He took out the scarlet feather of some bird from his storage ring and handed it to the second prince, "this has been passed down in our family for generations and so far, it was used two times in history. When you feel like you need help, pour your ether energy into this feather. The Phoenix will hear you and come to the rescue. However, it can only be used for one more time.
Perhaps, the war could be won if I used it but deep down, I probably know that Western Yan isn't ours to begin with. It is an occupied territory. I guess I wasn't desperate enough to use this last remaining treasure of the Shang Dynasty after losing both of our divine-grade weapons.
Today, I will give you this so that it becomes your life-saving treasure."
"But, Your Majesty, shouldn't this be handed to your successor?" Shang Wen was quite surprised when he heard the history behind this feather which looked quite normal at one glance.
Could it be that his father wanted to name him as his successor or something? Such thought came to his mind and if that were the case, he would definitely talk him out of it.
Shang Wen wasn't remotely interested to rule the empire. His goal is to succeed Bai Xun as the next supreme commander. That's all…
Fortunately, even the Emperor has the same opinion of him. He forced out a smile as he replied, "To be honest, you are a perfect candidate to be my successor as you are righteous and don't have the greed for the throne.
However, I'm also afraid that if you ascend to the throne, you will either lose your character that built so far or your straightforwardness will be taken advantage of by the ministers just like how they did to me.
Hence, I want you to be the guardian of this land just like Venerable Song. It is a pity that he lost his cultivation because of my shortsightedness. But, this also taught me a good lesson. Only the demigods are powerful enough to protect this land."
Placing his hand on the young man who looked quite identical to him, Shang Fu continued, "If you confine yourself in this place, you won't be able to become the demigod. I want you to travel to the higher plane of existence and train there. With the bloodline of Phoenix, I guess you will do fine. Come back when you make a breakthrough to the demigod realm and guard this land of our ancestors. Consider this a request from your father or an order from your Emperor."
"Your Majesty…" Shang Wen doesn't know how to react for a few moments. But, after a while, he kneeled on one leg and saluted with a right fist on his chest, "Your wish is my command."
Shang Fu raised his son up and gave him a hug and then said, "There's a world teleportation located on the island far away in the west. Decades ago, Lan Gengxin and his associates came to this world through the same one. With it, you can travel to higher planes filled with denser spiritual energy. I don't know the exact location, but Lan Jingyi was aware of it."
Shang Wen nodded in understanding while feeling a little bit emotional inside. However, he didn't show it.
After a while;
The confused ministers and the officials of various departments were waiting for the Emperor's announcement, wondering what happened during the time they were away.
Taking his seat on the throne, the Emperor then addressed his officials, "What I am about to announce isn't something that was taken spontaneously. It has been on my mind for a while ago, but I postponed them due to various reasons. Because of the recent situation, I had to do this."
Several high-level officials had the same thought, "Is he going to announce his successor?"
Even the Empress and the Queen consorts had the same thought. After all, why else they would get summoned to the imperial court?
Without betraying their suspicions, the Emperor announced what they have been waiting for, but with a slight twist, "30 days from now, I'm going to formally relinquish my power as the ruler of the Phoenix Empire and name my successor.
And during these next four weeks, my heirs shall participate in the trial set by me and based on the results, I will choose one. All the imperial princes who bear the surname Shang are qualified to participate in the trial. Everyone has two days for the preparation. Supreme Commander Bai will oversee the registrations of the qualified candidates."
As the officials started murmuring among themselves while the ministers were looking at each other faces, Shang Fu continued, "Here's my second announcement. I hereby declare the end of millennium-old traditions, as the new emperor ascends to power, stripping the six major noble clans of their grasp over the ministries that have long been under their control."
"What!" The ministers stood up from their seats in shock. The Emperor is removing their positions? What kind of bullshit announcement is this? Clearly, no one is in favor of it.
Seeing the reactions of the ministers, Emperor Shang raised his hand and raised his voice, "Sit down and listen until the end."
As they reluctantly sat down, Shang Fu continued, "The Empire will no longer be divided into 7 provinces. Every province will be divided into two further except for the southern yuan province and each of the territories will be managed by one of your six major clans. As for the ministries, they will be managed by qualified scholars and will act independently just like the three departments.
And my third announcement is that the following Emperors or their relatives will no longer be above the laws.
If he is guilty, he shall be punished after a complete investigation by the law and justice ministry.
He cannot use the imperial treasury as he wishes just like I and my forefathers did. The revenue ministry must give its approval whether it is to spend money or borrow money as long as it crosses more than a million gold coins.
He cannot announce any public constructions without approval from the Public works ministry.
He cannot go to war on a whim without the approval from the War ministry.
He cannot promote or dismiss an official without the approval from Board and Rites ministry.
He cannot make decisions without the approval from the personal ministry. However, he can also reject any propositions made by the ministry. That authority remains with the Emperor.
And if he wants to override the rejection from the ministries, he should have majority support (atleast 3 out of 4) from the Supreme Commander, Grand Secretariat (Head of Central Secretariat department), Chief Minister (Head of the Department of the State affairs), and the Grand Chancellor (Head of the Chancellery).
These decrees of mine will come into action when the new Emperor succeeds me and they cannot be removed by my successors for the next three generations (100 years) unless it is a unanimous decision from the Emperor, Supreme commander, three department heads, 12 regional lords, and the six ministries.
I want these announcements to be heard all over the Empire within the next couple of days.
That is all."
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