The accident occurred after Gu Hang finished his speech.
The Holy Terra Palace sits atop a plateau once known as the roof of the world. The road leading to the palace is a long ascent, culminating in a magnificent and imposing eastern gate with thick walls, many exceeding 100 meters in height, rising abruptly from the ground. These walls are more than just simple walls; they form a complex of towering structures bearing the name "wall." Numerous artillery emplacements and anti-aircraft platforms were incorporated into the walls, allowing for garrison positions. Behind the walls, a series of towers, bunkers, and barbicans are connected by bridges, forming a highly complex and multi-layered defensive fortification.
The walls of the Holy Terra Palace, which almost encircle the roof of the world, are, regardless of how much gold paint or relief decoration they are adorned with, essentially a thoroughly military structure. Those seemingly ornate and beautiful decorations are all armed with cannons.
But this was only the first layer of defense for the palace.
Behind the city walls lies a wide moat of energy. The water is not ordinary water, but rather a confluence of energy that shimmers with a deep blue light, resembling a flowing ribbon of stars encircling the palace.
Along the energy river, there is a bridge made of crystal at intervals, with the bridge body emitting a soft halo. However, these bridges are all closed without authorization, and the bridge body is surrounded by defensive energy shield generators. Once an enemy gets close, it will trigger a powerful energy counterattack.
Further in, you will see a massive archway made of pure gold, the vital passage to the inner palace and the eastern gate of the imperial palace—the Gate of the Dragon King.
It can be described as the pinnacle of human architectural art and military engineering!
The doors, forged from pure gold, were indestructible, adorned with carvings of the emperor's image, radiating a sacred brilliance that inspired awe. Above the archways, inscriptions commemorated the empire's glorious achievements over a millennium; the gleaming runes seemed to whisper tales of past glories and heroic deeds.
The city walls on both sides of the gate soared into the clouds, their crenellations densely packed like the fangs of a giant beast. At intervals, there was a heavy artillery emplacement, its cannon barrels gleaming coldly, as if warning any intruders.
On either side of the Dragon King's Gate stand two towering Titan mech statues, each a hundred meters tall. They grip massive energy weapons, their imposing presence conveying a sense of solemnity and power, as if poised to fight for the palace at any moment. The surfaces of the mech statues are adorned with intricate carvings, each line imbued with a mysterious power, radiating an awe-inspiring aura under the sunlight.
In the plaza before the crystal bridge over the energy moat, the triumphant army representatives stood solemnly in formation. Among those fortunate enough to be selected and allowed to enter the city walls and beyond the Dragon King's Gate were hundreds of thousands of jubilant Terran citizens.
Gu Hang stood on the city tower of the Dragon King's Gate and delivered a speech.
In front of him was a microphone. His voice, carried clearly and powerfully by the loudspeakers throughout the square, was transmitted to everyone in the square, and also to everyone who could listen to or watch the live program through the broadcast signal.
Of course, in this enormous plaza that could hold hundreds of thousands of people, Gu Hang, being of normal human size, was difficult to see clearly.
But it doesn't matter. On both sides of the Dragon King's Gate, at intervals, there are screens that stretch from the top of the wall to the ground. At a height of nearly 100 meters, a full-body image of Gu Hang is projected, so that people and broadcast signals can see this scene clearly.
To have one's own image displayed on an entire wall of the Sacred Terra Palace is certainly quite prestigious.
As for the content of the speech, there's not much to say.
This was written by the military's dedicated writers, who polished and embellished it. It praises the emperor, praises humanity, praises the empire, boasts of military achievements, reiterates the importance of war, and commemorates the sacrifices…
That's all there is to it.
Objectively speaking, the writings produced by the military affairs department are quite good. The language is solid and unpretentious, yet it is still moving.
To be frank, it's all content that's been written a million times in the Imperial Propaganda Department; people are tired of hearing it.
It's unrealistic to expect to move people by relying solely on these things.
But during Gu Hang's speech, the thunderous cheers from below never stopped.
The key, of course, lies with the person speaking.
Even a fart from Gu Hang here would cause an earthquake!
After finishing his speech, he waved to the crowd and stepped aside.
After his speech, in accordance with the ceremony's procedures, it was Prime Minister Qi Bodu's turn to step forward and deliver his address.
The Prime Minister straightened his magnificent robe, cleared his throat, and uttered a few words, but the crowd remained immersed in their fervent adoration of Gu Hang, and the cheers showed no signs of abating.
He maintained a smile, raised his hands, and made a downward pressing motion, attempting to control the situation.
The Prime Minister's authority seems to still be intact.
The crowd gradually quieted down.
But at that moment, cheers for Gu Hang suddenly rose from the crowd.
There were also some mixed in:
"We must look after Commander-in-Chief Gu!"
"Gu Hang! Gu Hang! Gu Hang!"
"Qi Bodu, go down!"
"Get your face out of my way!"
...
Similar sounds kept appearing.
Most importantly, they did indeed guide the masses.
Gu Hang's shouts rang out again, this time louder.
Prime Minister Zippo had to once again reach out and press down on the crowd, trying to stifle their cheers.
But this time, it didn't work.
The voices of the masses grew louder and louder, and even showed a tendency to become more unified.
Qi Bodu then lowered his hand.
He wore a kind smile and extended a hand in a gesture of invitation. It was as if he were magnanimously allowing the crowd to cheer freely and display their fervent adoration for a hero.
He even turned his head and gestured to Gu Hang, inviting him to come up and say a few more words.
Throughout the entire event, he maintained a kind smile, like an elder who, having arrived at such a lively celebration, knew he was not the main character and generously and nonchalantly handed the stage back to the true protagonist.
But Salihovic knew that Prime Minister Ziberdau was unhappy.
No matter how normal or magnanimous he appeared, or how kind his smile was, the intelligence Salihovic had gathered about the Prime Minister from various sources never revealed any virtues such as 'magnanimity' or 'open-mindedness' in him.
On the contrary, Salihovic believed that Prime Minister Ziberdu was very concerned about his own authority.
Would someone like that be indifferent to what just happened?
Won't he hold a grudge?
Salihovic didn't believe it.
Besides guessing, he had another direction.
It's not empirical evidence, but it's an idea.
He had seen a large number of videos of Qi Bodu's speeches, some of which were public and some obtained through private channels.
From this, he concluded that Qi Bodu was a person who was very good at hiding his emotions, and he almost never lost control of his facial expressions.
However, Salihovic still managed to catch a subtle detail.
That is, when Qi Bodu maintains a kind smile, if the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes become relaxed, it is a fake smile, an act, and may even indicate that he has at least some kind of unease, anger, or dissatisfaction in his heart.
Salihovic clearly observed this in the live broadcast footage just now.
His heart sank.
This is bad news.
He wanted to elevate Gu Hang's political status, but he never intended to do so in a way that would make Qi Bodu wary.
Wouldn't that backfire?
But things don't seem to be that simple.
Qi Bodu had clearly lowered his voice, and the crowd was indeed preparing to listen to him. But at this crucial moment, why are people in the crowd starting to jeer?
There were indeed atmosphere-building groups arranged by Salihovic in the crowd. However, the league's atmosphere-building team wouldn't randomly show up at a time like this.
"Investigate who did it and find them."
"yes!"
The foreign intelligence agents in the crowd began to move.
Salihovic had complete faith in his foreign intelligence agents, believing they would succeed in the mission. Furthermore, he could use the traces left by this newly emerged adversary to try and track down the mastermind behind it all.
However, his mood did not improve in the slightest.
The current predicament remains.
Offending the Prime Minister is not a good thing.
Salihovic knew that the governor's visit to Holy Terra this time was not like that of others, who simply came to receive honors, make an appearance in front of the people of Terra, and accumulate some political influence.
Gu Hang came with very clear political demands.
The Alliance Plan is a core concept, and Gu Hang even wants to go further.
On the surface, the biggest opponent of the Alliance Plan was Home Secretary Rofeg. But in reality, Prime Minister Zippo was the most crucial person.
Lord Sokhkem, the Sun Lord, was once the most powerful man in the Empire. Only thirty-odd years have passed since the Sun Expedition.
Qi Bodu, however, had been the Prime Minister of the Empire for sixty years.
Sixty years ago, he became prime minister with the support of the Sun Lord. He supported the Sun Expedition and could even be considered a major contributor to it. He was a good partner of Sokhkem, who was stationed in the central government of the empire to allocate resources and squeeze resources from the entire empire to supply the Sun Expedition.
However, in the later stages of the Sun Expedition, the empire's strength gradually declined, and Qi Bodu, in the center of the empire, bore the brunt of the pressure.
At that time, not only the central government of the empire, but also various local regions of the empire harbored great resentment towards the expedition.
While it's true that a vast territory was conquered, what benefit did it provide to the various imperial regions that supported the expedition?
Even within the imperial central government, there was considerable opposition. Although the imperial central government was the one exploiting others, its officials still had to work hard and do a great deal of work on this matter.
If it were merely a matter of workload, that would be one thing, but the more crucial issue is that the Sun Lord, seemingly a powerful figure weighing down the entire imperial apparatus, holds an excessively high position and enjoys immense prestige. Everyone else is like a dark star completely obscured by the sun's brilliance.
You're blocking my way.
Furthermore, his long absence from Holy Terra and his detachment from the very center of imperial power meant that his expeditions eventually became too weak, and he ultimately died on the front lines – a foreseeable outcome.
The Empire publicly stated that Sokhkheim died of illness. However, the actual cause remained shrouded in mystery. Amidst various speculations, the matter initially remained shrouded in mystery. But after thirty years, even without any classified documents being disclosed, many high-ranking officials within the Empire slowly began to realize—this might have been a collective betrayal of Sokhkheim by Holy Terra, or even the entire Empire.
From this perspective, after the news of the Sun Lord's death was brought back, shouldn't Prime Minister Qi Bodu, who had once given unlimited support to the Sun Expedition, have been in a precarious situation for a while?
No.
On the contrary, his authority was strengthened like never before.
He was still supporting the Sun Expedition on the eve of the news of Sokhkem's death!
However, he became the biggest beneficiary after Sokhkäm's death and now holds great power.
It goes without saying what role Zeberdul played in the death of the Sun Lord more than thirty years ago.
Even though he can no longer consolidate all power in his own hands like the former Sun Lord, he can still be considered the highest-ranking person in the entire empire.
The political demands that Gu Hang and the alliance want to achieve must be supported by him, or at least prevent him from fully opposing them, in order for them to pass.
Even if we find the mastermind and chop him to pieces, it won't help. As long as Qi Bodu harbors resentment, things will be ruined, and we don't know how much we'll have to pay to salvage the situation.
Salihovic's forehead was covered in cold sweat.
The live stream is still going on.
When the Prime Minister extended an invitation to Gu Hang, Salihovic initially hesitated slightly, but could not refuse. The cheers from below grew even louder, so Gu Hang had no choice but to step forward.
Qi Bodu was about to give up his seat, but Gu Hang reached out and blocked his way from his lower back.
Then, he leaned closer and spoke into the microphone from the side, saying, "Please everyone quiet down, quiet down."
Gu Hang spoke up, and the crowd gradually quieted down, much to the relief of the crowd.
"The enthusiasm of the people of Holy Terra has caught us completely off guard. However, the victory in this war belongs not only to me, not only to the many armies fighting on the front lines, but also to the people of Holy Terra, that is, to you, for your help. And the supreme leader who leads you, who leads the entire Empire, to eliminate all traitors and all enemies of humanity, is our great Prime Minister."
After speaking to the people, Gu Hang turned his head and looked sincerely at Qi Bodu, saying, "I have said everything I wanted to say to the people. Now, I am eager to hear your vision for the future of the empire. Your words are the golden words that will guide the empire and humanity toward a bright future."
"Long live the Prime Minister!"
In the final moments, Gu Hang raised his arms and shouted, "Long live the Prime Minister!"
He then released the microphone and Qi Bodu's hand, bowed respectfully, and stepped back two steps behind Qi Bodu, hiding himself behind the Prime Minister.
Seeing this from a distance, Salihovic, who was watching the live broadcast, quickly grabbed a microphone and connected it to the communication headsets of all the foreign intelligence agents on site: "Cheer for the Prime Minister! Quickly!"
He reacted extremely quickly, and the foreign intelligence agents reacted extremely quickly as well.
"Long live the Prime Minister!"
"Long live the Prime Minister!"
The sounds rose and fell in waves.
With Gu Hang leading the way, and others in the crowd egging them on, and given that it was Prime Minister Qi Bodu, who held a high position of power, the people joined in the chanting.
The atmosphere wasn't as intense as it had been with Gu Hang before, but at least the awkwardness had eased.
Seeing that Gu Hang had completely handed over the stage to him and was standing behind him, strongly supporting him, Qi Bodu's brows relaxed slightly.
Hearing countless people below chanting his name made him feel even more relieved.
In the past, he rarely had such an opportunity to face such a large crowd, and the experience was quite novel.