Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1407 - 1407 0798 Founding the Empire

Chapter 1407: Chapter 0798: Founding the Empire Chapter 1407: Chapter 0798: Founding the Empire Chapter 0798: Establishing the Emperor

After Zhang Dengkui received the list, Qi Tian immediately sent people to investigate each person on the list. He sent the Ghost Faces, who were mostly at the Nascent Soul Stage, to handle this matter, which was indeed like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—a clear case of overkill. However, this was why the investigation was highly efficient; it took less than a day to thoroughly vet every individual on the list. Most were found to be acceptable, with only two identified as having problems, primarily involving corruption, and it was not just ordinary corruption.

Qi Tian pointed out these two individuals’ names to Zhang Dengkui and instructed him to gather personnel to delve deeper into these two’s issues. As for the others, Qi Tian approved them all.

Zhang Dengkui initially did not take Qi Tian’s request seriously. He knew everyone on the list like the back of his hand. Qi Tian had singled out two who were widely recognized as great sages, living in apparent poverty; how could they be corrupt? However, as Qi Tian had specifically named these individuals, he had no choice but to comply. He dared not go against any of Qi Tian’s orders, especially since Qi Tian was only asking for an investigation, not an execution—this gave him confidence. He felt that the investigation could prove the innocence of the two sages.

But the reality harshly slapped Zhang Dengkui several times. With clues provided by the Ghost Faces, the investigation into these so-called great sages proceeded rapidly. In just a few days, their true colors were revealed. Their supposed poverty was a façade; they led a decadent life in secret and hoarded substantial unlawful wealth. One was corrupt, while the other was even worse, colluding with a neighboring country; all the huge sums in his possession were gifts from that country as public relations expenses.

After seeing the investigation report submitted by his subordinates, Zhang Dengkui fiercely slapped himself twice. On one hand, this was self-reproach for his inability to identify such severe corruption, having placed such embezzlers on the list presented to Qi Tian, showing his incompetence; he deserved the slaps. On the other hand, through this gesture, Zhang Dengkui reminded himself that under Qi Tian’s watchful eye, all actions must be just and transparent. Assuming one could deceive Qi Tian was futile; Qi Tian would unearth any misconduct lurking in the shadows once he took matters seriously. Zhang Dengkui knew he could not afford to repeat the severe missteps of these two corrupt individuals.

After the internal list was published, the cabinet ministers quickly began to fulfill their duties. The entire court started operating smoothly under the cabinet’s leadership. However, even with the cabinet in place, the absence of an emperor made many activities improperly justified. Even Qi Tian could not legitimately replace the emperor’s functions unless he intended to usurp the throne and declare himself emperor, which clearly wasn’t his intention. Zhang Dengkui had repeatedly tried to discern Qi Tian’s thoughts and confirmed this.

After discussing with the cabinet ministers, Zhang Dengkui decided to petition Qi Tian and see who would be the most suitable candidate to become the emperor of the Great Zhao Nation. According to their advice, the best course was to select a descendant of Emperor Tian Rui. After all, Emperor Tian Rui had governed the Great Zhao Nation for over a century, enjoying substantial popular support. Moreover, the three emperors following Emperor Tian Rui, whether the eldest prince, Prince Zhao, or Zhao Song, were all his descendants. Choosing another one of Emperor Tian Rui’s sons as emperor would be more easily accepted by both the cabinet ministers and the general populace.

However, when they presented this proposal to Qi Tian, he immediately rejected it. During his time in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, Qi Tian had a direct conflict with Emperor Tian Rui’s lineage, which made him realize that members of Emperor Tian Rui’s lineage were extremely biased and overly ambitious. They were willing to pay any price to achieve their goals; appointing such a person as emperor was not good for the officials and citizens of the Great Zhao Nation.

Zhang Dengkui and the others did not expect Qi Tian’s rejection to be so resolute, without a moment’s hesitation. They realized that Qi Tian would make no compromises on this matter; further persuasion would be futile. Reluctantly, they had to abandon the idea and shift their focus to other members of the royal family.

They began to select suitable candidates among the royal family members based on the court’s understanding, compiling a list to present to Qi Tian, waiting for his approval.

As for choosing the emperor, Qi Tian truly had no interest in interfering. If it were not for his wish to improve the lives of the Great Zhao Nation’s citizens in the future, he would have left long ago.

Regarding the candidate list submitted by Zhang Dengkui, Qi Tian harbored no prejudices against any of the potential royal family members. He sent the Ghost Faces to secretly investigate each royal family member listed. The investigation revealed that each prince had various issues, the most common being a lack of demonstrable talent in cultivation—a critical issue.