“There is no need to show this to me at all.”
Li Guangya’s finger swept across the holographic screen. He was sitting at a desk as he put a twenty-page proposal into the recycle bin.
This twenty-page proposal, or petition, was sent from Mars.
Its core content could be summarized in two sentences.
That was, in order to create a supply line for transporting water resources between Europa and the asteroid belt and Mars, the Tiangong City authorities hoped to have their own armed defense forces.
In short, they hoped to build a Martian defense fleet in the solar system, like a Pan-Asian Second Fleet, to fight against the starship active between the asteroid belt and Mars.
To be honest, after seeing such a proposal, Li Guangya was not only surprised but also amused.
As the chairman of the Pan-Asian Cooperation, as long as his brain was working, he would certainly not allow such a ridiculous proposal to be passed. The autonomy of the Martian colony was a problem left over from history. If the right of defense was approved, the Martians would simply become an alien species.
Also, it was still unknown whether the space pirates in the asteroid belt were created and funded by the Martians themselves.
Anyway, as far as he knew, New London of the North Sea Alliance and New Paris of the Iberian-French Alliance had become the largest black market trading centers in the entire solar system. All looted goods were basically sold there; there was even a futures market for stolen goods.
And this was an open secret.
“I think we’d better treat this matter with caution,” said Secretary Wei, who was standing at the desk and looking at the indifferent chairman with a serious expression. “Of course we cannot make concessions for these types of demands, but if you do not cautiously refuse, your reply to the colony’s appeal is likely to become a weapon for people with ulterior motives.”
“If even you know this, of course I know this too.”
After waving his hand, Li Guangya put the knuckle of his index finger under his nose. After thinking for a while, he spoke.
“Relax, I admit that I may have been a little arrogant recently, but I have never made any rash decisions… I will respond cautiously to this matter. In addition, we have to be cautious about those idiots who thought about this plan. Do you have any good suggestions on this?”
“We can start from two aspects.” Wei Song thought for a moment and continued, “On the one hand, launch military exercises with anti-piracy as the main subject, and on the other hand, send additional defense garrisons to Tiangong City. This way, the colony’s concerns about the space pirates can be eliminated, and it can also strengthen our control of the colony… to prepare for future plans.”
The so-called future plan was naturally to withdraw autonomy and implement direct jurisdiction.
They previously granted autonomy to the Martian colonies, including Tiangong City, mainly because the communication distance was too long to make real-time decisions about the colony’s situation, so a highly autonomous jurisdiction model was implemented.
However, in recent years, with the increasing number of flights to and from Mars and the increasing frequency of economic and trade exchanges between Mars and Earth, this highly autonomous model had become a liability.
Especially now that the warp speed technology had broken through, the Qinling had taken the lead in completing the first faster than light transition in human history. In the near future, the problem of faster than light communication would also be solved, which would assist the Pan-Asian Cooperation in regaining the direct jurisdiction of Tiangong City.
After hearing Wei Song’s words, a thoughtful expression appeared on Li Guangya’s face.
After pondering for a long time, he spoke.
“Call the military committee. At this time tomorrow, I hope to see everyone in the conference room. Go and find Commander Sun, ask the staff to research in advance which combat formation should be involved in the exercise and which units to send. We should maximize our strategic deterrence on Mars while satisfying their sense of security.”
Wei Song said seriously, “Understood.”
Li Guangya said, “This matter is actually not that urgent. The focus of our current work is still on the space elevator and the stargates that are about to start construction. Our relationship with the colony is important, so try to avoid trouble with them.”
After nodding, Wei Song was about to turn around and leave.
However, at this moment, he suddenly thought of something.
He stopped and said, “Speaking of which, I have to report something to you.”
After lifting his head, Li Guangya cast a questioning glance at him.
“Yeah, what?”
“Recently, several well-known foundations of star systems registered on Mars suddenly began to raise funds on a large scale with the plan to build colonial ships.” Wei Song continued after a pause, “Especially the well-known Alpha Centauri Colonial Exploration Foundation. Through pre-sale of tickets and bonds, nearly 150 billion credit points of funds have been raised.”
“Colonial ships?” Li Guangya frowned slightly. He then shook his head and said, “Financial matters are not in my control. I will speak to the financial supervision department in a moment.”
Wei Song laughed bitterly and continued, “The key is not the money… but Academician Lu.”
Li Guangya was slightly stunned.
“Academician Lu?”
“Yeah.” Wei Song continued with a weird expression on his face, “He seems to have left his apprentice behind and ran to Mars alone to participate in an art exhibition hosted by the Alpha Centauri Colonial Exploration Foundation…”
He was silent for a short while before lowering his tone.
“He may be serious…”
The office went silent.
After a long time, Li Guangya broke the silence.
“A great man like him can influence the course of history. No matter what choice he makes, it is beyond our control.”
He sighed lightly. He was obviously a little tired, as if he was facing a more difficult problem than the Martian colony demanding their own defense system.
After thinking for a long time, he gave up and waved his hand.
“You don’t need to report stuff like this to me in the future, let him do whatever he wants.”
…
“Achoo!”
Ling looked at Lu Zhou, who sneezed without warning. He stopped the rover and cast a questioning look at him.
“Have you caught a cold, Commander?”
“No, I guess someone is talking about me behind my back…” After blowing his nose hard, Lu Zhou reached out and tapped on the holographic interface. He wiped the water mist on the inside of the helmet and asked, “Are we there yet?”
Ling nodded and cast his gaze out of the car window.
“Already here.”
They were at an abandoned mine at a rift valley one kilometer east of The Gates of Hell, the place where everything began.
The sign of Hiddell Mining was still hanging at the entrance of the mine, but compared to the last time he saw it, the traces of the mottle and erosion were more obvious.
Lu Zhou had promised General Reinhardt that he would come back after he dealt with the affairs on Earth. Although there might still be some time left before the day of departure, he was ready to begin preparations.
Besides, he also had many things to ask him about the mystery of the stargates.
Lu Zhou jumped out of the rover. As he stood still in front of the old mine, he couldn’t help but show a look of nostalgia on his face.
Time sure flies by.
It’s been a year and a half.
Over this period of time, I saw the world change under the influence of my own knowledge and met many interesting people, and I even met my descendants and the girl I sent to the future…
Lu Zhou gulped slightly. He seemed to have something to say.
“Ling.”
Ling cast a questioning gaze to Lu Zhou as he responded.
“Yes, Commander.”
Lu Zhou, who had something to say, suddenly closed his mouth for some reason.
After being silent for a while, he looked up at the deep darkness in the cave ahead with a smile on his face.
“Nothing… Lead the way.”
Ling’s red pupils flickered slightly, like two fireflies.
He then nodded lightly, stepped forward, and stood in front of Lu Zhou.
“Yes, Commander.”
