It was five o'clock in the morning.

Li Xingpeng has been sitting behind his desk for three hours.

In the past three hours, he has been playing with the wooden box in his hand, opening and closing it from time to time, and the two Purple Star Medals stored in it disturbed the man's calm thoughts.

Outside the window, there was already a faint morning light streaming in. Although he didn't close his eyes all night, the director at this time still didn't feel sleepy at all.

The upstairs meeting is not over yet. Looks like something big is going to happen this morning.

Suddenly, the door of the rest room was pushed open from the inside. Adjutant Lina, who was sleepy-eyed, stepped out of it.

In the next second, both of them spotted each other.

One forgot that there was a person asleep in the house last night, while the other slept so dazed that he thought it was in his own home.

"Phew!" With a bang, the door was slammed shut again, and the frightened girl fled back to the rest room as quickly as possible.

Less than five minutes later, Second Lieutenant Lisodilina reappeared in front of the Commissioner. The red fluttering face, with a hint of girl's unique shyness, made Li Xingpeng's eyes light up unconsciously.

"I'm sorry for delaying you to work an extra night!"

"It's okay, Director, I'd be happy to work overtime with you." The gentle female voice couldn't help but give the director a hint of anticipation in his heart.

"Well, the Ministry of War canteen should start serving early. I'm going to bring you one, what are you going to eat, Director? The girl's well-behaved appearance made the expectation in the director's heart clearer.

"I want to ......"

A quick knock on the door interrupted the Commissioner's plan to order.

"Please come in!"

"Director, Minister, please come to his office now!" Captain Laurent, who pushed the door in, pushed open the door to the office.

"Okay, I'll go, is the meeting over?" Li Xingpeng subconsciously asked.

"Yes, Director, please come with me!"

"Alright, let's go."

The figure of the director leaving is so tall and straight, full of masculinity. Looking at the girl behind her, she felt confused in her heart. This strange feeling has been getting stronger lately, and it has bothered Ensign Lina a very much.

Come to the Prince's office.

I saw the prince who had a one-night meeting, and the rings of the years finally left traces of exhaustion on the old man's face.

"Sit down, Director! Coffee or strong tea? The old man thoughtfully motioned to the commissioner for something to drink.

"Let's get a coffee!"

"Captain, two cups of coffee!" Prince Hanton nodded to his lieutenant and stood up with his hands on his knees, skirting the wide desk. sat opposite Li Xingpeng.

"Your Excellency, you have to pay more attention to your body. Don't get too tired. Seeing the Minister of Military Affairs coming over, Li Xingpeng realized that this was also a seventy-year-old man.

"I can hold on, Director, I came to you because I have a new task for you."

"Please give the order!" Standing up and saluting, the old man's gaze made Li Xingpeng's heart ignite a raging fighting spirit.

"Director, the empire has decided to increase its troops in the four southwestern provinces in the near future, among which the Royal Guards Regiment of the Imperial Capital will send two cavalry divisions to the southwest region."

"My lord, I am willing to join any of these troops!"

"Director, don't be in such a hurry, you have more important tasks." Prince Hanton gestured to his assistant and sat down to speak.

"The Ministry of Military Affairs intends to send an observation group into the southwest region to provide any needed information to the imperial capital far behind, and to assess and report on the development of the situation in the southwest region at any time."

"I'd like to join the group and be a part of it, Minister!" After a little thought, Li Xingpeng understood the meaning of the military department. I am also full of expectations for this observation group.

"Director, not for you to join, but for you to be in charge of the entire observation group, according to the discussion of last night's meeting, this morning each department will dispatch relevant personnel to your side before the end of work in the afternoon. I wonder if the Commissioner will be able to leave tomorrow? ”

"No problem, my lord!"

"Go and prepare, I have to report to His Majesty the Emperor in the morning, so I won't see you off. Remember to be careful after the past. Give me back safely! The old man stood up, walked to the opposite side and gently patted Li Xingpeng on the shoulder.

"Your Excellency. You have to take care of yourself, too! ”

"My old bones can still hold up, at least I have to buy time for you young people to grow up." Pushing away the arm that was stretched out to support him, the old man walked to the window on his own. Stretching out his hand to open the heavy curtains, the imperial capital bathed in the morning light in the distance was completely presented in front of the two of them.

"Your Excellency!"

"Get busy, Director!"

The old man didn't speak, but only gave the director who was about to leave a lonely back.

"Director, breakfast is still hot, I'll bring it to you!" Seeing that Li Xingpeng was not in a very good mood when he walked into the office, Second Lieutenant Lina, who had been waiting in the office and did not go back, hurriedly brought the breakfast that he had carefully taken care of to his boss.

"I'll send you back after breakfast!" Although he has no appetite, he still tries to put food into his mouth.

"Thank you, Director, I can go back by myself, so I won't trouble you." Knowing that her boss must be busy, the girl graciously declined the director's proposal.

"Let's go together, I have some things to explain to you on the way. If you're not busy, help me tidy up my office, I might not be working here for a while. ”

"Where are you going, Director?" The girl asked, a little surprised.

"The military department has set up a military observation group, led by me, and it will go to the southwest region tomorrow to carry out tasks, and it may not be here in the imperial capital for a while."

"Okay, I got it." As an adjutant, Ensign Lina is very competent and knows what to ask and what not to ask. He turned around and began to quickly pack up his office items.

And Li Xingpeng eliminated the breakfast in front of him as quickly as possible, turned around and took out the documents he brought back from the prince's office from his briefcase, and immediately threw himself into the progress of the work.

The more he looked at the document, the more frightened Li Xingpeng became, all departments of the entire military department sent their own capable generals this time, and even some special departments, such as the legendary wind chasing team that transmitted the fastest information in the empire, and the guardian unit that carried out the security tasks of important people in the imperial family, all appeared on the list of personnel of the observation group.

And the responsibilities of the entire observation group are far beyond the introduction of the prince, not only the prince's intention, but also his old man's old age and bad memory.

In addition to the intelligence gathering and situation assessment provided by the Prince, it also includes the authority to directly mobilize division-level troops to the head of the observation group in the event of an emergency.

But in the end, after seeing that if necessary, after the authorization of the military to manage the four provincial capitals, Li Xingpeng was not calm. I recall what the Minister said earlier about giving you young people time to grow up. It seems that the wise old man on the top of the building must have made some decision that he was not clear about.

And I am honored to be a key member of it. This made Li Xingpeng feel that the list on his shoulders suddenly became much heavier.

Another two hours passed, and the morning sun was unusually bright.