In the face of a major event that could happen, in the face of the overall will of the politicians and the people, and in the face of a historical trend that went against everything, the fact that the head of an aristocratic family who was behind the times could so calmly and provocatively say the words "I am looking forward to it" was incomparably fierce.
Xu Le had seen many people who acted arrogantly and had extraordinary free and easy temperaments. For example, Lin Banshan, who broke out of his family and treated the tradition of aristocratic families like broken shoes and built a good place for himself in the jianghu. For example, the madam who hid behind the curtain and made waves in the Federation. For example, the uncle who dared to fight to the death against The Glory Of The Charter. However, after hearing these words, he was still fiercely shocked.
The tone of the Tiger of the West Woods was very calm. He was not arrogant, but indifferent. However, there was an unquestionable confidence that came from his bones. Where did this arrogance and free and easy come from?
Absolute power leads to absolute authority. Xu Le silently thought of this sentence. He was somewhat moved by the middle-aged man's temperament, but he did not think that what he revealed would really be the history that was about to happen. According to the logical judgment of his engineer mind, he did not think that the Federation would make a move against the Zhong family again. This was because it did not fit the current situation.
The war between the Federation and the Empire burned like wildfire and would probably invade the Empire's space next year. In recent constitutional years, the Federation government and the seven major families had always carefully maintained a certain balance and harmony. How could they be the first to instigate internal strife in the Federation before the great war? It had to be known that the Zhong family of the West Woods was an extremely important part of the Federation's strategy. In this part, stability was always the overriding political need.
He spoke frankly of his judgment. After a moment of silence, Zhong Suohu, who was drinking and eating, replied with a smile, "Our family is always different from the other six families."
Was it because the Zhong family had always held military power in their hands? Xu Le sank into a certain kind of thinking that he was not good at.
"I've always had a good impression of Mr. President. Although I'm in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I'll never be able to be like those shameless government officials in the remote Joint Chiefs of Staff. I'll never be able to show admiration on my face like a mistress looking at her lover."
There was still no expression on Zhong Shouhu's face as he said, "The government of the Federation is not the embodiment of the collective will of the people, nor is it the embodiment of the will of an excellent politician who is born with a small probability. Instead, it is the embodiment of the collective will of a large group of people who have vested interests in the government. The bureaucrats and businessmen who control the media and finance, who are good at manipulating elections and instigating public opinion, are the mainstream of the Federation."
"No matter how clear-headed and calm President Pabre is, he is only one person. At most, he can influence the people around him or the young students in Linhai Province, but he doesn't have the power to change the direction of the Federation's history. I can even be sure that once he tries to change these things, he will immediately step down. "
Zhong Shouhu looked at Xu Le with a faint and mocking expression, as if he was looking at the young students in Linhai Province who were full of a sense of justice but could not find a specific solution.
Xu Le thought of the role played by Mochou in the last presidential election, the role played by Shi Qinghai and himself, and the dark deals and disputes behind the scenes of the election. He could not help but fall silent and acquiesce to Commander Zhong's opinion. Suddenly, he was a little worried about the president in the capital ring, because he knew that the president with a dark complexion was not a politician who was willing to go with the flow.
"That's all for these matters." Zhong Shouhu rubbed the wine glass with three fingers and said directly, "Next, we can talk about the increase of the military's right to speak in the Federation's political structure with the appearance of the Imperium, and the necessity of dispersing the military."
Xu Le was already very used to the rhythm of the conversation between big shots like Commander Zhong. He was used to them rudely and straightforwardly ending a topic and starting a new one. However, when he heard this series of questions with a strong academic tone, his face naturally flashed with a stunned and depressed expression.
Zhong Shouhu looked at him mockingly, drank the wine, and said with a slightly hoarse voice, "This is a joke."
"Oh." Xu Le shrugged and quickly replied, "Maybe the central computer can hear it."
"This is a very cold joke." Zhong Shouhu raised his eyebrows and said.
Two soldiers with a huge difference in status, age, and experience were having a late-night conversation with red soup, tender meat, and strong wine. Regardless of whether the joke was cold or not, the conversation continued. The most wonderful thing was that both parties seemed to be somewhat comfortable in the conversation.
Commander Zhong was the son of an aristocratic family and a top student in the First Military Academy of the Federation. When he grew up, he led millions of troops on the western border of the Federation and fought against the Imperium alone for more than ten years. His life experience was very rich, and his words were naturally powerful.
Xu Le was an orphan of the miners in Donglin. He had only completed six and a half years of national education. His dream in life was to work with machines, but his life was quite exciting. Plus, his uncle had once forced him to read silently in the university library for several years, so he could be considered a scholar. Most importantly, his temperament destined him to be an excellent listener. For example, Zou Yu, Shi Qinghai, and Jian Shui'er had already proven that.
The topic moved away from the heavy politics and conspiracies to the folklore of the various regions of the Federation, the people, the history of literature, Schiller's plays, and the eccentricities of George Carlin. Suddenly, the conversation became much more relaxed. Xu Le listened with great interest to the middle-aged man across the table with a trace of domineering criticism and criticism. From time to time, he would add in a few words. It was really like two scholars holding a glass of wine and talking about what difficult books they had recently read.
The night gradually deepened. The pot of red soup had not yet dried up, and the fireworks outside the window had long since stopped. Only the slightly cold wind kept blowing through the pitiful glass that no longer existed, brushing against the two people's faces and arms.
In the end, the topic naturally moved to the matter that concerned the entire universe the most at present, and that was the war. The two men's voices did not become passionate because of the alcohol and the life and death on the frontline. They calmly and seriously discussed the war on the three fallen planets.
One talked about the type of formation he had commanded more than ninety divisions to surround the 3320 planet. Another talked about how he had led a small team to cross a small river. Another talked about the strategic intentions of the Federation that had been planned for a long time and analyzed how the Emperor of the Empire would respond. Another talked about how he had drilled the recruits in the barracks, wondering if this would annoy their old father.
Like the morning sun and the morning dew, like the emperor and the farmer, the difference in status between Zhong Shouhu and Xu Le was too great. The level of the topics they talked about was too great. But strangely, because of a very delightful mood, Xu Le was not willing to be a listener. Instead, he earnestly shared his own views.
Xu Le was very excited to have the honor of discussing the macro and details of the war with Commander Zhong. He was able to look at many things in the past year from a different perspective. It was a very rare opportunity to listen to the powerful commander-in-chief of the Federation talk about the intentions of the commanders in space with the tone of a commander.
Zhong Shouhu, the legendary warlord, the local tyrant of the West Woods who killed without blinking an eye and ignored the laws of the Federation, was not as cold and terrifying as the people of the Federation thought. Instead, he was more like a young scholar who was thin enough to live in a cramped university dormitory. He was angry because he did not achieve what he wanted and did not have a girlfriend …
Xu Le stared with his somewhat drunken eyes, holding the wine glass tightly, trying to catch every word in his ears. Such a clear thought appeared in his mind, and he knew that this would be a conversation that he would remember for the rest of his life.
Perhaps it was because he had drunk too much wine, but Xu Le somewhat inappropriately mentioned the illustrious achievements of the Iron Seventh Division on planet 5460.
It was because he had drunk too much that the cold and arrogant Commander Zhong did not care that the boy opposite him was obviously poking at his sore spot. He said indifferently, "Du Shaoqing is a smarter pig."
Xu Le lowered his head, held back a bitter smile, and quickly drank a glass of wine.
"If the Imperium can't break through the two warp holes in a day, they will have to drift in the universe for six or seven years before they can reach the West Woods if they want to attack the homeland of the Federation. The Federal Army is more advanced than the Imperium's bastards from head to toe. They are waiting for the enemy to arrive. How can they not win? "
"The Imperial expeditionary force is just a bunch of tired bastards who came from afar with a few crappy guns from six or seven years ago in their hands. No matter who is on the frontline, if they can't win against the enemy, then they are stupid pigs. "
Commander Zhong looked at Xu Le and said, "Even if you are in command of the Iron Seventh Division, you can still win."
Xu Le raised his head and subconsciously touched his nose. He could not help but sigh softly when he did not notice the ugliness of the two holes facing the sky.
He had no reason to like Du Shaoqing and the Iron Seventh Division, but when he thought of the fierce battle he saw on the frontline and the heroic achievements of the Iron Seventh Division, he felt that Commander Zhong's evaluation was a bit unfair. After a moment of silence, he said, "The Iron Seventh Division advanced the fastest on planet 5460. In fact, the Imperial expeditionary force has been in the West Woods for decades. Not many people can defeat them so quickly."
If the transfer of the Iron Seventh Division to the frontline was the most troublesome thing for Commander Zhong, then the fact that Xu Le mentioned was the heaviest part in the hearts of all the soldiers and people in the West Woods.
Zhong Suohu was not angry. He said calmly, "The people of the capital ring have always complained about the West Woods. They think that we have not driven the Imperial expeditionary force out of the West Woods in the past ten years because the West Woods Military District has failed in its duty on the battlefield."
Xu Le seriously looked forward to the other's answer.
"We have indeed not done everything we can to liberate the three fallen star systems."
A complicated emotion appeared on Zhong Suohu's face. There was a bone-chilling coldness in his mockery. "In the West Woods, from me to the most common homeless man on the street corner, we are not willing to sacrifice too much for the Federation, or to be precise, for the slogan of the capital ring. This is not because we want to hide any real strength, but because … from the moment the Empire invaded, we have been the ones sacrificing."
"When the Empire came, it was the men of the West Woods who were fighting. The Empire was crippled, but the Federation was not willing to support us to win the final victory. "
"Because there is an old man who thinks that the Federation needs to keep those bastards of the Empire to train his troops. So the Federation resolutely and coldly carried out the West Woods strategy of taking turns to fight for more than ten years. "
Zhong Suohu looked at him. There was a faint storm in his calm eyes. He said word by word, "Taking turns to fight on the land of the West Woods people? … This, this, based on what? "
Hearing the words "old man", Xu Le was shocked into silence. He did not know what to say.
…
…
(Note: The word cramped suddenly reminded me of something interesting. Last year, when I was traveling with a friend, I said the word cramped. My friend was stunned for a moment before he scolded me, saying that he looked down on me, a middle-aged literary man. Uh.
Yes, although my level is limited, there is still a middle-aged literary man in my bones. Recently, many of my friends have been complaining that these two chapters are too dull, but I am still bitterly writing them. It is very difficult to write them, and it is because of this.
War, jealousy, bloodshed, secrets, changes, strange events, these plots are actually much easier to write. I am willing to write such a sharp plot if it is needed. But for this conversation in the restaurant that I have been planning for half a year, if I don't write it, I feel that there is a problem with my professional attitude.
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