Chapter 139: Blood Spray

  Vertical day, Imperial Central Reserve Thirteenth Cavalry Corps General Adrick. The appointment of the transfer to the Grand Emperor's department and serving as the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs has been handed over to the Senate.

  The actions of Emperor Cantos have sparked a stir among the imperial nobles, and many sensitive people are beginning to speculate about the intentions behind His Majesty's actions.

  Although it was clearly stipulated in the imperial code at the beginning of the empire that the emperor's appointment and removal of ministers, deputy ministers, and other officials required deliberation by the Senate, which would then be reported to the head of the department for signature and approval.

  However, such a process had actually been in name only for a long time. The decline of the Senate was a process that lasted for hundreds of years from the early days of the empire to its middle period, during which countless leaders of the Senate who advocated for democratic restrictions on imperial power and royal family members had many fierce struggles, but because this "democratic restriction of imperial power" system had an irreparable congenital defect from the very beginning - the Senate itself did not hold any actual power. This led to the fact that once imperial power was concentrated, the Senate became a mere ornament that could only engage in empty discussions.

  It can be said that at the beginning of the empire, this idea of a Senate was good, but the defects in the system made it into a kind of deformed so-called democracy.

  But if the emperor holds all military power in his hands, then even a weak-willed ruler might be manageable; the Senate would still have occasional opportunities to make its voice heard. But if he encounters an emperor with a strong personality and a lust for power, then the Senate may truly become nothing more than a mere talking shop.

  So, more than two hundred years ago, an emperor of the empire did it even more thoroughly: at that time, the emperor forcibly passed a decree through the imperial law, giving the emperor the power to appoint and remove officials, which only needed to be approved by the nobles' council, could replace the Senate's deliberation process, and was handed over to the head of the department for signature and implementation.

  The so-called aristocratic council is actually a group of imperial nobles who closely surround the royal family. The royal family is the largest noble in the empire, and all other nobles, whether from their own class or common interests, are ultimately tied to the rise and fall of the royal family. In fact, more than half of the members of the aristocratic council are either members of the royal family or relatives by marriage, which means that at least in terms of personnel appointments, there is almost no constraint on imperial power!

  But this time, what surprised the various dignitaries of the Imperial City was that this rider suddenly had a screw loose in his head and actually handed over a personnel appointment letter to Lao Yuan?!

  The Senate????

  Everyone knows that the Senate's personnel appointment proposal system has long been abolished in the past two hundred years. In more than two hundred years, let alone appointing a military minister, even the appointment of a small official in a certain cold department would not be intervened by the Senate.

  The Emperor, what on earth does he want? Is it possible that the great Emperor Cantos was dead drunk when he signed this appointment letter?

  Is this old man still confused? What relationship does he think the Senate has with him?

  These guesses are nothing but speculation anyway.

  The most helpless is the Senate itself.

  The Senate had not made a personnel appointment in over 200 years, and when the imperial envoy brought the emperor's documents to the Senate, the doorman suddenly saw the envoy wearing brocade robes and didn't recognize his attire at first. The Senate hadn't received an imperial envoy for many years. The arrival of the imperial envoy caused a commotion in the usually deserted Senate, with several senior senators rummaging through their closets to find bright clothes. They then argued over the etiquette for receiving the imperial envoy for over half an hour. This was unprecedented in over 200 years! In the end, they hastily searched through ancient documents and found a few cases from hundreds of years ago.

  Really waiting for a few moments, when the old man walked out of the hospital gate to greet him, the imperial envoy was already standing under the sun with a heart full of impatience and a face full of annoyance. Several yuan elders still stood at the door with an air of superiority, neither paying respects nor showing courtesy, puffed up their chests and blocked the doorway. Looking at his appearance, even if he were a purple-clad noble, the other party didn't have the slightest intention of giving way.

  What does this mean?

  The imperial envoy coughed and said, "I bring an appointment signed by His Majesty. Please deliberate on it, the Senate."

  "Hmm." The first elder standing in the middle suddenly opened his throat and let out a loud roar, a sound that almost scared the imperial envoy to death. "Your Majesty, does he know that people's rights come from their lives?"

  The messenger's face twitched, and he suddenly remembered that the previous emperor's strict order seemed to have mentioned this scene in front of him. He could only shrink his head and bow: "Your Majesty knows."

  "Very good." The first elder nodded in satisfaction, a reserved smile on his face as he stepped aside.

  The second elder still stood there, suddenly shouting in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, do you know that the power of the monarch comes from the people?!"

  The messenger gritted his teeth and endured the somewhat numb ears: "Your Majesty knows."

  "Not bad!" The second elder stepped aside.

  That third elder, however, seemed to have aged to the point where he had lost all his teeth. The silk robe he wore looked shiny at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was full of moth holes and carried a faint smell of mildew, as if it had been hastily retrieved from the bottom of some trunk just moments before.

  This old man seemed to be unable to stand up, and even breathing was a struggle. The Mertens' envoy was worried that this old fellow might not be able to catch his breath, and at any moment he would pass away...

  "Your Majesty knows the people, comes to the people, counts." The old man's toothless mouth barely managed to utter these few words, but they sounded vague and unclear, leaving the envoy feeling frustrated. This old fellow was probably afraid that even if he were buried under a mountain of earth, he would still come out to do... whatever it is he does. But he didn't care what the other person was muttering about anyway; before coming, His Majesty had instructed him that this entrance ritual was just a formality, and he shouldn't worry about the details, just go through the motions.

  Your Majesty knows, that's all. At this time, the old man cleared his throat and shouted loudly. The old man nodded and wanted to say a word "not bad". However, the messenger was already impatient and rushed forward, squeezing through the crowd.

  After entering, he handed over the documents brought by both hands to the first elder. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief: "The public document written by Your Majesty has been delivered. If you need to hold a meeting, please make a decision as soon as possible. I will go back and report now." After finishing speaking, he saw that the three elders stood in a row, as if they were going to perform some ancient ritual. This made the messenger feel somewhat impatient, and he quickly withdrew and left.

  Three old men watched the messenger leave, and they all let out a sigh of relief. The oldest one immediately stood up, but couldn't stand upright, and two attendants rushed over to support him. One of the old men unfolded the document and took a look: "What?! Adrien is appointed as the Emperor's minister?!" The other two were also stunned, even the frail old man seemed to have suddenly regained his energy, staring at his colleagues in shock. After half a day, the three finally burst into joyful laughter: "Great victory! Great victory!! Quick! Summon all members of the Senate! Today we must deliver this news to everyone's hands! The Emperor has entrusted such an important appointment to us, and the Senate will discuss it, that is a great victory for democracy and human rights over imperial power!!" The three old men were all smiling foolishly, laughing wildly for a while before the one in the middle spoke up thoughtfully: "Sigh, with this matter as backing, our funding should arrive earlier next month, right? Hmm, these past few days, eating plain vegetables every day is really getting boring. Now we can finally eat meat!" The other two old men's faces immediately showed expressions of empathy, and they became excited again, even the oldest one was waving his hands and feet, and one of the old men kept muttering "Meat, eating meat..." The three old men, who were normally dignified and respected, were in such a state, and the young servants on the side couldn't help but feel bewildered. These young servants hadn't read many books, and they didn't understand what democracy and human rights meant, but looking at the three old masters' appearance...

  Uh, this democracy, is it easy to eat meat?

  A personnel appointment and removal proposal that only opens once every two hundred years, suddenly shook the entire imperial capital. After the gathering order was issued on the same day, among the original registered members of the Senate who had the right to vote, there were originally 113 people, but after this gathering, the number of people present was greatly inconsistent.

  The original House of Peers has long since declined, and nowadays it merely maintains thirty or more regular members to carry out daily work. These are some high-society figures in the imperial capital who regularly gather at the House of Peers under the pretext of "restricting imperial power and implementing democracy", but in reality they just criticize current politics and national policies, which is nothing but idle chatter. Many say things like "If I were prime minister, I would do this and that", "If I were a military minister, I would reform it thus", or "If I were an imperial official, I would revitalize the system". Alas, there are few people with real ability, but many arrogant fools who are full of complaints.

  As people go towards high places and water flows to low places, this Senate has declined for so many years, with no power or influence, how can it retain real talents?

  However, these people's regular gatherings do have one advantage - they are not lacking in some socialites who like to follow the trend of elegance and care about national affairs and people's livelihood. Although they are only second or third-rate figures, there are indeed some wealthy families among them, and a few individuals even have noble titles on their heads.

  These people often meet once at a time, and each time they also come up with a donation to raise funds, which are used to maintain the daily operation of the Senate.

  In addition to this, the Senate, in order to show its democratic and civilian nature, also sent the membership with decision-making power to the people. People from all walks of life, scholars, celebrities, etc., naturally, this phenomenon was only seen more than 200 years ago, but now it is gone. The current Senate has become deserted, and even the membership qualifications for the Senate's decision-making meetings are sometimes not sent out!

  Why?

  This resolution is useless in ordinary times, what kind of dog thing can be resolved in this grand Senate? But the qualification for being a member of this resolution has to pay an annual fee, who would want to do it?

  So in the end, the qualifications of members have been lowered again and again, until they can't be lowered any further, yet they are still uneven and really went down. Wanting to rise again is now difficult.

  So, this time the summons came down, and the imperial capital was in an uproar. However, by nightfall, more than a hundred members of the decision-making committee were not accounted for, and even the servants of the Senate rushed back to report:

  The certain member has passed away many years ago.

  Some members have already moved away with their families.

  Certain members have already devoted themselves to the church, serving God for this life, without inquiring about worldly matters.

  In the end, excluding those who have passed away, disappeared or jumped out of the secular world, there were only 88 members of the decision-making committee left in the imperial capital, alive and kicking with no problem with their brains!

  Three old men looked at each other and all seemed very helpless.

  Forget it! Let's just say 88 is 88! Having something is better than having nothing.

  Then, a person was sent to deliver an invitation signed by the three members of the Yuan Lao Yuan to the imperial capital, where Adrien's residence was located, and a meeting was scheduled for the next day.

  On the second day, three old men were excited and sleepless for a night. A grand event that had not been encountered for over 200 years happened to them. If it's said that the emperor really made a mistake in his mind, then let's pray to the gods to protect this string, so that there will be more mistakes in the future!

  And yet thinking of oneself as a tooth, an elder in the old hospital, having experienced two hundred years

  Things that didn't happen in years will have their own chapter in future history books!

  Suddenly excited, the three old men who had been waiting in the morning for those members of the decision-making conference who came to participate in the deliberation meeting according to the summons were stunned at the same time!!

  Is this sacred Senate, which has the sacred right of decision for the people, a member who advocates for civil rights?!!

  Standing on the steps of the Senate, three old men were simultaneously stunned:

  There, at the entrance of the old mansion, a cow cart was stuck in front of the main gate steps, its wheels deeply entrenched in a rut on the road. The carter, who had been sitting askew with his legs crossed, jumped down and started pulling the ox's head with all his might, while the ox let out loud "moooo"s.

  While the gate was also surrounded by a group of people, as soon as the old house opened its door, these people suddenly swarmed over: "The door is open! The door is open!!"

  "Wait! Wait a minute!!!" One of the three elders, who was slightly younger, was frightened and hastily called out to his servants: "Block the door, block it now! Those people outside, report your names and positions one by one!"

  A young big sister with a small apron and a bulging chest, holding a child: "My husband is an ironworker, my man has work to do today, so he asked me to come. Uh, I don't have a name."

  A man covered in bloodstains and grease, with a butcher knife tucked into his waist: "I'm a pig slaughterer!"

  A middle-aged man with a rolled-up sleeve and mud on his hands: "I'm a gardener who grows flowers."

  A thin and short young man glared: "My father is dead, I'm here in his place."

  Finally... there was a young man with a pale complexion that seemed to radiate a hint of clarity, even in the sunlight, he had an air of gentle eeriness about him "I am, I am..."

  At this point, the three elders' hearts had already turned cold. Listening to the last person from the household speak hesitantly, one of the elders couldn't help but frown impatiently and asked "What exactly do you want?"

  "He" that pale and weak man suddenly twisted: "I am the... of the Tangzi", three elders did not understand, the butcher who killed pigs before suddenly smiled and pointed at the man: "Ah, it's a rabbit."

  Three old men, this is all that's left, even if they wanted to die together, they would have done so already!!

  The majestic Senate, a symbol of civil rights established at the beginning of the empire's founding, has actually fallen to such a state? !

  What's wrong with Father walking away? But unexpectedly, unexpectedly, unexpectedly even the free son in the main house became a yuan, an old courtyard decision-making member?!!

  The three elders looked at each other, and finally, the middle elder coughed and frowned: "Stop arguing! This is too ridiculous!! Where did you people get your membership qualifications from?! According to the Elders' Council regulations, those who can obtain membership qualifications must have a certain level of cultural education. You, take a look at yourselves..."

  The old man stamped his foot heavily and shouted: "Don't make a noise! Listen to me! Who among you can recognize Byzantine characters, read and write, come forward first!"

  He asked this question three times, and yet: seeing the crowd below looking at each other in dismay, you look at me, I look at him, but not one person truly took a step forward.

  The old man was filled with sorrow and indignation, just about to let out a few sighs, when suddenly the pale-faced, gentle-looking man hesitantly stretched out his hand: "Uh... I..."

  The old man was delighted: As expected, there are still people who can recognize characters! In any case, having some is better than having none!

  But then this gentle-looking man continued speaking, and what he said was:

  "I may not be able to read or write, but I can count! From one to a hundred, no problem!"

  Counting? From one, one, count up to one hundred??

  This old man, if he hadn't been thinking ahead and being strong-willed, would probably have really ended up smashing his head to death on those stairs!

  How many numbers?! In this Senate, among the elite of past dynasties, there were great scholars, researchers, Ming scholars, politicians, military strategists, and many artists. And now, a guy who can only "count from one to one hundred" has become the most culturally advanced member of the decision-making committee?! If the ancestors knew, they would probably be so angry that they'd jump out of their graves!

  Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a chill in my heart. The initial thread of excitement and anticipation had been completely swept away!

  "This old man's face was full of anger 'From one to a hundred?! You can even count up to a hundred!!'"

  He was actually speaking in reverse, but unexpectedly, this pale-faced and slender man didn't seem to notice at all:

  "Ah, yes! I can usually do four deals a day, and by the end of the day, I can earn one hundred copper coins."

  The old man smiled coldly: "Oh, so you're saying that every time you do business, you can earn twenty-five copper coins?"

  That young man with a gentle face suddenly looked surprised "What? How did you know this, sir?!! Ah..."

  It's tough, you've been to my place too, but I don't have any impression of you at all", "Pfft!" A mouthful of blood.

  "Ah! Elder Lord! Elder Lord, oh no! Someone come quickly! Elder Lord!!"