1553 Known Candidates
The princes and princesses ran around the entire country, earning support and followers so that they could use that power to earn more support from the government. It was a mechanism that allowed the government the highest authority during succession.
The Bill of Royal Axioms, a document that specified laws that not even the emperor could change, did not allow an emperor to appoint a successor. Instead, the right to appoint an emperor had implicitly fallen into the hands of the government. The ceremony to officiate the emperor was, by law, in control of the government. Thus the government was given the implicit power to decide the emperor.
'That's another reason why the princes and princesses are racing to appeal to the government,' Rui mused. 'This was probably done on purpose by the founding emperor, he probably foresaw the rise of powerful corporations and organizations of Martial Artists that could potentially take the succession into their own hands.'
But by concretely ensuring that such a thing could never happen through the Bill of Royal Axioms, he ensured that the government's stronghold over the nation did not ever get overthrown during chaotic times like succession.
That reflected the founding emperor's philosophy. He was clearly a man who believed in governmental authority and heavy governmental intervention over the state.
Rui heaved a sigh, shaking his head.
He was disappointed.
While the various princes and princesses fought for support and influence amongst the corporate and Martial forces of the nation to leverage that power to gain as much recognition from within the government, the people of the Kandrian Empire seemed to be forgotten in the conversation.
Rui believed that any form of government where the people's interests were not the absolute criteria was a fundamentally flawed government. The current paradigm seemed to make the people of the Empire the least important bloc.
That was not something Rui was fond of.
Still, he didn't have any power to change it.
"I can only do what I can," He shook his head.
He turned his attention to something he could potentially impact, even if by a little; the competing princes or princesses.
According to both intelligence reports, some many princes and princesses were competing. However, out of all of them, only seven of them had any meaningful probability of ascending the throne.
Two of them he had already learned about. Princess Raemina and Prince Raijun. The former actually held a position within the Kandrian Empire as the current minister of finance, giving her a lot of sway within the government, which is why she had a solid chance of winning the Throne War.
She believed that the privatization of property ought to be demolished, any and all wealth earned ought to be gathered, by force, and be redistributed by ability and need. It was textbook communist philosophy in an attempt to create a utopia where everyone would allegedly have everything.
Yet Rui was a firm believer that such a thing was closer to hell than a utopia and would slowly degrade the nation until it crumbled as it had done to the Soviet Union. Yet her pretty words and already high authority within the Ministry of Finance gave her a good shot.
Rui shook his head, heaving a sigh.
Prince Raijun was a more curious case to Rui. When Fae had told him about the prince, Rui had gotten the impression that he was being backed by it in its Martial Union in its entirety. Rui had wondered why he hadn't essentially won the war with such astronomical support.
The truth was more nuanced. Both the Martial Union and the Beggar's Sect agreed on this. Prince Raijun had not earned the support of the entirety of the Martial Union. Many Martial factions and Sects had refused to support him.
The Martial Union was far from monolithic. Martial Artists may have come together within one organization, but being Martial Artists meant being full of individuality. This meant that all Martial organizations would inherently be polylithic.
'The issue is that he's a Martial Apprentice,' Rui realized.
Martial Apprentices had virtually no speaking power at the highest echelons of the Kandrian Empire. While Prince Raijun was a Martial Apprentice, that was not enough to win the support of the entirety of the Martial Union.
For one, he was quite old, about forty years old. Progression to the higher Realm was much more dependent on individuality and drive than raw talent alone. Many Martial Artists concluded that he was probably lacking in the former than the latter, and that drove them away from him.
None of them wanted to put their trust in a Martial Artist without drive and individuality. They certainly did not want to put the fate of the nation on his shoulders.
'If he were at least a Martial Squire…' Rui heaved a sigh.
He might have been able to earn the support of the entirety of the Martial Union. However, as it stood now, he only earned anywhere between thirty to forty percent of the support from the Martial Union.
The Beggar's Sect that it was closer to forty, while the Martial Union said it was lesser. That was an interesting difference of opinion between the two organizations.
However, despite only earning the support of thirty to forty percent of the Martial Union, he was still very much one of the strongest candidates. A solid chunk of the most powerful force in the nation was still a lot of power.
The remaining five princes were those that Rui had heard of in passing throughout his life but were still quite new to him.
Princess Rajak was one he had heard of as well. He recalled Executive Ferm telling him about Prince Rajak being supported by the Carnil Mafia and the Underworld as a whole. That explained why he was one of the seven princes and princesses with a solid shot at victory.
The Underworld was incredibly powerful with immense economic capital and Martial power with even a Martial Sage supporting and legitimizing it. With such raw support, he could easily tangle with the likes of Princess Raemina and Apprentice Prince Raijun.
