bacchusnovels Chapter 232 A Few More Clowns Appear
Chapter 232 A Few More Clowns Appear
Kyoto, deep within a luxurious mansion.
This house occupies a very large area, not much smaller than the Wang family's.
The courtyard is secluded and tranquil, with winding paths, artificial hills and flowing water, and various precious flowers and plants; it is clearly the home of a true wealthy family.
In the main hall, four people sat around a round mahogany table laden with delicacies, but no one touched their chopsticks.
We drank tea several times, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
A round-faced, chubby man finally couldn't help but speak first. He wore a gold-embroidered brocade robe, had seven or eight gold rings on his fingers, and exuded a strong stench of money.
He is Qian Wanguan, the head of the Qian family and the president of the largest chamber of commerce in Kyoto.
The Qian family of Daxia is not a top-tier aristocratic family, but in terms of wealth, even the Wang family has to take a backseat.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down with a smile on his face—a smile that hides a needle in its heart.
"That old bastard Wang Zun actually ran away? His rebellion failed, he's a complete waste."
He shook his head, his tone full of disdain.
"I thought he could make a big splash, but he didn't even make a ripple. The military and the Night Watch are really tough; they held out until Ye Feng came back to help."
A gaunt, effeminate-looking old man sitting next to him sneered.
He was dressed in a long black robe, with a thin face and sinister eyes.
He was the head of the civil officials in Kyoto, and his students and former subordinates were all over the Great Xia.
Zhou Renyi, the head of the Zhou family.
He put down his teacup, his tone full of disdain: "Just a hothead who only knows how to fight and kill, what waves can he stir up? Can he conquer an empire, and can he even hold onto it?"
"In the end, won't they still have to rely on me, the head of the civil officials?"
"Even when Wang Zun was vying for power with the three branches of the military's Night Watch, they didn't dare to offend me in the slightest."
"Besides, you all are still here! The Great Xia Dynasty won't change!"
Although the four of them belong to four different factions in the eyes of outsiders.
But they had already secretly made arrangements and formed an alliance.
The Qian family controls the finances, the Zhou family controls the government, and the other two families, the Ma family and the Li family, are the mouthpieces of the entire Great Xia.
The entire website, television station, and short video platform of the Great Xia Dynasty are all in the hands of the Ma and Li families.
They already knew about Wang Zun's planned coup.
In the eyes of these four, even if they won, it wouldn't affect their ability to continue to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the Great Xia Dynasty.
But no one expected that this young man, Ye Feng, would suddenly rise to prominence.
They never expected that Ye Feng would have such combat power.
It was able to kill multiple invincible alien races in battle.
"So, shall we proceed according to plan?" Qian Wanguan asked.
Zhou Wenyuan nodded.
"Get them moving. Those big V's, those self-media, those newspapers, let them praise what they should praise and flatter what they should flatter."
"Let's elevate Ye Feng to the highest level possible. Doesn't he want to be the King of Great Xia? Then let him be."
"But? A king of the Great Xia should act like a king of the Great Xia, shouldn't he? He can't possibly control his god-level warship and those war puppets all by himself, can he?"
"Shouldn't we take it out and share it with everyone? This is for the safety of the Great Xia."
"Look, beast tides are appearing in all four prefectures: the Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and North Sea!"
"The King of Great Xia can't just stand by and watch us die! He can't just worry about his own four prefectures, can he?"
"Exactly! Both Kyoto and Jinling suffered huge losses during Wang Zun's rebellion, so Ye Feng can't just ignore it, can he?"
"That's a good idea," said Fatty Ma, who was sitting next to Qian Wanguan. He was a representative of wealthy merchants in Kyoto, whose family owned more than a dozen trade routes, and it was said that they also had business dealings with vampires behind the scenes.
He also controls all the various live streaming platforms on the internet.
During this period, those who were criticizing Ye Feng online were all secretly instructed by him.
He patted the table.
"I heard that Ye Feng had over a thousand war puppets during the Northeast Campaign, and that god-level warship—it's a warship of god-like stature! If we could get our hands on one to study, we could build something similar."
Zhou Wenyuan leaned back in his chair, looking completely at ease.
"That's what we'll do. We'll stir up public opinion and make the people feel that what Ye Feng has should be handed over to Great Xia."
"No matter how capable Ye Feng is, he can't go against the people of the world, can he?"
"We have money, people, and influence in public opinion in Great Xia. We also have a foothold overseas."
"A young man who only knows how to fight and kill can't cause any trouble."
"That's right, this is the martial world. It's not just about fighting and killing; you have to be mindful of human relationships and social interactions," Qian Wanguan said, a hint of smugness in his voice.
"In this world, those who can fight are not as good as those who can talk, and those who can talk are not as good as those who have money. No matter how good Ye Feng is at fighting, can he stop our pens? Can he stop our wallets?"
"Haha!" Several people laughed at the same time, as if they had already won.
They began planning their next steps.
Contact major media platforms and arrange for several influential KOLs to write advertorials.
They generate buzz on various short video platforms and consistently rank among the top trending topics.
They wanted to make everyone in the entire Great Xia Dynasty aware of Ye Feng's great achievements, and then use moral blackmail to bind him.
The next day, the online sentiment in Daxia suddenly changed drastically.
Seven out of the top ten trending topics are about Ye Feng.
The number one ranking is Ye Feng saving the Great Xia, accompanied by a photo of Ye Feng standing on the city wall of Shanhe Prefecture, with the setting sun behind him, like a carefully composed propaganda poster.
Clicking through leads to a lengthy article that begins with Ye Feng's initial display of talent in Jiangcheng, and continues with his slaying of Wang Bufan, the destruction of the Mechanical Race's vanguard, the slaughter of the Third Legion of the Heavenly Demon Race, and the pacification of the Blood Race's rebellion, thus creating an epic tale of heroism.
At the end of the article, the tone shifted, becoming earnest and worried.
"Is such immense power a blessing or a curse? If god-level warships and thousands of war puppets are controlled by only one person, what will become of the Great Xia Dynasty?"
"The line between a hero and a dictator is often very thin."
The second trending topic followed closely behind.
On short video platforms, many influential figures have started posting various edited videos, the first half of which shows Ye Feng fighting bravely, accompanied by rousing and passionate music.
The style shifts dramatically in the second half, turning into a hypothetical scenario of what if these powers were abused, instantly changing the overall tone.
"Will Ye Feng become the next Wang Zun?"
This topic has also generated unprecedented buzz in the discussion forum.
Several highly-rated answers appeared on the forum, written in a very professional and restrained manner, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of checks and balances from a political science perspective.
The saying "When merits are too great, they threaten the ruler" has always been true.
Power must be restrained; unrestrained power will inevitably lead to corruption, no matter who holds it.
The comments section was filled with heated arguments.
Some people say that Ye Feng's hard work and great achievements should not be questioned.
Some people say that merits and demerits are separate and should not be confused.
Short videos are everywhere on video websites.
Some people hailed Ye Feng as the God of War of the Great Xia Dynasty, while others called on Ye Feng to hand over the god-level warship to the central government.
Some even sarcastically suggested that Lord Ye should hold a press conference to clarify the situation.
The overwhelming discussions are all, intentionally or unintentionally, leading in the same direction.
Ye Feng has too many things; he should divide them up so that the entire Great Xia can use them together.
Meanwhile, on the way to Kyoto.