Dongfang Bai was truly dumbfounded.
The three hyenas that were about to gnaw on the body of the behemoth suddenly realized that they were the prey that was covered by the sharp tusks. They could not help but tremble softly under the cover of Lei Chenghu's spurting eyes.
"You — you must be kidding, right?"
Dongfang Bai stammered.
Lei Chenghu smiled gloomily, with disdain and disappointment in his eyes. He sighed and said, "You always talk about the slogans such as' survival of the fittest '. You are bold enough to savor and stomp on the lives of dozens of hominoids blatantly when you are faced with the specific, tiny number of hominoids. But when it comes to the real battle, you all turn into cowards.
"What kind of Immortal Cultivators are you exactly, huh? You are just garbage, ants, and wretches who satisfy your selfish desires under the guise of Immortal Cultivators and demonstrate your strength by bullying the weak. You are also addicted to such boring pleasures!
"That is what I want to say to the Council of Elders. I am responsible for every word that I say. It is not a joke at all.
"Although we have been confronting the Holy League in the frontline of the Black Wind Sector for a hundred years, I strongly disagreed with launching a strategic counterattack recklessly at the beginning.
"But at that time, the Council of Elders had already issued the general mobilization for war. I could only carry out the Council of Elders' orders dutifully.
"After our army marched to the frontline of 'Divine Eagle — Ancient River' unstoppably and conquered eighteen Sectors, I wrote to the Council of Elders again, requesting that we immediately switch from a strategic attack to a strategic defense and that we would not launch a new round of attacks until the eighteen Sectors were managed for at least fifty years.
"However, in the Council of Elders and the base of the expedition army, the shortsighted guys who were blinded by greed threw my advice aside and marched forward crazily like wild dogs that had smelled meat. Today, they have swallowed dozens of Sectors in a row. The pressure on the garrisons and the logistics couldn't have been greater than it already was.
"At this moment, you are scared, and you want to quit while you are ahead?
"Let me tell you, it's too late!
"The people of the Holy League will certainly not watch the Imperium manage the New Brightness Sector obediently. In the past ten years, our army has conquered so many habitable planets and resource planets, but we have never captured any sign of the main force of the Holy League. That is the greatest problem!
"I guarantee with my head that it won't be long before the main force of the Covenant Alliance shows up from the most unexpected coordinates and launches the counterattack of the largest scale so far, perhaps while the lords in the court of the Imperium are scheming to divide the 'fruits of victory' that they just got. If our army cannot resist the counterattack, not only will we lose all the newly-recovered worlds, we will also completely lose the strategic initiative, exposing the heartland to the Covenant Alliance's blade and allowing the enemy to butcher it!
"It is more than impossible to stop now. We are in imminent peril. It's hilarious that the guys who sit in the offices at the back and daydream in front of the crystal processors all day long are still ignorant!
"The best defense is attack. Before, I did not agree with launching such an immature 'Imperium's counterattack', but now that the war has come to this point, it is useless to object anymore. Instead of dispersing the precious troops to the dozens of Sectors that have just been recovered and are in dire need of resources and whose people have been seriously brainwashed, I would rather concentrate all the troops and continue attacking the heartland of the Holy League!
"In order to completely penetrate the last defense line of the Holy League and force the main force of the enemy to come out for a strategic battle, the scale of the expedition army has to be expanded by at least twenty percent!"
20%！
Dongfang Bai and the other two inspectors were completely dumbfounded. They looked at each other in bewilderment, unable to say anything for a long time.
"I know that there are difficulties in the rear, but there are no wars that are not difficult."
Lei Chenghu said casually, "I have carefully studied the economic policies and the rules of rewards and punishments implemented in the general mobilization in the rear, only to discover that you have not explained the great significance of the war and the perilous situation that the Imperium is faced with clearly to the people, nor have you completely inspired the people to be loyal, patriotic, and sacrifice everything for the civilization of mankind.
"In my opinion, there is still a lot of potential in the rear. I am writing a 'Battle Strategy in the Next Phase', in which there is a 'concentration camp system', which was prepared for the people who have been seriously brainwashed by the Holy League in the newly-recovered space zones. But at such a critical moment, it is not a bad idea to establish some 'concentration camps' for the worlds in the rear that are corrupted by the Cultivators. I believe that the work efficiency and patriotism of the hominoids will definitely be significantly improved. At the very least, their consumption will be greatly reduced, and more resources will be saved to ensure the supplies in the frontline.
"All in all, the war has come to the most critical moment. The Imperium and the Holy League are like two breathless, exhausted bulls whose horns are pressing against each other. At this moment, the only thing that matters is which side collapses first. As long as there is the slightest sign of collapse, everything will be screwed!
"Therefore, from this moment on, we must be prepared to fight a tough war for three to five years, and at least fifty billion people will be sacrificed in total. If we want to win, please consider my strategy carefully, the Council of Elders."
Dongfang Bai swallowed hard and took a step back.
It was as if the ferocious tiger surrounded by ghostly fire would tear apart the barrier of the sea of stars and bite his throat directly.
"The Council of Elders will not agree to such a crazy plan."
The head of the special service swallowed hard, his voice flickering like a candle in the wind. "Besides, the local nobles and warlords are already complaining about the current resource supply. How can we strengthen the general mobilization when they are competing against each other in the open and in the dark?"
Lei Chenghu smiled, with the expression of "I knew that you couldn't do it" all over his face. Then, he changed the topic and said, "If you can't do it, prepare for a strategic retreat!"
Dongfang Bai was completely dumbfounded. "What?"
"It is impossible to defend all the dozens of Sectors in the newly-restored space zone."
Lei Chenghu explained patiently, not for Dongfang Bai but for the elders behind Dongfang Bai. "In particular, the twenty or so Sectors that have been conquered in the past three years were purely the bait that the Holy League threw out. They are thorny and poisonous!
"If the Council of Elders cannot send more troops to the expedition army, I suggest that we abandon the twenty or so Sectors voluntarily and retreat to the frontline of 'Divine Eagle — Ancient River'. The pressure on the logistics will be reduced while the troops are concentrated. Chances are that we will be able to resist the Holy League's desperate counterattack.
"Of course, even if we choose the more conservative strategy and retreat to the frontline of 'Divine Eagle — Ancient River', the expedition army must not be disbanded. At the very least, the current scale must be maintained and the highest command must be further concentrated. Only then will we have enough combat ability to wait for a strategic battle with the main force of the Holy League!"
"That's even more impossible!"
Dongfang Bai blurted out. "The enemy has already been defeated and fled, but our army is retreating without a fight and giving up more than twenty Sectors voluntarily. That's almost —"
"Yes, it's indeed impossible. Those hungry nobles have already stretched out their necks and prepared to divide up so many delicious and plump spoils of war. Who would be willing to spit out the fatty meat that was sent to their throat for nothing?"
Lei Chenghu shook his head and sighed. "Cowardice is not the path to failure, and neither is greed. However, to be both cowardly and greedy, or to be greedy when you should be cowardly and cowardly when you should be greedy, will be asking to be killed!"
"That's all I have to say. Take care of yourselves, everybody!"
Lei Chenghu slowly closed his eyes and was deep in thought.
This was the first time that he had called himself "this marquis".
"Marquis Liaohai …"
Dongfang Bai was somewhat at a loss for a moment. After a long daze, he said, "You are being too alarmist. Although 'luring the enemy' is a common trick of the military, has anyone been crazy enough to 'lure the enemy' at the cost of dozens of Sectors in history?
"Those are dozens of habitable planets and hundreds of resource planets. Immeasurable population, mother lodes, and resources!
"Such enormous resources will be digested and absorbed by the Imperium if anything goes wrong. By then, the Holy League will be doomed for sure!
"Even the most insane gambler wouldn't resort to such a desperate strategy, would they? It is purely a gamble on the fate of the nation!
"More than ten years ago, when the Imperium launched the strategic counterattack, the Holy League clearly had the upper hand. Was there any reason to gamble on the fate of the nation crazily?
"Therefore, the base and the Council of Elders have considered that the enemy is' luring the enemy ', but the possibility is so slim that it doesn't exist at all!"
"Oh?"
Lei Chenghu opened his eyes again. With the brilliance of both a beast and a gambler beaming out, he said, one word after another, "Gambling on the fate of the nation? That's a good word!
"Indeed. If the Holy League is as strong as it appears to be and maintains advantages over the Imperium, there is no need for it to gamble on the fate of the nation.
"But what if the Holy League is not as strong as it appears to be?
"What if the enemy is weak inside and has exhausted all their assets in the thousand years of war and is on the verge of collapse?
"What if the Holy League is destined to collapse after decades of head-on battles against the Imperium even if it does not play the trick of 'luring the enemy'?
"Under such circumstances, is it possible that the enemy is willing to bet everything on a single attack? Please tell me the answer! "
Dongfang Bai was lost for words in shock.
"Compared to the system of the Imperium, the greatest advantage of the Holy League's system is that the people's desires and free will are contained as much as possible through the brainwashing implemented at the genetic stage."
Lei Chenghu said casually, "In such a way, the strength of all the people is highly concentrated, and there is barely any internal friction. The coefficient of internal friction in the running of the society is infinitely close to zero, unlike the Imperium, where everybody is doing their own thing and fighting each other incessantly.
"However, such a deformed body also has a fatal flaw.
"Without free will, creativity and initiative will be lacking. Without feelings and desires, there will be no thought to push forward the development of the civilization at all. The whole world is lifeless, and everybody follows the prescribed order. They are nothing more than a bunch of well-wound machines.
"The only factor that can push forward the evolution of the Holy League is the relics of Pangu that they excavate and the technology and magical equipment that their 'god' bestowed upon them.
"A thousand years ago, the Holy League caught the Imperium unprepared and gained strategic advantages over the Imperium with the advanced technologies of the Pangu relics and the zero-friction system that barely had any internal friction.
"However, war has always been the fastest way for civilizations to communicate. After a thousand years of war, the Imperium also boasted the technological level close to the Holy League through various channels.
"In the meantime, the fatal weakness of the Holy League's society, which is lack of creativity and initiative, was exposed all the time.
"Besides, for a thousand years, the Imperium has always occupied the most prosperous world at the center of the cosmos. Its comprehensive national power is even higher than the Holy League's. Even though the Imperium suffered a few crushing defeats in the frontline, it can still replenish soldiers and resources incessantly, which the Holy League can never afford.
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