Section VII Council of the Fathers

The historical origin of the Council of Elders is as follows: a generation of heroes Zichuan Yun's iron and blood fought for half his life, creating the foundation of the Zichuan clan. In his later years, his jīng god and body gradually weakened, and it was gradually difficult for him to bear the burden of being the head of the family.

But he was too obsessed with power, insisted on refusing to abdicate, obviously his mind was not very sober, and he liked to bow down to everything, and he was so moody that he shouted at the slightest displeasure: "Kill him! Kill him! Drag him out and cut him down!"

The general Minglan had just triumphed the day before, and because his shoes stained the beautiful carpet of the Governor's Mansion during the audience, Zi Chuanyun immediately cried and made trouble like a child whose toy had been damaged by someone, and shouted repeatedly: "Kill him! Kill him!" As a result, Minglan was executed inexplicably in this way, and the last words left to his son were: "Be sure to wipe your shoes clean!"

What's even more wronged is that when he woke up the next day, Zi Chuanyun asked left and right: "Why hasn't Minglan come to see me yet?"

As time passed, Zi Chuanyun's amnesia became more and more severe. What the heroes and nobles were most afraid of was receiving a message from Zi Chuanyun: "Old friend, I haven't seen you for a long time, come in and chat with me!" -- if he obeys the order to go in, if he has forgotten his own orders, he will shout: "Assassin! If you enter without announcing it, do you want to assassinate me in the wrong way!" If you don't go in, if he hasn't forgotten his own orders, he will be very angry: "You have ignored my will and treated me so contemptuous!

Under his prestige, no one dared to resist, and all members of the family, whether officials or nobles, trembled and lived like a year, and there was a wish in their hearts that could not be expressed: It would be nice for Zi Chuanyun to die as soon as possible! However, it backfired, and although Zi Chuanyun was in poor health in his later years -- he would catch a cold in the summer and heat stroke in winter -- he just did not die and lived to the age of 98! Many people who were looking forward to his death could not wait for him, so they had to die first.

As a result, when the old king died and the new king was handed over, the nobles jointly staged a coup d'état, saying: "Power cannot be concentrated in your Zichuan surname alone! Otherwise, our lives, status, and property will be completely guaranteed!"

Things are about to turn into a bloody civil war, but fortunately, the new king Zichuan Xing is wise, and he knows that if a civil war breaks out at this time, the Zichuan family, which has not been established for a long time, will be destroyed. What's more, the demands of the nobles are not excessive, and the power is too concentrated in one person and cannot be controlled, which will lead to ** and arbitrariness, and it is not conducive to the future development of the Zichuan family.

He reasoned with the nobles and agreed to change the family system and establish a senate council. The Council of the Senators consisted of representatives of the people from the provinces (most of them the great nobles and the wealthy landowners). It was agreed that the Council of Elders had the right to supervise the administrative operation of the family, and that the order of the Governor could be amended if it was deemed inappropriate, and that the Governor could even be impeached or removed if necessary.

In order to ensure the inheritance of the family's bloodline, Zichuan Xing added: "No matter how impeachment and removal, the person who sits in the position of chief must have the blood of the Zichuan clan!" The nobles also agreed.

Most historians of later generations believe that the Council of Elders is equivalent to a sharp magic sword hanging over the heads of those in power (the chief governors and presidents), so that they can understand that there is a higher authority on their heads, and they dare not act too recklessly at all times. It has played an important role in checking and balancing the power of the chief, preventing the bureaucratic system, presiding over the right stream, reflecting the voice of the people, improving the mínzhǔ process, and maintaining the rule of the family. For example, after the death of Zichuan Yuanxing, the Council of Veterans broke the stereotype of father-son succession, and established Zichuan Yuanxing's younger brother Zichuan Sanxing as the chief and Zichuan Ning as the first heir.

Tang Hui wrote: "If this were not the case, but if Zi Chuanning, who was young and incomprehensible in affairs, succeeded him, he would definitely be killed by the ruthless Yang Minghua in less than two years after taking office." The senators' discerning choice to succeed the chief Zichuan Sanxing was not only stoic and deep, but also comparable to Yang Minghua in terms of ruthlessness in his methods, and only he could fight against Yang Minghua, who was ambitious in the wolf - and thus the King of Light was able to stand out and promote the family's century-old fortune - the Council of Elders contributed to this process. ”

Although later generations gave such a high evaluation to the Senate Council, none of the people at that time were grateful to the Senate Dade, and their general evaluation of the Senate was: "This is a swarm of flies that hinder us from doing things - green sè big-headed flies." Even the famous general Sterling had the feeling of "opening the senatorial meeting at this time, it is really the destruction of my Zichuan family" when he heard that the senator meeting had been held.

The convening of the Council of Elders was a major event that caused a sensation throughout the country. In order to prevent the Council of Elders from being controlled by careerists, the wise Zichuan Xing posed a threat to the rule of future generations. He pondered: "How can we make the Council of Elders play a role in restricting and supervising power, but also not override the chief and become the second center of power?"

A quote from his staff reminded him: "My lord, since ancient times, the efficiency of meetings has been inversely proportional to the number of people attending them. In order to make an efficient decision on any one thing, no more than 50 people should participate in the decision-making. ”

Zi Chuanxing suddenly realized, and he immediately decided: "The number of elders of each realm is 5,000, and each meeting must be attended by four-fifths of all the elders to be convened, and the resolution of each meeting must be approved by more than half of the participants in the meeting." If the Governor of Impeachment is raised, it must be approved by three-fifths of those present at the meeting. Such a loose and slow decision-making authority is bound to make it difficult to threaten the centralized and rapid decision-making system of the governor's power, but the cautious Zi Chuanxing decided to add one more: the chief is himself a member of the Senate, and he alone has ten votes.

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At the beginning of December of the year 779 of the imperial calendar, the 78th meeting of all the elders of the Zichuan family was held ahead of schedule.

The meeting was supposed to be held in August next year, but according to Speaker Xiao Ping of the Senate Council, he said: "Because there have been so many things this year about Yang Minghua's rebellion and the Far East incident, at this critical moment of changing circumstances and turning points in history, how can the Senate and the elders, who represent the interests of the broad masses of the people of the Zichuan family and are pinned on by the broad masses of the people, sit back and watch and stand by themselves?!"

All the veterans who attended the meeting said, "Yes, we say, it is so!" -- 5,000 people each said a word, and the first and second days of the meeting passed.

And Dillin's argument was: "Cāo! They are just too idle and bored to stay at home!" -- he had always been bold and dared to talk to Gopra secretly this time.

Not only him, but even Yang Minghua, who was domineering for a while, did not dare to offend and disobey the Senate in the heyday of the limelight, because the Senate Conference is not only the highest institution of the family in the system, with the highest decision-making power, in reality, today's Senate Conference is also a collection of nobles from the family's seventy-nine provinces, the strength of the powerful representatives, whether in politics or economy, they have strong strength, enough to influence the lifeblood of the family. Even the contemporary chief Zichuan Sanxing was vigorously supported by the Senate and came to power, and he had to be respectful to them.

The third day of the conference was finally time to get down to business. The patriarch from the province of Lok Sinvie spoke and raised a question that everyone is very concerned about: This year, the family's expenditure has exceeded the budget! Although it is said that there was a rebellion in the Far East, it is not so exaggerated, and the overexpenditure has more than doubled! In the previous year's war with the Liufeng family, more troops were mobilized than this time, but there was no such a serious overspending? Is there something wrong with this? Could it be that some people in the command office will take the opportunity to enrich themselves at certain times and in certain links, and make a fortune in the country?

The elders all agreed: There must be something wrong with this! Some people mentioned: "Thoroughly check the current expenditure accounts of the Military Affairs Department, the Logistics Department, and other big spenders this year, and get to the bottom of it!" After two consecutive days of voting by a show of hands, the resolution was passed.

Speaker Hsiao announced: "From now on, all the materials and money of the Logistics Department and the Military Affairs Department will be seized and frozen, waiting for the Senate to send people to inspect them! A "Committee for Inspecting the Property of the Military Affairs Department and the Logistics Department" will be set up, and 10 veterans will be appointed as members to take charge of this matter. It is not until the inspection is completed that the two departments can start operating again!"

The senators will be dancing with joy. It is not that they have any deep hatred for the Military Affairs Department and the Logistics Department. It's just that because the Council of Elders is only held once every three years, and no one usually pays attention to them, and now at last "once the power is in charge, the order will be carried out!", looking for an opportunity to try whether the power in his hands is good or not -- just like a child who has a pair of beautiful new rain boots and looks forward to wearing them every day when it rains, and if it really doesn't rain, he will wear them on sunny days. -- The senators couldn't wait to know the outcome of their first exercise of power.

The result was very disappointing to them: the next day, the senators who had gone to the seizure came back with bruised noses and swollen faces, and told their colleagues about their misfortune as embarrassments: they came to the logistics department, and before they could finish their sentences, a cold-looking woman looked them up and down like they did (like an advertisement for a doctor with xìng disease on the road), and then, with a pin of their chins, several guards with broad shoulders and thick waists came up and carried them by the feet - like chickens bought at the vegetable market - and took them " Please "get out" (throw it like a garbage bag, and "slam" the door shut.) ）

The Senate was boiling over with anger! There were people who dared to openly challenge the dignity and authority of the Senate! You must know that even the chief Zichuan Shenxing had to be respectful to them! This act was even more hateful than beheading 100,000 people, and even more hateful than Liufengshuang, Yang Minghua, and all the rebels in the Far East combined! After a swift investigation, it was finally confirmed that the name of this heinous female demon was Goshan, who was currently the head of the administrative department and was also in charge of the logistics department during the war.

The senators immediately began to vote, and passed a provisional resolution: remove Goshen from her post and expel her! The action was very swift, and the decision was made in less than eight hours! -- and then set up a "Committee for the Investigation of Goshen's Crimes" and "Committee for the Punishment of Goshan's Crimes" -- and ordered the president to lead Luo Minghai to immediately go to the Senate to be questioned and give an explanation: "How did you discipline your subordinates!" If the explanation was not satisfactory, they even removed Luo Minghai!

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Luo Minghai came quickly, he knew that this group of uncles could not afford to offend.

Luo Minghai sincerely agreed with the Senate to remove Goshan from her position (what does it matter, as soon as the meeting is over, he can reinstate her official) and said bitterly: He never found out that Goshan was a beautiful snake that was deeply hidden, and let her lie by his side for so many years. Fortunately, the elders and elders were like lightning, and they saw through her disguise at a glance and purified the family's civil service. On behalf of the Consulate, he thanked everyone!!

The applause was thunderous, and the elders praised each other: "This President Luo Minghai is still very knowledgeable!"

"But," Luo Minghai's tone changed: "It is true that Goshan's sins are unforgivable, but behind her there is a greater Yuan Jiān great evil! This person is ruthless, kills innocents, is ambitious, and is full of blood--these are all counted, we can ignore it! The most unbearable thing is that he often fabricates facts, maliciously slanders, slanders and slanders our most sacred patriarchs! It is tolerable, which is unbearable!-It is certain that Goshan's actions are what he instigated behind his back!!―― I, Luo Minghai, am the leader of the family's president, and when I hear this kind of crazy words, I am so angry and sad that I can't sleep at night, but because of this person's power and power, I am a weak official, and I am powerless to punish him, and I feel very guilty!"

In the hall of the Council of Patriarchs, 5,000 voices roared like thunder: "Who is he?! Tell him and break his body into thousands of pieces!!

Luo Minghai was very embarrassed: "Isn't this okay? after all, he is also my colleague, outsiders don't know the truth, and I like to talk bad about others behind my back......"

"Speak up, speak out!!Don't shield him!!"

Luo Minghai was forced to have no choice: "Since you have to do this, then I have to ......"

The maniac's name was Dillin.

The elders immediately set up 21 committees, including the "Dìdū Bloody Night Crime Investigation Committee," the "Far Eastern Massacre Investigation Committee," the "Dilin Corruption and Bribery Investigation Committee," and the "Dilin Lawless Crime Investigation Committee," and more than 400 veterans happily assumed the posts of members: "Finally, there is something to do!"

The senators sent a cross-examination, demanding that Dilin immediately come to the Senate for a hearing.

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Dilling attended the hearing on time. It is not the kind of maniac with a meaty face and vulgar as imagined, Di Lin's clothes are simple and neat, and his manners are skillful, and the elders are very impressed at first sight: "This person is beautiful, soft-spoken, soft-spoken, and easily shy, and even blushes and bows his head when he talks to people face-to-face - is such a person who is more girl than a girl really a bloody thug in Luo Minghai's mouth?"

Di Lin's words are also very believable, he said sincerely: "It's really none of my business." Come to think of it, Goshen is an official of the Command, and I am the head of the Inspectorate. And the Command Office has always been in the same boat as the Inspectorate, so how could it be that I instructed Goshan to commit such a heinous crime?"

It seems to make sense, but: "Why did you do it when the president led Luo Minghai to testify?"

Di Lin's face, which was smoother than a girl, was dyed with a touch of crimson: "This... Can you please stop asking? This matter is related to Luo Minghai and my private **!"

The curiosity of the patriarchs was stirred up: "No, no, no, you have to say!"

Di Lin hesitated, hesitated, opened his mouth a few times, and finally said: "I'm afraid... Say it, Luo Minghai will kill me. ”

The patriarchs pledged in unison: "All of us patriarchs will make decisions for you!"

After persuading for a long time, Di Lin finally reminded the patriarchs: Have you ever paid attention to Luo Minghai's eyes? Did you notice that when Luo Minghai mentioned my name, his whole expression, demeanor, and tone of voice changed?

After he said this, the elders recalled: "Yes, that Luo Minghai, who is usually very deep and calm, when he mentioned the name of Di Lin, the whole person changed, as if the bull saw a red cloth, and his eyes were about to breathe fire, could it be ......?"

Di Lin nodded solemnly: "You guessed right!

"Is that really the case?"

"That's it!!Luo Minghai is a pervert and a sadist!He is in love with Xìng!" Di Lin said resolutely:

"He has a very abnormal affection for me, and has harassed me many times! He even made all kinds of shameless demands on me, threatening me that if he didn't agree, he would retaliate against me and make me look good!"

The patriarchs opened their mouths wide: "The so-called 'shameless demand' is ......"

Di Lin mustered up the courage and blushed and said, "He wants me to ride a wooden horse with him!"

"Oh!"

"And a drop of candle!!"

"Oh, oh!!"

"They even tied him up and whipped him with a leather whip, and knelt down and begged me to say, 'Punish me, Your Highness!'

"Oh, oh, oh!!" The patriarchs listened fascinated, and one by one they showed a leisurely and envious look.

Di Lin's tone changed: "Of course! As a good man and a virtuous wife at home, of course it is impossible for me to agree to do such a shameless and obscene deed! Since then, he has held a grudge against me and is looking for opportunities to retaliate against me everywhere! He even sent his subordinate Ge Shan to insult the patriarchs, but he framed me at my instigation!"

The patriarchs suddenly realized: "Yes, Ge Shan is obviously Luo Minghai's subordinate! Why didn't we think of it just now?"

Looking at Di Lin's "delicate face" again, he is already so angry and sad that he "loses his face"......

They believed it on the spot!

Everyone scolded: "Luo Minghai, this well-dressed beast!" (The patriarch who shook hands with Luo Minghai the day before hurriedly went to find disinfectant to wash his hands, for fear that he had been infected with the incurable disease that starts with "a" and ends with "s".) Although the tone was angry, the mood was very excited: The president of the dignified family turned out to be a perverted lover!? Now that I have returned to my hometown, there is big news to tell the neighbors!!

Everyone encouraged Di Lin: "Don't be afraid, say it all! The patriarch will make the decision for you! Luo Minghai dares to touch a cold hair of yours, we will castrate him!"

With everyone's encouragement and support, Di Lin, who had often been oppressed by Luo Minghai for a long time, had the courage to sue the elders who presided over justice:

Luo Minghai was not only morally corrupt and had a corrupt private life -- he often found some underage girls to play the "emperor" game with him; at night, he also liked to put on a sailor's skirt and put on rouge lipstick, and wandered around the park asking people: "Friend, are you lonely?" -- but he was also extremely incompetent in his official duties! In the early days of the rebellion in the Far East, he rejected the reasonable measures proposed by Di Lin and deliberately sat back and watched the rebel forces grow in order to achieve his ulterior criminal goals!

"Let's think about it, what is Luo Minghai's purpose?" Di Lin said meaningfully, inspiring the elders with a threatening gaze.

"Yes, what is it?" The elders discussed a lot, and after five hours of discussion, they finally came to the conclusion: "Obviously, Luo Minghai is the remnant of the great traitor Yang Minghua! He inherited Yang Minghua's criminal ambitions, colluded with the traitors in the Far East, and took the opportunity of the rebellion to send the main army of the family to the Far East, and severely weakened the strength of the family, but when the time came, he would openly raise the flag of rebellion against the family like Lei Hong!" At the same time, he also used his position as president to enlist his henchmen and wantonly embezzle the funds of the embezzled family in order to prepare for a future rebellion! The Goshan incident is a signal!

Di Lin couldn't believe it: "I believe you who say that Luo Minghai is corrupt, takes bribes, molests girls, plays ** games, peeps in the women's locker room, or something, but says that he wants to rebel... I don't think he's that bad, is he?"

The patriarchs were very angry: "Di Lin, in the final analysis, you are too easy to trust others! There is such an ambitious wolf lurking in the Command, and you, as the head of the Supervision Department, are not aware of it! Dereliction of duty!!

In the face of the serious criticism of the patriarchs, Di Lin lowered his head in shame and said: "No way, I am too kind, and I imagine others as good as myself, so I am often deceived." The elders and elders saw the essence of Luo Minghai's great evil and exposed such an ambitious wolf. Blessing for the country!!"

The meeting lasted until the evening, and the elders quickly passed a resolution to set up the "Luo Minghai Xingsāo Harassment Investigation Committee", "Luo Minghai Rebellion and Rebellion Investigation Committee", "Luo Minghai Corruption Investigation Committee", "Luo Minghai Moral Corruption Investigation Committee"... Up to 61 committees, including the "Luo Minghai Spitting Incident Investigation Committee" and the "Luo Minghai Investigation Committee for Not Rubbing His Buttocks After Defecation," more than 1,300 veterans were happily elected as members.

The unsuccessful patriarch was a little depressed, but Speaker Xiao Ping comforted everyone: "Don't be in a hurry, take your time! there will be bread, there will be nǎi oil, and there will be a new committee!"

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By the time Di Lin walked out of the Senate Council Hall tiredly, it was already dark. Gopra, who was waiting outside the door, stepped forward to greet him, his eyes dodging and not daring to look at Di Lin.

"What kind of eyes are you doing?" Di Lin immediately noticed.

"Nothing, sir. But as you just said, Luo Minghai still wants to ride a wooden horse with you to drip candles or something...... Is that true?"

Di Lin punched him across the street, grabbed him by the collar and shouted, "Next time you dare to mention this matter again, I will kill you!!" His beautiful face was full of murderous aura.

Gopra didn't dare to gasp, nodded, and swallowed two teeth with blood.

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Seeing that the two officials at the top of the family, the president and the inspector general, were entangled in the senate and fought a lawsuit. The officials below also followed suit, and ran to the senators' meeting one after another to sue their enemies. Every day there was an endless stream of people who came to the Senate to complain, and the senators were so busy that they set up a large number of committees, and soon the number of senators was not enough, so they had to work hard for some of the senators, and each of them served as a member of several committees.

For a time, dìdū lawsuits became commonplace. Acquaintances met and greeted each other: "Did you sue today?"

Everyone is a plaintiff and everyone is a defendant. In the case of President Luo Minghai, who had to appear as a plaintiff in 71 committees, and at the same time had to be tried as a defendant in 83 committees, and every day he had to receive a thick stack of summonses with all sorts of contents -- he yelled in dissatisfaction: "Why do the 'Committee for the Protection of the Physical and Mental Health of Underage Girls' and the 'Committee for the Promotion of Female Feeding' call me as a defendant?!" -- I was tired of running between one committee after another all day long, and I had no energy left to deal with the affairs of the Command.

The only thing that could comfort him was that Di Lin was even worse than him, and there were as many as one hundred and fifty-six committees accusing him!

Under such circumstances, officials from all levels of the family are busy appearing in court, hearings, debating, and making accusations all day long, and no one can concentrate on official business anymore, and the operation of various departments is paralyzed. The only one who can barely hold on to the operation is the logistics department led by Goshen, who knows that the work of her department is related to the food and clothing of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in front of her, which is an important lifeline, and there must be no pause. Although she has been dismissed, with the support of her subordinates and Luo Minghai's blind eye, she still struggles to support the overall situation. In the end, she was discovered by the senators: "Goshan, this dead mother-in-law, is still there and refuses to leave!" As soon as the official document went down, she was thrown into the detention center of the Ministry of Governance, "See what tricks she can play!"

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Two weeks later, the lawsuit reached its peak. Even Stirling, the commander of the zhōngyāng army, who had always had a good reputation among the people, was also accused, and the plaintiff was a group of elder representatives of various races such as orcs, snakes, dwarves, and jīng spirits who had traveled thousands of miles from the Far East, and they wept and cried to the Senate and told the Senate:

"We are the most loyal subjects of the family! Although some unpleasant things have happened with the royal army of the family, it is a complete misunderstanding!--That is really an unfortunate misunderstanding!We are only aimed at the local nobles, but we love our Highness the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarch with all our hearts!--Oh, I forgot what I said just now: Our great Highness the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarch shines on the earth and warms our bodies and minds! The sun will lose its brilliance one day, but all of us of the Far East will never forget the kindness of His Royal Highness Renjun! I wish His Royal Highness the most beloved Governor eternal life!

Wait, let me read the manuscript, oh, it's like this: there was a small misunderstanding between us and the family Wang Jun, we have recognized our mistakes, repented, I don't believe it, look at our tears of repentance! We have repeatedly proposed that we should stop worrying about the little grievances of the past, and that we should be reconciled, but we have just gone astray for a while, and we are obviously repenting very sincerely--please look at my sincere tears again--however, there is a certain Sterling, who is unrelenting, chasing and fighting, following behind his ass all day long, and he is so cruel that he kills us to the point of blood, and we have obviously said, "I am not coming! I don't want to fight!" Don't get me wrong, we Far Easterners are the bravest, it's not that we're afraid of that Sterling, it's because we respect the chief and don't care about him - but for the sake of meritorious service, he still chases and fights hard!!

In short, it was that Stirling who was not good, and if he did not resist - oh no, I mean that if he did not deliberately provoke - nothing would have happened, and the world would have been peaceful in no time! We can't stand it anymore, so please let the noble senators call the shots for our honest and faithful subjects! Punish that Stirling severely, and then we will be reconciled and work together to turn the Far East into a beautiful paradise!"

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The rebels in the Far East want peace talks! The veterans, who are overwhelmed by the high military spending, are overjoyed. After a day and a night of peace talks, a temporary armistice was reached between the Senate and representatives of the rebels.

The Senate issued a military order to the Far East: All units of the family king's army in the Far East must remain on their original fronts and not move, and they must not take the initiative to attack the rebels.

At the same time, the Senate also recalled Stirling, the commander of the Zhōngyāng Army in the Far East, and asked him to return to Dìdū to be questioned: why was he so cruel to the people of the Far East, and was it because of his meritorious service, and whether he deliberately provoked a war provocation?

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