Darkstone Code

Chapter 1106 - 1104: Some Changes

After the gathering ended, Lynch and the young Count returned alone to his Earl’s Mansion.

The former Countess brought in some sweet and sour drinks. Gafura people believe that honey can relieve the discomfort caused by drinking, and lemon can improve the condition of the mouth.

So after drinking, they often prepare some honey lemon water to sober up.

Some say this is just an excuse for the nobles to indulge themselves. Before sugar became widely available, honey was one of the few sweeteners accessible to nobles, and they would find various reasons to consume it.

The sweet and sour taste was indeed delightful. Lynch said thank you and, after taking a couple of sips, set it down.

Then she brought a hot towel. Lynch took one, "You could have the servants do it."

The former Countess merely smiled, said nothing, and then left.

She knew the men had matters to discuss, and she didn’t want to be in the way.

The hot towel over his face after a sip of the sweet and sour honey lemon water made him feel an exhilarating sense of relaxation, as if all the pores on his body had opened up at once.

After about twenty seconds, the towel cooled down, and he wiped his face, placing the towel back on the tray.

Afterward, a servant took the tray away.

"You probably haven’t been paying attention to some of the situations on Gafura’s Main Island recently." The young Count’s first sentence was quite intriguing.

Lynch nodded, "Yes, I haven’t been following what’s happening on the Main Island recently. I’ve been busy with a lot of things, like the airplane."

The young Count seemed to understand. Yes, the whole world was talking about it, and he knew too. No wonder Lynch hadn’t had time to focus on the Main Island’s situation.

Then Lynch asked, "What happened on the Main Island?" and the young Count formally began the conversation.

"There has been a rift between the Secretariat, the Prime Minister, and the Imperial Family..."

Lynch’s brow twitched. Before leaving Gafura, he had visited the Prime Minister and said some things that could be considered quite rebellious at the time.

At that time, the Prime Minister showed no interest in his ideas and hinted that if he continued talking nonsense, he would have him arrested.

But now it seemed the situation had changed somewhat.

"The Prime Minister has recently been getting very close to the Secretariat. Some of the big nobles seem to be colluding. I can sense that some things are getting beyond our understanding and control."

"That feeling is nerve-wracking. The last time something similar happened was in the history books. Whenever I think about going back, I feel scared!"

Lynch offered the young Count a cigarette. The two of them leaned in to smoke, and Lynch exhaled slowly, asking, "Are they planning to overthrow the Imperial Family?"

The young Count stood up in shock, staring at Lynch dumbfounded. The next second, he suddenly looked down, stomping out the cigarette butt that had fallen onto the carpet.

Just with one jolt, he ruined a three thousand five hundred Fla carpet.

But he wasn’t distressed at all; he was just shocked at how Lynch knew.

The eyes that were about to pop out of their sockets seemed still reluctant to leave, or they would have fallen out long ago. Lynch raised his hand to gesture, "You’re a noble, you must always keep your composure and calm, sit down."

After a few seconds, the young Count sat back down, "I..." He didn’t know how to express this feeling. He thought it should be a secret, but he didn’t expect Lynch to know even more than he did.

"How did you know about this?" After a brief pause, he rephrased his question.

Lynch shook his head slightly, "You told me. The issue between the nobles and the Imperial Family always revolves around power."

"The nobles want more power, but obviously, the Emperor won’t allow nobles to have too much power. This is the core, irreconcilable conflict. Based on your behavior, I could easily guess it."

The young Count was truly convinced, "It sounds like I’m an idiot..."

Lynch glanced at him, causing the young Count to laugh, "Your expression tells me I’m right?"

He laughed twice and relaxed again, "The last time I went back, someone contacted me privately and asked me what I thought about the current state of the country."

"They mentioned many issues and finally asked for my opinion. They are colluding."

This is actually quite normal.

Before any large-scale political struggle begins, collusion is a necessary process, essentially gathering strength and pulling more people to your side.

When the numbers are sufficient, political backstabbing begins, and political struggles erupt.

When suggesting the idea of a Monarchy Constitution to the Prime Minister, Lynch realized that the Prime Minister was sure to take action, with the specific timing depending on when he decides.

Someone who has been just a figurehead for decades suddenly seizes the Empire’s financial power overnight, and you think he’s just an ornament?

No, such a person is a politician. He can wait through the bleak, silent night for an uncertain dawn to arrive someday, and exhibit an ability to blend into the darkness more than anyone else.

Perhaps even the Emperor did not anticipate that the one who would finally challenge him successfully was the Prime Minister, whom he had always overlooked; such a person is the true politician, willing to go to extremes for power.

The Prime Minister has a flaw, which many people may not yet realize, but Lynch has discovered it.

It is that he is too old, so much so that he can’t serve much longer before he retires.

You can’t allow a seventy or even eighty or ninety-year-old to serve as the Empire Prime Minister. Even if he can live to such an age, what about his energy and capability to handle affairs?

Can you ensure he remains at peak performance?

No, you can’t, which means his time to truly grasp power will be very short.

He has waited his whole life for this chance, yet he cannot wield power for long; anyone would feel it’s unfair and be angry about this!

The Prime Minister would too!

He won’t willingly hand back the power to the Imperial Family when he’s really old and weak; he must fight, not just to wield power himself, but for his descendants or those connected to him to hold power.

The simplest way is to permanently strip the Imperial Family of power, then use political exchange or some methods to extend the power.

How to do it?

This is not a problem!

If every noble in the Empire has their own affairs, the Prime Minister finds it actually difficult to achieve this; you can’t make everyone work with you.

Yet, to counter the Noble Group’s infiltration into power, the Imperial Family created a Secretariat and put a lot of nobles into it, gradually stripping the Secretariat of power.

So now the Secretariat is like a noble retirement home, with a group of powerless nobles drinking tea, chatting, and complaining inside all day.

The Imperial Family’s betrayal of the nobles allowed the Prime Minister to find a natural ally.

The nobles, who were betrayed and lost their power, didn’t have an opportunity before, but now they have it, they won’t give up.

The Prime Minister, combining Monarchy Constitution with the past Secretariat system, formulated a new theory; simply speaking, it’s a more complex Congress system.

Hereditary nobles naturally have a seat and voting rights, non-hereditary nobles can run for and obtain a temporary seat, with daily work handled by the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, and major events decided by Secretariat voting.

As for the Imperial Family... perhaps they would like their new status as mascots.

This theory quickly attracted some major nobles; after all, hereditary nobles have hereditary seats, they are not unfamiliar with the Federation’s Congress system, which, without harming their current interests, also increases their power.

Why dare not?

Anyway, someone leads, and if it fails, it’s the Prime Minister’s fault; the Emperor dares not move against the Secretariat, otherwise, Gafura would erupt into civil war.

If successful, they each regain power.

If it fails, all the blame and punishment have nothing to do with them.

This deal is too lucrative!

Thus, the nobles began frequent collusions, the Imperial Family is also wooing the nobles; the Empire’s Emperor is aware of some subtle atmosphere, continuously inviting some nobles to the Imperial Palace for banquets, saying in conversation that he is considering handing some matters to the Secretariat in the future.

These statements... actually lack credibility, at least the nobles aren’t that easily deceived.

The Imperial Family has already betrayed the Noble Group once; the Noble Group isn’t foolish, they wouldn’t be easily persuaded by the Emperor.

The Emperor starts to taste the bitter fruits brewed by autocratic power, only a few small noble opportunists are willing to stand by him; none of the major nobles supports him.

Without the support of major nobles, the Imperial Family seems... difficult to sustain, but the matter isn’t entirely like this.

Due to considering that the Noble Group might retaliate when Gafura’s Imperial Family initially betrayed the United Parliament, so in many rules and systems, while the Navy seems nominally controlled by ministers, actually, Gafura’s military is loyal to the Imperial Family.

They are the Imperial Family’s loyal guardians, haven’t you seen fleets named after the Eldest Princess or Knight Commander?

As long as these people continue to support the Imperial Family, the Imperial Family isn’t completely finished; at least, they have the confidence to confront the Noble Group.

At worst, just wage civil war, but it’s not realistic to wage civil war now.

To fight a civil war now would mean Gafura falling behind in international competition; thus, the situation on the Main Island is extremely complex.

The nobles attempt to interfere with the military, the Emperor also understands his predicament, spending his days at the Navy Headquarters.

Besides constantly receiving nobles, he also continues to summon Navy leaders and Navy officers, unable to align the nobles to his side, yet aiming to align the Navy to his side.

As for the Army... no one takes them seriously, maybe even the police are more efficient!