Chapter 1302
Chapter 1302 - 1288 High Stakes Bet
1,410 words
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8 min read
Drinking tea, planting trees, watching the big shots argue—it was a rare moment of leisure for Lu Ping’an.
But his peaceful days were shattered by a handwritten letter.
"What’s going on with Xia Qin..."
Captain Xia’s handwritten letter had left Lu Ping’an somewhat confused.
She seemed to have already mixed into the high levels of the Salvation Army... and this time, she was pulling strings, trying to do something.
".....she’s really direct, isn’t she? Politics doesn’t usually involve throwing all your cards on the table at once, but some things just don’t change."
Although it was a personal letter, it was essentially a proxy letter that voiced the request of "One-Eyed Marshal," one of their high-level members.
The content was quite straightforward, but the three demands it included were more shocking than the next.
"Nation-building...."
The Salvation Army had already become the largest local force..... but they were referred to as ’local’ and not ’homegrown’ because the power and capabilities of those big shots in the branch churches were not to be underestimated.
The identity of the Salvation Army was extraordinarily special; they were an authentic army formed by locals, looking to save the world..... internally, they were quite chaotic, but in this era, their common ideals were incredibly realistic.
"Why build a nation now? Wouldn’t it be more fitting after clearing out the invaders and becoming the masters of the land....."
"Whether it’s fitting or not is one thing, if we don’t build a nation now we might miss the best opportunity."
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
The nation-building efforts of "Mercury 42" were not new to Lu Ping’an, he had actually seen people discussing it fervently on the Contact Board two days ago.
He understood Big Cat’s words...
"At this time, most of the big shots would likely support nation-building..."
The issue now on the frontline was not a lack of combat power, but a lack of motivation to deploy that power.
What to fight for remains an eternal question, but the current situation of Mercury 42 is a mixed bag, and the problem seems almost unsolvable.
When you’ve been a soldier, risking your life for years, and end up with no pension or retirement funds, it’s indeed disheartening... but most of the Salvation Army seems to be facing this dilemma.
"The Salvation Army is one of the better ones with some level of organization; those mercenaries going to the frontline really don’t know for whom they fight."
Great causes always exist, but if one dedicates everything to a great cause.... at least, some recognition and rewards are expected.
Establishing a pan-world state and forming a future united government would then rally all possible forces under the banner of a great cause.
"Some will support it, but others will oppose....." Lu Ping’an stated the obvious, but it was the reality he had read on the Contact Board.
These two days, the big shots had been furiously arguing over this "request."
Under the current circumstances, the Salvation Army’s attempts to organize nation-building can’t avoid the pan-human forces; without their support, it would be impossible to successfully establish a nation.
Watching the argument unfold, Lu Ping’an always felt it was subtle.
"Nation-building, establishing a unified national identity, isn’t that the outline of ’Mentor Theory’....."
Lu Ping’an felt it strange as if the "strategy" were proposed by himself.
He personally was inclined to support it... partly out of personal sentiment and partly because he and the Rebirth Business Group had already invested so much, he wanted to support any proposal that could increase the chances of war success.
And the big shots arguing on the Contact Board were expressing their respective stances..... those wanting to uproot everything didn’t want to see nation-building, while those looking to operate long-term were eager to see the establishment of a new state.
"No wonder they wrote to me..... they probably don’t know I have a say among the big shots."
Being able to determine the future of a nation, a race, or even a world with words, Lu Ping’an felt increasingly intrigued.
Based on the current intelligence, the expected establishment of the New Kingdom is "federal"... At present, it’s unlikely that any other systems could emerge in this world; fragmentation is inevitable.
In the short term, this is the "banner," but incredibly, after being upheld for so long, it has indeed won the Plane Defense War under this banner. Thus, it has truly become a new national identity.
"How could the Salvation Army know? In their eyes, you’re just a minor player not even at the Rule-level... They probably asked for help from a Mentor, right?"
Lu Ping’an pretended not to hear Big Cat’s words.
Mentor? Is there such a person? I don’t recognize him.
"Chris, do you think this will pass?"
"It’s very likely... If there’s a banner, it would facilitate deployment on the battlefield, at least having unified command."
"Command? Will they listen?"
"Not separately, but look at the other request....."
The requests on the letter account for three, one of which is obviously of super heavyweight.
"You mean, to negotiate with our homeland, with those who call the shots? Who can manage these guys..... oh, there really is someone."
Lin Nu doesn’t have this authority, but there are indeed people on Earth who can do it.
"Are they planning to establish diplomatic relations with Eastern Country on Earth using the name of the New Kingdom?"
"Most likely so. A five-hundred-year resource trade treaty might be possible by then, as long as they sell enough, why wouldn’t the Eastern Country government sign off on it?"
The forces within Lin Nu’s Church are disorganized, and most members are actually there to vie for the Proper God position, which is also administered by the Eastern Country government.
Like Eastern Country and Earth, not like Mercury 42 which is messy, really offending the Eastern Country government, unless they don’t return to develop in their homeland, none of these Big Shots can accept that.
"These two requests, taken individually, might not be feasible, but now put together, they could play a major role in forming a unified front, and might indeed succeed."
In the name of the Eastern Country government on Earth, flagging all the Big Shots of Mercury 42 under the Earth reinforcements, and having the local "federation" organize the war..... Following this procedure, those who do not obey the command are essentially disrespecting the Eastern Country government.
This actually benefits both ways, and as troops dispatched by the Eastern Country government, earning double the merits, even without seeking rewards from the Eastern Country homeland, the military achievements recorded could be very helpful for "queueing for Proper God."
Should the New Kingdom encounter problems, direct communications with the Eastern Country government can be held in all aspects, this is a wise act of "bypassing the middleman."
"This, indeed, is a wise decision... taking a gamble."
In Lu’s eyes, this is clearly a high stake bet, although if successful, the rewards are substantial, but if it fails, it’s easy for the Salvation Army to become seen as competitors and ambitious by the Big Shots, being attacked from both inside and outside, leading to the only outcome of destruction.
Lu Ping’an estimated that such personal letters would not be the only one; probably every "Human Race Big Shot" who could be sought for help would receive one, even many Decree-level might receive the news.
In fact, as the opinions of the Big Shots became increasingly heated, the human side also failed to provide a unified response, but such news was proliferating.
Although there’s no evidence, Lu Ping’an felt that this was probably news intentionally released by the locals.
"Pressure through public opinion is also possible..."
As for the civilian Stray Soldiers, they would probably be happy to see the birth of a "responsible nation."
Even so, the Big Shots on the Contact Board still couldn’t reach an agreement..... The multiplicity of interests pursued differs too much, and the effectiveness of words is too low.
At this time, as the host, Xiu Yi stepped forward.
"Let’s vote, but one person, one vote will definitely dissatisfy many... let’s use the number of fragments to vote then, that at least indirectly represents everyone’s capabilities."
— End of Chapter 1302 —