Li Yao was filled with fury, but he could not vent it out. On second thought, it did make sense. The newly recovered area was like a hot potato that would not feel good at all.
The two emperors supported by the reformists and the four Kurfürst families were competing for the legitimacy of the supreme throne of the Imperium. For the Imperium of True Human Beings, where the strong preyed on the weak, magnificent martial arts were the greatest support for legitimacy. If Li Jialing lost a large area of land the moment he ascended to the throne, it would indeed disappoint billions of people and even make countless experts change sides.
The four Kurfürst families were even more suspicious. Why was the newly recovered area so impregnable when it was still under the control of the four families a year ago, only to be breached by the Holy League the moment it fell into the hands of the reformists?
If the enemy had occupied a few Sectors, it would have been fine. But if they were to withdraw from dozens of Sectors without even firing a single shot, wouldn't that be tantamount to treason? Wouldn't that be tantamount to betraying one's country? Such serious political consequences might even lead to the collapse of the newly-born regime. Nobody could afford it.
"I have to say that the Holy League has chosen the perfect timing."
With a gloomy face, Lei Chenghu said, "I thought that they would march out when the battle of Seven Seas and the battle of the capital was in full swing. I didn't expect that they would hold themselves back so long and not take action until the new emperor was crowned and the two emperors confronted each other until two suns appeared in the Imperium.
"Two suns and two emperors confronting each other means that there is no room for compromise between the reformists and the four families. They have to annihilate each other. It is impossible for them to work together to resist the Holy League!"
Li Yao was silent. He had to admit that Lei Chenghu was right.
In a country where the royal power was paramount like the Imperium of True Human Beings, even the four Kurfürst families had to wield their power through the royal power. Therefore, they were particularly sensitive to the royal power.
To put it bluntly, they could even compromise on the Great Dao. For example, Lei Chenghu, the Immortal Cultivator, could also temporarily cooperate with Li Yao, the Cultivator.
After all, the Xing Yao Federation that Li Yao represented did not have an emperor, only a 'Speaker'. Also, the relationship between the Speaker and the emperor could be explained vaguely and perfunctorily. You could say that the Federation was a 'special district' or a 'Black Wind Dominion', but it would not jeopardize the glory of the royal power.
During the battle of the capital and the battle of Seven Seas, the reformists and the four families hadn't elected their respective emperors yet. However fierce their competition was, there was still room for compromise and reconciliation.
If the main force of the Holy League had marched out on a large scale, chances were that the reformists and the four families would've reached a truce under the enormous military pressure.
That was the last thing that the Holy League wanted to see.
But right now, both parties had elected their own emperors. So, they could only annihilate the enemy until they had no soldiers left. Even though they knew that the main force of the Holy League was coveting nearby, it was impossible for them to stop.
"The Holy League certainly knows how to choose the best timing because the entire Imperium has been infiltrated by them. Their spies are everywhere. The intelligence on the military, politics, and economy of the Imperium is flowing to the Holy League incessantly every day. The Association of Demon Hunters can never catch all of them."
It was Long Yangjun who spoke.
Since she had made great contributions to the new emperor, she naturally regained her previous position as the president of the Association of Demon Hunters as usual. Furthermore, because Yue Wushuang, the leader of another special agency of the Imperium, was involved in Wuying Qi's scheme, she was secretly investigated and banished to a secondary post. As a result, she was temporarily the controller of the greatest special agency of the Imperium.
However, the fake name of "Dongfang Mingyue" was no longer necessary. After all, "Dongfang" was not a very popular surname among the reformists. To the outside world, she claimed that she was a spy of the reformists who infiltrated the Dongfang family and that she had changed her name in order to dissolve the evil reign of the four families.
Right now, Long Yangjun's main job was to deal with the spies of the Holy League who had infiltrated the Imperium. Because of her special bloodline and legacies, she was quite adept at the job.
Li Yao had witnessed the horror of the spies of the Holy League in the Kunlun relic more than a hundred years ago. They did not have feelings themselves, but they could simulate the most vivid feelings of human beings. Whatever tests the Imperium came up with, they would be fooled time and time again.
The corruption and darkness of the Imperium itself created the best conditions for the spies of the Holy League to breed. It was even safe to say that, for the people living in the bloody swamps at the bottom level of the Imperium, it was not impossible for them to join the Holy League if they did not have a choice of the path of the Cultivators or the path of reform!
Therefore, the spies of the Holy League were too abundant to be annihilated in the Imperium. They were a serious threat.
On the other hand, because of the features of the social structure of the Holy League and the evilness of the Path of Ultimate Benevolence and the Three Fundamental Laws, it was barely possible for the agents of the Imperium to break into the Holy League.
In the past, the military of the Imperium had selected strong agents with clean backgrounds to sneak into the Holy League. However, few of the agents could withstand the repeated brainwashing of the Holy League. In the end, they all became members of the Holy League and confessed a lot of the central secrets of the Imperium, which was a great loss for the Imperium.
Because of the features of the Holy League, the people of the Imperium still did not know much about the internal situation of the Holy League even though they had been at war with them for a thousand years. Other than the simple social structure, the composition of the army, and the technological capabilities, the Imperium knew nothing about the deeper aspects. It was also an important reason why the Holy League could compete with the Imperium for a thousand years in a relatively remote world and barren resources without collapsing.
"All in all, in the competition for righteousness, it is impossible for us to compromise with the four families at all. No matter how aggressive the Holy League's attacks are, the original punitive plan must still be carried out as scheduled!"
Bashing the table heavily, Lei Chenghu said, "As the saying goes, a monarch does not joke. When His Majesty ascended to the throne, he issued the Mobilization Order for the Suppression of Rebellions to the whole world in person. How can we abandon it without a fight? Also, our army has been making corresponding military preparations in the past half year. Right now, the arrow is already on the bow and must be launched. Even if there is a bottomless abyss ahead of us, we will only fill it with the bodies of the soldiers of the Imperium! "
Li Yao was silent. He knew that the war between the reformists and the four families was inevitable.
It was not just about the words' a king does not joke 'but also involved the spreading of military, politics, and even the ideas of governance on a deeper level.
On one hand, the four families were like centipedes that were not yet dead. They were licking the wounds caused by the battle of Seven Seas and the battle of the capital with all their might. They were recovering every day and were even stronger than yesterday.
As time went by, they would be even more difficult to deal with after their wounds were healed.
On the other hand, and more importantly, the amnesty and abolition orders that Li Jialing just issued, as well as the more enlightened and merciful policies of the reformists, had to be established on the corpses of the four families!
Abolishing slaves was not an easy thing to say. Liberating and educating the people of the middle and lower classes required money. Li Yao, Long Yangjun, Xiaoming, and Wenwen, for example, had established a "demonstration city of future technology" in the area of the former Great Iron Plants below the ground of the capital planet recently. How much capital would it cost? The initial investment of the Great Iron Plants alone was already astronomical. In the entire Imperium, how many underground hominoids were waiting to be rescued, and how many "Great Iron Plants" needed to be renovated and rebuilt?
As a Cultivator, Li Yao naturally supported the reformists of the Imperium, but he could not squeeze the oil out of the bones of the reformists such as Lei Chenghu, Li Linghai, and Li Jialing. They were now sincerely willing to carry out the reformists. What about money? Where would he get the money if he did not kill the four families and boil the oil out of their fat corpses?
Without money, the so-called amnesty and abolition orders, as well as the reform policies that were to be implemented later, would become empty words or even jokes. They would certainly shake the foundation of the reformists, interrupt the progress of the Imperium's reform, and even threaten the national interests of the Xing Yao Federation in the end.
Therefore, Li Yao could only agree with Lei Chenghu. Even if the army of the Holy League did turn the newly-recovered area upside down, the war against the four families would still be inevitable!
"So, we are going to fight on two fronts?"
Looking at the map behind Lei Chenghu, Li Yao asked, "We are going to face the military pressure of the Holy League and the four families at the same time?"
"Yes, in the most ideal situation —"
Lei Chenghu said, "If the expedition army can stall the march of the Holy League in the newly-recovered area, and the army commanded by me can crush the last battle-ready troop of the four families unstoppably, we will be able to retreat unhurriedly and attack the main force of the Holy League."
"However, since the Holy League has chosen such a subtle moment to show up, it is obvious that they will not sit by and watch us take care of the four families."
It was Li Linghai who opened her mouth this time. She coughed lightly and said, "I'm very suspicious about whether or not the Holy League's target is the newly-recovered area. If they really only want the dozens of Sectors, they wouldn't have evacuated voluntarily a few years ago and reduced the hundred prosperous planets into ruins with the 'scorched earth strategy'.
"Is it meaningful even if the scorched earth and ruins fall into their hands again?
"Marquis Liaohai once inferred in his report to the Council of Elders that the Holy League is implementing a great strategy to finish the war once and for all. I couldn't agree more. If that's the case, the Holy League's target won't be as simple as the newly-recovered area and the expedition army. It is even possible that it will be the capital right below our feet!
"Yes. Skipping the hundred Sectors in the middle and stabbing into the heart of the Imperium, which is the most heavily defended, sounds unbelievable and absolutely impossible.
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