At noon the day after the Council of Elders forced the palace, public opinion throughout the empire was still boiling.
Yang Ming, who sneaked away to rest under the pretext of recovering from his injuries, had just slept for less than eight hours when Catherine pulled him out of bed.
Several maids sent by the emperor have been waiting outside the door for a long time.
"yawn……"
Yang Ming's eyes were filled with tears, just because he loved Emperor Xing deeply.
Yang Ming asked: "How's it going?"
"The House of Elders has been temporarily controlled by the defense forces, and the elders are preparing to enter the palace one by one to accept the emperor's questioning and bribery."
Catherine sat on the edge of the bed and sighed softly:
"With your help, His Majesty the Emperor not only won the Council of Elders, but also won the hearts and minds of the people. According to the survey just conducted, the people's respect for the Emperor has been substantially improved."
Yang Ming raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Public opinion is a double-edged sword. The reason why the emperor can attract the attention of the whole people is because he rarely appears in front of the people. If he shows up a few times, the mystery and distance disappear.
That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
"But your situation may be more dangerous now."
Catherine looked at Yang Ming worriedly, took the initiative to hold the back of Yang Ming's hand, and whispered:
"Protect yourself, do not disobey His Majesty the Emperor's will, and do not think about what you can get.
"You have shown too much limelight in front of the emperor. Hanton, your appeal and influence on the people have exceeded the limit that an autocratic emperor can tolerate."
Yang Ming frowned and looked at Catherine.
He suddenly felt that the girlfriend in front of him seemed a little different from usual.
"Catherine, did you think of this yourself, or did someone tell you?"
Catherine smiled and said: "The super reformers are all under house arrest. Except for me, our communicators have been confiscated. Who can tell me this? I am worried about you, Hanton, even if you are a knife in His Majesty's hand.
, this knife looks too dazzling."
"Well, I know this," Yang Ming smiled, "Isn't this because a bomb blew up and made me angry? It's okay. At worst, we can leave the Emperor Star together."
Catherine looked at Yang Ming and bit her mouth lightly.
"What's wrong?"
Yang Ming raised his hand to stroke Catherine's cheek and whispered:
"Don't think too much, the emperor can't attack me directly. He will give me a title, give me a reward, give me some honors, and he may deliberately not give me what I want most. But at this stage, the emperor
I will only continue to use my influence among the people.
"Catherine, have you ever thought about what the emperor is pursuing?"
"What?"
"History," Yang Ming said, "every emperor's desires are almost always related to his own historical position."
Catherine was thoughtful.
"Okay, let's rest first. I won't kiss you until I've brushed my teeth." Yang Ming pinched her cheek, "Don't worry about the super-changers. The emperor will probably arrange for you to undergo a second thought imprinting."
Catherine whispered: "You can fight against ideological imprinting, right?"
"Huh?" Yang Ming looked into Catherine's eyes, "What do you mean?"
"Bly once told me that he can plant a spiritual imprint on other super-modifiers. If this spiritual imprint is strong enough, it can resist the ideological imprint planted by the machine."
Catherine glanced outside the door subconsciously, leaned close to Yang Ming's ear, and whispered:
"I don't want to be bound again and plant a spiritual imprint on me. Hanton, let me love you, love you crazily for you, or let me become obsessed and obsessed with some small things. Don't let me become a slave of the empire again.
"I've had enough of this empire.
"Help me, Hanton."
At this moment, Yang Ming was as surprised as when he saw Kilgrove for the first time.
Catherine is not affected by ideological imprint now?
He suddenly raised his hand and hugged Catherine forcefully, holding her arms tightly. Catherine's breathing was trembling slightly, and her tense body gradually relaxed in Yang Ming's embrace.
"I will help you," Yang Ming said warmly, "Don't think too much, don't worry, I can help you with anything."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with me," Catherine responded gently.
Yang Ming kissed her gently on the forehead, but some bad thoughts emerged in his heart.
She is free now.
Free super modder.
But Catherine's initial 'positioning' was to be used as a humanoid weapon to monitor and control Bly. Her golden mask could withstand mental shock, and her brain was implanted with a chip that would detonate itself if a mental imprint was detected.
She wanted to take the risk and give it a try.
Yang Ming did not dare to let her take risks easily.
…
Yang Ming really didn't expect that he would usually trick others, but this time he would be tricked by the old emperor!
When he arrived at the palace, the old emperor was holding a family banquet. Hundreds of direct and collateral members of the Sherman family present were conducting normal aristocratic social interactions in a well-behaved manner.
When Yang Ming was brought in from the side door by the maid, his eyes immediately fell on Yang Ming.
Yang Ming's eyes passed by. The elegant prince nodded to Yang Ming. The beautiful princess cast an appreciative look at Yang Ming. The young and handsome princes looked at Yang Ming with eager eyes, as if they wanted to communicate with Yang Ming through it.
Ming established friendship to win the old emperor's attention.
Yang Ming stepped forward and gave a military salute to His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty the Emperor suddenly raised his hand and made a gesture, and there were dense footsteps on both sides of the hall.
Is there an ambush?
Yang Ming had already begun rehearsing in his mind how he would violently attack the emperor, hold the old man in his palms, and then find a way to escape from the emperor's star.
But fortunately, Yang Ming's psychological quality is strong enough, and he neither showed a ferocious look nor showed any aggressive tendencies.
Then, two rows of honor guards in colorful uniforms ran to both sides of Yang Ming, pulled out the metal swords from their waists, and formed a crossed sword gate above Yang Ming's head.
The old emperor stood up, clapped his hands, and the music immediately stopped. The fixed-point loudspeaker equipment allowed the old emperor's voice to be heard throughout the banquet.
"Look, this is the hero of our Sherman Empire! The true guardian of the glory of the Emperor Star! Hanton!"
Applause suddenly broke out from everywhere.
The old emperor waved to Yang Ming affectionately, and Yang Ming greeted him with a smile and stood in front of the old emperor.
The old emperor took the long sword from the maid and pressed the sword tip on Yang Ming's left and right shoulders. He lightly swept the sword towards the outside and threw the long sword to the maid. He looked at Yang Ming with a smile.
A ceremonial officer on the side reminded: "Viscount Hanton, according to the imperial etiquette, when accepting the canonization of His Majesty, you should kneel down half-kneeling."
Yang Ming nodded with a smile, moved his right leg back, bowed his head and knelt down on one knee.
Mudd!
This old emperor will definitely take the opportunity to pose for photos!
Sure enough, the old emperor stepped forward, leaned over to hold Yang Ming's arm, and the photo ball flying from the side took a series of photos.
Yang Ming was helped up.
The old emperor smiled and said: "My knight, the empire is proud of you."
"Your Majesty, what is going on?"
"Of course it's your reward," the emperor smiled with squinting eyes, took the box from the etiquette officer, and handed it to Yang Ming, "open it and take a look."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yang Ming opened the box and saw a golden tulip badge, and underneath was a small scroll.
The Royal Medal of Valor is one of the top three individual medals of honor in the Sherman Empire. With this medal, you can enjoy the same treatment as a member of the royal family in any region of the empire. - It is just the same in form.
That scroll was amazing. Yang Ming opened it and took a look, and found that the material of the paper was very special, and the content on it also made his eyes light up.
The imperial honorary earl conferred by the emperor himself can arbitrarily designate a small administrative star as a private territory for a period of one hundred years.
Private property!
A livable planet!
Although it is only for a hundred years and is not a private domain that can be passed down to the family, it is still a real reward!
Not only does he own 8% to 50% of the tax revenue of this small administrative star, he also has the power to establish a private fleet and can use this small administrative star as the home port of his fleet!
Thank you, great elder.
Yang Ming expressed his gratitude to the great elder from the bottom of his heart.
If the Great Elder had not given him this opportunity, how could he have completed the promotion of the title in such a short period of time, and even obtained a small administrative star in the Sherman Empire as a century-old territory!
Then, Yang Ming winked at the emperor and whispered: "Your Majesty, cells."
"What?"
The old emperor looked at Yang Ming with his old eyes full of innocence and kindness.
Yang Ming coughed and whispered: "Your Majesty, you promised me the cells of the ancient god's life form."
"When will you be promoted to Duke," the old emperor gently patted Yang Ming's arm, "Don't worry, kid, I believe you can do it... I asked you to torment the Presbytery, but I didn't expect that you almost destroyed the Presbytery.
It’s been so hard that it’s falling apart, and now there’s a lot of mess waiting for me to clean up, how dare you ask for the ancient god cells?”
Yang Ming:……
Isn't this being cheated?
The old emperor turned his head and said loudly: "The banquet will continue. Move a table and chairs here. I want to have a good chat with the honorary Earl of Hanton."
The music played again.
Yang Ming felt a little depressed and sat down on the right side of the emperor. In front of the royal family members, he began to mutter something to the old emperor.
"Hanton, there are a few questions that I can't think clearly."
The old emperor wondered:
"The core area of the shaped bomb can instantly release energy comparable to that of a main battleship's naval gun. Considering that the Valkyrie's body strength cannot withstand a two-hundred-meter-class gunship, even if your body is stronger than the Valkyrie, you should not be able to survive.
Just come down.
"how did you do that?"
"Your Majesty, this is also my question."
Thoughts flashed through Yang Ming's mind quickly, but on the surface he remained calm and said in a low voice:
"Your Majesty, this is also my question. I received an anonymous message that reminded me ten seconds before the explosion.
“I kicked the car out of the suspended lane and barely escaped serious injury by relying on the super-strong material structure area of the suspended lane.
"It's just a pity for those innocent people."
"That's not important," the old emperor said casually, and then wondered, "I sent people to carefully investigate the regional communications at that time, but no relevant information was captured."
Yang Ming couldn't laugh or cry: "Does Your Majesty suspect that I set the bomb myself?"
"I had this suspicion, but I quickly dispelled it. You didn't have the channel to get the bomb," the old emperor sighed, "I found the murderer who planted the bomb, but you must already know the relevant information.
."
Yang Ming nodded and admitted, but did not deny the information.
The old emperor asked: "What did you do to Elder Pison?"
"I used some tricks."
"There was a large area of confusion in his brain's memory, but I had his brain dissected out and compiled into data. There are a lot of criminal records about the Great Elder's interest groups."
The old emperor clicked his tongue:
"And what is certain is that this guy named Pison has not undergone any form of memory modification surgery, and there is no information in his memory about giving instructions to the murderer.
"The bomb was not set by the Presbytery."
"Military department?" Yang Ming asked with a frown, "Or a divine religion?"
The old emperor glanced at Yang Ming and said with a smile, "Why don't you suspect it's me?"
"Because Your Majesty has no need to do such a thing," Yang Ming said. "The military power is in Your Majesty's hands. You have a hundred ways to clean up the Elder's House. The only difference is the intensity and the beauty of the means."
"Uh-huh," the old emperor shrugged slightly, "you underestimated the Council of Elders. Facing them to force the palace, I could only make compromises. But you, with your tricks, caught them off guard. Public opinion is like a knife, hurt.
It is the ancestral motto of our Sherman family to hurt others, and I actually made an exception this time."
Yang Ming nodded slowly.
The old emperor smiled and said: "The feeling of being admired by all the people is quite good."
Yang Ming felt a little wary for no reason.
This old emperor seems to have a very clear mind and is not easy to fool.
"Hanton, don't worry about who planted the bomb for now. There are only a few possibilities that can do this on the Emperor Star. These possibilities have been eliminated one by one. I think I already know the answer."
The old emperor clicked his tongue and continued:
"We still have to consider the subsequent impact of the incident.
"You have been too popular this time. I am afraid that the aristocracy will be deeply dissatisfied with you. A quarter of the seats in the Legislative Chamber of the Elders are vacant. I need time to arrange for people who are absolutely loyal to me to enter.
"What do you think you can do next?"
Yang Ming: "Cultivation, vacation, and a rare vacation."
The old emperor turned his head and glared at him.
Yang Ming:……
"Of course it is your Majesty who has the final say."
"Now that public opinion is boiling, I want to launch aristocratic rectification activities throughout the territory," the emperor said with a smile. "Next, you will serve as my special envoy, patrolling the empire, aristocratic courts and local defense forces, as well as a main fleet.
I will obey your orders."
Yang Ming smiled and said: "Your Majesty, what did you want me to check?"
"Go purge the nobles of the Great Elder's lineage," the emperor said calmly. "The war has put a strain on the treasury's turnover, and the empire needs to squeeze out its water reservoirs."
"I understand. Your Majesty, do you have anything else to tell me?"
The emperor smiled and said: "You need to be well-reasoned and convincing to the people. If during the investigation, you find that someone is flirting with foreign forces such as the New Federation, you can deal with it more severely, attract the people's attention to you, and shift the class.
contradiction."
Yang Ming nodded slowly.
Then, he looked up at the emperor, thought for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a personal request."
"Just tell me."
"The group of super reformers, is Your Majesty going to promote the second ideological imprinting?"
The emperor cleared his throat and whispered:
"If you look to the left, in the far corner, there is a somewhat slovenly old man with gray hair, the one wearing glasses. That is my brother-in-law, my grandfather's youngest child. He is now the head of the Empire's Dimensional Ascension Laboratory.
"He doesn't look down on this kind of banquet. He usually asks me for money or talents, but this time, he's here.
"Do you know why?
"Hahaha, because he heard that the super-changer organization was causing trouble, and more than a hundred super-changers were found to be ideologically branded to be loyal to the Elders Council."
The emperor's eyes flashed a bit sinisterly:
"The dimension-ascending experiment requires materials. The super-changers were born for this experiment. These more than a hundred people have been sent to the dimension-ascending laboratory. They will be brainwashed and ideologically imprinted immediately later. Perhaps through their dedication, they can
, allowing the empire to obtain some key data of the four-dimensional universe."
Yang Ming whispered: "Your Majesty, I want to talk about my girlfriend."
"Captain Catherine? She is good," the emperor said. "She also brought a group of super-modifiers to resist the orders of the Council of Elders and try to prevent the situation from escalating."
"She has a chip in her brain and cannot accept secondary thought imprints." Yang Ming deliberately confused ideological imprints and spiritual imprints. "Can you verify this through the super-changer organization? What I want to ask is, can you let me
She takes it with her."
The emperor groaned a few times and leaned on his seat to think.
"Hanton, I will let the super-modifier organization review and discuss this matter. The super-modifiers on the Emperor Star will also return to the training base on the Emperor Star Circle.
"But my personal suggestion is that you try to keep some distance between you and the super-modifiers."
The emperor said warmly:
"I don't want to see a group of warriors with super strength forming a group. Don't worry, I will let them take care of Catherine and won't let her suffer any injustice.
"But she must return to the super-modifier base to see if there is a way to remove the chip in her brain.
"Transformers must be loyal to the Empire."
Yang Ming wanted to say something else, but the emperor sighed:
"You know, Hanton, what would happen if a super-modifier harbors hatred for the empire, but in a one-in-a-billion chance, survives the dimension-enhancement experiment and becomes a high-dimensional life?
"
The emperor's eyes were a little distant, staring ahead:
"The Emperor Star will be destroyed in an instant.
“Ants in the high-dimensional world may have a dimensionality reduction impact on us.
"That's the crux of the matter."
"Okay," Yang Ming spread his hands, "Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor."
"As long as you work for the empire with peace of mind, Catherine will never have any problems. I promise you, in the name of the emperor," the old emperor patted Yang Ming on the shoulder and winked again, "Besides, I also
You have prepared a gift, and it would be inconvenient for Catherine to follow you."