At these words.
Yang Yu looked at Secretary-General Liu Ruyan in surprise.
Her broken state?
What did she mean by her broken state?
"The development of the times has caused our current society to become deformed," Liu Ruyan said. "Everyone is focused on money, as if possessing money means possessing everything. As a result, social morality is heading toward the brink of collapse."
"I understand. You may withdraw for now."
Yang Yu gave a slight nod and waved for Liu Ruyan to leave.
Immediately afterward.
Yang Yu picked up the daily-use phone beside him and began browsing related videos.
Yet there were no videos about ordinary daily life.
"Guardian Dragon."
Yang Yu called out softly.
"Your Majesty." Guardian Dragon hurried in from outside the Imperial Study and spoke respectfully.
"Find me a phone without real-name registration."
Yang Yu's voice was deep.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Before long.
Guardian Dragon found a phone that had never undergone real-name registration and handed it to His Majesty the Emperor.
After turning on the phone and downloading a video-browsing app.
Yang Yu began leisurely scrolling through the videos.
A gambling father, a sick mother, a younger sister in school, and her broken state...
As he watched videos he had never been able to see before, Yang Yu's expression gradually darkened.
Their reach was quite impressive.
They could actually block certain videos from appearing in his feed.
Very good.
Very good indeed.
Night.
At the Minister of Finance's residence.
Minister of Finance Tantai Xuedong was accompanying his wife at home while holding a copy of the Empire Daily and reading the new policies printed in it. Satisfaction showed in his eyes.
The policies in this edition of the newspaper had been his own work.
"Ding-dong."
Just then.
The doorbell rang at his house.
His wife rose from her seat and said with a smile, "It must be Xiaoyu. He probably forgot to bring his key. I'll go open the door for him."
"Go ahead!"
Tantai Xuedong nodded slightly.
They did not dare hire a housekeeper.
After all, he was one of the few people at the Empire's center of power—someone whose stomp could make the entire world tremble. Their salaries were more or less sufficient, but hiring a housekeeper would inevitably invite gossip.
However, as soon as his wife opened the door.
A group of soldiers dressed in the Empire's special military uniforms and carrying assault rifles immediately stormed into the mansion.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you know what kind of place this is?"
Seeing this.
Tantai Xuedong's expression changed. He abruptly threw the newspaper onto the coffee table and shouted in a deep voice.
What was going on?
He was the dignified Imperial Minister of Finance, yet a group of armed soldiers had barged into his home?
"Oh? Then tell me, Minister of Finance—what kind of place is this?"
A middle-aged man in an imperial general's uniform walked in from outside. He looked expressionlessly at Minister of Finance Tantai Xuedong and said, "Come with me."
"You're provoking the Empire's laws."
"Breaking into the Minister of Finance's residence with firearms is punishable by death."
Tantai Xuedong spoke in a deep voice.
"Punishable by death?"
"Take him away."
The general merely smiled faintly at Tantai Xuedong before speaking expressionlessly.
The same thing.
It was happening not only at the Minister of Finance's residence, but also at the Minister of Public Security's residence.
Soon.
The Imperial Palace.
Minister of Finance Tantai Xuedong and Minister of Public Security An Rong were brought to the Imperial Study by that general.
"Your, Your Majesty."
The two men stared at His Majesty the Emperor in horror, their hearts trembling uncontrollably.
This man was the true heaven of the Empire.
Yang Yu sat lazily on the imperial throne. He did not even look at the two ministers, instead lowering his head to read the content on his phone as he said, "Not bad. You've learned to deceive your superiors and conceal things from them. You deliberately hid certain matters from me. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Hm?"
"Tantai, my dear minister, your grandson spends all day flaunting his wealth online. I'd very much like to know—does your family have that much money?"
"If I remember correctly, your monthly salary is thirty-five thousand yuan. Your wife is retired and receives five thousand yuan a month. Your son is the head of a certain city and earns eighteen thousand yuan a month. Your daughter-in-law serves in the military and receives an allowance of seven thousand yuan."
"So tell me—how did your grandson dare flaunt his wealth online?"
"Gulp."
At these words, Tantai Xuedong's heart trembled. He stammered, "Your, Your Majesty, that, that was all my grandson doing endorsements and promoting products for other companies."
After he finished speaking.
Under the Emperor's gaze, Secretary-General Liu Ruyan handed an asset certificate to Tantai Xuedong.
"My dear minister, why don't you take a good look?"
"These are the vehicle and property purchase certificates for the assets your grandson bought in full."
"Look here. The Xing Zhou Mechanical Watch is the Empire's top watch manufacturer. Its watches are made entirely by hand, with prices starting at ten million yuan. It belongs to the Empire's T0-Level watch series. This is proof of your grandson's purchase."
"How long would it take for your entire family to afford this without eating or drinking?"
Yang Yu's gaze turned icy as he shifted his attention away and said, "An, my dear minister, don't you also owe me an explanation? Your daughter and Tantai Hao drove drunk and sped through the streets late at night, crashing into another vehicle and causing one death and one serious injury. How did you settle the matter? Through power or money?"
"Your, Your Majesty, spare me."
An Rong trembled all over. His heart was filled with terror as he pleaded in fear.
"Spare you? If I spare your life, who will spare theirs?"
"Can the law spare your life?"
Yang Yu spoke softly. "Since your two families do not wish to play by the rules I established, then I do not wish to play by the rules either. Execute the three clans. For three generations within the nine clans, prohibit them from entering the Empire's political or military circles."
"For three generations of the nine clans, their annual income in the business world must not exceed five hundred thousand yuan."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After receiving His Majesty the Emperor's order.
Secretary-General Liu Ruyan, standing to the side, swallowed dryly, her heart filled with dread.
If you obediently played within the rules and circle established by His Majesty the Emperor, you would live in great comfort.
But if you wanted to escape the Emperor's circle and rules and establish your own circle and rules.
Then the Emperor absolutely would not play by the rules with you. He would crush you completely.
"Your Majesty, no, no, please don't do this, Your Majesty."
"Tyrant! You tyrant!"
At once, the two ministers were utterly horrified and filled with terror.
They had never expected it.
A moment of greed.
Would lead to such a drastic turn of events.
The Long Family.
"Some people really do bring disaster upon themselves and deserve no pity."
Their Long Family was a top-tier clan with centuries of history, yet even they could only obediently follow the rules established by His Majesty.
And your family had only risen a few days ago?
How dare you break those rules?
"No one dared act so recklessly in the past. I simply don't understand why this generation is so brazen."
"In terms of power, the former Minister of Finance and Minister of Public Security had far more authority than their current counterparts."
"Even they didn't dare run wild. Yet now, someone actually refuses to believe in the consequences."
Patriarch Bai Xiao of the Bai Family looked helplessly at Patriarch Long Ya of the Long Family.
"They thought that now the Empire had entered the information age, the Emperor would not dare raise his butcher's knife, and that he would care about the thoughts of the Empire's people."
"However, they were wrong."
"His Majesty the Emperor does not care about anyone's thoughts. In his eyes, there is only right and wrong."
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