The Valley of the Black Sun, on the side of the Empire.

The King of Heaven had given the order, and the Praetorian Fleet should carry it out. According to the location shown on the map, the Praetorian Fleet dropped its ground forces and supplies as soon as it was needed, and then took to the air one after another and began to return home.

Tens of thousands of Imperial warriors hurried to build fortresses, after all, the dark race was close at hand, and no one knew when they would attack.

These newly arrived warriors had no idea what had just happened, and they didn't know why the empire suddenly had the ability to build fortresses again. For these ordinary warriors, it doesn't matter how the fortress came to be, what matters is that there is a fortress that can be defended. There are no fortresses, and the casualties are completely two things.

They don't care about these and that, they only care about how long they can live.

Song Zining had already woken up, and naturally returned to the post of commander-in-chief of the Imperial New World Expeditionary Force. It's just that his body hasn't fully recovered after all, and there will be no war in a short time, so he obeyed everyone's persuasion to return to the empire, take a three-day break, and accept an examination of the imperial medical school by the way to see if there are any hidden dangers in his body and soul.

After sending him away, several core generals breathed a sigh of relief, and finally didn't have to worry about when this person suddenly couldn't think of going to the camp of the dark race.

After returning to the Empire, Song Zining found that there was almost no news about the final battle in the Black Sun Valley in the Empire. All the newspapers and war reports are propaganda about the return of the empire to the Black Sun Valley and the rebuilding of the base. But for the reason and process, there is no mention of it, and the name of Qianye has never appeared.

Even the news that Qianye led the remnants of the empire, won many battles, broke dozens of blockade lines, defeated ten times as strong an enemy, and killed all the way to Lone Peak was deliberately erased, and the relevant battle reports were all destroyed.

Strangely, the Eternal Night Council was also quiet, as if the heavy losses of so many high-ranking nobles had failed to make any waves.

Both Ming Hai Gong and Wen Yuan Gong were credited, but the credit has not decreased, it is still so much, but it has been changed to other names.

When Wen Yuangong, who was still in the imperial capital, heard the news, he could only sigh. He has just been pardoned for the previous case, and the final treatment is still pending, which is really not too much. Moreover, his faction not only offended Emperor Hao, but also somehow was not treated well by the Qingyang King's family, and it was completely transparent in the military department, not to mention speaking out, and even the official documents with a higher level of secrecy could not be seen.

And Ming Haigong is sick and wants to go home to recuperate. The application has been sent to the military department, but it has not yet been approved.

Liu Chengyun was reinstated as an official, and as soon as he was sent back, he begged everywhere for help, and in the end, the reward record after the end of the war did not cut off his military merits as Qianye originally said. He was very active, constantly camping, trying to find some new errands.

Although he did not participate in the final death assault, he also fought several big battles with Chiya in the front. Anyone who survived these battles was not seriously injured, and his strength improved more or less, and Liu Chengyun also benefited a lot. According to doctors' estimates, he will live for at least 10 years.

Being able to prolong his life, Liu Chengyun's mind changed, and he no longer wanted to do his best to make meritorious contributions to his family, but began to plan for himself.

For Qianye, who wanted to cut off his military exploits at that time, Liu Chengyun hated it to the core. Therefore, once it is empty, it immediately connects several twists and turns, and forces thousands of nights of various crimes. It's a pity that he didn't take the pulse of the court at all this time. Some of the higher-ups don't want to talk about Thousand Nights anymore, whether it's good or bad.

Liu Chengyun handed over several accusations, but in exchange for a stern reprimand, and took back a legion that was originally going to be given to him. After these twists and turns, Liu Chengyun didn't know why, even a few backers closed their doors to him, and he didn't dare to do any more, so he had to put his hatred in his heart for the time being.

When Song Zining returned to the imperial capital, he saw this scene.

Many people thought that Song Zining would be upset for Qianye and run to call, but they didn't expect Song Zining to leave after reading the battle report for half a day at the military headquarters, without any expression.

When he was about to walk out of the military headquarters, a general stopped Song Zining and said, "If Song Shuai is free, the old prince wants to invite you to the palace for a while." ”

Song Zining looked at the time and said happily: "I have heard for a long time that the old prince's mansion has a big name for private dishes, and I have never had a chance to try it. At this time, I should have the opportunity to try the skills of the chef of the palace, right?"

The general smiled: "This is natural, the old prince has prepared a table of good dishes, just waiting for you to go." ”

"So what are you waiting for?"

After a while, Song Zining walked into the Zhiji Palace, and was ushered into the poolside flower hall in the side courtyard, where cups and chopsticks had been arranged, and the maids were bringing up the appetizers.

The Finger King was sitting by the pool, fishing. Seeing Song Zining coming, he greeted: "Zining is here?" These dishes won't taste good if it's too late. ”

Song Zining didn't shirk either, sat down at the bottom, and drank three cups in a row with the Finger Pole King.

After three glasses of wine, the king raised his hand and waved it, and all the attendants withdrew.

When there was no one left and right, the Extreme King said slowly: "The matter of a thousand nights is handled like this, do you have any objections?"

"What do you mean?"

"Not exactly, but I did overnod." ”

Song Zining was silent for a moment and said, "If you don't have the slightest dissatisfaction, it's impossible. It's just that since you have made this decision, there must be a reason. Zi would rather hear about it in detail, and if he encounters similar things in the future, he will know how to deal with it. ”

Pointing to the king: "I know that it is really unfair to Qianye to deal with it like this. When this king was young, he was like you, and it was inevitable that he would be angry. Now that I am getting older, I understand that the root of everything is actually the four words of family and country first. ”

Song Zining listened attentively.

King Zhiji suddenly sighed and said, "You should have heard about all the things I did back then. To be honest, for twenty years in between, that breath has always been blocked in my heart, and it has never been relieved. Or one day later, I suddenly realized that there are so many things and so many people in this world, how can everything be fair? Many times, I have to choose the lesser of two evils. ”

The Finger Pole King recalled the past again, and was silent for a moment before continuing: "Actually, Qianye got my inheritance back then, and he is also half of my disciple. Over the years, the empire and I have lost a lot of money. Do you know why I did that?"

Song Zining said: "I understand the matter of the night pupil. Although I don't know which big man she awakened in ancient times, once she really exerts her strength, she will be a big trouble for the empire. The empire is in the middle of its resurgence, and there are already too many three supremes on the holy mountain, and there must be no fourth one. ”

"Exactly. Even though I was ashamed, I had to do it. Maybe she has never been hostile to the Empire, but if she does, no one can afford such a risk. Even if there is only a 1 in 10,000 probability of this, it must not be allowed to happen. The awakening power of the night pupil must be stifled before she grows up. Otherwise, the empire will prosper, and it may die. ”

Song Zining nodded.

The Finger King glanced at him and said slowly: "Whether you understand it now or not, in another ten years, when you hold a lot of power and every move affects the fortunes of the country, you will understand." ”

Without waiting for Song Zining to answer, the king of Zhiji said: "Do you know that the empire has not fallen for thousands of years, what does it rely on?"

This question stumped Song Zining, although he also dabbled in historiography, but after all, he was not profound enough. After thinking about it, I felt that there were many answers, but none of them were appropriate.

Seeing that he didn't answer, he pointed to the king and said slowly: "In fact, it is not my race, and its heart will be different." These eight words were still set by Taizu back then. ”

"This ......" Song Zining never thought that it would be this answer. Over the years, he has actually been a little disgusted with these eight words, at least he will not accept them all.

The Finger Pole King smiled and said, "The empire has developed to this day, and the population is tens of billions. Up and down, uneven. With so many people and so many differences, how many people do you think they can understand when they read books? Most people work hard all day, thinking only of easy indulgence, and it is useless to explain the big truth to them. The best way to unite as one is to make enemies. A powerful, evil, and intractable foe with a blood feud. ”

"One hundred years after the founding of the empire, the first foundation was laid. At that time, the first generation of people who experienced the brutal rule of the dark race passed away one after another, and many of the new Terrans wanted to live a more stable life, but they did not experience it, and they did not want to experience the despair of being kept in captivity and becoming blood food at any time. They felt that a continent was enough to thrive and live, and they took the peace of the truce for granted, and the gray trade under the table as a future to look forward to. ”

"There was a popular belief among many at the time that the Terrans had proven themselves to be independent and free, as evidenced by those truces, and that an agreement to extend the brief ceasefire into a permanent peace should be pursued. They even believe that the holy war between the various races of the eternal night is the result of the contradictions accumulated for thousands of years, and the new human race does not have such a historical baggage, so peaceful coexistence is expected. It was only at this time that the ancestors discovered Taizu's foresight and thought of these eight words. Since then, the empire has never tolerated aliens, at least in the eyes of ordinary people. and then through various channels to promote the atrocities of the dark race, hatred has accumulated from generation to generation until today. ”

Song Zining listened with bated breath.

"With foreign enemies, many political affairs within the empire are easy to handle. Most of the heads of various family families also understand this truth. Moreover, the war of the eternal night is nothing more than a struggle for resources and living space. The scramble between the camps, the scramble within the camps. As each family grows stronger, the more resources and land they need, and the more wars they will naturally want. You see, whether it is a four-valve or a high-grade family, almost every one of them has an industry related to war. ”

Song Zining nodded. In the past, the Song Valve made a lot of money in the arms business, and the Zhao Valve Craftsman's Mansion was even more famous in the world, and he was able to build floating warships with his own strength. Others, such as the Bai family's battle armor and the Yin family's ammunition, are also on a huge scale.

"I know you've seen a lot of incidents in recent years of the Empire interacting with the Eternal Night. Think about it, what are the common characteristics of these things?"

Song Zining was thorough at one point, and said, "It's all related to the superiors?"

The Finger King nodded slowly, "You read that right. In fact, these things are very clear to the imperial family, the gate lord family, and even the military department. The Eternal Night has the resources we need, and we have what they want, and it's inevitable that we'll be able to communicate what we have. And we take advantage of the contradiction between the four clans of Eternal Night to take advantage of the exchange price, and this kind of exchange is actually quite helpful to the growth of the overall national strength of the empire. ”

Indeed, the higher Song Zining's position, the more he will see a deal with the dark race. However, after so many years, the empire has not declined, but its national strength has flourished.

Pointing to the pole king: "This kind of communication must be in the hands of the family gate valve, so that it can be controlled." Otherwise, if ordinary people knew that the original dark race also had humanity and dignity, and that they could also do business with them, wouldn't it be a great chaos in the world? Who would still be willing to shed blood and sacrifice for the empire, and would you still be able to fight those battles in the Black Sun Valley? What army would know that it was death, but still willing to fight to the death and not retreat?"

"Most human beings are instinctively afraid of hardship, want to be comfortable, and because of this, have unrealistic fantasies. Look at how those provinces and counties that have not been at war for a long time in the empire have been crushed in front of the New World Alien Beast Legion. And if the Terrans had sought to join the Eternal Night Council and get a place, would they really be able to do it once and for all? Not to mention those small races that disappeared, just look at the current situation of the wolf race, they have lost their supremacy, and it is only a thousand years. ”

"If you are warlike, you will die, and if you forget to fight, you will be in danger. The blood and bones of Taizu and countless ancestors have earned us the dignity of standing side by side with the four clans of Eternal Night. It's not for us to join their council, to obey their rules, and then to disappear quietly from all the tribes. Besides, this world is dark, and our dawn has always been an alien. ”