Walk alone in the abyss

Emperor Star, Imperial Palace.

Yang Ming dressed neatly and walked out of the bathroom. Daphne, who had been waiting for a long time, brought two maids forward, straightened the folds of the military uniform for Yang Ming, and pinned the knight commander's badge taken out of the crystal to Yang Ming's chest.

"It is said that there will be some great nobles participating in this meeting. If you can't speak up, don't speak up."

Daphne exhorted softly:

"No matter what they say, you remain silent, you are a bystander, and you are only present at this meeting on behalf of your father."

Yang Ming nodded indistinctly, and said with a smile, "Are you worried about me?"

"Well," Daphne said with a smile, "You are my partner, shouldn't I care about you?"

"should."

Yang Ming glanced at the two maids. The latter lowered their heads and turned sideways, giving up the projection matrix that had been prepared for a long time.

For ordinary communication projection, only one instrument is enough, but to participate in such a high-level conference, considering the confidentiality and full coverage of information, this kind of projection and capture device with matrix structure is required.

In the corner of the Matrix stands a chair.

When Yang Ming stepped into the matrix, the surrounding environment changed rapidly, from the spacious and exquisite princess bedroom to a virtual conference room full of people.

This is not so much a meeting room as it is a 'court'.

The entire venue is in the shape of a "back".

The three supreme commanders of the military department, the great elders of the elders' house, and the two elders with real power sit in the highest row of seats, and there are more than a dozen seats below. The generals and elders each occupy half. this column.

The other three sides are the princes and dukes of the empire, as well as the heads of various government departments.

Yang Ming took a special look at the corner on the left, there seemed to be some figures hidden there.

——With a high probability, he is a member of the elite power faction of the Sherman family.

When Yang Ming appeared in the field, the group of people fell silent instantly.

"Hendon!"

Lieutenant General Thomas took the initiative to shout, pointing to the empty seat beside him: "Your seat is here."

so conspicuous?

The second row is in the middle, just below the three supreme commanders and the three elders, and it can easily become the focus of the audience.

Yang Ming stepped forward calmly, and when he took a seat in the projection matrix, he happened to be sitting in the chair in the conference room.

The meeting room was quiet for a few seconds, and then started whispering again.

Yang Ming glanced at the simple interface in his eyes, and found that this meeting should be the highest confidentiality standard, and the function menu only has one 'exit'.

There are nearly a hundred people here, each of whom can be called a dignitary of the empire;

For example, Atro's third uncle;

Including the 'round table members' who are hiding in the dark and do not know the exact number, it is not an exaggeration to say that this is the highest power meeting of the empire.

Lieutenant General Thomas just smiled and blinked at Yang Ming, then looked enviously at the badge on Yang Ming's chest, without saying anything.

It's no secret that the two of them have a close personal relationship, and this kind of occasion is not suitable for joking and chatting.

After waiting for about half a galaxy, more than a dozen people came one after another, and the virtual conference room was finally full.

The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army started the meeting with his deep voice:

"Now the highest-level closed-door meeting of the military department is held, that is, the pest disaster response coordination and combat preparation meeting.

"During the meeting, please keep your communications silent, and no information will be leaked. If there is any leak, you will be held accountable using the most stringent law on the protection of secrets in the empire.

"The content of the meeting, please Thomas to give a brief introduction."

"yes!"

Lieutenant General Thomas got up to answer, then grabbed a speech script out of thin air in front of him, raised his hand and clicked on a three-dimensional video displayed on all sides.

"You must have heard the news.

"The sixth-order queen of the space zerg who invaded the territory of our empire is about to complete her dimension upgrade in the near future. According to the historical records of the empire and the long-term antagonism between the space zerg and our humans, there is a 95% probability that the female worm will , will launch a comprehensive extermination campaign against the human civilization in the Milky Way.

"As we all know, human civilization in the Milky Way originated from the seeding of high-dimensional human civilization. We are the reserve army of human high-dimensional civilization, and at the same time, we are also the extended tentacles of high-dimensional human beings occupying the three-dimensional material world.

"The material world in which time develops linearly is the basis of order in the high-dimensional world, so in essence, the war between the space zerg and our three-dimensional world human civilization is a continuation of the racial war in the high-dimensional world.

"Therefore, this war will not be avoided because we seek peace, nor will it end when the Zerg enters a period of inactivity.

"It is our misfortune to be born in this era, and it is also our luck. Fortunately, after this war, our descendants will usher in a period of peaceful development for hundreds of years.

"History has proved that when a similar bug swarm breaks out, our backward and cruel imperial system, which is called by the democratic camp, can always exert the highest efficiency.

"Today's meeting has three main items.

"First, set up the Insect Infestation Disaster Management Committee, which will be composed of the Imperial Military Department, the Elders' House, and the heads of various related departments, and will have the power to formulate various plans and supervise the implementation of the plans.

"Second, establish a master plan and a backup plan for dealing with the bug swarm.

"Third, proposals are made by full members of the committees and discussions are held on each proposal.

"Next, proceed to the first item..."

When Lieutenant General Thomas made an introduction, the stereoscopic projection kept changing, revealing a picture of the gathering of insects on the border of the Milky Way.

The swarms of bugs that surrounded the planets and gathered near the stars like dark clouds made many old nobles feel numb and feel unwell.

The venue has always maintained a serious atmosphere, and the first meeting content quickly completed the process.

The list of the committee was determined before. Yang Ming is one of the thirty-six official members of the committee and has the power to initiate subsequent proposals.

He was quite emotional.

—The Empire is finally starting to show its efficient side.

This serious atmosphere and the picture of the unity of all departments of the empire made his blood boil a little bit.

Then... this enthusiasm quickly extinguished.

Lieutenant General Thomas announced that the meeting entered the second stage.

The main plan and backup plan to deal with the bug swarm have been formulated in advance by the military department and the elders' house, and need to be discussed and approved by the committee.

Yang Ming roughly summed it up, there are actually three plans in total, or in other words, three plans, the difference between different plans lies in the position of the defense line.

The main plan, which is currently considered the most feasible plan, is to lure a large number of insect swarms to gather outside the Emperor Star Circle, and then concentrate the firepower of the empire's fleet to wipe out the insect swarm.

Alternative plan one is to push the decisive battle line out to protect the economically developed planets outside the emperor star circle.

Alternative plan two, sniping the swarm on the border of the empire.

Almost 60% of the people present agreed with the main plan; the remaining 10% agreed with Alternative Plan 1, and 20% suggested Alternative Plan 2.

Boss Yang almost cursed.

Feelings, the residents of the empire's ordinary administrative star within the vast range from the empire's border to the emperor's star circle, are not considered human beings?

When it was time for the committee members to discuss, Yang Ming spoke directly:

"The main plan means that we will give up 40% of the current population? The local defense forces will also be transferred?"

Lieutenant General Thomas sighed, sat down with his head bowed, and did not speak.

An elder took the initiative to explain:

"Knight Commander Hunton, you should consider this issue from a different angle."

"Then please give me an angle."

"OK."

The elder obviously came prepared and explained unhurriedly:

"First, this is a war between civilizations, a war between two dominant races, and it cannot be divided by the gain or loss of an administrative star.

"Secondly, the insect swarm will definitely attack the most prosperous Emperor star circle first. Just like last time, the offensive launched by the big female insect was directed at the Emperor star. They have a very high level of civilization, and they know how to extinguish civilization. In this level of war, we cannot expect to ensure that every citizen of the empire will not be harmed.

"Thirdly, we must concentrate our superior firepower. This insect disaster is of an unprecedented level in the past few thousand years. It may be even more tragic than we imagined. Gathering all our forces is the best way to fight against the insect swarm. means.

"This is the best tactic that the military has obtained after opening the military database of the empire for tens of thousands of years. Rather than dispersing power sporadically and being eaten away, it is better to gather directly and fight to the death with the Zerg.

"If we extend the battle line, we will place all our military power on the border, and our core area will be directly exposed to the threat of the swarm, and the opponent's jumping ability is better than our fleet.

"Fourth, and most importantly, the first thing that should be extinguished by the bug swarm should be our military power, and then the massacre of civilians.

"The speech is over."

Yang Ming nodded, thought carefully for a few seconds, and then asked, "The fourth point, how did you come up with it?"

The elder pondered a few times: "It should be like this, just like we are at war with the New Federation."

"However," a general couldn't help but said, "In the model deduction we made, there is a 60% possibility that the Zerg will adopt the strategy of advancing across the border. There are too many of them, and they are very likely to It is to slaughter hundreds of planets at the same time, and then gradually gather inward."

An elder asked back: "How did the general come to his conclusion?"

"I just said, model deduction," the general frowned. "The model and deduction conditions are based on the precious data obtained by the empire for tens of thousands of years. This is an advantage that other regimes cannot match."

An elder immediately said: "That's only a 60% possibility, and a 40% possibility is already not low. If we spread out our military forces and the opponent's main force goes straight to Emperor Star, what will be the consequences? Have you thought about it?" ?"

Yang Ming said: "The consequence is that the Emperor Star activates its secret weapon and directly defeats the opponent... Are you questioning the firepower arrangement around the Emperor Star?"

Several generals smiled.

Next, the military department and the elders' house had a war of words.

"Everyone has also seen the number of Zerg. If you forcefully try to defend the whole territory, you will have to lose sight of the other in the end!"

"But if we are only defending the imperial star circle, and the Zerg choose to slaughter our ordinary administrative star, are our troops sure that there will be no mutiny? Ladies and gentlemen, 80% of the imperial soldiers are from outside the imperial star circle. No matter what type of arms it is, it is almost the same ratio.”

"The empire's territory is so vast, if the Zerg Swarm focuses on attacking us, the most powerful in the galaxy, the support from other countries will be almost zero."

"In the face of an insect swarm of this scale, what we think about must be for the empire to survive."

"Will the empire survive, or the elders' families and assets survive?"

"We are here to discuss important matters that matter to the empire's life and death. What is your military department thinking! Are you trying to put the Emperor Star in danger!"

"Fighting the swarm is not fighting against the coalition forces of the three major powers. What we need is firepower and protection capabilities, not the so-called advanced avionics. All kinds of old-fashioned warships we have sealed up can be used. We actually have the ability to defend the second line of defense." In addition, fight a blocking battle with the swarm!"

"The star field structure of the empire is the Emperor Star - Emperor Star Circle - Pan Emperor Star Circle Economic Belt - Peripheral Ordinary Administrative Stars. The last option is the strategic buffer zone."

"If the bug swarm invades most of the galaxies at the same time... from the distribution of the existing bug swarms, they have integrated six major bug swarms, and the six major bug swarms will attack the human civilization of the galaxy from four directions, and the empire will most likely face two Big bug swarm! If we snipe from the outside, what will be the consequences? The bug swarm will increase its troops, and they will inevitably mobilize more high-level bugs to the empire, and we will bear more additional pressure."

"Everyone, please fully consider the status of the empire in the galaxy series after the worm swarm. If the economic belt of the emperor star circle and the pan emperor star circle is not lost, our position will be extremely stable!"

"I am against the master plan! Abandoning the people is not what we soldiers do!"

"We must advance the main plan. The empire's preservation of core strength is the main reason why we can stand tall in the galaxy!"

The venue became more and more chaotic.

Yang Ming finally understood that these three plans had hidden secrets.

The soldiers of the empire, from soldiers to generals, all retain their blood. They actually tend to conduct sniper warfare on the borders of the empire to protect every inch of the empire.

The nobles and elders of the empire demanded to protect the core prosperous area of ​​the empire, and let ordinary administrative stars resign themselves to their fate.

What they gambled on was that the Zerg would not spread out widely. As long as the bet was won, the empire would have a great chance of winning, and the emperor star circle would have relatively higher security.

What was the attitude at the highest levels of imperial power?

Most likely a compromise.

If Yang Ming's guess is correct, the two sides will gradually reach a consensus during the quarrel, and then implement Alternate Plan 1.

For ordinary administrative stars, give up part and protect part;

Go all out to defend the emperor's star circle.

There is a precedent for the empire to do this kind of thing. Planets with a small population and poor economy will be regarded as victims.

The last time there was a swarm of Tier 4 bugs throughout the empire, the empire's core combat force - the "Levi" fleet did not show up to participate in the battle at all.

This also reflects to a certain extent the will of the Sherman family's elite elite.

Emperor Star Circle...

No wonder, the young people of the empire have to squeeze their heads into the star circle, even if they enter these prosperous areas and become the bottom of the society, they will be exploited in all directions; A small nobleman like Ka will not be truly regarded as a human being by the empire.

The reason why the empire's population continues to decline is not just a social problem such as the siphon effect of large cities.

The level of birth and the oppression of class are problems that the empire cannot solve in the interstellar era.

"What will the new Federation do?"

Yang Ming suddenly spoke out, just a simple sentence, making the audience quiet again.

Yang Ming said indifferently: "What is the plan formulated by the new Federation?"

A group of people fell silent again.

Lieutenant General Thomas whispered: "As far as we know, they are conducting regional terminal defense, abandoning agricultural stars, resource stars and old industrial planets, 40% of the military force is protecting Minte City, and the local defense forces are gathering regionally. And try to carry people who may be infested with insects into the protected area as much as possible."

Yang Ming spread his hands together: "Is copying homework difficult?"

"Knight Commander Hunton," an elder said indifferently, "I must remind you that we are not a hypocritical new federation. The so-called protected area is the fixed vote base of their ruling party."

"Knight Commander Hunton, if you don't have a solution, then we ask you to remain as silent as possible during our meeting today."

"How do you know I don't have a solution?"

Yang Ming asked back, many elders and nobles all frowned.

Yang Ming smiled calmly.

"Everyone, I gave the bug swarm warning. Do you think I have no countermeasures? Take a look at this."

He pointed to his Knight Commander badge.

"Now I represent the great and wise His Majesty, you'd better be polite to me."

A group of elders were speechless for a moment, and the faces of several old nobles turned pale.