Listening to Oudia's cold, almost merciless words, Irthu felt a constant surge of pain in his nerves, and his internal organs seemed to be on the verge of rupturing.
His lips trembled, his throat was dry, and he stared intently at Oudia, unable to utter a single word.
Mars had actually sided with Saint Doraemon and the Primarch.
This not only meant that Irthu would lose his position as High Lord, but also that the massive manufacturing machinery of Mars would begin to operate, providing support for Guilliman's planned so-called Indomitus Crusade, and that the Titan Legions and the Ecclesiarchy would stand with the Primarch and Saint Doraemon.
Irthu could already feel it; Guilliman's Expedition was now like a Gloriana-class Battleship with its engines at full throttle, surging forward, unstoppable.
He felt his lungs turn to hard stone, each breath exceptionally difficult, and everything before his eyes blurred.
If Tieron had not announced the voting results, Irthu might have already fainted.
"Regarding the motion to dismiss Lord Irthu from his position as Minister of Adeptus Administratum, there are six votes in favor, four against, and one abstention."
"In accordance with the sacred imperial law, Lord Irthu's position as Minister of Adeptus Administratum is hereby terminated with immediate effect."
Tieron's voice was slow and gentle, but it struck Irthu like a bolt of lightning, causing his body to twitch uncontrollably.
"Lord Irthu, please leave the council chamber."
Roboute Guilliman spoke softly:
"Please be so kind as to invite Lord Violeta Roskavler, who is waiting outside, to enter when you leave."
"He will be your successor."
Then, Guilliman's gaze no longer rested on Irthu, but turned to the remaining High Lords.
"I don't think this requires another vote, does it?"
Naturally, no High Lord expressed opposition.
The subsequent council proceedings became quite boring in Alexander's view; it was essentially Guilliman doing all the talking, with the other High Lords symbolically casting their votes to approve Guilliman's various proposals.
If it weren't for the Harlequins, wearing Blind Spot Stars, secretly performing various comical acrobatics for Alexander, he might have fallen asleep.
"I really can't come to the High Lord Council next time," Alexander secretly thought to himself.
By the time Alexander was physically and mentally exhausted from sitting in his seat, the meeting finally came to a temporary close, and the sky outside the Imperial Palace was already pitch black.
The High Lords, with the exception of Oudia, all breathed a sigh of relief before moving their stiff, dry, and numb bodies from their chairs, stumbling towards the exit of the Grand Council Chamber.
This was, of course, not the end of this round of the High Lord Council; it was merely a temporary "recess." The High Lords would have an hour and a half to organize the decrees concerning their departments from the recent meeting, quickly dispatch them to their assistants for compilation and the formulation of their department's implementation strategies, and also to handle other documents within their departments for the day, consider topics for the upcoming meeting, and submit them to the Imperial Chancellor.
A lucky High Lord might even manage to grab a bite to eat during this time.
If the God-Emperor blessed them, they might manage to catch fifteen minutes of sleep with the help of hypnotism and drugs, but such good fortune hadn't occurred in nearly a century.
Although this was just a recess, Alexander had already decided to use this opportunity to make a quick escape.
He really couldn't stand it anymore.
"Lord Alexander." Tieron stepped out from the round table and gave Alexander a slight aquila salute.
During this recess, Tieron, as the Imperial Chancellor, was not as busy as the High Lords.
He still had a little time to breathe before the High Lords submitted new proposals.
"I never thought Irthu would actually convince the Grand Master of the Assassinorum." Tieron's tone carried a hint of fear.
Every Imperial bureaucrat knew what the Officio Assassinorum had done in the past.
The massacre of the entire High Lord Council by Grand Master Vangorich thousands of years ago was still fresh in memory.
For the sake of defying Guilliman's reform policies, Irthu had gone so far as to persuade the Officio Assassinorum to break its principle of neutrality and side with him.
And the fact that the Grand Master of the Assassinorum could be persuaded by him indicated that the Officio Assassinorum was now on the side of the Conservative Party, which made Tieron's heart pound.
"This is truly unexpected. If it weren't for you convincing Ud Udi—"
Before Tieron could finish speaking, a buzzing mechanical roar interrupted him.
Fabricator General Oudia, due to his size, had not left the council chamber.
"Thanks to you convincing Oudia." Tieron immediately corrected himself, saying, "Otherwise, the situation would have become a five-to-five stalemate."
Upon hearing this, Alexander couldn't help but smile a little, shaking his head at Tieron: "It wouldn't have."
Tieron was visibly stunned by this.
Had one of the High Admiral or the Minister of Justice already sided with the reformists?
Or would the Custodes also abandon their neutrality at a crucial moment and side with the reformists?
Looking at the dazed old Tieron, Alexander's lips curved into a smile.
"You can release this news." Alexander said softly to Tieron.
Tieron vaguely understood Alexander's meaning, nodding slightly to indicate he understood.
Then he hurried out of the council chamber to his office to deal with work.
Alexander stretched his limbs a little, nodded to Oudia, who couldn't leave the council chamber, and then slipped out of the council chamber.
Terra's sky was covered by heavy, dark clouds; looking up, one couldn't see the bright moon or stars, only a deep, dark night.
According to Emperor Nobita, this was because during the Unification Wars, some warlords used too much Warp power, causing damage to Terra's very existence.
Alexander took a deep breath, and filtered air with a hint of ozone filled his lungs, slightly reducing his physical fatigue.
"Are you still attending the next meeting?" Roboute Guilliman's voice sounded not far from Alexander.
The Macragge Grand Hamster scion of the Great Horned Emperor was clearly waiting for Alexander.
"Spare me." Alexander rubbed his temples, saying bitterly.
Guilliman's Warp characteristics were becoming increasingly obvious; he felt as if there was a vortex named 'Overtime' around Guilliman, fiercely pulling everything nearby into it.
"I understand you. The Emperor did similar things; as the Great Crusade gradually expanded and administrative work increased, he became more and more inclined to hand over work to Malcador," Guilliman said calmly. "Of course, not many people in the current Imperium know this history."
"Just as I know this history, so I can understand your fatigue."
"If the Imperium's bureaucrats could use history as a mirror, perhaps they would better understand my policies."
"And if I could understand the history of the ten millennia I slept, I would also better understand the people of this era."
"More importantly: knowing how the Emperor's plan gradually went astray, to prevent us from repeating his mistakes."
"What are you trying to say?" Alexander raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at Guilliman beside him.
"The current Imperium neglects, or even destroys, the recording of history too much, but I believe we need to understand history."
Guilliman said with a touch of sincerity in his voice:
"If you wish to be excused from the High Lord Council, would you be interested in visiting a department I recently established for historical research?"
Alexander frowned.
"Don't make that face, it won't be a strenuous job." Guilliman continued to persuade earnestly, his eagerness making Alexander a little flustered: "Aren't you going to Mars with the Fabricator-General after the High Lord Council? You don't have anything else to do during this time, do you?"
Alexander had originally planned to visit Reyna, and then go to Rogue Trader Representative Kania Danda's place to get some dorayaki.
In fact, Kania Danda intended to launch "Saint Doraemon's Favorite dorayaki" as a product, with ingredients grown by the Custodes in the underground palace, then sold at exorbitant prices to the wealthy nobles on Terra, recovering large amounts of resources and holy relics from them, and then giving Alexander a large share of the profits.
Terra's powerful elites were uneasy about the emergence of the Saint Doraemon Sect, especially since Alexander's followers were mainly the poor, workers, and low-ranking employees from the Lower Hive; systematic proselytizing had not yet begun among the nobility.
The powerful elites feared waking up one day to find themselves heretics. Alexander and Kania Danda planned to exploit this sentiment, selling dorayaki as indulgences to extract wealth from the nobles.
"I'm not a historian, what use do you have for me?" Alexander asked, his expression twisted in confusion.
"You are not a historian; you are history itself." Guilliman shook his head slightly: "You come from the third millennium, long before humanity's long ages. The history of three millennia ago is common knowledge to you, and you have a general understanding of the history after three millennia, even knowing many secrets."
"In this era, many people have forgotten what history even is; the concept of a historian is an ancient and unfamiliar one."
"I have selected four individuals, and I need you to teach them, to make them understand what history is, and to have a rough understanding of the past four millennia."
Looking at the silent Alexander, Guilliman showed a slightly sly expression.
"If you are willing to help me with this small favor, I can provide assistance for your and Kania Danda's dorayaki business."
"You can hand over all your accounting and management work to me."
".." Alexander looked at Guilliman for a while, and then...
At the podium of the Rational Historiography Society,
Alexander looked at the four official members of the Rational Historiography Society and the dozen or so auxiliary staff behind them.
Then he looked at the table, at the great works these new historians had completed in recent days.
"'Lord Guilliman Wins Fifty Times in Fifty Days, Winning Again and Again!'"
Alexander read out the title of their work loudly.
Now he somewhat regretted agreeing to come here with Guilliman.