Novel Full Chapter 552
Chapter 552: Chapter 77: Long Long Attends a Political Science Class Chapter 552: Chapter 77: Long Long Attends a Political Science Class In the hall, the atmosphere was indeed somewhat awkward.
Long Hu’s heart was seething with anger, yet he knew he couldn’t blame his clan and could only remain silent without uttering a word, feigning ignorance.
Clan Leader Qin Beiwang and the two Great Elders could see that Long Hu was very upset, so they all spoke to comfort her, claiming that the clan would certainly not force the two to make sacrifices, but given the current strength of the Qilin, it was not wise to refuse them outright.
Long Hu could tell this was just a delaying tactic and immediately felt even more dejected.
At first, when Long Long heard Qin Beiwang say that the Qilin wanted Qi Yingzhu betrothed to him as his primary wife, he felt a sense of panic and unease-sure, a female fox or a female dragon could work, but wasn’t a female tiger a bit too much?
However, years of undercover life as a traitor had cultivated a characteristic in Long Long of being meticulous and attentive to detail.
The so-called “think twice before you act, strategize every move,” perfectly described Long Long’s cautious and astute nature.
He simply reviewed the intelligence and the corresponding situation in his mind, and immediately sensed something was amiss.
After thinking it through, a realization dawned on him, and he urgently called out a few quiet exclamations of alarm.
He hastily spoke up solemnly,
“Clan Leader, please dismiss everyone else.”
Qin Beiwang was taken aback for a moment-there were just us in the hall, who is there to dismiss?
But he quickly caught on and made a knowing look with Great Elder Qin Chaocang.
Qin Chaocang rapidly cast a spell, the aura of Dragon’s Might spreading out in all directions.
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“There is no one left.” After a moment, the Great Elder confirmed, “You may speak now.”
“I am confused about something and would like to ask the three seniors for guidance,” Long Long slowly inquired, “Now that Qilin Clan Leader, Demon Race Emperor Qi Weihuan, has perished, there are two candidates for his succession: one is his illegitimate child, and the other is his brother Qi Weihong, am I correct?”
“That’s right,” Qin Beiwang replied.
“What is the position of the Qilin ancestor on this matter?” Long Long asked again.
Qin Beiwang felt somewhat disappointed-just that?
You don’t even understand the political situation of the Qilin Family, have you been listening properly in your political studies?
But then he quickly realized something: in his political studies, Long Long was the top student in his class!
How could he not know this?
It was merely a leading question!
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So Qin Beiwang showed an encouraging expression and followed his lead,
“The Qilin ancestor would never allow Qi Weihong to ascend to the throne.”
“Why is that?” Long Long asked calmly, without any hint of a plea for an answer on his face.
Great Elder Qin Chaocang glanced at Long Hu, who was deep in thought, and explained,
“Because during the battle for the heir position with Qi Weihuan, Qi Weihong overborrowed the power of the Xuanwu Clan, resulting in his current power base being almost entirely overlapping with the strength of the Xuanwu Clan.”
“Inviting an external clan to participate in a family’s internal conflict is a taboo for any Demon Race, and therefore, the Qilin ancestor has long since harbored deep contempt for Qi Weihong.”
Long Long was, of course, well aware of these basic political common sense.
It’s said that in his early years Qi Weihong, in order to fight for the heir position, not only allied with the Xuanwu Clan through marriage but also signed many deep-binding treaties in secret.
As a result, even the neutral factions within the Qilin Clan couldn’t stand it and scornfully labeled this Qilin prince as “the Xuanwu’s son-in-law,” leading many elders to clearly express their support for Qi Weihuan at the last moment, which ultimately helped him ascend to the positions of Clan Leader and Emperor-partly because Qi Weihuan’s pursuit of power was too much, even to the extent of sacrificing the interests of the family, causing many nationalist Qilin to become disillusioned with him.
“If that’s the case,” Long Long questioned knowingly, “why didn’t the Qilin ancestor just kill Qi Weihong instead of allowing him to roam freely in the North State?”
“It is naturally because of the protection from the Xuanwu ancestor,” Qin Beiwang replied.
In terms of overall Immortal Rank strength, the Qilin Clan is more powerful than any other Demon Race in the Eastern Emperor Realm, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to securely hold the position of the Imperial Clan.
However, the issue lies in the fact that if the Qilin and Xuanwu Clans were to engage in a deathmatch at the Immortal Rank level, the ultimate beneficiaries would inevitably be the other Demon Races-naturally, no one would be foolish enough to engage in a fight to the death openly.
Thus, unless one can completely absorb the strength of the other, everyone would rather use their Immortal Rank as a nuclear deterrent, handling conflicts through negotiation, mediation, or proxy wars in normal times, creating a rather unique political and ecological environment in the Eastern Emperor Realm.
“So, what you’re saying is, as the Xuanwu Clan is backing Qi Weihong, and since the Qilin ancestor doesn’t wish to sever ties with the Xuanwu, he’s temporarily tolerating his existence.
But, it can never be accepted for the Xuanwu Clan to use Qi Weihong to interfere with the Qilin Clan’s internal affairs,” Long Long finally concluded.
Seeing the three Dragon Clan elders nodding in agreement, he continued asking,
“In that case, whom will the Qilin ancestor choose to replace Qi Weihong as the heir to the throne?”
“That would be his illegitimate child,” Long Hu couldn’t help but blurt out in response.
She really disliked Long Long’s deliberate withholding, clearly having an answer yet intentionally not sharing it.
“Oh?” Long Long did not express agreement or disagreement but continued, “However, siding with the illegitimate child, wouldn’t that invite the maternal family powers of the Empress?
Are the White Tiger Clan easier to deal with than the Xuanwu Clan?”
“That’s because there is a fundamental difference between the two,” Qin Beiwang explained, “Qi Weihong is deeply tied to the Xuanwu Clan, nearly indissoluble.”
“Whereas on the illegitimate child’s side, being not of the Empress’s own flesh and blood, the blood ties and emotional bonds are much weaker.
The Qilin ancestor has ample time to pull the illegitimate child of Qi Weihuan onto the Qilin Clan’s side.”
“And the Empress’s recognition of the illegitimate child also supplements his weak legitimacy.
The support from the White Tiger Clan behind her can help the Qilin Clan resist interference from the Xuanwu Clan; hence, they are actually potential partners.”
At this point, Qin Beiwang then said to Long Long with a smile,
“What do you think about my analysis?”
Long Long was rendered speechless, as the situation which could be simply explained by “ally with the weakened White Tigers, but cannot reconcile with the stronger Xuanwu” was instead elaborated on at such length, wasting their time… So he replied with a smile,
“Clan Leader is wise and discerning, truly as bright as a burning torch.”
“But I still have one question, if the Qilin ancestor decides to support the Empress’s illegitimate child and forms an alliance of interests with the White Tiger Clan, can the Xuanwu Clan stand against them?”
Qin Beiwang and the two elders immediately fell into deep thought.
“No,” the Great Elder Qin Chaocang declared first, “with the Qilin Clan’s internal support from the Qilin ancestor acting as a deterrent, it’s likely that those supporting the illegitimate child will outnumber the opposition.
Coupled with the strength of the White Tiger Clan, it will give them an absolute advantage over the Xuanwu Clan.”
“So,” Long Long pursued, “what will the Xuanwu Clan do in response after they learn of the decision made by the Qilin ancestor?
Will they give up on Prince Qi Weihong in favor of peace?”
“Absolutely not!” Qin Beiwang declared without hesitation, “The Xuanwu Clan has invested too much political capital in Qi Weihong.
If they were to abandon Qi Weihong now in the pursuit of peace, it would be tantamount to discarding all their previous efforts!”
“Moreover, if the great powers fall into the hands of the faction of the Empress’s illegitimate child, even if the Xuanwu Clan is intimidated by the strength of the opposing camp and acknowledges the situation, the benefits they had gained from their alliance with the Qilin Clan would be forcibly handed over to the White Tiger Clan!”
The other two Dragon Clan elders, following the train of thought laid out by Qin Beiwang, also suddenly realized the key point they had been overlooking:
In fact, during Emperor Qi Weihuan’s reign, the political situation in the Eastern Emperor Realm was very stable.
He despised his wife Bai Ya, yet tolerated her continued presence by his side; he detested his brother Qi Weihong, yet allowed him to live freely in the North State.
This led to a mutual constraint between the White Tiger and Xuanwu Clans, neither able to bear the cost of pushing the Qilin Clan to the opposite side, and thus they had to maintain a long-term and firm alliance with the Qilin Clan.
This allowed Qi Weihuan to easily intimidate the Dragon Clan of the Eastern State and wage war against the Xuan Bird Clan of the South State, ultimately achieving a powerful rule over the entire Eastern Emperor Realm.
However, the stupidity of Empress Bai Ya, coupled with the carelessness and untimely death of Qi Weihuan, resulted in the complete disruption of this balanced situation.
Driven by huge expected profits, previous sunk costs, and speculative adventurism (based on the long-standing peace, each clan’s desire to acquire more benefits), both the White Tiger and Xuanwu Clans would inevitably support their respective spokespersons within the Qilin Clan.
In other words, this had evolved beyond a struggle for succession within the Qilin Clan.
It had the potential to be the prelude to a proxy war, perhaps even a full-scale war, orchestrated by the powers of the West State and North State!
Realizing this, the three Dragon Clan elders looked simultaneously at Long Long.
The expression on their faces was no longer the kindly “am I right?” demeanor of seniors instructing a junior but a serious, somber look demanding his immediate confirmation.