At 9 o'clock on December 13, 2920, near the planet "New Taiping" in the hinterland of the New Roman Empire, Jiang Ziyue personally led the Imperial Frontier Fleet to block the Immortal Interstellar Bundeswehr Expeditionary Fleet that was preparing to retreat.

However, because of the large gap in strength with the opponent, Jiang Ziyue had to lead the fleet to stop the attack and withdraw from the battle after conducting two "faster-than-light raids" operations.

Soon, two good news came one after another.

Two of the Big Four generals left behind by the former consul Wang Zeren, Admiral Blackett Karios and Vice Admiral Ferlandes de Zurbarán, commanded a fleet of more than 5,000 warships, and came to join him.

The fleet consisted of more than 1,000 Imperial cruisers, more than 500 frigates for patrols in the Border Fleet, and nearly 4,000 auxiliary cruisers and armed merchant ships belonging to the armed police, senate guards, militia organizations, and state-owned enterprises. Most of the ships also carry interstellar marines, totaling more than 300,000 marines.

Originally, Jiang Ziyue arranged them on the planet "New Byzantium" to support and assist the Great Retreat. However, after the retreat of the Federation Expeditionary Fleet, Karios and Zubaran felt that it was unreasonable that they, as senior generals and commanders of the Frontier Fleet and the Central Fleet, had failed to achieve decent results in this great battle.

With the retreat of the enemy forces and the safety of the planet "Neo-Byzantium" ensured, the focus of the "Exodus of Azanti" project shifted to the retreat of the people, and the rest of the work was mainly commanded by Fischel Günther, Diego Gatto, and Otto Bateman. Karios and the servicemen of the border fleet under him played a mainly supporting role.

So after some discussion, he collected the available troops and rushed to follow Jiang Ziyue, wanting to make some merit here for this former subordinate and now the supreme boss, and it is worthy of the few golden rod bundle symbols on his shoulders.

Although the border fleet after the rendezvous was strengthened, it was still far from being the opponent of the federal army, but Jiang Ziyue also quickly reorganized the fleet and actively prepared to launch a new round of blocking war.

Another piece of news was brought by an unmanned notification ship. The unmanned reconnaissance ship spotted the Central Fleet under the command of Admiral Helvir Irina five light-years away.

The news of the arrival of the two major fleets, "Charlemagne" and "Caesar," quickly spread throughout the fleet, causing countless officers and men to rejoice.

On the surface, this is very good news, and the scales of war seem to be completely tilted in favor of the new Roman Imperial Army. But in fact, Irina and the fleet did not take the initiative to send a report from beginning to end, obviously did not intend to come to meet the dictator, and the attitude was suspicious.

General Karios said to Jiang Ziyue very worriedly in the correspondence: "Your Excellency, General Irina has the time and ability to come to meet you, and it is very problematic to put on such a posture now. ”

"It's clear that she wants to preserve the strength of the Central Fleet and take this opportunity to raise her value." "As much as I admire her, I still think she has to raise herself now. ”

Jiang Ziyue did not respond immediately. Zubaran's analysis made sense, and he had now seen Irina's calculations.

The defeat of the Bundeswehr expeditionary fleet is already an irreversible fact. The difference is only whether it was annihilated by the Senate and the Roman People's Army and suffered a crushing defeat, or whether it was able to successfully withdraw and withdraw to the territory of the Confederation and smoothly transfer.

Irina neither attacked nor came to join Jiang Ziyue's fleet, apparently wanting to let go of the Bundeswehr fleet and preserve the strength of the Central Fleet for the conservative senators to whom she was loyal, and thus to maintain her position.

"If you look at the entire human world of the Immortal Spiral Arm, it may not be a bad thing to put the enemy's fleet back this time." In the communication meeting, Jiang Ziyue said calmly.

At the dictator's words, both Karios and Zubaran were taken aback.

Jiang Ziyue paused and said to the two former bosses and now subordinates:

"Intelligence from many sources shows that the Immortal Interstellar Federation invaded our country this time, and it dispatched the remaining main force of its defense force in an attempt to complete the battle against our country. If they are allowed to escape home this time, the enemy's strength will still be close to that of our army, and the strategic balance between the two countries will not change much. ”

"Since their expedition could not achieve its goal, and we are still carrying out the 'Exrugin' operation to organize the great transfer of citizens from the planet 'New Byzantium', this balance is enough to ensure that it will be difficult for both sides to launch a large-scale attack in the next period of time."

"Your Excellency is very reasonable." Karios hastened to comment flatteringly.

"But Your Excellency, if the tiger returns to the mountain, there will be endless troubles." Zurbaran still looked worried.

"General Zubaran, you're right." Jiang Ziyue nodded and praised, "The enemy dares to attack the 'New Byzantine' planet so boldly this time, coupled with a series of previous aggressive acts, which shows that their president has taken risks. If we can't wreak havoc on the enemy here and let them run back so cheaply, we'll continue to spur their adventurous minds. ”

"But if the Central Fleet does not engage in battle, it is very unrealistic to achieve the goal of annihilating the enemy fleet." Karios said embarrassedly.

Zubaran also said, "And if General Irina is unwilling to carry out Your Excellency's instructions and openly disobey your orders and stand by, I am afraid that there is nothing we can do. ”

For his words, Jiang Ziyue could only nod silently.

Jiang Ziyue, the dictator of the Senate and the Roman people, is by far the most legendary of all time, but at the same time the most vulnerable.

Nearly all of them, whether they were the Eight Elders who were forced to appoint him as Dictator of Salvation and War by Final Resolution, or the Archons who had always stood with him on the surface to carry out the political testament of the Big Four, and the technocrats like Günter Fischer, the chief staff of the Privy Council, or the countless frontier soldiers who fought valiantly under his command, were loyal to him because of the strict system and the grim situation of the Empire.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Ziyue finally said, "Two generals, please testify for me." I will openly broadcast my instructions to the Central Fleet, and if Admiral Irina can remain in action for her own selfish interests, then let her be held accountable for the fate of the Senate and the Roman people. ”

"Your Excellency, how are you going to fight?" Karios hurriedly asked.

Jiang Ziyue was full of confidence and explained: "I will lead the border fleet to rush into the enemy fleet and launch a decisive battle." If the brethren of the Central Fleet are still alive, I am sure they will follow. We will be able to engage in an all-out decisive battle with the enemy with superior forces, and then inflict heavy damage or even annihilate him. If Admiral Irina is unwilling to follow, then our border fleet will be able to drive the enemy away. The enemy's lack of supplies makes it impossible to fight for a long time, and our superiority is already obvious, and if they fight with our border fleet, it will only become more and more dangerous, and there is only one way to speed up and escape. ”

"We are willing to advance and retreat together with Your Excellency!" Karios spoke up.

"Alright, tell me to go down and prepare. Wait for my offensive instructions. ”

"VENI VIDI VICI" Karios and Zubaran chanted in unison and raised their hands in salute to the dictator.

After the communication meeting ended, Jiang Ziyue immediately dispatched a notification ship to give General Irina the order to launch a general attack on the enemy fleet, and recorded a speech, which was sent by the unmanned notification ship to all ships, including the Central Fleet.

He then ordered his flagship cruiser Siegfried to be the first to be deployed, followed by the entire fleet, spewing out a brilliant wake and speeding into the speed of light to kill the Bundeswehr fleet.

At about 17 o'clock on December 13, 2920, Human Standard Time, Jiang Ziyue once again led his army into the Immortal Interstellar Bundeswehr Expeditionary Fleet.

The Imperial Cruiser Fleet repeated its old trick and boldly changed the speed of light to about 300,000 kilometers of the Federation warship, and then launched a strike. But this time, instead of keeping a distance and rushing as before, he approached while firing with all his might, putting on a decisive posture.

Although the logistics supply fleet has been lost, and the energy and material supply has been interrupted, the previous battle did not cause great damage to the Federation Expeditionary Fleet, and it still has a very strong combat power at this time.

When the aggressive Manuel Velascos saw his opponent coming, he changed his hesitant attitude and did not hesitate to give the order to meet his opponent and start a fierce battle with his opponent.

Nearly 10,000 Imperial cruisers, frigates, auxiliary cruisers, and armed merchant ships charged at lions like ferocious wolves, fearlessly charging into the fleet of Union warships and ferociously spraying fire on the massive battleships.

With the death and flash of the fierce battle, the officers and soldiers on both sides heard Jiang Ziyue's speech on the public radio channel:

"I, Jiang Ziyue, a citizen of the Senate and the Roman people, have twice sworn allegiance to the Senate and the Roman people, and now the dictator of national salvation and war. Every battle I have commanded since 2917 has been victorious. As you know, whether it is a one-tense defense or a guerrilla attack deep behind enemy lines, my comrades and I have always won great victories. Now, the Senate and the people of Rome, threatened by disaster and aggression, leave their fate in my hands and to you. I ask you to join me in delivering an all-out blow to the aggressor's fleet and driving them out of our land once and for all. The victory must be mine, and it will be you, the senate and the valiant sons of the Roman people! VENI VIDI VICI.”

Also listening to the hearing were all the officers and men of the Central Fleet of the New Roman Empire, which had not participated in the war.

Through the radio broadcast of the unmanned notification ship, the captains and grassroots officers and men of the "Charlemagne" and "Caesar" detachments all heard Jiang Ziyue's speech. And the broadcast to the Central Fleet was accompanied by Jiang Ziyue's order to attack the enemy in his capacity as dictator.

For a time, the officers and men of the two fleets became agitated and reported for battle.

Just before the unmanned announcement ship could make the announcement, Admiral Hervir Irina received Jiang Ziyue's order. But she didn't take immediate action and was prepared to wait and see.

Earlier, when she led two detachments to the star field near the planet "New Taiping", she found that Jiang Ziyue had led the cruisers of the border fleet to strike at the enemy fleet.

Irina hesitated, she wanted to preserve the strength of the two remaining detachments of the Central Fleet for the Senate, but she was eager to fight the enemy in a happy battle. When her mind fell into a fierce struggle, she quickly ordered to stop the march and prepared to wait and see the outcome of the battle in which Jiang Ziyue launched a "faster-than-light raid".

To her surprise, the two pig-headed generals, Karios and Zubaran, would lead a ragtag fleet to rush in for reinforcements, making Jiang Ziyue determined to launch a decisive battle. So, she was ready to wait for Jiang Ziyue's border fleet to be exhausted before the Federation Expeditionary Fleet, and then make a full-scale attack.

But Jiang Ziyue directly used her identity and battle record to encourage her subordinates to participate in the war, which was once again beyond her imagination.

Soon, the fleet commanders felt the pressure from the grassroots.

The commander of the "Caesar" detachment, Admiral Gerasim Andreevich Tririther, soon sent a report: "General, my men have lost their hold and ask for an attack. ”

"Gerasim Andreevich, please take care of your people." Irina replied, "We still need to watch, and we'll act when the situation is clear." ”

"I understand, you said before that you would spare the enemy to preserve your strength. But now the commanders of the detachments below all have a fascination with Jiang Ziyue, and the dictator's unmanned notification ship broadcasts battle reports and his orders to each ship, so I am afraid it will not be easy to restrain them. Triesel said embarrassedly.

"We must control the emotions of officers and men......"

Before Irina finished speaking in the communication system, Admiral Leopold Hisberg, commander of the "Charlemagne" squadron, interjected, interrupted her and hurriedly reported: "General, three detachments have left the ship formation without authorization and entered the faster-than-light war zone!" ”

"Leo, why can't you control your own people?!" Irina seemed unhappy with Heathberg's incompetence.

"The detachment commander reported that they were following the dictator's call, and then he encouraged the captains to act together." Heathberg looked a little helpless and embarrassed.

Heathberg had not taken over the "Charlemagne" detachment for a long time, and he had not achieved much success, and the young captains below were only unconvinced by him. Coupled with the call of Jiang Ziyue, a hero of the world, the national disaster was at the head, and the aspiring and ideal commander was quickly ignited in his heart, regardless of the restrictions of his immediate superiors, and followed the dictator into the decisive battle.

In fact, it was the captain of the battleship "Wu Yuanjia" No. 4 who also served as the commander of the second detachment of "Charlemagne" and Rear Admiral Gao Yang who took the lead in leaving without authorization. This thirty-year-old and six-year-old general had fought with General Gus Whitehead, witnessed and participated in the power of Jiang Ziyue and Gus and the Iron Triangle of Lotta, and was also influenced by Gus and Jiang Ziyue.

At this time, Gao Yang was full of vigor and fanaticism, and encouraged the fourth and fifth detachments of his own detachment and his neighbors, ignoring the orders of his superiors to stay still, break away from the ship formation, follow Jiang Ziyue, and rush to the decisive battle in the Celestial Domain.

Before Admiral Hervir Irina could react to this "rebellion" by his subordinates, he found that even more difficult problems were coming to him.

Major General Gao Yang led the team into battle, which quickly provoked others to follow suit. After they broke away from the ship's formation, the "Caesar" detachment also had four detachments following closely behind, heading for the increasingly white-hot battlefield near the "New Taiping" planet.

This kind of unauthorized action in disregard of the orders of the superior was unprecedented in the history of the Central Fleet of the New Roman Empire.

"I'm going to send Gao Yang's gang to court-martial!" Irina cried out resentfully.

However, if you look closely, the exaltation of these people's actions does not count as a violation of military law. Because the dictator Jiang Ziyue publicly announced the order to launch a general attack through the unmanned notification ship, they were carrying out the supreme instructions.

On the contrary, General Irina did not give the order to attack in time, but was suspected of disobeying military orders and delaying the fighters.

After some consideration, Irina had to make up her mind and instead issued an order to the commanders of the two detachments, Heathberg and Tririthel: "It seems that we have no choice but to follow the dictator's instructions and attack all together to annihilate the enemy." ”

"General Irina, aren't we preserving our strength as originally expected?" Heathberg asked.

"Didn't you see that your detachment commanders all defected to Jiang Ziyue? If it drags on any longer, it will be even more detrimental to us. Hurry up and give the order. Irina impatiently urged her sluggish men.

In the current situation, for Irina, it is no longer as simple as "the plan can't catch up with the changes". If she doesn't change her mind immediately and go all out to reinforce Jiang Ziyue, she will face great political risks no matter whether she wins or loses afterwards.

If the Central Fleet had been in full control before, this risk could have been tolerated, or even taken lightly. But now, the situation is completely different, and the grassroots officers below boldly fell to Jiang Ziyue in the face of the war, and it is very likely that they will become his effective force after the war. In this way, Irina and the conservative patriarchs behind her become more and more dangerous.

Now, she finally understands that she completely underestimated Jiang Ziyue's influence.

Jiang Ziyue's talent, luck-created fame, and the power of the dictator are far beyond what she can fight. Jiang Ziyue dared to release her from house arrest and hand over the power of the Central Fleet, not only out of trust in her, but also because of Jiang Ziyue's confidence in his own aura.

Thinking of this, Irina no longer hesitated, ordered the whole army to attack, and let her flagship "Hanuman" 119 cruiser take the lead and take the lead in rushing into the "Akuberi" super-light sailing.

The flames of war are spreading in the space around the normally inconspicuous planet "New Taiping", and they are getting hotter and hotter.

Although the Immortal Star Bundesmail Expeditionary Fleet is inferior in the number of warships, basically a battleship will be besieged by more than two enemy ships, but the firepower and protection are superior to the Imperial Army, which has a mixed range of ships.

Although the new Roman Imperial Army had mixed ships and uneven combat effectiveness, it was highly motivated under the personal leadership of the dictator Jiang Ziyue and put on a posture of sworn to fight to the death.

The Federation fleet has changed somewhat after receiving the previous "faster-than-light raids", but on the whole it is still deployed according to the fleet structure, and the cruisers and battleships are mixed together to support each other, making it difficult for the opponent to concentrate on attacking the weaker cruisers. This made it difficult for Jiang Ziyue's fleet, which only had cruisers and lacked main battleships, to launch an effective strike

However, the Imperial warships were still undaunted to change the speed of light at close range in all directions, and then rushed into the fleet of Federation ships and engaged in a melee.