Chapter 358
Chapter 358: 358
Chapter 358 – Book 4 Prologue - Part 1
Friday, who was in Dong Bai form, returned to Ye City along with Diaochan and Wang Yun .
They managed to attend Hua Shi and He Xing's funeral on time before the cremation ceremony . However, they had not talked to Tong yet .
Friday and Medusa had no problem with waiting, but Wang Yun, who was a stranger to Tong, could not sit still . He was nervous about who would be the next in line for the throne after He Xing .
To Wang Yun, the false emperor Yuan Shang and his daughter's pseudo empress status were not comparable to the legitimate royal blood of Liu Xie . As such, Wang Yun contemplated if he should offer Diaochan as Liu Xie's prospect .
If Liu Xie could take the throne and wed Diaochan, it would be a win-win for him . However, it would spell a different scenario if Tong became the next emperor .
Wang Yun knew about the relationship between Tong and Friday, and he was also aware of their identities beyond the surface .
All three of them were a demon family from Hell!
Wedding Diaochan to Tong was impossible as she was his mother-in-law in the otherworld, so he could not obtain status through this relationship .
Still, there was hope . As long as Diaochan could be a bridge for Wang Yun and Tong, he should at least gain some benefits if he could work for him .
.
March 15th, 188 A . D .
Months had passed since the funeral, which it was now spring .
The mourning period was still in effect, but all frantic civil officers were preparing for a battlefield . It was not a battlefield for soldiers but a war-zone between politicians and civil officers .
In Ye City, Tong had delayed his annual meeting with all officers because of the mourning period . However, he called for an all-city assembly today .
The topic was about the coronation of a new emperor .
Opportunities for promotions awaited for all officers and generals if they played their cards right . Today, the mind game of politicians would not end until Tong finished assigning roles to his servants .
Zhang Jiao, Zhen Yi, Te Langpu, Ju Shou, Li Feihong, Xun Yu, Jia Xu, Sima Fang, Sima Lang, Lu Zhi, Kong Rong, Wang Yun, and the newcomer, Xun You, stood in line before the central carpet at the city hall left side . All of them were civil officers and strategists .
Behind the back rows, Sima Yi sneaked into the meeting, observing the meeting in glee .
On the right side, all the generals were present . Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, and Ding Yuan grouped together as they were from the same legion . Lu Bu's armor stood out from the rest as he wore his favorite red steel plate armor set .
Xu Huang led another group of Silver Axe Legion generals . Behind him, Zhou Cang, Bo Cai, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang followed after their grand commander . Unlike the flashy Lu Bu, he covered his steel plate armor with a long white cloak .
Zhang He stood calm in front of his men . He also brought all of his subordinate generals, Han Hao, Qu Yi, and Gao Lan . Different from the white-cloak Xu Huang and the red knight Lu Bu, Zhang He wore black outer garments on top of his steel armor . He also had a piece of black cloth covering his mouth and nose . Had he wore a battle helmet, he would look like a ninja in a battle suit instead of a general .
The oddest general of them all was the young girl in a green dress who stood in the front row, Dong Bai . At this point, everybody had already discovered that Dong Bai was actually Xiao Wu, and nobody dared to mock this little girl .
Behind her, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Ji, and Diaochan accompanied Friday into the meeting as they were the members of the unofficial Demon Legion, which had not demonstrated their potential yet .
At the sides of the governor seat, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu stood at the sides, acting as Tong's bodyguards .
All teams and all officers came here for one reason, witnessing Tong's decision about the throne .
Many other officers attended this meeting as well, including famous officers in history who were hiding among Tong's ranks, such as Liu Ye, who interested in Tong's cannon development, and Taishi Ci, who was a thousand man commander in Kong Rong's ranks . Unfortunately, they kept their low profile, not wanting to take a spotlight yet .
Tong and Liu Xie attended this meeting together . They sat side by side on the main seat, watching all officers with a dignified look .
Liu Xie glanced around in nervousness, and his hands moved around, touching his knee and the desk before them as if he did not know where to place his hands .
Seeing his adopted son's condition, Tong held his hand .
"Take a deep breath and look into their eyes . This will be good training for you since you will have to command them in the future . "
Though Tong's voice was soft, all officers in the room could hear it .
All civil officers had bloodshot eyes as they interpreted Tong's word as a hint that Liu Xie would take the throne . Some clenched their fists in delight that Tong would step down and allow the legitimate child of He Xing to wield the crown . Some sighed in a disappointment because of Tong's cowardice .
Still, most of them did not take it to heart as Tong had not announced his decision yet . As long as it was not official, everything could change .
This was their battlefield!
As everyone prepared what they wanted to speak in this meeting, Tong clapped his hands .
"I've promised you my decision about the throne, and I've decided . "
Over a thousand meeting attendees gulped . The roomed became so quiet that they could hear an ant crawl .
Tong waved a bamboo scroll in front of him, "Has everybody read this?"
The scroll in Tong's hands was Te Langpu and Zhang Jiao's rewritten work, the Way of Peace .
Jia Xu and Xun Yu frowned as they did not like the democracy system . From their perspective, a random politician could bribe or cheat their ways to the top by using this government type . They could also exploit many loopholes in the election, such as faking identities, manipulating votes, and lobbying senates into selecting them into a prime minister .
Many officers here also saw this system as an incomplete government system . Their mouth curled downward in disapproval .
"I'm not telling everyone that I'll use this system . However, all of you should start reading this and come up with ways to improve it . This will be your homework, which I'll be collecting your thought once we unify the northern plain . "
Jia Xu could not hold it anymore . He stepped forward, "My lord, I don't agree with this election system . I don't think you should select an officer solely on the popular vote since peasants and civilians are not educated . They will be easily manipulated by any merchant or greedy noble!"
Tong shook his head, "I've not finished yet . Stand down, Jia Xu . "
Tong did not call Jia Xu by his style name . Instead, he called Jia Xu by his official name this time .
Jia Xu could tell that Tong's tone changed . Once a lord called his subordinate by his full name, it signified his seriousness in the matter .
Jia Xu stepped back as he was asked . Tong continued, "I'll test this system in a village-level first . We'll educate people about the importance of representatives . My goal is to establish a representative system for the lowest level community, so they can learn to work with the government . "
"Oh!"
Everybody sighed in relief . For a moment, all officers thought that Tong would select an emperor by an election .
Tong chuckled as he trolled his subordinates enough, "I know what you all are thinking . You are waiting for my confirmation about the throne successor . Am I right?"
The room got quiet again .
"I will not make this decision . He will . "
Tong smiled and looked at Liu Xie, "Bohe, if you wish to succeed your mother, you can be the next emperor . However, if you are not confident, you can abdicate the throne . "
Liu Xie gulped . This was a heavy burden for a seven-year-old boy who had just lost his mother .
As a child, he wanted to be with someone at his age, playing and enjoying his childhood . Unfortunately, he was born in a royal family, which a burden befell on him .
Liu Xie's hands trembled as he stared into the eyes of all politicians and generals .
At the sides, all Han loyalists frowned, thinking that Tong used a dirty trick or manipulated Liu Xie into making a decision .
Sima Fang stepped forward first . At this moment, he was neutral in this successor aspect, but he also believed that Tong was not fair .
"My lord, I don't think young master Liu Xie can make the right decision . Making a child decide for his fates is not a prudent move, even if it's you . "
The corner of Tong's mouth curled upward, "You think so? What do you think, Bohe? Do you want to be an adult now, or do you want to live as a child?"
Hearing the provocation, Liu Xie's nervousness stopped . His trembling disappeared and replaced with a confident glare .
Thinking back during the helpless time when he and He Xing had to rely on Zhao Yun to escape, he blamed himself for being useless in that battle .
"I want to be an adult!"
"Then, as an adult, what will be your decision? Are you ready to take the throne as it is?"
As soon as Tong said that, all loyalists and Tong's supporters protested, "Lord Zhang! Please don't force your words into a child's mouth!"
"This is unethical, lord Zhang Tong! If you wish to take the throne, take it with pride!"
Buzzes and noises echoed in the government hall . In an annoyance, Tong pulled out his pistol and fired it at the ceiling .
*BANG*
Everybody quieted, gazing at Tong with fright .
"Be quiet while I teach my son about responsibility!"
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"Teaching?"
All civil officers puzzled by Tong's purpose . They glanced back and forth between Tong and Liu Xie in confusion .
Ju Shou picked up the hint first . He burst into laughter before he held his mouth, hiding his laugh because everybody was staring at him .
Xun Yu detected the underlying motive a bit slower . He smirked and hid his hands inside his sleeves, pretending to be calm .
Jia Xu slapped his forehead and glared at Tong, wanting to cuss at him in public, but he withheld his action .
Liu Xie took his time to think while he observed the reaction of all officers . His facial expression changed from uncertainty to anger, from an angry look to a sneer, then it reverted to an indifferent look .
"I cannot take the throne . "