pertwk Chapter 537 Imperial Situation
Chapter 537 Imperial Situation
Chapter 537 Imperial Situation
However, although Qian Renxue was eager to facilitate the Spirit Hall's participation in the Heaven Dou Empire's competition, she could not arbitrarily decide to directly insert Ye Qifeng's team into the Elite Tournament.
Otherwise, a single misstep could easily arouse the suspicion of Emperor Xueye.
Similarly, she should not take the initiative to offer her own opinion; it would be best if Emperor Xueye asked her about it first, so that she could make the matter more reasonable and well-founded.
In any case, as long as we can persuade Emperor Xueye, nothing else matters.
Although Prince Xuexing and his bunch of good-for-nothings will definitely take this opportunity to attack her, they will only talk the talk and won't amount to much.
as predicted.
Just as thoughts were rapidly swirling in Qian Renxue's mind.
Emperor Xueye, sitting on his high throne, was clearly displeased that no one stepped forward to offer their opinion.
But he didn't show it. Instead, his gaze swept over the many civil and military officials with a deep look before finally settling on Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince disguised as Qian Renxue:
"Qinghe, you are the Crown Prince. You are now in charge of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies. What do you think of the Spirit Hall's application to participate? Tell me your opinion."
Upon hearing this, Xue Qinghe no longer hesitated. He stepped forward, placed his hand on his left chest, bowed respectfully, and then straightened up before speaking:
"Your Majesty, I believe we can grant the request from the Spirit Hall to send a team of students to participate in the Imperial City Tournament."
These words were followed by another round of whispers from the queue below.
Emperor Xueye, seated atop the high platform, remained calm and composed, his expression unchanged. Only after the courtiers had discussed the matter for a while did he raise his hand to stop them, saying:
"Quiet!"
Then he looked at Crown Prince Xue Qinghe and said calmly:
Explain your reasons.
Dressed in pure white, Xue Qinghe stood ramrod straight, a humble smile on his face, exuding an air of refined elegance and benevolence. He spoke in a gentle voice:
"Accepting the Spirit Hall's application to participate in the competition has several benefits for our Heaven Dou Empire."
"First, we can take this opportunity to get a general idea of the strength of the younger generation of the Spirit Hall."
"Secondly, to ease the slightly tense situation between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall, and to bring both sides back to a state of peaceful coexistence."
"Thirdly, in recent years, the Star Luo Empire has become increasingly rampant, and its desire to destroy our Heavenly Dou Empire has never died. Not only has it amassed a large number of troops on the border, but it also frequently invades the border of the Empire, resulting in constant border friction and endless war. Now the situation is even more serious, and the war may escalate at any time."
"Therefore, we must also strive for the support of the Spirit Hall, so that the Spirit Hall can put pressure on the Star Luo Empire, delay the Star Luo Empire's intention to annex the Heaven Dou Empire, and buy us more time."
"By agreeing to the Spirit Hall's application to participate in the competition, we can show some goodwill to the Spirit Hall. This is a win-win situation, and I think it is feasible."
As soon as Xue Qinghe finished speaking, the row of ministers standing behind him immediately stepped forward to echo his words:
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is right. I agree."
"I second that opinion."
I second that.
"Seconded."
Immediately, voices of agreement were heard everywhere.
However, there will always be people who hold the opposite opinion, or rather, they will oppose anything that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe approves of.
Prince Xuexing moved to the side, standing in the center below the platform, facing Emperor Xueye, and shouted loudly:
"Your Majesty, you must not! The Spirit Hall is a wolf in sheep's clothing, no different from the Star Luo Empire, and perhaps even worse. We absolutely cannot allow them to interfere in our Heaven Dou Empire."
"As one of the organizers of this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the Spirit Hall already has a spot in the finals. Now, it wants to interfere with the Heaven Dou Empire. This is outrageous."
"Why did they choose to come to the Heaven Dou Empire instead of the Star Luo Empire? Doesn't that mean they think our Heaven Dou Empire is weak and easy to bully?"
"If we accept the Spirit Hall's application to participate this time, and they manage to snatch another spot in the finals, wouldn't our Heaven Dou Empire become a laughingstock?"
After a pause, Prince Xuexing glanced at his elder brother, who sat on the throne above the platform. Seeing that his brother showed no sign of reproach, he became even bolder:
"Furthermore, it's not just the Star Luo Empire that's been making unusual moves in recent years; the Spirit Hall is doing the same."
"Intelligence indicates that the Spirit Hall has been secretly building and stockpiling a large army of spirit masters. What does this mean? It means that they also have the potential to seize control of the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Today, apart from the Imperial City and the provinces directly under the Imperial Family, which are still under the control of the Heavenly Dou Empire, the other vassal kingdoms and duchies are basically in a state of disobedience and disobedience. No one knows whether there are any traitors among them who have colluded with or sided with the Spirit Hall."
"In addition, the Star Luo Empire in the south is eyeing us covetously, and its ambition to swallow up my Heavenly Dou Empire in the north remains undiminished."
"Your Majesty, this is a time of internal and external troubles. We must not let the wolf into the house again. The Spirit Hall is no good."
"Uncle, you are mistaken."
Before Prince Xuexing could finish speaking, Xue Qinghe moved to the side, also arriving at the center below the platform where the imperial throne was located. He looked at the former with indifferent eyes, but his words were utterly devoid of politeness:
"What you said earlier might have some merit, but what you said later seems to have little to do with the Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies, doesn't it?"
"It's just a friendly competition between Soul Masters. How come you're making it sound like the Heaven Dou Empire would be destroyed if we accepted the Spirit Hall's application to participate?"
"Uncle, you're overthinking things."
Prince Xuexing suddenly turned to the crown prince who had interrupted him, his voice clearly revealing anger:
"How come it's alright?"
"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is one of the important ways for the Heaven Dou Empire to recruit Soul Master talents. If the Spirit Hall gets involved, the Soul Master talents who should belong to the Empire might be recruited by the Spirit Hall."
"You must understand, every student who can participate in the Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies is an elite among soul masters, a pillar of the empire. If they fall into the hands of the Spirit Hall, wouldn't it be a huge loss?"
Prince Xuexing flicked his sleeves, blowing his beard and glaring:
"If they grow up in the future and follow the instigation of the Spirit Hall to turn against the Heaven Dou Empire, what will happen then? Wouldn't the empire be in grave danger?"
"I'm doing this for the sake of the empire; why should I be worrying?"
"Uncle is right." At this moment, the Fourth Prince Xue Beng finally couldn't help but stand up. "The Spirit Hall has wolfish ambitions, and we must not agree to their application to participate in the competition."
Seeing that the two leaders had stood up to oppose Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, the ministers who were subordinate to them also stood up and echoed their sentiments:
"His Highness the Prince and His Highness the Fourth Prince are right. We absolutely cannot agree to the Spirit Hall's demands."
"That's right, we can't agree to that."
"Your subject also agrees."
The prince's allies were equally unwilling to back down:
"Nonsense! His Highness the Crown Prince is right. We should accept the Spirit Hall's application to participate, show the goodwill we should show, and ease the tension between us."
"That's right. Doing things like that will only exacerbate the conflict between the two sides, giving the Heavenly Dou Empire another powerful enemy and making the situation even more complicated."
"I believe we should heed His Highness the Crown Prince's advice."
"."
The entire council hall quickly became noisy, with both sides hurling insults and accusing each other, their voices growing louder and louder.
Until the snowy night, the emperor finally could not bear it any longer and roared:
"That's enough!"
The room fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Emperor Xueye gasped for breath. His health was really getting worse and worse. Even a slight jolt of his body or a roar of power would leave him panting for a long time.
But he couldn't worry about that right now; he needed to deal with this rather thorny political matter first.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's suggestion was very pertinent, and although Prince Xue Xing's words had some nonsense and seemed to be deliberately arguing with the Crown Prince, they also made some sense.
Emperor Xueye himself was secretly inclined to agree with the Crown Prince's suggestion, but he wouldn't make a decision so easily.
With a quick glance, Emperor Xueye's gaze instantly fell upon Ning Fengzhi, the only one in the entire council hall who remained calm and undisturbed by the outside world, wanting to hear his opinion:
"Sect Leader Ning, regarding the Spirit Hall's application to participate in the competition, do you think the Empire should approve it?"
Ning Fengzhi bowed slightly to the Emperor on a snowy night, his tone extremely indifferent:
"Your Majesty, I am an outsider to the court and dare not make any unwarranted comments on the affairs of the empire."
"My appearance in the main hall this time was by chance, at the invitation of His Highness the Crown Prince. I dared not refuse and came, which is already an overstepping of my bounds. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
That's what they say, but whether Ning Fengzhi actually thinks that way is another matter.
In the past, he would never have wanted to step into the dirty political vortex of the Heaven Dou Empire. Serving as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor was already his limit as a sign of sincerity in cooperating with the Heaven Dou royal family.
But now it is different.
If they want to unite with the Heaven Dou Empire to form an alliance against the Spirit Hall, they will inevitably have to deal with the imperial bureaucracy.
The title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince can be used as a starting point to infiltrate the imperial political system.
Of course, his presence in the Hall of State Affairs also reflects the mutually beneficial cooperation between him and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
The emperor was unaware of the reason for Ning Fengzhi's uninvited arrival, but the latter's presence in the court was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.
He naturally wouldn't care about Ning Fengzhi's rudeness, nor would he make too many demands on him.
However, as the leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, one of the three upper sects, Ning Fengzhi possessed exceptional strategic vision, so he still wanted to hear Ning Fengzhi's opinion.
Emperor Xueye laughed heartily and said loudly:
"Ah, Sect Leader Ning, you are the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, you already hold an official position, and you are free to enter and leave the court with the Crown Prince. What crime have you committed?"
"Sect Leader Ning, please speak frankly. I'd like to hear your insights."
"Your Majesty flatters me," Ning Fengzhi said with a humble smile. "I dare not presume to offer such profound insights, though I do have a few humble opinions."
The emperor's eyes lit up on the snowy night:
"Sect Leader Ning, please speak."
Ning Fengzhi immediately stopped refusing:
"In my opinion, Your Majesty might as well heed the Crown Prince's suggestion and approve the Spirit Hall's application to send a team to the Heaven Dou Empire to participate in the competition."
"As His Highness the Crown Prince said, this is just a competition between elite students of an advanced Soul Master Academy, or it can be said to be an exchange and sparring between low-level Soul Masters. Its impact on the political situation of the Heaven Dou Empire and even the situation of the entire continent is negligible, and it is not as serious as Prince Xue Xing said."
At this point, Ning Fengzhi glanced at Prince Xuexing, whose face visibly darkened.
His words not only subtly elevated Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, but also implicitly belittled Prince Xue Xing. It would be strange if Prince Xue Xing's expression wasn't unpleasant.
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly, ignoring this, and changed the subject, continuing:
"However, Prince Xuexing is right about one thing, which is the problem of the loss of Soul Master talent."
"But this is inevitable, after all, what soul masters yearn for most, or rather favor most, is to join a powerful soul master force."
"Among all the Soul Master forces in the entire Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall is the most powerful and controls the most Soul Master resources. It is understandable that Soul Master students aspire to the Spirit Hall."
Ning Fengzhi certainly wouldn't criticize the Spirit Hall too much regarding the issue of poaching Soul Master talent.
Because the Spirit Hall is not the only force vying with the Heaven Dou Empire for Soul Master talent; other sects and families, including their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, are also competing for it.
Moreover, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was the most proactive among them.
After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is a support sect, and all combat-type Soul Masters must be recruited from outside the sect. This means that they must spare no effort to snatch up Soul Master talents.
Ning Fengzhi didn't say much about the issue of Soul Master talent, and then continued based on what Prince Xuexing had just said:
"As for what His Highness said about the Spirit Hall forming and stockpiling a large army of spirit masters, that is indeed true. However, this is something the Spirit Hall does every year, so it is considered official intelligence."
"After all, the order of the Soul Master world is still controlled by the Spirit Hall, and the Soul Master army is their law enforcement force."
"Even if the Spirit Hall's army of spirit masters makes any unusual moves, they will first target the spirit master forces in the spirit master world, and generally will not target the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires."
"Unless there is evidence that the Spirit Hall has extended its reach into the secular world, such as possessing intelligence on legions formed by ordinary soldiers, there is no need to worry about the Spirit Hall attacking the Heaven Dou Empire in the short term."
"Given the current situation facing the Heaven Dou Empire, it seems that the challenges posed by the Star Luo Empire are more severe. Therefore, it would be a good choice to temporarily extend some goodwill to the Spirit Hall."
"As for how to deal with the relationship with the Spirit Hall in the future, it's not too late to consider that later."
Finally, Ning Fengzhi addressed Emperor Xueye directly:
"Therefore, given the current situation facing the Empire, I agree more with His Highness the Crown Prince's proposal and approve the Spirit Hall's application to participate."
(End of this chapter)