The news of Emperor Chengwu's coronation was delivered to the capital three days ago.
Together with the news, there was also the video of the grand coronation and the military parade.
Stimulated by the fear of destruction, the four Kurfürst families brought out the last of their trump cards and established a new "legitimate national defense army of the Imperium of True Human Beings". Although it was not as intimidating as the ace fleets and the Adamantine Fleet, it did look rather intimidating at first glance.
This "Emperor Chengwu" should be Emperor Shenwu's younger brother in terms of bloodline. His bloodline was certainly noble, but he was also an out-and-out idiot who was merely a puppet of the four families.
The so-called "Martial Inheritor" naturally meant that the four families hoped that he could inherit Emperor Shenwu's legacy and unite the Imperium again.
The four families spread the news of the new emperor's coronation and the grand military parade to the entire Imperium through the Spiritual Nexus as an effective psychological attack.
The Imperium had been deeply rooted for a thousand years. The idea that a country could not exist without a sovereign was deeply rooted in people's hearts. Even though they knew that Emperor Chengwu was just a puppet, and that the coronation ceremony was not held in the capital, and that the so-called "supreme throne" was only produced temporarily, the moment he sat on the throne, he was naturally enshrouded in inviolable brilliance, which raised different kinds of feelings in the heart of the Immortal Cultivators.
It was especially so today, when the Imperium was in such a mess. The emperor's righteousness was even more powerful than a coalition fleet.
"Of course, I'm aware of that."
Li Yao nodded his head. "What Emperor Chengwu? He's just a new puppet."
"A puppet is a puppet, but in many cases, habits are the most powerful force. For a thousand years, the people of the Imperium have been influenced by the ideology of loyalty and patriotism. A lot of ideas have been deeply rooted in their bones and cannot be changed overnight."
Li Jialing paused for a moment and said, "It's been almost a year since the late emperor's death. Right now, the fake emperor on the four families' side has already 'ascended the throne' solemnly. The flag that the reformists used to summon the heroes had eight words. The last four were 'renew the Imperium', and the first four were 'honor the emperor and settle the rebels'. Right now, there is not even an 'emperor'. How can we suppress the rebels and unite the Imperium without a proper name?"
"Yes. It is indeed a headache. Hasn't General Lei Chenghu been examining candidates for the new emperor recently? He even dragged me over to examine them many times, but the result was not satisfactory."
Li Yao was now a real power figure in the Imperium. Leaving the reinforcements of the Xing Yao Federation aside, he was the legitimate "Black Wind King". He also had the support of the Coalition Fleet of Pyromaniacs, the greatest contributor who saved the capital, and a strong competitor for the title of 'strongest warrior of the Imperium'. Even if he was not the best in terms of combat ability, he could at least compete for the top three or top five, and he wouldn't fall out of the top ten at all.
With such a comprehensive capability, in the entire Imperium, except for "God of War" Lei Chenghu who could compete with him, none of the smaller warlords were a match for him at all.
Therefore, Li Yao was not a Kurfürst, but he was more like one right now. Both Li Linghai, the old leader of the reformists, and Lei Chenghu, the new leader of the reformists, had to respect his opinion in selecting a new emperor.
However, the royal family had been a wasteland for a thousand years. After generations of deliberate indulgence and distortion, it had long been reduced to a wasteland. The new generation of the royal family that grew up in such a place was not just a mixture of good and bad, but also a bunch of crooks. There was not the slightest "good" among them.
"Originally, I didn't have much of an opinion on the choice of emperor. I've told General Lei Chenghu several times that this is an internal affair of the Imperium. My position is not good. If I interfere rashly, it will be easy to leave a bad impression."
Li Yao sighed and frowned. "However, none of the candidates were decent at all. None of them looked decent at all. They were either wolves or rats. Their capabilities did not match their ambitions, and their heads were not clear at all. In short, they were the kind of guys who could not accomplish anything but spoiled everything!
"It must be noted that even if they were just puppets, they should have the self-education of puppets. I really did not care who would be the emperor. I only hoped that it would be a guy who was clear-headed and far-sighted and who knew the simple logic that 'there are no eternal friends but eternal interests'. He would be able to put aside the differences between the Immortal Cultivators and the Cultivators for now and hold his nose for communication and cooperation. However, such a simple request could not be found at all!"
Li Jialing smiled. "It seems that Brother Yao is really dissatisfied with all the candidates?"
"More than dissatisfied?"
Li Yao said, "I designed a few test procedures for General Lei Chenghu, and the ambitions of those guys were all tested. Those guys were so hostile to the Cultivators that they couldn't wait to swallow the Coalition Fleet of Pyromaniacs and the Xing Yao Federation in the next second!
"I'm not saying that the emperor of the Imperium cannot be hostile to the Xing Yao Federation, but you should at least consider your own capabilities and the enemy's priority, alright? Right now, the four families are still alive, and the main force of the Holy League hasn't been deployed yet. Yet, you are already in a hurry to slaughter the contributors, purge all the Cultivators, swallow the Coalition Fleet of Pyromaniacs, and march to the Federation at the edge of the cosmos by the way? That's not the way to get yourself killed!
"If those guys could be more patient and wait until the four families and the Holy League are taken care of before they attack the Cultivators, I would think more highly of them. But right now, not just me, even General Lei Chenghu is very dissatisfied." "That's right.
When I was accompanying the queen in the hospital, I often saw General Lei discussing the candidates for the new emperor with her. I heard his complaints all the time, too. "
Li Jialing smiled and said, "In fact, General Lei values the candidates for the new emperor a hundred times more than Brother Yao does. He certainly doesn't want to just elect a new puppet."
"Oh?"
Li Yao was slightly dazed. He couldn't help but smile. "Does Lei Chenghu want a 'wise emperor' without a puppet?"
"That's exactly what General Lei is thinking."
Li Jialing nodded and said, "General Lei believes that the source of the Imperium's decline in the past hundreds of years is that the monarch is too weak and the ministers are too strong. The two parties cannot reach an effective balance.
"If the reformists elect a new puppet right now, will they be any different from the puppets of the four families? What's' new 'about the so-called' reformists'?
"Yes. When General Lei Chenghu and the queen were still alive, they could suppress the warlords with their iron fist and prestige to ensure that the ideology of the reformists remained unchanged. But General Lei is too old after all and may pass away in a hundred years. It is unknown whether or not the queen can turn into a spectral Cultivator now that she has lost all her strength. It is impossible for them to keep the puppet forever.
"If General Lei and the queen pass away one day, and the warlords of the new generation are fully fledged, what will the puppet emperor do? Even if the reformists defeat the four families by then, won't they be transformed into the four families of the new generation? "
Li Jialing's words made Li Yao feel great respect for Lei Chenghu. "That's right. General Lei Chenghu is a very far-sighted person. Whether or not I'm his friend or foe in the end, I have to admit that he is indeed the purest soldier who never seeks personal gains but serves the country wholeheartedly!
"But then again, it's good to have a wise ruler with a clear mind and not a puppet. But a wise ruler is not a leek that grows in the field. How can it be so easy to find one? Didn't General Lei Chenghu rummage through all the members of the royal family on the capital planet? I've read the files on the few rosters too. There is really not much that can be promoted. It's not like he can find a few kids and raise them into 'wise emperors' in decades, right? No, according to General Lei Chenghu's rigorous standards, I estimate that they have to be raised from their mother's womb in order to meet his requirements. Hahahaha! "
Li Yao cackled, but Li Jialing did not respond. The atmosphere was both awkward and weird.
"Wait, why are you talking to me about that?"
Li Yao felt that Li Jialing's face was weird. He raised his head and drank a mouthful of strengthening drugs, before he said, "It's better to leave the election of the emperor to the queen and General Lei Chenghu. What do you want to talk to me about that requires my support?"
"Brother Yao —"
After a long silence, Li Jialing finally made up his mind. Summoning his courage, he took a deep breath and said, "If General Lei Chenghu and the queen both want me to be the new emperor of the Imperium, will you support me?"
"Pu!"
Cough, cough, cough, cough. Did I hear you wrong, or did Li Linghai and Lei Chenghu both have water in their heads? You, the emperor? You are not a member of the royal family at all, and your surname is not Wuying! "
"It's just a trivial matter."
Emotionlessly, Li Jialing said casually, "Brother Yao, you don't think that General Lei Chenghu is one of those foolishly loyal men who have to kneel before the Wuying family, do you? The Imperium today is no longer an Imperium of one family. General Lei is loyal to the Imperium that belongs to all mankind, not to Wuying Qi and his worthless descendants.
"Of course, for most people of the Imperium, it's impossible for them to accept an emperor with a different surname for now. But it doesn't matter. I'm just a nobody in the first place. Few people know my real background.
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