President Pabre was very different from his predecessors. For this politician, who was born at the bottom, the inherent traditions of the Federation were definitely not an untouchable iron curtain. Of course, as the current leader of the Federation, he was not so stupid as to completely ignore compromise and balance and want to blow up a strong wind in the universe.
The changes he made were slow and careful. For example, the routine ball of the Nebula Award winners at the President's official residence was canceled. Instead, the President personally attended the award ceremony and gave a passionate speech.
Reverence was because of the power and authority that the President represented. Reverence was because of the political traditions of the Federation and the embodiment of the will of the Federation. The guests looked at President Pabre on the stage, but it did not prevent them from becoming more and more confused. Why did the President make such a sudden and temporary change to the Nebula Award ceremony?
The content of President Pabre's speech revealed the real reason.
The first half of the speech was very common. It was warm praise for the scientists and artists who had made outstanding contributions to the progress of the Federation. However, the second half of the speech began to become heavy and pointed.
The guests listened to the speech in disbelief. They could understand the President's criticism of the Empire, his concern for the situation in the West Woods, and his deep hatred for terrorist activities. However, they could not understand why the President's speech was not directed at the anti-government forces in Green Dragon Mountain, but vaguely pointed at the dead senator and the special investigation that had once taken place.
Even if they were election opponents, even if they had different political views, Senator Macklin was already dead. Furthermore, he was remembered and loved by many people in the Federation. Why did President Pabre do this? Where did his most basic political IQ go?
After the speech, there was no mention of Macklin's name at all. However, the obscure and direct meaning could be understood by anyone. Below the stage, the Governor of Jingzhou, Mr. Ross, who was holding the Peace Prize, had an extremely heavy and angry expression on his face.
The dead were gone. Did President Pabre not know that this was a big taboo?
"The death of a person is not as good as the extinguishing of a lamp. The lamp has light, but the place it cannot illuminate is darkness. If you do something wrong, you have to pay the price."
President Pabre looked at the guests who were looking at each other in bewilderment and said coldly, "Perhaps I am not a mature politician, but I am a devoted follower of the Federation's laws … If I die, you can dig up my grave and see what color it is inside. I have the same attitude towards certain dead people. "
The Nebula Award Ceremony ended in this strange atmosphere. The staff in the office were stunned and immediately started to work to ensure that Mr. President's speech would not be published in the newspapers.
However, with so many guests present, the content of the speech would definitely be leaked out. As for whether it would cause any unrest in the Federation that had just been quiet, this was something that no one could predict at the moment.
The guests and officials with serious expressions walked out of the George Carlin Center. The first thing they did was to collect the Capital Special District Daily for the past week. The Federation seemed to want to do something about the dead Macklin. President Pabre mentioned the Capital Special District Daily's investigation. Only then did people remember that Chief Editor Bob and reporter Wood, who had just been discharged from the hospital, seemed to have returned to the newspaper that was famous for exposing the truth …
…
…
The police car cleared the road, and the black presidential motorcade slowly drove into the official residence. As soon as President Pabre got out of the car, he began to give verbal instructions to the secretaries beside him. His voice was low, but it was exceptionally clear and powerful. Just like him, it was full of a steady vitality and trustworthy charm.
After taking office for half a year, the change of personnel in the official residence was basically over. Today, some of the staff in the official residence were Mr. Pabre's partners and subordinates when he was a lawyer. The burning ideals of the past had become a reality today, and their loyalty and execution were unquestionable.
There were also some officials recommended by various parties, especially the officials recommended by Lady Tai. These officials had been doing official work for many years, and their abilities were outstanding. They were also very experienced in dealing with the Senate, the media, and various organizations.
However, the officials recommended by Lady Tai were basically arranged in important departments and several major committees. There was only one person left in the official residence.
The office director of the official residence, Brin, came up to Mr. President and whispered a few words in his ear. President Pabre's slightly thick lips slightly opened, and he smiled.
He quickly walked into the oval-shaped office on the west side of the official residence, sat down on the chair, and carefully reviewed the prepared documents on the table. He signed his name, did the data storage, and confirmed the permissions. Then, he looked up and smiled at the young man standing in front of the table. He said, "Nice to meet you, Xu Le."
…
…
"It's my honor," Xu Le's throat was a little dry as he stood straight and looked at the President of the Federation in front of him.
He had come to the official residence for the matter of the MX mecha's new standards, but at that time, he had only waited for a night in the lounge. At this moment, he was standing in front of the most powerful man in the Federation, and was only three steps away.
The previous strict inspection and the cold gaze of the only person who knew the inside story, the Director of the Special Task Force, made Xu Le understand more deeply what it meant to meet Mr. President. A fugitive, a criminal, and then a personal meeting with the President. Even if he had a calm and determined temperament, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
He looked at the tanned President Pabre and thought of Mr. President's respectable past. He then thought of the many subtle relationships he had with the presidential election in the past two years, and how it was this President who insisted on pardoning him. He couldn't help but feel very sincere affection and respect for him.
President Pabre leaned against the back of his chair and looked at the young man in front of him with great interest. He put his thick palms together.
He had read too much about Xu Le's files. On the one hand, he was shocked by the young man's abilities and achievements. On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. He clearly had a bright future ahead of him, so why was this person willing to violate the laws of the Federation and kill Macklin?
But when he saw Xu Le, he knew that he didn't need to ask this question. This was because this young man's eyes were calm and honest, and his normal face naturally showed a look of determination and sincerity. He looked just like himself many years ago … How many big shots in the Federation would think of their own past when they saw Xu Le? Would they think of their own clean and untainted past?
The door of the office was pushed open, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Miles, walked in under the guidance of Director Breen. He was holding a small box wrapped in a sky blue velvet cloth. General Miles didn't look at Xu Le. He walked straight to President Pabre's side and handed the box over.
President Pabre stood up and opened the box. He took out a medal from inside and walked over to Xu Le, placing it on his left chest. He then patted Xu Le's shoulder and said casually, "Before you go out, remember to hide the medal. A hero like you probably won't be able to see the light of day for many years."
Seeing the president himself, Xu Le found self-deprecatingly that he was still nervous. Now that he found that he had been awarded the Purple Star Medal, his eyes narrowed involuntarily, and the hands hanging outside his sleeves subconsciously clenched into tight fists.
Killing Macklin, the Empire's most well-hidden spy, was naturally a great service to the Federation. However, he felt that he had only done it by accident. He would never have thought that, other than being pardoned, the Federation would also award him with an incomparably valuable medal.
"You've done a great service to the Federation in developing the MX mecha. I remember that you also have a medal. You can wear that one." President Pabre noticed Xu Le's reaction and couldn't help but find it interesting. In a deep voice, he said, "Do well in the army from now on. Resist the Empire's invasion. The Federation needs people like you."
Xu Le glanced at the medal on his chest from the corner of his eye. Thinking back to his conversation with Li Pifu in prison that day, he vaguely understood the meaning of this medal. However, it seemed that the president in front of him didn't understand the complicated relationship between himself and the Lees of Philadelphia.
He stood at attention and saluted the president.
President Pabre was the first president to come from Donglin. He didn't know that the young man in front of him was from his hometown. He only knew that Xu Le had once been a mine maintenance soldier in Donglin, so he naturally felt a sense of closeness. He smiled and asked, "The military court sentenced you to seven hundred and thirteen years in prison, but I've never thought that what you did was wrong. The Federation is unable to honor you under the sun, and I don't think you'll ask the Federation to compensate you for the hundred days you spent in prison … If you have any thoughts, you can say them now. "
General Myers stood to the side and looked at Xu Le. He didn't know what kind of request this young man would make to the president.
"The assassination of Macklin wasn't done by me alone." Xu Le did not hesitate and blurted out, "I still have a partner, his name is Shi Qinghai, he was able to kill Macklin, he played a very important role in the middle, he should still be imprisoned in Fox Fort, I plead for Mr. President to pardon him."
As soon as these words were said, the originally relaxed atmosphere in the Oval Office suddenly changed. General Myers frowned and glanced at Xu Le. President Pabre walked back to his desk. After a moment of silence, he said, "If I remember correctly, this person called Shi Qinghai is an intelligence agent for the anti-government forces in Green Dragon Mountain."
"I know, but I saw the news yesterday. I heard that you're preparing to restart negotiations with Green Dragon Mountain," Xu Le replied with his head lowered.
"The invasion of the Empire is imminent. The Federation needs to be united internally. I do intend to invite the leader of Nanshui to the capital for negotiations."
Two years ago, Mr. Pabre, who was still a member of parliament, had reached an agreement with the anti-government forces in Green Dragon Mountain. Now that he had become the president of the Federation, he naturally had to carry out this agreement. Although the Federation attributed Macklin's death to the fanatical terrorists in Green Dragon Mountain, it didn't affect the overall situation at all.
President Pabre didn't need to explain anything to Xu Le, but for some reason, when he looked at Xu Le's determined eyes, he admitted to this point.
"Two years ago, when you went to S2, as well as the information transfer and negotiations, it was all facilitated by Shi Qinghai."
In order to save Shi Qinghai, Xu Le had no choice but to reveal this little secret. Although Mr. Shi had once shouted that this was their … president, as the president of the Federation, who would really care about these small details of the past?
"You insist?" President Pabre looked at him with a heavy expression and asked.
"I insist." Xu Le raised his head and answered very seriously.
…
…
(I was on the road today and tomorrow, so I stayed up late to finish writing in advance. After I finished writing, I looked back and found that it was terrible. I've never written such a terrible thing before. I changed it a little, but found that it was still as bad as before.
At night, before going to bed, I cleaned the cat toilet and took a shower. There was snow outside the window, so I went out to take out the cat litter. I found that the snow on the ground was powdery, and the wind blew, but it didn't accumulate. I felt a lot calmer. When I came back, I seriously changed it twice. I still felt average, but it was much better than the two chapters I just wrote. At least I felt that when I published it, it wouldn't be a waste of everyone's six cents …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
