Xu Le also didn't expect to be treated with such courtesy. After a slight stun, he saluted the figure behind him, sat at the table, picked up the ordinary cup of jasmine tea, and took a few sips seriously.
Du Shaoqing turned around, waved Ximen Jin and a group of officers from the Seventh Division of Iron to leave the room, walked to the table, removed the iconic pair of sunglasses, took off his military cap, and sat down.
The two of them sat on both sides of the table and watched each other calmly. There were no sparks growing where their eyes met, no swords, lights and swords whistling in the air. There was only silence.
Some time has not seen, Xu Le noticed that Du Shaoqing's temples were already visible, and the indifferent, proud and rigorous cheeks like ice sculptures in the past years were also a little more tired and haggard.
Several years of battlefield career, especially the expedition to the empire in recent months, for the myth of the invincible iron seven divisions, for the uninterrupted victory of the federal troops, Du Shaoqing has consumed a lot of hard work, but Xu Le is still a little bit unable to adapt to fatigue and fatigue. The haggard look would appear on his face.
Du Shaoqing's eyes drooped slightly, he picked up the good coffee prepared by the orderly, took a sip, and said very casually, "Death."
Xu Le was silent for a moment, then picked up the cup of jasmine tea that the other party brewed himself, took a big sip, raised his head, looked into the other party's eyes and said, "No."
Du Shaoqing put down the coffee cup, did not continue to attack the issue, and turned to another topic. He looked at Xu Le's scarred face and said, "Three years ago at the base, we discussed whether the troops need disciplined tactics or Powerful individual, I said that there is only one war god in the universe, you said no, now it seems that you have proved to some extent that you can do things that ordinary people can't do, but I still have the answer, if You are dead, what will the troops do?"
Du Shaoqing continued: "You miraculously survived and returned with your merits. From the president to the street vendor, everyone in the federation will give you some face."
"But I, Du Shaoqing, have never been a person who will give other people face, and I don't need to give them face."
"I understand the importance of military discipline." Xu Le raised his head, looked at Du Shaoqing and said, "But I believe Bai Yulan is not a reckless man. He naturally has his own reasons for doing this."
"There is no reason to explain this matter." Du Shaoqing said: "I have paid attention to Magnolia before, and I know that he is a very good, even very rare soldier, but I never thought of transferring him to my army. Because I know very well that people like him, you, your team members... are not real soldiers at all."
"He committed the following crime, tore Dongfang's ear, and cut the piece of crispy meat into sixteen pieces... He personally cut off his own back path."
Du Shaoqing stared at Xu Le's eyes, and his voice gradually became indifferent: "You have never been a first-level military officer, but you should be very clear about what this means. If my people did such a thing, I would never Will intercede for him, just shoot him."
"I repeat, I believe that my people will never do such a thing for no reason." Xu Le had no intention of backing down, but instead stared into his eyes and said word by word, "Master Shaoqing."
The four words, Master Shaoqing, came out of his mouth, and they seemed extraordinarily blunt, like cow bones that had been dried for thousands of years, popping out piece by piece from the cracks in the dry wasteland. Although there were only four words, But the two knew very well what Xu Le's subtext was, and what he wanted to highlight.
Gradually dark clouds gathered between Du Shaoqing's sword-like brows, and he said coldly: "The military, the first priority is discipline; the federation, the first law. The two, the first evidence... Colonel Xu Le, I respect the military court's ruling, I will Do whatever it takes to uphold the discipline of the troops."
"I absolutely believe that my subordinates will not do the things you imagined. If you have evidence, please submit it to the Internal Affairs Office or the military court. If not, please return."
After listening to this neat, particularly tough sentence, Xu Le frowned and suddenly said, "Master Shaoqing, maybe you don't know your subordinates as well as you think."
Looking at the white hair on the sideburns of this famous federation general, he felt something in his heart. This man worked hard for the federation, and it could even be said that he was burning his own life. However, the pride and conceit in his bones remained unchanged.
"Humans are complicated." Xu Le looked into Du Shaoqing's eyes and said, "Someone told me that humans are the first-order machines, and the more than 40,000 officers and soldiers of the Seventh Iron Division are as efficient as machines under your training and command. Powerful, but... People are not real machines after all. A person like the head of the East is no longer a soldier under your command. He has his own mind. It is a virtue to trust his subordinates completely and unconditionally, but it is also an adventure , no one knows if anyone will take advantage of that trust.”
Du Shaoqing's eyes narrowed, and a cold light shot out sharply. If Xu Le's words were to sow discord, it would be too stupid, so he knew that the other party was talking about this issue very seriously. When the aroma of coffee gradually drifted away, He couldn't help thinking of that rainy day in the capital, the subordinate he once trusted the most...
His eyes naturally drifted out of the room, Du Shaoqing glanced at the back of Ximen Jin in the distance, his mood was extremely cold, probably because of this extremely complicated emotion, he was not willing to surrender to another most loyal subordinate at all. Doubt a little bit.
"There is no need to talk about this matter." Du Shaoqing waved his hand to stop Xu Le's words. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "I have something to tell you."
"I still don't appreciate your rambling and personal heroism, but I now… really admire you."
Xu Le lowered his gaze, stared at the gently rippling jasmine petals in the glass in front of him, and understood what the other party meant.
With Du Shaoqing's temperament, it was impossible for him to discuss with him for such a long time the issue of military discipline, which was extremely simple in his opinion.
Whether it's the cup of tea that Du Shaoqing brewed by himself, or the word "death reprieve" that the other party spit out from his lips at the beginning, it's not Du Shaoqing giving him a face, but a federal soldier, expressing to another federal soldier who is not bad respect.
Xu Le got up and put on a hat to give a salute, and finally said in a deep voice, "At the battle meeting tomorrow morning, I will ask for a retrial of the case."
Du Shaoqing didn't answer, didn't get up, just waved his hand casually, but looking at Xu Le's back as he walked out of the door, there was a rare complex and lonely emotion in the eyes of the famous young general of the Federation.
Tea and conversation are respect and gratitude among soldiers.
Thank you for risking your life to kill the Empire, kill Caton, avenge the tiger, and avenge her.
Half a kilometer away from the New 17th Division Barracks, at the corner of a quiet metal tunnel escape gate, Xu Le squinted at the place and whispered, "Come out."
There were no gods, monsters, or ghosts, or unexpected beauties that jumped out from there, ran up to him, hung around his neck, and gave him a warm embrace, only an old butler in a black formal dress. , appeared silently in his pupils, or more precisely, in the area of his brain responsible for vision.
In the breeze of the base, Xu Le turned to lean on the secluded metal plate, closed his eyes, and stared at the butler in the dark. He always felt that the wrinkles on this image seemed to be much less than a few years ago, and subconsciously asked A somewhat inexplicable, but well-understood question on both sides.
"You... or you?"
"It's a bit strange, but I'm still me. Besides, long time no see, Colonel Xu Le... This is a greeting on behalf of another me."
Xu Le sighed, and did not have the energy to discuss the philosophical issues of whether consciousness and wisdom can be split. He reported the preamble data of the preface that Gu Xifeng had stolen, and said, "Please help me check this military order. Has the sequence table been manipulated?"
After a short time, the Federal Charter computer replied: "This sequence table has been modified, and the data has been overwritten from the thirty-four military orders between 9-887 and 9-992 of the standard time."
Xu Le calculated the time, it was the days before Magnolia and the others were attacked in the southern district of Fagar City, her tightly closed eyes could not help wrinkling tightly, but her hands hanging by her waist were Gradually relaxed, he took out a Sanqi brand cigarette from his pocket, lit one, and smoked it gently, a smile appeared on his face.
"Help me get the original data back."
"cannot."
"why?"
"Because this is the real-time command sequence table of the battlefield, according to the wartime regulations, the relevant data is temporarily stored in the command data box for easy access at any time, and then returned to S1 within the standard time."
"What does this have to do with retrieving data?"
"The original data was completely destroyed by the third-level authority before it could be sent back to S1."
"Where did the authority come from?"
"S1 Charter Bureau Remote Operations."
Xu Le suddenly opened his eyes and immediately thought of the information he sent back before going to the empire. The reason why the seed of the empire that destroyed the ancient bell was able to escape the cleaning of the Charter Bureau must also be related to the Charter Bureau.
He squinted his eyes, took a deep breath of his cigarette, and asked in a low voice, "How was the calculation that I asked you to help me with before I came back? Also, what was the final result of the federal investigation a year ago?"
"The name of the empire's seed is He Mingyouyou. Based on the intelligence and related information you have obtained from the empire, it is estimated that this person cannot access the confidential route data related to the ancient bell, and this person cannot access the missing area data of the Charter Network."
"The result of the case a year ago was that Assistant Director Cui Judong was examined and found not guilty. Jiao Shouheng, Deputy Director of the Office of the Ministry of National Defense committed suicide."
Xu Le took off the cigarette, licked his bitter lips, and squinted at the alien sky outside the base, looking at the dark clouds there, his heart became heavy.
"Boss, how are you talking?"
Xiong Linquan, Da Vinci and other team members came over and asked anxiously.
Xu Le woke up, put out the cigarette butt, and said, "Du Shaoqing doesn't agree to let him go."
"Then what should we do?" Everyone was extremely disappointed, and Xiong Linquan said in a depressed mood, "Boss... Do you want to see Lao Bai?"
"No, after Lao Bai came out, I saw him as a flower." Xu Le thought of the revised military order list and spit: "I don't need him now, Du Shaoqing, nodding."
Countless dark clouds were floating in the sky, blocking the bright sunlight and casting chilling shadows. Xu Le also had countless dark clouds in his heart, the death of Secretary Jiao, the results of the review of Cui Judong, the powerful soldier who assassinated Xiao Xigua, the undercurrents in the army mentioned by Tiger in the Xilin Restaurant, there are countless scattered details that cannot be linked together. , but gradually condensed, pointing to a chilling guess.
If the ancient Bell was attacked, it was really a conspiracy of some big figures in the Federation, how did they do it? Secretary Jiao's death seems to have completely cut off this line. Where should we start? Bai Yulan and her party were attacked. If it was another move by the army's radicals, why did they do it? Just to cut off the influence you left behind? Also... Did Du Shaoqing participate in it? Mochou, did the lady from Houshan participate in it? How many people in the government are involved in this ugly thing
In the face of this cloud of rain clouds that I don’t know how many layers, how thick and how dark, the federal central computer is not omnipotent. Old things can use the huge database to sort out, accurately retrospectively retrieve data, and accurately locate a certain year. On a certain day in a certain month, who has met and talked with whom in a certain place, but based on the privacy regulations strictly protected by the First Charter, there is no way to restore a lot of information other than electronic data.
Society is an incomparably complex system. A person has to meet countless people every day. A note, a whispered word, or even a look at the time of meeting can create an infinite conspiracy. The easiest way to communicate, but also the most difficult way to monitor the central computer.
As Feng Yu once said: the simplest is often the most powerful, locks are like this, machines are like this, and people are like this.
Let the old man continue to search for clues in the huge database, while Xu Le must turn his attention back to the base, because the temporary dialogue before the military meeting this morning will soon decide the life and death of Magnolia.
According to his rank and position, there is definitely no seat for him in the confidential conference room of the offensive X3 military plan, but he can listen in.
Almost all of the coffee cups in the headquarters were broken a few days ago, so today there were tea cups on the table, looking at the steaming white mist in front of him, Xu Le squinted his eyes thoughtfully, but the corner of his eye fell gently. Above the figure of Du Shaoqing in front.
If in the past, he still had respect for Du Shaoqing for real soldiers, then at this moment, these respects have already been covered by those dark clouds, not completely disappearing, but becoming extremely blurred.
Under the gazes of the generals, Xu Le stood up slowly, and said in a strangely calm manner, "I'm in a bad mood today, so I'll try to speak as quickly as possible."
"My subordinate, Captain Bai Yulan, was sentenced to death by a military court for being accused of assaulting a superior. I express my unacceptable and strong puzzlement to this!"
The atmosphere in the conference room was stiff. Everyone, including Commander Yi, never thought that Xu Le would be so tough when he opened his mouth!
"What I don't understand is... When my team was put into a dangerous situation by the Iron Seventh Division and the first regiment using shameless and insidious means, and the comrades died tragically, why did Captain Bai Yulan only tear off one ear of the regiment leader."
Full crowd.
Xu Le stared at Du Shaoqing's profile in front of him and said, "If it were me, I would never tear his ears, but I would just... kill him."
"Colonel Xu Le, I hope you can provide relevant evidence." Du Shaoqing didn't look back, lightly rubbed the edge of his sunglasses with his fingers, and said lightly.
The military general did not threaten anything, but the generals in the conference room could hear his anger from this sentence. If Xu Le vented his anger just because of the white magnolia matter, the Seventh Iron Division would definitely not. Let it go.
Xu Le took out a chip and handed it to the staff officer beside him, looked at Du Shaoqing and said, "Mr. Du, I remember that in the 5460 glacier military operation, the head of Dongfang Yu was punished by military law for deliberately delaying the rescue of a certain unit of the Special Army. A person with a criminal record is really worthy of your trust?"
Without waiting for anyone to speak, Xu Le stared at Du Shaoqing and continued: "In less than two years, he became the head of the regiment again, doesn't this violate the military appointment regulations? You keep saying that the military discipline regulations are the most important, then I don't understand, what? From time to time...you Du Shaoqing's words can replace military law!"
Du Shaoqing raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes were as cold as ice, he turned his head slowly, and stared at Xu Le's face without saying a word, as if he was looking at a guy looking for death.
Under these eyes, Xu Le felt like a stone without any feeling, squinted and said, "If you want evidence, I will give it to you."
"What is this?" Commander Yi Changtian frowned, looking at the scrolling list on the light curtain, and asked, "It looks like an instruction list, but what do the comments next to it mean?"
"This is the bottom-level data." The staff officer next to him suppressed his shock and explained to the generals in the conference room: "Next to it is the data analysis result of the federal central computer, I think... This sequence table has been artificially altered, and it is the most primitive. The data has been modified and has been destroyed."
"This is the order list for the defense deployment of the Seventh Iron Division and the First Regiment during that time. I can't completely repair it, but according to the remaining information, I can already see a lot of problems."
Xu Le looked at Du Shaoqing and said coldly, "I have no way to judge whether Dongfang Yu is drinking too much menstruation and his brain has become extremely stupid, or whether he is bold enough to frame the friendly army, but because of these unreasonable instructions, then The Imperial Remnant Brigade slipped in from your defense zone, and so many of my people died!"
At this moment, Du Shaoqing's expression was still indifferent and calm, but the corners of his eyes twitched slightly.
Liu Sifu, deputy commander of the Seventh Tie Division, stood up, frowned and said, "Is this record true?"
"This is the highest authority judgment from the Charter Bureau. Your Seventh Division wants to doubt the authenticity?" Xu Le said in a deep voice, "I don't care how you explain it, please explain to me first why this preface was erased. The original record!"
Liu Sifu's brows furrowed extremely tightly, and he replied slowly: "Since the last conflict with the Charter Bureau on Planet 5460, everyone can guess that you have close ties with the top officials of the Charter Bureau, who knows if you erased the original record. ,Then… "
Xu Le's pupils shrank sharply, but he didn't expect the other party to be so shameless, and shouted loudly: "My little master was beating the imperial people to death at that time, change your mother's face!"
Liu Sifu's body froze after being scolded, and when his blushing face was about to fight back, a violent shout filled with endless anger sounded in the conference room.
"enough!"
Du Shaoqing slammed the teacup in his hand on the table, the tiles splashed, and the bleeding right hand behind him trembled angrily.
His body tensed and stood up slowly, his voice seemed to have been soaked for countless years by the glaciers of 5460 and the blood dripping from the remains of those soldiers, and the cold overflowed from his lips.
"Bring Dongfang Jade to me."