Warhammer 40: Saviors Emerging from the Bottom

Seeing Xiao Yi's face clearly showing his impatience, Lü Heng had no choice but to abandon his arrogant attitude, stand up and introduce himself: "Lord Xiao Yi..."

"Huh? When did this extra person appear here?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Heng's expression became somewhat embarrassed, but for the sake of his family, he forced himself to finish what he had to say.

"I am the patriarch of the Lü clan, who controls the vast majority of food production and transportation in Zhen Dan. I have come here today to discuss a deal with you."

In order to gain more bargaining chips, Lü Heng exaggerated his hand, and half of it was indeed far from the majority.

"What kind of deal?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Heng instantly perked up, his embarrassed expression vanishing instantly, replaced by a confident look as he said:

"Due to the previous rebellion, production in many parts of the hive has come to a standstill, and now both the upper and lower hives are facing the risk of food shortages."

"If we let it go unchecked, it will definitely cause riots, and it will take even more time to restore stability. I have a batch of food on hand right now."

What do you want?

Lu Heng glanced at Liu Bang and saw that he seemed to want to say something but hesitated. He knew without a doubt that it was related to the position of governor.

Is this guy trying to get me to support him as governor?

Thinking of this, Xiao Yi stood up and grabbed Lü Heng's hand, feigning gratitude, and said, "So it was free? It seems I misunderstood. I didn't expect the Lü family to be so generous. On behalf of all the residents of Chaodu, I thank you."

When did I say it was free?

Seeing that his inventory was about to be given away because of Xiao Yi's few words, Lü Heng became anxious and blurted out his true thoughts.

"I heard the position of Director-General of the Interior is currently vacant?"

This shows the difference between Lü Heng and the old man who died in the banquet hall; if it were them, they would never have fallen for the trap so easily.

The Chief of the Interior is the nominal head of the Aurora administration, primarily handling basic administrative matters.

Although the matters under his jurisdiction are relatively basic, his power is considerable, and the appointment of many positions requires the approval of the Director-General of the Interior.

By securing this position, the Lü family can quickly place their trusted confidants in important roles, thus advancing their careers further.

The appointment of this position can only be decided by the governor himself, but the governor standing in front of Lü Heng now is not the governor of Zhen Dan.

In theory, neither Xiao Yi nor Liu Bang had the right to decide this matter. Discussing such a thing with them would be considered a treacherous scheme to overthrow the current governor's rule.

This is why Lü Heng hesitated to speak just now.

In his view, the Liu family, which had been almost completely wiped out, had lost the right to continue sitting in the position of governor.

The entire Zhen Dan region will face a reshuffle next. Among the many options available, the most likely candidate to seize the governorship is actually Xiao Yi, an outsider.

The reasons are complex, but simply put, there are two main points.

First, Xiao Yi is strong enough and has a large army, enough to suppress all nobles who are unwilling to submit to him by force.

Second, almost every family has its own enemies, and whoever becomes governor will have opponents. Putting an unrelated person in the position as a mascot will not cause too much of a problem.

Liu Bang could certainly have sat in that position, but in the eyes of the nobles, he was essentially Xiao Yi's mouthpiece.

Rather than letting Xiao Yi manipulate everything from the shadows, it's better to put him in the open.

As for how long Xiao Yi could remain in the position of Governor-General of Zhen Dan, that was not something Lü Heng needed to consider. He only needed to secure his own interests when Xiao Yi stepped into the limelight.

"I don't think this appointment is something I can decide."

"These are special times, and it's understandable to make some compromises. I believe the Governor isn't that rigid."

As an ambitious governor, Liu Yi would certainly not allow anyone to touch his power, and doing so would carry certain risks.

Unfortunately, he is already dead. If Xiao Yi were willing, the position of Chief Administrator of the Central Plains would belong to Lü Heng.

However, Xiao Yi felt that agreeing so easily was a bit of a loss, so he sighed and said, "There's no problem with saying that, but if we just agree so easily, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain."

Impressed by the implied meaning, Lü Heng immediately said, "Sir, please feel free to speak up. As long as it is within my ability, I will do my best to help."

"It is certainly not good for the nobles to continue fighting; it will only give the Emperor's enemies an opportunity to launch a counterattack."

"I will try my best to persuade them."

After receiving the answer he wanted, Xiao Yi's cold expression began to soften.

For the next period of time, he and Lü Heng talked like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years about the grudges and affections between the various noble families in Shangchao.

The current Governor-General of Aurora was left out in the cold.

However, Liu Bang was not dissatisfied at all. He knew his own strength clearly, and without Xiao Yi's help, he might not even have the right to live in the governor's mansion.

For the next few days, everything proceeded according to plan.

Liu Bang followed Yuri to Starport, where he temporarily took command of the Imperial Army's counter-offensive as the successor to the governor, replacing the "unwell Liu Yi".

Although he's called a commander, he's really just sitting in the command room nodding. It's better to leave the professional tasks to the professionals.

If misguided instructions cause any problems, then everything will be over.

The senior military officers were somewhat resistant to the sudden appointment of the new governor-general's successor, but due to the governor-general's orders and Liu Bang's clear self-positioning, they ultimately accepted the situation silently.

It was impossible to hide what happened in Shangchao. Xiao Yi had no way to silence all the nobles, so he could only briefly explain what had happened and then admit it directly.

Some people believe that Liu Yi returned to Shangchao not because he was unwell, but to stabilize the situation and prevent Shangchao from becoming the next battlefield.

Ignoring Xiao Yi as a variable, this is the only way they can understand Shangchao's current situation.

The noble council proceeded as scheduled. With the help of Lü Heng, an inside man, Xiao Yi reached an agreement with the other nobles, guaranteeing their current property and status.

Correspondingly, they need to take responsibility and send soldiers to join Xiao Yi in dealing with the Slaanesh Cult, which is still putting up a stubborn resistance, and the Greenskins entrenched in the Starport.

In addition, there are many other detailed issues that need to be discussed, but Xiao Yi, who is busy with the battle, does not have time to deal with them for the time being.

Perhaps because Aetherel needed time to recover, Xiao Yi's sleep quality had been incredibly good these past few days, and no one was going crazy in his dreams anymore.