Li Jiande smiled. The kinder his smile was, the more hideous his eyes were. "So, my dear granddaughter, do you think that the pact among the four Kurfürst families is so unreliable that we can be instigated by such fancy words? If that were the case, the four families would've fought each other hundreds of years ago. How could we have worked together to maintain the balance of the Imperium to this day?"
"I'm not instigating anything but merely stating the facts that other people dare not, are unwilling, and do not want to say."
Li Linghai said calmly, "The most direct example is right in front of us. Assassinating an elder of the Dongfang family in such a simple, violent, and reckless way is definitely not my style. It does not bring any benefits to the reformists at all. It was not done by us at all. If I may be so bold as to ask, was it planned by the four Kurfürst families? Was the Li family involved?"
After a brief silence, Li Jiande shook his head and said, "I can guarantee with the name 'Silver Fox' that the Li family absolutely did not plan or participate in the incident. We did not know anything about it beforehand."
"I didn't do it, and neither did the Li family. So, it was the Dongfang family who did it, right?"
Li Linghai grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "After an elder was killed, they became the greatest victim. Then, they established a special investigation committee as quickly as possible and eliminated the dissidents under the pretext of striking the Blood Oath Alliance. Then, they extended their hands to other battle areas and claimed tremendous benefits for themselves.
"As a result, the Dongfang family got the biggest slice of the cake, but the four Kurfürst families had to take the blame together. Dongfang Wang did have a good plan. Let me ask you, can such shameless behavior be called loyalty to the pact of the four families?"
The wrinkles below Li Jiande's eyes constricted, as if a nonexistent mosquito had been pinched to death. He did not refute Li Linghai's words.
Encouraged, Li Linghai was even more excited. He raised his voice again and said, "Grandmaster, this is the most corrupt and dark age of the Imperium. It is also a great age in which we have to face the drastic changes! The Imperium's counterattacks in the past ten years had completely emptied the national treasury. An enormous expedition army needed to be maintained, countless disabled veterans needed to be compensated, the newly recovered areas needed to be rebuilt, and countless remote worlds whose economies were on the verge of collapse needed to be comforted and recuperated.
"All of this requires money and resources. A lot of resources, astronomical resources!
"Yes, the four Kurfürst families can ignore the miscellaneous troops and the Immortal Cultivators from the remote worlds because of their wealth, influence, and sturdiness. But if you do not give them a chance to survive, they will certainly not wait to be killed.
"Today, I am here to ask for the support of the Li family as the leader of the reformists. However, even without me, even if I am completely erased by the family, the strength that is struggling for survival and reform will not vanish into thin air. Instead, it will completely go out of control and turn into a raging flood that destroys everything on its way!
"How are we going to contain this crazy power? Where are we going to find the trillions of dollars and astronomical resources that we need to maintain and rebuild? It's very simple. The collapse of any one of the four fat, strong beasts will be enough for other people to survive the most difficult period of construction in the newly-recovered areas for decades!
"After the newly-recovered areas that were sabotaged by the Covenant Alliance are rebuilt and resources are produced incessantly again, and the local people gradually get rid of the brainwashing of the Covenant Alliance, it will be a turning point for the Imperium to prosper again!
"All in all, the revival of the Imperium requires the sacrifice of a behemoth. If you do not want to see the behemoth that is the Dongfang family fall, it will only be the behemoth that is the Li family that will fall. There is no third choice!
"You have seen and heard it. The fury and hunger of the Immortal Cultivators from the remote worlds have congregated into the torrents of reform, which have already reached you unstoppably. Instead of resisting it stubbornly, you might as well grasp the strength in your own hands!
"I am willing to lead all the fellow Cultivators of the reformists and all the soldiers of the coalition fleet to be the sharpest saber in the hands of Elder and the Li family in the frontline to deal with the Dongfang family. All we need is the Li family to give us a push from behind. One push will be enough!"
Li Linghai spoke so righteously and passionately that even his white skin was blushing.
Li Jiande was still unmoved. He said coldly, "But … I've heard a lot of rumors that the purpose of the reformists is not just to deal with the Dongfang family but also to knock down all the four Kurfürst families!"
"Yes. I've said that on many occasions."
Li Linghai did not deny it at all. He said casually, "Of course, that's my ideology and ideology. Otherwise, how could I have attracted so many hot-blooded, virtuous fellow Cultivators to my side? How could they have cooperated with the Li family willingly and become the saber in Elder's hand?
"As for whether or not the saber will go out of control and even bite the wielder, it will depend on Elder's skill in wielding the saber. Are you not confident in controlling the reformists at all?"
"Then —"
Li Jiande said with a smile, "What benefits can you get from it yourself? Don't say that you are only doing it for the revival of the Imperium and the future of the family."
Li Linghai smiled, too. He licked his lips and said, "If I say that I want to be the leader of the Li family as the queen of the Imperium, will you feel that it is too outrageous, Elder?"
Li Jiande said calmly, "There has never been such a precedent in the thousand years since the Imperium was founded."
"Precedents are all created by people."
Li Linghai said without backing off, "There has never been such an era of great changes in the thousand years since the Imperium was founded!"
Li Jiande and Li Linghai looked at each other for a long time. Then, Li Jiande gave in first and changed the topic. "How exactly do you want the Li family to support the reformists?"
Li Linghai proposed his demands quickly without any hesitation. "First of all, I want the Divine Rain Fleet and all the armed forces deployed on the Divine Rain Planet to surrender to us. No, 'surrender' is too harsh. Ask them to completely transfer their command to us. From now on, the Divine Rain Sector will be the temporary base of the reformists. As long as they are disarmed and transferred, we will not interfere with the normal operation of the Divine Rain Planet. Of course, we will ask Elder to continue shipping assets to us incessantly to maintain the normal consumption of our fleet. The specific list of assets will be sent to you after I discuss with General Lei."
The wrinkles on Li Jiande's face were very stable. He said peacefully, "What about the battle? How are you going to explain it to the family and the outside world?"
Li Linghai put on a malicious smile and said softly, "An accident in the drill."
Enshrouded in silence, Li Jiande said half a minute later, "Go on."
"Secondly, I hope that the elders of the Li family and the vassal families will propose a motion in the Council of Elders tomorrow to express their doubts about the investigation of the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance. They demand that the special investigation committee be reorganized, the members of the Dongfang family be reduced, and the random expansion of the investigation be stopped."
Li Linghai said quickly, "Of course, the suspects of the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance that have been arrested randomly must all be released. Considering the complexity of the problem, it's not a problem to release half of them first.
"Thirdly, there is another motion, which is about General Lei Chenghu's conferment of the title of marshal. I know that the Council of Elders has already started the process, and there are no major obstacles in principle. However, the original idea of the Council of Elders was to let Marshal Lei work in the capital after he was conferred the title of marshal. However, we feel that the frontline is still unstable, and we are in dire need of a critical general. Therefore, Marshal Lei will be the new commander-in-chief of the expedition army and fully responsible for the reorganization of the expedition army.
"Fourthly, the Li family will be asked to coordinate and ensure the safety and smoothness of all the media and networks of the reformists. I want to make sure that every voice of the reformists can be heard by everyone in the Imperium, or at least all the Immortal Cultivators. In the past decades, I have collected countless shocking scandals and crimes about the Dongfang family, waiting for this moment to turn them into countless cannonballs!
"Fifthly, and the final strike, Elder will impeach Prime Minister Dongfang Wang in person and completely collapse Dongfang Wang's cabinet!
"As long as Dongfang Wang's cabinet collapses, a chain reaction will naturally be raised. All the forces in the Imperium will stand on the opposite side of the Dongfang family and tear off two pieces of meat from the tottering beast crazily. By then, the Li family will naturally be able to replace it. At the very least, it will be given the largest, most delicious piece of meat, right?"
Li Jiande was amused. "If I were two hundred years younger, I might've been instigated by you, but it's not as easy as you described. You are asking the Li family to stand on the opposite side of the Dongfang family and make a blood feud that will never be resolved!"
"Exactly."
Li Linghai said aloud, "If we do not make it clear that we are irreconcilable with the Dongfang family, how can the reformists trust the Li family completely?
"Alright, Old Ancestor, I've said all that I need to say. You must be tired of listening to me. This is a serious matter, and we should consider it thoroughly. However, I won't stop my footsteps of self-destruction. If I don't get a satisfactory answer in twenty-four hours, let the entire Li family be buried with me!"
Li Linghai's voice was solemn, with indescribable rejection on his face.
Li Jiande seemed to be both rendered speechless and overwhelmed by her intimidation. His eyes bulged wider and wider, and his eyes gradually froze. Suddenly, he grunted and collapsed.
There was immediately chaos on the other side of the light beam. The picture was spinning nonstop, and panicked exclamations were echoing. By the time the crystal camera was fixed again, Li Jiande was already nowhere to be seen. The only thing that could be seen was Li Mingxuan, Li Linghai's father, pointing at the picture in fury and shouting, "You — you — you unpardonable witch, do you really dare to destroy your family?"
"What do you know, idiot?"
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