Chapter 2187 - 2172: The Debate Over Departure and Stay

Chapter 2187: Chapter 2172: The Debate Over Departure and Stay

On February 6th, Great Sun Priest Bai Xiang of the Ancestor God Temple submitted a report, stating that Ye Zhen had killed Qi Hong, a Seven Surnamed Prophet Demon Master of the Demon Clan, and would surely face retaliation from the Demon God Palace of the Demon Clan.

Firstly, as the young commander who has slain a Seven Surnamed Prophet Demon Master for the first time in a hundred thousand years, he should be given time to grow.

Secondly, Ye Zhen’s slaying of the Seven Surnamed Prophet Demon Master has greatly boosted the morale of the Great Zhou’s millions of troops on the frontline, but if Ye Zhen were to be unfortunately killed in retaliation by the Demon Clan, it would deliver a devastating blow to the troops’ morale.

If anything were to happen to Ye Zhen, it could definitely affect the overall situation of the Human Demon Battlefield.

Furthermore, the Duke is regarded as a national treasure, and with Ye Zhen being granted a dukedom, he should be summoned back to be awarded the title via state ceremony to boost military morale and stabilize the nation’s foundations.

Moreover, since Ye Zhen is part of the Ancestor God Temple, having slain a Seven Surnamed Prophet Demon Master, he must return to the Ancestor God Temple to personally offer the head of the Prophet Demon Master to the Ancestor Spirit to appease the spirits of the ancestors!

The above four points all share the same meaning and goal.

The intention is for Great Sun Priest Bai Xiang of the Ancestor God Temple to request that Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long summon Ye Zhen back from the muck of the thousand-year conflict at the Human Demon Battlefield, to avoid him being killed in a frenzy of retaliation by the Demon Clan.

Upon submission, Princess Changle, Master of the Barbarian Spirit Hall, immediately agreed, and officials from the Ancestor God Temple faction also expressed their support.

However, it faced resolute opposition from Military Department Minister Ban Di.

The reasoning was simple, the thousand-year conflict at the Human Demon Battlefield had just started, how could such a brave general like Ye Zhen be recalled?

If a brave general like Ye Zhen were recalled for protection, what would the other soldiers think?

That would truly impact military morale.

For this reason, Military Department Minister Ban Di engaged in a war of words with the Chief Sun Priest.

However, regardless of how numerous the officials of the Ancestor God Temple faction were, military affairs were the exclusive domain of Military Department Minister Ban Dang.

His word carried as much weight as a hundred non-military officials’ words.

Even though Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long was inclined to agree, he was helpless.

He could only keep the matter pending, to be discussed again at the Grand Court Conference two days later.

At the Human Demon Battlefield Commander’s Mansion, the recent news of the retreat of Seventh Crown Prince Cong Yun’s army had made Grand Governor Ji Yuan rather frustrated.

Despite their covert calculations to isolate reinforcements and have Ye Zhen killed by the enemy, the enemy had retreated first.

Although they knew that the mysterious retreat of Seventh Crown Prince Cong Yun’s army had ulterior motives, it still left them immensely frustrated.

"Grand Governor, we just received the directive, Your Majesty commands you to write an opinion on Ye Zhen’s retention or recall at the Grand Court Conference two days hence, in your capacity as the Grand Commander of the Human Demon Battlefield."

However, the eunuch delivering the directive casually mentioned something extra to the subordinate," reported Chief of Staff Gu Yue.

Grand Governor Ji Yuan lifted his brow, "What did he say?"

"The eunuch mentioned in passing that His Majesty once praised Ye Zhen, saying he could be a pillar of the nation in the future."

"A pillar of the nation, is it?"

Prince Lik Ji Yuan sneered, "It seems that this is my royal brother’s stance! He wants me to protect this pillar for him."

With a glance at Gu Yue, "Chief of Staff Gu, what do you think? Should this pillar of the nation be protected or not?"

Gu Yue, not in a hurry to answer, first half-closed his eyes, sinking into thought.

Prince Lik Ji Yuan was also in no rush, quietly waiting.

"Grand Governor, whether Ye Zhen, this pillar of the nation, stays or leaves, there are both pros and cons. Leaving will quickly minimize his impact on the Human Demon Battlefield.

Keeping him, however, makes him the best focal attractor for fire power, diverting some of the Demon Clan’s substantial military forces for us." Gu Yue stated.

"Then what does Chief of Staff Gu suggest?" queried Prince Lik Ji Yuan.

"Of course, he should stay!" Gu Yue smiled.

"Why?"

"Only one reason!" Gu Yue raised a finger, "This Ye Zhen is already at odds with the Grand Governor, would we really let him go back and grow into an opponent for the Grand Governor?

Under the rewards offered by the Demon God Palace and the Demon Emperor, it’s a prime opportunity to eliminate this man!"

"And what about my royal brother?"

"Does the Prince ever consider his feelings when acting?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Lik Ji Yuan burst into laughter, giving Gu Yue a thumbs up, "You understand me well!"

As he was laughing heartily, a Jade Scroll descended from the sky, landing in Chief of Staff Gu Yue’s hand.

After scanning the scroll with his Divine Sense, Gu Yue immediately showed a peculiar expression.

"What happened?" Prince Lik Ji Yuan asked, a bit startled.

Gu Yue didn’t answer immediately but instead congratulated Prince Lik Ji Yuan, "Congratulations, my lord, congratulations, my lord, today you’ve gained another ally!"

"What kind of ally?" Prince Lik Ji Yuan was even more perplexed.

"You’ll know once you see it, my lord!" With this, Gu Yue handed over the Jade Scroll.

With just a glance, Prince Lik Ji Yuan energetically slapped his thigh, laughing once more, "Truly a great ally, heavenly favor to me, heavenly favor indeed!"

The ostensibly simple report submitted by Great Sun Priest Bai Xiang stirred covert currents both inside and outside the Great Zhou Imperial Court.

On the day of the Grand Court Conference, Grand Governor of the Human Demon Battlefield Ji Yuan, Military Department Minister Ban Di, and several other Princes of Political Affairs and leading ministers almost completely rejected Bai Xiang’s report, leaving no room for it.

Even though Bai Xiang was the Chief Sun Priest of the Ancestor God Temple, it was of no avail.

As for the verdict, arbitrated by Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long, he emotionlessly announced the discussion results.

Duke of North Sea County Ye Zhen would continue to serve at the Human Demon Battlefield, and after the defensive period ended, the formal ducal ceremony would proceed.

This court struggle seemed like two groups of courtiers contending.

Yet, back in the Eastern Warm Pavilion of the Imperial Palace, Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long smashed a cup in frustration, alarming the eunuchs and palace maids into silence.

"Great Attendant, do you think my control over the court has weakened to this extent?"

"I clearly gave a private reminder to protect Ye Zhen, yet ultimately, Ye Zhen remains on the Human Demon Battlefield!"

Chief Eunuch Yu Chao’en, waiting in the corner, bowed his head and replied softly, "Your Majesty, perhaps the Human Demon Battlefield truly needs Ye...."

"Enough, I don’t want to hear it!"

With a reprimand from Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long, Yu Chao’en could only smile wryly.

Yu Chao’en understood Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long’s thoughts well, but he couldn’t voice those things, those words, even though he knew them.

"Go, summon Changle to the palace and ask her if she has forgotten about me, her father, since I haven’t summoned her?"

With those words from Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long, Yu Chao’en smiled gleefully, nodding repeatedly, and hurriedly ran off.

...

When Ye Zhen learned about the outcome of the court struggle through other channels, he wore a solemn expression.

Truth be told, Ye Zhen wasn’t afraid of death.

But Ye Zhen still wanted to leave the Human Demon Battlefield.

The reason being, it was too constraining here.

For Ye Zhen to truly engage in combat at the Human Demon Battlefield, it wouldn’t suffice to just oversee a sector, he would need command of a million-strong corps to fully strike his capabilities.

However, given the outcome of the court struggle, Ye Zhen had no choice but to accept it.

He could only maintain his post at Blood River Fortress, racking his brain for ways to someday bring more sons of North Sea back home.

As for searching for his long-yearned Caiyi, that would have to be postponed once again.

Yet, strangely enough, whenever Ye Zhen thought of Caiyi lately, his mind and blood would stir inexplicably, especially when practicing the Heavenly Mechanism Secret, it was even more prominent.

This puzzled Ye Zhen greatly, as he could not fathom the reason!

His emotions were even more tangled, but he could only press down on them, continuing to build his strength and bolster his military power.

Increasing military power, nothing more than military equipment, individual soldier’s strength, and total force size.

For now, these are the only three areas Ye Zhen could focus on.

Especially the total force size, it was still lacking.

If Ye Zhen had more mobile troops at his disposal, the number of Demon Clan forces eliminated this time could have been exponentially higher.

And as it stands, there is only one way to increase the total force size.

"Grand Marshal, the task you assigned to me, it’s been accomplished!" In the midst of his pondering, Niu Er, who had been sent on an errand, returned to report!