Empire Conquest
Chapter 415 - 411 Rumors and Gossip

Chapter 415: Chapter 411 Rumors and Gossip

The storm that Bai Zhizhan worried about did indeed exist, and it was headed straight for Xue Yuanzheng.

Before the outbreak of the war, Xue Yuanzheng’s reputation within the Empire had already reached its pinnacle. Although in the early stages of the big war, specifically the first few days, his leadership was questioned. Why would the powerful Southern Fleet be ambushed in its home port? However, after the Imperial Navy all but annihilated the Saiyi Permanent Fleet, the questioning voices turned into praises, and no one dared to doubt Xue Yuanzheng’s commanding abilities again.

With the Empire entering a state of war, Xue Yuanzheng became the de facto supreme commander of the Empire.

This situation lasted until the Luosha Federation turned its back.

Those with ulterior motives took the chance to target Xue Yuanzheng.

Previously, due to other considerations, the Imperial Authority highly praised the friendship with the Luosha Federation and the importance of the Three Giants Alliance in foreign propaganda, making it seem as though maintaining the alliance with the Three Giants would allow the Consortium Group to win the victory easily.

Essentially, the Imperial High Command, headed by Xue Yuanzheng, didn’t harbor many illusions about the Three Giants Alliance.

As for propaganda, it was only propaganda.

Propaganda during wartime was inherently exaggerated, and in extreme situations, false information had to be deliberately released to confuse.

As a result, these propagandas were utilized by those with a hidden agenda.

In late October, after the Luosha Federation’s betrayal, rumors against Xue Yuanzheng emerged domestically, and some brought up old events.

During the last war, Xue Yuanzheng was the defense commander in the Empire’s northeast region, the Ice Storm Peninsula, where Saiyi troops landed on the Giant Continent and swiftly swept through half the Ice Storm Peninsula, causing the Imperial Army to be mired in a death struggle in that direction.

It wasn’t said that Xue Yuanzheng was a spy for the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, but rather that he harbored a grudge against the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

Indeed, it was precisely because of this that he intentionally curried favor with the Luosha Federation and ignored the dangers posed by the Luosha Federation’s betrayal.

To put it bluntly, to completely eliminate the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, Xue Yuanzheng had weakened the military strength in the northwest region, thereby giving the Luosha Federation an opportunity.

Had heavy troops been deployed in the northwest, the Luosha Federation might not have dared to betray.

If this were true, Xue Yuanzheng would have to take responsibility for the Luosha Federation’s betrayal.

Furthermore, there were rumors that it was because Xue Yuanzheng advocated reconciling with the Luosha Federation after the last war that he laid the groundwork for disaster.

Moreover, the decision not to directly invade Saiyi’s homeland was also considered a mistake.

According to the rumors, had the Imperial Army attacked Saiyi’s homeland at the beginning of the year, that is after securing naval supremacy, they could have occupied the entire territory of Saiyi within half a year, thus ending the battle in the West East Ocean by the summer and dispatching heavy troops to the northwest.

At that time, even if the Luosha Federation had the guts of a leopard, it definitely wouldn’t dare to betray.

The reason is simple, with half a year until the harsh winter, the Luosha Federation might not be able to withstand a pincer attack from both the Tiaoman and Liangxia Empires.

If heavy troops could be deployed to the northwest in the middle of the year, the value of the Luosha Federation would become negligible.

Furthermore, with heavy troops at hand, even if the Luosha Federation betrayed in the fall, the threat would not be significant.

Had there been no reconciliation with the Luosha Federation, that is, no possibility of forming an alliance with the Three Giants, it would definitely be necessary to place greater emphasis on the Army before the war, thus making it possible to advance both by sea and land after the war broke out. According to blitzkrieg theory, in partnership with the Tiaoman Empire, the Luosha Federation could be destroyed within a year.

Whether making the Luosha Federation sign an alliance treaty or mobilizing troops to destroy them, either would greatly alleviate the problem of oil shortages.

All in all, Xue Yuanzheng had to take responsibility for the dire situation the Empire currently faced, the predicament of being caught in a pincer.

Of course, "taking responsibility" meant to resign to take the blame.

According to rumors, the most qualified person to replace Xue Yuanzheng was Situ Jingde.

However, Lian Xusheng immediately denied this claim.

Situ Jingde rushed back to the Imperial Capital just to show Xue Yuanzheng he had no intention of replacing him.

The two shared a friendship of several decades, along with mutual interests.

Even if Situ Jingde lacked political acumen, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to be used as a pawn by others, let alone become an enemy of Xue Yuanzheng.

As for those rumors, they were only meant to deceive the uninformed common folk, how could they possibly fool Situ Jingde.

Moreover, the current situation wasn’t as perilous as the rumors suggested.

In Lian Xusheng’s words, Situ Jingde had already prepared to resign as the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and Lian Xusheng was the one qualified to succeed him.

Situ Jingde’s move was to prove that he had no political ambitions, even if he took off his military uniform, he wouldn’t do anything to harm the Empire.

This was precisely why Lian Xusheng had returned.

Of course, with Lian Xusheng’s credentials, he might not be able to sit in the Grand Secretary’s position even after another 10 years.

Li Yunxiang brought up a matter at this point.

The one pulling strings behind the scenes could very well be the Ma Family.

Indeed, it was the Ma Family created by the Ma Zhizhan, the Fierce Rider, one of the Empire’s Eight Pillars.

Furthermore, the former Army Commander, Ma Zhongyi, was Ma Zhizhan’s direct great-grandson.

Over the past several decades, following Ma Xiulin, the Ma Family had seen the rise of 5 Marshals, 12 Generals, and dozens of officers.

Not all of them bore the Ma name, of course; there were many relatives by marriage and disciples as well.

In summary, the Ma Family’s status in the Army was about equivalent to the Liu Family’s in the Navy.

It was said that the trouble had begun with Ma Zhongyi’s generation.

After Ma Zhongyi, the Ma Family had started to decline, and by the time Peng Huaisong assumed the position of Army Commander, the Ma Family was already on its descent.

In terms of relationships, Peng Huaisong was actually one of Xue Yuanzheng’s men, and Xue Yuanzheng belonged to the Tang Family.

Li Yunxiang said this to excuse Peng Huaisong, indicating to Bai Zhizhan and Lian Xusheng that Peng Huaisong had no intentions of replacing Xue Yuanzheng.

Of course, Li Yunxiang’s attitude wasn’t surprising.

Although the Land Air Force’s Strategic Air Force was largely independent, whether it could establish itself as an independent military branch was, in the end, up to the Army Commander-in-Chief.

Having a good relationship with Peng Huaisong would surely be very beneficial to the future establishment of the Air Force.

Speaking of which, among the current Army leadership, Peng Huaisong was considered more open-minded, and because he relied on Xue Yuanzheng, he lacked his own strong opinions. It was for this reason that in the matter of establishing the Air Force, Peng Huaisong didn’t have much say—it mainly depended on Xue Yuanzheng’s intentions.

When it came to the Land Air Force independently establishing an Air Force, a commander-in-chief who lacked strong personal opinions was certainly more reliable than a willful one.

Actually, even if Li Yunxiang hadn’t said anything, Lian Xusheng and Bai Zhizhan wouldn’t have doubted Peng Huaisong.

Peng Huaisong’s rise to his current position depended on Xue Yuanzheng; everyone knew he was Xue Yuanzheng’s man, so if Xue Yuanzheng fell, he would be finished too!

So, was it really the Ma Family causing trouble?

Bai Zhizhan didn’t think so, after all, the Ma Family, like the Liu Family, had influence only within the military.

In other words, no matter how formidable the Ma Family was, it might not be able to find someone suitable to serve as the Cabinet Chief, let alone lead the Empire in wartime.

The Ma Family was merely a pawn for someone else; there was an even larger family behind them.

A political dynasty!

The answer was now clear as day.

Among the great dynastic families of the Empire, there was only one that could compete with the Tang Family, with powerful political influence, and likewise founded by one of the Eight Pillars.

The key was, this enormous family hadn’t fallen into obscurity.

In the War Cabinet, they had their spokesperson, occupying a high position.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.