ca-book Chapter 667 High Lords
Chapter 667 High Lords
Chapter 667 High Lords
The period from M31 to M32 was called the "Age of Reforging" by the Imperial historians. The technological decline of the 40K era had not yet arrived, the traitors hid in the Eye of Terror and dared not come out, and the aliens only appeared in the border areas and were not to be feared. People began to repair the damage caused by the "Horus Heresy", and the human empire ushered in a short period of prosperity.
During this period, due to the long-term lack of external threats, the Imperial Navy sent most of its main fleets to border areas, resulting in an abnormally empty defense of the core areas of the Empire, including the Solar Star Region where Holy Terra is located.
The Adamantua sector is only six weeks away from the solar system, which is very close. Therefore, when the alien invasion broke out here, it still attracted extra attention from some people in the High Lords Council.
Adamantua sector, Diamond star.
The battle between the Imperial Fists and the Chrome Beasts continues.
The crew members in the battle group's fleet were also busy with operations.
In a small cabin on the lower deck, a chapter servant was quietly writing a cipher document. After the information was converted into cipher text, it would be transmitted by the astropath and reach Terra through normal or abnormal channels.
Chapter Master Mohan and Second Captain Kurland did not know that all their communications on the surface were being silently monitored by someone with ulterior motives. The message that the chapter servant wanted to convey at this moment was their previous conversation about reinforcements.
This information will be transmitted in the subspace.
Finally arriving at the place that receives it.
……
Holy Terra, Antarctica, Inquisition Headquarters.
Winand, one of the Twelve Supreme High Lords and representative of the Inquisition, sat alone in his office, silently reading the translated top-secret intelligence in his hand - the secret report came from a spy planted in the Imperial Fists Chapter.
"The Imperial Fists need reinforcements."
Wienand rested his chin on his hand and thought silently.
The Adamantua sector is very close to the Solar sector, and this matter cannot be taken lightly. Wienand really wants to dispatch a troop immediately to reinforce the Space Marines, but unfortunately she is a representative of the Inquisition, not the Supreme Lord Admiral of the Imperial Navy, nor the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard. She only has agents but no soldiers, so she can only ask others for help if she wants to mobilize troops.
The first thing that Wienand thought of was the Imperial Navy.
"Lan Song? No, that guy is trying every possible way to expand his political power. If he is asked to dispatch the fleet, I don't know how much it will cost to satisfy his appetite."
Winand rejected the idea.
Then she thought of Wangerich.
Drakan Wangerich, Grand Master of the Assassin's Court, was once one of the Twelve Supreme Lords.
He could not be considered an ally of Wienand, but at least he was one of the few people in the entire Imperial Parliament who could be won over. They both represented the two darkest supervisory departments of the Empire: the Inquisition and the Assassin's Court, which happened to be the two departments created by the Seal Master Malcador. And both were equally dissatisfied with the current situation of the Empire.
Wangerlich also only had agents but no soldiers under his command. However, according to what Wienand learned, the Grand Master of the Assassins and the current Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard, Hess, were personal friends. Through Wangerlich, he might be able to persuade the Imperial Guard to send troops for support. As long as the source of the intelligence was confirmed to be correct, the Grand Master of the Assassins would not refuse to stand on the same front with her.
But the problem came again. Even if Wangorich mediated and the Imperial Guard Commander Hess agreed to dispatch troops to support, how could the Imperial Guard transport troops to the Adamantua sector without the navy fleet? They couldn't just let the guards walk there, right? In the end, they still couldn't bypass the Imperial Navy, and couldn't bypass the fat pig of the Supreme Lord Admiral Lanson.
Wienand could not help but fall into deep thought.
After frowning and thinking quietly for a moment.
The representative of the Tribunal opened his mouth and ordered:
"Help me contact Wangorichi."
……
Terra Palace, Sigillite Monastery.
The Terra Imperial Palace is actually a large building complex, divided into the outer city and the inner city. Only the inner city area is guarded by the Imperial Guards, while the outer city is used as the office of many imperial bureaucratic agencies. For example, the Ministry of the Interior, which has the largest number of civil servants in the human empire, is located in the outer city of the palace.
The Terra Palace is simply too huge.
During the Great Crusade, the palace was the epitome of the human empire's numerous architectural schools and aesthetic styles, with various halls, gardens and monuments. During the Heresy, the Seventh Legion transformed it into a fortress to defend against the attacks of the traitors. As a result, the Terra Palace eventually became very complex, with sky gardens, corridors, and patios, as well as shield walls, secret passages and explosion-proof bunkers.
There are many areas in the palace that have been completely abandoned and no one cares about them. There are also many secret passages and doors accumulated over thousands of years that have collapsed and disappeared or are unknown. No one can draw an accurate map of the entire Terra Palace.
The Monastery of the Sigils was a basically abandoned building. The Inquisition representative Wienander and the Assassin's Court Grand Master Wangorich quietly came to the agreed meeting place for a meeting through the secret passages they knew.
"Come to the point, and make it short, Winand."
Wangerich said coldly:
"I have already told you in the secret letter that Hess, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, can provide fifty corps to support the Adamantua sector. What else do you want me to do?"
"I know you and Hess are political allies, but we need a naval fleet to transport them. You have been away from the war for too long, Grand Master. Do you think these fifty regiments of Hess can walk to the battlefield by themselves?"
Wijnand asked back with a smile.
"Have you called me here specifically to mock me, Judge Wienand?"
Wangorichi narrowed his eyes and looked unfriendly.
"Of course not, I'm looking for a solution."
Wienand put away his smile and said seriously:
"We have to go through the Imperial Navy to complete this troop transfer. But you must be aware of what Lansong has been doing in the parliament recently. Now almost all fleets of the Imperial Navy are fighting in the border areas. Unless you also want to reach some kind of exchange of interests with Lansong, otherwise, our only way is to unite with other high lords to put pressure on him to force Lansong to agree to dispatch a fleet back."
Wienand and Wangerich had one thing in common: they both considered themselves to be the special ones who were responsible for monitoring the imperial officials. They could not lower their face like other department heads to make some kind of political compromise and exchange of interests with the Supreme Lord Admiral. This was their self-esteem and pride. They wanted to dispatch the naval fleet, and the only way they could think of was to put pressure on Lanson to agree.
In addition, there is a deeper reason: both Wienander and Wangerich are dissatisfied with Lanson's frequent attempts to win over other high lords in the High Lords' Council to form a de facto factional alliance - as an admiral in charge of the Imperial Navy, do you still want to become the "Imperial Regent"?
Wangerich lowered his head and thought for a moment.
"I can team up with another person, Ambassador Navigator Gibran. His words carry a lot of weight, especially for the navy. The four of us can go together to put pressure on Lanson."
The Grand Master of the Assassin's Court looked up and spoke.
"Okay, let's do this."
Winand nodded in agreement.
……
A few days later.
Terra Palace, Imperial Senate.
The High Lords' Council held its regular meeting as normal.
During the meeting, the paunchy Supreme Lord Admiral was talking big about his plans to expand territory. At this moment, the Inquisition representative Wienand and the Assassin Court Grand Master Wangorich suddenly launched a joint attack, demanding Lansong to dispatch a naval fleet to rescue the Solar Segment.
Lan Song seemed a little stunned.
But in the end, the proposal was agreed to.
However, the Supreme Lord Admiral seemed to be well versed in the philosophy of political struggle. He did not want to be led by the other two high lords. Even if he was forced to agree, he would show his tough attitude in front of the Imperial Parliament. So Lanson proposed an additional condition that seemed meaningless:
"Since the Imperial Fists are in urgent need of support, so urgent that I even need to dispatch the naval officers and soldiers fighting bravely thousands of miles away, why not send the one hundred Space Marines on Terra and the mountain formation as well?"
Lan Song spread his hands to express his doubts.
In order to remember the Seventh Legion's contribution and sacrifice during the Siege of Terra, the Imperial Fists Chapter selected ten men from each of the ten companies, with fifty men responsible for guarding the Terra Palace Daylight Wall and fifty men responsible for guarding the Space Fortress Phalanx. These one hundred Space Marines usually do not participate in the daily operations of the Chapter, and they form a de facto independent company.
The informal name is "Wall Guard Company".
And Lansong means:
The "Wall Guard Company" must also participate in the support.
This request was somewhat unreasonable. The battlefield frontline did not need these 100 Space Marines at all. What the Imperial Fists needed was numerical support. They needed the 50 regiments of the Imperial Guard. Lansong seemed to have proposed this additional condition simply to show his power of speech.
But what is even more strange is:
The Imperial Commander Udo, the Minister of the Interior Ekas, the Pope of the State Religion Meslin, the spokesperson of the merchant fleet Yuskina, and the four high lords including Udo, the Speaker of the Imperial Senate, all expressed their agreement with Lanson's proposal.
This made Wangolichi feel a little strange.
But the most urgent task at the moment was to immediately dispatch the naval fleet back to Terra and transport the Imperial Guard to provide support. There was not much time to waste on wrangling. So the Grand Master of the Assassin Court and Wienand looked at each other and finally chose to compromise and agreed to Lansong's insignificant additional condition.
At this point, the Imperial Fists has completed its assembly.
This has not happened since the end of the rebellion.
……
Wienand and Wangerich's plan succeeded.
Successfully forced Lanson to dispatch a fleet to provide support.
However, some people are happy and others are sad.
At the border of the Solar Segmentum, an expeditionary fleet led by Grand Marshal (Chapter Master) Boastmond of the Black Templars was fighting the Orcs. However, the Imperial Navy fleet that was cooperating in the battle suddenly received an order from Lansong to forcibly withdraw. The Black Templars were outnumbered and ultimately had no choice but to temporarily retreat.
Bohemond was very angry but helpless.
In the end, he decided to move closer to the Brotherhood.
The homeworld of the Fists of the Exemplar Chapter, Edorica.
Just a few weeks' flight away.
The Black Templars planned to rest and resupply there.
What happened next.
This was beyond the expectations of everyone in the Black Templar.
…………
(End of this chapter)