In front of the conference room, Weiss straightened his waist and stared blankly at the officer from the Department of Military Intelligence. This man looked younger than Major Brooks, or young and ambitious, or from an extraordinary background, and he had an arrogant face and a frivolous tone, giving the impression of superiority.

Weiss didn't say anything, but the goods persisted: "Our investigation of Captain Gomi is not yet complete, and if necessary, we will ask Mr. Clumber-Haysen to cooperate with our investigation." ”

"Okay, no problem." Weiss replied in a loud voice, "I have not known Captain Gomi for a long time, and the few contacts I have had have discussed are purely military and tactical issues, which have been investigated in detail by the Department of Military Intelligence. As long as it is useful to the investigation of the Military Intelligence Department, I will accompany you whenever and wherever you want. In addition, I would like to add one more point to what I have just said: For a country, military affairs are closely related to politics, diplomacy, economy, and industry, and they cannot be separated from each other for decision-making at any time. I think it is for this reason that the top brass of the government and the military has specially appointed two commissioners to come and take the seat. ”

Leaving behind this half-sentence, Weiss nodded to the president of the Grumman Group and several directors, glanced at the two military and political officials with strange expressions, and decisively turned around and walked out of the conference room.

I don't know how the bigwigs in the conference room discussed it later, and during the afternoon talks and visits, Grumman's attitude was much colder. However, the next day, when the two sides exchanged technology, Grumman's stance changed again, and this vacillating position basically lasted for the three days of the Norman Empire's industrial alliance visiting Austria. Although the two sides have not signed any written agreement, they have found many profit points for win-win cooperation in terms of technology and resources. Thereafter, the Norman delegation continued its visit to the industrial cities of the Confederation, with a brief stop in Regen. Later, Weiss learned from Vice President Fat that federal and military officials were wary of cooperating with Norman industrial enterprises, but even so, Edwig reached an agreement of intent with the Normans in Reagan City on behalf of the Grumman executives. The Norman Industrial Alliance supplied the Grumman Group with a B-grade chromium-molybdenum alloy steel formulation, and the Grumman Group supplied the Norman Industrial Alliance with a base-grade carburized steel formula – the so-called B-grade and basic grades, which are the previous generation of the current military-supplied formulations, which have usually been released from military secrecy.

In addition, the two parties promised to provide each other with industrial raw materials such as copper, aluminum, nickel and vanadium at domestic prices to help reduce production costs and improve operating profits. Of course, these cooperation agreements are oral in nature and do not leave a written record. Relations between the two countries are moving in a positive direction, and even if the news leaks, federal officials will not go out of their way to punish the Grumman group.

That's where the shrewdness of the business tycoons comes in.

The Norman Empire Industrial Confederation delegation and the industrial circles of the Ulster Free Federation exchanged eyebrows and secret messages, and Weiss did not participate in this period. Just as the Normans ended their visit to the Olympic city, the new semester at the Bathton Military Academy kicked off as promised. Weiss and his companions officially entered the ranks of third-year students, and this was their final semester at the Barston Military Academy, and it was also a critical period related to the starting point and height of their military careers, and the cadets redoubled their efforts in their studies, regardless of their ranking.

In addition, for Weiss, Otto Lunders, and outstanding students such as Joffen Grund and Luen-Schmidt, who excelled in the joint military skills examination, there is also a golden opportunity waiting for them, that is, to visit the Norman Empire with a federal delegation and explore the Normans at the famous Royal Norman Army Academy.

Soon after, the plan for a delegation of the federal military to visit the Norman Empire was finally settled after deliberations by the Bundeszbank Council and the Bundestag. After reaching an agreement with the Mans, the itinerary of the delegation was released, and the assembly place and departure time were accordingly handed down to the troops and agencies.

After receiving the official order, Weiss and his friends were both excited and looking forward to it, but when they packed up and prepared to leave, the international situation changed abruptly, and the Yoken tribe in the northern region of the Fries Kingdom became independent, which was originally the internal affairs of the Friesian Kingdom, but the North Fries region is bordered by the Norman Empire in the west, the Kingdom of Wessex in the north, and the Ulster Free Federation in the southeast.

The territory of the North Fries region is mountainous and inaccessible, with animal husbandry and mining as the mainstay of its economy, and its socio-economic development is relatively backward. About two-thirds of the more than 300,000 inhabitants live here are the Yoken people. The Yokon people established the independent Kingdom of Yokon throughout history, which lasted for more than 700 years before being annexed by the Kingdom of Fries. Dissatisfied with the rule of the Fries, combined with the influence of foreign powers, the Yokon people's quest for independence has not ceased for centuries. During the last war, the Kingdom of Fries was occupied by Norman forces, and with the support of the Norman Empire, the Yokon were able to "restore the kingdom". Later in the war, the Alster-Wessex forces drove the Norman army out of the Kingdom of Fries and helped the exiled Friesian royal family to regain power. In order to appease the North Friesian people, especially the Yokken, the Friesian royal family and the government decided to grant the North Fries a high degree of autonomy, but this not only did not stop the Yokon people from fighting for independence, but only made the situation in the North Friesian region more complicated.

As soon as the news came out, the outside world generally thought that the Norman Empire was behind the trouble, and diplomatic public opinion accused the Normans of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, but just two days later, the situation took a 180-degree turn: the Norman Empire issued an official notice announcing the closure of its border with the Kingdom of Fries, and said that it would not support the "armed rebellion" of the Yokans and would not intervene in the armed conflict in the North Fries.

The official statement of the Norman Empire came as a big surprise, and what was even more surprising was that the Kingdom of Fries, through diplomatic envoys sent to its capitals, informed the news that the Friesian government forces had been blocked by Wessex troops on their way to the North Friesian region. Immediately afterwards, the Kingdom of Wessex issued a proclamation, announcing that in order to maintain stability in the border area and protect the safety of the Wessex diaspora living in the North Fries, as well as the residents of the Wezek and Semir tribes, it had sent troops to the North Fries. This move has no intention of violating the territorial ownership of the North Fries, nor does it in any way infringe on the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Fries, and when the unrest in the area is over, the Wessex army will withdraw and compensate for all losses caused during the garrison.

The actions of the Kingdom of Wessex not only shocked international public opinion, but even their traditional ally, the Ulster Free Federation, was deeply surprised. After the Norman Empire, the Kingdom of Fries, and the Kingdom of Wessex, after two days of silence, the Federal Government finally issued an official announcement in a weak and weak manner: The Federal Government believes that the disputes and conflicts in the North Fries region are the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Fries, and that no country should act in violation of its sovereignty. Therefore, the Federal Government deeply regretted the decision of the Kingdom of Wessex to send troops to North Fries, and proposed to coordinate the withdrawal of Wessex troops and the return of control of the Kingdom of Fries to North Fries under the auspices of the International Peace League.

The federal government's proposal received a positive response from the Kingdom of Fries, but the Kingdom of Wessex ignored it. A few days later, the North Fries region announced a referendum in which a provisional government would be formed to establish and implement the establishment of an independent state if more than half of the inhabitants voted for independence. During this period, the Kingdom of Fries made several attempts to send troops to the North Friesian region, but the ground communication had been blocked by the Yoken forces, and the narrow pass was garrisoned by the Wessex army, and the weak aviation units of the Friesian Kingdom were blocked by the Wessex warships on the way to the North Friesian region, and there was even a completely unequal air battle between the two sides - the armored cruisers of the Kingdom of Wessex rammed the frigates and transports of the Kingdom of Fries in a brutal manner, resulting in dozens of casualties among the latter, Two flying ships were almost scrapped.

In this dramatic conflict, the Kingdom of Wessex, which had little involvement in international affairs in the past, showed a rare strong side, with the weak Kingdom of Fries winning the sympathy of the international community, and the Norman Empire successfully staying out of the situation, except for the Ulster Free Commonwealth. On the one hand, the various circles of the federation were very dissatisfied with the slow reaction and negative actions of the government's foreign affairs department, and on the other hand, in the face of the invitation of the Fries Kingdom to send troops to intervene, there was a fierce debate between the high-ranking dignitaries of the federation and the military generals, and the result could only be delayed again and again.

Soon, the Severfries region was electrified and announced that the result of the referendum was 81% of the inhabitants in favor of independence. Upon hearing this news, President Leibold urgently summoned government ministers, military dignitaries, and leaders of the main political parties, at which he raged, denouncing the diplomatic service for "watching the Ulster-Wessex alliance go to ruin", criticizing the military intelligence service for "spending tens of millions of crowns a year and being like a blind and deaf man", questioning the army staff for "having hundreds of military plans locked in the safe but not knowing what to do about the current situation", accusing the parties of "only caring about the seats and not the interests of the country", and raising it in public. If political and military reforms are not carried out now with the determination of a strong man to break his wrist, the Federation will probably pay a bloody price when an even more serious crisis comes.

President Leibold's anger quickly spread throughout the Federation through a number of non-mainstream newspapers and media, and his thought-provoking views were unusually enthusiastic among the public. In the capital, Liberty City, and in the capitals of several federal states, intellectuals from all walks of life organized a huge march in solidarity with President Leibold's high-level decision to actively intervene in the "North Fries rebellion" as a great power, and demanded that the government and military face up to the problems and reflect on their shortcomings. All of a sudden, the Ulster Free Federation, which had been stable for many years, set off a surging call for reform, and those officials who held the power of the state and the army also fell into unprecedented anxiety and panic in this stormy situation......