An hour later, after everyone in the meeting room was calm, someone proposed to go out for the last dinner, and everyone agreed to this proposal.
They went to the delicious, most frequented one nearby. The proprietress came up to her and asked, "Are you going to surrender?" The councilors shook their heads, but no one said anything.
They ordered their favorite set meals, and carefully asked the proprietress to cook to the best level of the restaurant. The proprietress seemed to feel something and reassured them, saying that there was a shortage of supplies, but they would choose the best meat and fish as raw materials.
"Thank you, Madam Boss." Even the congressmen who had been crying just now maintained a gentlemanly attitude after going out.
When the food was served, they all slowed down and tasted the food carefully.
During the dinner, they did not discuss anything about surrender, and all topics were the same as before. They complain that their parents are too old-fashioned, and that their children are mischievous, but when they talk about these ordinary things, they unconsciously show a little worry in their eyes. There are also people who talk about the cuteness of their wives and the well-behaved pets at home, and they can't help but feel a little bit reluctant in their words. Only those who had been diagnosed with a strange disease before did not talk about treatment uncharacteristically, but calmly drank one cup at a time.
In the end, everyone drank, and some people got drunk and swayed on their chairs to the music.
After drinking until ten o'clock in the evening, the congressmen gradually dispersed.
On the same night, January 16, 2272 in the Galactic calendar, after the acting president signed the resolution, the Minister of the Republic in charge of document affairs personally drafted the instrument of surrender, surrounded by several talented subordinates.
They called up several large dictionaries on the screen in front of them, and carefully looked up the words they wanted to use in each surrender letter to ensure that they would not be interpreted into other meanings. For each word, they listed all the alternative words on another screen, looked at the definitions, compared, and discussed them one by one, and finally agreed on the most suitable one. The words that were commonly used in the past seemed to have suddenly become unfamiliar and uncertain, and several of the most literate people in the country seemed to have turned into preschool children overnight, unable to write even the most common sentences. They chewed on words to an astonishing degree. It took them fifteen hours to write a 300-word letter of surrender, and they could only write one sentence per hour on average.
On the afternoon of January 17, 2272 in the Milky Way calendar, after the congressmen and the acting president got the draft, they opened the dictionary and looked it up for a long time, and the changes were beyond recognition. But the good news is that at ten o'clock that night, the draft was finally finalized.
The two warring parties decided that on January 18, the Acting President of the Republic would give a speech and sign written documents with double backup of video and audio.
However, on the evening of January 17, some small episodes occurred.
First, the three generals of the republic did not stage coups at the same time, premeditatedly. They want to occupy the government and force the current president to step down and the current Congress to dissolve.
They turned off lights, cut off communications, and government buildings were dark and silent.
At three o'clock in the morning on January 18, the chief responsible for the security work of the government building ordered to rush into the government building to rescue the hostages.
People from the police station and the army poured into the building from all directions. After two and a half hours of storming, 60 coup elements were killed, but dozens of people who stayed in the government that night were also killed. The Minister of Security died in his post, and all three coup leaders were killed on the spot.
In addition, there are some extreme people who have seized the major media and voiced their voices, calling on the people of the Republic to continue to fight.
There were too many incidents, and the police station of Capital Star was so busy that everyone was mobilized, and even the reporters didn't know what to report.
…
In the chaos, at ten o'clock in the morning on January 18, 2272 in the Galactic calendar, the acting president of the Republic still delivered a speech as scheduled.
His voice is very small and low-pitched, and he can't hear clearly most of the time.
He said: "I, as the head of the government and military commander of the Republic, hereby declare surrender to the alliance and neutral countries. The effective time is at this moment. From 10:00 am on January 18, 2272 in the Galactic calendar, all the troops of the Republic must cease Military operations, standing by for orders... All starships, mechas, and weapons will be handed over to the alliance and neutral countries, and no one in the Republic will be allowed to destroy them..." At the end, his voice was a little choked up. He lowered his head and insisted on finishing the reading. He seemed to have expended a lot of effort when he said these words, and Wu Qiao, who was watching the screen, even suspected that he was going to faint in the battle.
Wu Qiao felt that he was also a little pitiful—he had been president for a week, and all he did was surrender.
At this point, everything is finally over.
Wu Qiao looked at the screen, feeling as if he had passed away, and couldn't even believe it.
From a rational point of view, he knew that the surrender of the Republic would definitely come, but when it came to this day, he felt as if he was dreaming.
After all, he has fought for ten years.
At first, when Tan Yan said that he had fought for ten years, he was shocked. Now, he himself has fought for ten years.
And Tan Yan, twenty years.
Tan Yan... Thinking of this name, Wu Qiao's chest boiled.
Tan Yan is still outside the capital of the Republic. He couldn't leave there for a minute without the formal surrender of the Republic. He must always be ready to prevent the opponent's possible madness.
But, really, they will be able to get tired of being together from now on... Although they have been together for so long, the days when they actually meet can be counted. Nine out of ten conversations between the two in the past have been about war. Occasionally, Wu Qiao still feels guilty when he talks about love. After all, at such a critical and tense moment, he was still wasting time with each other, not only wasting his own time, but also wasting the marshal's time. This time... Finally, I don't have to worry about it.
After the surrender speech by the Acting President of the Republic, a reporter interviewed Wu Qiao for his thoughts.
Wu Qiao was very rational and was not dazzled by the victory. He said: "This is not an end. This is a pause. After decades or centuries, war will return. Please cherish peace."
The reporter asked in amazement: "What do you mean?"
Wu Qiao's eyes were a little tired: "I mean... As long as human beings exist, the possibility of war will exist as long as possible. The history of war will never end, although I hope it will."
"..."
Wu Qiao's frustrating words shocked everyone in the country.
At this moment of victory, Wu Qiao actually poured cold water on it.
However, this was indeed what Wu Qiao wanted to say the most. He wants to tell people, cherish the short-term peace, and don't naively think that there will be no more chaos in the future.
He didn't understand why he thought that.
Ten years ago, he wanted to change the world. At that time, in his imagination, he must have been very energetic when he issued the declaration. He would say every word forcefully: "All citizens of the empire, let's celebrate together, the day of peace has arrived!"
Why is he like this now
He is obviously still young, and he is obviously in his prime.
Wu Qiao suddenly felt that the descriptions in those books in the past about how happy the soldiers were at the end of the war might be false. At this moment, there was no joy, pride, pride, or complacency in his heart... but more like a kind of relief.
When he saw the real capitulation of the Republic, he uttered not a cheer but a sigh.
—a sigh for those painful memories of the past.
Those who have passed away will never come back.
After acknowledging defeat, the soldiers of the Republic reacted differently.
Some people chose to commit suicide, and several mass suicides even took place. The suicide notes of some people said that the acting president and Congress were traitors, and some people's suicide notes contained sad lines.
The most tragic scene was the large-scale explosion of the battleship. Nearly a thousand starships participated in this self-destruction, and the flames turned the entire sky into colorful clouds. Before the explosion, all warships hoisted the flag of the Republic, which had been forbidden to be raised to the top of the flagpole. In the history of war, it is not uncommon to prefer this method of shattering the jade rather than the whole. They chose this method as the final destination of the warships.
Originally, several generals should lead the warships to the "Allied Forces" to surrender. However, for several generals, this order was unacceptable. They are all soldiers, and they regard surrender as a shame in their bones, but the commander ordered them to do so.
So, they disobeyed the order for the only time in their military careers, in order to preserve the military spirit in their hearts. They believed that it was far better to die before surrender than to surrender. They let people who didn't want to accompany them go to other ships, and then told those who stayed behind to detonate all the battleships.
Several generals Tan Yanquan had heard of it. There is a man of high quality, and the general of a coalition army that Tan Yan holds in high regard has been defeated by him three times. Although all those battles were finally won overall, it was always impossible to gain an advantage from the part that the general was in charge of. Tan Yan originally thought that he would live to the end of the war, but no, he himself had never lost to anyone, but he was a soldier of the defeated country, and the shame would be with him all his life.
In addition, some generals refused to lead the fleet to surrender, so the Republic had to temporarily replace the commanders of these fleets and let those who were willing to go take the top.
In the end, after the turbulent adjustments, the remaining fleet finally moved slowly, set up a parade formation, and came out of the battle queue, thinking about the direction of the "Allied Forces". The battleship drove very slowly, and there was no military flag flying on it, so it looked like a bereaved dog.
On both sides of the warships of the Republic, there are still warships of the alliance and neutral countries waiting in line to prevent any accidents.
When the warship of the Republic sailed into the temporary "base camp" of the coalition forces, the atmosphere instantly became very tense. The allies and neutral countries were facing enemies, and their eyes were fixed on those "enemies", unwilling to let go of any of them. Actions.
The hatch of the battleship was finally opened.
The soldiers all walked out with their heads down, knowing that they were already weak. However, most of the ordinary soldiers still looked curiously at the soldiers, warships and mechs of the alliance and neutral countries. They had never observed each other so closely.
Many kind-hearted people from the alliance and neutral countries walked over and patted them on the shoulder, saying, "At least, you are alive."
This sentence immediately eased the atmosphere a lot.
Yeah, at least, alive.
Many soldiers of the Republic also shook each other's outstretched hands. The two sides shook hands, patted shoulders, whispered, and some even hugged, because they were no longer enemies. Yes, it was an enemy a day ago, but it is certainly not now. Since they are no longer enemies, why can't they contact each other
Soldiers from both sides exchanged souvenirs, such as epaulets, buttons, handkerchiefs—they were not actually commemorating victory or defeat, but narrow escapes.
They have brushed shoulders with death, and now that peace has come, as ordinary soldiers, why not smile about it.
After the transfer was completed, the generals handed over all the warships, mechs and weapons to the "Allied Forces" as promised.
After Tan Yan confirmed that he had received the authority of the entire fleet, he signaled to his subordinates, and the sound of cannons celebrating the victory rang out in the sky.
One after another, symbolizing a new beginning.
"Did you hear it?" Tan Yan asked Wu Qiao from the communication device, "The sound of the guns."
"Yes," Wu Qiao replied with a smile, "I heard that."
"The flames of war are extinguished."
"… yes."
Tan Yan added: "Tomorrow I will lead the team back."
"I," Wu Qiao stammered suddenly, "I know."
"Hey..." Tan Yan's eyes were very dark, "You can move here and live with me, and we won't have to run back and forth."
"… Oh."
"What does 'oh' mean?"
Wu Qiao said: "It means 'good'."
Tan Yan smiled: "So perfunctory?"
"It's also perfunctory for you to ask."
"Okay, I'll ask again." Tan Yan thought for a while, then asked again, "You can move here and live with me. Let me take care of you, okay?"
"... Who wants you to take care of me?" In Wu Qiao's heart, he was much stronger than Tan Yan. His clothes are always spotlessly washed and neatly folded. There was no mess in the room, everything was in order. His three meals are also very scientific, and the robot is strictly asked to cook according to the recipe he made, and the amount is just right, no more than no less. So, what does he have to look after
What he wants... is nothing more than the company of the other party.
Over there, Tan Yan didn't worry about the choice of words any more, he switched to another topic, and asked Wu Qiao, "Have you prepared the speech you are going to use tomorrow?"
"It's almost there." Tomorrow, when Tan Yan leads the team back, Wu Qiao will give a speech, which is not only to celebrate the victory, but also to thank the soldiers; it is said to the people, but also to the soldiers, which can be regarded as combining the two into one .
Hearing this, Tan Yan suddenly laughed lowly: "In the past, you liked to give speeches the most, and you would definitely attend them if you had the opportunity."
"..." Wu Qiao said, "Actually, I quite like it now."
"Vainous little guy." Tan Yan said casually.
"I… "
"Wu Qiao," Tan Yan looked at Wu Qiao with very gentle eyes, but mentioned something that Wu Qiao didn't expect, "Then, the wedding speech is also entrusted to you."
"..." Wu Qiao was silent for a while, and then asked Tan Yan, "What should I say in my wedding speech?" He really didn't understand these things. He used to talk about politics and war, and the books he read were also about politics and war. There was never an instance of the "wedding address" stored in his brain.
"It's just..." In fact, Tan Yan didn't understand much, but he guessed, "It's about how the two love and help each other, and the determination to witness the storm and rainbow together in the future, right? Tell everyone what you want to tell about the two of them. , and all of it was settled slowly on that occasion.”
"Then..." Wu Qiao seemed really worried, "Then I'll make it extra long."
"..."
"How long can the wedding speech be?" So many things happened between him and Tan Yan, it seemed a pity to delete any of them.
"I don't know..." Tan Yan thought for a while, "Forget it, you can do whatever you want. Anyway, no matter how long you say, no one dares to have any opinions on the two of us."