Chapter 219 The Mob
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Guest Room.
Blue smoke curled up.
The Golden God statue was placed on the table, and Jin Cheng devoutly chanted prayers.
"Golden God, bless us, Your radiance envelopes the divine nation…"
"Zhou relies on the advantage of machines, rampaging across the Cloud Continent, and although the divine nation is far, it is not at peace. One day, when Zhou invades the divine nation, the flesh and blood of its people will not withstand the cannons…"
Jin Cheng muttered to himself, narrating for a long time to relieve the pressure, just about to finish the worship.
The statue burst into dazzling light, and the Golden God came to life within the spiritual glow, slowly folding its wings on its back, as the black tiger beneath it let out a roar.
In the shadows, the guards ensuring Jin Cheng's safety suddenly materialized, kneeling on the ground and loudly proclaiming the Golden God above.
"Your prayers have been heard by this deity, and I shall bestow the mechanical Red Gold Booklet to alleviate your calamities!"
The Golden God waved his hand, and divine light fell, solidifying into the Red Gold Booklet, then the light gradually receded and it turned back to wood.
Jin Cheng was stunned for a long time; had it not been for the changing posture of the statue, and the Red Gold Booklet left on the floor, he would have thought he had been subjected to an Illusion Technique.
The divine nation was different from the states of the Cloud Continent or the dual teachings of Buddhism and Taoism, it still retained records from the ancient era, unaltered, and remained convinced of the existence of the Cultivation World.
The Golden God came from the Cultivation World, which was one of the fundamental tenets of their doctrine!
Jin Cheng murmured, "Could it be that in this deteriorating age, the Golden God has not perished? Or has the worship of the divine nation condensed into the will of the Golden God?"
The guard reminded, "Elder, what we need to do now is to escort the Red Gold Booklet back to the divine nation!"
"Right!"
Jin Cheng hurriedly tucked the Red Gold Booklet into his chest, still with doubts in his heart, "Machines have only appeared for over a hundred years, how does the Golden God understand their principles?"
The guard pondered hard and guessed.
"Perhaps all the metals in the world are under the jurisdiction of the Golden God, and machines are also made of metal!"
...
Time flew by.
Another year.
On New Year's Eve, the Imperial Court again issued an edict, stating that the workshops must not close and must complete their orders!
The benefits brought by war and dumping made the officials of the Imperial Court's eyes turn red, wishing the workshops would run non-stop for all twelve hours of the day.
The edict was issued that day.
Under the coordination of the Red Alliance, workers set fire all around to the royal number one workshop, stopping the city patrol officers who came to put out the fire, resulting in tens of thousands of bolts of cloth being burned to ashes.
That night.
The Capital Garrison entered the capital to suppress, the elite soldiers who had just rotated back from the Northern Border easily defeated the civil unrest.
Anyone who had rebelled was the residue of the Red Alliance, all seized and lined up at the vegetable market square for beheading, even those wearing red clothes or with the character 'Chi' (赤) in their names were all arrested and tortured for questioning.
Seeing this, the members of the Red Alliance could no longer hide, and they jumped out to stop the Imperial soldiers from slaying the civilians.
Little did they know that this was precisely what the general of the Capital Garrison had hoped for.
Luring the snake out of its hole!
Continual gunfire rang out from all directions, and the stealthy master spies who emerged from the shadows easily encircled and annihilated the members of the Red Alliance.
Having cultivated martial arts for ten years and reputed to have the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, capable of rivaling a hundred men in ancient times, they were still helpless and met with bitterness in the face of the crackling bullets.
"These people are adorably stupid, actually willing to die for these mud-legged peasants, this general is somewhat impressed!"
"Hehehe, have many noble family scions also joined the Red Alliance?"
The general, wearing a felt army uniform and leather boots stepping on stirrups, looked coldly over the corpses sprawled on the ground, "A bunch of half-dead old fools are destined to be crushed to pieces under the surge of machines, I will be the first to break the millennia-old noble families!"
Tavern.
A light as small as a bean.
The sound of cannons and guns in the capital kept booming, but Zhou Yi stood behind the counter drinking, as if he heard nothing.
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I flipped through most of the storybook, my mind troubled and irritated, unable to read any further.
It was the third watch of the yin hour.
Bai Shiyu stumbled into the room from outside, carrying a cook on his back who moaned in pain.
The blind man limped along, all his string instrument's strings broken, a bloody hole gouged into his leg.
Zhou Yi took a wine jug from beneath the counter, "Try this secretly made medicinal wine, with a slice of millennium ginseng added, the heaviest injuries can be healed."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
Bai Shiyu poured a bowl of wine and carefully fed it to the cook, watching as the man who was at death's door rapidly regained his vitality.
The blind man with his empty eyes looked at the cook and said, "This wine is too precious, my wounds don't need it."
"Don't decline, tomorrow you still have to perform, we can't have the guests finding fault." Find more to read on empire
Once Zhou Yi and the other two's injuries had stabilized and they had been nourished by the millennium spiritual wine, by the next day even their wounds had healed, they asked, "How did it go today, has the Red Alliance made any progress?"
Bai Shiyu's face showed bitterness as he shook his head, "It failed."
The Red Alliance had burned down the Imperial Court's premier workshop, but they were met with bloody suppression. Tomorrow, the common people would still have to go to work as usual, even putting in extra hours to compensate for the losses.
The cook recovered his strength and slammed the table angrily, "We keep failing, if this goes on, the fire in our hearts will die out!"
The blind man shook his head and said, "Unless my entire family is wiped out, that fire will not die."
Bai Shiyu thought back on what Old Cai had said, feeling that the Red Alliance was lacking something. Continuing like this, their efforts were yielding little effect.
Zhou Yi asked, "I understand why the blind man and the cook hate the machines, but you, a scion from a noble family, why are you the same?"
"At first it was purely for revenge. Having learned the martial arts of my family, I thought to honor my ancestors."
Bai Shiyu said, "But then, after seeing the misery of the people in the workshops, it turned into sympathy. After I joined the Red Alliance and faced suppression by the Imperial Court time after time, now I only think of resistance!"
"Hmm, this change of heart is quite common."
Zhou Yi said, "The tide of machinery is unstoppable, and your actions so far have failed because you lack one thing!"
The cook, who was the most impatient, quickly asked, "What are we lacking?"
Hope shone in Bai Shiyu and the blind man's faces. With the Red Alliance leading the people in resistance against the workshops, the continuous defeats had been a massive blow to their morale.
If it weren't for the Imperial Court's relentless exploitation, forcing the people to rebel, perhaps the Red Alliance would have already dispersed!
"Shopkeeper Sun" seemed like an extraordinary person of this world to the three, remaining unaffected amidst the changing times, and with a profound familial heritage and a longstanding legacy, he might be able to point out what the Red Alliance was missing!
"A manifesto!"
"You lack a common manifesto, something to strive for in unity!"
Zhou Yi said slowly, "Right now, you are truly a motley crew, just like the rebels of past dynasties, blindly resisting and destroying, without knowing what you should be doing."
Bai Shiyu frowned deeply, vaguely understanding but not knowing what a manifesto was.
...
Military control had continued for several days in the capital.
Today it was finally lifted. While other regions were still tentatively resuming business, the taverns were already filled with guests.
Mouths that had been silenced for days began to unleash their pent-up speech, creating a tumultuous uproar. Head Liu from the municipal patrol office made several visits, only to retreat to the doorway under the cold gaze of Chen Jiye and the other wealthy patrons.
The Imperial Court's secret agents had arrived, first going inside to report.
Bai Shiyu hastily greeted the guests, busy all day without a moment's rest, until it was nearly midnight when he closed for the day.
He locked up the doors.
Instead of going to the backyard to sleep, Bai Shiyu changed into his nightwear and slipped out, following the shadowy corners of the walls, navigating through streets and alleys, all the way to Princess Funing's residence at Yongchang Place in East City.
Climbing walls and hopping over courtyards, he adeptly found his way to the back house.
Woof, woof, woof—woof!
Three short and one long bark later, the window screeched open, and Princess Funing looked out with a joyful and amused expression.