Chapter 380 The Beginning of Everything (Part 3)
As soon as Lin Wen tore up the agreement, the Qin Group knew about it.
Cao Damang, the leader of the Ming Gang and warlord, was furious. He yelled at the meeting and demanded that Changshan County be razed to the ground immediately.
All the trusted generals present at the meeting had similar ideas, and representatives from major groups also made the same request, and they even hypocritically expressed that they could provide support.
But Qin Gang knew that they were the ones doing the main fighting.
All the losses caused by the war cannot be compensated by aid.
There were also some people who opposed it, mainly focusing on the three governors of the Qin family.
From the perspective of the overall situation, they believed that the Qin Group must not take any extraordinary actions at this point in time, otherwise it would give others an excuse to attack.
The two sides argued fiercely, and finally the prince proposed a compromise:
Send a special envoy, ask for instructions from the Supreme Council, wait for the Supreme Council's response, and then take action when the opportunity arises.
Neither side could convince the other, and finally had to accept the suggestion.
Therefore, the Qin Group's special envoy stationed in the imperial capital immediately set off for the Emperor's Tower.
At the same time, the Supreme Council also received the news that Lin Wen had torn up the armistice agreement and brazenly started a war.
In response to the requests of many elders, high-ranking officials, dignitaries, and major aristocratic families, the Great Elder temporarily added this item to the agenda during the ongoing regular meeting of the Supreme Council.
This regular meeting had very broad authority, and the empire's highest military department also participated. The meeting mainly discussed war issues.
The battle for oil supremacy with the Kingdom of Sorbian.
A battle with the Northern Alliance for dominance of the Bahamas Canal.
And, a deadly battle with the Papal States.
The war with the Kingdom of Sob was led by the frontier official Shan Xinwu.
The war has not made any progress for a long time. The imperial army has retreated behind the defense line, and the two sides have reached a stalemate.
Therefore, Yamashita Takeshi was recalled to the Supreme Council for accountability.
This is an old man in his sixties with gray hair, but he is in good spirits.
He argued his case at the meeting and directly confronted many of those who criticized him.
He angrily called the Council the termites of the empire, Elder Lin Yabo an old but immortal zombie, Elder Mosili a deformed monster, the six major regions the six hills of the empire, and the many governors the princes enfeoffed by the empire.
He was full of fire and outspoken, cursing to his heart's content at the highest meeting.
Because his words were too sharp and bold, they made those people blush and speechless.
When Li Longxing saw that the momentum was exhausted, he immediately asked him to leave.
So, the old man cursed a lot and walked away in a carefree manner, leaving behind a mess and many people who were so angry that they couldn't get rid of the dirty water that they ended up hurting themselves.
The battle for dominance of the Grand Baha Canal was directly under the responsibility of the highest military department, so there was not much talk.
Both sides dug deep trenches, built many fortresses, and built high walls, waiting for the next spring when the ice and snow melted and they would start fighting.
The war with the Papal States fell into a very unfavorable situation.
Some time ago, the Papal States requested peace talks and they did a lot of public opinion work around the world. If the Empire did not participate in the peace talks, it would become a sinner who destroyed peace.
Although the empire did not care, it was now the preparation period for war. In order to avoid being so passive in public opinion, the Supreme Council sent a special envoy to Zezhou to participate in the peace talks.
But the entire peace talks were a failure from beginning to end.
Among the demands put forward by the Papal States, the only one that was impossible for anyone to agree to was "to incorporate Zezhou into the territory of the Papal States."
As for the minuscule amount of compensation for war losses they proposed, it was laughably small; even the special envoy who negotiated the deal had more wealth than it.
The negotiations soon broke down, and the Papal States immediately launched its long-prepared propaganda campaign.
They first spread the word throughout the world that the empire destroyed peace and was the main culprit of the war.
Then they would sell this news domestically and publicize it among their own people, turning the tables and saying that the empire was tyrannical and invading the sacred territory of the Papal States.
Under the triple brainwashing of religion, public opinion and news, the Papal State once again formed a 6 million-man vassal army in addition to its standing army of more than 1.6 million.
According to intelligence from the Empire, the youth population in the Papal States had decreased by at least one-sixth, and the number of deaths due to the war was as high as five million, thirty times that of the Empire, and more than 90% of the dead were untouchables.
The large-scale death of the population did not cause the collapse of social order in the Papal States, but instead improved it.
Whether it is public security, transportation, health, economic activity or social stability, everything is improving.
Because scholars within the empire believed that there was a possibility that the Papal State was using war to divert domestic conflicts, reduce population pressure, and avoid the explosion of its social pressure cooker.
In other words, they used the empire as their pressure relief valve, cohesive force, and tool.
Not only that, it also made the empire extremely passive in world public opinion, and even affected the country.
It can be said that their goal was fully achieved.
But because it was done so well, the empire's anger is now uncontrollable.
Li Longxing's personal expedition was approved unanimously. Each of the six major regions would send at least one army group to accept the command of His Majesty the Emperor. The central region would dispatch three army groups, and the Royal Guards would dispatch four army groups.
However, at this critical moment, news came back that Lin Wen had torn up the armistice agreement and brazenly started a war in Shizhou.
The hostile group deliberately controlled the timing of the message transmission, choosing to deliver the message at a time when the empire was most united and most indignant, so as to make it appear that Lin Wen was the one who destroyed the unity.
Then, high-ranking officials whose interests were damaged attacked Lin Wen in droves, pretending to be very excited, intending to make him the target of public criticism.
It has to be said that their behavior successfully influenced many people who were originally neutral.
The Supreme Council also had to take into account the surging "public opinion" and added this matter to the agenda of the meeting.
So, after the three major battles were discussed, the Lin Wen battle, as the fourth battle, was put on the stage of the Supreme Conference.
At the beginning of the agenda, Lin Yabo, Mo Xili and Yu Zhongxian proposed a motion to dismiss Lin Wen, the mayor of Changshan County.
After fierce debate, the proposal was not passed due to opposition from Li Longxing, the Senate headed by Li Yongsheng, the Dongzhou faction headed by Sheng Huaixuan, and many young and outstanding military officers.
Subsequently, Lin Yabo, Mo Xili, Yu Zhongxian, Cheng Wei, the special envoy representing the supreme commander of the Southwest Region Qin Gang, eleven imperial ministers, and the congress representative Yang Guozhong proposed to deprive Changshan County of its military power and financial power.
Li Longxing directly vetoed the proposal for Jiedu power.
The Jiedu power cannot be taken away, and the dual-power proposal cannot be passed either, which means that all three proposals are invalidated with one vote.
Although this is the duty of imperial power, Li Longxing still has to come out and give an explanation at this time of great unity.
He very cleverly chose a good line:
"Changshan Commandery boasts an army of over 400,000 men, equipped with advanced weaponry like Winter Wind missiles and 502 dissolving solvents. They just defeated the state with the largest standing and reserve armies in the empire, demonstrating its formidable combat capabilities. Rashly depriving Lin Wen of his military authority could lead to uncontrollable consequences."
"At this time of great empire unity, I think we should proceed with caution and try to rally him around us."
Li Yongsheng also spoke immediately.
"We are the pillars of the empire, the true greats of the empire. We must be magnanimous and noble. This is what true imperial nobility should be like. We tolerate and embrace the younger generation, and actively unite with them. This is not cowardice, but strength."
"Just think about it, when a child is crying, does kicking him away really demonstrate your strength?"
"Of course not. That would only show your tyranny and weakness. We are a noble Empire, we are noble Imperials, not the uncivilized barbarians of the Papal States."
Li Yongsheng's speech was very infectious, and his gestures, body movements and passionate language penetrated deeply into people's hearts like thunder.
This is also why he is so influential in the military.
As soon as the words fell, all the officers present applauded enthusiastically, and some shouted: "Marshal Li, come back!"
"We're all waiting for you!"
The noise lasted for a long time, and when the venue returned to silence, the agenda got back on track.
The imperial garrison commander reported the process and reasons for the breakdown of negotiations between the two sides in a relatively impartial manner.
"That is to say."
Elder Ye Nantian asked doubtfully, "Their key disagreement is that Changshan County demands to retain the administrative system they implemented in the occupied area?"
"That's an excuse," Lin Yabo said coldly. "A lie he made up to cover up his insatiable appetite."
Ye Nantian glanced at Elder Cheng, who was resting with his eyes closed, remaining silent.
Shizhou has always been his private territory, and all the previous governors of Shizhou were his men.
But today, his silence seemed a little strange.
While he was deep in thought, the Qin Group's special envoy brought new and important news:
"Changshan County has launched an attack on the regional forces stationed in Seokju, Southwest District. We request a resolution from the Supreme Council."
For a long time afterwards, high-ranking officials from all walks of life attacked Lin Wen. They did their utmost to slander and distort him, smearing him like crazy, almost pouring ink on him.
However, although they were dancing happily, Ye Nantian noticed that the four elders had their eyes closed and remained silent, looking relaxed and absent-minded.
Li Longxing even fell asleep on the throne.
The commander of the guards behind him was racking his brains to secretly wake up His Majesty without being discovered.
Sheng Huaixuan, the mainstay of the Imperial faction, was discussing something in a low voice with his confidants, and he did not take these people seriously.
Ye Nantian had a slight understanding in his mind, and he no longer got involved. He just remained silent in response to those who tried to instigate him.
After a while, the waves gradually subsided and the Great Elder made a direct decision.
The Qin Group, in alliance with Shizhou, fought against Changshan County.
No additional troops may be sent to the Southwest Region except those stationed in Shizhou.
The secret war will be extended, but not for more than two weeks.
Then, the elders voted on the proposal.
Before the elders could move, they saw the four great elders and Li Longxing all cast blue votes (pass).
The consensus reached by these five people is the final decision of the empire.
The elders could only abstain from voting.
The proposal was passed.
The envoy took a copy of the proposal and bowed to take his leave.
The regular meeting ended and all officials below the elders left.
Soon, only Li Longxing, four great elders, eight elders, Senate representative Li Yongsheng, Congress representative Yang Guozhong, and a few others including the Imperial Prime Minister were left at the scene.
The internal meeting officially began.
This meeting had only one topic:
There was unrest in Yaojing.
This is the real problem.
If Yaojing collapses, the empire's reservoir will explode, and the side effects of the over-issuance of 3 trillion currency before the war will explode exponentially.
The consequences it caused were catastrophic.
By then, not to mention the emperor leading his army to war, even the empire would be in danger of collapse.
(End of this chapter)
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