Interstellar boss, she doesn't talk about martial arts

Chapter 1797 The Border (Two-part long chapter combined, please vote with monthly tickets)
Rong Tuidi arrived at the small conference room and saw that Empress Tantai Zijun was already waiting there.

He hurriedly bowed to Empress Tantai Zijun: "Your Majesty, I apologize for keeping you waiting."

Empress Tantai Zijun remained composed and said, "Is your military headquarters aware of the battle situation on Marshal Xia Chujian's side?"

Rong Tuidi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, we just received a secret letter from Marshal Xia Chujian, along with a video."

"I have come to the palace to see His Majesty to discuss the matter of supplying the southern expeditionary army led by Marshal Xia Chujian."

Empress Tantai Zijun raised an eyebrow: "...You received it too? Including the video? What kind of video?"

Rong Tuidi pulled out a virtual display screen and began playing a video that Xia Chujian had sent to the highest military authority.

When Empress Tantai Zijun took a look, she realized that it was exactly the same as the video that Xia Chujian had sent to her servants' quarters!
She narrowed her eyes and said, "Was this video not kept secret?"

Rong Tuidi was taken aback: "...Why is this video kept secret? The content on it is all about the situation after the war..."

Why keep a victory a secret?

Rong Tuidi did not understand what Empress Tantai Zijun was worried about.

Empress Tantai Zijun tightened her grip on the sleeve of her wide dragon robe and said unhappily, "This is a secret letter sent by Marshal Xia Chujian!"

"The video is part of the secret message!"

"How could you, as the Chief of the General Staff, not know the level of secrecy surrounding this secret letter?"

Rong Tuidi came to his senses and realized that he might have made a programming error.

He knew about the trending topic caused by the video on StarNet, and he also knew that the video was most likely released by someone from their secretariat.

Now that the Empress was unhappy, he wouldn't go against her, so he quickly said, "This is because the people below didn't follow the secrecy rules. I'll punish them when I get back!"

Empress Tantai Zijun felt slightly better when she realized that the news hadn't been leaked from her side.

This at least proves that the people around her are still on her side and have her best interests at heart.

Empress Tantai Zijun's expression softened slightly, and she said, "Alright, your side is the highest military institution, so you can't be so lax."

Rong Tuidi reiterated his approval and admitted his mistake before saying, "Your Majesty, after discussion, our military has decided to grant Xia Chu a month to meet with the Marshal."

"She must eliminate that advanced Zerg within this month."

"If we can't eliminate her... what kind of punishment do you think would be appropriate for her?"

Rong Tuidi originally intended to diminish Xia Chujian's military achievements.

However, this idea was not approved within their ranks, so he stopped mentioning it and simply passed this hot potato to Empress Tantai Zijun.

Empress Tantai Zijun's eyes flickered slightly, and she said with a smile, "...Punishment? There's no need for that...Marshal Xia Chujian defeated the insectoids. Even if he didn't achieve great merit, he certainly put in a lot of hard work."

"As for the fact that if we can't eliminate that advanced insectoid within a month, it's not her fault."

"After all, beings like the advanced Zerg are not something that an ordinary person without genetic evolution can easily eliminate."

Rong Tuidi blinked, somewhat confused about Empress Tantai Zijun's stance.

It sounds like Empress Tantai Zijun is on Xia Chujian's side and is going to give her an important position.
Considering that Xia Chujian is also a woman, it seems quite normal for the Empress to heavily rely on female marshals.

Rong Tuidi immediately felt a sense of urgency and said, "Your Majesty, given Xia Chujian's military achievements, he is worthy of being granted a title, or at least a marquisate."

"What do you think? Should we immediately vacate the marquisate for her, or make her wait?"

Empress Tantai Zijun said with a smile, "There's no rush. Let's wait and see. She's still young anyway."

Rong Tuidi breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, we will all obey Your Majesty."

Empress Tantai Zijun changed the subject and said casually, "Marshal Xia Chujian's military achievements this time are indeed the most outstanding since the founding of our Beichen Empire."

"I think she's qualified for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and will serve as Chief of the General Staff. What do you think?"

Rong Tuidi's heart skipped a beat, and countless bad thoughts arose in his mind.

However, he didn't show it on his face, but cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, do you mean...whose position should she take over?"

Empress Tantai Zijun toyed with a jade paperweight on the conference table and said with a half-smile, "Chief of Staff Rong, how old are you?"

Rong Tuidi suddenly looked up, staring at Empress Tantai Zijun with surprise and uncertainty.

Does she want Xia Chujian to take his place?!
Empress Tantai Zijun maintained her noble smile, revealing no hint of her true thoughts, and gave a faint "hmm" again.

Rong Tuidi hurriedly lowered his head and said with an embarrassed smile, "Your Majesty, I am still young, only in my early fifties."

Empress Tantai Zijun chuckled softly, said nothing more, and waved her hand: "Go down. I authorize you to be fully responsible for the matter of supplying Marshal Xia Chujian."

Rong Tuidi didn't dare to raise his head, and hurriedly bowed and withdrew.

Back at the military headquarters, he ordered the logistics department to send ten days' worth of supplies to Xia Chujian's Southern Expeditionary Army, and at the same time ordered Xia Chujian to eliminate the advanced insectoid within a month!
Otherwise, it would delay the handling of military matters.

This is a very serious punishment.

If she fails to kill the advanced Zerg within a month, not only will all her military achievements be completely erased, but she will also have to bear military responsibility!
That could lead to a court-martial and imprisonment...

Xia Chujian was speechless when she saw the order.

She didn't actually think she couldn't catch the advanced Zerg, but she was very dissatisfied with the military's attitude.

It seems like they're deliberately making things difficult for her.

Xia Chujian was not one to suffer a loss.

Without hesitation, she used her verified account to post the new orders given to her by the military on the StarNet.

This time, she told everyone in the entire Northern Chen Empire about the fact that only one advanced insectoid remained.

In her comment, she said, "The combat power of this advanced Zerg is indeed very impressive."

"But I don't think my military achievements should be erased if I fail to eliminate this advanced Zerg within the time limit set by the military."

"Gentlemen, please give your judgment. Is this order from the military meant to discard those who have served their purpose, or to discard those who have served their purpose once the birds are all gone?"

Xia Chujian's reputation on the StarNet is currently at its zenith.

Her fan base has reached over 10 billion in just a few days!

It even has more followers than the official account of Empress Tantai Zijun.

Therefore, as soon as she posts a topic, her fans immediately get involved.

Not only did it trend on social media, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff account was also targeted in a “siege.”

They were all furious and went to question the military headquarters: why were they suppressing their meritorious soldiers like this?!

Even the other four chiefs of staff at the military chiefs' liaison meeting quickly stepped forward to clarify, claiming that it had nothing to do with them. They opposed the proposal.

When everyone saw that four out of the five chiefs of staff were against it, it was obvious who proposed it and who supported it.

It was none other than the Chief of the General Staff of the General Staff—Rong Tuidi!
For a time, some nosy netizens brought up the "grudges and entanglements" between Rong and Xia Chujian.

As a result, everyone condemned the act of pacifying the enemy, believing that Rong Tuidi was using his position for personal gain and deliberately suppressing his own combat hero!

At this moment, the entire Beichen Empire, from top to bottom, was grateful to Xia Chujian.

Moreover, Xia Chujian herself is still on the front lines and has not yet returned, because there is one last and most difficult mission waiting for her!
In this situation, almost no one stood on the side of Rong Tui Di.

Upon seeing this situation, Empress Tantai Zijun immediately stepped forward to uphold justice and politely instructed Rong Tuidi to "retire" and live out his remaining years at home.

As a result, the position of Chief of the General Staff became vacant.

Empress Tantai Zijun issued another ambiguous statement, declaring that the position would be considered for the person with the greatest military achievements and the best fighting skills!
In the past, everyone would have thought that the Empress was implying Huo Yushen.

But now, everyone believes that the Empress was referring to Xia Chujian!
Thinking that Rong Tuidi deliberately suppressed Xia Chujian for his own selfish interests, Empress Tantai Zijun not only "stood up for Xia Chujian" and drove away Rong Tuidi, but also left Rong Tuidi's position to Xia Chujian!
What a perfect harmony between ruler and subject!

It was still the Empress and her female marshal!
Suddenly, some online writers started secretly creating fanfiction featuring these two as a couple...

Because of this incident, Empress Tantai Zijun's fan base has surged back to the 10 billion mark!

……

Xia Chujian also witnessed Empress Tantai Zijun's series of actions.

To be honest, it surprised her again and made her look at him in a new light.

But unlike the last declaration of war, she felt that Empress Tantai Zijun's "favor" towards her was a bit excessive...

It’s too late.

There must be something fishy going on.

Xia Chujian sat in the command room of her star destroyer, her fingers tapping slowly on the wide armrest. She looked thoughtfully at the holographic screen in front of her and asked Huo Yushen, "...Do you think that Empress Tantai Zijun is the kind of person who can really put aside past grievances and think about the country?"

Huo Yushen remained calm and said, "Of course not."

Xia Chujian asked, "So what is she trying to do?"

Huo Yushen said, "I don't think it's necessary to think about what she wants to do."

"Our current task is to find that advanced Zerg."

"We don't need to care about other people's decisions until we kill that advanced Zerg."

Xia Chujian nodded: "I was being too attached to appearances. Thank you for reminding me, Vice Commander Huo."

Huo Yushen smiled and changed the subject: "Have you thought of any methods?"

Xia Chujian said, "If we can determine that its target is you and me, shouldn't we go and visit those warships more often?"

"If the other party keeps hiding, it will be difficult for us to find it."

Huo Yushen said, "So you want to use us as a target to lure it out?"

Xia Chujian nodded.

Huo Yushen said, "I think this is inefficient and could easily alert the enemy."

"How about this, we'll spread the word that your captain's command center needs to recruit a few mechanics."

Do you think it will come forward to register?

Xia Chujian tilted her head and thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't think it's appropriate."

"I think that although its target is me, it is also a very cautious advanced Zerg."

"You see, it chose to sneak up on our fleet without being noticed, rather than choosing to fight you to the death on another habitable planet. This shows that it's not the impulsive type of Zerg."

"It is not only cautious, but also very patient."

"These advanced Zerg are not easy to deal with."

Huo Yushen said, "You think it won't sign up on its own initiative?"

Xia Chujian said, "I don't think so."

"It wants to target the two of us, but its premise is..."

Thinking of this, Xia Chujian suddenly said, "Huo Yushen, don't you think that if this advanced insectoid is targeting us, but is making no move at all, could it be that its goal isn't to kill us, but rather—to capture us alive?!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Yushen's mind raced, and he blurted out, "I'm afraid they don't want to capture me alive, but you!"

"This advanced Zerg has only one target, and it's definitely you!"

Huo Yushen dared to draw such a conclusion because Xia Chujian was such a unique person!
The Zerg are likely aware of this as well.

Moreover, this time, Xia Chujian was the commander-in-chief, and he almost wiped out all the Zerg!
In this situation, if the purpose of this advanced insectoid was simply to avenge those insectoids and kill Xia Chujian and Huo Yushen, it would never have chosen to be so cautious in its infiltration.

It must have seized the opportunity to launch a large-scale mental attack across the entire fleet!
In that case, even if we can't kill Xia Chujian and Huo Yushen, we can kill all the other soldiers.

Then, by leveraging the Zerg's connections with the ancient gods and evil gods from beyond the realm, they can eventually bring those gods down upon it. In that case, neither Xia Chujian nor Huo Yushen will be able to escape their clutches.

But this advanced Zerg did not do that.

After much thought, Huo Yushen came to this conclusion.

Xia Chujian was also surprised: "Why are you capturing me alive? I'm not a genetically evolved being!"

Huo Yushen looked at her silently for a long time before stammering, "...Don't you really know your own situation?"

Xia Chujian subconsciously thought of what Little Yellow Chicken Ah Chou had once said, and also of the consciousness energy that she would suddenly sense and burst forth when she was on the verge of death, which was mental energy.

But she's not a genetically evolved being, so how could she have mental power?

Xia Chujian looked at Huo Yushen, hesitant to speak.

Huo Yushen's tone softened, and his voice, which was usually cold and aloof, became very warm: "...You also feel that something is wrong with you, right? But that's not a bad thing. Maybe you're going to become a gene evolver."

Xia Chujian's eyes lit up; she was completely captivated by the words "gene evolutionist"!
You have to understand how much she wanted to become a genetic evolver!

She exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Even before you became a genetically evolved being, you could sense a dark, boundless area in your brain?!"

Huo Yushen: "..."

He can sense a dark area deep within his brain.

However, his area has boundaries!
　There will be a new update at 12:05 AM!
　　(End of this chapter)