The surroundings were silent. Xu Le vaguely guessed that something bad was going to happen. A complicated expression flashed across his pale and haggard face. His eyes gradually narrowed as he felt a wave of fear in the depths of his heart.
He was truly afraid, because it was too easy to die on the battlefield. When he was fleeing for his life in the Empire, he had felt a faint sense of panic in his heart. If he was really lucky enough to make it back, would he still be able to see the faces of those people? If the familiar military camp lost those familiar faces and the familiar smell of their feet, would it still be the same military camp as before?
What was even more frightening was that he wasn't there when those people left. He didn't know how they left, but they left forever … In literature, it was often said that things were the same, but people were different. It was probably this kind of experience that wasn't very strong, but was exceptionally sorrowful.
The quiet environment caused Xu Le to constantly think of the worst possible scenario. The heroic scene of Bai Yulan, Xiong Linquan, and the others dying in battle appeared in his mind. At this moment, He Lei pushed the person in front of him away and whispered into his ear, telling him everything that had happened.
A long silence. The crowd was silent from the inside to the back.
After understanding what had happened, Xu Le's expression didn't change much. Instead, his pair of clear little eyes narrowed more and more. He didn't make any intense reactions. He only tightly pursed his thin lips, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the base in front of him in the twilight, not saying a word.
In the deathly stillness around the base, countless densely packed Federation soldiers quietly looked at him, also not making a single sound. The military discipline incident caused by Bai Yulan had recently caused a lot of commotion in the military camp. Although the military court had already made the final verdict, everyone in the base knew, or rather hoped, that something would happen after confirming that Colonel Xu Le had returned alive.
Apart from the New 17th Division and Iron Seventh Division soldiers, most of the soldiers who had participated in the battle maintained a neutral stance on this matter. They were more interested in what kind of sparks would erupt between the two when Xu Le met Du Shaoqing again. Would Bai Yulan be executed? How would the military and even the Federation decide?
What kind of person was Du Shaoqing? How iron-blooded was the Iron Seventh Division? If it was any other colonel, no one would think that they had the qualifications to negotiate in front of Division Commander Shaoqing. However, this colonel was different because he was Xu Le.
Three years ago at the training base, countless people were fond of talking about the confrontation and the subsequent breakout of the camp, the New 17th Division, the Seventh Group, and the Iron Seventh Division, as well as the grudge between Xu Le and Du Shaoqing, had long spread to all the military camps of the Federation.
This kind of expectation might seem a little unkind. However, the troops within the Empire's borders had to train and fight every day, and people died. Why would the soldiers who were not involved care so much? Yes, he was a hero of the Federation who had returned from the Empire after going through untold hardships. Everyone admired him, but it was precisely because of this that they were able to see a hero of the Federation who had just returned explode. How exciting would it be?
All the soldiers of the Federation knew of Colonel Xu Le's stone-like, silent, and resolute personality. Seeing him silent in the middle of the field, they believed that he would immediately explode from his silence.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, and also contrary to … the members of Seventh Group who were waiting with wide eyes for Xu Le's order to activate their mecha and break into the military prison to rescue the prisoners, Xu Le did not express anything. He only lowered his head slightly to look at the black soil beneath his feet and said softly, "It's fine as long as there are still people alive."
…
…
"New 17th Division Technical Director, Xu Le, reporting to you."
"Come in, Colonel."
The Federation's frontline commander, General Yi Changtian, laughed loudly and patted Xu Le's shoulder forcefully, not hiding the strong admiration on his face. When the orderly brought over the tea, he said gently, "The X3 attack plan is temporarily suspended. The troops are currently resting and reorganizing. Tomorrow or the day after, there should be officials from the Bureau of Proclamation and the Internal Affairs Department to listen to your report … of course, don't mind it. This is routine procedure. Go and rest early. There is no need to come here to stand at attention."
"As a soldier, military affairs naturally come first." Xu Le took out a microchip from the seam of his belt and placed it in front of Commander Yi. He continued, "General, while escaping, I have already sent back some information, and this electronic document should be the greatest achievement I have achieved in the Empire this year."
Seeing Xu Le's serious expression, Commander Yi frowned and picked up the microchip. He asked, "What is this?"
"This is a cooperation agreement with the Empire's underground resistance organization." Xu Le explained, "At the time, I was unable to report to them, so I had no choice but to act on my own accord and sign this agreement."
Hearing this explanation, Commander Yi's expression immediately turned serious. The Federal forces had already conquered three of the Empire's administrative star systems. Although they were all remote administrative planets and the Empire's population was not that large, as the occupying party, the Federal forces had already expended too much energy in order to maintain the operations of the occupied planets. As the supreme commander of the Federation's frontline, he naturally knew just how great the benefits would be if the Empire's underground resistance organization was willing to cooperate with the Federal forces.
"Let me look at the content first."
The general waved his hand to interrupt Xu Le's report, and stared intently at the screen on the workbench.
After a long time, the general raised his head and rubbed the space between his brows, looking at Xu Le's face that did not show any trace of arrogance. He sighed. "Who would have thought that not only would you be able to come back alive, you would also bring back such an important document. You rascal, looks like you're going to get another Purple Merit Medal."
"What do you mean by acting on my own accord? Don't worry, no one in the Federation dares to make a fuss about this kind of boring procedure. As for the details of the cooperation agreement, we'll naturally leave it to the professionals to handle. In fact, the Department of Defense has always had plans in this regard, it's just a pity that our forces have never come into contact with these forces … Colonel Xu Le, I must remind you that perhaps the mission of contacting the other party in the future will fall on your shoulders. "
"I will definitely complete the mission."
Xu Le's reply was not loud, but it was exceptionally resolute. Then, he continued, "Other than that, I have also found some technical information in the Empire, information on the mechanical structure of the new wolf fang mecha."
Commander Yi was stunned. Less than two years after the Federation had broken through the difficult problem of the dual-engine structure and successfully developed the MX mecha, the Empire had developed a new generation of wolf fang mecha. Although the Empire's new mecha used an integrated micro-engine and complex system, making its overall power output far inferior to the Federation's, the new wolf fang mecha's high-speed mobility had dealt a heavy blow to the Federation mecha forces on the surface battlefield.
The old general forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, and looking at Xu Le's face, he said in a low voice, "The forward finger forces would like to request for a reward for you!"
However, right at this moment, Xu Le did not continue on this topic. Narrowing his eyes, he said something completely unrelated and somewhat abrupt.
"Bai Yulan, Xiong Linquan. They are my soldiers."
…
…
Commander Yi Changtian's expression was extremely solemn, even faintly tinged with a hint of anger. He stared into Xu Le's eyes, and asked slowly and coldly, "Are you planning to use the information in your hands to threaten the troops?"
Xu Le remained silent.
"Don't forget, you are a soldier!" Commander Yi slapped the long table in front of him heavily, pointing at his nose as he reprimanded angrily.
Faced with the fury of the Federation's highest frontline commander, Xu Le's expression remained calm. He said in a low voice, "I have not forgotten that I am a soldier. That is why when I found out that my subordinates were about to be executed, I did not flip out in front of tens of thousands of soldiers. I controlled my emotions and came to report, and I also handed over all the relevant military intelligence back to the troops without missing a single detail."
"However, the structure of the wolf fang mecha and some data on the Empire's fleet were things I won from a bet with a certain Imperial Highness with my own life."
"General, I have not forgotten that I am a soldier, and I have not forgotten to prioritize work before personal matters."
"We've finished discussing work. I would like to talk about personal matters now."
"The two of them are my soldiers. This is my personal matter."
…
…
Commander Yi looked at Xu Le expressionlessly, and asked, "If your soldiers were executed according to military law, would you dare to hide this so-called personal information and not hand it over? Even if you know that if you say it out loud, our soldiers will not die on the battlefield in the future? "
Xu Le stared at the dark wooden table in front of him, asking himself this question in the depths of his heart. After a long silence, he answered somewhat tiredly, "No."
"I know you won't, because you are Xu Le." Commander Yi patted his shoulder as if comforting a junior, and after a short pause, said, "Xiong Linquan can be released immediately, but … Bai Yulan cannot. Neither you nor I have the right to defy the military court's decision."
"Thank you for suspending the execution that day. I hope you can give me a few more days. After all, they are my soldiers. I need to think of something," Xu Le replied seriously.
"Xu Le, I have to warn you."
As one of the big shots in the military, Commander Yi knew very well what kind of shocking things this young officer in front of him had done in the Federation. He said seriously, "This is the forward operating base. This is the military, not the Husk Institute, not Hushan Road, and definitely not the S2 Foundation Building. If you dare to defy military orders, you know what will happen."
Xu Le nodded silently, stood up, and saluted. Then he turned around and left with his wrinkled military cap.
"If you want a presidential pardon … you have to get the Iron Seventh Division and Shaoqing to agree first," Commander Yi said casually as he sipped his tea with his head lowered.
Xu Le, who was walking out of the door, slightly curled his lips and smiled.
…
…
The military plan to attack the X3 system was severely disrupted and had to be rearranged. Therefore, the soldiers in the base welcomed another period of boring days of waiting for battle. But for many people, this period of intermission would definitely not be boring, because they were sure that there would be a big show to be played out. For the members of the first seven teams, who were distributed among the various combat units, they were naturally not in the mood to sit back and watch a show. They were overjoyed at the miraculous return of their leader, but at the same time, they were deeply worried about the future of Lao Bai's gun.
The members of the first seven teams, who had calmed down, realized that their leader, who was capable of splitting mountains in half, was actually unable to pick up the Carlin rotary autocannon and sweep everything away when faced with the strict military discipline and the judgment of the military court.
"With the leader's contributions, it shouldn't be a problem to ask the president for a pardon." Gu Xifeng held the wine bowl with her chubby fingers and frowned as she analyzed, "The key is the attitude of the Iron Seventh Division and Division Commander Shaoqing. Division Commander Shaoqing is deeply trusted by the president and the parliament. His prestige is extremely high. If he doesn't agree …"
Xu Le gently put the wine bowl in his hand on the table. After a moment of silence, he said, "I'll let him order."
…
…
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