Him and their stars.

Chapter 1664: Ice Ship Expedition

In June 833 of the Common Era, in the Empire's Black Laborer sector, slave workers began to secretly build their own spaceship in the ice crystal asteroid belt of the 6 star systems of the Cold World.

They collected ice and asteroid fragments as their hulls, and equipped them with jump engines assembled from parts scavenged from garbage dumps and abandoned factories. Their ships were greener and more rudimentary than the small privateer plundering ships of the plunderers, but they were indeed their space arks.

As long as it is theoretically feasible, it can certainly be put into action. Tan Jize did not do much work in the 12 star systems of the Cold World, but he made everyone believe this.

Slave workers from various countries spent two months to build twelve ice-made spaceships. All of them were small passenger and cargo ships. On the one hand, it was to keep it secret and to make it a much smaller target during operations. On the other hand, with the available parts currently in stock, the slave workers could only do so much.

More importantly, whether the ice-made spacecraft can be successful still needs to be tested.

If successful, a gap will be torn in the Empire's rule over the Helots. People who pursue freedom and dignity will have a path of hope. Even if they need to cross the sea of ​​stars, even if they risk their lives, as long as there is hope, there will always be a way out.

But if it doesn't work...

"If we fail, the worst that can happen is that we will never come back." Tan Jize said to everyone: "When we are ready to resist, when we are ready to gamble our lives, when we are ready to die, we are already on the road to victory."

This statement may seem a bit high-sounding, but it speaks to the hearts of these people. Since they dared to take the risk of escaping on an ice ship, they certainly did not fear death.

Those who are willing to embark on this adventurous journey may believe that the oppression of the empire is far worse than death.

2000 of the bravest volunteers boarded the spacecraft they built themselves, and of course the planner of all this, the visitor from Earth named Tan Jize, was among them.

Of course, many people still objected. The volunteers believed that this was their own business, whether they succeeded or fell into the nebula, it was all determined by fate, and there was no reason to involve others. Mr. Tan brought them hope, which was enough, and there was no need to take risks with everyone.

As for the Sumi warrior who sent Tan Jize to the Hanshi Star System, he cried and begged. He was a member of the Sumi Liberation Organization. He cried and said that it was he who brought Mr. to the Helos Star Zone. If Mr. really got into trouble, he would not be qualified to continue living.

  In short, the subsequent developments were indeed very dramatic, but Tan Jize still took Miss Chunjun on Iceship No. 1. His attitude was still very firm: he was the one who instigated everyone, he was the one who told everyone that they could build an iceship, and he was the one who brought everyone the star map. With himself like this, what reason did he have to continue hiding in a safe place?

On August 833th of the year 8 of the Common Calendar, just as the Ten Battles and Ten Decisive Battles of the Far Shore Fleet had just begun and the attention of the entire universe was attracted by the burning Cui Ling Fortress and Fuxi, these twelve ice spaceships also set out on their journey.

They will secretly sail to the Iron Prison Fortress on the edge of the star zone - it was once an important military point of the Empire and the home port of several high-speed cruise fleets, mainly to deal with pirates and smugglers infiltrating from the Abyss Nebula.

Of course, after the war began, these elite patrol fleets with rich experience in hide-and-seek and anti-hide-and-seek were transferred away, reportedly to the New World.

As for the fleet originally used for defense, it was said to have been transferred from the mainland. It did not seem very professional and even collided with friendly forces during the change of guard.

The iceship fleet seized this opportunity and successfully entered the vast Abyss Nebula. At this time, this difficult but legendary expedition officially began.

Tan Jize had a secret star map that he got from a smuggler. It was given to him by Captain Hanford of the Millennium Eagle.

However, we should also make a dialectical judgment. The reason why this star map has become a secret exclusive to outlaws is not because the Standard Shipping Association or governments are just sitting there doing nothing, but because there is no need.

Bad astrological conditions, dotted routes that sometimes work and sometimes don't, unknown deadly cosmic radiation, and the looming interstellar Leviathans will all become obstacles to normal transportation. Even military travel is only an extreme option under abnormal circumstances.

In the Abyss Nebula, there are also pirates, cultists, privateers, and even slave ships active.

Of course, there are also unknown cosmic Leviathans hovering in this galaxy. Some of these magical cosmic animals walk calmly in the universe, like the spirits of the galaxy; but some are very ferocious and dangerous, and really regard all passing UFOs, especially man-made ones, as delicious food.

Even the merchant fleet of the Toss Merchant Corps, which occasionally appears in the nebula to do dirty work, must bring with them all kinds of guards.

In Yu Lian's opinion, the great expedition started by these small ice ships, although not as impressive as the great million-light-year expedition of Great Khan Tomiteli, was definitely much more difficult and dangerous than the latter.

However, this miraculous expedition spanning 10,000 light years ended with a victory that everyone was happy to see.

At that time, on February 834, 2 in the Common Calendar, Tan Jize and those freedom-seeking citizens finally left the Abyss Nebula on a fleet of iceships and entered the range of a stable cluster of mature stars.

There were 1800 ice ships that set out at the beginning, but now there are only eight left. Fortunately, because everyone had prepared various rescue plans before setting out, they would try their best not to abandon or give up in the event of an accident, and the number of survivors remained above .

It was a miracle that only 10% of the troops were killed in such a difficult journey. Yu Lian was sure that even with the star map obtained from the Enlightened One, tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, and a well-trained fleet to support the Great Khan's two million light-year expedition, the non-combat casualties must have exceeded 10%.

Back then, according to Tan Jize, they did encounter pirates in the Abyss Nebula, but they managed to get through it by relying on their own reputation.

"Face?"

"I do have a bit of status in the underworld now. It's probably because I had a great time chatting and laughing with many big guys in the underworld when the Donkey Hanging Flag meeting was held in April last year." He said with a smile.

"I do remember that the people who met with you at the beginning were probably leaders of various rebel forces, right?"

"Yes, the first priority of the meeting is to unite the various rebel organizations in the empire. Of course, it is unrealistic to expect these rebels from various races and star regions to obey the absolute leadership of the same leader. At present, there is no such hero among the rebels. However, through this meeting, if they can keep in touch with each other, share intelligence, exchange what they have, and cooperate in combat, then their efforts will not be in vain." Tan Jize said.

It turned out that the work was done very well and the various rebel forces felt that they had gained a lot of benefits.

"So, your so-called second priority is to let the various outlaws and the rebel leaders communicate with each other?" Yu Lian immediately understood.

"The leaders of the rebel army need to get arms, medicines and even zero elements from the outside world, while the smugglers just want as many potential customers as possible. Of course, I don't have that much face, so I still rely on the connections of Mr. Sea Monster and Captain Ford, and borrow a little bit of your power. Therefore, among the people who came to the meeting, there were many powerful people from the underworld."

"My Tiger Power?"

"Your reputation has always been spread in the Abyss Nebula, even if you don't know it yourself. I think it's probably because during the previous Judgment War, you single-handedly destroyed a dreadnought in front of a group of black (meow) chieftains in the Abyss Nebula. Hero myths are always the easiest to spread, and even easier to spread in the world of the black (meow) world."

Yu Lianren pondered for a while, and finally dug out a little memory from a certain groove in his cerebral cortex. Wasn't this what happened when he and Feifei fled from Brunhild? He still remembered that he had kidnapped a star dragon from Brunhild's ship, and got rid of the pursuit of Jiafei and others, and fled all the way to the Abyss Nebula.

While eating hot pot and singing songs, we met the plunderer's Scarlet Throne on the road. At that time, this dreadnought had been beaten to a pulp by the Imperial Fleet and was in a state of panic, which was just the right time to pick up heads.

Those who don't know how to seize opportunities will definitely be punished by the spirit of the universe. So Yu Lian decided to go all out and took Feifei and the others to rob the ship.

If it weren't for the star dragon Bisforus that was kidnapped from Brunhilde, there would be no successful ship-stealing operation. I don't know how he is doing now, and whether he is still healthy after being released. I hope he has returned to the dragon group safely, and not been preyed upon by the passing giant Leviathan as a bird.

"I wasn't alone at the time, and there was no one else watching," said Yu Lian.

"Of course I believe you. But the big guys in the Abyss Nebula have announced that they were there at the time. Some even said that they provided you with a little help and formed a deep friendship with you. Unfortunately, most people in the Abyss Nebula believe them."

"In other words, I suddenly have a lot of old friends?" Yu Lian spread his hands.

Tan Jize also spread his hands: "Even King Gong Ao, the first pirate king in the universe, can become your nephew, let alone others?"

Yu Lian suddenly felt that what he said made sense.

In short, by February 2, the ice fleet arrived safely in the Sanqi star field and received supplies here. At this time, the ice fleet was completely safe.

This is a star region sandwiched between the Abyss Nebula, the Kingdom of Circe, the Republic of Minlan, and the Principality of Haiyal. From the perspective of transportation, this star region is considered a commercial transportation and strategic location, but because there are almost no naturally habitable planets, there was no immigration in the early days of the interstellar navigation era, and there was no such thing as an inherent territory since ancient times.

Because of this historical origin and the strategic balance between nearby countries, this Sanqi star region has truly become a lawless area.

Until the establishment of the Galactic Civilization Council, some space pioneers began to build space cities here, transform earth-like planets, and form several autonomous regions. They are self-governing internally, and their sovereignty is entrusted to some major powers. As long as they pay some management fees and military access rights every year, it is equivalent to finding a powerful country to provide independent protection for themselves.

This is actually the current peaceful situation in most autonomous territories throughout the universe.

As for Tan Jize and his followers, they were ready to enter the Toswa Autonomous Territory.

"The sovereignty of this autonomous region belongs to the Toss Merchant Corps. There are three space cities under expansion and an earth-like planet being corrected, and workers are needed. They have approved my entry and even provided identity certificates to the slave workers." Tan Jize said.

In fact, contrary to what many people imagine, all countries were very happy to accept these fugitive slaves.

Anyway, the household registration information of most imperial slaves is a mess. Especially in remote star regions like Helots, most people have never appeared in the household registration database of the Prime Minister's Office from birth to death.

On the contrary, if it is a noble or bureaucrat who was forced into exile after losing the struggle, the dominion side will be more hesitant.

Regarding this area, the Blue Star Community, which took in Mr. He Wen and was found an excuse by the Empire to go to war, must have a say.

But no matter what, a group of natural-born cattle and horses on the run have more advantages than the noble gentlemen with proven bloodlines when they are on the run. This can only be said to be a trick of fate.

"After entering the country, if they want to go to the Alliance, they can find a way in the Dominion." Tan Jize added: "However, most of them are still planning to live there and have already discussed setting up a pioneer farm on the transformed planet. Some people are also planning to get a formal smuggling ship and look for an opportunity to return to Helots."

“If they can make a round trip safely, wouldn’t this become a stable routing channel?” Yu Lian said casually.

Well, the word "line" is indeed too disrespectful to these people who resisted the tyranny of the empire. Yu Lian quickly apologized silently in his heart. But for a moment, he couldn't find a more appropriate adjective.

Tan Jize agreed with this statement: "Indeed, once this route is established, it can become a long-term bleeding point for the empire. However, I don't think it will last too long. The empire is not stupid. In other words, their efficiency and mobilization capabilities are unreasonably high, far exceeding the limits of such a large universal empire. At most two years, they will definitely fix this loophole. Unless..."

"unless?"

"Unless the Galactic Empire falls into a long period of turmoil and loses direct control over frontier star regions such as the Helots," said Tan Jize.

Yu Lian didn't hold out much hope. He thought of a world line that was created in the dream world. In that world line, the border star regions including the Helots were really controlled, but after he recovered, he still had to obey the orders of the Heaven Realm honestly, even more submissive than before.

"No matter what, you have finally completed a miraculous expedition. Congratulations, Old Tan. Even if you retire now, you will definitely leave your name in the history books."

"When I was studying at Shire University, my biggest wish was to promote the legal system of the community one day. I didn't dare to expect anything from history books." Tan Jize said: "Sometimes, what achievements a person can make do not depend on himself, but on who he works with."

Yu Lian felt a little embarrassed by the flattery and quickly said, "However, compared to your achievements that will go down in history, I am more relieved to see that you are still alive and well."

In fact, when Yu Lian received Tan Jize's call, he was indeed greatly relieved.

In the timeline of his previous life, Lao Tan was indeed one of the protagonists of a turbulent era. Such a hero who deserves a place in history books should not have perished in some dark corner of the universe.

However, the materialism of the world's will is reflected in many aspects. The protagonist of the previous timeline will also die in this timeline because of a small change.

In this regard, the fact that a large number of "protagonists" died at the hands of someone is sufficient evidence.

Tan Jize could sense Yu Lian's relief, and a hint of emotion appeared in his eyes: "Perhaps, I am still alive because your power has interfered with cause and effect, right? You have bestowed me with good luck."

This flattery was a bit otherworldly, and Yu Lian actually found it quite useful.

At this time, Tan Jize said again: "However, when I was replenishing supplies in the Mori Space City of the Sanqi Star System, I occasionally got some news, which may be related to the current war situation."

(End of this chapter)