"Why? Why are they born to be superiors, and we are born to be miserable?!"
I don't know who shouted, and instantly ignited the resentment that had been accumulated in everyone's hearts for a lifetime.
The discussion became louder and more intense. People rushed to circulate the crumpled manuscript. Even if they were illiterate, they would try to remember every word in it. Every word was like a seed, falling into their dry hearts.
No one knew that this wandering storyteller was just an ordinary refugee. The manuscript in his hand was bought for a copper plate from a passing businessman.
And such manuscripts are spreading to every corner of the Douluo Continent at an alarming speed.
From the slums of the Heaven Dou Empire to the mines of the Star Luo Empire, from the streets of Spirit City to the ice tribes of Far North, even the handyman disciples of these large sects, Clear Sky Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, secretly circulated these papers filled with "treasonous and unethical" content.
The people who spread it include businessmen traveling all over the country, Soul Master who travel all over the world, petty officials who are dissatisfied with the status quo, and even some run-down nobles who have been oppressed by the nobles and have no other way out.
They may not know where these ideas come from, nor what consequences they will bring. They only know that a world where "the young are provided for, the old are supported, and everyone is equal" is a paradise that they have never dreamed of in their lives.
In the slum of Heaven Dou City, a blacksmith named Wang Er was copying a manuscript stroke by stroke with the help of a dim oil lamp. His wife caught cold last year and died in bed because she had no money for medical treatment. His son is eight years old this year and should be of school age, but he can only follow him to blacksmith in Blacksmith Shop, and is covered in blisters from sparks every day.
"Everyone is equal... it doesn't cost anything to see a doctor... it doesn't cost anything to go to school..."
Wang Er murmured to himself while copying, tears dripping on the rough hemp paper, blurring out the black ink.
"It would be great if there really was such a world..." He raised his head and looked at the dark night sky outside the window, his eyes full of yearning, "Even if I can't catch up in this life, my son can always catch up, right?"
Star Luo Empire Black Rock Mine Thousands of miners holding hoes and shovels blocked the gate of the mine.
"We want to raise wages! We want an eight-hour work day!"
"The mine owner must pay with his life if he kills someone! Abolish lynching!"
"We are not slaves! We are human beings!"
The mine owner came with dozens of private soldiers, waving whips to beat the miners, but this time, the miners did not flinch as usual. For the first time, the hoes and shovels in their hands were aimed at the domineering nobles.
"Why do you eat and drink so much every day, but we have to work so hard here?"
"Why do you beat us to death like a dog?!"
"If you don't agree to our request today, we won't mine anymore!"
"Rebellion! Rebellious! These untouchable mud-legged people are crazy!"
In the chaos, a private soldier killed a leading miner.
The blood instantly ignited everyone's anger.
The miners roared and rushed forward, fighting with the private soldiers. Even though there was Soul Master among them, they were not afraid at all.
Some lunatics even tried to blow up their own Martial Souls in order to capture those formerly superior Soul Master nobles. This move gave many ordinary people who were not Soul Masters the opportunity to resist in the face of strong Soul Grandmasters.
Even if you are barefoot, you are not afraid of wearing shoes. As long as you dare to fight and work hard, no one can stop you.
Black Rock Mine's riot, like a spark, instantly ignited all the mines in the southern part of the Heaven Dou Empire.
When the message reached Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Xue Qinghe was reviewing the memorial.
The ink pen in his hand suddenly stopped, and the ink dripped on the bright yellow memorial, creating a large black stain.
"What did you say? The miners on the southwest border rioted? Are they shouting about 'everyone is equal' and 'abolition of aristocratic privileges'?" Xue Qinghe stood up suddenly, his face ashen.
Or unbelievable.
Since ancient times, rebellion has nothing to do with civilians, let alone riots. Only nobles have the qualifications to rebel.
How dare a group of common people, who depend on heaven for their livelihood and rely on charity from nobles to survive, dare to launch a riot? Do they have the strength?
A Soul Grandmaster's strength can go to massacre a village. How dare these civilians who are not even Soul Scholar dare?
"Yes, Your Highness." The guard knelt down on one knee, his voice full of fear, "Not only on the southwest border, but also in the slums of Heaven Dou City and the farms in the north, there were large-scale riots. The mobs all held a kind of manuscript in their hands, which had some... some treasonous words written on it."
The guard handed over a manuscript stained with blood.
Xue Qinghe took the manuscript and after reading only a few lines, the blood in his body seemed to freeze instantly.
Especially that sentence, "The prince and general Xiang Ning has a kind of affection", these eight characters, once impacted his spirit!
"Check! Check it for me immediately! Where do these manuscripts come from!"
Xue Qinghe slammed the manuscript to the ground, and his voice became sharp with anger. "Send the order, all those who spread these heresies will be punished as Otherworldly Visitors, and will be killed without mercy! All manuscripts will be confiscated and burned! Anyone who dares to keep it secretly will be executed!"
Almost at the same time, Dai Weisi of the Star Luo Empire also issued the same order.
Star Luo Empire's army marched into various mines and villages, hunting down those who spread "heretical theories."
Countless people were imprisoned, and countless manuscripts were burned in public.
On the execution grounds of Heaven Dou City and Star Luo City, dozens of heads fell to the ground every day.
But the more suppressed it is, the faster this idea spreads.
If you burn one copy, ten or one hundred copies will be copied; if you kill one communicator, ten or one hundred communicators will come forward.
Those civilians living at the bottom have been oppressed for thousands of years.
When they first learned that people could still live like that, no bloody suppression could extinguish the fire in their hearts.
Even the shadows of this kind of thinking began to appear in the armies of the two empires.
Those civilian taxi soldiers secretly circulated the manuscripts and looked at the superior officers with a strange look in their eyes.
You must know that it is very difficult for ordinary soldiers like them to be promoted. Either you are a born noble or you have Soul Master status, otherwise you can only risk your life to fight for military merit.
However, most of the military merits usually do not go to their heads, and they are basically taken away by the rouge powder generals who come over temporarily.
Not to mention military pay, which is pitiful.
Once a war breaks out, they become cannon fodder, and even if their family members die, they may not be able to receive pensions.
ps: a little late