From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars

The "subtext" behind Princess Agnes's words is easy to understand, and everyone in the conference room can understand it.

"Norton II, stop pretending, what are you up to?"

Faced with Agnes's not-so-polite question, Norton II did not have any special reaction, he said calmly:

"Dear Princess, I know that there may be some "small frictions" and "small conflicts" between us because of our different political views.

But under the interpretation of some people with ulterior motives, it seems to have become a life-and-death struggle in the eyes of others.

I personally hope that this over-interpretation will not have any impact on both of us, and I don't want to make some misjudgments because of these things.

During the period when His Majesty is ill, we should work together to maintain the stability of the empire and deal with the threat from the Federation."

Norton II put on a kind smile on his face, as if there had never been a conflict between the "Regent Party" and the "Princess Party".

If Amber saw this scene, she would have to praise Norton II for his acting skills, and he deserved the title of "loyal minister of the empire".

When Finance Minister Jacques Vanco heard this, his eyebrows unconsciously raised. He even suspected that he was still asleep, otherwise how could he hear these words from the regent?

If you two hadn't fought to the death, would the empire have become what it is today?

Of course, Jacques Vanco would never say such words, he is not a fool.

So the Finance Minister didn't say anything, and after glancing at Princess Agnes, he continued to watch from the sidelines.

"The threat of the Federation?"

Agnes directly filtered out the previous large paragraph, which she thought was nonsense, and grasped the final point.

"Yes, Your Highness, I believe you should have received the news. The two celestial fortress battle groups A and B led by Duke Hastings and Duke Artesia encountered a surprise attack by the Federation in the Miren Galaxy and "returned with a small defeat". They have now retreated to an occupied border galaxy for rest."

Norton II said the names of the two dukes calmly. In the eyes of the Princess Party, it was like slapping them in the face.

But he didn't care what the other party thought, but continued to talk:

"Let's not talk about the reasons for the defeat of this battle for the time being, and there may be no time to discuss it. Based on my research on the Federation over the years, they will definitely take advantage of the victory and even launch the so-called "strategic counterattack".

If you don't want the war to burn into the border, you may need to consider the issue of escalating the war."

"Are you talking about the 'general mobilization order'? In your opinion, has the war reached this point?"

Agnes finally began to seriously think about the question raised by Norton II.

"Your Highness, I said this is just my personal opinion, but based on my understanding of the Federation and my research on the Federal Government in recent years, they are likely to be the first to sign a general mobilization order and launch a war of annihilation with the purpose of "completely destroying the Star Dragon Empire." "Even so." Agnes looked at the middle-aged man across the long table and said: "Only my father has the right to sign a general mobilization order. It seems meaningless for you to tell me this." "According to the Imperial General Mobilization Law, if His Majesty is unable to sign for other reasons and the Empire is facing a crisis, the royal heir can sign on his behalf." After these words came out, Agnes's expression became serious, because Norton II successfully threw this hot potato into his hands, but he couldn't throw it out again. Her Highness Agnes looked around at the other people present. In addition to Finance Minister Jacques Vanco, the Imperial Chief of Staff, the Director of the Imperial Crisis Response Department and others were also present. "What do you think of the Regent's proposal? Or, in your opinion, has the war reached a point where we need to sign a 'general mobilization order' and fight to the death with the Federation?

If the situation has reached such a critical level, then we may need to complete the discussion as soon as possible. After all, if we mobilize one day later, we will be more passive in the subsequent battles."

Agnes asked the others, seeking their opinions.

"I think the Regent and Her Royal Highness the Princess know the current financial situation of the Empire. In this context, if we sign a general mobilization order, we have no choice but to win the war."

Jacques Vanco, who had been watching from the sidelines, spoke first.

With his lead, the others in the conference room quickly followed his pace.

Chief of Staff Stephen followed him and said:

"If it is really necessary to sign a general mobilization order, my suggestion is to do it as soon as possible, and at the same time, we may need to be prepared for the war to spread to the country."

The third person to speak was the director of the Crisis Response Department. What he said was also very simple, that is, it is necessary to evaluate whether it is really necessary to sign a general mobilization order as soon as possible.

After all, once this thing is signed, it will enter an irreversible state.

The military, logistics, logistics, market, economy, public opinion control, etc. All related things will be operated according to the requirements of the "general mobilization order". It will be too late to call a halt at this time.

Moreover, large-scale mobilization is bound to attract the attention of the Federation. Assuming that this is a misjudgment by our side, the other side did not carry out a general mobilization.

But after seeing the actions of the Empire and considering that the two sides are currently at war, the Federation will not hesitate to follow suit and launch a general mobilization.

By then the situation will be completely unsolvable.

——

Within the Federation, T2 galaxy circle, Canobi galaxy.

Clark, a technical worker, was walking on the last stretch of his way home from get off work in the increasingly cold wind.

In recent times, the news about "total war" coming from the capital galaxy has also swept the entire planet.

Yesterday, there were a large number of young people marching on the street holding flags high, and a few enthusiastic little girls even sent him pamphlets about the war.

Although Clark has never experienced war, he probably knows that it is not a good thing. After all, war means that someone will die.

As he already has a family, he is very resistant to death, so he also has an aversion to 'war'.

Can't you live a good life? Do you have to fight for your life in a strange place with a group of people you may never meet in this life?

Clark's aversion to war also comes from another aspect, and that is overtime.

And there is no overtime pay.

The food processing factory where he works has recently received a large number of orders from the military, so all the assembly lines in the factory are running almost 24 hours a day.

This has also resulted in technical workers like him who are responsible for maintaining and repairing assembly lines being forced to extend their working hours.

The processing factory refused to pay them overtime wages on the grounds that "it is the obligation of every citizen to contribute when the federal government needs it."

In addition, due to the outbreak of the war, prices were rising almost every day, so Clark and his family were actually having a harder and harder time during this period.

When he walked near the unit building where his home was located, Clark saw a drone flying towards the window sill of his home.

There is a material storage box hanging below the drone, and the logo of 'March's Department Store' is printed on the fuselage.

This is the company's product transportation robot, and the material storage box contains the food Clark just purchased online.

"Tsk, the salary paid last month hasn't been enough to keep warm, now it's almost spent again."

"War? What's so good about war?"

Clark complained as he returned home.

The moment he saw his virtuous wife and his 11-year-old son, Clark swallowed all his complaints.

For the sake of his family, he just had to work hard and be tired.

"Hey, has little Dior grown taller today?"

Clark smiled and walked towards his son, ready to pick him up and take a good look, but his wife stopped him in front of him.

"Go, go, I haven't washed my hands after working all day. Wash your hands before you hug your son."

"Okay, okay, let's go wash now. Mua~"

Clark kissed his wife on the cheek, and then walked towards the bathroom amidst the latter's anger.

But at this moment, his personal terminal, which had been set to vibrate, suddenly rang a harsh ringtone.

Clark, whose heart suddenly twitched, seemed to have thought of something. He stopped where he was and slowly took out his personal terminal. Looking at the red light flashing on the screen, his hanging heart finally died.

"Citizen No. 56213854, Clark Venn

According to the "Federal General Mobilization Act", please report to the nearest military station within 3 hours.

If you exceed the time limit or refuse to report, the Federal Military Affairs Office will take coercive measures in accordance with the law. "

As a man in his prime, Clark was naturally among the "mobilization crowd" of the general mobilization order, but he didn't expect that it would all happen so quickly.

"Clark, are you okay?"

Seeing her husband frozen in place, his wife hurried over and supported him from behind.

But when she also saw the information on Clark's personal terminal, a series of complicated expressions immediately appeared on her face.

The most common of these is called worry.

"Why were you mobilized in the first batch?"

"Maybe I have better physical fitness? My sweetheart, you know that I am as strong as an ox."

"It's already this time, and you're still in the mood to joke."

Looking at her husband's appearance, Clark's wife was angry and amused.

At this moment, their son Dio's voice sounded from behind:

"Dad, what's wrong with you? What happened?"

Clark's body couldn't help but tremble when he heard his son's words. Naturally, he couldn't worry about his son, but the mobilization order was also irresistible to federal citizens.

Clark sighed softly, turned around, knelt down and touched little Dior's head, and said softly:

"Little Dio, daddy is going to a place far away."