"Zhou Tianzi?" Cen Yemeng narrowed her eyes, lost in thought.
"I'll be the supreme leader, distributing the planets under my control to trustworthy and capable individuals, letting them serve as the top leaders of their respective planets," Jiang Ye explained. "Just like kings of various regions, they'll have a lot of freedom, only needing to obey my command as Zhou Tianzi at crucial moments."
"Then, if I were to light a beacon fire to fool the feudal lords, would you be willing?" Cen Yemeng suddenly asked with a sly smile.
"Don't be silly, you are the feudal lords!" Jiang Ye patted her head.
Cen Yemeng froze.
"No, I am both Bao Si and a feudal lord," Cen Yemeng corrected.
Jiang Ye didn't answer her. Instead, he pulled out his phone, which was vibrating. It was a call from Li Nannan.
"Commander!" Jiang Ye answered.
Cen Yemeng immediately sat up straighter and leaned closer to the phone to listen. Only Li Nannan could make Jiang Ye address her as "Commander." Cen Yemeng knew the importance of such a call.
"We're going to have a major war again," Li Nannan said.
Jiang Ye froze, a bad feeling washing over him.
He had been weary of war for years. Mountains of military documents piled up on his desk, and many veteran soldiers had been fighting almost constantly, finding it difficult even to request leave to go home.
And the wars he had been fighting were, in Li Nannan's eyes, generally insignificant – mere military conflicts on a single planet, not much different from primitive humans fighting.
But now, Li Nannan was saying there was going to be a major war. What could she possibly call a major war?
"Have we encountered extraterrestrial civilizations again?" Jiang Ye's expression turned solemn.
"I'm not sure yet," Li Nannan replied. "We officers above the division level just had an emergency meeting. They said we need to prepare for expansion and armament, making the worst-case preparations. What exactly these preparations entail, we don't know, and the Commander isn't saying."
"Have there been meetings like this before?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Meetings of the same caliber? Yes! The last time such a meeting was held was the year before we fought the Meer," Li Nannan said. "But back then, it was explicitly stated that we would be fighting the Meer. This time, they haven't said who we're fighting, just to be prepared."
Jiang Ye was silent for a few seconds. "Do you need my help with preparations?"
"My troops need five trillion," Li Nannan said.
"I'll gather it and send it to you in the next couple of days," Jiang Ye replied readily.
"No, you're not expected to bear the entire burden. You contribute five hundred billion," Li Nannan said.
Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, then was surprised. "Commander, you have quite a few contacts!"
"Not many, but they are richer than you," Li Nannan said. "After my promotion, I met some more people. I'll introduce you when there's an opportunity."
"Alright," Jiang Ye said. "Then I'll transfer the money to you now."
"I'll pay you back after the war. The higher authorities will allocate military funds, but during wartime, they're often insufficient. This is reserve funding," Li Nannan explained. "Thank you."
"Commander, why are you being so formal? You're thanking me? Our soldiers are fighting on the front lines, risking their lives. What's wrong with us in the rear donating some money?" Jiang Ye said. "If you need anything else, contact me anytime. I still have some spare money on hand."
"The amount is too large, five hundred billion, it's not as easy as just saying it," Li Nannan chuckled. "Okay, that's all. I still have to call others. Goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ye's expression visibly darkened.
Cen Yemeng reached out and touched her husband's face. "What's wrong? It's just five hundred billion. Don't be stingy."
"It's not that," Jiang Ye sighed. "You've completely misunderstood."
Cen Yemeng was at a loss, sitting beside her husband, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"You heard the entire conversation. What did you gather from it?" Jiang Ye asked.
"There's going to be a war again?" Cen Yemeng said hesitantly. "The economy will be affected? They asked you for a large sum of money, and if the war escalates, they'll continue to ask you for money? The military funds are insufficient?"
"What you've gathered is very superficial. Think about it more carefully," Jiang Ye said, scratching his scalp and sighing again.
Cen Yemeng frowned. "I can't think of anything else."
"First, why is the military preparing for war without specifying the enemy?" Jiang Ye said. "It's very likely an internal conflict."
Cen Yemeng's face instantly turned pale, as if all the blood had drained from it.
Her eyes widened for a long time. "Husband, don't scare me."
"This is just my speculation," Jiang Ye said calmly. "The Galactic Empire is a concept so vast that I cannot comprehend it, just as a small scallop at the bottom of the sea cannot understand the entire ocean. However, over the years, I've caught some scents and discovered that the Galactic Empire is not very stable."
"What do you mean?"
"A few days ago, at the Quartz Star auction, the Octopus civilization wanted to obtain Quartz Star directly through me, bypassing the Galactic Empire's military," Jiang Ye said. "Humans and Octopuses are both part of the Galactic Empire, but the information conveyed to me by the human military and the Octopus military is different. I was very scared then. If even the military's narrative cannot be unified, how united are other aspects?"
Cen Yemeng's expression grew increasingly fearful, as if she were listening to a ghost story.
"Of course, this is just one aspect and doesn't prove anything. It's just me trying to understand the whole from a part, peeking at the sky from the bottom of a well. When a collective becomes large enough, there will inevitably be countless intricate relationships, and some internal competition and conflicts are normal," Jiang Ye said. "However, the military preparing for war without knowing the enemy is itself very abnormal."
Cen Yemeng nodded, her thoughts completely following her husband's line of reasoning.
"I suspect that a region or a civilization within the Galactic Empire is showing a tendency to go rogue. The high authorities are now trying their best to prevent such a thing from happening," Jiang Ye said. "If the high authorities' efforts are successful, then the storm will pass, and the world will be peaceful. Nothing will have happened, and no one will know that such a crisis once existed. But if it fails, the military must prepare in advance."
"I agree with your assessment," Cen Yemeng said. "There is such a possibility. Not mentioning the enemy is to avoid disrupting harmony and prevent accidental escalation."
"This is the first reason why I'm in a bad mood," Jiang Ye said.
Cen Yemeng was stunned. "Are there other implications?"
"Before I met you, Li Nannan was my pillar of support. At that time, she was just a junior officer," Jiang Ye recalled. "She created a star network group and invited all the planet leaders she knew, cared for, and relied on into that group. You are familiar with many of the group members, the ones from Hal Star, Leng An Star, and an Ice Green Star."
"I'm not familiar with Ice Green Star," Cen Yemeng said.
"It never developed much. It's a small planet, like a village," Jiang Ye said. "At that time, our few families were the main force supporting Li Nannan."
Cen Yemeng hummed, listening attentively.
"But now, Leng An Star has stagnated, with little development. Hal Star has gone cold. Ice Green Star is a small village. Three out of the four families have collapsed, and only I have held on," Jiang Ye said. "Meanwhile, Li Nannan has been promoted."