Promotion to Lieutenant General

After Ed finished speaking, the conference room fell somewhat silent.

It was not that Ed's proposal was too outrageous. If military merits were truly compared, Liang Xingchen was currently the only person in the entire Federation who surpassed Lin Fan.

But the key issue was that he was simply too young. He had only just turned twenty, yet he was already becoming a lieutenant general?

Liang Xingchen had risen quickly enough, yet he had only become a lieutenant general at the age of thirty-five.

For a moment, none of the aides dared vote casually. They looked at one another, all unable to make up their minds!

"Looks like everyone has concerns. Why not speak up and discuss whatever concerns you have?"

Ed swept his gaze over the aides. He knew perfectly well what they were thinking—it was nothing more than an issue of seniority.

"Vice President Ed, the key issue is that Lin Fan is simply too young. He has only just turned twenty, yet he is becoming a lieutenant general and independently commanding a fleet. Isn't that a little too fast?"

"That's right. Liang Xingchen, the youngest lieutenant general in Federation history, was only promoted at thirty-five!"

"Exactly. Young people should still spend a few more years tempering their character!"

The aides spoke one after another without stopping. In short, the issue came down to two words: age!

Was age really a problem? In peacetime, it certainly was, because soldiers had no way to earn military merits in peacetime and could only rely on seniority. That was understandable enough.

But was this peacetime? This was a time of war that concerned the Federation's very survival! What mattered in wartime? Ability and military achievements. What the hell did age matter!

"Your concerns are nothing more than his age. Let me ask you this: at this critical moment for the Federation's survival, would you rather have a twenty-year-old commander capable of defeating the Oakes Empire, or a fifty-year-old commander incapable of defeating the Oakes Empire?"

"This..."

Everyone in the conference room fell silent.

That was right. What time was this? Was this really the time to talk about age and seniority?

"And where do you think the artificial gravity system came from? Where did the Warp Drive Engine technology come from? Where did the Energy Shield Technology come from? And where did the Fusion Technology come from?"

"Lin Fan's contributions go beyond his military record. Even granting him the rank of general would not be excessive. Yet you want to use his age as an excuse and refuse to even grant him lieutenant general? Do you really need Oakes Empire warships parked in Earth's orbit before you know regret?"

Ed spoke with an exasperated expression, while Lin Zhen remained silent throughout. After all, Lin Fan was his son. It would not look good if he spoke up himself, so having Ed do it was for the best!

"Vice President Ed, you're right. I approve this proposal!"

"Indeed, nothing is more important now than defeating the Oakes Empire. As long as we can win, I'd agree even if we had to put a ten-year-old child in command!"

"So do I!"

"Swish, swish... swish."

Soon, every aide in the conference room raised their right hand. The proposal passed unanimously.

"Good. Since it has passed unanimously, Lin Fan will be promoted to lieutenant general and appointed acting commander of the First Fleet until he becomes a general, at which point the appointment will be made permanent!"

Seeing that no one had any further objections, Lin Zhen stood and announced.

As for why he was being made acting commander, the reason was quite simple. Within the Federation's system, a lieutenant general could only command a sub-fleet, while fleet commanders were always generals.

And Lin Fan was currently a major general, so he could not be promoted directly to general by skipping a rank. Thus, in order to make Lin Fan commander of the First Fleet with the rank of lieutenant general, they could only use a compromise: appointing him acting commander.

Three days later.

Early that morning, Jiang Hai notified Lin Fan to report to Liang Xingchen's office!

"Knock, knock... knock."

"Come in!"

"Reporting, Commander. Lin Fan has arrived as ordered!"

"Mm. I called you here today to announce an order!"

Liang Xingchen rose to his feet with a smile and slowly walked over to Lin Fan.

"Human Federation, Fourth Fleet, 101st Task Force Fleet, Commander Major General Lin Fan. Since assuming command of the 101st Task Force Fleet, he has repeatedly distinguished himself in battle and played a decisive role in the Second Asteroid War. In recognition of his outstanding military achievements, he is hereby awarded the rank of Federation lieutenant general!"

After Liang Xingchen finished reading, he picked up the lieutenant general's shoulder insignia from the desk and immediately replaced Lin Fan's insignia with it.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Commander!"

"No need to thank me yet. There is another order. Lin Fan, receive the order!"

"Yes, Commander!"

"In view of Lieutenant General Lin Fan's exceptional command ability and tremendous military achievements, he is hereby appointed acting commander of the Federation's First Fleet! Continue your efforts and reclaim the lands of humanity at the earliest opportunity!"

This left Lin Fan somewhat stunned. In his expectations, he should have received the position of sub-fleet commander, commanding around a thousand warships.

But what had Liang Xingchen just said? He had been appointed commander of the Federation's First Fleet?

Though he was only the acting commander, he was still the commander of the First Fleet—an entire twenty thousand warships!

Lin Fan knew about the First Fleet. A few years ago, the Fourth Fleet had finally restored its establishment of twenty thousand warships after five difficult years. The warships built afterward had been intended for reestablishing the First Fleet, and it now already had five thousand warships.

Moreover, after the Federation began using Industrial Robots on a massive scale, production efficiency had increased several times over, allowing them to manufacture over ten thousand warships a year.

In other words, aside from replenishing the Fourth Fleet's losses this time, it would take only a year and a half to fill out the First Fleet's establishment.

Ding. Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission: Raise your military rank to lieutenant general. Reward obtained: Brain Domain Development Potion Manufacturing Technology.

"Ding. Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission: Become the commander of a sub-fleet with a scale of over 1,000 ships. Reward granted: Detailed Explanation of Civilization Levels 1–6."

"Ding. Due to the Host exceeding mission requirements, hidden reward granted: Detailed Explanation of Civilization Level 7."

"Ding. The Ultimate Assessment Mission of the Novice Period is now issued (Phase One): Drive the Oakes Empire out of the Solar System. Time limit: three years! (This mission has no reward. The Host must complete all three phases of the Ultimate Assessment Mission of the Novice Period before receiving the reward: the system will be upgraded to the official version!)"

A string of system notifications rang in his ears. He had completed another two missions, and one of them had even been completed beyond its requirements. Together with the 3,000-kill mission he had achieved earlier in Asteroid Belt Area 016, all three missions issued by the system had now been officially completed.

What puzzled Lin Fan, however, was the new mission the system had just issued.

It was not that there was anything wrong with the mission itself, but rather what the system had called it—the Ultimate Assessment Mission of the Novice Period!

Could it be that after ten whole years, this system was still in its novice period? And it was only a beta version at that? It would not upgrade to the official version until he completed all three phases?

In any case, Lin Fan was currently roasting it endlessly in his head.

After playing with it for ten years, he had only now learned that it was a knockoff!