Commander Stirling looked up at the window, it was already pitch black, and the lights were on, he said to himself in surprise: "It's so late!" After finishing the paperwork at hand, he handed it to the secretary and told him: "Send it to the headquarters tomorrow." ”

The secretary got up early in the morning and first inspected the new camp of the Zhōngyāng Army on the outskirts of Dìdū, then negotiated with the person in charge of the logistics office about equipment and food and grass, and then came to report to him on the reorganization of the troops by several middle-level commanders of the Zhōngyāng Army.

One by one, Sterling gave specific instructions. When I got back to the office, I started working on the mountains of writing. By the time I finished it, I didn't expect it to be dark.

Sterling came out of his office, and the guards standing in the doorway immediately stood up and saluted him, shouting, "My lord!"

Unlike the other high-ranking officers, who often ignored them and walked straight away, Sterling politely returned the salute and said, "Good work!" - he saw it, and for a moment the guard's look was moved.

The carriage was already waiting at the door of the military office, and the coachman jumped down and approached quickly, and said with a smile: "My lord, it is really hard, do you want to go home now after working so late?"

Sterling hesitated, he didn't want to go home yet. He remembered that he hadn't seen Diling for a long time, and told the coachman, "Go back by yourself." I'm going to go shopping. ”

"But, my lord, Madame told me that I must pick you up......"

Thinking of this, Sterling felt bored, Li Qing cared so much about it that Stirling actually had a feeling of suffocation. He waved his hand and said, "You go home and tell Mrs. Sù, I'll go to the inspector general's house and tell her that she doesn't have to wait for me to eat." ”

Hearing that there was already a trace of sorrow in Sterling's words, the coachman didn't dare to say anything more, nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I'll go back and tell Madame." Don't you need me to send you there, my lord?"

"Well, there you go. I'll just walk over there myself. ”

The coachman looked at him in military uniform, stopped talking, and finally said cautiously: "My lord, in my opinion, if you are going to walk to supervise the adult's house, it is better to wear civilian clothes or I will send you there in a carriage." ”

Sterling looked at the neat dark blue tweed uniform on his body, and said strangely, "What's wrong with the military uniform?"

The servant hesitated, but did not dare to speak. Sterling was impatient: "Okay, okay, you just have to go back." He waved him away.

Around eight o'clock in the evening, it is the first time of the day when the nightlife in the big city has just begun. The bustling streets, the bustling flow of people passing by, the gorgeous decorations, the dazzling display of goods on both sides, the colorful decorations and street lamps, the kind of gorgeous and vivid life atmosphere unique to the big city is blowing in the face.

Having just taken a break from a hard day's work in the office, strolling down the busiest streets of Dìdū, Sterling couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and joy that he hadn't felt in a long time. He smiled and watched the bustle around him, enjoying the rare relief.

Suddenly, he felt something unusual: there seemed to be a malicious wave in the air that seemed to emanate against him. As he walked by, the pedestrians around him looked sideways. ――As a high-ranking general of the family, it is common for Sterling to be noticed and noticed by others. But this time it was a little different, and in the eyes of passers-by, there was no common feeling of respect and worship, but it seemed very disgusted, as if it was a little disdainful and contemptuous.

Sterling was uncomfortable, wondering, "What's going on?" but couldn't hold others back.

Passing by a fruit shop, he remembered that Dilin was the most popular banana eater, so he went in and bought a bag. When it came time to pay the money, he casually asked the boss.

The boss's expression was smiling: "Young man, you better take off this clothes quickly." ”

"Ahh No matter how much Sterling asked, he would never say anything more.

Sterling came out sullenly, and had barely walked a few steps when he heard someone shouting from behind: "Ahem, soldier!"

Sterling turned around when he heard the sound, and something flew towards him, and he couldn't dodge it, and the thing was smashing into his chest, and with a "snap", his chest was wet.

Then a second one flew in, and Stirling flashed, and the thing didn't hit, it hit the wall, and it shattered with a "snap", and the liquid splashed. Sterling saw that it was an egg that he had just used to smash himself.

He looked up and saw the troublemaker, a very young thug with long hair, less than ten meters in front of him, looking triumphantly at him. Seeing Sterling's angry look, he turned around and said to a few of his companions, "Look at that soldier, he looks stupid!" and several little rascals laughed together.

Sterling was furious, and was about to go over and teach them a lesson. The little hooligan shouted: "Those who are soldiers are on the streets of Dìdū, but they can't defend the motherland! If you have time to go shopping, you might as well go and snatch back the Far East!"

As if suddenly struck by lightning from the sky, Sterling froze for a moment. The hooligan's words stabbed him in the heart like a sharp knife. He lost the ability to move. The anger that was full of anger just now has now disappeared without a trace, and all that remains is shame.

Passers-by stopped and said, "Exactly! What kind of army is this?"

"I was beaten by the demons, and I ran so hard that I lost all my weapons and flags!"

"If you lose the twenty-three provinces of the Far East, you have to pay compensation!"

"It's a shame to rely on our people to pay for them back!"

"You're not ashamed, you're embarrassed to wear a military uniform on the street!"

Sterling's face was pale and he shivered as if he were chilling. He couldn't say a word, didn't dare, couldn't argue with the person in front of him, pushed away the crowd in front of him and left, and the shouts of the crowd came from his ears: "Look, that soldier wants to run away!", "He didn't dare to talk back to us." "Coward!"

The world in front of me began to spin, and everyone who rushed in front of him seemed to be yelling at themselves: "Coward!"

In my head, a loud voice rumbled repeatedly: "The army has not done its duty. The army failed the people. The army failed the country. Such an army and military personnel have become a disgrace!"

He staggered into an alley, saw that there was no one around, quickly took off his uniform, put on only the white shirt inside, found a pocket and put the outer suit in. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down, only to feel that his heart was beating hard, as if the thief had just escaped from the scene of the crime, and the banana he wanted to buy for Dilin had been lost at some point.

Now he understands why he didn't see uniformed soldiers on the streets all the way. After thinking about it for a moment, he changed direction.

The guard at the door came over respectfully: "Lord Sterling, please come in." The chief is waiting for you in the middle room. ”

Sterling nodded, straightened his clothes, strode into the chief's office, and gave a proper military salute. Shikawa stood up from behind the large desk to greet him, smiled and said, "Sterling, you're here! ”

Sterling thanked him and sat down. Zichuan Shenxing smiled and said, "Usually you want to see me, but you didn't come in directly, why is it so grand today, and you still have to let them report?"

Sterling bowed slightly: "The lower official has neglected etiquette, and now that I think about it, I am really uneasy." What's more, now that the identity of the lower official has changed, naturally he can't be as casual as Xiang Rì. ”

Zichuan Shenxing thought about it for a while, and already understood what Sterling meant: At that time, Sterling held the position of deputy commander of the Praetorian Guard, so he could naturally order casually as a close minister. But now that he is a military minister with a heavy army, in this capacity, if he casually enters like Xiang Rì, I am afraid that it will cause a lot of suspicion and suspicion.

Zichuan Shenxing sighed: "Sterling, you are still just as cautious! you don't have to pay too much attention to the comments of those villains." No matter who you are, I absolutely believe in you. ”

Sterling bowed his head deeply and thanked His Highness the Chief-General for his affection. Zichuan Shenxing sighed in his heart, Sterling was originally upright and cautious, and since returning from the Far East, he has become more and more deep and cold, and he does not smile. That painful experience made him change a lot, and his calmness and strictness were not much different from that of an old man who had been in the world for a long time.

Zichuan Shenxing naturally knows that the reason for this, in addition to the defeat in the Far East War, is probably the unforgettable emotional entanglement with the demon princess Cardin. Zichuan Shenxing hoped that he could untie this knot as soon as possible, but he also knew that no one could persuade this kind of thing, so he could only wait for the flow of time to slowly dilute the scars. After all, he's still young!

"Well, Sterling, you're so late, do you have something to do with me?"

Sterling nodded, "Yes, the lower official has a reluctant request to ask the chief for approval." ”

"Oh, what's the matter, you say. ”

"Xia Guan knows that since the death of Lord Ge Yingxing, the position of Far Eastern Commander has been vacant, and no new person has been appointed. Originally, the subordinates should not have made a request for non-division, but this time, the lower official took the liberty of asking the chief for permission to grant this position to the lower official. ”

Zichuan Shenxing was a little surprised. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Sterling, do you know the weight and significance of the position of Commander of the Far East?"

"Yes. Because for a long time, in order to resist the invasion of the demons, a single legion undertook all the defense of the family's eastern defense line, and the Far Eastern Army was the army with the heaviest responsibility among the family's road legions. But also for this reason, the Far Eastern Army has always been the largest army that the family attaches the most importance to, with the widest jurisdiction and the strongest commanding force, so the successive commanders of the Far East have been appointed by the commander-in-chief with the most trusted generals. I take the liberty of entrusting this important task to me, and I will do my best to live up to the trust of His Highness. ”

Zichuan Shenxing sighed and said, "Sterling, if it had been a year ago, I would have appointed you immediately without hesitation. But now, the situation is very different, the twenty-three provinces of the Far East have all fallen, and the current Far Eastern Army, at most, can only manage the Valen Fortress. In terms of authority and strength, this is far less important than the zhōngyāng commander of the Gongwei dìdū. What's more, if you talk about rank and important things, even if the previous position of Far Eastern Commander is not comparable to yours, why should you choose something light?"

"Your Highness, I am well aware of these circumstances. It's just that the current Valen Fortress has become the forefront of my Zichuan family's battle with the demons, and it is the most critical fortress related to the survival of my family, but only Deputy Commander Lin Bing is in charge. Your Highness, a weak female streamer, but she has to bear such a heavy responsibility, I am worried, is this too heavy for Your Excellency Lin Bing? If there is any negligence, the demon army will be driven straight away......" Sterling deliberately stopped talking.

Zichuan Shenxing was terrified for a moment: Sterling said that it was reasonable, and that it was too risky to entrust the fate of the whole country to a woman, but he immediately came to his senses: it was clear that Sterling was deliberately alarmist. It is not difficult to guess his purpose: he was besieged by the demons in Pai City, and in the end, he could only be rescued by the family's land reparations, and he regarded it as the greatest shame, and was eager to restart the war with the demons to wash away the shame. If he is allowed to pass, I am afraid that within three days of taking office, he will order the city to go out and fight to the death against the demons, which is called the real danger! In contrast, it is still the experienced and patient Lin Bing who is in charge of much safety.

Zichuan Shenxing snorted: "Haha, Sterling, you are too underestimated to look down on Lin Bing! She is a student brought out by Ge Yingxing, and she has been fighting horses all her life and has rich experience." Rest assured, the kind of situation you are talking about will not come out - or do you think you are much better than her and look down on her?"

Sterling subconsciously humbly said: "Of course the lower official didn't mean that......"

"Well, that's fine!" Zichuan Sanxing quickly interrupted Sterling's words: "The defenders of Valen City are all the old troops of the Far Eastern Army, and they have always been led by Lin Bing, and she is most familiar with the situation. Besides, we can't do without you here! The formation of the new army and the reorganization of the zhōngyāng army have so many things to do, so how can you get out of the way?"

"This ......"

"Sterling, I remember: you should still be in the newlywed now, right? Why don't you accompany Li Qing well?

It's not good for you to do this! You came over within a few days of getting married, and Li Qing's girl will scold me behind my back for being mean...... Hahaha, remember, come to work after a month of honeymoon, don't advance, this is an order...... Hahaha......"

Amid the hearty laughter of Zichuan Samxing, Stirling Wolf left the office in embarrassment. He sighed in disappointment and looked at the time, it was still early.

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