Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1081: Chapter 590, Please Call Me Your Excellency, the High Lord

Ou Juren’s face turned extremely grim.

“What nonsense are you spouting? This is no place for your words! Guards! Throw him out!”

Inside the conference hall stood loyal Secret Guards. According to the rules, they were supposed to obey the High Lords. Prime Minister Ou Juren belonged to the High Lords, and if he ordered the removal of a non-High Lord—even if that person was the Prime Minister of the Military Affairs Department—their compliance was expected.

But… there wasn’t just one High Lord present.

The guards exchanged glances, none willing to act first.

They were somewhat conflicted, their eyes drifting toward the seats of the High Lords.

This wasn’t the first time Ou Juren had tried to eject Galaraldo. Previously, Ou Juren had demanded Galaraldo leave, but wasn’t it the Prime Minister who had interjected to let him stay?

Maybe this was the Prime Minister’s position again?

As for the internal power struggles between the High Lords, we mere guards best not meddle.

Better to wait until the top-tier figures offer clear instructions, then act. As for who specifically to toss out when the time comes, that would depend on the orders then. These guards, with years of experience, deeply understood one rule: in the Empire’s highest chamber of authority, any kind of situation could change in the blink of an eye. Don’t draw conclusions prematurely.

At the very least, for guards like them, understanding the dynamics was impossible. Waiting for cues was their best course.

For now, only Ou Juren had spoken; the guards decided to hesitate for about a dozen seconds.

If no one else spoke during that time, they would assume everyone tacitly agreed with Prime Minister Ou Juren’s stance, and then they would act.

Ou Juren understood the nuances as well; he took deep, heavy breaths and waited.

Galaraldo, however, didn’t hesitate.

Ten seconds was plenty of time to say a great deal.

Calling out Ou Juren’s “violations of laws and protocols” didn’t hold much weight. The High Lords wouldn’t care about such trivialities.

Those “violations of laws and protocols” would serve as evidence for public exposure when Ou Juren steps down someday, but they wouldn’t be the actual reason for his downfall.

If one wanted to speak, they had to bring up something truly explosive—something that impacted all, or at least the majority, of High Lords’ interests; furthermore, they had to demonstrate their own value. Galaraldo needed to show the High Lords that overthrowing Ou Juren required no effort on their part—he would handle everything if they simply lent their support.

Of course, there had to be benefits involved.

Galaraldo cleared his throat and said, “My colleagues in the Military Affairs Department and I have reached an agreement and presented suggestions regarding the Western front. A Solar Fleet, and a Mars Fleet, were supposed to depart, but Prime Minister Ou Juren’s orders obstructed their deployment…”

As he spoke, Galaraldo could already hear footsteps behind him.

The guards were approaching.

At that very moment, Prime Minister Qi Bodu spoke up: “Let him finish. As High Lords, we must be able to endure all forms of scrutiny.”

The guards came to a halt.

Now, among the speaking High Lords, the count stood at a tie: one versus one. And the one advocating not to drag Galaraldo away was none other than the Prime Minister.

Under such circumstances, rash action was no longer an option.

The guards breathed a sigh of relief—it was now up to the power players to argue out a resolution.

Galaraldo, too, felt a wave of reassurance.

His seemingly straightforward words actually revealed a significant matter: the Military Affairs Department had been fully consolidated under his control. He was no longer the puppet placed there several years ago.

For this, Gu Hang’s victories deserved recognition. Without them, Galaraldo wouldn’t have been able to establish his credibility.

Conversely, Ou Juren’s face grew even darker.

At this point, he could basically confirm that Galaraldo wasn’t suddenly betraying him in this meeting to take him down, but rather that this was orchestrated with Prime Minister Qi Bodu’s involvement.

Qi Bodu wants me gone?

Why? Do we have some kind of enmity?

Or has Galaraldo made him some kind of promise, agreeing to align with the Prime Minister afterward?

The Prime Minister wants greater centralization of authority, to make the Supreme Council voice only his own? If Galaraldo aligns with him and, as Prime Minister of Military Affairs, replaces me as a High Lord, then combined with the Department of Taxation and Administration seats, along with Qi Bodu’s own—that makes four seats. The Great Mentor of the Assassin Court, Clement, came into power years ago with contributions from both my faction and the Prime Minister’s. Including him, that makes five.

Five seats out of thirteen High Lords. It undoubtedly constitutes the strongest faction.

How would the other High Lords react?

They wouldn’t agree to this, would they? Who could be persuaded?

In a fleeting moment, Ou Juren’s mind raced with countless thoughts.

He was overwhelmed with ideas and analyses, his mind slightly muddled, rendering him momentarily speechless. He knew he couldn’t speak recklessly; a single misspoken word could cost him dearly.

But Galaraldo wasn’t about to stay silent.

On the contrary, he seemed emboldened by encouragement, picking up speed as he continued:

“This is a document bearing the signatures of the Legal Department’s Deputy Prime Minister, the Second Secretary-General, the Military Affairs Department’s Deputy Prime Minister, the First Secretary-General, the Department of Taxation’s Second Secretary-General…” He rattled off multiple positions as he produced a long scroll, “…a document signed by numerous individuals, detailing the full account of this matter.”

“Fleet reorganization, operational progress, the Military Affairs Department’s coordination efforts—all undertaken to execute the Supreme Council’s decision and bolster the Western front campaign. According to our estimates, the Solar Fleet could mobilize at least three Retribution-class Battleships; Mars is prepared to deploy over ten Dragon-Snake Class Battleship Cruisers. This combined force could have coordinated with a Legal Department fleet to reinforce the Western front.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!