Right when the emperor and the empress dowager of the new Imperium were so shocked by a certain world-shaking news that they could barely control their facial nerves and their hands, in the Yellow Dragon Sector, the capital of the Song family, which was opposite to the capital, on the orbit of the main planet where Emperor Chengwu of the so-called "old Imperium" lived, somebody was sighing in distress on a magnificent starship that looked like an unsheathed saber, troubled by the complicated, dark situation in front of them.
It was "Song Bugui", the highest commander of the coalition fleet and the vice marshal of the army of the Imperium, the last mobile force of the four Kurfürst families.
After the two consecutive crushing defeats in the battle of the Seven Seas Space Zone and the capital, the situation that they had been confident in collapsed instantly. Not only did they lose half of their territory, they were almost crushed. The four Kurfürst families finally showed the tiniest bit of "sincere solidarity". They all agreed that, today, when the "Adamantine Fleet" and the "ace fleets" had both been crushed and even turned against each other, the weak, defeated soldiers would only be crushed and annihilated by the unstoppable reformists if they were scattered in the territory that was like a lone island.
Only by gathering the few new warships that were left to defend the dignity of Emperor Chengwu and the four Kurfürst families was the only way out.
That was how the coalition fleet was born.
The name of the fleet that Emperor Chengwu granted was "Heaven's Return". It was not hard to infer how much the last fleet of the "old Imperium" was valued.
However, Song Bugui, the highest commander of the "Heaven's Return Fleet", was not exactly a candidate for the commander that everybody was looking for. Even he knew very well that he was just the result of the power struggle, the compromise, and the lack of other options.
Song Bugui, who was 184 years old this year, was not one of those brilliant generals in the Imperial Army, nor did he have anything to do with the adjectives of bravery, decisiveness, and resourcefulness. In his military career that spanned more than 150 years, he had experienced dozens of large and small bloody and fierce battles. But no matter how relaxed the conditions were, he could not find a classic battle that could be recorded in the textbooks, let alone a magnificent battle record of 'defeating the enemy with a few and launching a surprise attack from a thousand miles away'.
He was a very mediocre general who did not have any personal style or the air of a famous general. He was more like a civil servant who followed the prescribed order than a general on the battlefield. In the first half of his military career, he often appeared as an advisor or an assistant. When he was qualified enough to take charge of an area on his own, he was often stationed in the desolate, barren worlds or in charge of missions such as logistics and escorts. He had once worked in the military command department and the education director of the fleets of the Imperium for more than ten years. Then, he was uncannily promoted to the commander of a certain frontline army, just to be a scapegoat that nobody was willing to take.
In the dozens of bloody battles and fierce battles, his performance was barely passable. He had been defeated, but not terribly. In the worst case, he could still evacuate safely with seventy to eighty percent of the remaining soldiers. He had won battles, but because of his hesitation, he missed the best opportunity to expand his achievements and make a fortune.
All in all, he was an unattractive general who nobody would have thought of but did not have any major shortcomings when it came to his shortcomings.
As an Immortal Cultivator, Song Bugui was not entirely unambitious when he was young, but after more than a hundred years of hard work, blood, and tears, and lingering at the gate of hell dozens of times, Song Bugui, who was gradually getting old, knew very well that he was just a mediocre man who did not have the ability to realize his ambitions.
Before the four families launched the fierce attack on the Seven Seas Space Zone, he failed in the family competition again and was kicked back to the cold seat of the education director of the Imperium's fleet and the reserve commander of the Song family. At that time, he was already frustrated and had been waiting to sit on the cold seat until he died. But it never occurred to him that, after only half a year, he would become the commander of the last elite troop of the four families and one of the best 'big shots' in the Imperium's army.
Of course, Song Bugui knew very well what was going on exactly. It was surrender and death. His brilliant comrades were taken away one by one. Yun Xuefeng and Song Yushi in the Seven Seas Space Zone, as well as countless capable and well-connected commanders in the four ace fleets, were either killed in the battle or caught by the reformists, ending in the most dishonorable end.
Just like that, the leadership of the four families who fled in panic finally regained their footing. When Song Bugui looked around, he discovered, to his surprise, that they could not find a fleet commander who had both prestige and command skills!
Also, because the main force of the four families had been crushed and they were in urgent need of reinforcements and recruits to fill up the fleet, Song Bugui, who had been the education director of the Imperium's fleet for years and the reserve commander of the Song family, was the only candidate that everybody could accept.
Just like that, Song Bugui became the highest commander of the Sky Reversal Fleet unknowingly and was even granted the ridiculous rank of 'vice commander', which was a new rank established after the new emperor ascended to the throne. Before, there was only the difference between generals and marshals in the Imperium. For the highest commander of the coalition fleet of the four families, it was not unreasonable to grant him the rank of marshal, just like Lei Chenghu 'on the opposite side'. However, even Song Bugui himself probably thought that it was too absurd and outrageous to grant him the rank of marshal, and he felt that he was too sorry for the marshals of the Imperium in the past hundreds of years. So, vice commander it was fine!
At the very least, looking at the rank of vice commander on his shoulder, Song Bugui felt that it was the most appropriate word for his awkward situation right now.
Although he had become the highest commander of the Sky Reversal Fleet and a 'big shot of the military' in theory, Song Bugui did not feel that he was a dictator at all. He was very clear that, as the highest commander, he was just a mascot on the table and boasted the right of command and suggestion at best. However, the Sky Reversal Fleet was not a united fleet at all. The control of the fleet was still firmly in the hands of the big shots of the various families. Without the approval of the Kurfürsten, he could not even command the Song family's own fleet.
Not only was his control over his subordinates extremely weak, but there were also dozens of 'mothers-in-law' above his head. As the saying went, a dog cannot change its habit of eating shit. It was even more impossible for the nobles of the four families not to fight for power than for a dog not to eat shit. Even at the beginning of the great collapse, the four families could still unite and establish the Heaven Returning Fleet. But after they were more or less steady, it was inevitable that their selfishness was revealed. It was especially so after the new emperor ascended to the throne. The 'ministers' who were recommended to serve the emperor did not disguise their desire for power and ambitions at all. It was not uncommon for them to sell their titles, confer rewards, and take the opportunity to climb up the throne. It was more and more common than ever!
It did make sense on second thought. With the court under the control of the four families having been so dilapidated that even the capital had been lost, the only way to gather people's support was to reward them generously.
In the meantime, with the collapse of the Adamantine Fleet and the ace fleets, and the death of countless generals and marquises, a lot of positions had been vacated. Now was the best time to send out officials now?
Song Bugui did not care about the dirty, messy things at first. The thought that he was going to fight Lei Chenghu, Marquis Liaohai, who was known as the "God of War", was enough to make him shudder in fear!
More than fifty years ago, Song Bugui had worked with Lei Chenghu for a while. At that time, he had already known what a "famous general" was and the gap between him and a real famous general.
Song Bugui estimated that he only had two options. One was to be crushed by Lei Chenghu on the battlefield and blown into smithereens together with his flagship, and the other was to be crushed and return to the capital in dejection, where he would take the huge and heavy blame obediently and be punished by Emperor Chengwu's wrath and military law.
Had it not been so dangerous, how could the throne of "commander of the Turnaround Fleet" have been stuck to his butt and could not be shaken off at all?
Song Bugui did not want to bother with the petty affairs in the court at first.
However, the new emperor, or rather, the four Kurfürsten, had appointed a lot of officials in order to gather the people's support, which expanded the bureaucracy of the court and the military greatly. Apart from the Military Orders Department, there was the Military Political Department, and above the Military Political Department was the General Staff Department. Next to the General Staff Department was the commander-in-chief. All the messy structures were "coordinated" by a headquarters. Above the headquarters, there was also a wretched military committee. Above the headquarters, there were dozens of ministers, directors, vice directors, and chairmen, all of whom were capable of interfering with the preparation and command of the Turnaround Fleet. They had all proposed countless "marvelous schemes" that could crush "God of War" Lei Chenghu without any trouble. They all stared at Song Bugui in the most vigilant eyes, almost jabbing their fingers into his nose and berating him for being fearful of the enemy and even conspiring with the rebels.
If they were not conspiring with the rebels, why did he, as the commander who controlled the strongest forces of the four families, hesitate to move forward when the reformists' fleets were looting and plundering in the Song family's territory and even destroying quite a few reinforcement fleets and supply fleets in a row?
Song Bugui could've dealt with the general directors, vice directors, and so on.
But faced with the suspicion of Song Lixing, the chairman of the Supreme Military Committee of the Imperium of True Human Beings, it was impossible for Song Bugui to brush him off.
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