Yang Zhaoqing paused, then reminded, "There are too many people. I'm afraid this place won't be able to hold them all."
Miao Yi was taken aback. He must have been a fool. Those fifty million troops weren't regular troops. If all the generals who were to be demoted were here, then this place wouldn't be able to hold them all. Thus, he changed his decree and said, "Then order everyone to gather here."
"Understood!" Yang Zhaoqing accepted the order and took out the Star Bell.
Miao Yi changed into a general's armor on the spot, then strode away, heading straight for the guest garden.
Along the way, he coincidentally met Duke Yuan who was passing by. Duke Yuan hurried over to greet him, then asked, "Governor, I just saw the Xiahou family's Grand Steward Wei Shu. What is he doing here?"
Miao Yi scoffed, "It's all because of the Xiahou Clan's trivial matter. They tried to scare me, but I didn't cooperate, and they even threatened me. I don't fall for threats. I'd like to see who's the one who's going to suffer!"
His words were ambiguous. Xing didn't think there was anything wrong with them, but it was enough for Duke Yuan to ponder the deeper meaning behind his words.
In the garden, the people from the Celestial Court were waiting. There were a total of a hundred Celestial Generals, all clad in red armor. It was clear that the Celestial Court viewed the demotion of these fifty million troops with great importance. Sending one or two of them didn't seem like much.
A group of people were chatting and eating in the pavilion. When Miao Yi arrived, they all stood up to show some basic courtesy.
The person who came to announce the decree was Miao Yi's old acquaintance, Wen Ze.
Wen Ze walked out from the waterside pavilion, and the others also came out from various places and followed behind him.
When they met, Miao Yi cupped his fists and apologized, "I've kept Brother Wen waiting."
Wen Ze chuckled, "You sent Wei Shu away?"
"Yes!" Miao Yi nodded and smiled, "Can we begin?"
Wen Ze nodded, "Since the Governor is done, then let's begin!"
"Please!" Miao Yi extended his hand to make way, and walked side by side with Wei Shu. The group quickly followed behind.
As soon as they left the garden, there was already a group of people waiting outside.
Xu Tangran, Bi Yue, Xiong Wei, Fu Qing, Invincible Eagle, Hong Tian, and the heroes of the Sea of Constellations were all waiting outside. Taking advantage of the fact that the Celestial Valley Palace's decree was unimpeded, Miao Yi transferred all the elders over. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it if the higher-ups at the Celestial Avenue refused to let them go.
After going around in circles, in the end, Miao Yi still decided to make use of the people in the small world's reserves.
"Governor!"
As soon as Miao Yi came out, Xu Tangran led the crowd in salutation, and changed into their official battle armor.
Miao Yi gave them a slight nod in acknowledgment, and the group quickly followed suit. The sound of clattering armors could be heard as the grand defensive array was temporarily deactivated. The group of people flew up into the sky, attracting the attention of the surrounding guards. Many of them realized that something big was about to happen. If the guards present were to turn back now, they would have a large number of subordinates under them to officially command the army.
Thus, the group of guards became even more vigilant, hoping that nothing would go wrong at the last moment.
Inside a cave on top of the mountain, Linghu Dou Zhong quickly walked out of the cave after receiving Yang Zhaoqing's notice. He shouted to the guard at the entrance, "Pass down my order. The heavenly decree has arrived. Everyone, gather!"
As soon as he gave the order, the surrounding rolling hills immediately boiled over. The troops flew out one after another, gathering on the plains in a grandiose manner that stretched as far as the eye could see, blanketing the entire plains.
The mountain range was in an uproar, and the family members had also emerged one after another. They all knew that the time to change the future of their family's pillars had arrived. Basically, everyone already knew beforehand that they were all going to be demoted, but they didn't know what kind of demotion they would receive!
Concern, worry, grief — all sorts of negative emotions appeared on the faces of the people in the mountain forest. They were all craning their necks, waiting for the news.
Miao Yi and the others quickly descended from the sky. Linghu Dou Zhong stepped forward and bowed, asking for the decree!
Miao Yi handed over the main seat on the hill to Wen Ze. Wen Ze held the heavenly decree in his hand and looked around at the crowd. He invoked his arts and said in a clear voice, "His Majesty has decreed that Niu Youde, the Governor of the Netherworld Presidential Manor, who holds the positions of Celestial Avenue's Governor and Celestial Avenue's Patrol Inspector, does not have enough troops to take care of so many lands. The Netherworld Presidential Manor shall immediately be changed to the Netherworld Governor's Manor, with the troops of the Five Military Manors under his jurisdiction. Niu Youde shall be the Netherworld Governor, and his rank shall remain the same!"
Linghu Dou Zhong and the others instinctively looked at Miao Yi.
Miao Yi was taken aback. He didn't know that Master Qing had such a decree. He really didn't know anything about the Netherworld Presidential Manor being promoted to the Netherworld Governor's Manor. Wen Ze didn't leak any information to him either. Even though he himself didn't get promoted, the lands under his jurisdiction did. He really didn't expect Master Qing to be so kind as to give him a pleasant surprise. It saved him the trouble of having an illegitimate position in the future. He wasn't sure if it was because of Fei Hong's secret report to the Left Division about him rejecting Lord Guang.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Miao Yi immediately cupped his fists and loudly acknowledged. Of course he had to accept a good deed. If he were to be relieved of his position, he was afraid that he would immediately stand with his own people and question the authenticity of this decree.
Linghu Dou Zhong and the others secretly sighed. Judging from Niu Youde's reaction, it seemed like he didn't know about this at all. A Governor's Manor had actually popped up out of nowhere. This was the first time the Celestial Court had heard of such a thing. This Master Qing really took good care of these people in order to make it easier for Niu Youde to control them!
Wen Ze continued, "Linghu Dou Zhong and his fifty million troops under the command of Division Yin did not think of the heavens' kindness. Instead, they attempted to assist Ying Jiuguang in his rebellion. By right, they should have been executed up to nine generations of their families. However, since they were able to mend their ways in time, I have specially given them a lenient punishment. All of them will be demoted to the Netherworld Governor's Manor to atone for their crimes!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!" Linghu Dou Zhong and the other generals thanked Miao Yi, but they could only laugh bitterly in their hearts. If Miao Yi wanted to kill them, they probably wouldn't have been able to mend their ways. In any case, only the person in control of the situation would have the final say.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!" The tens of millions of troops behind them cheered loudly.
When the voices subsided, Wen Ze continued, "Linghu Dou Zhong is the main culprit. He shall be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. Linghu Dou Zhong shall be relieved of his position as the Marshal of Division Yin. General Chao Six Sections shall be demoted to General Three Sections, and he shall temporarily assume the position of Deputy Governor of the Netherworld Governor's Manor. We shall observe his performance in the future!"
Shao Xianghua, who was in the distance, subconsciously covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. To think that a day of riches and honor would end up like this.
Yun Zhiqiu, who was beside her, immediately comforted Linghu Dou Zhong. As long as His Majesty had the heart, he could be promoted as quickly as he was demoted. His man, Niu Youde, was not like that.
Linghu Dou Zhong smiled bitterly in his heart. Once again, he cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!"
Wen Ze looked at him meaningfully and continued to announce the demotion list.
When the latter part of the decree came out, everyone was a little surprised. All the generals who held the positions of the main generals were classified as the main culprit. Apart from being removed from their positions, they were all demoted by nine ranks. They were only demoted to the rank of the Great Commander. The other generals who didn't hold the main positions were classified as the accomplices. Apart from being removed from their positions, they were only demoted by three ranks. Their positions would be reported to Niu Youde afterwards. As for the commanders below them, they were classified as blind followers. They were only demoted by one rank, but they were not removed from their positions. Instead, they were fined a hundred years' worth of salary. Those below them were only fined a few years' worth of salary. Their ranks were not affected at all.
In other words, many of the generals under Linghu Dou Zhong were still at the rank of the Red Armored Great General. Because many of them were at the fourth or fifth rank, a demotion of three ranks wouldn't cause them to drop out of the ranks of Great General. In this way, their ranks were much higher than Linghu Dou Zhong's. However, Linghu Dou Zhong still held the position of Deputy Governor.
Many of the assembled soldiers immediately revealed delighted and surprised expressions. The fifty million soldiers who had come from the Yin Route were all under Linghu Dou Zhong's direct command. Under normal circumstances, there would only be around five thousand commanders among the fifty million soldiers. However, there were more than ten thousand of them here. Many of them had left with Linghu Dou Zhong without any of their subordinates following them.
Ten thousand commanders was still considered a small number. There were several thousand Red Armored Great Generals and several million Purple Armored Great Generals. Just from Linghu Dou Zhong's troops, there were more than a million Purple Armored Great Generals. Of course, most of them were reserve generals. Most of them had reached the rank, but they didn't hold the position of Great General. The higher the position, the more experts were gathered under them. They were directly organized into reserve armies, so there wasn't much space for them.
They were only demoted by one rank and fined a hundred years' worth of salary. Their positions were still maintained, and those below them didn't suffer any losses. This punishment was so light that it surpassed the expectations of the commanders.
Some of the families in the forest who heard the decree were overjoyed, and they let out a sigh of relief for their family's pillars.
The higher ranked generals who didn't hold the position of Great General were also overjoyed. Before, they weren't happy because they didn't hold the position of Great General, but now it seemed like it was a good thing. They didn't hold the position of Great General, so the effect of being demoted wasn't that great. They were only demoted by three ranks, which was much better than those Great Generals who were demoted by nine ranks.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Tens of millions of troops suddenly shouted their thanks. Their cheers were filled with joy.
On the other hand, Linghu Douzhong and the other Great Generals' faces gradually darkened. They looked towards Miao Yi, but Miao Yi just shrugged helplessly. He even transmitted his voice over and said, "I didn't see the decree beforehand, so I didn't expect it to be like this. I didn't think His Majesty would demote and punish me like this. I didn't even know that the Netherworld Commander Office would be promoted to the Netherworld Governor Office!"
Linghu Douzhong and the other Great Generals' faces turned a little ugly. They had promised Niu Youde to accept the demotion, but they didn't expect it to be this way. They could already sense the viciousness of this decree.
The Great Generals were suddenly demoted to such a position, to the point where they weren't even as good as the Deputy Generals below them. So what if their subordinates were once their trusted subordinates? Now that their trusted subordinates were above them, they couldn't possibly just hand over their positions to them, right? They still wanted to climb up. In order to protect their own interests, they would have to desperately lean towards Niu Youde. Going up the hierarchy, it was the same. After all, their subordinates were the majority. This was equivalent to destroying the hearts of their subordinates in an instant, and depriving them of their authority.
This was basically using their subordinates to control their subordinates, and then completely control their subordinates!
Unfortunately, they couldn't object to this. Were they supposed to tell their subordinates that their punishment was too severe, and theirs was too light?
If anyone dared to say that, then they would be enraging the masses. It seemed like even the people above them wanted nothing more than for them to suffer!
Now, even if they pulled their subordinates to rebel together, they would see that the punishment wouldn't have much of an impact on them. They had avoided their most dreaded crisis, and felt relieved. They didn't have to bear any more risks, and had found a way out of this difficult situation. Why would they risk their lives to rebel?
Thus, this decree seemed to punish everyone from top to bottom. It seemed like there was a difference between the master and the servant, and the severity of the punishment was very reasonable. But in reality, it was extremely vicious. Linghu Dou Zhong and the others felt their hair stand on end. They didn't know who had thought of such a vicious method!
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