From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars

"Are you sure this information is reliable?"

In a circular office cabin inside Marine One, the current president of the federal government looked at Defense Secretary Miller in front of him and asked.

Currently, this Hydra-class heavy cruiser, which is used as a 'presidential travel ship', is in a system within the Federation that is used as a naval weapons testing ground.

According to the itinerary, senior federal government officials and senior naval generals aboard Navy One will attend the commissioning ceremony of the Federation's first mobile fortress tomorrow.

"We have cross-verified this information and even used a deep-lying spy in Saint-Saunière, the capital of the Star Dragon Empire."

Defense Secretary Miller handed the report to Brandon and continued:

"Frederico Rosa Leon, the contemporary emperor of the Star Dragon Empire, is said to have moved into the 'prayer room' underground in the Grand Palace, where Archbishop Jules Mazarin leads the bishopric for 24-hour prayer and care .

The Imperial Princess Agnes Barbara Lyon also urgently ended her visit to other planets and was on her way back to the capital.

After the latent spy sent the last piece of information, the entire capital galaxy entered a state of strict control. The empire temporarily closed the civilian frequency bands of all deep space relay nodes to limit the spread of information to the greatest extent.

And for this information, we have obtained a large amount of public information through public channels within the Star Dragon Empire to support it."

Miller rarely used a more confident tone when reporting on the work of the 'Intelligence Portal'.

And his confidence in intelligence is not without reason.

After suffering a big loss in intelligence a year ago and being caught off guard by the empire's expedition fleet, the federal intelligence department finally realized its shame and changed its ways.

The entire intelligence system has undergone earth-shaking changes in this year, with increased investment in funds, personnel, and technology, and cutting out most of the redundant links. The overall intelligence acquisition and verification efficiency has made a qualitative leap.

In addition, the Deputy Minister of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence have been focusing on intelligence work recently, so today, one year later, the federal intelligence agency has finally ushered in their highlight moment.

If Amber saw this scene, she would definitely sigh.

After all, in the entire plot line of the war between the Federation and the Empire, this is the only highlight moment of the Federation intelligence mouth.

The intelligence department, which had finally managed to become a strong force, became a victim of the infighting between the two federal parties after this "highlight".

When various "gate incidents" were exposed, the Federal Central Intelligence Agency and the Naval Intelligence Agency were pushed to the forefront of public opinion for a while, and in the end they had to make a lot of personnel changes.

Then it was completely useless.

Even when the autonomous governments of various galaxies were ready to move later, the entire intelligence department was corroded by various forces to the point of being almost paralyzed. In the end, there was no time to issue an effective early warning to the federal government.

But no matter what, at the current time point, the federal intelligence agency has finally played its due role.

"Is he critically ill at this time?" Brandon put his hands on the bridge of his nose and thought.

Although he has never met the old emperor, the federal intelligence agency has done a lot of analysis on the leader of this 'biggest rival' and the entire imperial political scene.

At least the overt and covert struggle between the Regent Party and the Princess Party is not a secret among the top officials of the federal government.

Everyone has a kind of "watching the fire from the other side" mentality, wanting to see how deep this fire can burn.

This is another reason why the Federation did not expect that the Empire would suddenly launch an invasion.

Because they never expected that the Star Dragon Empire, which was caught in the whirlpool of party disputes, would slap the Federation as a bystander without any warning.

But now, at this critical time, the old emperor is critically ill.

"This is an opportunity for us."

Brandon raised his head and looked at Defense Secretary Miller, "Does Marshal Trafalgar know this information?"

"The letter has been sent, but it will take some time for him to receive the message."

"What do you think our Lord Marshal will think after receiving this information?"

"I don't need to think about it. He will definitely reply as quickly as possible, asking you to sign a general mobilization order to carry out a war to destroy the country once and for all."

"Humph, he is indeed a war madman."

Brandon did not hide his opinion of the navy marshal at all, even though he was now tied to the same tank as the two men.

After entering a state of war, the voices of the opposition parties were basically suppressed. With the support of Defense Secretary Miller and other military personnel, Brandon greatly improved his ability to control the internal institutions of the government.

And Marshal Trafalgar, who led most of the main fleet to attack, unsurprisingly became the person currently holding the greatest military power.

Whether Brandon wanted it or not, after the meeting in the President's Office, he, Miller, and Trafalgar became de facto 'allies'.

Marshal Trafalgar's prestige in the military and his absolute control over the federal navy.

Secretary of Defense Miller's communication and coordination capabilities among the various military services and government departments.

There is also President Brandon’s credibility as head of state and his ability to dialogue with the military-industrial complex.

In a state of war, the combination of their three abilities can form absolute control over the country and the army.

On the contrary, once any corner of this triangle is missing, it will lose its support and quickly collapse under external pressure.

"But you have to admit, this suggestion is still very tempting."

Defense Secretary Miller found a chair in front of Brandon's desk and sat down, then said:

"If you can solve the serious problem of the Star Dragon Empire during your term of office, it will really go down in history."

"Is the war to destroy the country so easy to fight? Or is it that after your military has won several victories recently, you feel that you are capable again?"

Brandon has always been somewhat repulsive to the suggestions of these military radicals.

He felt that these soldiers were preoccupied with fighting and never thought about issues related to the economy and people's livelihood, nor did they know that supporting a war of this scale could very well drive the country to bankruptcy.

Especially for a general mobilization order, once signed, there is no way out.

Waging a war does require the approval of Congress, but after the war has entered, the president does not need congressional approval to sign a general mobilization order - at least in the federal constitution, there is no restriction or explanation for this situation.

Although this is similar to an act of taking advantage of a loophole, Brandon must admit that this approach is indeed feasible.

However, when this order with the signature of the president is issued, military operations will be the highest priority for the entire country's operations, and the military will also gain the greatest say.

"This time is different, Mr. President."

Miller looked at him and said seriously:

"This time is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The current ruler is critically ill and has lost control of the country, and the two major domestic forces are in fierce conflict.

The battle for legal succession often shakes the foundation of a country. If there is another external force adding fuel to the flames at this time, the dangerous building of the empire will completely collapse! "

Looking at Brandon's expression, Miller knew that this alone would not convince the president, so he decided to continue to add fuel to the fire.

"Then let me ask you another question. When do you plan to end this war?"

"Of course I am."

Brandon was stunned mid-sentence. He originally wanted to end the war after 'recovering the lost ground'.

But obviously this is impossible.

If the war stops here, he may be sprayed to death by popular opinion.

Exaggerated by the officially controlled media machine, the invasion of the Star Dragon Empire has become a deep scar imprinted in the hearts of the people.

Although many of the violations reported by the media on the border were actually committed by the garrison, they are now all blamed on the 'imperial invaders'.

Currently, the 'public opinion' of the entire federation hopes that the Star Dragon Empire will pay the price for what they have done.

The atmosphere of hatred against imperialism in the country has reached an all-time high, and everyone hopes that the Federation can spread the 'brilliance' of democracy to the Star Dragon Empire, a country with a decadent and backward system.

Of course, the "public opinion" and "all people" here refer more to the upper-class residents and "people above others" living in the T1 living circle and the capital galaxy.

As for the T2 and T3 living circles, as well as the residents of the border galaxies, their "public opinion" does not matter to the local galactic autonomous government, let alone the federal government.

In this context, if Brandon doesn't wait for the federal army to invade the empire, and then 'liberate' several galaxies.

But if he declares the end of the war immediately after taking back his country, his political career will probably come to an end.

In other words, from the moment he accepted Miller and Trafalgar's advice a year ago to send the fleet to the border and then declare war, the war was no longer under his control.

Brandon looked at Miller. There was an expression on the old fox's face that he couldn't understand.

He took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, and then said:

"If we invade the Star Dragon Empire, this war will not end in a short time. No matter how big the internal problems are in the empire, we cannot sit idly by and watch the border star system fall into our hands. By then There is another chaotic war surrounding these galaxies.

If I mean, if, our fleet is repelled, do you think the empire will resist fighting back?

And this war will continue forever until one of the parties admits defeat."

"It seems that you are still awake, Mr. President." Miller smiled, and he smiled happily.

"I know all what you said, and I also know that the best time to cease the war is after the country is recovered, so that the war will not continue.

But unfortunately, the ‘decision’ is not in my hands. "

The defense minister leaned back in his chair, looked at Brandon with a relaxed expression, and continued:

"Most people in the military do not want a ceasefire. Under the current 'victory momentum', everyone is looking forward to breaking into the empire and making achievements.

The military-industrial complex does not want a ceasefire even more, because only if the war continues can they obtain profits that far exceed those in peacetime.

The ruling party also does not want a ceasefire, because only during war can they completely suppress the opposition party and use this opportunity to weaken the opposition party's power

As for the others? What they think doesn't matter.

Now, only you, Mr. President, have the ability to overcome all difficulties and declare an armistice at the best time after taking back all the land. But the price is that your political career will end here, and you will most likely be branded a 'coward'. I don’t know how long it will take for future generations to vindicate you. "

Defense Secretary Miller knocked on Brandon's desk, looked him in the eye and asked the crucial question.

"Mr. President, are you willing to pay this price?"