Darkstone Code

Chapter 1244 - 1242: Untitled

Purging the ranks has always been the simplest and most effective way to help everyone discard their prejudices and unite as one.

Under this kind of high pressure, no one wants to be the "odd one out." Everyone will desperately cling to the core of the organization and desperately try to behave like a model of unity and enthusiasm.

The Duke’s few sentences made the council chamber seem filled with a thick, bloody stench; there was no doubt those few "traitors to the nation" were in for a very rough time.

As a powerful Empire, whether it’s the Secretariat or the Prime Minister, they at least have to maintain "justice on the surface."

They will not take the initiative to frame someone; that would be a disaster for politics!

If right and wrong both become tools of politics, then this country is surely beyond saving. Whoever grasps such a tool can turn black into white—what salvation could there be then?

Those spies may be real, and the people the spies bite out may also be real, but the ones these people bite out afterward are not necessarily all real.

A few real ones, plus a large crowd of fake ones—in such a solemn moment, in order to resolve such a major case as quickly as possible, wrongful arrests, wrongful detentions, even wrongful executions all seem forgivable.

What’s more, these harms will be done in "the name of the collective." It is not a decision made by any single person, but a decision made by some collective.

Some nobles had slightly contemptuous expressions on their faces. This might be their last time attending such a noble council. The Royalist Sect believed they had already seen through the Noble Group’s true face with perfect clarity.

In fact, sometimes... some things are quite amusing.

The ministers whom the Emperor had branded as "his own people" had risen in rebellion against him.

Those Royalists he treated as mere background decoration were, at this moment, still firmly standing on his side.

Letting your enemies sit in high office—this might be the reason the Emperor would ultimately lose. He believed in himself too much, and he underestimated the nobles far too badly.

His Grace the Duke did not show any impatience just because some people’s displeasure was written plainly on their faces. He continued to read the bill of impeachment.

The Imperial Family is itself part of the nobility, only it is the nobility that holds the greatest power, so when it comes to impeaching members of the Imperial Family, the matter ultimately falls to the Secretariat to handle.

It was like this when the Secretariat first came into being, and then... as everyone knows, it gradually lost the power in its hands. Until today, when it seems to have recovered its former glory.

Servants began handing out documents, and at the same time His Grace the Duke began explaining these materials.

"Someone has discovered that His Highness the Crown Prince used his status, and while the Minister of Finance was still in office, colluded with him to embezzle a vast amount of state wealth..."

Lynch also received a packet of materials. The very first page was filled with all kinds of figures.

On such-and-such a year, month, and day, in such-and-such a project, what the Crown Prince’s people had done, how much payment they had received, and behind it a correction value—that is, the market price.

One could see that every time, the Crown Prince managed to receive payments several times, even more than ten times the market price.

Immediately, one of the performers flew into a rage.

"How can he do this!" A noble slapped the table, shouting loudly and furiously, almost making it possible for people to see what he’d had for breakfast.

In fact it wasn’t just the Crown Prince; the nobles liked to do the same thing, and their methods were even more direct, even more... shameless.

Yet no one was impeaching them; instead, someone impeached the Crown Prince. Coupled with the actor’s awkward performance, the whole thing was like going through the motions.

Stripping the Crown Prince of his status as Heir was crucial for the work to come. In case His Majesty the Emperor realized he no longer had any chance of winning, he might directly abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince.

If even an Emperor can leave the very core of power by "conceding defeat," such a tragic gesture would cause the people of Gafura and a portion of the nobility to once again stand on the Imperial Family’s side.

To boil it down, from the very beginning the Prime Minister justified overthrowing Gafura’s monarchy with the claim that "a Dictator will drag Gafura into Hell." It was the Emperor’s dictatorship that was the core contradiction driving the struggle between the Noble Group and the Imperial Family!

The fundamental reason the Secretariat can now arm‑wrestle with the Imperial Family lies in the fact that the Prime Minister and the assembled ministers stand with the Secretariat.

The Prime Minister has already declared that, in order to prevent a Dictator from dragging Gafura into Hell, he will push for the abolition of the monarchy—this justification has won the approval of both ministers and nobles.

Even much of the discussion in society is actually leaning toward the Secretariat’s side. The Emperor has indeed done many "stupid things."

For example, he diverted funds that should have been used on the Main Island over to Amelia, which made the Main Islanders—who prided themselves on being superior—extremely dissatisfied.

All his prior decisions had already earned the Emperor the label of "Dictator."

Now, from the public’s perspective, the actions of the Noble Group and the ministers are, for the most part, just.

Facing such a situation, the Imperial Family actually doesn’t have many good options.

The core force behind abolishing the monarchy is the power in the ministers’ hands, plus the Prime Minister’s central role in coordinating and uniting them.

If His Majesty the Emperor wants to confront the Noble Group head‑on, then a civil war will inevitably break out!

There is no doubt about that.

With so many nobles inside the Secretariat plus the ministers who hold real power, if the Imperial Family dares to mobilize the Army or Navy to return to the Main Island, then by the next day the nobles’ hidden private troops could be assembled in the Imperial Capital and marching to slaughter their way into the Imperial Palace!

That’s right, on the surface the nobles no longer have private troops, but is there any noble who doesn’t have some Security Guards or similar men under him?

The various Servants hired by some great nobles number over a thousand; even if only one-tenth of them can actually fight, that is still a terrifying force.

If civil war breaks out, Gafura will never be able to catch up with the Federation, and even second-rate countries will be able to leave Gafura far behind!

So from the very first moment the situation began to shift, His Majesty the Emperor summoned the commanders of the army and, under various pretexts, transferred them off the Main Island.

Although the current Emperor of Gafura is a short-tempered ruler, he is very clear that the overthrow of the monarchy does not mean the Imperial Family will leave the political stage.

But if civil war breaks out and the Imperial Family loses, they are bound to be wiped out to the last!

Settling this dispute by political means is the Emperor’s last effort, and also the last bottom line everyone is trying to maintain.

Once the Emperor loses his final chance, he is very likely to simply admit defeat.

If the "Dictator," who stands at the core of the conflict, takes the initiative to lay down his power and carry out a succession of authority, he may not be unable to gain a chance at "rebirth."

By then, the people of the Main Island might very well stand on the Crown Prince’s side, and some nobles might also waver. They have already forced the Emperor to abdicate; if they keep forcing him further... it starts to seem a bit excessive.

As long as everything is given that brief chance to catch its breath, the Crown Prince may not be unable to turn the tables.

Therefore, from the very beginning, the great nobles and ministers who are well-versed in political struggle never intended to give the Imperial Family any chance.

Impeach the Crown Prince and strip him of his status as Heir.

As for the Second Prince... that is merely the final compromise. The Second Prince supports abolishing the monarchy!

Yes, it sounds a bit strange, but that is the reality. The great nobles actually know very well in their hearts that these are the Imperial Family’s "two baskets."

If the Emperor wins, then the Second Prince will be a nobody for his entire life.

If the nobles win, then the Second Prince can immediately step into the spotlight with the status of an Imperial noble.

In this battle, they have only two enemies.

The Emperor, and the Crown Prince.

More and more evidence of crimes is being laid out before the public, including a case in which the Crown Prince is suspected of murdering a court maid. Although so far there is no conclusive proof that the death of that maid has anything to do with the Crown Prince...

Everyone knows that poor woman must have been killed by the Crown Prince, and it’s possible His Majesty the Emperor had a hand in it as well.

At the same time, in the Emperor’s study in the Imperial Palace, the Crown Prince was pacing back and forth in agitation.

He knew that those people outside were impeaching him, but at first he was not afraid of such an impeachment.

When nobles impeach a member of the Imperial Family, it doesn’t mean that if the nobles say he’s guilty, then he must be guilty. Even an ordinary defendant in a court of law has the right to a process of self-defense, doesn’t he?!

A member of the Imperial Family certainly has such rights. As long as he consistently refuses to admit to any charges, the Secretariat must produce enough real evidence before they can force the Crown Prince to bow his head and confess.

Yesterday the Prime Minister met the Crown Prince inside the Imperial Palace. What they discussed were precisely those accusations and the issue of impeachment. The Crown Prince stated that none of it had anything to do with him and flatly denied everything.

But then the Prime Minister immediately brought up a proposal: since he believes these are false accusations, slander, a frame-up engineered by the Noble Group to achieve some unspeakable political goal, then why not... let more people see the entire process?

He actually wanted a live broadcast!

A live broadcast of the Crown Prince’s battle with the nobles in the Secretariat!

His Majesty the Emperor watched his son walking back and forth in front of him and, somewhat impatient, waved his hand. "What are you afraid of?"

He asked.

The eldest son stopped, froze for a moment, then expressed his respect to the Emperor. "I... I don’t know."

"You’re afraid you’ll ruin everything. You’re afraid you won’t be able to beat those nobles and will lose your right of succession." The Emperor gave his eldest son no face at all, striking directly at the core.

He shook his head as he spoke. "What you want is the supreme power of this country Gafura, yet you can’t even accept this much of a challenge. How could you possibly bear the heavy responsibility of reviving a nation?"

"Whether you ultimately lose or win, this is not a bad thing for you."

The Crown Prince fell silent. After a long while he finally asked, "Can we... win?"

There was some confusion in his eyes. At the beginning he didn’t believe this would become a problem for them, but as time went on, he discovered that some things were slipping out of control.

His father seemed increasingly powerless, while the nobles outside were frantically colluding with one another, to the point that they themselves had instead become the side in decline!

He feared this defense hearing precisely because he could not sense even the slightest chance of victory; the future was pitch black!

His Majesty the Emperor tilted his head and thought for a moment. "The chances are very slim..."