performance review conference, also known as the Shangzongchao, where all officials, big and small, had to return to the capital to report on their duties, but they were not guaranteed to see the emperor.

This system didn't exist before, but with the development of technology and the convenience of transportation, the modern True Dragon developed this system to strengthen control over officials at all levels.

It's not a big deal for the True Dragon to disappear for a few days; after all, apart from the Imperial Guards, ordinary people can't see him every day.

Moreover, he was not alone; a whole host of officials would help cover for him.

So disappearing for a few days is no big deal. It's just that when the True Dragon returns, he'll need to work overtime for a few days to catch up on the work he missed.

"Xi left an ancient painting in the Yan Country's palace. Presumably, the True Dragon also saw this painting, which is why he thought of taking a few days to visit."

After finalizing the process, Huang Cao contacted Yu, who was far away in the capital of Yan Country, through special channels, and quickly relayed the message to True Dragon.

A few days later.

After finishing his meeting with the officials, the True Dragon led the people on the list to an ancient painting. When the appointed time arrived, a ripple appeared in the center of the painting.

The rather petite Old Heavenly Master took a deep breath and stepped into the painting first.

Next was the True Dragon, protected by a squad of imperial guards, and then some selected officials.

After stepping out of the painting, a young boy appeared before them, his face unchanged from decades or even centuries ago.

"Greetings, Lord of Utopia."

Under the protection of the Old Heavenly Master, True Dragon arrived at the center of the arena and asked in a very polite yet authoritative tone.

Huang Cao smiled and shook hands with him in a friendly manner, "Hello, Emperor of Yan Country, I have heard of your reputation. And everyone else, please come with me to the center of the venue and take your seats in order."

The ministers exchanged bewildered glances, but followed the staff's instructions and took their respective positions.

However, the Imperial Guards and the Old Heavenly Master did not take their seats; they remained watching from the surrounding area, their expressions tense.

Only after they sat down did the Yan Country officials realize that they were in a rather large and luxurious conference room.

The style is very similar to the council hall of Yan Country, only a deluxe version.

Since they are friends seeking cooperation, both sides have interests they want to gain.

Therefore, it is only natural that Huang Cao will take this "diplomatic meeting" seriously.

Chapter 612 Bad people will be punished, even if we are "friends".

"Ah Cao is getting serious for once."

Meanwhile, the women in the house were also watching the live broadcast, after all, this was a very serious meeting.

This meeting was more serious than any other, with an atmosphere of tension filling the air. Everyone was expressing their opinions according to the meeting agenda, trying to reach a perfect solution.

Little T, the Demon King of Kazdel, was sitting in front of the television, carefully taking notes in his notebook.

Her political abilities Demon King are questionable; she has absolutely no experience in handling large-scale international conferences.

When the Terra United Nations, it often has to rely on its own men to keep things in order.

Nobody listens to what Theresia says; now is a perfect time to study.

Some were studying, while others were naturally marveling at the event, which was also being watched by the Twin Empresses from faraway Leithanian.

After all, there is a considerable amount of commercial exchange between Yan Country and Leithanian.

If this country truly breaks with Utopia, the Twin Empresses will naturally stand on the side of their master.

During the meeting, Huang Cao took the lead in demonstrating his sincerity and his bottom line.

"Sincerity begets sincerity. I've always liked these five words. I'm not a philanthropist, so every transaction must have corresponding terms, rather than Utopia making a one-sided sacrifice."

"This is a deal in which both sides must benefit."

"If Yan Country truly joins Utopia in the future, I can guarantee that all Yan Country will enjoy the same citizenship benefits as Utopia. However, you must realize your own value and contribute to the nation as a whole. Why must I bear the burden alone?"

"For example, you, as the ruling class, will have to give up your current benefits and privileges until you pass the exam to return to your posts. Of course, the current True Dragon are an exception."

Huang Cao gave True Dragon a sharp look, and the latter indeed wore a bitter expression.

Some officials, unsure of the situation, tentatively asked, "What does this mean?"

Huang Cao explained, "What I mean is, according to the proposal I just sent you, the True Dragon is still the supreme ruler of this region. After all, your country's emperor is quite capable. Each province in Utopia has a supreme ruler who is responsible for regulating and governing all things."

"Therefore, according to my plan, if Yan Country truly joins Utopia peacefully in the future, the True Dragon will still be the supreme ruler of this region, but will be subject to the official jurisdiction of Utopia. In other words, the True Dragon will no longer be supreme and will be subject to my jurisdiction."

Can we agree to this condition, but what are the benefits?

"The advantage is that in less than ten years, Utopia's army can completely eradicate bandits from the Yan Country, while simultaneously establishing an effective social security system and improving people's living conditions."

"However, since this country was not conquered by force, out of respect, my subordinates have to discuss many things with you. Moreover, you should have heard about my style of doing things: I kill bad guys directly, without any so-called life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment."

"Similarly, the entire aristocratic class must be reshuffled from scratch, and all nobles who have harmed ordinary people in the past must be completely exterminated. Not a single one can be spared. I believe the True Dragon should know how many that number is, and most of them are members of the royal family."

Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent.

Only the True Dragon was thinking about how many people were in his nine clans.

As the saying goes, emperors have no real family ties; their only close siblings have all gone to the Lungmen.

As for the extent of ordinary people's love and respect for the Great Yan royal family... just look at the banditry that plagued the entire country. That's how the feudal system was. Even with the influence of loyalty to the emperor, in the writings of many literati, patriotism was not the same as love for the monarch.

This has always been true throughout history; benevolent and righteous people save the common people, not the emperors above them.

No one, whether a king or a general, likes someone born into a higher social class.

If you can bring a better life to everyone, then you are the chosen one!

Huang Cao continued to explain to everyone:

"It is also because I respect your choices that I am temporarily unable to mobilize your country's resources as much as I would in other regions."

"I can't keep bearing the losses; I need to be responsible to my people. Being too biased is bad for both sides."

"At the same time, Yan Country must also create its own value according to the Utopian production plan. It cannot keep sucking my blood. I can give up some of the benefits, I certainly don't lack that, but I cannot let my people pay a heavy price for my choices."

"We can set up a trial period, let's say ten years. During this time, you can maintain a certain size of army, with no limit on equipment. If I fail to deliver on my promise to bring a better life to the Yan Country, then you can consider the resources I invested earlier as a free gift."

"I will also voluntarily withdraw from Yan Country, but if any problems arise in your country in the future, or if social development cannot keep up with the speed of conflict resolution, I will resolve your problems in my own way."

"If, after the observation period, I fulfill the promises I made today, then you must disarm completely and come under the full administrative control of Utopia, contributing to its development together according to the original plan."

"If you dare to renege on your debts... no, you can't renege, because then the people's hearts will be on my side, because all the resources are provided by Utopia. If you renege, the initiative will still be in my hands, and you will have to bear the responsibility for the decline in people's living conditions."

This is a deal with no turning back; once agreed, all future plans will be linked.

In the minds of Yan Country officials and True Dragon, the Utopia's Lord had already outlined his main strategy for the future of Yan Country.

Today is a pivotal moment in history; if we refuse, one of the two nations is destined to be annexed in the future.

Even the True Dragon knew that his descendants might not all be wise rulers, and he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't become incompetent in the future.

Just like his own father, an event that happened many years ago almost plunged the entire country into chaos.

With such a wise and long-lived monarch, Utopia had no chance of winning a protracted war.

The ultimate goal of Utopia is to unify Terra. It's impossible to leave such a large country unattended. What if the lumberjacks arrive and there's discord among the people, and their weaknesses are discovered?

Of course, Huang Cao didn't tell Terra's animals too much about these things, because it would be useless to tell them, and no one would believe it anyway.

Chapter 613 The Sudden Attack by the Slippery Guy and the Drunkard

"You can wander around Utopia during this time, and I'll cover all your expenses. Take your time to experience the local customs, culture, and social system."

"Finally, I will give you a few more days to think it over, and then our two groups will spend a considerable amount of time developing a more detailed strategy and cooperation plan."

"Let's set the date for two years from now. If there are no problems after two years, we can discuss the next step. During these two years, you can freely travel to Utopia through the portal for investigation. I will issue you temporary identity tokens."

"Of course, I won't help you with your expenses afterwards. Remember to bring plenty of money, otherwise if my people catch you trying to dine and dash, I won't show any mercy."

This was the first time I'd encountered this situation.

Huang Cao gave the other party a great deal of face, since the initiative was in his hands anyway.

After several hours of discussion, the two sides only reached a preliminary draft of the plan.

We'll have to wait until these officials have visited various parts of Utopia before we can have a firm belief in the matter.

Faced with external skepticism, Huang Cao demonstrated absolute sincerity.

These people can freely travel to any part of Utopia by any means of transportation, as long as they don't trespass on private property.

After issuing the special identification tags, Huang Cao had a few more words with True Dragon.

"If everything goes well in the future, may I decide which relatives to retain?"

"I don't care, but I will only allow nobles who haven't committed any major offenses to live. And once you act as their guarantor, you will have to bear all responsibility for their subsequent illegal and criminal acts. Are you really willing to do that?"

The True Dragon fell silent and could only let out a long sigh.

Huang Cao continued, "By the way, would you like to come to my house for a meal? There are quite a few people coming to my house today, including many who are quite famous internationally."

It was really just a lucky guess.

Dukare and Nizere, along with the Shapeshifter Collective and Teacher T, came to Master Huang's house for a free meal today, just as planned.

Whether you invite one person or two, it's the same as inviting two people, so you might as well invite more.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, on the surface, my relationship with the Sui Beast isn't exactly harmonious."

"It's alright, there's more than one person cooking at home, it's more lively with more people," Huang Cao extended the invitation again.

"I never expected you to know how to cook. To be honest, I'm a little envious. After all, although I hold the highest power in Yan Country, I have no freedom whatsoever. Even a smile is subject to countless interpretations, even if it's just a slight itch on my lips sometimes."

A hint of envy flickered in the True Dragon's eyes.

He hadn't felt the feeling of home for a long time since that incident.

Whether one can eat a few good meals throughout the year is uncertain.

Before the inspection began, True Dragon arrived at Master Huang's house and saw many new guests as soon as he opened the door.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen," True Dragon greeted politely.

In fact, today, not only Kazdel's group of freeloaders came to Master Huang's house, but also several people with Yan Country residency.

Dukare and his team chose this time precisely because they knew something was going to happen today.

Before, when only Warfarin and Lamian lived in Huang Cao's house, these people could occasionally come over for a meal and exchange experiences about national development with Master Huang.

But as the family grew, including girls from other countries, these women haven't visited for ten years to avoid causing trouble for Master Huang.

However, it wasn't like they hadn't seen each other for over a decade. During work hours, they met with Master Huang quite often. While this was fine, it ultimately lacked a bit of human warmth.

So, through the efforts of a tailor, everyone decided to have a meal at Master Huang's house.

Huang Cao knew this as well, but to his surprise, Nian and Ling had also come here.

Nian hooked her arm around Master Huang's shoulder and said, "Long time no see, brother-in-law! Wait, should I call you brother-in-law or sister's husband?"

This is indeed a problem. After all, if he only married Shu, most people would just call Huang Cao brother-in-law. But there's also Xigua, who is a very junior member of the family.

Only I can call him "brother-in-law".

Huang Cao: "Just call me Huang Cao. Let our guests have a seat first... You brought so many ingredients, so I suppose I'm here today too."

He glanced at the kitchen out of the corner of his eye and noticed a wisp of red hair moving around inside.

"Brother-in-law, it's been a long time. Leave the cooking to me," Yu said with a smile.

"That won't do. You are all guests. It's not right for guests to cook. Let me do it. True Dragon, please sit down. There's no need to be so formal."

Huang Cao sneaked into the kitchen, and soon the sounds of stir-frying filled the air.

True Dragon was not reserved and sat down on the other side of the sofa, next to Da Te.

"So you are the emperor of Yan Country?" Teresis glanced at the rather slender True Dragon beside him, who appeared refined and cultured.

"Hello, General Teresis," the True Dragon said politely, setting aside his status as emperor.

Actually, he was still a little nervous.

Even the Great Yan Imperial Guard, who were having lunch with the Utopia staff a kilometer away, were a little nervous.