"Compromise? Not a chance-fuck you!" Xi Yan made the [Double-Barreled Shotgun] gesture with his right hand, firing off another insult with zero startup frames.
"You wanna have a go at me?!" Xi Yan angrily switched off his Wristband and rested his head against the soft backrest behind him.
"Dumbass!" Beta enthusiastically chimed in.
Xi Yan thought that if every AI they built in the future turned out like this, they might as well stop developing artificial intelligence altogether...
He went over his conversation with Shoigu in his head.
It seemed he had acted pretty well, perfectly portraying a young Marshal so devoted to his country that he had no time for infighting.
"Heh heh, he bought it! He actually bought it!"
Grand Marshal Xi Yan was having a blast!
Xi Yan grinned wickedly as he looked through the string of names Shoigu had sent him. A quick check by Beta revealed that they were all military officers.
Apparently, they were all trusted men of Shoigu and his associates.
Shoigu wanted him to look after them a little. After all, with his position as Marshal, even a small promotion from him would be a blessing for these young officers.
"Look after them, huh? Fine, I'll 'look after' them good and proper!"
Why should I have to look after your men? If they aren't loyal to me, what good are they, no matter how capable they are?
Xi Yan immediately contacted General Prigozhin.
Since he had reached a verbal agreement to cooperate with the Shoigu-Gerasimov military bloc, he could use that as grounds to threaten Prigozhin.
No, wait. How could anything in politics count as a threat?
Chef Prigozhin, you wouldn't want all four generals turning against you and then dying in a plane crash somewhere on the Ring World, would you?
{Xi Yan: Well, well! Guess what? Ning Zhiyuan has already submitted, Veronica was mine to begin with, and I've just reached an agreement with Shoigu and Gerasimov!}
{Xi Yan: The Ring World's big boss is still the big boss! Now, what do you reckon we should do about this?}
{Xi Yan: Good day to you, sir! I'll pop down to the alley entrance and get you a cup of fermented bean juice, then come visit with a cage of little parrots. Just think how lovely that'll be!}
(Delivered in an authentic old Ring World accent.)
Army General Prigozhin went a full ten minutes without replying. Xi Yan kept chuckling and told the pilot to circle above the Ring World a few times first.
Otherwise, if the other side got ruthless and sent three million Army troops to occupy the Ring World and fight them to the bitter end, Xi Yan could end up being taken hostage the moment he landed. That would be ridiculous.
{Xi Yan: Hand over military authority to me. Your position will remain unchanged, and you'll retain ordinary command and transfer authority. I won't make things difficult for you, either.}
After quite a while, Prigozhin finally replied, seemingly dejected.
{Prigozhin: All right.}
Beta's voice immediately followed. "Prigozhin's transfer of authority has been received. We can now mobilize the entire Army."
Yes, but I still left Prigozhin some authority, so he'd know he was still an Army general.
{Prigozhin: Thank you for your mercy. I will offer the Marshal my loyalty.}
{Xi Yan: I think so too. I also think I'm a kind person.}
{Xi Yan: Over the next few days, go invite some instructors from the fleet and give these Army troops proper training.}
{Xi Yan: The Empire's focus is the navy. All those Army troops of yours can be converted directly into naval personnel to operate warships, saving me from having to recruit additional troops.}
{Xi Yan: Go ahead and do it. I'll give you as much freedom as possible.}
{Prigozhin: Understood.}
Xi Yan switched off his Wristband communications, in an excellent mood.
Of the five generals, he had dealt with three in a single morning. The other two weren't dealt with yet, but they weren't far off.
Looks like I do have a talent for politics!
Then again, politics in an interstellar empire really is much simpler.
Whoever had the bigger fist won. It was a very simple principle. Even at the pinnacle of human development, the greatest truths were still the simplest.
On an interstellar scale, the advantage of military force was amplified enormously. Whoever had more fleets was the boss!
That made Prigozhin's three million Army troops completely useless. They only had some use when landing on other planets to fight for control of colonies.
The problem was that the Interstellar Human Military Junta was currently holed up in the Cybrex Alpha System and had established no communications with any of the alien empires around it.
Three million Army troops were therefore an enormous burden.
Most importantly, Army units didn't have quantified combat strength ratings, which really annoyed Xi Yan.
They might as well be trained as naval crews and sent to operate warships. He believed most soldiers would love the feeling of piloting a warship. Even Xi Yan himself was no exception.
Xi Yan casually decided the fate of three million Army soldiers, then grinned from ear to ear.
"Reeking of smoke, I walk with a little swagger..."
Humming a lighthearted tune, Xi Yan descended rapidly in his spacecraft, which adjusted its angle and landed on a Ring World segment.
"Raise my middle finger, Wang Yuan ain't worth shit..."
Holding his beloved gun, a gift from Ning Zhiyuan, Xi Yan had just stepped off the spacecraft onto the solid ground of the Ring World when he saw a group of chattering girls in matching uniforms approaching, clustered around a tall female general.
The general wore an ornate black-and-gold naval uniform. Her sleek black hair was tied in a high ponytail, and a magnificent Navy Sword hung at her waist. Her delicate face was solemn as she gave Xi Yan a textbook military salute.
She had to be the only female general among the five Regent Generals, responsible for some of the Sublight Warships and fleet logistics.
She was also one of his diehard loyalists: General Veronica Yan, the older sister of Secretary of State Ailiveer.
Come to think of it, the Yan family seems to have too many people in the political leadership. I'll have to put a limit on that, Xi Yan thought rather ungraciously.
"Regent General Veronica Yan greets the Marshal."
Without another word, the general dropped to one knee before Xi Yan and bowed her head respectfully.
"Huh?" Xi Yan stepped back, startled and uncertain.
What's going on?
"Marshal, please execute Shoigu and Gerasimov immediately!"
"Fuck, shut up!"
"Ahem. I would never betray my dear Generals Shoigu and Gerasimov!"
Xi Yan first loudly proclaimed that he and the two generals were as close as brothers, then stepped forward and covered General Veronica's mouth. "I'll handle this," he whispered. "Hurry up and get up!"
Veronica stepped back, suppressing the sudden flush of shyness, and said gravely, "Marshal, the military bloc headed by Shoigu and Gerasimov has already become a serious threat to your rule and the Empire's stability. For the sake of the Empire, I implore you to act immediately-mmph, mmph, mmph!"
"Execute them-mmph!"
Xi Yan covered her mouth again and said helplessly, "All right, all right. I can see your loyalty, but this clearly isn't the time to discuss it."
"You're right. I was presumptuous."
Veronica straightened up, brushed the dust off herself, and said coolly, "Marshal, you may freely command my forces, including every ship under my control and all my civilian staff."
"Civil servants?"
Xi Yan's eyes lit up instantly.
Heaven knew how desperately he needed clerical staff for his political departments!
He was planning major reforms, which would inevitably mean purging a large number of people from the Empire Core.
Xi Yan was willing to trust the civil servants Veronica had trained.
With a female subordinate who was both beautiful and loyal to him, it was only natural to extend that affection to her people.
Emperor Xi Yan finally understood why imperial in-laws existed. (Not really.)
"Yes." A brief flicker of pride crossed Veronica's stern face. "They are all subordinates I personally trained with great care. They can handle the Empire's work competently and efficiently."
Xi Yan beamed. "Excellent, excellent! I'll put them in the positions that suit them best. The same goes for you."
Looking at the group of female staff in matching uniforms before him, Xi Yan nodded in satisfaction.
They're all pillars of the nation. Put every last one of them in the political administration and get them working for me!
"I've seen your resolve. For now, go attend to your work. I'll contact you if anything comes up."
Xi Yan immediately began ushering them away. He had important things to do.
"Yes, Marshal." As it turned out, General Veronica was extremely efficient. She nodded and promptly led her people away without the slightest dawdling.
Xi Yan was deeply moved. What efficiency! In the game, she'd probably even reduce upkeep by one unity!
"Cringe," Beta said.
"For fuck's sake, I'm in the prime of my youth. It's about time I found a partner."
"But my heart belongs to Miss Gray Tempest! Wait for me, Little Gray. In a hundred years, I'll bring the Disruptor Cruiser Fleet to the L-Cluster and marry you!"
Thinking of his future wife, Xi Yan grew excited again.
"Hmm, you're saying things an AI can't understand again. Organic minds really are fascinating. They can let their consciousness wander freely, unconstrained by programming."
Beta didn't understand. Beta didn't judge.
Before you continue