Him and their stars.

Chapter 2223 Idealism is exhausting.
Perhaps because the Marshal's wife set the tone for this meeting, everyone put aside the biggest controversy and went straight to the subsequent administrative coordination and later strategic planning.

For example, if the Empire abandons the blockade of the mountain and sea routes, abandons New Tennessee, and begins to retreat towards New Shuntian, should our side consider continuing the pursuit?

Or, to put it another way, should we give up on New Tennessee?

After all, this agricultural star system is located on a busy shipping route, with one route leading to the former capital on the distant shore, another to the new Shenzhou, and yet another connecting to the hanging arm sector. There are no natural defenses here, and the Empire, with its superior military strength, could return at any moment. At that time, achieving a glorious victory like today will be beyond our current capabilities.

Veterans like Mkawa and Tovey tend to favor the former. They should know when to quit while they're ahead and return to their homeland to continue farming.

Younger leaders like Eleanor Bonaparte and Horatio Wayne agreed to continue the pursuit. They certainly didn't aspire to annihilate the Empire's Soreen fleet in one fell swoop, nor did they expect to recapture New Shuntian, but they needed to maintain a military presence on the distant coast.

Now that our objective has shifted to recovering lost territory, we will never retreat to the new land and develop in a cowardly manner.

But at this moment, before Fei Fei could express her opinion, Yang Xiyi made the decision for everyone.

He believed that a forward base should be established in New Tennessee. In this way, the Empire would be unable to re-blockade the mountain and sea routes if it could not eliminate the base there.

He pointed his finger at the New Tennessee system on the star map, then traced it across the vast surrounding occupied territory: "With this forward outpost, our reconnaissance forces and rapid strike squadrons can effectively cover the far coast, outer ring, and spiral arm sectors. We can even get a glimpse into the heart of the Terra sector. All Imperial occupying forces, supply nodes, and even outposts and communication stations here will be under our direct threat."

Akinayama Hachiman added, "There's also Nantenmon. We could even go through Nantenmon to support the Shin-Yumen direction."

"The battle situation there..." Eleanor asked, somewhat concerned. This was also the place where she had lived and fought.

“We don’t have the ability to recapture Tulong, but the Empire also can’t eliminate our capabilities at our stronghold in the Qililuo Mountains. The New World Theater Command, led by General Carter, is still open for business.” Akinayama Hachiman said, “Of course, the Empire already knows that Mr. Samos is the actual leader of the New Yumen Resistance Army, so it has issued an arrest warrant for him and expelled all the engineers’ guilds within the Empire.”

"Anyway, they only opened two stores in the Empire." Feifei shrugged.

Yang Xiyi sensed a hint of schadenfreude in her expression and guessed that there might be some secret behind this that was not for outsiders to know, which he could inquire about later.

"In addition, they also criticized the Iron Army Alliance at the Galactic Civilization Council," Akinayama Hachiman added.

"What does this have to do with Iron Army? The Palladians like to use mechs as their bodies, not prosthetics," Eleanor said in astonishment.

"Anyway, the Imperial devils can't tell the difference, or they don't want to. Besides, the engineers' guild is mostly located in the Iron Army, and the Brotherhood's cybernetic masters are even the Coalition's technology advisors. It's hard to say there's no connection."

For the Palladians of the Iron Army Alliance, this can be considered an undeserved disaster.

“But this is a good thing,” Fei Fei pondered.

Indeed, when have the Imperial devils ever been so keen on empty talk? In the past, they would have already resorted to force—due to geographical reasons and the fact that the Palais were all soldiers, the Imperials failed to conquer the Iron Army Union, but they never lacked military retaliation and displays of power.

In short, without this prominent base, while New Shenzhou could be defended impregnably, it would also be easily trapped by the enemy. With New Tennessee, there was room for both offense and defense.

Of course, there is a problem here, the only problem, and the biggest problem.

Feifei pondered for a moment and said, "Although King Sorein's fleet has been routed, his forces have not suffered major losses. He can gather more troops and launch another counterattack on New Tennessee."

Yang Xiyi shook his head slightly: "He can't do it. He can't do it even when we can threaten Earth and Nantianmen."

"With our current troop strength?" Fei Fei asked curiously.

“No, by the Silence Signal,” Yang Xiyi said.

"Didn't you just agree to move the Silent Ship back to New Shenzhou?"

“Yes, but the Imperials don’t know that. As you just said, this ship can become invisible and disguise itself.” Yang Xiyi revealed a cunning… no, a strategist’s smile.

Feifei felt almost convinced and pondered, "Indeed, the war may continue for a while longer, but the Empire will deploy less and less power here. Their internal situation is actually more complicated than outsiders speculate. A civil war might break out at any time. Heh~~~ After all, they are the Tirelo people; foreign wars and civil wars are their traditional skills."

Yang Xiyi seemed unsurprised: "I had my suspicions when King Suliuka announced his resignation from the Privy Council. All parties in the Empire were trying to prevent this from happening, but they all seemed to feel that it was already unavoidable."

Feifei smiled and said, "He said that when military strategy cannot be determined, he will listen to you. Even if he were here, he would still listen to you."

"Hmm, alright, so you're asking me when you're unsure about foreign affairs?" Yang Xiyi thought.

“Then let’s do it this way. The fortress that the Empire has half-built in New Tennessee can be put to use. We only damaged its functionality with the arc cannon, not its structure. Fortunately, the Imperial army retreated quickly and didn’t have time to destroy the energy core and main terminal. We can take over and rebuild it in half a day.”

"Can it be done in half a day?"

“Yes, I was even being conservative.” Fifi shrugged. “I even had a plan to have it fully completed within six months.”

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Anyone else would have thought she was insane. But since it was the Marshal's wife who said it, they had no choice but to believe her.

"It all depends on how much support the new Shenzhou can provide me," she added.

“Unlimited support. The new Shenzhou has no shortage of military supplies,” Yang Xiyi said.

He estimated that the ship's capabilities far exceeded his expectations.

Therefore, the still not fully established command quickly held discussions and decided to form a new mobile guerrilla fleet with most of the high-speed warships in good condition, based in New Tennessee.

The fleet was still under the command of Eleanor Bonaparte and Horatio Wayne. Their ability to traverse the Dawn Passage, storm the entire Glory Sector, and even coordinate with Yu Lian to conquer the Gate of Glory was truly remarkable; they were masters of guerrilla warfare.

“You can even move to the cantilever and even Terra,” Yang Xiyi instructed.

“I understand, it’s all so blatant and unrestrained, as if the Silent One were with us,” Eleanor said.

Yang Xiyi nodded.

"In short, the goal is to keep all the Imperial fleets in the occupied territories living in constant fear," Wayne said.

Yang Xiyi continued to nod, his face full of satisfaction at the prospect of such a promising young man.

Of course, now that the silence symbol has been mentioned, everyone's thoughts began to expand rapidly.

In conclusion, the functions that the Silent satellite can utilize are far more than just superficial military applications.

Nanomachinery, storage facilities, medical devices, communication capabilities, and terminal computing power—all these are treasure troves of science. Even the environmental maintenance and ecological cycle system encompassed by that grand garden, if studied even slightly, could bring revolutionary progress to planetary environmental modification and basic agriculture.

None of those present were purely military men. Or rather, the high-ranking officers who had risen through the ranks in this era had all received rigorous scientific education to varying degrees. They understood what the future held. They seemed to already see the rapid changes taking place on all the planets of the new Shenzhou, and the massive warships sailing out of the docks.

This legacy of the Enlightened Ones is not a warship at all; it is clearly an ark that leads humanity to stride forward into the future!
The more they discussed it, the more excited they became.

In short, given the prerequisites of a glorious and great meeting, all of the above was easily agreed upon.

Next came the various formations and deployments. Veteran commanders Mukawa and Tovi would lead the heavily damaged Fuxi and most of the warships to set sail the following day to return to Xin Shenzhou for repairs.

The Nuwa, which is in relatively better condition, will remain and become the flagship of the new mobile fleet.

Eleanor Bonaparte's command post will also be moved to this warship. Speaking of which, her older brother Joseph Bonaparte, twenty years her senior, has already become a marshal and can only continue living with his Independence-class wife, while she has already reached the God-class. Perhaps this is fate.

The Silent will remain in New Tennessee for a while longer to help the engineering corps take over the half-finished fortress and begin construction work.

...In short, we should thank the imperial gentlemen for their big rockets.

Feifei said to everyone who was about to adjourn the meeting, "Now that a conclusion has been reached, please carry it out."

This woman's official military rank was only colonel, and her official position was only the adjutant of a certain missing general, but she still brazenly gave orders to the group of generals present.

This time, everyone hesitated. It wasn't that they felt Ms. Fina Li wasn't qualified to give orders, but rather that they saw Yang Xiyi hadn't moved.

He seemed completely unperturbed, showing no intention of leaving, as if he were planning to make the Silent Ship his home.

Feifei, of course, welcomed this with a smile, clearly unsurprised: "I also hope to chat with my mentor, whom I haven't seen in a long time, about everyday things."

Rather than believe you're just having a casual chat, we'd rather believe the Emperor is the illegitimate son of some missing general. While everyone thinks this way, they simply can't argue with it.

Those present all knew the principle that large meetings are for discussing minor matters, while small meetings are for discussing major matters. And often, a secret meeting of only two or three people might determine the course of an entire generation.

They could even guess the topics the two were most likely to discuss, but because of this, they really didn't know how to express their opinions, and in the end, they could only leave with heavy hearts.

“I want to stay on this ship until the work is finished, and then return to the new Shenzhou with it,” Yang Xiyi said.

“As I said, you’re very welcome. Until he returns, you are the highest military commander of the community. Everyone, including me, should obey your orders,” Fei Fei said.

Does the community still exist? Yang Xiyi smiled bitterly, about to say this, when Feifei added, "Besides, even if the Supreme Command is established, there should be civil officials. Mr. Qi, Ms. Jessica, and Mr. Bernard should all be present. If there is a lull in the fighting and the shipping routes are restored, the exiled government in Nefi should also return."

Yang Xiyi watched as this exceptionally intelligent woman rushed to answer, and for a moment he was at a loss for words.

He felt that there was too much information in the other person's words, and even he needed to digest it.

"The battles in the future will probably be intermittent."

"You must have expected this."

“Mr. Qi and Jessica are elected politicians, while Mr. Bernard Wood represents the civil service system…”

"There's no need for this kind of distinction. Facts have already proven that this approach doesn't work. Our political tradition emphasizes that prime ministers rise from the ranks of local officials. Only those who can get things done can rise to the top, not those who can spout nonsense and emotional rhetoric."

Yang Xiyi nodded slightly: "Is this all Yu Lian's idea?"

“Him…” Fei Fei sighed helplessly, “He’s still so conflicted. But what can she do? She’s a woman who has to follow her husband wherever he goes. She can only help him by doing his job and making up for his mistakes.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Yang Xiyi chuckled. “Eleanor Bonaparte and Horatio Wayne both hope he can become an even greater Marshal Li. Perhaps there are more…”

Feifei nodded slightly: "The reality is that his prestige and achievements have already surpassed those of independent leaders."

"When that time comes, how many people will shout 'Long live the Emperor!'?" Yang Xiyi sighed.

Feifei shrugged again: "The seeds have been planted, but history needs to water them. Idealism is exhausting. Our era has done enough; it's time to return to reality."

"...Is this his idea again?"

“I’ve said it before, a woman should follow her husband wherever he goes. Teacher Yang, I just don’t want him to be so tired.”

Yang Xiyi fell silent again. Outside the porthole, the dim light flowing through the milky-white passageway of the Silent Ship cast shifting shadows on his profile. Finally, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, he relaxed slightly.

“Indeed, it’s exhausting. I couldn’t stand this kind of exhaustion, which is why I chose this concealed approach to life!” He spoke slowly, his voice somewhat hoarse: “Yu Lian once said that I’m just an anarchist sorcerer, inherently without any sense of social responsibility, so what am I insisting on here? It’s like playing the role of a staunch republican. However, I’m not really, and neither is Jessica. We are both realists, only observing changes in reality.”

"So, Yu Lian actually calls you performance-oriented people."

Yang Xiyi's eyes lit up. He poured himself a glass of wine and raised it in a toast: "It couldn't be more fitting. In fact, Mr. Qi and Jessica were already prepared. We discussed this possibility before setting off from here. I was even prepared to question him, but I didn't expect that I couldn't even get past you."

Feifei was slightly worried: "Does Mr. Qi have any objections? You know, Mr. Qi is the person he respects the most, and he doesn't want the old man to hold a grudge."

"Although Mr. Qi is a literary giant, he also studied bestselling novels. He is also a master in genre fiction."

"What do you mean?"

"Writers who can write genre fiction are also performance-oriented. Just like directors who can assemble commercial films are actually project managers at heart, they all have a pragmatic side."

A female director who was halfway through filming a commercial blockbuster suddenly found this argument incredibly convincing.

Yang Xiyi turned his head, his gaze towards Feifei gradually sharpening as he switched to "battlefield magician" mode: "Where exactly is Commander Yu Lian? What is he planning to do? You really don't know?"

Feifei met his gaze, her smile still serene, but her eyes held an unusual firmness: "Actually, I also want to ask you this. Commander Yang, you're the type who plans everything meticulously. Even when taking risks, you make thorough preparations. In such an important battle, even if you were certain we'd arrive on time, you wouldn't hold back. But, the Lumina Legion, and the New Shenzhou Brigade... they don't seem to be here. And Miss Tai'a, where is she now?"

"A seemingly insignificant move. They were useless in the defensive battles of the Mountain and Sea Route, but they might be useful in the chaos of Femor. They left before your legendary expedition even began. Now, they might have already joined forces with the new Independence. And then, it will be a less-than-legendary sneak attack..."

At this point, Yang Xiyi paused, then fell into thought, before suddenly realizing something. He then seemed to have realized something, and suddenly stood up, solemnly bowing slightly towards the Femore Nebula.

"Why is the general doing this?"

"Nothing more than this: if I'm not mistaken, the brave warrior has already defeated the enemy! I hope he can witness this moment!"

(End of this chapter)