CH 140

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The Battle of the Gods ended on the second day.

As pawns of the gods, Sheng Huaixuan and Yu Zhongxian both suffered injuries of varying degrees.

The Supreme Council was ordered to halt and reorganize itself, with a review to be held a month later.

At the same time, their power to inspect any aid materials from the empire was revoked, and this right was now returned to the empire's headquarters.

In addition, Yu Zhongxian was not allowed to continue the process of being the chief of the Supreme Council for the next three years.

Sheng Huaixuan was forced to disband most of the Qing Army.

The Qing Army was a local military force allowed by the governor's office of East Qin Prefecture.

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According to common sense, the Qing Army was only allowed to have a formation of 5,000 people, but in reality, there were more than 50,000 soldiers in the Qing Army, and many more who were not in the formation but were actually serving.

The first commander of the Qing Army, Dong Qianwang, and the second commander, Ren Qingshan, were dismissed and investigated for violating the imperial ban and expanding the army without authorization.

Of course, everyone knew that they were scapegoats.

However, Sheng Huaixuan managed to get the case transferred to East Qin Prefecture, which was a small victory.

In the end, Yu Zhongxian, who had been preparing for a long time, only ended up in a lose-lose situation, which was far from his goal.

But Sheng Huaixuan was also in a bad situation. The Qing Army was one of his trump cards, and its destruction caused him great harm.

What's worse, two elders have clearly stood behind Yu Zhongxian, while he only has one elder behind him. The balance of power in the regular meetings of the Supreme Elder Council has begun to shift.

This means that there will be endless troubles in the future.

But overall, this was already a better outcome.

The evidence provided by Yu Zhongxian was very damning. If it weren't for his previous unsuccessful accusations against Lin Wen, which damaged his credibility, he would have lost even more this time.

After returning to his mansion, Sheng Huaixuan immediately convened a closed-door meeting. Lin Wen should have attended, but the governor's special envoy couldn't find him anywhere, so they had to give up.

At the meeting, in addition to the core officials of the governor's office, Ren Qingshan and Dong Qianwang were also present.

The first half of the meeting reviewed the joint meeting. Although the joint meeting was not over yet, everyone knew it was already over.

The second half discussed the arrangements and countermeasures for the future.

The former first commander of the Qing Army, Dong Qianwang, was assigned to the governor's guard. He will reorganize the governor's guard in a private capacity there.

The former second commander of the Qing Army, Ren Qingshan, was sent to the civilian sector to form a volunteer self-defense force.

They will both recruit a large number of disbanded Qing Army soldiers, and be even more covert.

Sheng Huaixuan knew well that military power was the core element of self-preservation. The stronger the forces loyal to him, the more others would have to weigh their options before moving against him.

The empire is currently stable because the ten divisions of the central military region of the empire are unmatched.

Li Longxing can still sit on the throne of the emperor because the five divisions of the royal guard are stationed around the capital.

A total of fifteen full-strength divisions, more than 1.5 million of the empire's elite soldiers, fully mechanized, are the maximum force that the Supreme Elder Council can directly mobilize.

This force far exceeds any other military region, and even if the six major military regions unite, they may not be able to win.

Of course, that is fundamentally impossible.

The current situation in the empire is very bad, with unfavorable external wars, internal unrest, economic decline, and deteriorating living conditions. The situation is almost rotten, and it is time for a change.

But the empire is full of factions, with many contradictions and intertwined interests. Any movement could trigger unpredictable chain reactions.

And among the elders, there is still no consensus on how to change the unfavorable situation of the empire.

This has led to the emergence of reformists, conservatives, and neutrals, who attack each other all day long and do nothing practical.

These factions are broad and loose. A person can be a reformist in the morning and a conservative in the afternoon.

Then there are further subdivisions, such as radical reformists, conservative reformists, extreme reformists, extreme conservatives, limited conservatives, etc., and there are many contradictions within them.

This has led to extremely chaotic and frequent struggles within the empire.

In the court, many times it has become a matter of labeling each other. With just one sentence, "he is a radical reformist, he is an extreme conservative," the argument is over.

What's left is to attack those who disagree.

Capitol Hill has long lost its fairness and has become a battleground for all parties. The high representatives of Capitol Hill are almost all slaves to money and interests.

The Senate is gloomy, spending all day discussing how to expand the emperor's power and rule the world, dreaming unrealistic dreams. They consider themselves the backbone of the emperor, but in Sheng Huaixuan's view, they are more like Li Longxing's shackles.

The Supreme Council is now a thoroughly terrifying institution, filled with thugs who run rampant in the dark, brutal and inhumane, which is their current state.

The State Affairs Office has become a bloated corpse. In order to formulate imperial policies that are beneficial to themselves, various factions are crazily stuffing people into it. Under one minister, there are more than a dozen deputy ministers. Under one prime minister, there are more than fifty deputy prime ministers. Any order, to be executed, requires at least a full page of signatures.

Only the empire's headquarters is still barely functioning. Due to the infuriating inefficiency of the State Affairs Office, the empire's headquarters has taken over some of its functions.

However, as the power of the empire's headquarters grows, it has also become a new vortex of struggle, the eye of the storm in the empire.

And all of this stems from the chaos of the Supreme Elder Council. The eight elders represent eight major factions, plus the royal faction in the middle, which is the source of all struggles.

The brain of the empire is in chaos, constantly arguing, making the empire behave like a schizophrenic patient, making the political situation of the empire even more elusive.

Local factions blinded by greed are everywhere looking for backers, crazily grabbing benefits, high-level struggles are endless, there is no unified order, all of this intertwined, forming the nightmare of the empire today.Changes must be made.

Otherwise, the empire has no future.

This is what Sheng Huaixuan deeply believes in his heart.

The conflicts among the elders have become irreconcilable, a god must be slain!

A new god must ascend to the throne.

The current chaotic situation must be broken.

A dominant, stabilizing force must emerge.

Yu Zhongxian shares the same thoughts.

Thus, they are mortal enemies.

They once cooperated, but quickly fell out.

Yu Zhongxian wants to establish an empire maintained by terror and **, an empire that will establish an unprecedented secret service organization, casting everything under the shadow of the secret service.

He believes that only in this way can the empire be united.

Therefore, his goal is to greatly strengthen the Supreme Council, enabling it to arrest or execute anyone without trial.

Then, the terrifying hand of the Council will spread throughout the empire, cutting off all disobedient people. Higher evolved beings, the Listeners, will monitor the entire society, leaving no secrets hidden.

In this way, a stable empire will be formed, an empire with only one voice, the voice of the Supreme Council.

All things are silent, only the god speaks, this is his philosophy.

Yu Zhongxian has another philosophy: the evolution of humanity itself is the future of humanity, and those who rely on external things are inferior races.

The greatest weapon of mankind is himself.

Therefore, Moxili, the leader of the Evolutionist Sect, became Yu Zhongxian's staunch ally. More than half of the empire's cutting-edge biological laboratories are under their control, and they have developed a large number of unimaginable and terrifying biochemical technologies.

And now, Elder Lin Yabo, the leader of the Noble Party, has become his strong supporter.

Of the eight elders, he has already won the support of two, which puts Sheng Huaixuan at a great disadvantage.

This attack is a very clear signal.

Obviously, it is just the beginning, not the end.

Therefore, how to respond in the future is the most important issue to consider now.

While everyone was discussing, a servant suddenly came in to report that a special envoy from Yu Zhongxian had come to visit.

Sheng Huaixuan was slightly surprised. Their philosophies were diametrically opposed, and they were already at odds. What could they possibly have to talk about?

"Let him in."

Not long after, a man with a waxen complexion, looking like a living corpse, walked in. He bowed respectfully to Sheng Huaixuan and said:

"Governor Sheng, hello, I am the special envoy of General Yu. I am here to propose a cooperation with you."

Sheng Huaixuan asked indifferently, "Cooperation?"

The envoy revealed a sinister smile.

"Yes, cooperation to promote the administrative bill for Changshan County to secede from East Qin Prefecture."

"From his recent behavior, you can see that the little beast is a ticking time bomb. You never know when he will explode next to you, causing you serious harm."

"As long as Changshan County secedes from East Qin Prefecture, you can rest easy, without constantly worrying about what trouble the little beast will cause."

"Of course, the right to propose changes will shift from the Governor's Office of East Qin Prefecture to the Ministerial Conference of the Empire's headquarters."

"In this way, you will not be affected, and we can focus on dealing with that little beast. It's a win-win situation."

Sheng Huaixuan sneered, "What makes you think I would agree?"

The envoy laughed, "You are a smart man, you know the pros and cons. That little beast is all harm and no good, sooner or later he will become the public enemy of the empire. Cutting ties with him as soon as possible is the smart choice."

Sheng Huaixuan said nothing more, picking up his teacup.

The envoy took the hint and excused himself, but still left with a smile, leaving a sentence behind.

"You will agree."

After the envoy left, the meeting continued.

But everyone seemed a bit distracted. Seeing everyone's hesitation, Sheng Huaixuan said, "Speak your mind."

Everyone turned to look at the director of the provincial government office, Nopes, who was the governor's most trusted person.

Nopes coughed and said, "Governor, I personally think that the envoy has a point, it's worth considering."

Sheng Huaixuan's face darkened. Normally, Nopes would not continue, but now, he plowed on:

"Governor, Lin Wen is too reckless in his words and deeds. He has offended too many people and violated too many taboos of the empire. Although he was not severely punished at this joint meeting out of respect for you, what about the future? He is like a ticking time bomb by your side."

"Moreover, Changshan County was not originally part of East Qin Prefecture. It was forcibly included by Yu Zhongxian and his group in collaboration with the Director of the Land Bureau of the Empire's headquarters during the Workers' Party incident. The purpose was to drag down East Qin Prefecture. Isn't it a good thing to be able to get rid of it now?"

"Without Changshan County, we would be rid of a big burden. We wouldn't have to aid that bottomless pit anymore, nor would we be dragged down by its per capita and development indicators."

Sheng Huaixuan swept his gaze over everyone, all of his confidants were staring at him.

"Is this what you all think?"

Everyone nodded.

Sheng Huaixuan sneered, "So you want to use a young boy as a shield, throw him out to attract fire, and then abandon him after we cross the river, leaving him high and dry."

He stood up, the smile on his face gone.

"You all have calculated this very carefully. If I didn't know better, I would think Lin Wen is my loyal follower, willing to sacrifice himself to relieve my worries out of gratitude for some great favor I did for him."

"If one day, I treat you the same way, who among you would be willing? Speak up now."

Everyone was silent, not daring to speak.

The meeting continued.

But not long after, another visitor arrived.

The servant didn't announce it, just pulled the secret bell to signal someone's arrival.

This meant it was someone from the Eastern Faction, or at least someone with very close ties.

Everyone looked towards the door, expecting Lin Wen, but instead saw a tall figure in a complex white dress and a classic silk veil.With a loud bang, everyone rose to their feet and bowed in unison.

"Greetings to the First Princess!"

As for the thin figure behind the princess, he was completely ignored.

Sheng Huaixuan also revealed a rare smile, "Miss Li, what brings you here?"

The First Princess bowed slightly to Sheng Huaixuan, "Uncle Sheng, the impeachment just ended, and my father asked me to come and see you."

A seat had been prepared for the First Princess. As she gracefully sat down, the figure of Li Yuchen behind her became visible.

Everyone then greeted him, "Greetings, Young Master."

"Young Master, long time no see."

Li Yuchen tightly pursed his lips, not saying a word.

The First Secretary, Cheng Hexin, smiled slightly and started the conversation, "Your Highness, I've been missing your personal maid. When can I see her again?"

The First Princess covered her mouth and laughed lightly, "I'm afraid you'll have to wait another sixty or seventy years."

Cheng Hexin pretended to be upset, "Doesn't that mean I won't see her in my lifetime? Has Your Highness already promised her to someone else?"

The princess's white-robed attendant brought freshly brewed Yunshan white tea. The First Princess took a sip and smiled, "Not at all, I killed her. If I had known Secretary Cheng liked her so much, I would have given you her corpse."

The First Princess smiled charmingly, and for a moment as she lifted her veil, one could see her skin as clear as jade, her delicate cherry lips, and her teeth as fine as broken jade.

Rumors of the First Princess's beauty were renowned throughout the empire. This fleeting glimpse indeed left people in awe, confirming that her reputation as the empire's most beautiful woman was well-deserved.

However, her words sent a chill down Cheng Hexin's spine, and he blurted out, "Why, why would you..."

The First Princess said absentmindedly, "Probably because she forgot she was just a dog."

"Enough." Sheng Huaixuan interrupted the idle chat, "Miss Li, if you have something to say, say it. We don't have much time."

The First Princess smiled, "Alright, Uncle Sheng. I came here to persuade you to let Changshan County be independent, to release the young sheriff, and let him soar freely in the sky. You should know that under the protection of wings, an eagle cannot spread its wings."

Sheng Huaixuan fell silent.

After a while, he suddenly laughed, "The First Princess thinks too highly of that boy. Even if he is an eagle, times have changed, and the sky is now filled with fighter jets."

The First Princess chuckled, "Uncle Sheng is as humorous as ever."

Sheng Huaixuan smiled, and listened as she continued, "But, even though he is just an eagle, he dares to show off in front of fighter jets. Isn't he too ignorant of his own limitations? You must know that without Uncle Sheng, without my father, a fighter jet only needs to pull the trigger to shatter this little eagle."

Sheng Huaixuan nodded, "I will advise the boy."

The First Princess covered her mouth and laughed, "Uncle Sheng is as consistent as ever. But you should know, you are no longer the Southern King of the past, you are now the core of the Eastern Faction, the chief general of the Imperial Faction."

Sheng Huaixuan's face turned cold. He picked up his teacup and calmly said, "It's getting late, Your Highness, please return and send my regards to your father."

The First Princess, however, showed no intention of leaving. She sat elegantly in her chair, her hands folded in front of her, her posture graceful and dignified. She smiled faintly, as if she were at her own party, chatting with her close friends.

"What if I say, I'm willing to withdraw from the succession dispute and fully support Li Yuchen's ascension?"

Everyone's faces changed dramatically at her words.

Li Yuchen, standing by her side, bit his lip tightly and remained silent.

To them, Young Master Li Yuchen was the candidate closest to the Eastern Faction, unlike other candidates who were entangled in various interests.

But he had no advantage now. The First Princess's light was too dazzling, the Empress's call was high, even the Little Princess had many supporters, and there were many young heroes from the collateral branches.

His path to the throne was fraught with difficulties, even though the Emperor was still in his prime and far from abdication.

But for such matters, it was never too early to prepare.

If the First Princess announced her withdrawal and supported Li Yuchen, it would undoubtedly be the best news for the Eastern Faction.

Everyone's gaze turned to them in an instant, but Sheng Huaixuan remained calm. He took a sip of tea, seemingly calm as he put down the teacup, raised his head, and looked directly into the eyes of the First Princess.

"Is this your intention?"

"Yes."

"What about the Princess Faction?"

"I've disbanded it."

"What does Li Longxing say?"

"It's also my father's intention."

The two fell silent at the same time. After a while, the First Princess smiled and said, "Cheng Lao also agrees."

Sheng Huaixuan seemed to age ten years in an instant. He stood up and calmly said, "I'm tired, Nopes, you preside over the rest of the meeting."

After Sheng Huaixuan left, everyone gathered around the First Princess, showering her with compliments and flattery, as if she were the new core.

The First Princess sat elegantly in her seat, always maintaining a dignified smile, skillfully chatting with them.

Only Li Yuchen was looking in the direction Sheng Huaixuan had left, silent for a long time.