It was another bright and clear morning.
In the city of Memphis, from early dawn, the people gathered in large numbers at the square before the palace gates.
According to the proclamation issued by the palace a few days earlier, several high officials of Egypt had died due to divine punishment. (Yes, Nitocris had decisively declared the matter settled.)
The Pharaoh believed that this was because the gods were dissatisfied with the current state of Egypt.
In order to resolve this dissatisfaction, she had decided to appoint and dismiss officials and priests in front of the people at the palace gates.
Anyone who did not gain the approval of the people would not be allowed to fill the vacant positions.
The people of Memphis were extremely excited about this.
After all, nothing like this had ever happened before.
The appointment and dismissal of officials and temple priests had always been a grand feast enjoyed only by the upper class.
How could the division of power and interests ever involve commoners?
But today was different.
The people finally had a chance to participate.
Even if they could only express opinions and could not truly decide the final candidates, it still proved the Pharaoh's respect for them.
Pharaoh Nitocris truly was a good ruler.
If those they approved of could rise to high positions, they would surely work in harmony with the Pharaoh and change the current chaos in Egypt.
With such hopes, the people gathered early, eagerly awaiting what was to come.
As for the officials, what did they think of Nitocris's decision?
There was fear, opposition, disdain, mockery, every possible reaction.
Those who feared and opposed this decision were usually the ones who had grown arrogant after gaining power, those who had abused their authority and had terrible reputations.
Some of these men, once they held power, committed acts such as forced trade, abducting women, eating without paying, and even worse, oppressing the people at will, throwing those who offended them into prison, and eventually reducing them to slavery.
Naturally, such people had no advantage in this situation. If they sought to fill the vacant posts, they would face widespread opposition.
In other words, Nitocris's decision had blocked their path to power.
Of course, there were also some unfortunate individuals who, though competent, might lose their chance at promotion.
These were often judges or tax officials.
Judges had never been welcomed by ordinary citizens, and tax officials were even more disliked, especially by merchants.
No matter how competent they were, it made no difference.
As for those who welcomed Nitocris's decision, they were not truly upright officials.
Rather, they were the deeply calculating and skilled pretenders.
These people were often more despicable than those with openly bad reputations.
On the surface, they appeared to be good, but because they avoided attention, they could commit even greater evils, such as controlling gangs, bribery and corruption, or engaging in even more horrifying trades.
Since they did not appear to be bad people, they would at least not face opposition from the public.
Yet no one knew how they had accumulated vast wealth that their salaries alone could never support.
In their eyes, Nitocris's decision was like openly telling them that the power left behind by the dead nobles now belonged to them.
The mockery, of course, was directed at Nitocris's supposed naivety.
They believed that her attempt to use her popularity among the people to influence official promotions was indeed a clever move.
After all, although her authority had been hollowed out and few high officials obeyed her, her prestige among the people was immense.
And influence among the people directly affected the army.
Most of Memphis's soldiers came from the city or nearby villages.
In this era, aside from certain elite professional troops, no garrison could be composed of soldiers stationed thousands of miles from home.
Given Egypt's current system, it was impossible to maintain large professional armies like in modern times. Even in Memphis, most soldiers were semi-professional or conscripted.
Thus, by controlling the people, Nitocris had effectively secured the support of these troops.
Even if officials refused her orders, they could only temporarily compromise and allow her to decide the distribution of top power.
But so what?
The officials understood very well that even if Nitocris controlled promotions, if all potential candidates were not her people, such authority was meaningless.
Egypt was no longer the Egypt of the past.
After decades of corruption during the reign of Pharaoh Pepi, the entire bureaucratic system had thoroughly degenerated.
Aside from grassroots officials who still naively believed in loyalty to the Pharaoh, every official with real status had become a vested interest in undermining royal authority.
Egypt had transformed from a feudal monarchy into something resembling a senate or noble council. In this system, the Pharaoh was merely a figurehead.
The officials worked together, preventing her orders from even leaving the palace.
Under such circumstances, what difference did it make whom Nitocris appointed?
Every candidate would seek to sideline her anyway.
She could not possibly appoint a commoner to high office.
Not only would such a decision fail to gain acceptance, but ordinary people also lacked the ability to bear such responsibilities.
Of course, she might place one or two loyalists into the vacant posts. Even now, a small number of officials remained loyal to the Pharaoh and tradition.
After all, unlike previous rulers, Nitocris now possessed a powerful secret force capable of precise assassinations.
She had also gained the support of the people and grassroots soldiers. It was only natural that she could recover some authority.
But that was all.
Before a completely corrupted bureaucratic system, struggle was useless.
Even if all the newly appointed high officials were loyal, if those beneath them remained rotten, their power would be nothing but an illusion, unable to be implemented.
Even if the people approved the high officials, if the bureaucrats did not, such appointments would be futile.
Even a Pharaoh could not oppose the entire bureaucracy, could she?
With such thoughts, the officials of Memphis also arrived at the scene, waiting for the Pharaoh's appearance.