The melodious military music gradually stopped, and the crisp sound of gunshots echoed in the air, shuttling through the dense raindrops, startling the birds that were grooming their wet feathers around the square.
It seemed that the weather during a funeral was always bad, and the cold rain was like God crying. In the cold rain, President Pabre's speech in front of the battlefield cemetery was probably the only warm color. His speech touched many people, comforted many people, and made many people cry.
After the West Woods Tiger's funeral ended, the president did not rest. He immediately met with the real power figures of the Zhong family and had lunch with them. In the middle of the night, he summoned Big Stick Tian and a couple of young officers from Cillin's military. The meeting lasted an entire three hours.
The next day, two of the three divisions of mechanics that forced their way into the capital of Sunset State and announced that they were under military control retreated back to the military camp. The old house in Latitude 2 District finally opened its door again. The people who had received some kind of promise from the president chose to compromise and peace.
After President Pabre's tireless mediation, the situation in the West Woods that was about to explode finally eased.
…
…
To ensure the stability of the West Woods, the Zhong family, whose people were unstable, had to be appeased. Some interests could be sacrificed, and some limits could be compromised. After all, those interests that were compromised never really belonged to the Federation government.
The Federation would never give a clear suggestion on who would inherit the Zhong family's huge family business. They only showed a slight inclination in the dark. For a long time in the future, the fight for the Zhong family's property would become more complicated. It would definitely be brought to court, and it would be a grand and long-lasting battle. There would be an uproar, and there would be a lot of ugliness …
However, as long as the military was not used and the matter was resolved in a relatively peaceful way, it would not affect the Federation's rare good situation, and it would not affect the galactic war that was about to start, then it would be fine.
Compared to the ownership of the Gu Zhong Company and those industrial clusters, the real problem was the selection of the commander of the West Woods Military Region. The Zhong family had controlled the military power in the West Woods for thousands of years, and this was their biggest reliance and bottom line. Although the Zhong family, which was gradually splitting up, needed the support of the Federation government, they would not give up this bottom line.
Perhaps he could seize this opportunity to change some things? The people of the West Woods would never agree to let Du Shaoqing serve in the West Woods Military Headquarters, so who should they send?
President Pabre stood silently by the window, looking at the Blue Sky Silver Sand under his feet and the drizzling rain, thinking about his trip to the West Woods.
The top floor of the Golden Star Hotel was silent, and the world outside was equally silent except for the sound of the rain. This planet far away from the capital ring finally had a moment of respite after that tragedy, but the most powerful man in the Federation still could not find a moment to relax.
"No matter what the situation is, a politician should remain absolutely calm. Only then can they ensure that they are not defeated by weakness and that their decisions are correct so that they can seek happiness and benefits for the majority of the people. I don't know if it's because of Commander Zhong's funeral. "
President Pabre said in a deep voice as he looked at the rain outside the glass curtain wall and the faint reflection of the shadows.
A hand gently patted his left shoulder, and the president's wife comforted him, "Sometimes there is no other way to make some compromises."
President Pabre knew that his wife must have misunderstood that he was frustrated because he decided to support the other side of the Zhong family. He could not help but smile bitterly, gently patted the warm hand on his shoulder, and whispered to himself in a low voice, "Sometimes the sacrifices we are forced to make may be far more serious than compromises."
The president's wife looked at his back worriedly and found that her husband seemed to be in a bad mood, so she quickly changed the topic and said quickly, "My daughter called again yesterday. She is very concerned about Lieutenant Colonel Xu Le's situation. How should I answer?"
President Pabre thought of his daughter who was still troubled by depression, and thought of the young man whose fate was unknown. A trace of sadness flashed across his tanned face, and he said in a sincere tone, "I can only pray for that guy's good luck."
…
…
It was also raining in the capital special district of S1.
Teacher Du Shaoqing watched the live broadcast of the funeral with a somewhat complicated expression. After a long time of silence in the dark room, he walked to the bookshelf, took down the violin case, and began to play the violin.
The refreshing violin melody became somewhat different in the hands that were no longer stable and were slightly trembling. The notes that were flowing, struggling, and colliding in the space gathered together and then separated resolutely, revealing a faint sadness, deep panic, and speechless confusion. The emotions were extremely complicated.
The melody stopped without warning. Du Shaoqing stared blankly at the green leaves outside the window that were being tormented by the heavy rain. His usual straight posture seemed to be somewhat stooped. His military posture, which had never had anything wrong with it, seemed to be somewhat gloomy.
He suddenly roared and smashed the expensive violin hard on the window lattice, smashing the glass into pieces and splashing everywhere like rain.
That night, Du Shaoqing hastily wrote a report of the preliminary investigation results, and at the same time attached his resignation letter to the office of the President's Residence, suggesting that the Parliament Hill continue to investigate the attack of the Ancient Bell.
In the early morning of the next day, he returned to S3 with several orderlies to prepare for the war with the Empire.
As long as the situation in the West Woods was stabilized, the Federal forces would launch a large-scale attack on the Empire. After the Empire shamelessly attacked the Ancient Bell, no force or faction in the Federation dared to stop the determination of the President and the military. Otherwise, the anger of the people would directly burn them to ashes.
Before boarding the warship, Du Shaoqing suddenly turned around, took off his sunglasses, and revealed his cold and proud face. He looked at the capital special district in the morning rain with a complicated expression and suddenly asked, "Is there any news from Xu Le?"
"Reporting to the commander, there is no news."
Du Shaoqing put on his sunglasses again and remained silent. From the time he put on this pair of sunglasses, he was no longer so obsessed with the starry sky above his head and some things deep in his heart. Once he started to compromise, he might be forced to continue to compromise.
It was this cognition that made him think of Xu Le, the young man who made him very unhappy. Now that the hardest stone in the Federation had died, it seemed to be a pity.
…
…
Somewhere far away from the ordinary people's living area in the Federation, there was a secluded manor deep in the mountains and blue lakes. This manor belonged to the Nan Xiang family, the most low-key of the seven families. However, looking at the manor's vast area and luxurious furnishings, how could it be considered low-key?
"I heard that someone from the government said that the official residence is very happy to see Zhong Ziqi inherit the position of the head of the Zhong family?"
Nan Xiangmei clenched her fists, opened her bright eyes, and looked at her mother in shock. Her beautiful cheeks were stained with a few strands of black hair that were wet from the rain.
"In order to pacify the situation in the West Woods as soon as possible, Mr. President made such a hint in advance. After all, the little girl of the Zhong family is too young, and she has been living in the Xixia state, and Zhong Ziqi has the support of most of the Zhong family members. "
Mrs. Nan looked at her daughter with a smile. She knew very well why her daughter, who insisted on living an ordinary life since childhood, suddenly came home today and raised doubts about the situation in the Federation. This was naturally because the young man had an extremely close relationship with the little princess of the Zhong family …
"But Zhong Huoyan is the legal heir." Nan Xiangmei shook her head in disbelief.
"Everyone in the West Woods knows that Commander Zhong dotes on Zhong Ziqi very much. Many people see that young man as the future head of the Zhong family. In fact, in our view, that tiger seems to have some kind of intention. He wants the heir of the Zhong family to have to die in S1. In this case, the government's choice of Zhong Ziqi may be in line with the tiger's last wish. "
"I don't believe it." Nan Xiangmei shook her head firmly, "The government is not a kind person, and I know that the Tai family, the Li family, and even our family have sent people to the West Woods. Everyone's reaction is very strange."
After a moment of silence, Mrs. Nan calmly replied, "You're right. Zhong Ziqi can't become an excellent family head in a short period of time. The Zhong family has no leader, and now there are signs of division. The government is secretly adding fuel to the fire, maybe … maybe this is the precursor of the first collapse of the seven families. In this case, the six families must be the first to enter the West Woods to seek benefits. "
"If the Zhong family is destroyed, what good will it do to the other families?" Nan Xiangmei asked sadly, "The relationship between lips and teeth, don't the elders of the family know better than I do?"
"The Zhong family has always been on the edge of the seven families system. They have no marriage alliance with us, and there are no deep interests entanglement. More importantly, if the Zhong family is really going to decline, we can't just sit back and watch the government absorb the energy released when the Zhong family scatters like a black hole. "
Nan Xiangmei frowned, looked at her mother and said sadly, "I heard that you and Mrs. Zhong were very good friends, can't you do something for her daughter?"
"You don't understand, everything is for the sake of interests, for survival."
Mrs. Nan slightly closed her eyes, and after a long silence, she continued, "For a giant family like the seven families, even if they decline and collapse, it will not be a matter of a short period of time. This long process may last for a whole constitutional era. It is also possible that the Zhong family will suddenly rise halfway, just like the history of the East Woods when they were almost destroyed."
"But in the face of this unprecedented situation, everyone must plunge into it to seize benefits and strengthen themselves, otherwise, it may be our turn to decline next."
Nan Xiangmei didn't express any more opinions on this issue, and just looked at her mother with some disappointment and sadness.
She looked up and worriedly looked at her daughter, who had obviously lost a lot of weight. She knew where her disappointment and sadness came from — this was because of the love, this was because she was looking for the last bit of hope. However, Mrs. Nan didn't say anything in the end.
Nan Xiangmei returned to her own small courtyard behind the lake. She sat quietly and sadly by the window, looking at the countless small circles created by the rain hitting the lake. She thought of the similar circles she saw on the pond in the forest garden that day.
These days, it seemed that the entire Federation, and the land of countless planets, was raining, and the patter made people feel depressed and gloomy.
Nan Xiangmei glanced at the phone in her hand and dialed a string of numbers with trembling fingertips. After getting this phone number from Li Xiaotong, she hadn't dialed it even once. Today was the first time, but there was no sound from the other end of the phone.
Crystal tears fell from the front of her eyelashes, and more and more, forming a bead curtain and dripping to the ground. She reached out to wipe them, but more tears poured out from her fingers.
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