Him and their stars.

Chapter 1658 We Must Take the Initiative

After these words were spoken, no one in the room made a sound for a full half minute, and the conference room once again fell into an indescribable and heart-wrenching silence.

This is not because the cabinet members of the community want to flatter their boss. They are still very loyal to President Nishita. The key problem is that the president's words are too abstract and they are a little slow to react for a while.

"Do you know what you are talking about? Our national power, military power, and technology are inferior to others. We have only been able to maintain a balanced situation thanks to the soldiers on the front line. Now, if we express our intention to negotiate with the empire first, what is the difference between that and surrender?" The hot-tempered Minister of Labor, Mr. Bai, almost uttered vulgar words, but he finally held back at the critical moment.

Mr. Bai Yantang looked at Mr. Nishita, who had lost weight, and saw his obviously deeper eye sockets, clear-cut cheeks, and the bloodshot eyes. Even a tough guy like him felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

No matter what, he is the president and the head of state of the community, so he should be given some respect. Moreover, considering Mr. Nishita's recent experience, it is even very distressing.

President Nishita twitched his cheek and forced out an awkward smile: "I understand what you mean. The battle has reached this point, and both sides have already tried their best. At this point, it's a test of will, and we can't show weakness first."

Chairman Maxell exchanged glances with everyone and answered loudly: "Yes, the hymn of the people of Earth is a hymn of courage and will. Even in the face of powerful enemies, we will persevere to the end."

He was very particular about the way he spoke, and what he really wanted to say was: The people of Earth must rely on songs of courage to continue to persevere, but the empire on the other side still has plenty of strength.

"To be optimistic, the overall situation on all fronts is still very stable. We are also gradually arming ourselves and restoring our forces. The soldiers in the Far Shore War Zone can continue to win with a small number of troops. As we supply more and more reinforcements and weapons to the front line, the balance of the war will tilt towards us. No, the balance of the war has actually tilted towards us. Since December, the Empire has not launched a single active attack. They are also injured!"

The elderly Chairman of the National Defense Committee was obviously trying to comfort everyone, but at first glance it still made sense.

Afterwards, he patiently explained to everyone the current training plans for the new recruits and the replenishment of new warships.

Although the war did not burn through Nantianmen, the armament production plan formulated by the National Defense Committee was finally implemented with some bumps and bruises.

So far, more than 400 large and small warships have been produced in the native star regions such as Terra, Cantilever, and New Atlantis, including eight Yinglong-class battlecruisers and eight Saratoga-class aircraft carriers.

In this way, the framework of the solar system fleet was barely established.

Of course, most of them are new soldiers, with a few recalled reservists and retired veterans, so their combat effectiveness is indeed worrying. However, considering that the Solar System Fleet was not necessarily combat-effective when it was there, no one thinks it is a bad thing.

In general, what the home theater is doing now is building a fleet and training new soldiers, and it can still serve as a general reserve force.

Afterwards, Labor Minister Bai also carefully described the signs and training of the new recruits. So far, the scale of new recruits recruited by the Blue Star Community has reached tens of millions, which of course requires the full cooperation of the Ministry of Labor. This work is progressing smoothly, and even the sarcastic congressional masters and the media who believe everything they hear have not found any problems.

Of course, everyone present overlooked an almost public piece of information: the Galactic Empire across the street had not even launched the first round of national mobilization, but had already gathered 20 to 30 million returning veterans at Wanwang Pass. Among them, more than 5 million had more than three years of experience serving on warships or ten years of experience working on interstellar freighters.

There is certainly a difference in size, but there must also be a difference in the system.

But even so, we can't just surrender, right? If we surrender now, it won't just be a small miracle ring, but a question of whether the community can survive. Minister Bai thought.

He originally thought that President Nishita should think so too, but looking at him now, although he was indeed listening to his instructions carefully, he was still taking notes in a serious manner, and nodded solemnly from time to time.

It was obvious that he was a little absent-minded.

You know, the previous President Nishita was most concerned about armaments and new warships. He always asked very detailed questions and made a lot of useful or useless explanations, acting like an old middle school student who was obsessed with grand narratives and wars.

It’s actually not a problem for older people to be immature. Although they may be stupid, at least they are stubborn!

Mr. Bai looked at the President calmly, thinking about the current situation. After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced the arms trade and aid of the Alliance and its friendly countries, the President suddenly said: "The Alliance is unreliable."

Everyone found it very new. Some ministers of the Communist Party could not even hide their mischievous expressions.

  Everyone knows that you, Kes Nishita, are a die-hard Alliance member! You almost became the son-in-law of the Grozo family, and now you are here to speak ill of the Alliance? You are rebelling against the Tiangang, right? Little son-in-law, are you preparing to rebel?

"Our last aid was in October last year. All weapons shipments since then have been made through normal trade procedures. Although there is a discount, it still costs real money." The president sighed again and looked at the finance minister who also had a bitter face: "The money has been spent, right?"

"Gold reserves and foreign exchange reserves have indeed hit bottom," the finance minister said helplessly.

Most well-known interstellar arms traders do not accept Blue Star Coins, but only Xinxing, Golden Dragons and gold. Of course, this statement is too hurtful to people's self-esteem. The Minister of Finance felt that he did not need to explain it in detail, so he just sighed silently.

President Nishita added: "Prices have gone up, right? Even the welfare of the Ministry of Women and Children cannot be maintained, right?"

As the youngest minister present, Ms. Jessica Edward Young of the Ministry of Women and Children said: "Women can work in factories and farms. Many jobs have been vacated by national mobilization, which can be filled. However, it is already this era, we can't drive our children to factories, can we?"

"Why not? The empire across the street has plenty of underage slaves." said the Minister of Interstellar Commerce.

“There are also many child laborers in the factories of the neighboring alliance.” said the director of the General Administration of Rail Industry Affairs.

"I'm talking about children under the age of twelve! Free lunch for public elementary schools was a 100-year plan formulated two years ago. However, it has only been implemented for less than a year, and only in a few star regions in the mainland, with a coverage rate of less than half. Now, is it going to be cancelled?"

"I'm sorry, Jessica. It's my fault. But we are really stretched to the limit!" The Finance Minister bowed his head and apologized.

However, Mrs. Yang did not feel comforted at all. The finance minister was an old man twice her age, and his tone of apology to her sounded like he was coaxing a child.

"But……"

"This is a war time, an extraordinary period. Everyone needs to be patient. Madam Yang, you are not the only one who is being patient." President Nishita interrupted the Minister of Women and Children.

His face was filled with unspeakable sadness, and he sighed heavily: "Let the children suffer a little longer. I will bear the blame."

Can you afford it? Jessica Yang wanted to scold, but she could only hold back her anger. She couldn't continue to argue. She knew very well that all departments were short of money, people, equipment and everything else. During the war, everything was based on the needs of the front. Compared with the National Defense Committee's daily expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars, what was the free lunch for the children in the public elementary school?

At this time, the president, who had already been criticized by many people, said: "... Gentlemen, we have no money and no food, how can we continue to fight? I know what I said today is unpleasant to hear, but this is the truth, please listen carefully."

At this point, his sadness was beyond words: "You are all old friends. You should know my character and know me. I love my motherland. No one loves our blue planet and our great community more than I do. However, precisely because of this, I have to focus on the future!"

Edward Shawna, Chairman of the Internal Affairs Committee, rubbed his temple and asked carefully: "So, what you mean is..."

President Nishita waved his hand and said, "How about we take the initiative? We must break through the empire! We must make them suffer another disrespect comparable to the Blood Gate, comparable to the Green Feather, no, it must be even more disrespectful than the Battle of Sai De!"

  Everyone's expression was a little stunned, and they felt that the president's thinking was a little out of line. He was just talking about how to negotiate, how did he become proactive?

However, Nishita shouted loudly, "Fight a battle, a big battle! Do everything you can to hurt the empire, fight with style, fight with courage, fight with dignity! Fight with vigor and vitality! Fight for a bright and clear world! Fight for a clear and sunny sky!"

There was a not-so-healthy flush on his face, one that showed excitement, pride, and even a bit of fanaticism.

  Considering that the President was almost assassinated in the face, this emotion must contain some personal grudges, right?

But at this time, one has to admit that he did show some high-spirited spirit again, and he really looked a bit like the president before he was assassinated.