People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 397 Capital Crime
Accompanied by a steady rhythm of footsteps, Xun Yu walked into the Wei Imperial Palace. Of course, it is a bit shabby to call this a palace. Before this, this was just an ordinary palace for Liu Xie to live in.

Now that the Wei Kingdom was established and Cao Cao became emperor, this palace was directly used by Cao Cao.

Although the temporary palace was far from the level of an imperial palace in terms of scale or layout, Cao Cao did not have the extra financial and material resources to renovate and expand it. After all, it was not just the imperial palace that was now dilapidated and shabby, but the entire Wei State.

As Xun Yu walked along, he saw people walking in the streets of Wei State in groups of three or four. The huge capital city actually had a somewhat desolate feeling.

Almost half a year has passed, and the State of Wei has still not emerged from the shadow of defeat and plague. Even if external factors are not taken into account, it is unknown how many years it will take to recuperate and recover.

When entering the palace, Xun Yu could not help but look back. Unfortunately, in this Wei capital, he could not see the atmosphere of an emerging country.

Thinking of the conversation he had with his wife at home yesterday, Xun Yu felt even more depressed. It seemed that there was really no possibility of reversing the situation of strength between the north and the south.
Xun Yu's pessimism did not come from any other reason. Just looking at the most basic population, there was already a huge gap between the north and the south.

Originally, the richest and most prosperous places in the Han Dynasty were the northern provinces and counties. Now, the south, which already has a much smaller population than the north, is also suffering from a plague disaster, which has further exacerbated the population gap between the north and the south.

There is no need to consider productivity, systems, or public opinion. Population alone is enough to determine victory or defeat. Now that the population gap between the north and the south has reached an order of magnitude, the most basic resources differ to such an extent that Xun Yu can't think of how he can compete with Xuan Xia in the future.

What is even more desperate is that Xuan Xia's vigorous promotion of industry and commerce has greatly tapped the potential of the population, which has eliminated any suspense between the two sides, who already have a huge gap in strength.

It's difficult. Too difficult.
Perhaps because of the overall negative atmosphere in the capital and the palace, Xun Yu also came to the palace with a pessimistic and depressed mood. It was not until he reached the entrance of the hall that he took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and walked in.

In the deep and dark palace, the place where Liu Xie once sat was replaced by a man in dragon costume. This man had thick and slanted eyebrows, and with his majestic eyes, he naturally exuded an urgent aura. If it were an ordinary person, he would be frightened just by looking at him.

Of course, the only person who can sit here is Cao Cao, the current emperor of Wei.

"Your Majesty, I, Xun Yu, pay my respects to you!" When he reached the center of the hall, Xun Yu bowed and clasped his hands, maintaining a polite gesture.

Hearing the voice, Cao Cao, who was sitting above, put down the newspaper in his hand, looked at Xun Yu and smiled: "Wen Ruo came at the right time. I just finished reading an article and was touched. I would like to hear your opinion."

Xun Yu didn't understand what was going on, so he quickly said yes.

Afterwards, a eunuch immediately stepped forward to Cao Cao and took the newspaper in his hand. He then ran to Xun Yu in small steps, handed the newspaper to Xun Yu, and then waited respectfully on the side.

When Xun Yu took it and took a look, he immediately found the problem with the newspaper. On the front page of the newspaper, an unfamiliar article caught his eye. Before Xun Yu could carefully read the content of the article, the author's name had already attracted all his attention.

On the Crimes of Monarchs - Liu Xie

When Xun Yu saw the title of the article and the author's name, the first thing he did was to take a deep breath. He didn't even need to read the title carefully, as the title and the author's name had already given him a great shock.

An emperor, discussing the emperor's sins? Suddenly, Xun Yu felt a strong shock. This world was really absurd. Such a dramatic thing actually appeared before his eyes!
He raised his head and looked in the direction of Cao Cao, and saw that Cao Cao had a gloomy face.

After a wry smile, Xun Yu didn't think any more about it and just continued reading the article. Cao Cao also waited patiently for Xun Yu to finish reading.

In the quiet hall, only Xun Yu's eyes followed the movement of the article up and down, and as time passed, his expression became more and more solemn. After he finished reading the entire article, he looked up again, but for a while, he didn't know how to start.

Cao Cao laughed, but his laughter was a little cold. "Liu Xie is shamelessly criticizing the emperor. If what he said is true, emperors are natural sinners, then who am I? Do you think what he said in this article is right or wrong?"

Xun Yu said without hesitation: "Such an evil way should not be taken seriously. This article is probably the product of Xuan Xia's coercion. Your Majesty can just treat it as a joke."

Cao Cao snorted, "That being said, we should not underestimate him. Liu Xie disregarded the emperor's dignity and destroyed his foundation, but he was the emperor of the previous dynasty after all, so it is inevitable that some people would be deceived by him. Such evil ways should be banned."

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu immediately sensed the uneasiness in Cao Cao's heart. The impact of this article on Cao Cao was more severe than he had imagined.

But if you think about it carefully, this is understandable. The so-called Wei Kingdom was a helpless product of haste, and Emperor Cao Cao had no foundation and it was difficult for him to win the support of the people. In this situation, Cao Cao must have felt uneasy.

Now, Emperor Cao Cao is already unstable, and Liu Xie, the previous emperor, has begun to criticize the imperial system. It would be strange if Cao Cao was not panicked.

"Your Majesty is wise. I think this issue of the newspaper can be banned in Wei to minimize the spread of adverse effects." Xun Yu did not mention Cao Cao's embarrassment, but immediately gave his proposal to the newspaper.

But Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "It is not enough to just ban one issue. I think the newspaper should be banned completely. From now on, in the land of Wei, no matter officials, scholars or ordinary people, can have any copy of Xuanxia newspaper!"

Xun Yu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is this a bit too extreme?"

Cao Cao stared at Xun Yu for a few seconds, and then said meaningfully: "If we don't act more vigorously, I'm afraid that Xu Chen will turn the country of Wei upside down. Wen Ruo knows that there have been many cases of rebellion by the nobles recently!"

When Xun Yu heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he was speechless for a moment.

Cao Cao snorted coldly, pointed at the newspaper in Xun Yu's hand and said, "What is this? This is Xuan Xia's weapon made of paper and pen. If we don't control it, the people and scholars of my Wei State will all run away one day!"

Xun Yu suddenly came to his senses. Yes, since his wife had such an idea, how many stupid people were there in the huge Wei Kingdom?

While he was still muttering in his heart, Cao Cao issued another order, and this order made Xun Yu feel a chill in his heart.

"Being disloyal to the emperor is a serious crime. People who escape like this should be treated as traitors and deserters, and must be sentenced to death!"

(End of this chapter)