"Ah? Teacher, you want to be a Cabinet Minister and participate in the council etings?..."
"That's right! Xiulote, with your status and position in the Alliance, you are almost the most powerful royal prince. You should join the council etings as a representative of the royal nobility, in the capacity of a Cabinet Minister deciding major affairs of the Alliance!... Hmm, Female Snake Gillim is the Chief Minister of the council etings, responsible for the internal affairs of the Alliance... then you shall serve as the Vice Minister, ranking above Giant Bear Stanley who handles military matters... As for the tasks you'll be responsible for, let think for a while... Soone! Soone! Summon my herbalist!..."
The thunderous storm in the great hall, after long brewing and abrupt outburst, finally dissipated. Teacher Avit held Xiulote's hair, showing an uncommon gentleness on his face, and his voice softened. This stark contrast was akin to the blessings of both thunderstorm and dew, all signs of the monarch's grace.
"Xiulote, you must know, I have faith in you, and I've always had high hopes for you! It's just that as the Alliance grows stronger, standing on the lofty pyramid, there are matters beyond my control, and I must consider the balance of power..."
"Ah! Yes, I understand, I understand your difficulties... Teacher, I have always trusted you!..."
"Hmm, your willingness to return to the capital city tells you are still that good child... The Cabinet Ministers have arrived, bear the pain and present yourself composedly!..."
Avit, speaking as a teacher, offered a few comforting words to his student before turning around and returning to the throne. However, when his trusted aides and the ministers entered one after another, the gentleness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by the cold majesty of the God King.
"Apply the ointnt on him! Use the best salve!..."
"Yes, Your Majesty the God King!..."
A trusted aide nodded in agreent and hurriedly departed. Soon, two royal herbal priests arrived carrying a wooden box filled with herbs. With heads lowered, they dared not look at the proceedings in the hall, simply opening the box to take out the smallest jar of ointnt for treating wounds. As the ointnt was applied onto Xiulote's back, upon those bruised and bleeding wounds, he instantly felt a cool yet fiery sensation. He sniffed and caught a peculiar scent of yucca flowers, realizing it was the yucca ointnt with added chili peppers.
"By the witness of the Chief Divine! I have already punished Xiulote with a staff before the ancestors, and he has acknowledged his mistake and is determined to reform... Hmm, starting today, Xiulote shall join the Alliance's council etings as a Cabinet Minister of the royal family!..."
God King Avit looked around the hall, observing everyone's reactions. Female Snake Gillim hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping. Shadow Dagger Qiewami also appeared surprised but imdiately lowered his head. Giant Bear Stanley nodded slightly, seemingly finding it justifiable. As for the remaining ministers, they glanced at each other and then respectfully bowed their heads. Regarding this matter pertaining to the xica Royal Family, they held no particular stance, but simply followed the God King's command.
In essence, the central Cabinet Minister etings of the Alliance are precisely the central decision-making body in the manner of a Tribal Alliance. This loose council system resembles not so much the Ming Dynasty's three departnts and six ministries as it does the Qing Dynasty's Grand Council of the Princes and Ministers.
Outside the central alliance, the various noble fiefs and states, depending on the degree of autonomy, fall sowhere between the Tang Dynasty's dependent prefectures and the Liao Dynasty's subordinate military districts. As for the direct city-states and communities established by the Alliance in the Texcoco Lake District, and the Kingdom's direct prefectures, military settlents, and civilian settlents set up in various places, they resemble the Tang and Sui Dynasties' military prefectures and the Jin Dynasty's 'ngan Mouke' system, or the Eight Banner leaders of the Qing Dynasty.
In reality, the main systems of the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing, whether the mature prefecture-county systems at the local level or the balancing civil official systems at the central level, require a large number of civil servants and a long-standing tradition of centralized power to sustain. Such a complex and delicate political system of power balance cannot be easily imitated by the xica Alliance and the Kingdom of the Lake in the current tribal-feudal era. At most, the Alliance can emulate the early tribal eras of the Mongol Yuan, Liao, Jin, and the Qing differences...
"Gillim, see if there are any other duties in the Alliance central that can be entrusted to Xiulote?"
"Your Majesty, regarding the affairs of the central Alliance... hmm, Princess Alisa once established a dical institute in the na of His Highness Xiulote, responsible for researching external injuries, diseases, potions, and treatnts..."
Glancing at Xiulote with the dicine applied, Female Snake Gillim hesitated slightly before answering with respect.
"Currently, in the dical institute, there are approximately two hundred herbal priests, doctors, and apprentices. Over three years since its establishnt, the institute has not only drawn anatomical diagrams to aid the High Priesthood's sacrifices but also concocted many novel animal and plant potions. Furthermore, the dical institute has compiled a mysterious 'Handbook of Plague Studies', explaining several paths of epidemic transmission. Under the Chief Divine's protection, the most comndable achievent of the dical institute is the promotion of a divinely inspired forceps, reducing the maternal mortality rate in the Alliance's lake district by over 80%!..."
"From this, it is evident that the dical Institute of the Alliance is crucial to the people of the Alliance, and requires long-term divine revelation and guidance! In fact, the establishnt of the Alliance's dical Institute originated from the divine revelation and advice of His Highness Xiulote. All along, His Highness has emphasized dicine, aiming to guard against the white-skinned demons from the Eastern Sea and the deadly plague from overseas foretold in prophecy... Since this is a divine revelation from the Chief Divine, there must be no slack. It should be one of the Alliance's primary tasks! …Why not let the divinely-guided His Highness Xiulote take on the role of Director of the dical Institute, overseeing the Alliance's dicine!…"
Upon hearing this foresighted and impartial suggestion, Xiulote appeared surprised, his heart stirring with emotion. He widened his eyes, carefully scrutinizing the serious-faced Female Snake Gillim but couldn't quite grasp her thoughts. However, God King Avit frowned, displeased, casting a glance at Gillim as he pondered aloud.
"To have Xiulote serve as Director of the dical Institute, managing two hundred priest-doctors and apprentices, overseeing what—to the Alliance—are dical research efforts?… Gillim, is there not any other, more important duty within the Alliance, that Xiulote could undertake?"
"Sire, I await your command!…"
Upon hearing this, Gillim remained silent but respectfully prostrated, awaiting the God King's orders. Avit cast a glance at the dutiful Xiulote and, after brief contemplation, made a decision.
"Gillim, is the Capital City's craftsman camp currently under the managent of the hereditary noble Kuode?"
"Indeed, Sire!"
"Hm, the craftsman camp in the Capital City, with its craftsn, apprentices, and civilian workers, already exceeds the numbers of an eight-thousand-strong Hikipili Army. And given the impending Southern Expedition after the harvest, the craftsman camp must prepare for the arrows, crossbows, weapons, armor, gunpowder, and cannons for six Southern Expedition armies, affairs are quite extensive!… Kuode, at his advanced age and being from a senior artisan background, although managing technical matters efficiently, cannot keep the stretched hands of the nobility at bay… So, let Xiulote assu the responsibility for supplying military resources to the craftsman camp as a Cabinet Minister!…"
"Ah? To have His Highness Xiulote oversee the supply of military resources for six Southern Expedition armies? This?… Yes! I obey the King's command!…"
Gillim hesitated briefly but quickly understood the implication. His heart tensed, and he imdiately prostrated respectfully. Avit nodded lightly, then turned his authoritative gaze toward Xiulote, carefully instructing.
"Xiulote, many of the craftsman camp's armants originate from your divine revelations. Given your status and capabilities, leaving this matter in your hands puts at ease!…"
"The forest of the Capital City is vast, with all types of birds residing. The production of military equipnt in the craftsman camp consus vast amounts of materials and manpower daily, akin to mountains and seas. The resulting military supplies also accumulate into warehouses, difficult to discern… Naturally, in this, there will inevitably be those who sneak out their tongues, greedily licking like anteaters!…"
"Especially the bronze armor, bronze axe, and crossbow of the Alliance, are renowned among all tribes under the heavens! Both within the Alliance and beyond, states and tribes across the world desperately demand the Alliance's military equipnt. Every piece that flows to foreign states fetches a hefty price, able to exchange for substantial amounts of food, cloth, gold, silver, gems, spices, cocoa from the hands of nobility among the tribes!…"
Upon reaching this point, Avit's gaze sharpened, revealing the God King's cold intent to kill. He eyed Xiulote, who managed the fiefdom, sternly issuing a royal decree, his voice perating with icy severity.
"Xiulote, you are my most trusted student, having managed the fiefdom's affairs, you are naturally well-versed in these dealings! Over three years ago, even during our campaign against the longstanding enemy, the Telascallan, we discovered bronze armor, battle axes, and crossbows smuggled from the Alliance among the Telascallan nobility!…"
"Early last year, the craftsman camp underwent a purge, executing over a hundred craftsn, dozens of officials in charge, a dozen minor nobles, three hereditary noblen, and even one royal noble!… A total of two hundred heads hung in various parts of the Capital City, which temporarily quieted those anteaters, curbing their audacity… But this kind of thing, like weeds in the field, can never be completely eradicated, needing constant attention and removal!…"
"With the Alliance's imminent Southern Expedition against the Cloud Central Tribes, absolutely no bronze armor, powerful crossbows, nor a single bronze cannon may flow into the Cloud Central Tribes! Given Kuode's background, he cannot fulfill nor achieve this requirent… So, Xiulote, now I entrust you with the full managent of the craftsman camp's military supply! In these months before the autumn harvest, you must substitute for , fervently suppressing and cleansing the weeds and anteaters within the camp carefully and thoroughly!"
"The Chief Divine bears witness! Xiulote, I confer upon you the power to judge the Alliance's nobility! You must liberate this authority to overhaul the Capital City's craftsman camp for !… As long as evidence of corruption is found among the nobles, irrespective of military rit nobility, hereditary nobility, even the highest honorable nobility… regardless of whether it's foreign great nobility or royal dignitaries… as long as the evidence is credible, they should all be apprehended, as sacrifices offered to the Divine in preparation for the post-harvest expedition!"
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