"As expected of Commander Lei. What a magnificent strategy."
Boss Bai did not give in at all. He said coldly, "However, the pie doesn't count until it can be swallowed. Have you ever considered what to do if the combat ability of our army is not enough to support the continuous battles and the long-distance assault? In other words, we will be marching into the enemy's territory on our own. By then, the tiniest accident may lead to the annihilation of our entire army!
"The safest strategy is to take down the Jade Tripod Planet first and transform the resourceful planet into our forward base and the pivot of our supply lines."
"Safest? There is no time for us to be safest! "
Lei Chenghu's face was even darker. He said solemnly, "The Holy League's fleet on the western front is getting more and more unpredictable. They may launch a critical strike at the heartland of the Imperium at any moment. If I were the commander of the main fleet of the Holy League, it is very possible that I would stab my sharpest troops into the heart of the Imperium!
"Once the news that the main-force fleet of the Covenant Alliance has shown up in the capital comes over, it will be even less likely for the remaining members of the four Kurfürst families to surrender. We will be caught in a dilemma. By then, will it help even if we occupy a tiny planet?"
"That's not a reason to attack the enemy's capital when you're exhausted and running out of supplies!"
Boss Bai burst out in fury again. He bellowed, "If we don't rest, how can we fight the war when the troops cannot hold on?"
"Even if we can't hold on, we have to hold on. Right now, we are fighting for our last breath. With one victory after another, we can stimulate the troops to go straight for the enemy. If we stop to rest and reorganize, our last breath will dissipate, and our combat strength will fall to the bottom. We will never be able to climb back up again!"
Lei Chenghu said aloud, "This is a battle where the fate of the Imperium is at stake. Even though we know that the odds are slim, we still … don't have a choice!"
"No, it's you who don't have a choice, not 'we'."
Boss Bai narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "No matter what Commander Lei says, I feel that your strategy is too risky. The men under my command have no reason to risk their lives for the Imperium. We have our own missions and destinies."
As soon as he said this, the two of them fell silent.
That's right, from the very beginning, the disagreement between the two wasn't about tactics or strategy, but about their different standpoints.
With Lei Chenghu's battle experience as a commander, how could he not know that the troops were already exhausted and pushed to their limits? If they did not resupply and rest properly at this time, how reckless and risky would it be if they continued to fight bloody battles and even "attack the enemy's base directly"?
With Boss Bai's unpredictable hunting and looting, how could he not know the importance of "time" and "mobility"? How could he not know how troublesome and idiotic it was to pry open the crust of a planet with a fleet? It was like stabbing a rock with a sharp blade.
Thinking back to his career as a space pirate in the past, he had been best known for his' fight and run '. He would've been out of his mind to attack a planet where a lot of soldiers had been gathered and fight the goddamn ground battles!
However, their standpoints and the mission on their shoulders forced them to ignore the risks and omissions in their plan and only hope that some "miracle" would happen so that they could accomplish the mission once and for all.
Lei Chenghu had to take care of the available forces of the four Kurfürst families before the main fleet of the Holy League showed up. Every Deep Sky Fleet that could perform a space jump had to completely seal the remnants of the four families on every lone planet.
Boss Bai, on the other hand, had to preserve his strength as much as possible so that he could earn more bargaining chips for the game between the Federation and the Imperium later and even for his own plan.
Getting to the bottom of it, Boss Bai did not care about the difference between Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators. As a space pirate himself, he was not a saint.
However, it was one thing to help the Immortal Cultivators fight a war, and it was another thing to risk his life for the Immortal Cultivators and die for nothing at the risk of his own death.
Such silence also revealed the greatest weakness of the anti-rebel coalition army, which was that there were multiple orders and different commands.
Lei Chenghu was the nominal commander-in-chief of the anti-rebel army. Boss Bai and the Arsonist Fleet were both under his command.
But how could Boss Bai really give up the military power to somebody else? Of course, they would only cooperate with each other in the battle.
It was fine when they secured consecutive victories, but in such a tough battle where the whole army was likely to be annihilated, the gap between the two of them was obvious and could not be healed at all.
Faced with the disobedient Boss Bai, Lei Chenghu did not have a good solution either.
It was not like that he would fall out with his only powerful ally at such a critical moment, would he?
"Is there any news about the reinforcements of the Federation?"
He could only change the topic to ease the tension.
It was true that if the reinforcements of the Xing Yao Federation arrived in time, the anti-rebel coalition army would be significantly strengthened, and it would be much easier for them to make plans. With the capabilities of Lei Chenghu and Boss Bai, it was certainly possible for them to swallow the remnants of the four families alive.
"Not yet. It is still uncertain whether or not the Federation is willing to send reinforcements, and how many reinforcements they can send."
Boss Bai said gloomily, "If I may tell you, Commander Lei, only a few years ago, the war machine of the entire Xing Yao Federation was still functioning in order to defend against the Imperium of True Human Beings. It even had a head-on battle with the Black Wind Fleet that belonged to the Imperium.
"Although the Black Wind Fleet did not invade the heartland of the Federation and commit crimes such as murder and looting, countless descendants of the Federation still sacrificed their precious lives in the battle.
"The Federation's hostility and wariness toward the Imperium have leaked into the blood and marrow of every citizen of the Federation after a hundred years of education. Right now, how difficult do you think it will be to make the people of the Federation take a 180-degree turn in only a few months and make the Union Army that has been operating for a hundred years fight to 'defend the Imperium'?
"It's true that Li Yao is trapped in the depths of space, and his wife is the current Speaker of the Federation. However, the Speaker of the Federation is not the emperor of the Imperium. It is up to the parliament to decide whether or not to send troops and even declare war on the Alliance of the Holy Covenant. The decision of the parliament has to reflect the will of all the people. If all the people in society and public opinion object to sending troops, it is impossible for the parliament and the Speaker to risk universal condemnation."
"Therefore, this is exactly why the Imperium does not need a goddamn parliament."
Lei Chenghu gnashed his teeth and said, "The stupid parliament, the stupid people, and the stupid so-called 'public opinion' are just restraining a fierce tiger with the ideas of a bunch of pigs. It will only drag the Xing Yao Federation into a dead end. Do you not understand the simple logic that the teeth will be interdependent when the lips are gone? If the Imperium collapses and the Holy League rises, can the Federation just hide in a corner of the cosmos and stay out of harm's way? It will only be a matter of time before you die! "
"I understand. I think so too, but it's too late to say anything now. We can only wait for the Federation to make their decision."
Looking at Lei Chenghu, Boss Bai finally made a concession. "Commander Lei, even if you do not agree with attacking the Jade Tripod Planet, you should at least ask the troops to take down 'Jade Seed Planet', the main satellite of the planet. The docks, mines, refining centers, and weapon factories on it will be a great help for our army that is short of resources.
"All in all, if you have to play the trick of besieging the enemy and attacking the reinforcements, you have to make sure that the enemy will be fooled, don't you think?"
Lei Chenghu stared at Boss Bai for a long time.
"Alright. Three days."
His neck was like a rusty gear. He struggled to nod his head and extended three mechanical fingers. "In three days, we must break the ground defense of 'Jade Seed Planet' and take over the satellite. Let's hope that good news will come from the Xing Yao Federation before that!"
The light beam gradually dimmed.
Lei Chenghu's face was replaced by the dark vacuum, the burning stars, and the planet that looked like a cake.
Looking at everything, Boss Bai's hollow eyes seemed to have pierced through the three-dimensional universe and leaped to somewhere far away.
After a long time, he sighed gloomily with the same feelings as Lu Qingchen.
"The Federation. My Federation!"
…
At the same time, at the edge of the cosmos, in the Uranian Ring Sector of the Xing Yao Federation …
While Lei Chenghu and Boss Bai were having a fierce argument about the marching strategy, on the super orbital dock at the periphery of the Uranian Ring Planet, a large cruising mothership that had just been modified was slowly leaving the spaceport under the tow of a tugboat. It had already joined an enormous fleet that was newly established in the brilliance that was as brilliant as the stars before it was tested.
On the cruising carrier, a heated argument broke out in a secret meeting room, too.
The parties involved in the argument included the leadership of the politics of the Federation, the experts of various forces, and the generals and specialists in the military and academic circles.
Ding Ling Dong, the Speaker of the Federation; Guo Chunfeng, the director of the Secret Sword Bureau; Jin Xinyue, the former president of the Dim Moon Fund; Bai Kaixin, the Chief of the General Staff of the Union Army; Peng Hai, Meng Chixin, Han Baling … The thunderous names and the faces that appeared in the headlines every day were indicative of the importance of the meeting, or rather, the 'argument'.
What they cared about was naturally the news about Li Yao and the Imperium. What they were arguing about was nothing more than whether or not the Federation should send out troops and how much they should be involved in the great swirl at the center of the cosmos.
Such a meeting should've been held on the Heaven's Origin Sector, the capital of the Federation.
However, the issue of whether or not the Federation should interfere with the situation in the Imperium was too sensitive. The latest news about Li Yao's disappearance was too serious and destructive. Once it was exposed by the media, nobody could tell what kind of turmoil the Federation would cause. Even before the army set off, half of its morale had already been lost.
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