Chapter 329: The Venue Dispute (3)

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-Nine: Dissension in the Council Chambers (Part Three)

At that precise moment, Xie Bi'an, seated directly behind him, slowly opened his eyes.

"Hundred-man Commander Yelao, the formation of the 'custom' you speak of exists only because the Thousand-man Commander typically convenes the Jinyiwei Review Council on the second day of the New Dawn Festival, thereby establishing the festival as the cutoff point for settlements."

"Therefore, the crucial factor should be the actual convening time of the Review Council, not the New Dawn Festival itself. Simply put, today should be the settlement date; that is the true 'custom'!"

"You are purely splitting hairs and making trouble."

Yelao's expression was heavy with disdain. "Settling the previous year's martial merit points on the New Dawn Festival is a habit we have all formed over many years. According to your logic just now, if the Thousand-man Commander were delayed for half a year returning to the Imperial mainland to report on his duties, would we skip the review entirely? Would the various city garrisons also refrain from replacing and purchasing new equipment? Utter nonsense!"

"You are switching concepts, drawing a meaningless comparison! The Jinyiwei Review Council must be convened under the auspices of the territorial Jinyiwei commander; that is the rule set down by the Northern Pacification Department!" Xie Bi'an countered.

"The review results and allocation plans must be submitted to the Northern Pacification Department for confirmation and filing within this month; that is also an explicit requirement of the Ministry of War! Therefore, even if the Thousand-man Commander could not return to the Wa Region in time, we would still have to convene the Review Council promptly!"

Yelao sneered and asked, "Are the rules of the Northern Pacification Department greater, or are the rules of the Ministry of War greater? You couldn't possibly fail to discern such a glaringly obvious hierarchy, could you?"

He seemed not to notice that the crucial pivot of the debate had already quietly shifted.

Xie Bi'an had long anticipated that the other party would say this, and his body, which had been slouched in his chair, slowly straightened.

"Since we must speak of rules, in the third year of Jiaqi, because the Thousand-man Commander had to escort a batch of Huangliang mainframes meant for constructing the Imperial Prison back to the Wa Region, that year's review meeting was delayed for a full month. The settlement cutoff was set only after his return, and the Ministry of War raised no objections whatsoever at the time."

"How can an accident that occurs only once in so many years be used as a precedent?"

"Where there are rules, follow the rules; where there are no rules, one naturally follows custom!"

"Your example possesses absolutely no persuasive power and is entirely insufficient as proof."

"If that is how you put it, is the demand you propose not even more unreasonable?"

Seeing that the debate was about to fall into a deadlock once more, Yelao suddenly smiled. "Since neither side can produce an argument to convince the other, why don't we let the garrisons of the ten great cities vote directly to decide? Those garrisons in favor of using the New Dawn Festival as the settlement date, please raise your hands!"

The daggers were drawn; this was the trump card that King Ming and the others had agreed upon!

Every debating point and piece of evidence Xie Bi'an could think of had long been calculated by them. Even in the example just cited, they themselves had been personal participants.

Therefore, from the very beginning, the purpose of Yelao and his cohorts was to deliver the deciding power into the hands of the Hundred-man Commanders of each city.

Using a single phrase—the minority yields to the majority—to override all reason.

As Jinyiwei Hundred-man Commanders who had cultivated deep roots in the Wa Region for many years, given their networks and influence, securing more than half the votes was naturally an effortless task.

As for Li Jun, he was merely a Hundred-man Commander who had just taken office. His predecessor, Ghost King Da, had not left him much in the way of enduring goodwill, so it was unlikely that any garrison would be willing to risk offending King Ming and his faction to stand up in support of Inuyama Castle.

After all, this struggle over the settlement point would only affect the rankings of the top three.

For garrisons like theirs, which were destined to be far from the front ranks, it changed nothing.

"Osaka Castle agrees."

Surprisingly, the first Jinyiwei Hundred-man Commander to echo Yelao's proposal was Yu Canghai, who had possessed no presence from the very start.

He emerged from his state of meditation, raising his eyes to collide with the freezing gaze Li Jun directed at him.

As their eyes met, the clanging sound of clashing swords and spears seemed to echo through the empty air.

"It seems Hundred-man Commander Perfected Lord is the one who understands reason after all!"

Yu Canghai averted his gaze, turning to meet King Ming's welcoming smile.

"King Ming is too polite. Unless one is blind or mad, I suppose anyone would agree with Hundred-man Commander Yelao's proposal. In fact, I feel we do not even need to vote; we should just settle based on the New Dawn Festival."

Before Yu Canghai's voice could fade, a sharp, ringing hum suddenly echoed from the doorway of the meeting room.

Painted Skin was seen grasping the hilt of her weapon with two slightly swollen palms, slowly pulling up the massive Xiuchun blade that had been driven into the floorboards.

The length and weight of the blade's body were truly somewhat difficult for her to bear, and she dragged the great sword toward Li Jun with immense difficulty, every step arduous.

A tall, erect figure stood up, striding to the front of Painted Skin, and took the Xiuchun blade from her hands.

With a sharp clack, the long blade settled onto his shoulder.

The Flood Dragon did not sit back in his place; instead, carrying the sword, he stood behind Li Jun.

Without uttering a single word from beginning to end, he used his actions to declare his stance.

"Okayama Castle agrees with Yelao's proposal!"

The Horned Wood Dragon followed immediately after, raising his right hand while his ferocious eyes glared at the Flood Dragon.

"Edo Castle agrees."

In mere moments, the situation had turned into four votes against two.

The Hundred-man Commanders of the other great cities looked left and right, still watching the fire from across the river, showing no urgency to place their bets.

"Gentlemen, what is there to hesitate about at a time like this?"

The corner of King Ming's mouth curled into a smile, his eyes sweeping across several Hundred-man Commanders with whom he maintained close contact on ordinary days.

"Matsumoto Castle agrees."

"Shuri Castle agrees."

"Kanazawa Castle abstains."

The Taotie sighed inwardly; having gone this far, he had fulfilled his obligations of benevolence and righteousness to the utmost.

"The result is glaringly obvious; I suppose there is no need to count the votes, is there?"

Yelao looked at Li Jun, who was lowering his head and rubbing his brow, and spoke with a skin-deep, insincere smile, "Yama, you need not be discouraged. Those two great cases your Inuyama Castle handled will simply be counted toward the following year; your merits won't vanish into thin air. By the time of next year's New Dawn Festival, the probability of your Inuyama Castle squeezing into the top three is quite high!"

Everyone present could hear the mocking tone in his words.

The Jinyiwei of the Outcast District was a profession where one licked blood from the edge of a blade to begin with, and the line-of-duty death rate for the Wa Region Jinyiwei reigned supreme across all Outcast Districts of the Empire.

In such a place, who could be absolutely certain that they would live to see next year's New Dawn Festival?

In such a hand-to-mouth, precarious existence, only by obtaining a sufficient quota from the Ministry of Works to customize various specialized gear adapted to different sequences for the Jinyiwei under their command could they improve their chances of survival.

This was precisely why Li Jun absolutely had to fight for this year's review.

Various abnormal, subtle clues gave him an uneasy premonition that under the implementation of the new policies, the Wa Region was already facing an impending storm!

Therefore, this time's Ministry of Works quota was something he absolutely had to get his hands on, no matter what!

"Going around in circles, over and over, playing so many mind games, wasting so much breath, deliberately scheming just to shut Inuyama Castle out—it must have been truly exhausting for you all."

"I sat here and played along with you for so long, just waiting to see how ugly your eating manners would truly be. If they weren't too hideous, I might have given you some face, and could have even gifted the excess Ministry of Works quota to you for free. Unfortunately, it turns out I still overestimated you."

Li Jun's head lowered slightly, his right hand rubbing his aching brow, while his other hand pointed in succession at King Ming, the Horned Wood Dragon, and Yelao.

Finally, he tapped heavily upon the tabletop!

"Today, I do not care who among you agrees or who objects; I have only one sentence. If this review does not settle as of today, not a single one of you three will walk out of this meeting room."

"This is the result of the voting by the various cities. You think you can overturn it with a single sentence? Who do you think you are?" King Ming's voice was cold as frost.

"If I do not recognize it, then it is no result!"

At this moment, the fury of Li Jun being ambushed by the Desolate World Group and being deliberately obstructed by King Ming and the others finally erupted completely.

A fierce, malevolent aura surged forth from his body, sweeping out in all directions.

"The reward that my brothers risked their lives to fight for, the reward they rightfully earned—if anyone wishes to snatch it away, they had better be able to take my head and place it on this table first!"

"Yama, do not be too arrogant."

"This is no place for your insolence!" Jiaomujiao bellowed in fury.

Yu Canghai’s countenance remained serene, yet his eyes danced with suppressed amusement.

"Hahahahaha..."

Standing behind Li Jun, Qiulong threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "I’ve been sick of these faction-mongering bastards for a long time. Lord of the Underworld, you have my backing! Where are the men of Jilu Castle? Step forward, all of you!"

"Jilu Castle, First Division Banner Chief, Heavy Armor, reporting!"

"Soldier against soldier, general against general. You there, Dousha of Okayama Castle, and Rhegou of Shiga Castle—if you two have the guts, come outside and face me! I’ll take on both of you at once."

The Human-series mechanical heart, 'E-lai', throbbed frantically within Fan Wujiu’s chest.

The oppressive, buzzing hum of its vibration had clearly reached the threshold of Soldier Rank Six.

Fan Wujiu, who had nearly been reduced to a Yellow Turban Fighter under Chen Qisheng’s Daoist arts, had finally utilized this external force to thoroughly fuse with the mechanical heart of the Toyotomi Sword Ape he had previously swallowed.

"Fan Wujiu, I will fight you."

A woman of striking and martial elegance rose from behind the Wisdom King.

She was the First Division Banner Chief of Edo Castle, widely acclaimed as the formidable Peacock, the undisputed champion among the banner chiefs of the Wa District.

"Peacock, don't think I'll spare you just because you're a woman. Today, I'll show you the true mettle of a man!" Fan Wujiu roared, his voice laced with ferocity.

At this precise moment, the council chamber seemed on the verge of transforming into a bloody battlefield, as verbal barbs were about to be supplanted by fists.

"Is this little bastard Li Jun from the Martial Sequence or the Tactician Sequence? How is it that no matter how situations unfold, he always manages to drag everything down to a brawl?"

Seated at the head of the table, Qian Fengting let out a long, helpless sigh. Abandoning all hope of reasoning with Li Jun, he turned his gaze toward the Wisdom King instead.

His lips never moved; he was employing the internal, point-to-point communication transmission of the Brocade Guards.

"Wisdom King, let me offer you a word of advice: going too far is as bad as falling short. A truly wise man knows when to retreat at the height of his success. Have you still not realized why the Thousand-Commander didn't bother to attend this meeting?"

"You didn't honestly believe there was some urgent conference at the Ministry of War, did you?"