Darkstone Code-Chapter 784 - 0782 Light Years Away [This - is additionally sponsored by Alliance Master: DUKE777 - 1/2]
"Suddenly, the thunderous collapse of Yuanrong Capital prematurely tore open the Empire’s fragile balance."
"The conflict between the civilian stratum and the aristocratic class."
"The conflict between the aristocratic class and the ruling class."
"The conflict between the entire society and the capital forces."
"Various conflicts accumulated from the last war were broken after the collapse of Yuanrong Capital. Once these barely maintained conflicts erupt, someone will have to pay the price."
"There is no doubt that the matter began with Yuanrong Capital and ended with the Minister of Finance resigning, but the damage caused is hard to rebuild shortly."
"The Emperor wants power, but the aristocrats won’t agree; this is the conflict between the aristocracy and the ruling class. If the Emperor does not wish to be against all the Empire’s aristocrats, the only thing he can do is concede."
"However, concession does not mean no limits. He played a hand, seemingly giving the opportunity to the Secretariat, but in reality, he is splitting the Noble Group."
"Though the Secretariat does not wield power, the aristocrats are too united..."
Lynch couldn’t help but laugh, "There is a saying in the Federation, make friends when poor, don’t socialize excessively when rich..."
"The meaning of this saying is, when one is poor, one should make many friends, not minding their background or current status. Only by doing so can one find opportunities to rise."
"Once wealthy, don’t make friends with just anyone like before — those from the social bottom, gang members, some fraudsters..."
"This saying applies equally to Gafura because the poverty in power among the aristocrats in the Secretariat makes them very united."
"This unity will cause a series of troubles, such as this confrontation between the aristocrats and national policies, where the Secretariat played a significant role. If the aristocrats were not so united, many aristocrats would have already been active in Amelie Province."
"So, while dividing the aristocrats, making them resent the Elders and the Prime Minister, is the Emperor’s purpose and plan."
"He gambles, betting that the Prime Minister’s health won’t support him staying in his position when the next war breaks out, incidentally passing some of the current mess to the Prime Minister."
"For the Prime Minister, he bears some infamy, like colluding with the Secretariat’s Elders for secret operations, actively seizing power for becoming the Prime Minister. These are what he pays, while financial power is his gain."
"As long as he becomes the Prime Minister, the current infamy won’t affect his future political status; instead, the power he gains will make people respect him more."
"As for the Secretariat, the Elders have far more ideas than you imagine."
"Wait until tomorrow, and you’ll see the aristocrats in the Secretariat will split: some will ally with the Emperor, some with the ministers, and some great aristocrats will maintain their aristocratic status in the Secretariat."
"This way, won’t the Secretariat be like the Federation’s Congress, thoroughly scattered?"
The young Count looked at Lynch with his eyes wide, nodding subconsciously; the consecutive seven ’blank’ made him lose most of his thinking ability.
At this moment, there’s only one thought, one voice in his mind, and that’s Lynch is so damn... brilliant!
Lynch smiled and continued, "Recently, some minor aristocrats keep contacting us, and they also plan to go to Amelie Province; I think it won’t be long before our Emperor extends his olive branch."
"What do you think can make them firmly stand by the Emperor’s side?" Without waiting for the young Count to snap out of his daze, Lynch answered himself, "The promise of ennoblement!"
"As long as they are willing to develop in Amelie Province, the Emperor will promise them another ennoblement, encouraging them not just to go with us but to stand by the Emperor."
"They will become the Emperor’s steadfast interests representatives in Amelie Province, and thus, the united aristocratic group will fracture into pieces until the next war comes." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Everyone is executing their plans; everyone is negotiating and compromising. What you see might not be the truth, even what I see might not be the truth."
Lynch smiled modestly; he not only saw the truth but also cleverly used some little tricks to drive the entire situation forward in advance.
Once the young Count and the minor aristocrats establish themselves in Amelie Province and become vested interests, their future influence in this area will exceed that of the native aristocrats."
"It might even split the Noble Group into ’old aristocrats’ and ’new aristocrats’ because of this affair!"
"It seems like the Elders didn’t play any role in this matter, but that’s not the case."
"Not to mention their approach of selling favors everywhere, by squeezing out those later aristocrats on the Main Island, they’ve just freed up more space for themselves."
They haven’t offended anyone, on the contrary, everyone owes them favors and benefits in the long run. This is the advantage of a family heritage that can last hundreds of years.
They might not be the most noticeable, but they are definitely the ones who survive to the end, earning considerable profits while still being thanked by others.
Silently strengthening the family’s influence, and then making a stunning impact.
Lynch’s words completely overturned the young Count’s understanding of the current political landscape of the Empire. How could such a simple matter suddenly become so complicated?
Listening now, he felt his head swell, yet at the same time, a hidden excitement grew—this was much more interesting than other matters...
As the young Count’s eyes gradually cleared, Lynch patted his arm, "And what we are doing now is quietly developing ourselves in these cracks..."
That night, the young Count was so excited he couldn’t sleep, and the former Countess was once again taken by surprise.
The next morning, a considerable number of nobles rose early. They were all waiting for an event, wanting to confirm whether this matter was as they knew.
At ten in the morning, ministers gathered in the Ruler’s Hall, and several elders of the Secretariat also attended. When the Emperor sat on his throne, his expression wasn’t so good.
"Your Majesty..." A few grand nobles from the Secretariat stood up first; in terms of hierarchy, they were half a rank lower than the Emperor, because the Emperor was also a noble, only the Imperial Family wielded the most power.
They didn’t need to stand up to speak, but possibly because the content of their upcoming speech might offend the Emperor, they stood to show respect and caution towards the Imperial Family.
"After a week of selection, we haven’t found a suitable person to undertake the position of Minister of Finance. Given some domestic changes in the current situation, we suggest that the Prime Minister temporarily assume the role of the Minister of Finance. We will discuss further once we select a suitable candidate."
The Emperor appeared to show no change in emotion, but his tightly clenched fists reflected his inner resentment and anger, and his voice was somewhat tight and hard, "A week, and no suitable candidate?"
The elders remained silent, answering the Emperor’s question with their attitude.
The Emperor heavily pounded the armrest of his chair, anger appearing on his face.
The air inside the hall seemed frozen at that moment, and the elders held their breath.
Roughly ten seconds later, the murderous atmosphere gradually dissipated, and the Emperor looked at the Prime Minister, slightly furrowing his brows.
In the silence, ministers were quietly exchanging glances, while the Prime Minister pretended to know nothing...
"For the time being, let it be this way..." After a long pause, the Emperor sighed and said words that didn’t seem to come from his heart.
The events happening in the Ruler’s Hall quickly spread outside, and the waiting nobles erupted. Many nobles, like the lowly citizens, were angrily blushing with excitement.
They waved their fists, tearing off floral collars, glaring angrily and arguing loudly; the core of all curses was directed at the elders of the Secretariat!
Some even suggested resigning from the Secretariat, a proposal that quickly gained unanimous support.
If the Secretariat can’t uphold the rights of the nobility, then why should the nobles remain under its banner?
The young Count, already knowing the "truth," watched the surging crowd and slowly exhaled, now convinced that Lynch’s words were the truth of what was happening!
After one in the afternoon, before lunch, some new news emerged from the Imperial Palace.
Sometimes Lynch found it amusing, but whether locals of Gafura’s commoners or nobles, there seemed to be no realization of this point—some information from the Ruler’s Hall was actually "shared" in real time.
It was as if they never questioned why such things happened!
Information from the Federation Congress, at the earliest, would be leaked through evening news or the next morning’s news; they dared not act like Gafura.
In other words, if an emperor can’t even manage his own residence well, he would have ceased being an emperor long ago.
Yet, he continued to be an emperor, which meant that those informed were arranged by the emperor himself.
This time, some new news came, confirming that the Emperor had made the Prime Minister also the Minister of Finance, and the Prime Minister proposed expanding development plans for the Amelia Region.
The Emperor planned to summon a group of nobles to the Amelie Province for development, accelerating "penetration" in all aspects of the Amelie Province.
Upon hearing this news, Lynch knew it was time to demonstrate his noble civic-mindedness and concern for the country.
