The next day, the drums rumbled, and it was the day of the congress meeting.
However, it was different this time. Even though the congress building was guarded by 5,000 soldiers, everyone could see the Longdan Army Camp's armored cavalry standing in formation, completely isolating the congress building from the outside world.
It was only when the congress was about to begin that the Imperial Guard's cavalry finally arrived. Feng Jixing, dressed in a commander's armor, rode a tall horse, and entered the congress building under the escort of Zhang Wei, Luo Yu, Guan Xing, and the others.
"Dong, dong, dong …"
After the bell rang three times, Zhuang Yan stood up and loudly announced, "The meeting shall begin!"
When he sat down, the entire congress was silent, and no one actually spoke. Su Changying immediately frowned, coughed, and said, "Sir Zhuang Yan, didn't you prepare the agenda?"
Zhuang Yan nodded.
However, before he could speak, Feng Jixing stood up and said with a smile, "Before the meeting begins, I would like to announce something."
Everyone was stunned. A few seconds later, Marquis Yu Zhong said, "Please speak, General Feng."
Feng Jixing smiled and said, "First of all, let me introduce. There are a total of 70 people participating in the congress this time. I'm sure everyone has seen many unfamiliar faces. They are famous scholars from various provinces in the empire. Come, everyone, please rise!"
The people behind Feng Jixing stood up one after another, and Feng Jixing introduced them one by one, "This is Ning Shan from the Seven Seas Province. Mr. Ning Shan is a learned scholar, and his reputation has spread far and wide. Next to him is Zhang Jin from the Earth Star Province. Zhang Jin is a world-famous painter, and I believe everyone has heard of him. And this is Qin Su from the Lingnan Province, a distant descendant of the Qin Family, and he is quite famous locally …"
After a full ten minutes of introduction, Feng Jixing finally finished. He abruptly opened a golden scroll in his hand and said, "Her Highness the Empress has decreed that these 70 people will join the Kingdom of Shang from today onwards as members of the Kingdom of Shang. They are the cream of the crop from their respective provinces. With them joining the Kingdom of Shang, this is the wish of the common people."
The vassals were stunned. No one had expected Feng Jixing to act first and report later.
Su Changying stood up, cupped her fists, and said respectfully, "General Feng, the Congress has a written rule that members of the Congress must be selected through the high-level parliament. This …"
"I've passed."
Feng Jixing raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Look, this imperial edict has Lin General and Princess Xi's signatures on it. In addition to me, Wei Chou, and Su Yu's approval, five out of the nine Imperial Deacons have agreed, more than half."
"But the Chief hasn't agreed yet."
"But Her Highness the Empress has agreed." Feng Jixing's gaze turned cold, and he smiled. "Is the Chief more powerful than the Empress?"
As he spoke, a dense killing intent rippled out. The killing intent between his brows was awe-inspiring. Ever since he started cultivating the Martial God Technique, Feng Jixing's entire temperament seemed to have changed quite a bit.
At this moment, Qin Kong, who was sitting on the Chief's seat, coughed and said, "Let's pass this matter since Her Highness the Empress has agreed."
Zhuang Yan, Su Changying, and the rest were so angry that they gritted their teeth, but there was nothing they could do.
Feng Jixing smiled faintly and said, "Since Sir Zhuang Yan's agenda hasn't started, I still have an agenda that Her Highness the Empress left behind before she went into seclusion. It's about the amnesty for the soldiers of the Kingdom of Shang."
"Oh?" Zhuang Yan, Liu Xiyu, and the rest were stunned.
Feng Jixing took out another imperial edict and said, "The Qin Empire has gone through untold hardships and finally defeated a strong enemy. This is the fortune of the world. However, the predecessor of the Kingdom of Shang was a gathering of righteous and courageous people from all over the country. When the empire was in danger, they fought bravely at the forefront with commendable courage. Now that the world is at peace, it has been decided that the Kingdom of Shang will be granted a special Kingdom of Shang. Any soldier who is below the age of 18 and above the age of 45, has two elders in their families, and has only one son will be allowed to retire and return to farming. They will also be given a settlement allowance of 100 Jinyin dollars per person. From Qin Yin of the Great Qin Empire. "
"What?!"
Zhuang Yan couldn't sit still anymore.
Everyone knew that it wasn't easy to recruit this group of soldiers. The empire had been through wars for a long time, and most of the young and strong men had already enlisted in the army a few years ago. Most of the soldiers recruited by the feudal lords were teenagers or old soldiers. This special pardon was equivalent to reducing the number of soldiers in the Kingdom of Shang by over 100,000!
"No, absolutely not …" Zhuang Yan was a little flustered.
Among the feudal lords, Zhuang Yan, Su Changying, and the others were only boorish men who only cared about fame and fortune. In terms of intelligence, they couldn't be compared to Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing. From the beginning, they had to withdraw more than 100,000 soldiers to hand over to the Longdan Army Camp and the imperial guards. Now, they were withdrawing troops for the second time. The strength of the Kingdom of Shang was shrinking day by day, and they could no longer sit still.
However, there were still wise people among the feudal lords.
Marquis Yang Zhong stood up shakily. His bloated body was almost touching the table as he said, "General Feng, this isn't appropriate."
"Oh? What do you mean? "Feng Jixing smiled faintly.
Yang Zhong said, "The Kingdom of Shang is a basic national policy approved by Her Highness and Lin General. The constitution has just been established, and the Kingdom of Shang is the guardian army of the constitution. How can it be weakened step by step? I hope that General Feng and Her Highness will cancel the decree for the sake of the people and the welfare of the common people. The Kingdom of Shang can't withstand such torment. Moreover … "
Yang Zhong's gaze swept across Feng Jixing and said, "Just now, I saw that the Longdan Army Camp has been surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water can trickle through. I really don't understand what this means. According to the constitution, the Kingdom of Shang is supreme and only below the empress. Now that the empress is in seclusion, how can the Longdan Army Camp trample on the law and be above the Kingdom of Shang?"
Feng Jixing rubbed his nose and smiled. "Marquis Yu, if I say that the Longdan Army Camp is protecting the Kingdom of Shang, will you believe me?"
Yang Zhong shook his head and replied, "General Feng is a god, and I, Yang Zhong, am merely a mortal. I believe that General Feng won't believe such a self-deceiving thing. The Kingdom of Shang has its own value, and the Kingdom of Shang has its own dignity. General Feng, please don't force us like this anymore. Otherwise, if we end up in a life-and-death struggle, I'm afraid that it will be a disaster for the empire. "
"Marquis Yu, are you threatening me?" Feng Jixing squinted his eyes and smiled.
"I'm not. I'm just stating the facts, according to the law."
"Stating the facts, huh?!" Feng Jixing laughed out loud. "Then I'll be stating the facts with you. Men, bring out the gift I'm giving to Marquis Yu!"
A guard stepped forward and took out a letter from his bosom.
Feng Jixing took out the letter, shook it open, and held it up to Yang Zhong. He smiled and said, "Marquis Yu, have you forgotten the deal you made with Marshal Beiming Huan of the Tianji Empire? Look, it's written clearly in black and white here. "
"Is that so?"
Yang Zhong did not bat an eyelid and said indifferently, "Commander Feng wouldn't be thinking of using a forged letter to punish this old man, right?"
"Of course, that's not all."
Feng Jixing said, "This is the material evidence, and I'll find you a witness. Men, summon Yang Zhong's butler, Xu Yi."
Yang Zhong's body trembled, and he finally couldn't keep his cool.
Xu Yi was also old and feeble. He walked to Feng Jixing and saluted, then looked at Yang Zhong.
Yang Zhong was shaking with anger. "I … Didn't I ask you to burn the letter?!"
Xu Yi cupped his hands. "Master, I just wanted to leave a way out for myself …"
"You … you dog of a slave …"
…
"Men." Feng Jixing's voice was full of dignity. He said, "According to the law, colluding with the enemy and betraying the empire is punishable by death without trial. Drag Yang Zhong away and behead him!"
No one dared to stop him. Situ Sen flew up and grabbed Yang Zhong's fat body, lifting him up like an eagle grabbing a chick.
In a flash, Situ Sen came back with Yang Zhong's head on the tray in his hand.
Zhuang Yan, Su Changying, and the rest turned pale and were almost speechless.
Feng Jixing looked at the group of feudal vassals coldly and said, "As you have said, the congress is a basic national policy, and it will be implemented unswervingly. However, this is the outcome of a traitor. I hope that all of you can reflect on yourselves. If you don't even have the most basic loyalty to the empire, then you don't deserve to be a parliament member in the congress!"
As he said that, Feng Jixing slammed the special pardon decree on the table and said in a tone that left no room for discussion, "The special pardon decree will be implemented immediately. The Ministry of War will send people to the National Army to select soldiers suitable for the special pardon!"
Looking at Zhuang Yan, Su Changying, and Liu Xiyu from afar, Feng Jixing smiled very brightly. "Don't worry, Sirs. I believe that you are loyal to the empire and Her Highness, right?"
Zhuang Yan hurriedly said, "General Feng, please investigate clearly. We know nothing about Yang Zhong's betrayal!"
Su Changying nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes!"
Liu Xiyu was so scared that he couldn't speak, and his face was pale.
Feng Jixing sneered. "Whatever, I believe you. However … I hope that all of you can investigate yourselves. If I, Feng Jixing, do it personally, I'm afraid it won't look good. In addition, all the national soldiers are to stay put and wait for orders. No one is allowed to act on their own. While Lin General is in seclusion, I will act as the Marshal."
"Yes, General Feng …"
At this moment, who dared to disobey Feng Jixing?
At this moment, Feng Jixing was an omnipotent god. He could even find out that Yang Zhong had betrayed the empire. His words carried enormous weight in the congress, and he was simply a little overlord.
Five days later, the congress was officially reduced to 200,000 soldiers, which was far from the original 500,000 soldiers.
…
Not long after, Lin Muyu, who was far away in the primordial secret realm, had already begun to challenge the Celestial Thearch Realm.
It was freezing cold in the Cave of Gods and Demons. No one expected that Lin Muyu would be the first among the three to challenge the Celestial Thearch Realm. Qin Yin, Tang Xiaoxi, and Xi Yan were all guarding him at the side, quietly waiting for him to make a breakthrough.
The ice cave was unbelievably cold, but there were flames flowing around Lin Muyu's body. One could even vaguely see waves of lava crashing against the Mortal Latch in his dantian.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
