Dynasty Loopholes

With the advent of cement, the Star Ancient Dynasty began using it to rebuild roads on a large scale.

The city walls that had once held back ferocious beasts were torn down, and the cities began expanding outward.

Year 368 of the New Era.

The Royal Capital underwent a complete renovation.

Accompanied by the Imperial Guards and the cabinet ministers, Yang Yu walked along the spacious cement street, his eyes filled with amusement.

"Not bad, not bad."

Yang Yu looked at the Minister of Finance approvingly and said, "My minister, I have taken note of your accomplishments. You will surely leave a heavily inked mark on history."

"I dare not claim the credit. This is the result of the combined efforts of all the people of the Star Ancient Dynasty." Minister of Finance Li Bing was quite quick-witted. He knew that the King disliked flatterers and did not dare claim the credit for himself, so he simply distributed it among the dynasty's subjects.

"Hahahaha!"

Yang Yu laughed heartily and said, "From now on, the central government will have heavy responsibilities. Matters such as road planning and public security will all require your careful planning."

"Road planning should be placed under the management of the Imperial Public Security Office."

"Public Security should assign part of its forces to manage traffic throughout the empire."

"The roads must also be divided into pedestrian lanes and carriage lanes to prevent unnecessary casualties."

Hearing the King's words, Minister of Public Security Bai Yu respectfully said, "I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty or the imperial court..."

Yang Yu nodded slightly and pointed at the surrounding streets. "The streets must be kept clean. It would be best to prevent peddlers from selling goods on the streets. Converting the storefronts around the streets into proper shops would be a good idea. Every day, people must be sent to clean the streets and keep them tidy, lest epidemics break out."

"The Imperial Public Security Office should station security warriors at every crossroads. People must come first. Their safety is of the utmost importance."

"No matter who they are or how powerful their family background is, anyone who violates imperial law must be dealt with. If officials collude with merchants and oppress the poor, I guarantee that you will die horribly. It may even implicate your entire clan—even the Nine Clans."

"You may not know which clans the Nine Clans refer to, so I will tell you: four clans on the father's side, three on the mother's side, and two on the wife's side, making nine clans in total."

With that, he finished speaking.

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath, and sweat appeared on their foreheads.

Ruthless. Far too ruthless.

Likewise.

The concept of the Nine Clans had appeared in the Star Ancient Dynasty for the first time.

Meanwhile, the historian beside them trembled as he recorded everything the King had said.

"You may be thinking that if you send your family away in advance, the King won't be able to exterminate your Nine Clans—your entire clan."

"When I decide to exterminate your entire clan, you won't even have received the news yet. By then, your entire clan may consist of only you."

Yang Yu said sternly, "In my presence, do not harbor any thoughts of taking chances."

"Yes."

The many ministers trembled inwardly, but they also took out their personal notebooks and began recording the King's words.

All of this concerned changes to policy, and it gave them considerable insight as well.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Just then.

While inspecting the newly built streets and homes, Yang Yu was suddenly drawn by the sound of someone calling out.

He turned his head.

He saw a group of plainly dressed, burly commoners, their bodies exuding the unmistakable air of construction laborers. They knelt before the Imperial Guards' cordon and repeatedly kowtowed in his direction.

Seeing this, Yang Yu walked over curiously.

"Gentlemen, a man's knees are worth gold. You kneel to Heaven and Earth, and to your parents—why have you gone this far? Get up at once."

Yang Yu arrived before the dozen or so commoners, furrowed his brows, and said in a deep voice.

It had to be known that the highest etiquette in the Star Ancient Dynasty was kneeling on one knee.

Kneeling on both knees was reserved for when an elder in the family had died and the filial children asked their neighbors for help without entering their homes to kneel, or when bidding farewell to one's parents.

Kneeling on one knee also had its rules. The right hand was placed before the chest, the right knee touched the ground, and the left leg bent in a squatting posture. Lowering one's head while kneeling like this was the highest etiquette toward the monarch.

Guardian Dragon and the others stood nervously at the King's side, afraid that these people might harm him.

"Your Majesty, we commoners pay our respects to Your Majesty. We beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for us, Your Majesty."

A farmer who appeared to be their leader spoke with tears in his eyes.

"Thump."

At once, Minister of Public Security Bai Yu's heart sank.

Uphold justice?

Did that mean there was a problem with Imperial Public Security? Had they failed to address the people's concerns?

Apart from matters concerning people's livelihoods, all civil and criminal affairs throughout the realm fell under their management.

"Your Majesty..."

The Minister of Public Security's mouth went dry, and he swallowed with difficulty.

At this, Yang Yu turned and shot the Minister of Public Security a cold glance.

Upon seeing the King's gaze, the Minister of Public Security immediately chose to remain silent and waited for the citizen of the Star Ancient Dynasty to explain.

"Take your time and tell me everything. I will uphold justice for you."

Yang Yu smiled at the plain-looking commoner, reached out and took his hand, and spoke kindly.

In an instant.

The farmer was overwhelmed by the honor and said excitedly, "Y-Your Majesty, we, we built roads and houses for the imperial court, but we still haven't received our wages. The New Year is almost here, but we have no money to return home and celebrate with our parents, wives, and children. We heard that Your Majesty was going to inspect the roads and houses, so we had no choice but to resort to this."

With that, the heart the Minister of Public Security had been holding in suspense finally relaxed.

So this had nothing to do with Imperial Public Security.

It had scared him half to death.

After all.

He had only just guaranteed that there would be no problems less than the time it took to burn a cup of tea ago. If something really had gone wrong, he might have become the first person whose Nine Clans were exterminated.

Minister of Finance Li Bing: "..."

He had been enjoying the spectacle, but who would have thought that it would land on his own head?

What was this?

"Your Majesty, the imperial court's finances released the funds for building the roads and houses a month ago."

"I even issued these commoners an additional hundred copper coins each so they could celebrate the New Year."

In an instant, Minister of Finance Li Bing felt his scalp go numb. His entire body trembled like a sieve as he said, "Who the hell is trying to bring me down?"

He had originally still had a chance of being reappointed as Minister of Finance, but after this mess, he might not even hold the position next year.

"Heh."

Yang Yu laughed. He had not expected there to be loopholes after all.

"Guardian Dragon."

Yang Yu released the commoner's hand and turned toward Guardian Dragon. The smile vanished from his face in an instant, and he said coldly, "Within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, I will be waiting here for an answer."

"Yes."

Upon receiving the King's order, Guardian Dragon glared at the Minister of Finance and hurried off to handle the task entrusted to him by the King.

Yang Yu did not even spare the group of ministers a glance. His eyes remained fixed on the farmers as he said, "You will wait here. After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, I will give you an answer."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."