In the end, General Edwards was defeated. However, the young man did not come out of it unharmed. As soon as the monitoring system announced the result, his body gave way. The places where he has taken some harsh attacks started to bleed.
Shi Lang was keeping these spots under control by his will of the Terran and some spiritual energy. Although the wounds were shallow and did not hinder his motions, they still existed. The effect of spiritual energy was that they had already started to heal.
The first general said, “The bet will be fulfilled after a week. I will put you in the head position and you will be responsible for the future appointments. I may step back, but remember, if the federation suffered even the slightest under your hands, I will have you removed, forever.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I will ask you to sit in the background. Share the load of the secret divisions. Watch over the new generation, and guide them in times of trouble.”
General Edwards nodded and then they both walked back to their teams. The people on the sidelines applauded them. Shi Lang and the others have changed the history of mock battles. They have also displayed the strength of the youth as well. This was not going to be an easy thing for them to maintain.
After today a lot of people will come up and try to challenge them, after all, they all would think that if these young people can take down the General Council then some other youth or old person can take them down. Even if they do not get to sit at the table of the council, they will still be given a chance to boast if they defeated the new champions of the civilization.
…
Time passed in a blink and the week has come to an end, after long discussions in the past seven days, the parliament decided to allow this big change on a probation basis but all the old fleet generals were asked to stay on stand by. If the new council failed to work up to the expectations. They will be called back.
This was a huge thing, and the pressure was great too. Shi Lang did not want to sit down at the table, but he was going to change the council as they knew it. In the old council room, Shi Lang sat on the head chair, with Fleet General Charlotte Knight, Instructor Rosa, and Archie Arkham.
His friends had unanimously decided to step back, as they did not think they were suitable to take control of such a big task just yet.
Shi Lang said, “There are a few things that I would need your help with, Commander Silence.”
Archie Arkham nodded and Shi Lang continued, “Find me the best men from the top brass of all twelve fleets. Check them thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly. Their character, merit, crimes, bad habits, and good habits, temperament, and cultivation levels. Even if they do not stand out, if they are able to stand along with everyone else and still maintain their distinctiveness, I want their names on my table. You can freely use the other secret divisions for the investigations.”
The lady was surprised, then she stood up and saluted Shi Lang, “Yes Sir.”
Shi Lang nodded, then he turned his face to the instructor and said, “Lieutenant General Rosa, I would like you to gather a unit of the technology department, and have them develop a network that can separate the identity of every secret division operative. The secret division operatives will have two identities.
One will be their on-duty identity and the other will be their civilian identity. This will allow them a better cover, and better scope to act in secret. After the government has disclosed the news, it has become a pain for them. At the same time, develop a device that can cloak the face better than the mask and also something to keep all the visor features of the secret division mask intact. Can you do that within a week?”
Rosa Blues was surprised, but after some thought, she nodded and said, “It will be done, Sir.”
Shi Lang nodded and then he looked at General Knigth and said, “General, I would like you to come up with a plan like camp Ragnarok, but something more suitable for an average soldier. Something that makes them stronger and does not break them. Also, please call over the team from Camp Ragnarok, they are to report here tomorrow morning, and it would be nice if they wore uniforms.”
Charlotte nodded and said, “Consider it done, Sir.”
Shi Lang nodded and leaned back in his chair. He said, “The next thing I want to discuss is the topic of transparency. Our Federal military does not recruit the natives from the colonized planets. This is a sort of isolation for them. If we had more forces, then we might not have to be so dependent on the alliance.
Arcadia, Neomon, I do not think of them as an enemy, but I do not like the fact that we had to band together in face of some stupid conceited fools. Find me talents from all the colonies, and have them trained, assimilate them into our forces. I do not wish to see any discrimination, as they only hinder prosperity.
Make sure that the message is conveyed to the normal military that we need to unite or I will personally weld them together.”
The last sentence was a threat, but it was conveyed to the three ladies. Archie Arkham raised her hand, Shi Lang nodded and she asked, “Sir, how do you intend to achieve this, we will have no idea of what is happening on the frontiers. You know that the frontier forces are very united. They might act discriminatingly, and not report this. What then?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Rather than have the secret divisions go forward to investigate the cases, use the new face mask gadget or any method that you can and get inside the frontier forces. These undercover operatives will be the eyes of providence. Have them all call in such acts as soon as they discover it.”
His words shocked the people, they had never thought of such a solution. The impact of this will change the complete structure of the federal military. Shi Lang went on to say, “We have enough numbers in the secret divisions to plant inside the frontier forces. We have twelve fleets and twelve secret division, assign one secret division to one fleet for monitoring.”
Charlotte Knight raised her hand and said, “I object. This arrangement will breach the borders between the two departments. This has never happened.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “I understand what you mean, General Charlotte, neither is it my motive to question the integrity of the soldiers. What I am suggesting here is for the two people to work together to make things better.
The frontier forces have a fear for the secret divisions, I intend to utilise this fear, without fear there is no obedience. You know that better than me.”
His words were compelling. However, the impact was not too big, he said, “Fine, I will make a concession and leave this for hold on till the generals of the new council are appointed. We will take a vote.”
General Charlotte nodded and Shi Lang said, “In the exploratory regions provide the troops with advanced weapons. Also, clear up the hostiles, if necessary.”
General Charlotte nodded and said, “I will have the logistics department look into this.”
Shi Lang nodded and the meeting continued. Finally after an hour, an assigned adjutant led Shi Lang to his office. The young man looked at the clean stable and accessed his holo-comp, and then he sighed.
The boy spent the whole day dealing with clerical stuff. When he was finished with his works, he got out of the office and was surrounded by the media dogs.
He sighed and with a faint smile he said, “Alright everyone, lets us do it one by one?”
The media was happy to get answers.
“General Lang, why did you initiate the mock battle with the general council?”, asked a reporter.
Shi Lang replied, “I was not very happy with the position they were giving me. So, enraged it directly challenged them.”
The straightforward attitude shocked the people, they did not expect him to say such a thing. Another reporter asked, “What do you intend to do with the new council.”
Shi Lang replied, “The old system is effective but we need to update ourselves with the times.”
The hint was very obvious, the entire federal military was going to be overhauled from this point forward. While the questions were answered the entire federation was boiling with anticipation. They all wanted to see, what change will this young man bring them.
Shi Lang on the other hand was thinking if he could find someone to replace himself in the office.