Around the lawn behind the mansion, dozens of Secret Service agents with black umbrellas watched the surroundings vigilantly. The entire block was under tight control. By a certain cedar tree, Director Brin looked anxiously at the two on the lawn. People, without permission to step forward, had to nervously tell their subordinates to be more careful.
President Pabble walked slowly on the snow-covered lawn. He was wearing a dark windbreaker and holding a black umbrella in his hand. The falling snow fell silently on the top of the umbrella and stuck to the placket.
Du Shaoqing, who was a little behind and followed silently, did not hold an umbrella. The general did not wear sunglasses today. He wore black lambskin gloves on his hands. The dark military uniform was as straight as usual. Falling or melting, dyed in different shades.
He looked at Mr. President's dark profile and suggested in a low voice to return to the official residence.
President Pabble shook his head, looked at the crowd on the other side of the lawn, and said, "Because of the appearance of those rebel soldiers, they were a little too nervous."
Du Shaoqing remained silent.
"Defining those soldiers as insurgents is absurd, even shameless, in my opinion."
President Pabble stopped, his eyes stretched out from under the black umbrella, but he didn't know where he was looking, and said with a slight smile: "The official residence has received a report from the Ministry of Defense, and I believe you should also see what Colonel Li Feng formally proposed. Allegations, but until I saw the officer in the wheelchair last night, I couldn't believe what happened on the planet Mohua was real."
He turned his head and looked at Du Shaoqing quietly, and said, "It now seems that you are right to dissuade me from appointing Hu Lian as the former commander-in-chief of the enemy. What he and Director Berry have done will make the federal government pay a great price. ."
The purge of the new 17th Division on the front line and the murder of the former seven groups of officers and soldiers were not known to President Pabul in advance.
Even after receiving the report, he was still reluctant to believe that those senior officials who were loyal to the government would make such a move. In addition to being cold-blooded and ugly, they were still so stupid.
President Pabble thought of the attack on the Chundu Sanitarium, the grief-stricken accusation made by the seven-team member at the rally last night, and the small-eyed man who had returned to the Federation and hid in the dark, with a strong sense of self-deprecation. Deep sigh.
And the parents of the seven team members - Mr. President's expression became even colder, and he vaguely predicted that some difficult or even extremely dangerous factors were about to appear, and it was an incident beyond his control.
The silent Du Shaoqing finally spoke. He looked at Pabble and said, "Mr. President, the lion leads a group of docile and incompetent sheep to fight. Although it is hard work, it is not necessarily a failure, but if the lion leads a group of greedy hyenas to fight, it may not defeat the enemy. Before that, I broke down first."
President Pabble frowned slightly and fell into silence.
"I still adhere to the concept of the day. There are many people in the government and the military who are untrustworthy and unreliable. Such people can only cause harm to our cause and cannot help us in any way."
Du Shaoqing looked indifferent and said firmly: "I also refer to Chairman Li Zaidao, Lieutenant General Hu Lian is his student, and he is leading the notorious joint investigation department. You should keep your distance from him."
President Pabble looked at him and said after a moment of silence: "Young Master, if you are willing to show your patience on the battlefield and watch the history of human society, you can probably understand that Chairman Li's willingness to contaminate himself is actually a sacrifice. "
He waved his hand to stop Du Shaoqing from continuing to suggest, and said in a deep voice: "Those families, especially Mochou Houshan, have been silent for too long, and now they have the best chance, I believe they will not continue to be silent, your current The task is to get the troops ready for everything."
"Of course, if the current situation does not enter the most difficult and complicated situation, we try not to involve the troops in these matters."
After saying this, the snow-covered lawn fell silent again. After a long time, Du Shaoqing stood at attention and gave a military salute, and then left in the snow.
Walking into the official residence, President Pabble handed over the dripping black umbrella to the staff, took off his windbreaker and put it in his arms, and pushed open the heavy antique wooden door of the restaurant.
After entering the door, the worry on his face disappeared, and he looked at his busy wife and said with a loud laugh, "Honey, what are you going to have for lunch today?"
The First Lady of the Federation turned around, took the windbreaker in his arms, and replied with a gentle smile: "Green peas and meat, there is hot soup on the table, you have to drink to warm up your body first, and the snow will have to cool down. , I'm afraid it won't get warmer in March."
The wife began to organize the table to prepare lunch, put the bread basket in front of her husband who was drinking soup, then turned on the TV, and said casually, "President Li has come to the official residence for dinner less often recently."
"You also know that he is very busy during this time." President Pable lowered his head and drank the pepper soup, his dark face showed a satisfied look, and exaggeratedly praised: "The soup still tastes so good, and after drinking two spoonfuls, my whole body starts to heat up. "
"Pretend that the food is delicious to please me. You have been using this trick since you were in love, and it's not annoying." Madam said with a smile.
"Your trick is really not as good as Colonel Xu Le. Every time he comes to dinner, he doesn't need to say any compliments, and he doesn't have to act any praise expressions. He just keeps his head down and keeps eating, adding meals three or four times in a row..."
She suddenly remembered that she was talking about an old friend who hadn't come to the official residence for more than three years, talking about an imperial prince, and talking about her husband's worst enemy, and she closed her mouth with some gloomy emotions.
President Pabble held the spoon and watched his wife silently for a long time. Suddenly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were squeezed deeper. He laughed and said, "That guy is just born with a big appetite. You can be deceived by him."
The laughter gradually disappeared in the small dining room of the presidential residence. No one mentioned Xu Le again. President Pabble tore up the bread and dipped it in the thick soup.
As the president of the federal government, he rarely watches federal news channels in his private life, even at this time, because even he dislikes the so-called authoritative news media that is tightly controlled by the government.
The private TV station named April Flower was broadcasting important current affairs news, and the reporters, who could not hide their excited expressions, held the microphone and said loudly: "The Supreme Court voted 4 to 1 to announce the immediate repeal of the Patriot Act. More than two hours have passed, but the silent marching procession still did not leave Rabbi Avenue, where tens of thousands of people reveled, and we found that more and more citizens of the capital joined the crowd of carnival celebrations... "
What else was said by the reporters at the scene, President Pabble did not hear clearly, the sound from the light curtain entered his ears, and all turned into blurred noises, making his face ugly.
The first time the Supreme Court announced the immediate repeal of the Patriot Act, he knew the news, so there was a scene of walking slowly on the snow with Du Shaoqing.
Just when all the major forces in the federation thought that the federal government he led would suffer a huge setback because of this unconstitutional review judgment, and the president himself would be furious, he remained calm and could even quietly accompany his wife in childhood. A simple lunch in the restaurant.
President Pabble thought he could stay calm forever, but he didn't expect to see this news at the dinner table full of family affection and to hear it in the Oval Office. It's a completely different feeling.
Listening to the reporter's excited reports, watching the ordinary people who have been supporting him enthusiastically or silently for more than ten years, more and more people are joining the camp against him, he suddenly felt that the thick pepper soup became tasteless.
A pair of warm hands gently landed on his shoulders, slowly rubbing back and forth to express his condolences, and President Pabble patted gently.
The lady stood behind his chair and said softly, "Papa, don't forget that I was also a lawyer back then. Although it's just your assistant, from the first day I saw the Patriot Act, I knew there was something wrong with it. ."
After a moment of silence, President Pabble replied: "My dear, I know very well that the Patriot Act is not only a problem, but a very bad law."
He turned his head, looked at his wife, and said solemnly: "But at this moment, the Federation needs this evil law, just like a seriously ill patient who needs illegal psychostimulant drugs to help them survive the operation. ."
"It's easy for someone with a legal background to judge that once the Patriot Act enters the constitutional review process, it will definitely be repealed by the Supreme Court of the old judge, so I have done a lot of procedures with the government to protect it."
He stood up, a self-deprecating smile flashed on his dark face, and continued: "It's just that the government didn't expect that we, who have the most powerful institutions of violence, have been struggling to discipline ourselves, while our enemies are so unscrupulous that they start ignoring the law. use violence."
This sentence refers to the attack on the Sanatorium in Spring City.
"Did those big families do it?" Madam asked worriedly.
President Pabble shook his head and said, "Xu Le did it. Whether or not they planned or even promoted it behind the scenes, those big families would never admit it, and the government couldn't find any evidence."
Hearing Xu Le's name, a look of shock flashed across the lady's face, and then she sighed softly, picked up the plate and left without saying anything.
Pushing open the door of the bedroom on the second floor, she looked at her daughter who was sitting by the window and was playing mobile games, and said with a smile, "Daier, it's time to eat."
Miss Padel looked up at her mother with a sweet smile, put down her phone and walked over. The first daughter of the Federation has now become a charming young lady, but she still seems to be reluctant to speak.
Madam caressed her daughter's curly hair lovingly, and sighed: "Three years have passed, Xu Le is indeed an imperial man, my dear, when will you forgive your father and eat at the same table with him? "
Miss Padel silently fought with green beans and mashed peas, stubbornly refusing to answer the question.