The second recording was long but didn't contain much useful information. The Empire officer negotiating with the Guel Alliance did not offer much explanation but used the Empire to pressure the Guel Alliance, demanding they let them leave, or it would be considered a declaration of war against the Empire.
The approach of the Guel Alliance was to 'accidentally' leak the negotiation and indicate that they would demand an explanation from the Empire.
The third recording was short but full of information.
'Sir! Our ship's polariter cannot start normally! There's an anomaly in the gravity of this airspace!'
'Attack warning! Attack warning!'
'Damn it! How do they know our route! Fight back! Protect the flagship and retreat!'
'It's too late! It's ships from the New Federation! There are more than three hundred of them! We can't withstand a single volley from them!'
'Divert all energy to the protective shield! Evacuate! Quickly evacuate!'
What followed was intense noise, a powerful interference generated when the ion beam was about to hit the ship.
The virtual conference room fell silent.
Director Eno frowned tightly.
What's going on?
'How did it suddenly start fighting?' Director Eno asked, 'When I looked into this matter before, wasn't it said there weren't any major issues?'
'The situation changed suddenly.'
'If the information we've received isn't wrong, then soone hijacked our communication system.'
'The Military Departnt did not issue any orders to the escort fleet, and our military system also limits this. Furthermore, the entire incident happened too quickly. According to intelligence from our secret channels, the New Federation had no detection of the impending attack; their ship's protective shield response was delayed.'
'This ans soone deliberately instigated a war between us and the New Federation.'
'The Guel Alliance?'
'This happened within the Guel Alliance territory. If they wanted to stir things up, it couldn't be easier.'
'The Wind fleet evacuated that airspace ahead of ti... Don't you find that too coincidental? I suspect it was a play directed by the Wind and the Guel Alliance together.'
'It's also possible that the New Federation was involved, hoping to incite us to start a war externally while we're in disarray internally.'
The conference room fell silent again.
The elders contemplated and carefully simulated the various consequences of the Empire launching another expedition.
Director Eno leaned back in his chair, looking at the intelligence summary in front of him, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.
'At this juncture, we cannot launch an external war,' Director Eno said gravely, 'The internal conflicts within the Empire have not yet been resolved, and the people's demands have not been t. Rashly initiating an external war will accelerate internal division.'
'I oppose,' an elder said solemnly, 'The New Federation suffered significant military losses during the insect swarm, and the benefits from our last two expeditions were evident to everyone. It's a good opportunity to divert dostic conflicts.'
'Divert?'
Director Eno frowned:
'How to divert? Would the populace direct their anger at the New Federation because our mission was attacked? Normally, maybe, but not now.'
'Looking at the New Federation, the last expedition already saw reinforcents from the Guel Alliance and the Free Federation, although later it was confird to be an intervention from the high-dinsional civilization, but that should have been a greater wake-up call for us!'
'The high-dinsional civilization is already dissatisfied with us.'
'Eno,' an elder sighed, 'I know you like to talk about high-dinsional civilizations, you've always said how high-dinsional civilizations are, then the White Ghost beca a major threat to us.'
People chid in from the side:
'And Eno, your Dinsion Ascension Laboratory still hasn't produced any results.'
'Of course, it's not your fault. From tens of thousands of years ago until now, the laboratory has been like a Black Hole, constantly consuming our most elite transford warriors, yet unable to give us any hope of ascending dinsions.'
'The high-dinsional world hasn't opened its doors to us, Eno. Our current problem is the increasingly sharp dostic contradictions and the restless competitive civilizations abroad. The only path to resolve the current predicant is to defeat them.'
The subject shifted:
'Regardless of who planned this incident, the New Federation's attack on our mission fleet is a confird fact.'
'This is a good opportunity. We need this war. Dostic conflicts are becoming more acute, and public opinion cannot be entirely controlled.'
"Is the Emperor Guard System still unable to activate?"
"Yes, the Emperor Guard System hasn't given us any response, and the current situation already ets all the conditions for its passive defense to trigger."
"The Emperor Guard is malfunctioning, isn't it."
"The Emperor Guard System, which has protected the Empire for tens of thousands of years, has reached its final stage. This is actually reasonable, but it just happens to occur when we most need its help."
"The experints for Emperor Guard 2 are relatively successful."
"Deploy two combat clusters to use Emperor Guard 2 in a small scope. There's no need to explain much to the New Federation, or to engage in much dialogue. Their attack on our envoy is already a declaration of war against us."
"But!"
Director Eno frowned tightly:
"Elders, may I ask a few questions?"
"Eno, go ahead."
"Are we really going to take military action against the New Federation without investigating whether this event was planned by them or the Guel Alliance?"
"Yes, Eno, we won't investigate, because military action aligns with our interests," an elder replied, "Once we go to war with the New Federation, we can impose warti control nationwide, and we can use this opportunity to arrest those who oppose us, those who try to beco civilian leaders, and the Dominicans who resist the Empire's control, accusing them as spies for the New Federation."
"That's a purge," said Director Eno, "Are we going to purge the Empire?"
"Isn't it the most efficient solution to the current dostic conflicts?"
An elder continued: "Once in warti status, we can control information. Although these regulations haven't been used for a long ti, we need them now."
"You know, Eno, how critical the situation is dostically."
"For the New Federation, we don't need to directly attack their vital Star Domains but rather confront them in a high-intensity local war of attrition to create a warti atmosphere. What we want is the warti status."
Bam!
Director Eno rested his hands on the edge of the table, slowly standing up with his exhausted body.
He took a deep breath, his eyes showing a glimr of light, one of helplessness and struggle, reason and sorrow.
"I must remind you all!
"Engaging in war may temporarily shift conflicts and suppress riots, allowing the interior of the Empire to quiet down, but this does not solve any problems. We're simply covering our ears and silencing the public!
"We currently have a lot of room for strategic relaxation, even if it's just symbolically implenting a so-called reform, resetting the Imperial New Calendar, or even stripping a group of nobles of their titles, abolishing the nobility system in the military in favor of other welfare systems, we can greatly ease dostic tensions. Aren't we already pushing these plans step by step?
"Rushing into war now will, in the long term, create significant hidden dangers for the Empire."
"The hypocritical New Federation will surely tie up other countries into a war of attrition with us."
"After two expeditions and one major insect swarm, our reserves have not yet recovered, and our local finances and military expenses are already in significant deficit. Our vassal states are full of complaints!"
"That's sothing you don't need to worry about, Eno," an elder interrupted, "We have made the plans, and Wind will solve the problem of military expenses for us."
"Wind? The sa Wind that just slapped us in the face? Have you understood the current military power of the Wind Alliance? It has already beco a regional strong entity, and it's very likely that it has already allied with the Guel Alliance!"
"Rest assured, everything about Wind is under our control, and given Wind's ragtag fleet... All right, Eno, you are too tired. We shouldn't have targeted your laboratory earlier. Your experints are noble, great, and are our future significance. But now, go rest."
Director Eno hesitated to speak.
At this mont, he already sensed that the atmosphere of the eting was sowhat off.
He looked at the elders in front of him, then at his grandfather, and finally just sighed softly.
"As my experint is entering a critical phase, you don't need to call for these matters."
He took a half-step back, and the holographic projection device automatically disconnected from the virtual eting. Before him again was the interior of his narrow, dark resting room.
A poster of the Emperor Star hung on the wall.
The light was both dim and glaring.
Limited knowledge;
Infinite arrogance.
Eno returned to the sofa and slowly sat down, looking up at the poster, finally closing his eyes with a sigh.
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