Chapter 409: Chapter 305: Imperial Congress
Long Yi arrived early when the Emperor was holding a meeting with all the Ministers in the Imperial Council Hall.
This was a large meeting held once a week. The Emperor typically handled administrative affairs in smaller meetings, while today’s meeting was specially convened to discuss important matters.
When the Emperor heard that Long Yi had arrived, he immediately sent for him to come directly into the meeting hall and listen.
"Gentlemen! Long Yi!"
The Emperor stood up first, stretched out his hand, and introduced Long Yi to everyone. Though Long Yi was famous, there were still a great many people who had never seen him before. When people finally saw Long Yi with their own eyes, they couldn’t help but express their admiration.
Despite the efforts of the ministers in serving the White Dragon Empire for many years, Long Yi’s contributions may not necessarily be lesser than theirs!
The applause immediately erupted, and even with Long Yi’s thick skin, he could feel a slight warmth rise in his face. Scratching his head, he found his seat and sat down, with everyone smiling at him. Before this, everyone who had not met Long Yi imagined him to be a monstrous three-headed, six-armed ogre. However, he turned out to be just an honest-faced big guy who even seemed a little shy!
This really was interesting.
Was this man really the same Long Yi who just destroyed the Undead Warrior Factory in the Black Dragon Empire?
Some people showed respect to Long Yi, while others completely dismissed him. Apparently, they believed that Long Yi’s contributions were exaggerated. Of course, Long Yi saw their unfriendly gazes as well.
Obviously, these people were either jealous or spies.
Long Yi thought cheerfully.
The meeting continued.
In this kind of large meeting, the Emperor sat in the center, surrounded by the Empire’s five ministers, while on the periphery, according to rank, sat a council of over 300 people.
As a Dragon Knight, Long Yi was given a seat near the middle. Not exactly out of respect, but because the official who usually sat there was on sick leave.
Obviously, the surrounding officials were extremely dissatisfied with Long Yi sitting there, especially the person on his right who frowned deeply. This was a place where positions were of utmost importance, each advancement signifying further official rank. Long Yi was just an ordinary Dragon Knight trainee, not even a professional soldier! Given the difference in their status, it was blatantly insensitive of him to sit here.
Long Yi didn’t respond to the surrounding people’s looks in the slightest. How did it matter to him whether they liked it or not? After all, it wasn’t them who made him sit here!
The agenda was introduced item by item. The Emperor and the Ministers put forth their own views, and it was a rather free discussion, even the minor official sitting next to Long Yi had an opportunity to speak.
Long Yi watched as Kirei and the Ministers along with the Councilors engage in a heated debate. Both sides defended their positions fiercely, without yielding even when facing the Emperor. This had been the governance philosophy of the White Dragon Empire for many years.
Many years ago, a very wise White Dragon Emperor realized that a single person’s wisdom is limited, whereas the wisdom of the masses is infinite. Therefore, that Emperor decisively established a Parliament consisting of both high-ranking and low-ranking officials. Although it hadn’t yet opened up to allow anyone to attend freely, it was still a significant advancement.
This tradition continues today, with the system having been refined after several reforms, evolving into something exceptionally well-organized. It was due to this that the White Dragon Empire had developed into the leading economic and cultural power in the world.
If solely considering the economy, the Black Dragon Empire didn’t stand a chance. However, the Black Dragon Empire’s advantage was its absolutist structure. The Emperor’s power was immense, and the Empire’s economy was completely controlled by the imperial family. The national treasury was essentially a replica of the Emperor’s private coffers. This allowed the Emperor to pour tremendous amounts of money into whatever he wished to pursue. For instance, the project to create the Undead Warriors was set up single-handedly by the Emperor and went from decision to formal implementation within just two days.
Such a thing would be more complicated in the White Dragon Empire. Any project required establishment, filing, review, and funding application, and everything was quite tricky to handle. Although this maximum decentralization was beneficial for the long-term development of the kingdom, it lacked a certain degree of flexibility. Moreover, a large portion of the wealth was actually in the hands of the common people. The White Dragon Empire had many super-wealthy individuals, some of whom were even rich enough to rival entire nations.
The White Dragon Empire adopted an encouraging policy toward these super-rich individuals, allowing them to earn even more money. Of course, their taxes were also quite heavy. Despite paying significant taxes, these wealthy people were willing to stay in the White Dragon Empire, primarily because the Black Dragon Empire has had incidents of confiscating the properties of wealthy individuals, making it a place that the wealthy shun.
Speaking of the wealthy, there were quite a few present at this meeting.
One of them had been staring at Long Yi since he entered, making Long Yi feel somewhat uncomfortable. Looking back, he saw a familiar face. No, it should be said he saw a pair of familiar eyes.
The man looked to be in his forties with a slightly plump figure. His face wasn’t large, but his eyes were very big and slightly protruding from his eye sockets.
Could it be Wesley’s father?
Long Yi had visited Wesley’s house but had never met Wesley’s father. Each time he visited, the man was out of town or even abroad on business. He resembled Wesley somewhat, so Long Yi figured it had to be him.
Long Yi nodded to him as a greeting, and the man responded with a slight smile before turning his head away.
The progress of the meeting was not fast due to fierce debates. By noon, the councilors dispersed for lunch, and Long Yi ran off to have lunch with Kirei.
"Didn’t you say you were going to rest for two days? How come you’re here after just one day?" Kirei asked.
"Because I’ve already sorted out what I needed to, continuing to rest would be a waste of time." Long Yi rambled on while carrying his tray. The buffet here is provided by the Imperial, where the emperor, ministers, and councilors dine together.
"You mean the matter of the Crazy Demon’s Plane?" The emperor lowered his voice.
"Yes, I already have some clues. We’ll break this matter into two steps, the first is to solve the issue with the vaccine. Without solving it, considering anything else would be impossible," Long Yi said.
"Hmm, I’ve recently been keeping an eye on the Gentle Wind Plain continuously. Energy fluctuations around the location of the previous fissure have been unstable—there might be an opportunity there," the Emperor said.
"Whatever action we take, we need to act swiftly, especially since the Gentle Wind Plain is located at the crossroads of several countries. If it weren’t for the constant demonic disturbances, I’m sure everyone would’ve eagerly claimed this area. This matter must be kept highly confidential; we cannot let others sense what we’re doing. Ideally, we’d want to accomplish it swiftly."
"If we need to capture only one demon beast, it shouldn’t be too difficult for the Dragon Knights," The Emperor thoughtfully said.
"The issue is, once the gateway is breached, it’s possible that more than just one demon beast will flood in," Long Yi said.
"That’s the most troublesome part..." The Emperor fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, Long Yi laughed.
"If there is not just one, wouldn’t that be even better?"
The Emperor was taken aback, then he too laughed.
"Yes, we won’t have to worry about lacking Crystal Cores!"
In the afternoon, the meeting continued. At first, it went smoothly, but soon, a topic sparked an extensive discussion.
The most renowned think tank of the White Dragon Empire—Eye of the White Dragon put forth a proposal.
The White Dragon Empire, to wage an all-out war against the Black Dragon Empire.
The Eye of the White Dragon drafted a war plan spanning three years. The whole plan, written compactly on a stack of papers reaching seventy pages in thickness, included reasons for initiating the war and a thorough comparison of strength between the two factions.
An abridged version of the plan was distributed on the spot, even Long Yi received a copy. The handwriting was neat, logical, and at first glance, looked incredibly convincing.
"Gentlemen, you may express your opinions now," Kirei said.
"I agree with the proposal from the Eye of the White Dragon," stated the councilor sitting next to Long Yi. "My reasons are as follows: first, after many years of development, the economy of our White Dragon Empire has reached double that of the Black Dragon Empire. With sufficient funding, there will be absolutely no logistical issues. Second, our Dragon Knights have been continuously victorious, thus having high morale. We should seize this opportunity to completely exterminate the Black Dragon Empire. Third, the Black Dragon Empire has suffered consecutive setbacks, their morale is low, and they are flustered and exasperated. Moreover, they have suffered significant losses to their Guardian Dragon Knights, and their strength is insufficient. Based on these three points, I believe we can initiate a war."
The Emperor, upon hearing this, nodded, "Well said, that makes sense. So, does anyone else have any opinions?"
"I object, Your Majesty," said the councilor to Long Yi’s left. They were only separated by Long Yi, but they were not in agreement. "Although our economy is strong, due to wealth being distributed amongst the populace, our own treasury is not particularly overflowing. Secondly, we have indeed won consecutive battles. However, please do not forget that the first victory was achieved due to Elsa, the Guardian Dragon Knight, slaying nine of the enemy’s Guardian Dragon Knights, followed by Long Yi slaying Yake Black. The enemy suffered back-to-back losses of ten Guardian Dragon Knights, each with nine Dragon Marks, which resulted in their panicked retreat. Frankly, it was not achieved entirely based on the actual abilities of our Dragon Knights! Furthermore, despite the enemy’s consecutive losses of Dragon Knights, their Dragon Knights own skills are not weak, especially their secret Dragon Breath Reincarnation technique, which allows their strengths to double. Although I am a staunch patriot, I must say that on a frontal battlefield, the strength of our Dragon Knights may still fall short in comparison to the enemy’s Dragon Knights. Plus, I’m not sure if this councilor is aware, but the Black Dragon Empire has been manufacturing Undead Warriors for a long time. Once a full-scale war breaks out and they unhesitantly utilize these Undead Warriors, in the face of these relentless plague spreaders, it wouldn’t take long for our land-based troops to turn into Undead Warriors for the Black Dragon Empire!"
"Nonsense!" The councilor on Long Yi’s right roared, "Are you attributing all the credit for victories on the battlefield to this person named Long Yi?! Even if you worship him, isn’t it a bit outrageous to exaggerate to such an extent?"
"So, because you can’t argue against me, you’ve resorted to personal attacks? Even if I am a fan of Long Yi, there’s nothing shameful about it. If you manage to achieve accomplishments like Long Yi, I could become your follower too," the councilor on the left disdainfully replied.
"Hey, both of you, the Long Yi you are discussing is standing right here." Long Yi helplessly watched the two bicker, even though he was the subject of their argument. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please, visit m.qidian.com to read.)
