Darkstone Code

Chapter 1275: Chapter 1274: Picking a Fight

"What do you think... if we maintain the current situation, the monarchy, what benefits does it bring to this country?"

The Prime Minister and the Emperor rarely sat together, just the two of them, having a calm conversation.

The Emperor did not answer the question directly but chose another approach, "I will voluntarily abdicate and let the Eldest Prince ascend the throne."

The Prime Minister had a peculiar smile on his face, which made the Emperor a bit annoyed. He frowned, "Don’t look at me like that. I know he’s not outstanding, but at least he’s easy to control!"

This was a straightforward truth. From the perspective of a successor to the throne, the Eldest Prince indeed lacked excellence; he was somewhat short-sighted, which was quite normal.

When one is in an arrogant environment, people tend to become conceited and self-important, unwilling to bow down, which can cause them to stumble over trivial matters, like a small stone.

The Eldest Prince’s lack of excellence lies in his self-aggrandizement, believing he can do everything well and everything will go as he predicts, but in reality, it is not the case.

He has many flaws, not a suitable heir to the throne, but he’s easy to control.

Foolish people are like this; they are easy to control. Just a little strategy to let them make decisions that meet everyone’s needs and give him all the credit is enough.

See, isn’t this very simple?

However, the Prime Minister had a different opinion.

"We can’t control him forever, nor should we let one person bear these consequences. It’s also hard to predict if he would make unexpected changes in the future."

"Moreover..." the Prime Minister sighed softly, "the times have changed, Your Majesty."

"In the past, Gafura only needed the nobles to rise because our enemies were around us, and we could rely on the nobles to solve them."

"But now, and in the future, our enemy is the whole world, and the nobles can no longer support the sky of Gafura."

The Prime Minister fell into brief silence, then blinked his eyes, which were somewhat dry, "Recently, I’ve been observing and pondering why the Federation’s development is so rapid and why Peng Jieao’s strength far exceeds our imagination."

"We were able to defeat Peng Jieao in the war purely by luck."

The Emperor was also intrigued by his words, which was something he also wanted to understand. Despite Gafura’s strength, why did it hit a wall with two seemingly weak countries?

The Prime Minister continued, "Because of responsibility, Your Majesty."

"Making a country strong and its people strong is not the responsibility of one person, nor is it the responsibility of a small group; it is the responsibility and duty of everyone!"

The responsibility of one person refers to the Emperor.

The responsibility of a small group refers to the noble class.

The Emperor listened intently. He was a competent politician, and when faced with such a special issue, he was very focused.

"Whether it’s the Federation or Peng Jieao, they’ve delegated the responsibility of national prosperity to every citizen."

"What this country will become, which path it will take, whether there will be good or bad changes, in essence, it’s the decision of everyone together, and it’s everyone’s shared responsibility."

"Each of them will dedicate all their strength for this responsibility and duty."

"This is different from us, Your Majesty."

"The common people outside don’t care if the Imperial Family will be overthrown, if the nobles will be deprived of their titles, or if our soldiers will die in battle."

"To them, such changes are just news in the morning paper because they carry no responsibilities nor bear any duties!"

"The good and bad of this country have nothing to do with them!"

The Emperor, hearing this, instinctively said, "Cunning and treacherous commoners."

But he soon laughed because he realized he was actually wrong. It was their exclusion from these significant matters from the start that numbed the people of Gafura.

This is different from the Federation, different from Peng Jieao.

People in the Federation choose the government’s key personnel through citizen elections: the President, Governor, Mayor, all elected by the people.

People in Peng Jieao elect the Elders, Grand Elder, and Council of Elders, participating and influencing various outcomes, even having a say in national policies.

Only in Gafura, the country’s future, policies, are decided by the nobles and the Emperor themselves...

The Emperor realized this clearly at this moment and scratched his head, "So?"

The Prime Minister pursed his lips and smiled slightly, "So we must change, Your Majesty."

"This has nothing to do with any grievances between us or whether it’s the nobility or the Imperial Family ruling; we can’t just watch this country fall into the abyss due to our wrong decisions."

"Our ancestors left us everything valuable, and we... must leave something for our descendants, not just a pile of mess."

For the first time, the Prime Minister fully expressed his thoughts, leaning back on the sofa, looking extraordinarily relaxed.

His hands naturally resting on the armrests, he looked like an ordinary elder, "After everything is over, I will voluntarily resign from the position of Prime Minister..."

This could be considered a statement. The Emperor meticulously observed the old man, examining him closely, as if meeting him for the first time.

He had never thought of this old man, like a mascot, as remarkably great.

This left a tinge of indescribable shock in the Emperor’s heart; this... was something an Emperor should do, not a Prime Minister.

Seeing the Emperor’s somewhat unusual expression, the Prime Minister smiled lightly, "Have I convinced you?"

The Emperor tilted his head and thought for a moment, "You’re right; the country’s future should be the decision of everyone. You’ve convinced me!"

He turned his head to glance at the clock, "Stay and have something to eat in the evening. The chefs have developed some new dishes worth trying."

The Prime Minister did not refuse this time; he had conquered the Emperor with sincerity.

If anyone truly understood this country, the Prime Minister was certainly among them.

All these years, he genuinely stood as an observer, looking at all issues from this perspective, perhaps which is why he yearned for power: he wanted to change this country.

And this is also why Lynch’s proposal of a Monarchy Constitution moved him.

The meeting between the Prime Minister and the Emperor in the evening was extremely secretive; no one knew what they talked about, but some news did come out from the Imperial Palace, saying the Prime Minister and the Emperor dined together.

However, this news wasn’t so important to Gafura at this moment. freewebnovel.cσ๓

People wouldn’t believe that a Prime Minister committed to overthrowing the Imperial Family would have anything worthwhile to discuss with the Emperor of this Empire.

It was probably some kind of... provocation?

Or something else.

The entire night, the Imperial Capital was not peaceful because the secret police were in action!

Early the next morning, Lynch, along with the young Count and a group of nobles, headed to the Secretariat.

This was one of the few group appearances for them recently, and the Secretariat was quieter than usual; everyone was waiting for news.

To be precise, yesterday’s melee resulted in over thirty deaths—some died later due to untimely rescue, and it was said that the actual number of deaths was even higher.

In the end, everyone was ruthlessly slaughtering one another, no longer fighting, only engaging in a real massacre. If you weren’t one of us, you were the enemy.

If you’re the enemy, you must be eliminated!

In short, the people and the media watching could only describe the entire process as brutal.

That night, the secret police began extensive operations; the clan leaders and main members involved on both sides were arrested, and recently, nobles who had engaged in brawls were also detained.

Now, with dozens of nobles missing from the Secretariat, it felt like a part of it was empty!

When the Duke of Phoenix arrived, he was already surrounded by many nobles, all inquiring about the actions of the secret police.

In Gafura, the internal intelligence agency is a division within the Police Station, and these individuals, known as the secret police, are active everywhere in Gafura.

They wield great power, dealing mercilessly with people or matters that might threaten national security in the future.

Moreover, with the Emperor and the Imperial Family supporting the secret police, ordinary nobles couldn’t do much against them.

Of course, if the nobles hadn’t committed any crimes, the secret police couldn’t apprehend them either.

Now all people wanted to know was when the arrested nobles would return and how this upheaval would be resolved.

The Duke of Phoenix maintained a somber face throughout his journey until he took his seat.

He then indicated to his assistant to distribute several newspapers to each noble.

All the newspapers described the negative impact of noble infighting on the country during this recent period of disorder in the Imperial Capital.

Some foreign media even reported on these events, describing Gafura as a "barbaric country" where the ruling class fought openly on the streets of the capital without regard for the safety of the people.

Previously, they only used to describe it as numerous injuries, but now, it was truly heavy casualties.

Some reports also mentioned gang members taking advantage of noble infighting to loot and burn shops, severely disrupting business operations in the Imperial Capital and causing significant losses to ordinary people.

All these pointed directly at the nobility.

After a prolonged silence, the Duke of Phoenix softly said, "You have all been very disappointing. You are the nobles of this country, yet fail to set an example for this nation..."