Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
While the emperor and the queen mother of the new empire were deeply shocked by the earth-shattering news and could barely control the nerves on their faces and the trembling of their hands, in the Yellow Dragon Sector, the capital city of the Song family far away from the capital city, which was also
known as the so-called ‘Old Empire’, in the orbit of the main planet, inside a magnificent starship that looked like a saber that had been unsheathed, some people were sighing, frustrated by the complicated, dark situation in front of them.
It was ‘Song Bugui’, second in command of the imperium and the supreme commander of the coalition fleet, the last mobile force of the families of the four electors.
After the two consecutive defeats in the Seven Seas Space Zone and the battle of the imperial capital, the situation that they had been so confident in had collapsed instantly. Not only had they lost half of their territory, they had also suffered a crushing defeat. Their victory had turned into a perilous one.
The four electors finally showed their sincerity. They all agreed that, on this day when the ‘King Kong Fleet’ and the ‘Royal Card Fleet’ had both suffered a crushing defeat and even turned against each other, the remnants of their forces, which were weak and scattered in their lone island-like territory,
would only be destroyed one by one by the unstoppable revolutionaries.
The only way out was to gather the few newly-arrived warships and defend the dignity of His Majesty and the four electors.
Therefore, the coalition fleet was born.
From the name of the fleet that was granted by the emperor, ‘Returning to Heaven’, it was evident how important the last fleet was to the entire ‘Old Empire’.
However, Song Bugui, the supreme commander of the ‘Returning Sky Fleet’, was not the commander-in-chief that everybody expected. Even he was well aware that he was merely making do with the compromise and helplessness of the power struggle.
Among the shining stars of the imperial army, Song Bugui, who was 184 years old, was not one of the most brilliant generals, nor did he have anything to do with the adjectives such as bravery and resourcefulness. In his 150-year military career, he had experienced dozens of bloody battles, big and small,
but no matter how relaxed the conditions were, he could not find any classic examples that could be included in the textbooks, much less a splendid record of ‘surprise attack from thousands of miles away’.
He was just an ordinary general who didn’t have the slightest bit of personal style or the temperament of a famous general. He was more like a step-by-step civil servant than a general who roamed the battlefield. In the first half of his military career, he would often show up as a staff officer or a deputy.
‘When he was qualified enough to take charge of his own affairs, he would often go to defend the desolate, barren world or be responsible for logistics and escort missions. He had once spent more than ten years idling in the military command department and as the education director of the imperial fleet.
For some reason, he was promoted to the position of commander-in-chief of a certain Front Army just so that he could take the blame that nobody else was willing to.
In the dozens of bloody battles and fierce battles, his performance could only be said to be passable. He had been defeated in battles before, but he had not been completely defeated. In the worst circumstances, he had been able to safely evacuate with 70% to 80% of the remaining soldiers. He had won
victories, but because of his hesitation, he had missed the opportunity. He had let go of a good opportunity to expand his achievements and get promoted.
Generally speaking, he was an inconspicuous general that no one would expect. But when it came down to it, he did not have many shortcomings.
As an Immortal Cultivator, Song Bugui might have been ambitious when he was young, but after more than a hundred years of hard work, blood, and tears, and dozens of times when he was on the brink of death, the old Song Bugui was well aware that he was just a mediocre man who had no ability to
realize his ambitions.
Before the four major families launched their attack on the Seven Seas Space Zone, he had been kicked back to the cold bench of the director of education of the Star Ocean Imperium Fleet and the reserve commander of the Song family. At that time, he had been so frustrated that he had been waiting to
sit on the cold bench until his death, But he had never expected that he would become the commander of the last elite troop of the four major families and one of the top ‘big shots’ in the imperial army after only half a year.
Of course, Song Bugui was self-aware enough to know what was going on—he was surrendering and dying, taking away his talented and brilliant companions one by one. In the Seven Seas Space Zone, Yun Xuefeng and Song Yushi, as well as countless real-life and well-connected commanders of the four
royal fleets, had either been killed in battle or ended up in the hands of the revolutionaries, with an extremely dishonorable ending.
Just like that, the leadership of the four families, who were running away, finally managed to stabilize themselves. When they looked around in confusion, they were surprised to find that they could not pick a fleet commander who had both prestige and expertise!
Now that the main force of the four families had been defeated and they were in desperate need of reserves and new soldiers to fill the fleet, Song Bugui, who had been the director of education of the Star Ocean Imperium and the commander of the Song family’s reserves all year round, was the only
candidate that everybody approved of.
Just like that, Song Bugui was appointed as the supreme commander of the Heaven’s Return Fleet in a muddle-headed manner. He was even bestowed with an out-of-place ‘Sub-Marshal’ rank—this was a new rank established after the new emperor ascended the throne. Originally, there was only a
difference between a general and a marshal in the empire. For the supreme commander of the coalition fleet of the four major families, it was never too much to award him the rank of ‘Marshal’, just like Lei Chenghu, who was ‘on the other side’. But perhaps even Song Bugui himself felt that awarding him
the rank of ‘Marshal’ was too absurd, too outrageous, and too unworthy of the title of ‘Marshal of the Empire’ over the past few hundred years. So, if he was granted the title of ‘Sub-Marshal’, then he would be granted the title of ‘Sub-Marshal’!
At least, Song Bugui looked at the title on his shoulder and thought that it was as appropriate as his awkward situation.
Although he had become the supreme commander of the Heaven’s Return Fleet, the “military big shot” in theory, Song Bugui didn’t have the slightest bit of a sense of monopoly. He was very clear that he, as the supreme commander, was nothing more than a mascot on the surface. At most, he had the
authority to command and give suggestions. However, the Heaven’s Return Fleet wasn’t a united fleet at all. Its control was still firmly in the hands of the big shots of the various families. Without the approval of the Elected Emperor, he couldn’t even command the Song Family’s own fleet.
Not only was his control over his subordinates extremely weak, there were also dozens of ‘mother-in-law’ above his head. As the saying goes, even a dog cannot change its habit of eating sh*t. It was even more impossible for the noble families of the four major families to not fight for power and profit
than it was for a dog to not eat sh*t. Even in the early stages of the great collapse, the four families were still able to unite sincerely and establish a fleet to return to the heavens. However, after they gained a bit of a foothold, they inevitably revealed their selfish nature. Especially after the new emperor
ascended to the throne as Emperor Wu, those who elected meritorious ‘subordinates’ did not even try to conceal their desire for power and ambitions. They sold off their titles and positions, wantonly bestowed rewards, and seized the opportunity to rise in power through open and secret conflicts. This
sort of thing was not unusual. It happened endlessly and was getting more and more intense!
It did make sense now that he thought about it. The imperial court under the control of the four major families had collapsed to such an extent that even the imperial capital had been lost. The only way to gather more people was to reward them generously.
In the meantime, after the collapse of the King Kong Fleet and the Royal Card Fleet, countless generals and lords had perished, leaving a lot of empty seats. There was no time to lose now.
In the beginning, Song Bugui didn’t care about these dirty, dirty, and messy things. Just the thought of him facing the so-called ‘God of War’, the Marquis of the Ocean’s Distant Sea, was enough to make people shiver and have their eyes turn black!
More than fifty years ago, Song Bugui had worked with Lei Chenghu for a while. At that time, he knew exactly what a famous general was and the gap between him and a real famous general.
Song Bugui estimated that he only had two options. He could either be crushed by Lei Chenghu on the battlefield as if he were chopping vegetables, and his flagship would be blown to smithereens along with him, or he could be defeated and return to Traveller with his face covered in dust. He could
obediently take the blame and accept the wrath and punishment of Emperor Wu.
If it were not so dangerous, why was the ‘commander-in-chief of the fleet’ stuck to his ass and could not be shaken off?
Song Bugui didn’t want to care about the rotten affairs of the imperial court.
However, the new king, or rather, the four electors, had expanded the bureaucracy of the entire imperial court and the military in order to win the support of the people. There was also the military government outside the military command department. Above the military government, there was the
General Staff Department. Next to the General Staff Department, there was the Commanding Department. All the messy structures were ‘managed’ by a base camp. Above the base camp, a damn military committee was established. Dozens of ministers, chiefs, vice chiefs, and heads of the committee were
all allowed to intervene in the preparation and command of the Heaven’s Return Fleet. Countless ‘wonderful plans’ were tossed out by all of them, the kind that could crush ‘God of War’ Lei Chenghu without any trouble. All of them stared at Song Bugui warily and almost poked his nose, berating him for
his fear of the enemy and even conspiring with the rebels.
If he hadn’t secretly colluded with the rebels, how could he, as the commander who controlled the strongest forces of the four major families, still bide his time and hesitate to move forward when the rebellious fleets were plundering the Song family’s territory, flaunting their might, and even destroying
several reinforcement fleets and supply fleets?
As for general chiefs, sub chiefs, and ministers, Song Bugui could deal with them easily.
However, faced with the suspicion of Song Lixing, the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of the Imperium of True Human Beings, Song Bugui could not do it half-heartedly.
It was not just because Song Lixing was his immediate superior in the military system, nor was it because Song Lixing had made great contributions in the process of promoting the new emperor to the throne. It was also because Song Lixing was the eldest son of the head of the Song family, one of the
four electors, and the most promising heir of the next emperor and the head of the Song family.. Naturally, Song Bugui had been taken advantage of in all aspects!
