The major was stunned for a moment, and then narrowed his eyes slightly: "General, what do you mean...... And hold others accountable? ”

Li Zhen asked him quietly: "What do you think?" ”

The major thought for a while, took a step closer to Li Zhen, and lowered his voice: "Then to what extent do you want to investigate?" ”

Li Zhen smiled slightly: "Degree, what is the concept?" Of course, all those who are guilty must be condemned. ”

He raised his eyes to look at the ruins in front of him: "Today's matter, as well as the previous matter, will be liquidated together." I heard someone tell me before that Xiao Heng wanted to be self-reliant. Then I'll figure it out. How could a former lieutenant colonel be so bold? Even if he's a xenomorph or a kind of clown, the clowns who fuel him, he can't escape. ”

The Major's eyes widened: "Then do you know how many people you said were there who contributed to the trouble?" ”

Li Zhen was silent. He looked at Li Zhen's face and said in a low voice: "Almost half of the current Yuzhou is promoted by Xiao Heng. They didn't move today, on the one hand, because they were afraid of your prestige, and on the other hand, because of the news about Xiao Heng. But there is a limit to this fear - you can kill the first evildoer, and you can punish one or two or five or six severely. But if you really don't let go of any of them, as you said......"

He took a deep breath: "Then Yuzhou is going to turn the sky upside down." You know that Yuzhou is a municipality directly under the central government, half of Yuzhou, not half of the main urban area of Yuzhou, but half of the urban area of Yuzhou - you are a native of Pingyang, and you may not be very clear about this concept. Let's put it this way - we have to be the size of three Pingyang urban areas here. ”

Li Zhen still didn't speak.

The Major hesitated. But after thinking for a while, he still mustered up the courage to continue: "Such a big place. There are more people. Unit 1431 now has nearly 10,000 people, and once it was a first-class security area with its own military-industrial system. In the past few years, Xiao Heng has been very concerned about armaments, so the equipment of these 10,000 people is quite well-equipped. Even if only half of the population is agitated...... It's a lot harder. ”

Li Zhen glanced at him with interest: "Who wants you to say these words?" ”

The major's face changed, and he straightened up: "General, these are all the subordinates' own thoughts. ”

"Then this time you are also coming by yourself, and others don't know?" Li Zhen smiled coldly, "Or have you been facing Xiao Heng in the past...... He also made you a major? ”

There was a slightly peculiar expression on the Major's face. In Li Zhen's eyes, this expression was a little proud, a little lost, a little shame, a little helpless and a little embarrassed mixed together - his slightly longer face became distorted, like a bitter gourd barely ironed by an iron.

It doesn't take a closer look to know that this expression can't be disguised—because one can't control the muscles on one's face in such a complex way.

After a long time, the major said in a low voice: "General, the official's surname is Zhu." Zhu Dipang. ”

Li Zhen didn't react for a while.

I don't know why. The major had no choice but to say again: "Xiaguan Ancestor ...... It's King Qing. ”

Li Zhen suddenly realized. He stared at the Major's face for a moment. Almost laughed out loud out of place - his surname was Zhu. He is a descendant of King Qing. That means he's ...... Descendants of Taizu of this dynasty.

No wonder he had such a face—more like their common ancestor than the current emperors.

In other words, this major in a sense belonged to the "royal family".

It's just that King Qing is a figure of more than 200 years - the youngest brother of Emperor Hongguang. The title has been cut from generation to generation, and it must have been a long time ago that this ancestor was already a "grass people". There are many descendants of the surname Zhu in this category, and there are tens of thousands in the empire. Still, it looks like he is still proud of his pedigree. Even now, there is still a stubborn arrogance in my heart.

Li Zhen thought about it. The tone became slightly softer: "You mean because of your status." Xiao Heng didn't embarrass you? ”

Zhu Dibang smiled reluctantly with a complicated face: "Maybe that's the reason." After he appointed himself a major general, he promoted his subordinates to the rank - you can see it as a desire to cover up. But Xiaguan has always despised what he did, and he never complied with it in the past. ”

Li Zhen snorted: "Then it's better to resign." ”

Zhu Di Pang said with a straight face: "General." The lower officials thought that it was the most irresponsible behavior. Some people can boast of being upright, but others will have to join in – and getting out of the mud without staining is also a struggle. If you don't do your part, how do you know that one thing is doomed to be irretrievable? ”

It wasn't until he said these words that Li Zhen looked at him. Then he said in a deep voice: "But these words of yours are somewhat contradictory to your previous views. Since you are proud of yourself and don't agree with Xiao Heng's approach, why do you want to persuade me? ”

Zhu Dipang smiled: "Xiaguan is not speaking for those people, but for the people of Yuzhou." If you have another conflict with those people, then look at what is happening in front of you—"

He pointed to a piece of ruins in the distance: "Pardon me for offending. This tragic scene may be more than half of Xiao Heng's sake, but whether you are intentional or not, you are also responsible. Even if it's Zamboanga, the Zamboanga of the Philippines—"

He paused for a moment to see Li Zhen's face.

Li Zhen frowned slightly. Then he sighed lightly: "You go on." Someone should have said it. ”

"Yes." Zhu Dipang pursed his lips, "Even if it's Zamboanga." You wiped out the species there - and destroyed an entire city. At that time, the city was ...... There must be someone. There, here, it's all a tragedy. If there is another war in Yuzhou - I have no doubt about your ability. However, there will be more innocent people who will die, and they will all be subjects of the Empire. ”

Li Zhen shook his head slightly, took two steps back, and sat on the front cover of the off-road vehicle. Then he looked up at the sky for a while, and suddenly said to Zhu Dibang, "Is there any smoke?" ”

These three words seem to have lifted the burden of a thousand pounds on Zhu Dipang. The expression on his face was visibly relieved—a man in his forties was acting like a newly recruited soldier at this moment. With some flattery, he pulled out a box of cigarettes from his trouser pocket and handed it over.

Li Zhen looked at it and smiled: "Feiyun." This is what I smoked when I didn't have any money. You, a child of the royal family, smoke this too? ”

Zhu Dibang lit a cigarette for Li Zhen with a lighter, and waved his hand to the subordinates who came with him to go to the front to help the disaster, and then smiled: "You are laughing." It's to see that the smoke is strong enough. ”

Li Zhen nodded, squinted his eyes, leaned over and lit the cigarette, and then let out a long breath.

A faint cloud of smoke erupted from his mouth and turned into a thin line.

Then Li Zhen thought about it and said in a low voice: "What you just said has been pressing on my heart for a long time. ”

"Actually, it was a lot worse than you might think. Zamboanga's egg was brought by me. And at first, when someone wanted to destroy it completely, I stopped it. Although I have many reasons to defend myself...... But facts are facts. ”

"I brought it over and it woke up there. Later, the official propaganda of the empire said that the species was trying to break through the city from the coast of the Philippines, and I stopped it...... Hehe, it's all. I'm not only partly responsible for that...... In fact, most of the responsibility lies with me. ”

"There were hundreds of thousands of Zamboanga when it woke up, and some of them fled, but I know that there are many more who haven't fled. Species contaminate them...... At least tens of thousands of people have become xenos - I mean those who have fled the city. Actually, more ...... Maybe it was buried by the time I fought it. ”

"I haven't dared to read the casualty statistics, and I haven't dared to ask more." Li Zhen lowered his head and looked at the sand on the ground, and then at Zhu Dipang, "So I wanted to ...... at that time I'm going to have to kill that thing. It has nothing to do with justice and responsibility or anything like that, because I caused it. ”

"But no one held me accountable, and I became a hero. But in reality I was the executioner...... I killed hundreds of thousands of people. ”

"You're the first to say it to my face."

Li Zhen's voice was low. And Zhu Dipong moved his foot uneasily and said, "You...... Actually, you ...... Alas, we could not have predicted everything. ”

Li Zhen smiled: "So after that incident, I also understood some of the imperial government's previous policies - why should I be so strict with the able." Because we are all non-human beings with far more than ordinary human resources...... Once this force is not controlled, the harm is endless. ”

Zhu Dibang also lit a cigarette for himself and thought for a while: "So you agree with my suggestion?" ”

Li Zhen looked at him and shook his head.

"No, my decision won't change."

Zhu Dipang was slightly stunned.

"I used to think about too many things." Li Zhen sighed, "I think about too many things, and some people say that I am too kind." This may be an advantage for an ordinary person, but it can't be done with me. ”

"A lot of things have pushed me to where I am now, but my biggest dream was a stable job and a happy family. But now I think clearly—since I am destined to do something, I must be determined to do it. ”

"Major Zhu, you said that if I go to war with them in Yuzhou, I will hurt innocents, and I agree with your opinion. But what about the Empire? Now there is more than one Yuzhou in the empire. Xiao Heng wants to be self-reliant, and others have the same mind. I only blame the evil, and I do not blame anyone else...... So what's the point of doing things here? Li Zhen shook his head, "I want a deterrent - even if it hurts some people here." ”

"What happened in Yuzhou will make other people think about it...... Do they have the courage to fight me, and whether they are afraid of death or not? Kill one person and live a million people, can you do this kind of thing? (To be continued......)