The relationship between people, other living beings, and a dominant figure was always established through step-by-step probing.
A dog that had just been brought home would act especially docile.
The first time it bared its teeth at you, if you gave it no direct response, the next time it would bark furiously at you.
Even when you tried to give it negative feedback, it would attack you without hesitation! Because with each successive test, you kept strengthening its judgment that it could control the situation. It believed it could control you, rather than be controlled by you.
In this regard, people and dogs were actually not that different.
If those who had begun organizing network members to openly oppose the government were not punished quickly, the situation would soon spiral out of control.
The Prime Minister's Cabinet, headed by the Small Earl, could not be considered "the ruling body everyone had been waiting for." At least among the aristocracy, quite a few people were dissatisfied with him and the current Prime Minister's Cabinet.
Add in a few ambitious people and opportunists, and as long as someone managed to gain momentum and was not eliminated in the short term, they might well be able to change something.
So Lin Qi's answer to the Small Earl was simple: the matter had to be resolved as quickly as possible, even if people had to die!
In fact, people had to die. Only then could they intimidate those with ulterior motives.
For all opportunists, risks that came at the cost of their lives were something they could never afford to bear! Only then would these people keep their hands and feet in check.
Empress Fei Lin was ultimately persuaded by Lin Qi. She also knew that social stability currently took priority above all else.