Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 736

Chapter 733, Prime Minister Qi Bodu

accident occurred after Gu Hang’s speech.

The Holy Terra Palace is situated on a plateau once known as the Roof of the World. The approach to the palace is a long climb, and the eastern gate is majestic and imposing. Thick walls, often over a hundred meters high, rise from the ground. It’s more than just a wall, but rather a vast complex of buildings, often named after it. Numerous artillery holes and anti-aircraft platforms are carved into it, allowing for garrisoning. Behind the walls, towers, bunkers, and barbicans, connected by bridges, form a complex, three-dimensional fortification.

The walls of the Holy Terra Palace, which practically encircle the Roof of the World plateau, are, despite their golden embellishments and relief carvings, a thoroughly military structure. Those seemingly ornate ornaments, like carved balustrades and jade railings, are all weapons with extendable cannon barrels.

But this is merely the palace’s first layer of defense.

Beyond the walls lies a vast moat of energy. The river was no ordinary stream, but rather a convergence of shimmering, blue-hued energy, circling the Imperial Palace like a flowing star belt.

Crystal bridges intersected the energy river at regular intervals, radiating a soft glow. These bridges remained closed without authorization, and were surrounded by defensive energy shield generators, triggering a powerful energy counterattack should an enemy approach.

Continuing deeper, one could see a massive archway crafted from pure adamantine. This was the vital gateway to the Imperial Palace’s inner chambers and the eastern gate to the Imperial Palace—the Dragon King’s Gate.

It was a pinnacle of human architectural artistry and military engineering!

The gate, forged of impenetrable adamantine, was engraved with the Emperor’s sacred image, radiating a divine aura that evoked awe. Inscribed upon the archway were the glorious battles of the Imperium over the past millennia. Glittering runes spoke of the glory and passion of the past.

Towering walls flank the gate, their battlements densely packed like the fangs of a giant beast. At regular intervals, heavy artillery batteries stand, their barrels flashing with a cold light, as if warning any invaders.

On either side of the Dragon King’s Gate stand two hundred-meter-tall Titan mecha statues, clutching massive energy weapons with a majestic and solemn presence, as if ready to fight in defense of the palace. The mecha statues are intricately carved with patterns, each imbued with mysterious power. In the sunlight, they exude an awe-inspiring aura.

In the square before the crystal bridge over the energy moat, representatives of the triumphal army march in solemn formation. Hundreds of thousands of Terran citizens, fortunate enough to be chosen to enter the city walls and beyond the Dragon King’s Gate, cheer on the crowds.

Gu Hang, standing atop the Dragon King’s Gate’s tower, delivers his speech.

Before him is a microphone. His voice, carried clearly and powerfully by loudspeakers scattered throughout the square, reached everyone in the square. It was also transmitted via the broadcast signal to anyone who could listen or watch the live broadcast.

Of course, in this enormous square, capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of people, Gu Hang, with his normal human frame, was difficult to see clearly.

But that didn’t matter. On either side of the Dragon King’s Gate, at intervals, a screen stretched from the top of the wall to the ground. From a height of nearly a hundred meters, Gu Hang’s full-length image was projected, allowing everyone and the broadcast signal to clearly see the scene.

Having his portrait spread across the entire wall of the Holy Terra Palace was truly impressive.

As for the content of the speech, there wasn’t much to say.

It was polished by the dedicated pens of the Military Affairs Department. It praised the Emperor, praised humanity, praised the Empire, boasted about military achievements, reiterated the importance of war, and commemorated the sacrifices…

it was nothing more than that.

Objectively speaking, the work of the Military Affairs Department’s pens was quite good. The words are solid, not exaggerated, but can move people’s hearts.

But to put it bluntly, these are all things that have been written thousands of times in the imperial propaganda department, and your ears are about to get calluses from hearing them.

It is not realistic to rely solely on these to impress people.

But when Gu Hang was speaking, the thunderous applause from the audience never stopped for a moment.

The key, of course, lies in the person who is speaking. Even

a fart by Gu Hang here can shake the earth!

After finishing his speech, he waved to the crowd and stepped aside.

After he finished his speech, according to the ceremonial process, it was the turn of Prime Minister Qi Bodu to step forward and prepare to deliver his speech.

The Prime Minister adjusted his gorgeous robes, cleared his throat, and just said a few words, but the people were still immersed in the fanatical worship of Gu Hang, and the cheers showed no signs of abating.

He kept a smile on his face, raised his hands, and made a downward gesture, trying to control the situation.

The Prime Minister’s majesty seemed to be okay.

The crowd gradually tended to quiet down.

But at that moment, the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers for Gu Hang.

Mixed in were voices like,

“We want to see Commander-in-Chief Gu!”

“Gu Hang! Gu Hang! Gu Hang!”

“Qi Bo Du, get out of here!”

“Get out of here!”

…

Similar voices echoed repeatedly.

Crucially, they had truly guided the crowd.

The shouts for Gu Hang rose again, intensifying.

Prime Minister Qi Bo Du was forced to extend his hands downward once again, trying to suppress the cheers.

But this time, he failed.

The crowd’s voices intensified, even threatening to become unified.

Qi Bo Du lowered his hands.

With a gracious smile, he extended a hand in a gesture of invitation. He seemed to be magnanimously allowing the crowd to cheer to their heart’s content, displaying their passion for hero worship.

He even turned and gestured to Gu Hang, asking him to come up and speak a few more words.

Throughout, he maintained a genial smile, like an elder present at such a vibrant celebration, aware that he wasn’t the star of the show, and magnanimously and nonchalantly allowed the stage to return to the true protagonist.

But Salihovich knew that Prime Minister Zibodu was displeased.

No matter how normal he acted, how generous he was, or how gracious his smile, the intelligence Salihovich had gathered on the Prime Minister revealed no such qualities as magnanimity or open-mindedness. On the

contrary, Salihovich believed that Prime Minister Zibodu was deeply concerned about his own authority.

How could such a person be so indifferent to what had just happened?

Wouldn’t he feel resentful?

Salihovic didn’t believe it.

In addition to speculation, he had another idea.

It wasn’t empirical evidence, but it was an idea.

He had seen a lot of videos of Qi Bodu speaking, some public and some obtained through private channels.

From them, he summed up a characteristic: Qi Bodu was a person who was very good at concealing his emotions, and he almost never lost control of his facial expressions.

However, there was a subtle point that Salihovic still caught.

That is, when Qi Bodu maintained a kind smile, if the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes spread out, it was a fake smile, a pretense, and it could even mean that he had at least some emotions such as uneasiness, anger, and dissatisfaction in his heart.

And this point was clearly observed by Salihovic in the live broadcast just now.

His heart sank.

Something bad had happened.

He had intended to elevate Gu Hang’s political standing, but he had never intended to raise it to the point where Qi Bodu would be intimidated.

Wouldn’t that be self-defeating?

But it seemed the situation wasn’t quite that simple.

Qi Bodu had clearly subdued his voice just now, and the people were indeed ready to listen to him. But at the crucial moment, someone in the crowd

was stirring up trouble. What was going on? There was indeed a group of people, arranged by Salihovic, stirring up trouble. However, the Alliance’s group wouldn’t show up at a time like this.

“Go find out who did this and find them.”

“Yes!”

The CIA agents in the crowd sprang into action.

Salihovic had full confidence that their CIA agents could accomplish their mission. Moreover, they could use the traces left by this newly emerged hostile element to try to track down the hidden mastermind.

However, his mood didn’t improve in the slightest.

The current predicament remained.

Offending the Prime Minister was not a good idea.

Salihovich knew that the Governor-General’s visit to Holy Terra wasn’t simply to receive honors, show himself before the Terran people, and accrue political influence, unlike others who simply came to receive honors.

Gu Hang had come with a clear political agenda.

The Alliance Plan was a core issue, and Gu Hang even wanted to go further.

On the surface, the biggest opponent of the Alliance Plan was Interior Minister Luo Fei. But in reality, Prime Minister Zibodu was the most crucial figure.

Sun Lord Sohkam was once the most powerful figure in the Empire. The era of the Solar Crusade had only been over thirty years,

but Zibodu had been Prime Minister for sixty years.

Sixty years earlier, he had ascended to the position of Prime Minister with the support of the Sun Lord. He had supported the Solar Crusade and could even be considered a major contributor to it. He was Sohkam’s close ally, coordinating resources for the expedition from across the Empire, and struggling to supply them.

However, in the later stages of the Solar Crusade, the Empire’s strength was increasingly weakened, and Zibodu, at the center of the Empire, bore the brunt of the pressure.

At that time, not only the central Empire, but also the various regions of the Empire, harbored deep resentment towards the Crusade.

While the conquest of vast territories was certainly beneficial, what good did it do to the various regions that supported the Crusade?

Even within the central Empire, opposition was fierce. While the central Empire was exploiting others, central officials also had to toil and do a tremendous amount of work.

If it were simply the workload, it would be fine, but the more crucial factor was the Sun Lord, the seemingly overlord who held sway over the entire Imperial system, possessing an exorbitant position and prestige. Everyone else was a shadowy figure, completely obscured by the sun’s radiance.

You’re in the way.

Furthermore, his long absence from Holy Terra, detached from the very center of Imperial power, ultimately led to his crusade’s demise, and his eventual death there, a foreseeable outcome.

The Empire declared Sohkam’s death to be due to illness, but the actual cause remained shrouded in mystery. With numerous theories circulating, the matter initially remained shrouded in mystery. But thirty years later, even without the release of any confidential documents, many high-ranking officials within the Empire gradually came to realize that this might be a collective betrayal of Sohkam by Holy Terra, and indeed by the entire Empire.   From

this perspective, the news of the Sun Lord’s death should have shaken the Prime Minister, Zibodu, who had once been unwaveringly supportive of the Solar Crusade   . Instead, his authority was strengthened.   He had supported the Solar Crusade even before the news of Sohkam’s death!   Yet, he became the greatest beneficiary of Sohkam’s death, now wielding immense power.   Zibodu’s role in the Sun Lord’s death over thirty years ago is self-evident.   Even though he couldn’t consolidate all power into his own like the former Sun Lord, he could still be considered the most powerful person in the entire empire.   All the political demands that Gu Hang and the Alliance wanted to achieve had to be supported by him, or at least prevent him from opposing them with all his might.   Even if the mastermind behind the scenes was found and chopped to pieces, it would be of no avail. As long as Qi Bodu harbored a grudge, things would be ruined, and it was unknown what price would be paid to reverse the situation.   Cold sweat broke out on Salihovic’s forehead.   The live broadcast continued.   When the Prime Minister extended an invitation to Gu Hang, Salihovic saw that Gu Hang had initially declined slightly, but he couldn’t refuse. The roaring cheers from the crowd below were getting louder, so Gu Hang had no choice but to step forward.   Qi Bodu wanted to give up his position, but Gu Hang put his hand on his lower back, preventing him from leaving.   Then, he leaned forward intimately and spoke into the microphone from the side, “Please, everyone, be quiet. Silence!”   Gu Hang spoke, and the crowd   , respectfully, gradually quieted down. “The enthusiasm of the people of Holy Terra is truly unexpected. However, victory in this war belongs not only to me, not only to the armies fighting on the front lines, but also to the people of Holy Terra—you, for your assistance. And the supreme leader who will lead you, the entire Empire, to annihilate all traitors and all enemies of humanity, is our great Prime Minister.”   After addressing the crowd, Gu Hang tilted his head, looked at Qi Bodu sincerely, and said, “I have said all I had to say to the people. Now, I eagerly await your vision for the future of the Empire. Your words are the golden counsel that will guide the Empire and humanity towards a brighter future.”   ”Long live the Prime Minister!”   Gu Hang raised his arms and shouted loudly at the end,   then let go of the microphone and Qi Bodu’s hand. He bowed his head respectfully and retreated two steps behind Qi Bodu, hiding himself behind the Prime Minister.   Far away, Salihovic, watching the live broadcast, saw this scene and quickly grabbed the microphone, connecting the communication headsets of all the Foreign Intelligence Agency agents on the scene: “Cheers for the Prime Minister! Quick!”   His reaction was extremely fast, and so were the Foreign Intelligence Agency agents.   ”Long live the Prime Minister!”   ”Long live the Prime Minister!”   The voices echoed one after another.   With Gu Hang leading the way, and the supporters in the crowd cheering, and considering the high-ranking Prime Minister Qi Bodu, the people followed suit.   The atmosphere was not as intense as before towards Gu Hang, but at least the awkwardness was relieved.

Seeing Gu Hang completely handing the stage over to him, and even standing behind him, offering strong support, Qi Bodu’s frown relaxed slightly.

Hearing the countless people below chanting his name made him feel even more at ease.

In the past, he had rarely had such an opportunity to face such a large crowd, and the experience was quite novel.

(End of this chapter)