Chapter 1719: Chapter 977
Gu Hang and Robert are both exceedingly intelligent individuals.
Between them, there’s no need to spend much time repeatedly explaining their thoughts or persuading each other. They can clearly determine what their core interests are and quickly understand what the other’s core interests are, which are non-negotiable.
Precisely because of this, their communication is quite efficient.
Soon, some of the most fundamental, inviolable consensual principles were established.
Firstly, The Emperor is the Empire’s supreme representative and religious authority. On the day he returns to the mortal world in the future—regardless of whether it happens—He is the human Emperor, reigning over all of humanity spiritually, soulfully, and physically.
This is undoubtedly foremost and undeniable.
But besides this, a clear dual-governance model will be established in the Empire.
The Empire will have two leaders—Robert and Gu Hang.
The Regent King and the Imperial Prime Minister.
The title of Regent King is self-explanatory; he is the supreme military and political leader across Holy Terra and the entire Empire.
As for the role taken by Gu Hang, this Imperial Prime Minister position is somewhat different from the prime ministers of the past ten thousand years. Instead, it resembles the full responsibilities of the first prime minister during the era when The Emperor was still present, overseen by the ’Eternal Life’.
The current Prime Minister’s primary role is as a member of the Imperial Supreme Council, the head of the Empire Government, overseeing the four major departments of the Imperial Central Government, theoretically commanding the ministers of the Legal Department, Military Affairs Department, Department of Taxation, and Administrative Court.
However, historically, hardly any prime ministers of the Imperial Central Government have simultaneously held all four positions. It’s common for a single department’s minister to grow politically strong, become assertive, and sideline or even overshadow the prime minister.
Regarding the military aspect, the Prime Minister cannot directly command the troops, nor can he easily influence military strategy. The heads of the Star Realm Army and Navy’s Grand Marshals are not under the Prime Minister’s leadership. Even though the Prime Minister may indirectly intervene via the Military Affairs Department, such indirect leadership is often weaker, much like the Prime Minister’s potential inability to control government departments.
Not to mention, there’s no indirect authority over forces like the Tribunal, Sect of Mechanics, Assassin Court, or Interstellar Warriors available to the Prime Minister.
Being a truly powerful prime minister, like Zebert before the Great Cataclysm, is rare in imperial history. Additionally, even after becoming prime minister, he spent decades in subordination and further decades managing the situation before gradually succeeding.
Yet, despite realizing his goals, the fundamental power of the Imperial Prime Minister still rests on government departments. To wield greater power, one must rely on controlling the Supreme Council.
Simply put, those who become powerful prime ministers do not possess significant power by virtue of their position; rather, they must be formidable individuals, skillfully managing the Supreme Council. Essentially, the power exercised is that of the Supreme Council.
From this perspective, the authority of the Imperial Prime Minister is quite limited.
But according to the new agreement between Gu Hang and Robert, things will be different.
In the future, the Supreme Council will become ornamental. Under the complete leadership of the Imperial Prime Minister, the Imperial Council will become a subordinate institution—this marks the authority once held by the first prime minister.
Gu Hang, the future holder of this prime minister role, the Imperial Council will be accountable to him, with the authority to appoint resting in his hands. Beyond leading the departments of Administration, Finance, Legal Affairs, and Military Affairs, all government bodies across the Cosmos Domain and Star Domain will also fall under the direct appointment and dispatch of the Imperial Central Government led by the Prime Minister.
The structure where the Cosmic Domain Chair resembles an Alliance Leader, the Star Domain Head resembles a feudal prince, and the Planetary Governor resembles a feudal lord will be dismantled.
Personnel management, economic development, military construction, and legal maintenance throughout the Human Empire will achieve a higher degree of centralization.
From this perspective, although the Regent King is nominally the supreme military and political leader, the scope, breadth, and depth of actual responsibilities are far less than those of the Imperial Prime Minister. The Regent King is more of a supreme commander fighting externally, a political representative, while the real execution is under the Imperial Central Government led by the Prime Minister.
Under this structure, the Regent King’s orders and the Prime Minister’s orders will be implemented across the Star Sea from two directions.
But precisely because of this, Robert will undoubtedly have concerns.
In this structure, the role of ’Regent King’ is easily marginalized.
Therefore, whether it’s the Regent King’s orders or the Prime Minister’s orders, one prerequisite is that the Empire’s law must override all specific governance matters. The authority of Prime Minister and Regent King orders is confined by the Imperial Reorganization Charter.
This charter framework is drafted by legal experts jointly appointed by Robert and Gu Hang.
Once the charter is signed, both parties will merge to form a new department, the Imperial Charter Committee, independent of the Prime Minister and Regent King, whose main task is to oversee and review whether each royal and prime minister’s orders violate charter provisions.
While this committee appears to be a third-party supervisory body, the so-called ’supervision’ is merely illusionary.
The Imperial Charter Committee is composed of legal experts sent by Gu Hang and Robert, representing the will of the Prime Minister and Regent King respectively. They certainly wouldn’t oppose their own leaders, more often opposing the other side. Even if the committee rules a certain order ’unconstitutional,’ what it fundamentally means is one side has overpowered the other within the committee.
