Star Gate

Chapter 947: The World Changes Master (IV)

Li Hao looked at the Liu father and son. These two were interesting characters. It was like they’d died ever since he destroyed the Four Seas Trading Company. They never showed themselves and it seemed like they were waiting for something.

And now, the old minister had sworn fealty before he even arrived... Clearly, they’d guessed at the truth of the matter. The Ministry of Finance was the ministry that’d suffered the fewest losses so far.

Li Hao walked up to the central seat in the main hall and sank into deep consideration of the duo. The Liu’s Four Seas Trading Company had colluded with pirates, secretly supporting them and conspired with monster spirits. They’d collaborated with Phoenix Mountain to feed humans to monster spirits...

Li Hao remembered the scenes of everything they’d stumbled upon. But if he killed them, great turbulence might rock the dynasty. These two were so calculating that they might have laid contingency plans.

Once the monetary system started collapsing, it would be grave trouble if Li Hao was unable to respond in time because he was yet to finish conquering the world.

Should he placate them first? Then kill them after a stable transition had been managed? The young man mused over the matter.

“Commander, my son and I well deserve our deaths.” Sweat poured down Liu Fu’s face. “But I would like to speak of my grandson who’s liked martial dao ever since a child. He’s a natural-born martial fanatic and has never paid attention to secular matters!

“He was dissatisfied with the family’s extravagance at a young age and left home early on to travel the world. I would like for him to join the Skystar Martial Academy. Whether as a student or a teacher, either is a fine option. Will the commander accept him?

“My son and I will swiftly complete the handover of the financial system within a month. After that... we are at the commander’s mercy!”

Li Hao was rather surprised by the sudden proposition. Having Liu Fu’s grandson... join the Skystar Martial Academy. The academy wasn’t even open yet!

The young man pondered the meaning behind this gesture and connected some dots. “It looks like you have high hopes for your grandson.” He smiled at Liu Fu.

“It’s not a matter of high hopes or not,” Liu Fu took a deep breath. “Just that he likes martial dao, so perhaps he’ll be able to complete his lifelong dreams after joining the martial academy. Don’t worry, commander, my grandson is a simple and honest person. Yunqing and I will teach him well beforehand so that he does not get into trouble...”

Li Hao raised an eyebrow. The old man knew that he wanted to kill both father and son. That he chose to give up Liu Yunqing and ask for his grandson to join the Skystar Martial Academy... Did he hope for his grandson to revitalize the family fortunes?

Prior to this, Li Hao had already said that he would not implicate the rest of the family. That Liu Fu had still chosen to make this decision was... interesting.

“That will do!” Li Hao nodded after some thought.

“My thanks for the commander’s acceptance!” Liu Fu heaved a long sigh of relief.

“The old minister... is just facilitating your own goals!” chuckled the young man. “You are a smart person, so I won’t speak of anything else. Deputy Zhou, arrange for our people to take over the Ministry of Finance. This is a very important institution!”

“Understood.” Deputy Zhou nodded with a smile.

Li Hao was in no hurry to leave, so he brought up a question. “Why has the Ministry of Internal Affairs not asked after any matter or joined the operation in the ruins?”

“Internal Affairs has always been loyal to the royal family, but the royal family has damaged their relations with recent events,” Chen Zhongtian responded. “The Mus are no longer willing to exert themselves on the royal family’s behalf, so they chose to stay on the sidelines.”

“Do we kill those at Internal Affairs, or permit them to live?” Li Hao looked at Chen Zhongtian; the man was troubled by the question.

“Commander, the Mus of Internal Affairs do not wield much authority.” It was Liu Fu who suddenly spoke up. “They have served only the royal family over the years. We had to convince them to accept the duties of Internal Affairs and positioned it as a way to supervise the royal family. Of course, it turned out that the royal family grew closer with the Mus and drew the family to their side...”

Li Hao didn’t quite understand his response. Are you encouraging me to kill them or spare them? It sounds like they first betrayed the nine ministries, then the royal family. Then they’re nothing good. But if they don’t possess much authority...

“The Mus are timid and of moderate strength,” Liu Fu quickly continued when he saw Li Hao glance over. “Given their lack of authority, they make for an ideal model. They represent no threat and the commander has to spare some people to wave the flag and bang the drums for you going forward. The Mus will do. They will be a representation of the commander’s mercy to the rest of the world, of how merciful you can be to those who surrender...”

He was persuading Li Hao to keep the Mus when death was coming for him!

Li Hao looked at him with interest. “What a pity, you are clearly very smart, senior. Why did you choose to collude with pirates and monster spirits?”

If it wasn’t for this, he truly wanted to show mercy to the entire Liu family. Both father and son were very sharp-witted and Li Hao lacked people. However, they’d made fundamental errors of value in his eyes, so the young man was unwilling to accept those who’d crossed his bottom line.

Liu Fu laughed and didn’t explain himself. What was there to explain? Prior to today, it wasn’t a crime to collude with pirates, three great organizations, and monster spirits. Many powerhouses in the world conducted themselves in this manner.

Strictly speaking, plant spirits were monster spirits as well. Who didn’t have plant spirits backing their families? You have them too, Li Hao!

It was just that the Lius were blinded by wealth later on and lost sense of what was right and wrong in the pursuit of greater fortune. There was no need to lay this out so plainly; that would only lead to unnecessary offense of everyone.

The Mus might be more kindly disposed toward the Lius if Li Hao accepted the latter’s advice. They didn’t pose a big threat as they weren’t that strong. But as one of two ministries that were spared, they might look after the Lius a bit in the future.

Liu Fu was aware of the Mu father and son’s natures. These were emotional people who thought well of anyone who treated them kindly and held a grudge against anyone who didn’t. Liu Fu’s actions were to create some more opportunities for his own family.

Li Hao thought it over. A family that didn’t pose much of a threat and without true authority to be pushed as an example to the rest...

“Why did the Mu young miss go to the Four Seas Trading Company? Did she want to strike a collaboration with the pirates or the monster spirits?”

Mu Xiaorong had been locked up this entire time, but refused to say why she was present at the Four Seas Trading Company.

“None of those,” Liu Yunqing sighed off to the side. “Our family wished to ally with the Mus through marriage. Mu Xiaorong was there to assess our candidate.”

Li Hao frowned. Was the reason that simple?

“Another reason was that the royal family also hoped to ally with the Mus through marriage. Mu Xiaorong was at the Four Seas Island partially to avoid the royal family...”

Li Hao didn’t fully believe this explanation either, but at least it didn’t create a new issue.

“I’ve come to a decision,” he said after weighing up certain pros and cons. “You two should keep a lower profile for a bit. I’ll come back in a month!”

With that, he rose and left. The Liu father and son duo heaved long sighs after watching the rest of Li Hao’s group file after him. Deputy Zhou, however, didn’t leave. He stayed outside the door.

“Complete the handover quickly.” Liu Fu didn’t seek to speak privately away from the deputy. “A month is time enough to do a lot of things. At the very least, we’re much better off than some of the other families. Have your son return so we can help him grow stronger while there is time.”

“Father, this...” Liu Yunqing looked at his father, not understanding the decisions just made. Since there was no way out for them, why have the family continue to toil away on someone else’s behalf? It might be better to peacefully live out the rest of their days.

“I would retire with peace of mind if your survival was guaranteed.” Liu Fu suddenly looked like he’d aged by decades after the last conversation. “But since you... In that case, how is the family supposed to survive in this age without a powerhouse among our ranks? Then let us take another risk. Since we cannot avoid the matters of the world, let us embrace the future!”

There were no further chances for him and his son, but if his grandson joined the Skystar Martial Academy as the first class of students or a teacher, and if the family cooperated in transferring power to the Skystar Commander Office, then the Lius stood a chance of winning Li Hao’s trust.

Liu Yunqing thought it over and nodded without saying anything else.

Outside of the great hall, Deputy Zhou also sighed with emotion. Old man Liu had quite some skill to his name. Even the deputy wanted to convince Li Hao to spare these two.

As he watched Li Hao and the rest leave, Deputy Zhou knew that Skystar City would belong to the Li family after tonight. The word had changed its master!

......

No accidents developed at the Ministry of Examinations, Foreign Relations, and Commerce. Li Hao quickly completed his blockade and temporarily refrained from visiting the Mu family. Instead, he turned toward the royal palace. More and more heavyweights followed by his side.

A mirror hovered soundlessly in the sky, shrouding the palace with its range. The young man was about to commence a thorough cleansing of the royal family. It would be a widespread operation that might elicit a lot of fuss.

The current Skystar King brimmed with ambitions. The old Skystar King being sealed away and everything the royal family conducted in the world afterward was a function of the current king. He nursed great aspirations.

The royal family also possessed numerous princes [1] and dukes. They might not outright accept their fate and surrender like the other institutions had.

Inside the palace.

“Then I’ll make a trip outside, Your Majesty,” chuckled Southern Fist. “I’ll make a report of the situation, eat and enjoy yourselves for now!”

He rose and left, meeting Earthturner Sword and Sky Sword who were waiting for him at the front gates. The three walked out together.

Inside the hall.

The Skystar King frowned; a group of royal children congregated beneath him, as were some princes and a lot of dukes present.

“That damned thing is strutting around with someone else’s influence!” someone cursed through transmission. “When he was in the palace before, he was more biddable than a dog!”

The Skystar King didn’t say anything. Instead, he frowned when he looked outside. He Yong had said to eat and enjoy themselves for now. That... sounded ominous.

The king’s expression shifted as he turned the words over in his mind. Li Hao was here!

1. Princes here refers to brothers of the old Skystar King ☜