When he returned home, Bai Zhizhan learned from Zhang Xiaoqing that the storm that swept through the imperial capital some time ago was a hundred times more violent than Zheng Jiangming's description.

On that dark and windy night, it was not just a few hundred traitors who had come to the end of their lives.

For the sake of safety, the Queen Mother also sent someone to take the little eldest princess's family into the palace.

Although the entire operation was under the control of Xue Yuanzheng, the gunfire that night had made the internal contradictions of the empire an open secret.

After that, a curfew and martial law were imposed in the imperial capital for half a month.

Although normalcy has long since returned, the effects of the turmoil have not been eliminated, and the contradictions at the top of the empire have not been resolved.

If anything, this involves imperial royalty.

According to Zhang Xiaoqing, Xue Yuanzheng did not report to the Holy Lord before taking action, but went to the Privy Council after the dust had settled.

At that time, Song Jiaowen had already resigned.

In addition, most of the core members of the appeasement faction were executed for treason, many of whom refused to be summoned and were punished on the spot by the Praetorian Guards in accordance with wartime law.

When Xue Yuanzheng entered the palace, there was only one choice in front of the saint, to accept the proposal of the first assistant, and the first assistant of the cabinet would temporarily take charge of foreign affairs.

Although Zhang Xiaoqing didn't say it, the meaning was very clear.

In the matter of forcing Song Jiaowen to resign, there were great differences and even contradictions between Shoufu and the Sheng, and it was not only Shoufu who offended the Shengshang.

First of all, in legal theory, the foreign minister is one of the five secretaries of state, and his status is far higher than that of other ministerial-level ministers.

According to the rules laid down during the reign of Emperor Shimu, Shousuke did not have the power to dismiss the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and had to first go to the Privy Council to ask for an order. Even after the constitutional reform, the foreign secretary was one of the nine important ministers prescribed by law, nominated by the first assistant, but the right to approve and the right to recall were discussed in both houses.

It's just that it's wartime.

In wartime, the Shosuke had the power to administer the military and political affairs of the empire, and when the state of war began, the two houses were adjourned in their entirety, retaining only a few committees with high status but little real power, and at most able to provide advice and opinions, and play a supervisory role.

Put simply, the Foreign Secretary is directly accountable to the Emperor.

The problem now is that Xue Yuanzheng did not report the matter to the Emperor at all.

Contempt for imperial power was clearly a taboo.

The most important point, however, is the disagreement at the strategic level.

Although the emperor was not a conservative and had nothing to do with the appeasements, from the emperor's standpoint, he certainly did not want the war to continue indefinitely.

From the ruler's point of view, negotiation and fighting are actually ways to maintain the rule.

To put it bluntly, since you can achieve victory, and after winning, you can get enough war dividends, and it can even be said that you can maximize your benefits.

Why keep fighting?

Want to eliminate the war once and for all?

Obviously, only a naïve child would think so.

In the uncivilized classical era, so many and so powerful empires in the long history without exception all embarked on the road of decay after reaching the peak, and finally fell apart in the chaos of war. Even in modern times, such a cycle of fate will not change much.

What's more, wasn't the current Liangxia Empire born in war?

Before the last war, the Western powers all called the Liangxia Empire the "Empire of War".

The difference is that after entering the era of industrialization, it is not those empires that are isolated by mountains and seas that have risen and fallen in the long river of history, but the whole world.

In the words of the most famous prime minister of the empire, one of the pillars of the Eight Kingdoms, and the sage of Tang Dynasty, the prince of the Ming Dynasty: In the era of empire, peace is the morning dew, and war is the bright sun.

Any period of peace can be seen as preparing for the next war.

Even if the empire is completely victorious, what can it do?

Could it be that after a total victory, the whole world could be brought under the rule of the Empire?

It's simply impossible!

Not to mention the current empire, even in a few decades, it will not be able to rule the whole world, at least it will not be possible to unify all the countries in the world.

From the perspective of development, no country has such strength.

In the end, then, war is still inevitable.

Even if one step back and the empire completes the great cause of unification, so what?

Judging from the cycle of history, the situation of great unification can last for more than 200 years at most, and then it will be a large-scale war that will sweep the world.

From the perspective of today's saints, it is obvious that they will not care about what will happen in a few decades.

In terms of overall strategy, the Holy Lords actually tend to take what they see when they see it, rather than exhausting all their efforts in pursuit of total victory.

To put it bluntly: the Emperor Shiwu had to turn the horse's head in Yebao, and the current empire, is there a more wise commander than the Emperor Shiwu?

In fact, even if there is, who would dare to admit it?

In addition, after the "turbulent night", Xue Yuanzheng never went to the Privy Council again.

In Zhang Xiaoqing's words, he was fighting with the saint.

With the current system of the empire, the saint really can't do anything about him.

The next morning, Bai Zhizhan went to the naval command.

learned about the situation from Liu Changxun, which proved what Zhang Xiaoqing said, and the contradiction between Shoufu and Shengshang had become semi-public.

Fortunately, the situation is still in Shousuke's hands.

To Bai Zhi's strategic surprise, Liu Changxun did not let him use the identity of a colt to mediate, but let him do his essential work.

Launch a strategic offensive in the Guia Ocean as soon as possible.

In Liu Changxun's words, in the end, whether it is advocating that the Shengshang, who will accept it when he sees it, gain the initiative, or continue to fight under the commander of the first assistant, if he wants to protect the interests of the empire, he needs to win on the battlefield, and it is best to win a big victory that can lock in the final outcome.

Those who have this ability can only stop the war in vain.

Of course, Bai Zhizhan was not stupid, and immediately understood what Liu Changxun meant.

The contradiction between Shoufu and the saint is a fight between the gods. Even if Bai Zhizhan has the identity of a concubine, he is deeply loved by the Queen Mother, because he does not have his own family, so in this high-level struggle, he has no right to speak at all, and if he is accidentally involved, he can't even protect himself!

Here, there is another very important point.

Behind Xue Yuanzheng is the Tang family, and the Tang family has always been the number one political family in the empire.

In the past few decades, almost all of the emperor's first assistants have come from the Tang family, or are the spokesmen of the Tang family.

Obviously, the contradiction between Xue Yuanzheng and the Holy Shang is actually the contradiction between the power and the imperial power.

In such a struggle, Bai Zhizhan, who has the dual identity of a member of the imperial family and an imperial naval general, has become a mouse in the bellows.

If you don't do it well, you will definitely not please both ends.

In Liu Changxun's words, the emperor is a place of right and wrong, and it is best to stay away.

Before meeting Liu Changxun, Bai Zhizhan also wanted to talk to Shousuke, maybe he could provide some help. It was only after meeting Liu Changxun that he dispelled this idea.

It's not a question of trying your best or not trying your best, but going to Xue Yuanzheng now, but it will backfire.

In Xue Yuanzheng's eyes, he is a concubine of the empire, a standard member of the royal family. In turn, in the eyes of the saint, he is an out-and-out admiral, and he listens to the dispatch of the first assistant.

Zhang Xiaoqing did not let Bai Zhizhan attack first to meet the Queen Mother, but came to Liu Changxun, which had something to do with it.

The immediate superior of the White Stop War was the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

It's just that the current situation in the imperial capital is indeed good to leave.