Xuan Gao was genuinely a little surprised by Feng Jun's stance. He did not think those sympathizers were causing trouble—at least, not all of them were.
This involved differences in civilizational understanding. Different civilizations approached problems from different starting points.
In fact, the Federation did have some problems in its governance of its entire territory. Xuan Gao himself believed that some Rebel Army groups deserved sympathy for raising the banner of rebellion—some administrators had simply been far too ugly in the way they grabbed for benefits.
This included restricting Border Star natives to Border Star. To him, such conduct was also highly condemnable.
However, Xuan Gao did not explicitly voice disagreement. He merely smiled and replied, "What I mean is, the imitation production lines are actually quite reliable. Otherwise, the military would never have secretly kept them."
That made sense too. Feng Jun understood the logic behind it. After pondering briefly, he asked, "How many such production lines are there?"
"How would I be qualified to know that number?" Xuan Gao shook his head with a bitter smile. "The military is under close scrutiny right now, but the Old Marshal's situation cannot be delayed either. They hope to offer up one imitation production line and ask you to extend the Old Marshal's lifespan first."
"An imitation production line... in exchange for extending the Old Marshal's lifespan?" Feng Jun's face was full of disbelief. "Does the military's attitude do justice to the Old Marshal?"
"The military hopes you will not dwell on that minor detail," Xuan Gao replied seriously. "Your treatment of Lin Jielin, and your subsequent disregard for Vice Prime Minister Lin, have already shown everyone... what the consequences of deceiving you are."
"There are more than two people in the military whose lives they want extended. If anyone harms