The main ship Ishtar, named after Qi Yan, was placed in Long Xiyun's fleet.
At the conference table, Dushan muttered: "Commander, although the Ishtar is a mobile flagship, I often charge, and a mobile one is also suitable to be placed in my fleet!"
Lu Fenghan sat back in his chair and said, "A person who has four main ships in the fleet is not qualified to ask for new ships."
Immediately, the captains sitting around the conference table fell silent.
Only Mei Jielin, who was drinking a nutritional supplement, muttered quietly: "The ship is not as good as the new one, and the people are not as good as the old one!"
Lu Fenghan sneered: "The ship is not as good as the new one? As if it were a change of clothes? Do you believe that if the finance official stood in front of you, he would perform a scene of vomiting blood and dying?"
Mei Jielin touched her nose guiltily, prepared to be a clam and keep silent.
After making sure that Lu Fenghan had no intention of changing his mind, the few people had no choice but to leave with sighs, looking depressed at having failed in their attempt to get something for free.
The door of the command room was closed. Lu Fenghan sat in his original position, staring at Qi Yan's profile to change his mood.
The person curled up on the sofa had a relaxed sitting posture, a slender figure, somewhat long hair, the tips of his ears half hidden in his hair, and his eyebrows and eyes were so delicate that they looked like they were drawn inch by inch with a fine brush.
Seeing Qi Yan tapping on his personal terminal, Lu Fenghan asked, "Are you chatting?"
Although they were both facing their personal terminals, Lu Fenghan could discern Qi Yan's subtle micro-expressions at a glance.
"Ye Pei sent me a message, saying that she was curious about how much money Chagall, the senior who used two-thirds of his account balance to bet, would lose, so she went to ask. Unexpectedly, Chagall replied that the senior only had 3,000 star coins in his account. Ye Pei said it was hard to imagine that he could be so poor."
There was a chair but Lu Fenghan insisted on squeezing next to Qi Yan. And because the sofa was too narrow, he simply sat down himself and picked her up and held her on his lap.
"This is in line with the general economic level of the expeditionary army." Lu Fenghan held Qi Yan's waist with his hand, and his tone unconsciously relaxed. "The salary given by the alliance is not low, but most people in the expeditionary army don't save money. Those who have families will transfer money home every month, and those who don't have families to take care of will spend most of it during their rest time. After all, on the front battlefield, lives are in danger and people don't know what will happen tomorrow. Once you die, you can't hold on to anything or take anything with you."
Qi Yan had seen several starship explosions. Every explosion would take away countless lives. He gradually understood more than before what Lu Fenghan said, "Human lives are in danger and one cannot expect the next day."
I think everyone on the front line has their own opinion on life and death.
After a few seconds of silence, Qi Yan asked again: "So the general didn't save money before?"
Lu Fenghan felt a slight toothache and took a deep breath with a soft hiss.
His previous account balance - let's not talk about it.
"I save money now." Although he only realized this in December last year.
At this time, there was a knock on the door. Lu Fenghan stood up and walked towards the chair while telling Pojun: "You can open the door now."
Po Jun: "Okay."
When Vincent entered the command room, he subconsciously glanced in the direction of the single sofa, and saw Qi Yan was indeed there, so he nodded and greeted him from a distance.
Then, he walked a few steps to Lu Fenghan's desk and said, "Reporting to the commander, after we entered the range of the Phoenix Star Cluster, we found scattered rebel reconnaissance ships along the way. However, those reconnaissance ships were like rabbits digging holes, they would run away immediately after circling half a circle. It is not clear yet whether they were sent by the first, second, or fourth legions of the rebels. Of course, it is possible that they were sent by all three parties."
At the same time, the star map lit up under Pojun's operation, clearly showing the specific location of the enemy reconnaissance ship.
Seeing the fluorescent blue light reflected in Lu Fenghan's eyes, like a layer of cold color, the restrained sharpness in it made people dare not look at it for too long. Vincent then turned to the star map: "From my personal analysis, it should be that the three parties are all inquiring, because they are temporarily unable to determine who our target is."
Lu Fenghan shook his head: "Although the rebels are used to protecting themselves and engaging in oppression, you have forgotten the scale of our fleet that is now setting out."
Vincent was startled and knocked his head before he realized that he was using his previous habitual thinking.
With the allocation and huge investment of alliance resources, the continuous influx of military support, and the various starships produced by military factories with astonishing efficiency, the combat effectiveness of the expeditionary force is no longer the same as before.
The 12th Legion of the rebel army was still capable of one-on-one combat, but now, if Donald were to encounter them, they would definitely hide as far away as possible and would not dare to face the enemy without bringing along one or two other legions.
Similarly, neither the First Army nor the Fourth Army dared to rush into the expeditionary force's battle circle alone.
"Tell the reconnaissance ship to ignore those 'rabbits'. Unless they attack us, the entire ship will immediately go on level one alert." Lu Fenghan turned his head and saw Vincent was hesitant to speak. "If you have something to say, just say it."
Vincent thought that he was about to start singing against the conductor's will.
He subconsciously quickened his speech: "Recently... Recently, there have been some bad comments circulating on the ship, concerning the Chief, so I collected them."
Glancing at Lu Fenghan cautiously, Vincent quickly said, "The comments focus on two aspects. One is questioning the Chief's true level, believing that the Chief is now receiving so much praise, including Lorenz's recognition, mostly because of your command."
He lowered his voice. "For example, the chief does not understand the central control system at all. In fact, it is all done by the system automatically. After the repair is completed, the chief takes credit for it."
Vincent had a strong desire to survive, and immediately commented: "Of course, those people are fooled because they don't understand! And most of them are sober!"
Lu Fenghan tapped the table with his fingers and said in a deep voice: "Continue."
"The second point is to question Lorenz. He thinks that the reason why he is so friendly to the Chief and always shows his reliance on you is that he wants to curry favor with you."
Vincent couldn't help but complain, "To be honest, Lorenz always looks sleepy and impatient when he sees everyone. Who would he curry favor with? The one who got him ten boxes of espresso from the logistics department?"
Lu Fenghan raised his finger: "Anything else?"
"Yes, yes, yes. And this one actually reveals the intentions of the person behind the scenes." As a graduate of intelligence search, Vincent is most interested in collecting information, analyzing cause and effect, and deducing the true intentions. "The last one is that the commander wants to support Qi Yan and take away the position of the director of Lorenz's technical department!"
Qi Yan spoke first: "No, I refuse. I'm too busy and I won't be able to wake up."
The coldness on Lu Fenghan's lips was diluted by Qi Yan's words.
Seeing that Lu Fenghan didn't get angry, Vincent began to summarize: "The purpose of those who spread rumors behind the scenes is nothing more than to slander Qi Yan and Lorenz, and by the way, they hope to use such means to stir up public opinion.
Under public opinion, as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, and at a critical moment in the war, you must prioritize the stability of the military's morale. Maybe you will sacrifice Qi Yan to save Lorenz, the technical department and the military's morale."
Lu Fenghan continued his words: "Not only that, because of my relationship with Qi Yan, would I vent my anger on Lorenz?"
"Right! That's the logic!" Vincent clicked his tongue twice. "The person who spread the rumor did put a lot of thought into it, but it's a pity that he doesn't understand the expeditionary force, the command, or the chief and Lorenz at all. He relies entirely on his own conjecture. For example, Lorenz, if someone could really take over his job, he would definitely be happy to drink ten cups of espresso in a row!"
Qi Yan had been listening: "This guy wants to take the general's anger out on Lorenz and take the opportunity to take over?"
Vincent nodded: "That should be the purpose, otherwise there would be no need to go to such great lengths to do this."
Lu Fenghan commented calmly: "He has great ambitions, but he is too impatient and not smart enough." He then ordered, "Tell Lorenz and let him solve it himself."
Vincent's heels touched lightly, and he was about to act as a mouthpiece. Halfway through turning, he remembered, "Oh, right, I got a piece of news. Turan Academy secretly passed on the news that they would quietly learn what they should learn at night. The student, you and the chief should know him. His name is Xia Zhiyang."
Hearing the name, Qi Yan's fingers loosened around the metal pen.
What emerged before his eyes was the scene when he returned to Leto, when Xia Zhiyang was wearing a bright green jacket, standing next to the big red hovercraft, waving at him with a bright smile.
Vincent asked the next question: "The intelligence department of the alliance is secretly communicating with him. If there is anything you want to tell him, we can convey it."
Qi Yan was silent for a few seconds, then said softly, "Alive, please tell him that he must survive."
Central Administrative District, Leto.
After attending a party of rich second-generations, Xia Zhiyang, reeking of alcohol, emerged from the atmosphere of drunkenness and living only for today and not for tomorrow.
The strong smell of alcohol on his body was blown away by the wind, and he felt much better.
Walking to the blind spot of the surveillance camera, Xia Zhiyang secretly took out the note he received from the waiter from his pocket.
The star calendar has spanned two hundred years. Xia Zhiyang, who has long been accustomed to the virtual information flow, did not expect that one day he would try to write again.
During special periods, the "note" has become a safe carrier - it will not leave any traces in the data flow of the Star Network, and it is easy to transmit and destroy.
The note was filled with small characters, describing what he was going to do next - to use the identity of Xia Jiaji Chengran to go to a certain port to collect the necessary information.
He had done this several times and was already very familiar with it. He quickly thought about whether there was anyone in his network who could be of use, while turning to the back of the note.
There is only one line of words on it.
“You must survive.”
As his eyes moved downward, Xia Zhiyang's pupils trembled violently.
The signature of this sentence is - Prayer.
Xia Zhiyang's mind went blank for two seconds.
Prayer.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the cool early autumn air of Leto, and hid his trembling fingers in his pockets.
At this moment, suddenly a few words from an old friend came to him across thousands of miles of stars and the rebel army's strict defenses, and even made his eyes sore and he had the urge to cry.
He had looked at the clouds and the starry sky behind the black fleet countless times, hoping that each of his friends was well.
I have also spent countless sleepless nights thinking that as long as I died a worthy death, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But I will try my best to survive.
Xia Zhiyang pressed his hat to cover his red eyes.
On the day of its founding, I once said that you would be the best scientists in the alliance, and I would be the most profitable businessman, providing you with all the research funds you need.
I won't break my promise.
Since the expeditionary fleet approached the center of the Phoenix Star Cluster, the atmosphere on board became tense. Everyone's footsteps became hurried, and countless documents were handed to Lu Fenghan one after another.
Outside the porthole, one can often see the destroyer fleet conducting maneuvering jump simulation training, like a shadow in the universe.
"How confident are you that you can knock on the door?"
In the video communication, because the distance was too far, the signal was affected by the cosmic storm, causing Nie Huaiting's figure to be unclear and with a "hissing" noise.
"There is no certainty, only opportunity. The Third and Sixth Legions of the Rebel Army defend the Divine Court and protect the Wise. If you want to drive the star fleet in, you have to tear down the wall first. The First, Second, and Fourth Legions are the wall."
Lu Fenghan was wearing a military uniform, with none of the buttons in the right place. His open coat revealed the standard shirt underneath. In contrast, his expression was stern and cold. "For the expeditionary army, now is a good time. The morale is there, the anger is there, and the support is complete. I have no reason not to come and attack."
Lu Fenghan's words could be called arrogant, but Nie Huaiting said nothing: "If you make a decision, I support you."
Behind him was the shield and sword flag of the Alliance military. Nie Huaiting had a deep wrinkle between his brows, and the nasolabial lines made him look serious and unapproachable.
The tone he used when speaking to Lu Fenghan was more like a casual chat. "Although the progress of the Central Administrative District has had some twists and turns, the results have all been good. We have lived up to the expectations of the citizens of the Alliance. Otherwise, if the Sky Diamond had been tarnished, my death would not have been enough to atone for my sin."
"There's no need to talk about life and death. Even a major under my command who drives a destroyer understands what the alliance is going to do. The alliance is going to take back everything that has been taken away by the enemy. That's all."
Lu Fenghan's eyes were cold, "When the rebels fired the first missile at Leto, they should have realized this."
Nie Huaiting looked at Lu Fenghan, as if he saw the young Lu Jun, the young himself, and many young people.
For more than half a century, some people are still wearing military uniforms and standing under the banner of shield and sword, while some have died in the sea of stars.
Yes, take back what has been taken away.
This is the vigor of youth.
Unstoppable.
He thought that after this war was over, the alliance would no longer need him as commander-in-chief, and he could resign.
Although the Alliance has been around for two hundred years, when measured on the time scale of the human race, it has only taken a small, tentative step towards the vast galaxy.
It needs to face the future with firm steps and not be tainted by the old days.
After pondering for a long time, Nie Huaiting asked Lu Fenghan: "Can you tell me, what makes you fight for the alliance? What makes you wear the armor and defend the stars behind you? 'Just for the alliance, go forward courageously', you have said this countless times, then, you have been stationed on the front line, under the rain of bullets and the wind, for more than ten years, what is it that has made you go forward courageously?"
There was a long silence.
Amidst the low cosmic noise, Lu Fenghan replied:
"I defend the Human Interstellar Covenant and the freedom, equality and dignity of mankind." Lu Fenghan looked at Nie Huaiting across hundreds of millions of stars with a firm expression, "For this, I will do my best and move forward courageously."