"It was truly a pleasure conversing with you, President David Lyn."
After the dinner, Regent Crown Prince Rudolf and President David Lyn of the Frost Plating Federation took a walk along the main street outside the Imperial Palace, chatting leisurely.
Of course, the street had been cleared in advance, and there were always special agents and bodyguards accompanying them, fully ensuring their safety.
Although there was a full twenty-year age difference between them, Crown Prince Rudolf and President David Lyn seed to hit it off from their first eting, aligning on many political views, such as supporting the regulation of enterprises, advocating for state control of major public affairs, and strengthening the integration of the military with the citizens.
As political strongn, David Lyn was quite surprised by this man in his early thirties. He shared his favorite cigars with Rudolf. The two enjoyed each other’s company, with David appreciating classical music and Rudolf being an avid piano enthusiast. As they talked, their relationship beca increasingly cordial.
When they returned to the residence and stepped into the lounge, their conversation eventually turned back to state affairs.
"Excellency, I truly admire your talent and courage; the Frost Plating Federation is lucky to have you as its President," Rudolf sat down and sincerely said, "I think this visit is a great opportunity to foster friendship between the peoples of Red Arrow and Frost Plating; it’s ti to put aside our differences and suspended disputes."
"Thank you for your blessing, Your Highness," acknowledged David Lyn calmly. "You are an open person, so I’ll be frank; whether Red Arrow and Frost Plating, or even the entire Azure Star civilization, can last another 20 years, well, that is not certain."
"Are you referring to Ersha and Lord Entropy?" Rudolf shook his head, "There is no saving it now. I can tell you that Red Arrow has chosen to settle historical grievances before facing apocalypse and then face destruction peacefully."
"Does that include Frost Plating?" David Lyn asked directly.
Rudolf looked at David Lyn, "Even within hatred, there are priorities, and we may decide that at the last mont. But for now, the People of Sky Ring are Red Arrow’s most hated enemies, and we must complete this sacred revenge."
"If that’s the case, my views, as well as those of your country, fundantally differ," David Lyn sighed. "Frost Plating has also repeatedly faced existential crises; I am not here to persuade you to abandon your hatred, but what I want to say is, Ersha is a common crisis faced by all of humanity, the entire Azure Star civilization. If civilization itself cannot be sustained, then talk of revenge is aningless."
"If there is no Red Arrow, then civilization itself is aningless," Rudolf stated calmly. "The Red Arrow people do not care whether human civilization continues. We don’t mind if the world perishes—when the Red Arrow faced annihilation, the whole human world was the aggressor."
"I understand the feelings of your people," nodded David Lyn. "But now, the Empire is powerful enough. The territory of the past has been completely reclaid. I wonder whether that so-called revenge is still necessary? Sky Ring is also one of the Four Nations, with a significant population and military strength. If we could attract Sky Ring to join us in facing this most severe crisis of the Azure Star—"
"Please allow to speak frankly; you do not understand the People of Sky Ring."
Rudolf leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on the armrests, and spoke in a grave tone:
"The People of Sky Ring are despicable, uncouth, only subdued by violence and tyranny, completely indifferent to compunction. Sky Ring should be dismbered, their culture needs to be educated and integrated by the superior civilization of the Empire. Red Arrow must completely eradicate the nation and people of Sky Ring, have their descendants speak the language of Red Arrow, resemble Red Arrow people with blonde hair and blue eyes, and prostrate before the throne of the Empire—this is their ultimate fate."
"...You’re a bit too extre," David Lyn frowned. "This doesn’t align with the ethics of modern civilization. No matter what, this level of extermination can’t be justified."
"Soon there will be no civilization, so why discuss morals?" Rudolf said indifferently. "Besides, everyone (the Four Nations) has done quite a bit of this before the Ersha crisis; the Frost Plating’s colonies sprawled across the world, and the nations annihilated and rged by the People of Sky Ring were not few."
President David Lyn frowned and declared solemnly,
"I think, starting from our generation, we should make so progress."
"That’s difficult, Your Excellency," Rudolf said. "Consider how we would announce this to the citizens. How would those from the Outer World who were once incorporated into our nation perceive us? The Four Nations have been established for a while now, having destroyed and conquered nurous small countries. Now we are to say that we want to beco more civilized? Will anyone truly believe this?"
"In that case, we might as well look further ahead. Besides war, there are many endeavors worth our joint efforts," explained President David Lyn. "We can develop aerospace and mass-produce thermonuclear weapons, continually sending our citizens off the planet, just like Li Aozi did."
Rudolf leaned back in his chair, his gaze one of surprise.
That statent coming from President David Lyn was quite amusing.
After all, President David Lyn had been elevated by the military, and yet here he was uttering words that could be deed a stab in the back for the military. The intention behind it was indeed intriguing.
He pondered for a mont and seed to grasp David Lyn’s logic, which wasn’t surprising. David Lyn didn’t simply want to wait for death while the other three nations had largely given up on tangling with Lord Entropy.
David Lyn wasn’t ready to give up; he didn’t desire to cling to power in his final 20 years but rather to use his firm grip on power to help the Frost Plating Federation navigate through these difficult tis.
His ambition was great, and his skill admirable.
But Rudolf wouldn’t be swayed by re admiration for soone and lose his rationality. He watched as David Lyn discussed many construction projects and even brought up the debt issues of the Red Arrow. When David Lyn paused, Rudolf posed a critical question:
"President Lyn, how much ti do you think we actually have?"
David Lyn paused montarily before replying honestly, "From now until Ersha descends to an altitude of 8,000 ters, it won’t exceed 24 years at most."
"24 years, and even if we do as you suggest and construct underground facilities, it might salvage another two years. Let’s say 26 years then,"
Rudolf took a calculator from his secretary, personally tapping the keys for David Lyn as he crunched the numbers:
"Considering the cumulative population of the Azure Star including the Outer World exceeds three billion, and we don’t have a unified census, even if we just save the people from the Four Nations, that’s about 2.4 billion. Leaving behind the old, weak, or ill, alright, that ans we only need to evacuate 1.7 billion. Did I calculate that correctly?"
David Lyn nodded, "That’s correct."
Rudolf looked at him and said,
"Our current largest spacecraft, ’Moon Number,’ can carry 240 people. The largest space stations from the old era could only accommodate 300 people at most. So where will those 1.7 billion go when the ti cos?"
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