Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 462 - 47: The Integrity of Elders

April 30, 2018

Solid evidence, Zhao Hongwu certainly has it.

The so-called ironclad evidence isn’t just empty talk.

Zhao Hongwu was fully committed to the public trial assembly.

Even without the unexpected incident of United Strength, his original plan was to enumerate Zhao Chenlu’s numerous crimes in front of everyone to win the people’s support—especially to gain the backing of the Saint Sect.

Though the Saint Sect has always adhered to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Seven Great Noble Families, if a tyrant truly arises, the Saint Sect will still make a statement.

And Zhao Chenlu, in the eyes of Zhao Hongwu and others, was precisely an out-and-out tyrant.

Though it’s undeniable that she was extraordinarily talented, having steered Golden Jade City for twenty years, bringing the city immeasurable prosperity, the destruction she caused was also incalculable.

For instance... the damage to the millennia-old order of Golden Jade City left many feeling regretful.

Before Zhao Chenlu, the power transition of Golden Jade City was always stable and orderly. Each new Lord came to power after securing enough support. Only in Zhao Chenlu’s generation did she ascend by directly trampling over the faces of many old aristocrats.

To the public, it seemed Zhao Chenlu ascended powerfully, with her father Zhao Hongxue having no choice but to retreat backstage. However, the reality inside was much more brutal than the public perceived.

At the time, Zhao Chenlu hadn’t yet achieved her later unmatched level of cultivation. Although strong, she couldn’t possibly outmatch so many elders who had been cultivating for tenfold or even decades longer than her.

What truly enabled her to ascended powerfully, defying countless objections, were her methods beyond raw strength, tactics so cunning that they made people’s teeth gnash! Heaven knows where a teenager learned such despicable tactics, using them to wield power over the most private secrets of the old aristocrats and then mercilessly blackmail them for political capital. During that time, the upper echelon of Golden Jade City’s aristocracy was in constant trepidation, terrified at the slightest whisper, suffering such severe insomnia that their Primordial Spirits withered. Almost every high-level meeting had participants with panda-like eyes due to sleeplessness, worn out in body and soul... Unfortunately, such issues couldn’t be publicly criticized.

What could be criticized was Zhao Chenlu’s cultural destructive power.

During her twenty years in power, Zhao Chenlu never respected the history of Golden Jade City. Many ancient art forms and cultural traditions were banned with a wave of her hand simply because she found them uninteresting, her decisions as arbitrary and tyrannical as they were outrageous.

For this, Zhao Hongwu had collected a large array of materials and invited many esteemed and venerable seniors who had suffered under her regime to denounce Zhao Chenlu’s crimes during the public trial assembly.

Zhao Hongwu’s plan was undoubtedly sound. These seniors, carefully chosen, were idols in the hearts of many Golden Jade inhabitants twenty years ago and still hold considerable influence even today. While the younger generation might not be very familiar with them, those above middle age still had affection for these elders. Having them criticize Zhao Chenlu en masse, especially when Zhao Chenlu could not speak to defend herself, would undoubtedly be impactful.

However, Zhao Hongwu failed to account for two things: First, someone suddenly jumping out during the public trial assembly, claiming to be Zhao Chenlu’s representative, ready to defend her in public. Second, those old "fresh meats," who had been frozen for twenty years, were so overwhelmingly excited once thawed—excitement as boundless as surging rivers. On such a stage with tens or even hundreds of thousands of spectators, their desire to perform was significantly ignited...

As a result, half an hour went by, and the first speaker was only narrating his youth!

At this point, not to mention the audience below, who were shouting abuse and hurling eggs and rocks, even the organizers on stage, including Zhao Hongwu, could no longer tolerate it, repeatedly signaling the speaker to adhere to the allotted speaking time. But how could artists, once in their speech flow, be constrained by mere rules? It seemed they were about to recount their life journey until the end of time...

With no other choice, Zhao Hongwu had to dispatch a few soldiers to drag the endlessly speaking cultural elder down from the stage directly.

"What are you doing!? Don’t touch me! Do you know who I am? I am a distinguished guest personally invited by City Lord Zhao Hongwu! How dare you be rude to me? Such disgrace to civilization, complete disgrace! I haven’t even finished my story, nor have I exposed Zhao Chenlu’s true colors; the ignorant public has yet to be enlightened by me! You can’t treat me like this! This is a crime! Duke Hongwu, we agreed on an appearance fee, you can’t shortchange me...!"

Amidst a series of wails, this cultural elder was finally expelled, and by this time, the audience was already in a chaotic mix of laughter and curses, with provocateurs loudly supporting Zhao Chenlu, praising the old ban as wise and insightful, claiming that such decaying old scoundrels deserved to be banned for ten thousand years.

Zhao Hongwu only felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

Such a perfectly planned public trial assembly, yet it opened with such a fiasco!

The preparations were still too hasty; many elements were not flawless, and those speeches were introduced onto the stage without prior review, which naturally led to major issues!

If only there were a rehearsal, but unfortunately, the original rehearsal time was supposed to be last night. However, a group of Cyan Cloud people used despicable and shameless tricks to occupy the precious time of the two City Lords, resulting in no time for a rehearsal at all. Thinking about it now, the Cyan Cloud people’s cunning is truly infuriating!

Yet, as Zhao Hongwu seethed with anger, someone from the opposite side mocked, "Is that all? Back then, even Zhao Chenlu didn’t rudely silence people like this. Your new government is even more ruthless than Zhao Chenlu; what right do you have to accuse her of being tyrannical and overbearing?"

Zhao Hongwu’s face darkened, "I am merely maintaining the basic order of the public trial to ensure others have a reasonable opportunity to speak. How can it be compared to Zhao Chenlu’s actions back then? She would order people’s houses searched and doors sealed with just a thought!"

Wang Jiu said, "Does the public trial have regulations on how long each person can speak?"

Zhao Hongwu said, "Of course it does!"

"Where are the regulations?" Wang Jiu spread his hands and demanded, "Please show me the written rules in black and white."

"..." Zhao Hongwu was speechless. The preparations for the public trial were so rushed that there wasn’t even time for a rehearsal, so how could there possibly be written speech regulations?

Wang Jiu said, "If there aren’t any, he can speak for as long as he likes as his personal freedom. You’re just using your authority as an organizer to rudely interfere with others’ freedom. Moreover, the speakers were chosen by you, and the materials were prepared by you in advance. Yet, on the spot, you don’t allow people to finish speaking. In human society, interrupting forcibly when someone is midway through their passionate expression is considered extremely vile behavior, isn’t it?"

As Wang Jiu finished speaking, many men in the audience gritted their teeth in support, "That’s right! It’s too damn vile!"

Zhao Hongwu almost wanted to curse, but given the situation, he had no choice but to drag the person who was taken away back onto the stage.

On his second appearance, the old senior was visibly less spirited than the first time. He seemed deflated, unable to deliver a passionate speech, merely jumping straight into the topic, making the content seem dry and lacking in vigor.

It turned out that this old man was once the leader of a traditionalist revival movement. Although the movement he advocated for didn’t have a vast audience, his unwavering commitment over decades earned him some fame and status in Golden Jade City. He also gained love, family, and career by sticking to his beliefs.

However, after Zhao Chenlu took office, she merely said one sentence: "Such old mummies should live in coffins," and then ordered his movement’s dojo to be sealed.

After losing his place of operation, the old man had no source of income, and soon after, his life descended into standard tragic episodes like family separation, hitting rock bottom in an instant.

Over these past two decades, if it weren’t for the relatively decent city welfare in Golden Jade City, he would have been dead and destitute long ago. But to fall from a leader of a revivalist movement to a vagrant reliant on welfare for survival was worse than death...

So upon his vindication, the old man was uncontrollably agitated, as it was too unimaginably dreamlike.

"So, did you hear that? This is what Zhao Chenlu did back in the day! And this person is just a microcosm of the entire Golden Jade City! I can easily find dozens of similar examples! There are even five or six more miserable cases like his, but due to time constraints, we can’t let them all come out and explain in detail..."

Zhao Hongwu hadn’t finished speaking when there came a wave of astonished and anguished cries from behind the stage.

"What, our speeches have been canceled!?"

"Why!? Do you even know who we are? No? Then go home and ask your grandpa and grandma!"

"I specifically borrowed money to rent this formal attire just to attract the audience’s attention during my speech, and now you’re telling me the speech is canceled!? That’s unacceptable, you need to compensate for this loss!"

Zhao Hongwu forcibly ignored these noises and continued speaking to Wang Jiu, "I admit, not all of the cultural ideologies these people promote are wonderful. Some content even I find outdated and vulgar. But Golden Jade City has always been a place that embraces diversity; as long as it doesn’t cross the line of morality, we allow all kinds of voices to be heard! Even if they may sound grating to us! But Zhao Chenlu, driven by her personal preferences, blatantly destroyed the cultural diversity of Golden Jade City, which is an undeniable crime!"

After finishing his piece, Zhao Hongwu was filled with a righteous sense of integrity, observing the silent crowd around him who usually enjoyed causing a commotion.

Indeed, Zhao Chenlu’s handling of many issues in those days was incredibly tyrannical and overbearing, which was a key reason her public approval rating was never very high. Now, having these bloody truths pointed out made them hard to refute.

"So, don’t you want to defend her? Then tell us, in the face of such undeniable crimes, how do you plan to defend her!?"