The pre-war mobilization ended. Just like what Xu Le said himself, it was impossible for the hundreds of soldiers below the stage to suddenly repent, have a flash of inspiration, and collectively transform into youths like him. However, there was always a portion of people who would have some sort of feeling.
Being a little braver didn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't die, but leaving the despair and sorrow to themselves wouldn't increase the chances of coming back alive. The silence in the auditorium gradually loosened as the sounds of tables and chairs moving, coughing, and whispering voices rang out.
The film crew of the Venus Documentary Film Studio of the Department of National Defense was finally allowed to enter the auditorium. Xu Le quietly walked out from the side door and stood under the night sky of the West Woods. He lit a cigarette and realized that there were still some words he hadn't said, but there really wasn't much need to say them.
The military phone in his hand that had been silent for a long time finally rang again stubbornly. After looking at it for a long time, he finally pressed the button to answer the call.
"Have you confirmed the personnel to go?" The prince's calm voice filled with complex emotions came out of the phone.
"Yes," Xu Le replied.
"You know that I don't have any real friends in the Federation other than you. Even Yuzi after she grew up can't be counted as one. Neither can Xi Peng, but I have to remind you that his identity is different. "
Xu Le held the phone tightly and didn't say a word.
Tai Zhiyuan said faintly on the phone, "Speaker Xi 'an's son and daughter-in-law participated in an interstellar exploration of the Federation. Unfortunately, they were martyred. He's the only male in their family now."
"What is identity?" After a long silence, Xu Le said, "In the past three years, I've always been very proud that I didn't become your subordinate, partner, or anything like that. I've always insisted on being friends with you as equals because I value this term very much. "
"Other than equality, there's also fairness. Including you, the demands made by those big shots in the capital ring are very unfair in my opinion. Every soldier who fights on the frontlines has their own story. I'm also the last orphan of the Old Xu family … In my opinion, the only male in the family of the Federation's deputy speaker doesn't have the right to escape, not to mention he's a soldier himself. "
"Fair?" Tai Zhiyuan's calm and oppressive voice came from the other side of the phone. "A bunch of old soldiers who have never received any training are being sent to the frontline to die just because of the political needs of the Federation government. Do you think this is the fairness that you seek?"
"Ten days," Xu Le corrected.
Tai Zhiyuan said coldly, "Is it fair?"
"Xi Peng is the nephew of the Vice Chairman of the Federation. I suddenly thought of the useless nephew of the Zhong Family's Tiger." Xu Le thought for a moment and said, "He didn't go to the front lines, but you and I both know that about a quarter of the men in the Zhong family in the West Woods died on the battlefield."
Without waiting for Tai Zhiyuan to speak, he continued, "You were a soldier in S2, you were injured, you were in danger. I know you're now on the frontlines in the West Woods.
"You're the young master of the Tai family. The Zhong family is the West Woods warlord in the eyes of the politicians in the capital, but you're not like some big shots who hide in the 17th Division to enjoy glory and avoid danger. It's because of the existence of people like you that I don't think that the so-called aristocratic families and the upper class are naturally shameless.
"If I'm forced to release these old soldiers back to the capital ring, do you think it's fair to the Zhong family? Fair to you? Fair to the normal soldiers who die on the frontlines? "
After hearing Xu Le's words, Tai Zhiyuan fell silent on the other side of the phone. After a moment, he said softly, "The Zhong family needs their own sacrifice to obtain military power that they shouldn't have in this democratic society. And I'm only doing this because of my strange nature. Otherwise, I'd be in the capital ring watching the news on TV right now.
"You have to admit that some people are naturally more important in this world. “
"No." Xu Le's answer was simple and clear. "There shouldn't be such people in this world."
There was silence on the other side of the phone again. Tai Zhiyuan had been worried because of Mr. President's overly aggressive actions this time. As a friend of the knife, he didn't want to speak out because of the pride and reserve of the young master. Now, he was angered by Xu Le's stubborn and ungrateful attitude, and his breathing became slightly heavier.
After a moment, he said with a hint of mockery and disdain, "Don't forget, when it comes to equality and fairness, if you don't have the background of the Lees of Philadelphia, the appreciation of the president, and the secret help of the big shots in the military, just based on what you did in the foundation building, do you think you can get out of prison and become the youngest lieutenant colonel in the Federation like Madman Li?"
Xu Le's hand that was holding the phone tightened. He took a deep breath and said with a hint of undisguised anger, "I've never thought of myself as a great hero who saved the Federation, because when I went to kill Macklin, I didn't know that he was a spy for the Empire. But after all, I was the one who took his life. I was the one who smashed MX. I was the one who slapped Lin Yuanhu's face. And I was the one who was pardoned by the president!"
He said into the phone, "No matter when, where, or who, if they want to question me with the rank of lieutenant colonel, I'll be as strong as a f * cking strong man!"
…
…
After the mockery and angry rebuke, both sides of the phone fell into dead silence at the same time. After meeting in the quiet library for more than two years, this was the first time that this pair of young people, who had a huge difference in status, temperament, and ideology, had such a strong conflict under the name of friends.
In the distant space of the 3320 planet, Tai Zhiyuan held the phone and looked back at the deep night sky outside the window and the beautiful fireworks that lit up from time to time below. He calmly and attentively tasted Xu Le's rare long-winded speech.
He was the prince behind the shadow of the Federation. Naturally, he had his own pride and was unwilling to take a step back after the argument. So he kept silent. However, Xu Le on the other side of the phone was also silent.
After an unknown amount of time, Tai Zhiyuan laughed self-deprecatingly and gently stroked the hair on his lips with his finger. He remembered that Xu Le did not mention that he had saved his life twice when he was angrily discussing the merits. He understood that this stone stubbornly regarded those as personal friendship and not as righteousness.
Thinking of this, his heart softened slightly. He said calmly, "Even Mr. President can't withstand the pressure of a certain class. You are just a small lieutenant colonel. Why do you have to? I don't agree with the radical method that the president and the military chose. Even if this method can temporarily quell the protests of the people, it has already caused some kind of division in the upper class. I'm more worried that he will be so radical as to point his spear at us, the few families that are old but still have a lot of power. The Federation and the Empire are at war right now. If there is a deep structural problem, it won't be a good thing. "
In the military camp.
Xu Le also calmed down and said with emotion, "Mr. President is the political ally that your family chose. I don't understand these high and complicated political affairs at all, but … thank you for your concern. "
"But you don't need to worry about how those big shots will deal with me after I return to the capital ring." He raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the starry sky above his head. "This is a battlefield. Countless people are dying every moment. I don't even know if I can survive and return to S1. Since that's the case, why should I be afraid of those old fellows?"
"I should have died in that building S2. In the endless night of the Fox Fortress, I thought that I would die as well. In the military prison of Allure, I thought that there was no way for me to get out alive. But the president, the old man, and those big shots in the military saved me. "
"This life of mine was earned for no reason. It is what I owe the Federation. In truth, I am also afraid of death, but … those people from the Empire have to be driven out, right? "
Tai Zhiyuan said calmly, "Yes, this is a truth that doesn't need to be discussed."
Xu Le held the phone and laughed happily, revealing his white teeth. "In the end, we still have a common language."
After a long silence, Tai Zhiyuan said with a trace of emotion, "Sometimes, I feel that the two of us are just twenty years old. We should be in our youth, but we are forced to think about so many complicated things and go through so many difficult choices. It really doesn't feel good."
"Think about Madman Li. You will realize that our lives aren't that bad."
Xu Le leaned against the wall and then said seriously, "My team members have been training these new recruits hard. They are already very tired, all for the sake of protecting their lives. I won't deliberately push these young masters into the fire pit, and I won't hide them in the Mecha Fortress. In fact, you and I both know that the mission this time won't be that bad. "
Tai Zhiyuan smiled and said, "You are right. The president and the military only need them to appear on the frontlines, not die."
After hanging up, he slowly retracted his gaze and lowered his head to think about his only friend in the distance. He thought to himself, where could there be a truly safe mission on the battlefield?
A middle-aged man across the long table looked at him with interest and said, "You can't convince that rock. In fact, I really want to transfer him to the West Woods to be my personal soldier."
This middle-aged man was wearing the standard military uniform of the 4th Military Region, with stars on his shoulders. Although he was sitting casually, he gave off a strong feeling of a tiger's roar. His chiseled facial features were full of a sense of majesty.
"I can't convince you either." Tai Zhiyuan replied calmly, "Mr. President and the big shots of the military all know of your military talent. Now that the war has begun, most of the seventy or so divisions in this star sector are still in the warships, occasionally going to the surface of the planet for a vacation … If this situation continues for a while, I am very worried that it will anger Mr. President. "
"Is this the intention of the Tai family, or … is this the suggestion of my confidential secretary?" the middle-aged general asked calmly.
"The latter." Tai Zhiyuan paused for a moment and answered seriously.
He controlled all the forces that participated in this war, had the qualifications to anger President Pabre, and dared to make the young master of the Tai family his secretary. In this part of the universe, other than the Tiger of the Zhong family who fought against the Empire alone for more than ten years, who dared to go against him in the West Woods?
…
…
Xu Le hung up the phone and raised his hand to his forehead as if he wanted to pick the stars in the night sky. At this moment, someone walked over from behind him.
Bai Yulan handed over the electronic manual and said softly, "The mission has been confirmed. It is indeed the Bureau of Proclamation's mission to reset the electronic monitoring network. The Bureau of Proclamation official in charge of technical guidance will meet us directly on Planet 163."
Xiong Linquan, Liu Jiao, and all the members of Group 7 silently walked out of the auditorium and gathered together.
Xu Le took out a 37 brand cigarette from his pocket and began to seriously hand out cigarettes to the members around him. Regardless of whether they smoked or not, all the members took the cigarette seriously and put it on his lighter to light it up.
…
…
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