Chapter 77 Chapter 61

The emperor who ruled the galaxy felt a sense of weariness - physical weariness.His lips were sore from having to put a gracious smile on his face at the right moment; He felt no rest, his ears ached; his whole body trembled with exhaustion from having to stand up, sit down, turn around, reach out, and nod his head so often. It was little more than a state dinner, but he had to receive a number of mayors, viceroys, ministers and their wives or husbands from all corners of Trantor, and (worse still) from all corners of the galaxy.There were nearly a thousand people in attendance, all dressed in traditional costumes from all over the place, ranging from the extravagant to the downright weird.In addition, he had to endure the nagging of various accents, and what was worse was that they all imitated the galactic standard language commonly used by the Imperial University, because it was the language used by the emperor.And the most troublesome thing is: as the emperor, he must remember to avoid making any substantive promises when he casually says empty words without content.

Everything was recorded with great care, both visual and sound.Afterwards, Itur Demmerzel would look over it from beginning to end to see if Cleon the Great had behaved properly—which, of course, was only the Emperor's own opinion.Demmerzel would have said that he was only gathering information that his guests had inadvertently revealed themselves, and perhaps he was telling the truth. Lucky Demerzel! The emperor could not leave the palace and the surrounding gardens, and Demerful could tour the galaxy whenever he wanted.The emperor is always on display at the palace, always on call, always forced to entertain some visitor - from the really important to the unexpected.Demerzel remained invisible, never to be seen in the palace gardens.He only maintains a formidable name, and an invisible (and therefore more terrifying) presence.

The emperor is the core of power, and the pavilion has all the appearance and benefits of power.Demerzel is on the periphery of power. On the surface, he seems to have nothing, not even a formal title, but he can explore every corner with his fingers and heart.He asks for nothing of his own indefatigability, the only reward he asks is the very essence of power. The emperor suddenly had a happy idea—a kind of happiness tinged with death.It occurred to him that at any time, without warning, or by concocting a confession, or by any excuse whatsoever, he could have Demerzel arrested, imprisoned, exiled, tortured, or executed.After all, the Emperor may have had trouble extending his will across the planets of the Empire, or even in the districts of Trantor, over the past few annoying centuries of turmoil—the local executive and legislature were full of traitors, making him One has to deal with a myriad of decrees, drafts, conventions, treaties, and interstellar laws in general.However, at least within the scope of the imperial palace and imperial garden, he still has supreme and absolute power.

Yet Kryon knew full well that his dreams of power were futile.Demerzel is a veteran of the emperor's father. In Kryon's memory, he always turned to Demerzel for help when he encountered any problems, and there was never an exception.The one who knows everything, plans, cuts seven, and executes everything is Dan Chicier.What's more, if anything goes wrong, Demerzel can be blamed.The emperor himself is aloof and will never be criticized, so he has no fear in his heart-of course there are exceptions, that is, he is worried that a palace coup will happen and he will be assassinated by his closest and closest people.And this is the most important reason why he relies on Demerzel.

The thought of getting rid of Demerzel and taking over everything by himself made Emperor Cleon feel a slight tremor all over his body.In the past, some emperors did rule the empire themselves, and their chief executives were all mediocre.They let incompetent people occupy this position, and Cong Mi didn't want to replace it—and in a short period of time, they were able to make do with it. But Kryon can't, he needs Demerzel.In fact, since he thought of the possibility of assassination—in view of the modern history of the empire.It was inevitable that the thought should arise in his mind—he could see that getting rid of Demerzel would be quite impossible, impossible at all.However skilfully he, Kryon, deployed it secretly, Demerzel had a way (he was sure) of foreseeing the move, would have known it was going on quietly, would have orchestrated a court coup many times more skilfully.Kryon himself would die before Demerzel could possibly be kidnapped and taken away.Then soon there will be another Emperor, and Demerzel will continue to serve him—and command him.

Or will Demerzel get tired of the game and become emperor himself? Absolutely not!His habit of hiding behind the scenes is too deep-rooted.If Demerzel allowed himself to be exposed to the world, his power, his wisdom, his luck (whatever that was) would forsake him.Kryon was convinced of this, beyond doubt. So as long as he plays his part, Kryon is safe.Because Demerzel himself has no ambitions, he will serve himself faithfully. Demerzel is here now, and he is dressed so plainly that Kryon feels uneasy about the useless decorations on his robes. Take it off.Naturally, the character of Demerzir will not come into play until he is alone and changed into civilian clothes.

"Demerzel," said the Emperor who ruled the galaxy, "I'm tired!" "A state banquet is a tiring business, Your Majesty," murmured Demerzel. "Then do I have to come every night?" "Wells aren't every night, but they're important. There's something satisfying about seeing you in person and someone you've noticed. It helps keep the empire running smoothly." "In the past, empires depended on power to keep things going," said the Emperor in a sombre tone. "Today, it must be kept going with a smile, a wave of a hand, a whispered word, and a medal or medal."

"If these can be kept at peace, Sire, it will be well worth it. And your reign has been quite successful." "Do you know why—because I have you by my side. My only true gift. Is understanding your importance." He looked at Demerzel with a sly look, "My son doesn't have to Be my successor, he is not a child with outstanding talents. How about I let you be my successor?" Demozel said with a cold door kiss: "Your Majesty, why do you have such an idea? I will never usurp the throne, and I will not steal it from the legitimate successor. Besides, if I offend you , please punish me in a fair manner. In any event, nothing I have done, or could have done, has been serious enough to warrant the punishment of the throne."

Kryon laughed. "For your honest assessment of the value of the throne, Demerzel, I refrain from punishing you. Well, let's talk. I'm going to bed later. , but I'm not ready for the red tape that goes into bed with me. Let's talk." "What are you talking about, Your Majesty?" "Talk about anything—talk about that mathematician and his psychohistory. I think about him every once in a while, you know. I thought of him again at dinner tonight, and I thought to myself: If psychohistorical analysis could What would it be like to predict a way for me, the emperor, to avoid endless red tape?"

"But I have an idea, Sire, that even the best psychohistorian cannot do it." "Okay, tell me what's going on. Is he still hiding between those weird bald heads of Myrksen? You promised me you'd get him out of there." "I did promise, Your Majesty, and I have worked towards this. Unfortunately, I must admit that I have failed." "Failed?" The emperor frowned, "I don't like this kind of thing." "I don't like it either, Your Majesty. I plan to induce the mathematician to commit some kind of blasphemy, the kind that will be punished severely--blasphemy is easy to commit in Methusen, especially for a foreigner. Then , the mathematician would be compelled to appeal to the Emperor, and we would have him. According to my plan, we would have to pay only minor concessions—important to Myqusen, and completely irrelevant to us. In my deployment, I did not intend to participate directly, but to manipulate the operation subtly."

"I thought so too," Kryon said, "but it failed. Could it be the mayor of Myqusheng..." "He is honored as Elder, Your Majesty." "Don't argue with me about the title, does this elder refuse to cooperate?" "On the contrary, Your Majesty, he agreed. And that mathematician, Seldon, fell into the trap immediately." "Then what happened next?" "He was cleared to leave unscathed." "Why?" Kryon said angrily. "I'm not sure about that, Your Majesty, but I suspect someone has offered a higher price." "Who? The Mayor of Wye?" "Possibly, Sire, but I doubt it. I have Wye under constant surveillance, and if they get the mathematician, I should know by now." At this time, the emperor not only frowned, but he was obviously furious: "Demozel, this is too bad, I am very unhappy. Failure like this makes me wonder if you have become another person. What method should we use to teach him a lesson for such an act that clearly violated the emperor's will?" Sensing a rush of anger, Demozil quickly bent down deeply, but still said in a firm tone of steel: "It would be a mistake to take action against Mequsheng now, Your Majesty. The division caused by this will be destroyed by the defense. The lotus harvest is the fisherman's profit." "But we have to do something." "Perhaps nothing should be done, Your Majesty. Things are not as bad as they appear." "Why isn't it as bad as it looks?" "You will remember, Sire, that this mathematician is convinced that psychohistory is impractical." "Of course I remember that, but it doesn't matter at all, does it? For our purposes?" "Perhaps. But if it becomes feasible, it will help us immeasurably, Your Majesty. And from what I can gather, the mathematician is trying to make psychohistory feasible. Qusheng's profanity, as far as I understand, is part of his attempt to solve the problem of psychohistory. In this case, Your Majesty, we will not touch him for the time being. When he approaches or reaches the goal, we will put him Grab it, it will be more useful to us." "If Weihe gets him first, it won't happen." "I'm going to keep an eye on this and make sure it doesn't happen." "Like you just managed to get that mathematician out of Mycosen?" "I will not make the same mistake next time, Your Majesty." Demerzel said calmly. The emperor said: "Demerzel, you are the best. I will never tolerate another mistake in this matter." Then, he added angrily: "I don't think I'll sleep at all tonight."