Gu Hang first tried to contact Clement.
The call went through, but the person who answered was a high-ranking instructor from the Assassin's Court.
His position was certainly not low; he could be considered Clement's right-hand man and belonged to the upper echelons of the Assassin's Court.
He was quite polite in his speech, unlike the cold and aloof feeling one might have of an assassin.
Upon hearing the purpose of Gu Hang's visit, he apologized, saying that Grand Master Clement was presiding over a very important trial and was unable to speak with Gu Hang personally.
When asked when they would be available, the other party's reply was somewhat hesitant, saying it was hard to say for sure and that it would probably be quite some time.
Gu Hang thought for a moment and then decided to get straight to the point, asking about the letter on his bedside table.
The other person said in surprise that they didn't know.
But he didn't offer any further explanation, remaining silent.
Gu Hang understood what it meant.
He politely ended the conversation:
"Yes, please give my regards to Grandmaster Clement."
"I will definitely bring it."
After hanging up the call, Gu Hang pondered for a moment and realized that the so-called 'presiding over the trial' was just a pretext.
At such a sensitive time, the assassin's message occurred. If Clement had something to say, he wouldn't have disappeared.
There must be other hidden stories behind this.
After a moment's hesitation, he dialed Gallardo's number again.
Gallardo was shocked when he heard the news Gu Hang told him.
He stated that he knew nothing about this matter and that someone had probably bypassed the Supreme Council and issued the order to assassinate Gu Hang to the Assassin's Court.
But unlike last time, this time the one who issued the order probably didn't use any underhanded tactics, but rather followed the legitimate demands of the assassin's court through a 'patron' or some other clandestine route.
Otherwise, things wouldn't be like they are now.
However, this order was likely blocked by Clement, and the Assassin's Court did not carry it out.
Otherwise, what Gu Hang would receive would be far more than just a letter.
The above content is also quite intriguing.
Hello, Clement?
That was more like a reminder.
Clement was likely acting in good faith. Instead of carrying out the assassination, he used this method to warn Gu Hang that someone was eyeing him and wanted to take him down.
But who did it?
Without evidence, it cannot be determined.
But it doesn't matter, we can guess some of the candidates.
If the two of them have a fairly accurate guess about the whole process of the incident, then they can go through the process and instruct the Assassin's Court to take action against Gu Hang, which is something that very few people in the entire empire would do.
The highest authority among them is the Supreme Council. If the Council approves a request for the Assassin's Court to act, then there's no need for further discussion. The Assassin's Court will exert all its strength, and there's no question of them 'greeting you'. Even if Clement is somewhat close to Gu Hang, he cannot disobey the Supreme Council's orders.
Moreover, with Highlord Galardor present, he was certain that this matter had never been discussed at the High Council.
That is, to demand that the Assassin's Court take action, either personally or through a position.
Only in this way can Clement, as the Grand Mentor, have the leeway to reject the mission after the process has been completed.
However, the fact that the process was 'approved' is also worth mentioning.
That means the person who gave the order truly had the authority to make the Assassins take action.
Gu Hang himself is considered to have a high status. Not counting his somewhat gray area identity as the leader of the alliance, his official titles include the head of the Dragon Eagle Star Region and the marshal of the empire.
In addition, his status as a patron of the Assassin's Court provided an extra layer of security.
For other patrons to want the Assassins to assassinate a patron of an Imperial Marshal, how high must their own status be?
It's almost certain that it's one of the High Lords.
Only one high lord's order, after being blocked by Clement at the last stage, forced the Grand Master to avoid suspicion and refrain from speaking directly with Gu Hang.
The meaning was almost crystal clear: not taking action was already more than enough, and I couldn't afford to offend my adversaries. You guys fight it out, the Assassin's Court will remain neutral and not drag me into the mess.
Which of the High Lords would do such a thing?
Premier Luo Fei is the prime suspect.
He has consistently stood in opposition to the Alliance, demanding its dismantling and criticizing Gu Hang for overstepping his authority and expanding the "Alliance," an irregular political entity, without restraint. His stance remained unchanged even after the "Alliance Plan" was delivered to Holy Terra.
If Prime Minister Qi Bodu is determined to kill Gu Hang, he can either go directly to the High Council, where he has enough power to ensure the assassination is carried out properly, or he can decisively pressure the Ministry of Revenue to abandon its immediate interests and push for the dismantling of the alliance.
In any case, it didn't come down to requiring a personal order to assassinate Gu Hang.
Xu Fuzhen from the tax department wouldn't do that either, for reasons similar to the previous one: simply not supporting the alliance would suffice.
The conflicts between the other high lords—such as the Martian representative, the State Religion representative, the Astral Army, and the Supreme Commander of the Navy—are not to this extent.
Looking at it this way, apart from Luo Fei, no one else is a strong suspect.
At least, Gallardo is now basically convinced that it is Luo Fei.
The two had a very bad relationship.
Luo Fei wasn't just attacking the Alliance; he was also fiercely criticizing Galardore himself. His criticism of the Alliance naturally included the very reason it was formed: Galardore, then a War Apostle, used his privileges to give the Alliance preferential treatment. Back then, no one could have imagined that this 'special alliance,' normally just a few planets uniting to weather crises and support each other, would grow into what it is today in just a few decades.
Luo Fei naturally had to criticize him, arguing that Gallardo had overstepped his authority and violated regulations by granting the alliance this special status.
Gallardo also expressed his anger at this.
He assured Gu Hang that this matter would definitely be resolved.
Gu Hang also offered a few words of comfort to the Premier of the Ministry of Military Affairs.
In fact, it was his true feeling:
"Their actions also reveal their weakness. They can only resort to such meaningless calculations when they have no other political options. This proves that we have gained the upper hand in the situation! That's good news, isn't it?"
Hearing Gu Hang's somewhat relaxed attitude, Gallardo also calmed down a little.
He said coldly, "At the next Highlord Council meeting, I will bring this up. Ha, a secret operation? I won't let him have his way. I'll put it out in the open and let the sunlight shine on us!"
Gu Hang thought for a moment and agreed with Gallardo's opinion: "Then let's do it this way."
To be honest, Gu Hang was a little uncertain.
Was it really Luo Fei who did it?
The movements were a bit rough.
Was Luo Fei really that stupid as to use the 'sponsor's order' to have the Assassin's Court take action against Gu Hang?
It's impossible that they didn't know that the Alliance, having no conflict of interest with the Alliance and having won the Ironclad War in the current political vortex of Holy Terra, was at the heart of the storm. The Assassin's Court, having no conflict of interest and a good relationship with Gu Hang, was highly unlikely to want to get involved.
Even if he were to actually do that, wouldn't the first step be to deal with Clement?
Before dealing with Clement, he used the 'patron's order' to carry out an operation that was highly likely to be canceled, in order to alert the enemy, even escalate the conflict, and draw Gu Hang's hatred to him...
It doesn't make much sense no matter how you look at it.
But in that thought, Gu Hang caught a fleeting flash of inspiration.
"Expanding the conflict..."
He sighed, "Some people don't want things to be too peaceful."
Despite having considered this point, Gu Hang still agreed to Gallardo's idea of escalating the situation and discussing it with the Supreme Council.
Someone secretly offered a knife; it's certainly worth using.
Of course, using someone else's knife carries inherent risks.
But these kinds of things can be dealt with as they come.
An investigation is definitely necessary, but finding out if there really is someone behind it all, what their purpose is, and how to deal with them are all separate issues.
Dealing with Luo Fei is a separate matter.
They don't conflict; they can be done together.
...
On Holy Terra, a long council of high lords is underway.
There are many issues to discuss—for such a vast empire, there are countless things that Holy Terra needs to decide, and each one seems quite important.
The vast majority of them ultimately fail to reach the discussion stage of the Supreme Council.
The matters that can be discussed in the High Council are either of paramount importance to the entire empire or matters that have a direct impact on the interests of a few high lords.
Gallardo kept his word. At this meeting, he brought up the matter of Gu Hang's 'assassination attempt'. Instead of causing trouble for the Assassin's Court, he fiercely criticized Premier Luo Fei, believing that his use of assassination to deal with an imperial hero was despicable.
Luo Fei firmly denied this accusation.
It must be denied.
Whether he did it or not, he can't be identified. Issuing an assassination order through the Assassin's Court is legal, that's true, but killing someone silently without evidence of who did it is one thing; but now, the person wasn't killed, and the target was a living hero who had just gained immense prestige due to an undisputed victory in a major war. How can he possibly identify himself as the culprit?
Moreover, Gu Hang is not simply a lone war hero. He is not only not a lone hero, but he also has a strong base of support, a large number of friends, and political allies in the central government of the empire. Assassinating such a person goes beyond the basic logic of political struggle.
If it is confirmed that Luo Fei did it, then forget about winning in the political struggle, his own position will likely be jeopardized by the huge media storm.
The importance of 'reputation' should not be underestimated.
Thanks to Galardore's continuous efforts to spread the word about Gu Hang over the years, he was already somewhat famous before the war. Some people did know that a hero had appeared in the distant eastern border of the empire.
Then, the Ironclad Wars ignited the prestige accumulated over decades.
The Ironclad Wars had already drawn the attention of Holy Terra. Civilians, lower and middle classes, and high-ranking officials alike were aware of and concerned about the war.
The empire is indeed at war all the time, but it is not particularly common for the central territory, or even the solar star region itself, to gather troops and form expeditionary forces to go outwards.
Not to mention, the effort put into forming the expeditionary force was considerable, which naturally attracted the attention of the entire central government.
And to top it all off, they even lost...
After the First Western Front Legion, led by Su Lie's Phoenix Battle Group, was defeated, there were even rumors that the Ironclad Legion might be able to advance into the Central Territory.
If the Central Front troops only accounted for 20-30% of the First Western Front Army's forces, then the Second Western Front Army, led by the Ordovician Chapter and commanded by Salisius, was entirely composed of Central Front troops.
That would attract even more attention.
The entire population of Holy Terra, who were constantly monitoring the progress of the Ironclad War, witnessed one person turn the tide.
That's Gu Hang.
He immediately became the talk of the town throughout Holy Terra.
At the same time, it was precisely because of his popularity in Holy Terra, coupled with the various heroes he befriended, that his reputation began to spread throughout the entire Empire.
The Alliance's ambassador in the Holy Terra office had actually given a detailed report on this, which Gu Hang himself had also reviewed. However, he was only aware of it at best. Without firsthand experience, he had no real sense of how "famous" he was now.
But the person is in Holy Terra, in charge of the Executive Yuan, Luo Fei.
He opposes the alliance, but he doesn't dare to directly oppose Gu Hang.
No matter how one operates behind the scenes, to stand on the opposite side of a highly respected war hero at the height of his fame is tantamount to turning oneself into a clown.
That is why Luo Fei naturally had to defend himself vehemently.
In fact, their attitude could be described as somewhat intense.
Before Gallardo could even make a request, it was Rofe himself who strongly demanded that Clement reveal who had issued the assassination order.
Clement remained silent, offering not a single word in response.
The rules of the Assassin's Court are known to everyone.
Gallardo seized the opportunity to mock Rofi, saying that he was just putting on an act, knowing full well that the Assassin's Court would never reveal such a secret.
Ultimately, it was Prime Minister Zippo who put an end to the dispute.
In his capacity as Prime Minister, he demanded that the Assassin's Court cease accepting any more assassination missions against Gu Hang.
His prestige is currently soaring. Not to mention Luo Fei, who was originally his right-hand man, even Gallardo is now practically under his command. Back then, it was precisely because he betrayed his allies and sided with Zibodu that Gallardo was able to enter the High Lords Council after purging the former Minister of Justice, Eugène.
Even if you're a dog, you still have to be a good one.
As soon as he spoke, the two people who had been making the most noise, including Xu Fuzhen who occasionally chimed in for Galardo, shut up.
Then, the speaking phase concludes, and the vote begins.
It passed by a large margin.
Gu Hang is safe now. No matter who is behind it, he no longer needs to worry about the Assassin's Court's actions.
The next topic is about Rhodes.
Regarding the selection of the chairman of the Spider Web Space.
Now that the war is largely over, the next step is reconstruction, with the restoration of taxation being of paramount importance.
We need a regional chairman to take charge of the overall situation.
With over fifty cosmic domains, each chairman is a powerful and influential regional official, and their appointments naturally require approval from the Holy Terra.
The power to nominate candidates has always rested with the Executive Yuan.
Luo Fei mentioned five names, including high-ranking central officials and chairpersons or vice chairpersons from other space domains.
But there is another special name inside.
The central figure in the previous argument was Gu Hang.