Less than ten minutes after the exclusive interview that took up three full pages of the Capital Special District Daily appeared, the reporters, cameras, and broadcast vans around the Wangdu Youth Apartment, as well as the 24-hour rooms in the opposite apartment building, were suddenly reduced by more than half. The reporters who were slow to realize what had happened immediately began to race to Philadelphia. That day, the flights from the Capital Special District to Philadelphia were all full, but there were still many people who did not get the precious tickets.
Unfortunately, Philadelphia was not Wangdu, and the seriously ill military god was not the young Colonel Xu Le. Before the planes of several famous TV stations could enter the airspace of Philadelphia, they were ordered by the military to land at an unknown small airport three thousand kilometers away. The reporters who had arrived at Philadelphia were also driven to the old city by the armed Special Forces of the First Military Region, and all the long-distance high-definition video recording equipment were confiscated.
This was a serious violation of the freedom of the press and human rights, but at this time, no TV station or newspaper dared to raise any angry protests against the Federation government. In the past, they could scold the president, the parliament, and all the officials in the world, but now, in the face of the scene before the death of a superstar, if anyone dared to open their mouth to question anything, they would be trampled into pieces of garbage by the angry people the next day.
The outside of the youth apartment was no longer as noisy and annoying as it was two days ago. Xu Le silently looked at the electronic news on the light screen. He stood up and thought for a moment while holding his forehead. Then, he put on his military uniform and quietly climbed out of the back window. With the help of the Federal Central Computer, he easily avoided the prying eyes of the reporters and arrived at the military airport in the western suburbs before evening, boarding the special military plane that had been prepared by the Ministry of Defense.
At 7: 14 p.m., Xu Le arrived in Philadelphia and went to the courtyard by the lake. Walking into the room overflowing with the smell of medicine and the electronic sound of sophisticated medical equipment, he quietly sat on the bed covered with white clouds and gently held the thin but still strong hand of the old man in the clouds.
No one knew what Li Pifu said to him. People only knew that Xu Le did not stay in Philadelphia for long, and once again returned to the Capital Special District. The dark green military vehicle drove directly into the West Mountain Compound after him.
It was already early in the morning. Deep in the courtyard of Xishan Mountain, Minister Zou's house was shrouded in the light morning light. The remaining snow mixed with the withered leaves in front of the house, densely packed like the wrinkles of the earth.
"Mr. President was also in Philadelphia last night. I met with him before I left."
In the study on the second floor, Xu Le held the scalding orange tea that Zou Yu had just brought in with both hands. His thick eyebrows were furrowed tightly as he said softly, "Mr. President told me some things. He mentioned his sick daughter. He said... everyone has someone or something they care about, so at certain moments, they always need to make certain compromises and concessions. And these compromises and concessions often require more wisdom and courage than making great strides forward."
He recalled for a moment and confirmed that he had not made a single mistake when he repeated the President's words.
Director Zou Yingxing sat on the sofa opposite him, deep in thought.
After the big shots in the Capital Special District learned about the physical condition of Army God Li Pifu, they all went to Philadelphia to visit him. Regardless of whether these people could see the old man on the sickbed in the end, they had to go to show their attitude.
But as the Minister of National Defense, he unexpectedly stayed. On one hand, it was because the war on the front line of the empire was still going on. On the other hand, it was also because of the way this scholarly general handled things.
"How is the General's body?" Zou Yingxing asked.
"His condition is very bad. The organ failure is very serious." Xu Le put down the orange tea, rubbed his hair, and said after a pause, "It is purely a problem of age and old illness. The Army general hospital is extremely pessimistic. They think that the old man may leave at any time."
Minister Zou was silent for a moment and said, "I have been in the logistics base. Seriously speaking, I have not done anything under the direct command of the old man. But every soldier in the Federation will think that they are just an ordinary soldier under the command of the General. When I heard this news, I was in a very bad mood."
Xu Le rubbed his left hand from his forehead to the back of his head and said a few dirty words in annoyance.
"The content of the General's interview has caused a great shock in the society." Minister Zou looked at him quietly and said, "In fact, the relationship between the General and the traitor … that is, your teacher, is not an absolute secret in the upper echelons of the military. After all, they have been fighting for many years. An old man like General Miles will more or less guess something."
"We originally thought that after the General passed away, no one would mention this matter again. Naturally, the Federation would not know about this matter in the future. Who would have thought that the General would arrange an interview himself and reveal this secret past."
"What does this mean?"
Zou Yingxing took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He said emotionally, "Everyone has to admit that Marshal Li is the only leader in the history of the Federation who has no flaws. When he left this world, he should have been perfect, but he did not accept this perfection."
He raised his head and looked at Xu Le quietly. "You should understand better than anyone why the General did this."
"I understand. This is to protect me." Xu Le lowered his head and stared at the dust on his military boots. "The old man's body is very weak. We did not talk for too long last night, but I understand what he meant."
Xu Le raised his head. His clean eyes were bloodshot with exhaustion and calmness after enlightenment. He said, "The old man knows that I have a flaw in my character. If I let things go on like this, I will be impulsive."
"The old man does not want me to become a scavenger. That kind of character can only destroy, not build. It is of no real benefit to the Federation and the people."
"I am very gratified that you can understand the General's painstaking efforts. I believe that Mr. President also means the same. "
Zou Yingxing slowly loosened his fingers from rubbing his forehead. He looked at him and said calmly, "Light and darkness are twins. No one can overturn this. Even if you suddenly kill people today and use your life as the price to sweep away the darkness before you, what about in the future? If you die, who will clean up the new darkness in the Federation in the future? "
Minister Zou looked at him and continued, "The General had the ability to clean up the government and even kill everyone, but he did not do so. If you have the chance, you can carefully read the General's record. For several decades, even he has been constantly making concessions and compromising. This is precisely for the sake of a firmer and steadier advance in the future. "
"A man with a true sense of responsibility, a soldier, should learn to endure, watch, protect, and not sacrifice himself lightly. He disdains to die together with those disdainful juniors, because only in this way can he be considered to have given his entire life to the Federation and the people."
"The General has persevered like this all his life. I hope you can follow his example."
Xu Le was silent for a long time, and then nodded.
"This is your latest appointment." Zou Yingxing took out an electronic document that was clearly just drafted from the desk drawer and said, "Mr. President has already signed. You are appointed as a special representative of the government to head to the West Woods to preside over the strategic ordnance test of the general assembly base. At the same time, you have full authority to represent the government in negotiations with the representatives of the Empire's underground resistance organization."
Xu Le slowly raised his head, his eyes full of confusion. He could predict that he would be expelled from the political center of the special capital district, but he did not expect that he would be sent to the West Woods to carry out such a mission.
…
…
After the exclusive interview in the special capital district daily was published, the entire Federation fell into a kind of uneasiness and panic. This big article obviously had the nature of a monument to let everyone know that this meant that an old man may be leaving soon, and that a certain era was coming to an end.
The people of the Federation could not imagine what the Federation would do without the Military God. Although in the past ten years, the old man had already taken off the marshal's uniform and sat quietly by the Philadelphia Lake to fish, as long as they knew that he was still alive, whether in the frontline troops or in Philadelphia, as long as they knew that he was still alive, as long as they knew that the old man was still alive, everyone was very relieved, whether in the frontline troops or in Philadelphia.
Li Pifu, the Military God who had once shocked the universe, once again shook the entire universe when he was about to leave. The news spread to Bermuda, and the pirates and tycoons were collectively speechless, not knowing how to react. When the news spread to the Empire, the Baijin Royal Family began to hold a carnival party, and the dark-eyed royals drank countless glasses of liquor.
In short, everyone knew that the Military God was about to die, and everyone was waiting for the arrival of that day with sadness, confusion, fear, calmness, or joy.
However, to everyone's surprise, Li Pifu, who had been sentenced to death by the best doctors in the Federation, did not die, and was extremely valiant in coming back to life. Although they knew that this was only a temporary phenomenon, and that the Military God's health had seriously deteriorated, and that he would not be able to hold on for too long, many people were still very emotional.
The tenacious vitality and terrifying willpower contained in that old body seemed to have frightened the Grim Reaper, and he chose to temporarily leave.
As long as the Military God Li Pifu did not die, he would be the brightest star in the universe, forever shining on the Federation. He was the bright sun above S1, sinking into the horizon every night, and stubbornly rising the next day to illuminate everything.
…
…
Regardless of whether that sun would be extinguished the next day, the old man on the sickbed in Philadelphia expressed his attitude through an exclusive interview. The Federation Investigation Bureau immediately stopped the secret investigation of Xu Le, and the District Attorney's Office sealed the relevant files. No more members of parliament proposed to hold a special hearing on Parliament Hill. As for the accusation of treason, no one would mention it.
The people who had the potential to control and influence the political structure of the entire Federation, or rather, the entire Federation, were forced to make concessions to one person.
They had to make concessions to the old man who was extremely weak, already on the verge of death, and could not even speak.
The people only knew that the wind had stopped and the clouds had dispersed, and the entire Federation was peaceful and quiet, with a certain sense of commemoration and solemnity. However, they did not know that after this atmosphere, the Federation government, the various departments, and the fierce struggle that had taken place on Parliament Hill.
The Bureau of Proclamation was silent, and the Department of National Defense stood behind Xu Le, but it was not convenient for them to express their views. It was the same for the Office of the President. That side stopped the accusation against Xu Le, but it was impossible for them to allow him to continue his own investigation and access to those core secrets.
One day in the late winter of the 71st year of the Constitutional calendar, Xu Le boarded a military spaceship headed for the West Woods.
…
…
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.
