"Yes, sir!" The Sikh officer saluted Diok, turned around and ran to the arrested nobles. After a while, there was a burst of crying and cursing. The Sikh soldiers pulled the arms of the tortured person, then used a hemp rope to put the nobles' necks and pulled them hard to both sides. Under the tight hemp rope, the tortured person struggled hard, but his tongue soon spit out of their mouths. The signs of life disappeared from his body.

"Diok, you traitor! Maumi, save me!" Tu San's voice came over. As the person who actually sent the assassin, Dioc deliberately asked the soldiers to put his torture to the end, so as to torture the guy who tried to take his life with terror and despair. Hearing the other party's curse and pleading, Dioc strode to Tu San. At this time, the two strong soldiers had already twisted his arms and forced him to kneel on the ground. Seeing Dioc coming, one of them grabbed Tu San's hair and forced him to raise his head so that Dioc could see the other party's face clearly.

"Is this time my assassination my commander?"

"Diok, you traitor, I just wish you didn't kill you!" Tu San stared at the other party fiercely.

"You guys just want to deal with me?" Dioc sneered and ordered the Sikh soldiers: "Take it down, organize all the confessions first, and then execute all these people!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Diok, you traitor, I won't let you go even if I become a ghost!"

Tu San's shrill shouts echoed under the tall dome of the Privy Council. Mangki, who was standing aside, couldn't help but feel a little chilling. There was a king who dared to kill nobles like this in the history of the Kingdom of Burma, but his fate was very miserable, not to mention that Dioke was just a counselor of the Privy Council. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Is this Dioke crazy?"

Dioc turned around and pulled Maumi with a smile: "Wu Maumi, it's too messy here, let's sit next door!"

In the room, the tea fragrance was swaying. Apart from the faint screams, it was no different from the nobles and congressmen chatting during the Privy Council meeting. Maumi silently savored the fragrant tea in the cup without saying a word. At such a time and place, he felt that nothing he said was not as appropriate as silence.

"Wu Maoji, do you know why I didn't include you on the list of assassins?" Dioke asked suddenly.

"Why?"

"Because you are the only member of the Privy Council today. When the nobles are hiding at home or escaping from Mandalay, you, Mao Ji, come to the Privy Council. You are the only noble who regards the safety of the kingdom more than your own. I will not hurt someone like you!"

Maoji widened his eyes in surprise, Dioke smiled and looked at him, his eyes full of sincerity. After about a while, Maoji whispered: "I don't believe you!"

"Why don't you believe it? Because I am Chen Zaixing's lackey?" Dioke smiled slightly: "Yes, whether it is to escape punishment or become a counselor of the Privy Council, it is inseparable from his support, but this does not contradict my loyalty to the kingdom."

"Absurd, ridiculous! From the beginning, Chen Zaixing's every move was for the benefit of himself and Dashun. I understood this when I signed a treaty with the British. When the British recognized Dashun's sovereignty over Myanmar, Chen Zaixing betrayed the kingdom without hesitation. A nobleman could be loyal to such an egoist and kingdom at the same time. This is the funnyest joke I heard today!"

"This is not that ridiculous, Yang Ji! Maybe Chen Zaixing only cares about his own interests, but look at what he is doing now: building roads, increasing taxes, forming new troops, attacking nobles, and giving farmers land and freedom? Aren't these exactly what a king should do?"

Maumi sneered: "It's ridiculous. He did all this just to satisfy his ambitions more easily and control this country!"

"Maybe it, but what matters is not what he thinks, but what he does, right? You have also been a counselor of the Privy Council for a while. How much land do you give to the farmers in total and how much freedom do you give to? How much tax will the kingdom government get?"

Mao Ji hesitated for a moment and replied: "About 15,000 to 30,000 hectares of land, 400,000 to 500,000 farmers. As for taxation—" Speaking of this, Mao Ji hesitated.

"Very good. In less than a month since I became a counselor of the Privy Council, the Kingdom Government obtained more than one million hectares of land by giving Shunhua Company the right to develop within 30 kilometers on both sides of the railway. Once the railway is operated, hesitant that the government owns 30% of the equity. Even if the other income that follows, the railway revenue alone is a considerable income."

Mao Ji sneered: "So, you, Dioc, a counselor of the Privy Council, are doing a good job?"

"It's very good, but you understand. Now that the great powers are invading, the Kingdom of Burma will not change, and the country will be destroyed and the seed will be destroyed. Whether it is the pseudo-king or the two Majesties ascend the throne, they will change. But if it is just your and my power, it will be difficult to change. Since Chen Zaixing has a way and strength, why can't he follow his methods first?"

After hearing Dioc's words, Maumi was silent. Dioc's words just now hit his heart. Since the First British-British War, for more than half a century, the British have continuously launched invasions on Myanmar, trying to turn it into their own colony. Although Myanmar has rebelled with the support of Dashun, its territory has been taken away day by day, and the remaining territory has gradually become a semi-colonial of its neighboring Dashun. For this, the enlightened nobles represented by Maumi are very sad. They also know that if they want to maintain the national prestige, the only way is to maintain the reform and enlightenment, introduce advanced science and technology, and enhance national strength. But to do this, we must first change.

The land in Myanmar belongs to the aristocrats, monks, and kings, and peasants have no personal freedom. Otherwise, there would be neither a strong central government nor a free labor force, so how could the kingdom be civilized and reformed? But to change the status quo, we have to face the strong resistance of traditional vested interests such as aristocrats and monks. In more than half a century, several kings have attempted to reform, but in the face of fierce resistance from traditional forces, they all failed. Now there are only two paths before Mao Ji: either borrow the power of foreign capital represented by Chen Zaixing to promote innovation, or mobilize farmers to directly eliminate the aristocrats and monks. For Mao Ji, choosing that path is extremely difficult.

"Mangji, you should know that Myanmar is now like walking alone on the edge of a cliff, either rushing over or falling down. The last war was definitely not the last war between the British and Dashun. If Myanmar cannot become strong, the next time it will be swallowed by the winner!"

Maumi was finally convinced by Dioc's eloquence, and he shook his head: "Maybe you are right, then what do I need to do?"

"I need you to support me in the Privy Council, Wu Maoji, and the work of allocating land and giving farmers freedom have always been you doing. It requires a lot of time and energy to invest in. I hope you can continue to do it!"

"All right!"

In this way, the assassination at the end of 1886 ended like this. Apart from the execution of more than 30 noble MPs involved, the situation quickly subsided. The cruelty of the war that had just been quelled and the powerful strength of the Shun Army had not been forgotten from the minds of the nobles. They lowered their heads silently, swallowed humiliation and hatred, and waited for the opportunity to revenge.

Three years later

September 1889, Yuhang, Zhejiang.

The river marina of rice is moored with open ships from the countryside. The ship is loaded with new rice, pressing the hull very low. The leaves and garbage on the side of the ship are surrounded by white foam, and the ground is rippling and filling the gap between the ship and the ship. The river marina is a street where only two or three people walk side by side. The rice marina is on the other side of the street. The morning sunlight shines down from the broken bright tile ceiling, and the light pillars fall on the old felt hats of those who are shaking outside the counter.

These farmers wearing old felt hats came out from the early morning to the pier, and did not even dare to breathe, so they came to the counter to ask about the price of rice.

"Brown rice is four pieces of silver, and millet is two pieces of silver!" The gentleman behind the counter answered weakly.

"What?" The farmers hardly believed their ears, and the happy hope suddenly sank, and almost everyone was stunned.

"Didn't you buy brown rice in June for eight stones?"

"I have bought one stone and nine pieces!"

"Where is there a drop so much!"

The gentleman sneered: "When is it now? Don't you know? Rice everywhere is coming like a tide. If you don't buy it now, will it fall in a few days?"

I just tried my best to rock the boat like a dragon boat, but now I relaxed in everyone's body. This year, the weather helped me, and the little bugs didn't come to get in the way. After collecting so many more buckets per mu, everyone thought I should breathe. But I knew that in the end, I got worse results than in previous years!

"It's better not to give it up. Let's shake it back and put it at home, leaving it for women and children to eat." Such angry words spurted out from the simple heart.

"Sweep!" Mr. Mi Xing sneered, "If you don't steal, will they starve to death? Tell you that there are many Myanmar rice in the docks everywhere. The Marquis sent troops two years ago to defeat the British devils. Myanmar became our Dashun vassal state. There was only a piece of silver for a stone of rice. Shunhua Company shipped back one ship after another. Before the first few batches were eaten, several batches of large ships were shipped."

"Myanmar rice? A stone of rice is only a piece of silver? The Morning Marquis?" For these farmers, it is a distant thing, as if it has nothing to do with them. Instead of sacrificing the rice that has been sent to the river wharf, it can only be said as an angry word. How can it not be lost? The landlord's rent is to be paid, and the imperial court's taxes are also to be paid. In order to hire helpers, buy fertilizer, and fill their stomachs, the borrowed debts have to be paid. These require white silver or yellow copper coins, and they only have rice, and there is money in the rice shop.

"Let's go and snatch it up," In the city, there may be a better fate waiting for them, and some people think so.
Chapter completed!