Chapter 76 The Real Opponent
There was no arrogance or superiority in the Sherman Empire Mission.
From princes, elders, generals to maids, guards, and low-ranking officers, everyone behaved politely, followed the etiquette of the nobility in their words and deeds, and was very respectful to the subjects of Edwang and the Luofeng Empire.
This may be a means for a powerful empire to win people's hearts.
——This is Yang Ming’s analysis.
Yang Ming did not try to show off deliberately. He calmly stayed by Edwang's side and acted as Edwang's trusted bodyguard.
When the Sherman delegation entered the long convoy, Yang Ming was named by Edwin to ride along, while several other captains and deputy captains of the four regiments were responsible for commanding the team.
Ding.
Gain Halo: The protection of the Second Prince.
At this moment, Yang Ming was sitting in the passenger seat of the extended hovercraft, his eyes scanning in all directions alertly.
Adwant sat opposite the old prince of the Sherman Empire and exchanged greetings that used a lot of modifiers.
The only topic that interested Yang Ming was the old prince Sherman mentioning Adwant's previous performance.
"Alas," the prince said with emotion, "I didn't expect that at the most critical moment, it was His Highness the Second Prince who chose to fully trust the Sherman family. This is truly our honor."
Adwant was stunned for a moment, then replied with a smile: "The Sherman Empire has always provided great help to our country and is the protector of our family. This choice is a matter of course."
The prince laughed a few times and said slowly:
"Sherman's principle has always been that if our friends treat us with sincerity, Sherman's people will repay our friends with greater sincerity.
"And you, Your Highness Adwan, the report of the Seventh Bureau of Foreign Affairs says that you have a smart mind and excellent vision. You are developing business in both the great empire and the despicable federation at the same time to give back to your motherland. This is a very courageous act.
"But I think you can increase your investment focus on us. I brought a vice minister of commerce with me, and he will discuss this with you later."
"Wow, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Adwant exclaimed, "I am deeply touched that the Empire has actually been paying attention to us."
"Yes," the prince smiled gently, "We just don't want to compete with the New Federation in terms of insidiousness and meanness. When the situation undergoes some subversive changes, the Empire's invincible fleet will stand firmly behind the Empire's allies. You know what I mean, nephew Edwan."
Edwan smiled and nodded, his eyes shining.
But Yang Ming guessed that the prince must be cursing in his heart.
The Seventh Bureau of Sherman Empire's Foreign Affairs is a department specifically responsible for handling relations with vassal states.
Yang Ming kept thinking in his heart.
The throne, the quietly sitting old emperor, and the other person's cold eyes always appeared in front of his eyes.
As the old prince's conversation with Adwant continued, it became dull and filled with perfunctory compliments.
They arrived at the large "overpass" outside the palace without any obstruction and headed straight for the palace's front yard. When the palace opened a layer of defensive energy shield, Yang Ming's escort mission this time came to a smooth conclusion.
There was no car accident at all.
Yang Ming did not attend the subsequent welcome reception.
He wandered over to the command and dispatch center where General Fremont was, sat in a corner and listened to the news for a while, and roughly knew what had happened.
First, the military captured the New Federation spies and prevented the conspiracy planned by the New Federation.
Second, the police received a tip-off in advance and arrested several rebel members who wanted to attack the delegation's convoy, thus protecting this extremely important delegation.
Third, General Uli has been asked by the Royal Court to assist in the investigation of his sex scandal.
Fourth, the Third Prince , has already arranged for people to suppress online public opinion and clear up Wu Li’s scandal.
pretty.
All the news are related to Xiaolu.
"Captain Yang Ming?"
A warm voice came from the front.
Yang Ming immediately looked up and saw the tall, slightly bald, bespectacled general of the royal guard, Philemon.
General Felimon waved his hand gently, and Yang Ming immediately stood up and trotted to the general command platform.
"Take a seat, Captain," General Felimon pointed to the seat next to him, "Don't be so reserved. Help me look at these projection screens for a while. My old eyes are almost blurry."
Yang Ming saluted and then sat down relaxedly.
A female officer in a military uniform skirt brought coffee to Yang Ming. Yang Ming thanked him and took the coffee. He glanced at the surveillance footage at various locations and his eyes fell on the projection screens in the middle.
What is presented here is the Royal Cocktail Party.
The emperor, prince, idle prince, high-ranking nobles, ministers and their children of the Luofeng Empire are gathered together.
But they are just supporting roles.
The real protagonists are the old Prince Sherman, who is over a hundred years old but still full of energy, and several Sherman generals.
Only Gutonmaha from the Luofeng military attended the party. Other military leaders took sick leave and did not dare to come to Yilando Star at all.
Yang Ming couldn't help but think wildly -
If a shaped-energy bomb were dropped at the venue at this time, wouldn't the Luofeng Empire be able to directly enter a new chapter in its social system?
General Felimon beside him sighed softly: "This is the most powerful empire in the galaxy. The aura of just one general alone makes almost all of our ministers feel fearful."
Yang Ming took a sip of coffee and said with a smile: "The old prince of Sherman is very optimistic about the second prince."
"I also got relevant information," Felimon said, "It seems that it was because during the last meeting, His Royal Highness the Second Prince strongly suggested seeking help from the Sherman Empire, and the Sherman Empire knew about this...Sherman really has planted intelligence personnel among us, and the means of burying them are hundreds of times more sophisticated than those bastards in the New Federation."
Yang Ming asked: "What are the New Federation agents doing now?"
"They just planned an attack, using a colonel-level spy buried in the military."
Felemon shrugged.
"Although I don't like Gutonmaha, this old guy has a keener sense of smell than a robot dog's nose... Fortunately, no big trouble has occurred."
Yang Ming nodded with a smile.
It would be good if Gudunmaha could increase his influence in the military through this incident.
This is also part of Yang Ming's resources.
Yang Ming was looking at a corner of the cocktail party, where Miss Windsor was chatting with two noble ladies.
However, Windsor looked a little bored. It was the two noble ladies who were whispering to each other, and Windsor was trying hard to fit in.
Felimon said, "You will stay here and guard the projection screen later, Captain Yang Ming. No one here will target you."
"Thank you," Yang Ming said softly.
Felimon smiled and waved his hand: "You don't need to thank me. You let me see the hope of the future of the Luofeng Empire Army. Alas, this will be your stage in the future, Captain Yang Ming."
"General, you are too modest. The cub must sharpen its claws and fangs before it can go out hunting alone."
Yang Ming took off his watch, opened the flat projection screen that focused on protecting privacy, tapped his fingers quickly, and responded casually:
"Do you want to retire now? There is still a long way to go."
Felimon sighed, "I hope so."
Yang Ming sent a message out.
In a corner of the cocktail party, Miss Windsor, who was wearing an evening gown, immediately took out her network access terminal. A smile spread across her eyes and her slender fingers kept dancing.
General Philemon keenly caught this scene, shrugged his shoulders, and continued his daily work - staring at every corner of the palace.
…
The Sherman delegation will stay on the planet Ilando for three days.
Yang Ming took a look at their itinerary, which was basically a three-day aristocratic cocktail party, inspections of several Rhodium-6 ring core factories, and a press conference to express the Sherman Empire's royal family's support for the Luofeng Empire's royal family and declare that they were eternal partners.
Because the Emperor of Luofeng Empire is ill, he will be accompanied by three princes throughout the trip.
Yang Ming doesn't pay attention to these face-saving projects.
He is waiting.
Wait for any member of the Sherman Empire's envoys to appear in the old emperor's bedroom.
If the Sherman delegation did not have any form of individual contact with the old emperor, nothing could be proven, and this intelligent machine would still be shrouded in mystery.
This is the only clue at the moment.
To this end, Yang Ming took the initiative to apply to Fremont for full-day duty.
During these three days, he only slept four or five hours a day, and spent most of his time in front of the hundreds of projection screens, directly participating in the mobilization of guards in various places and keeping a close eye on the old emperor's movements.
Yang Ming's spirit of "enduring hardship and working hard" won him great praise from the pragmatic General Philemon.
The suggestion for Yang Ming's promotion has been written into General Philemon's memorandum.
The situation that concerned Yang Ming occurred the night before the delegation was about to leave.
In the early hours of the morning, every corner of the palace was quiet, with only the guards on duty guarding the closed palace gates.
Two maids appeared outside the gate of Palace No. 9 and were questioned by the guards.
Yang Ming picked up the intercom beside him and said, "Gate No. 9, pay attention."
The sleepy technicians suddenly woke up and immediately started working.
The image of Palace Gate No. 9 was enlarged, and the conversation between the maid and the guard came out from the speakers:
"…Princess Daina? We are confirming that the princess's order is on file. But the princess's guests must register their information. Now is a critical period."
"I am the head maid of the princess. If you insist, I can have the princess speak to you personally, Sergeant."
"Oh, well...I'll ask for instructions from the command desk."
Yang Ming turned his head and looked towards the corner. General Felimon's rest room was empty.
The temporary commander here is just a small lieutenant like him.
In other words, he will take the blame if something goes wrong.
Yang Ming took the intercom and said, "Princess, please give the order to the command desk in person."
The guards in front of the palace gate did as they were told. The princess' maid glared at the guards, said sorry to the strange woman next to her, and turned around to contact the princess.
The strange woman was also dressed in a maid's long skirt and had a veil on her face. At this moment, she smiled and nodded, with a very calm expression.
Princess Daina, the biological mother of the fourth princess Emilia, quickly conveyed her order to the command desk, and she gave the order in person:
"Let my friend come over to chat, and you can send guards to keep an eye on her. She won't leave my chambers."
Yang Ming let him go immediately.
The princess has every right to do so.
Under Yang Ming's gaze from a distance, the strange woman successfully passed the checkpoint, walked through the long corridor, and entered Princess Dana's bedroom with the maid.
There was a sound of electricity coming from the earphone hidden in Yang Ming's left ear hole, followed by a simple conversation.
…
"Dana, how have things been these past few years?" the strange woman asked.
"It's normal, there's no problem." Princess Dana's voice was inexplicably nervous. "Let's turn on the shielding device first."
"Let's go over there now. I need to check its stability."
The strange woman smiled and said:
"Don't be too stressed. Even if there are any small problems, we can easily solve them, right?"
Princess Daina sighed softly.
There was the sound of chairs being moved. It seemed that Princess Daina and her head maid were working, while the strange woman was watching.
A faint mechanical sound was heard, and a secret door opened in the princess's bedroom.
The strange woman entered the secret door with Princess Dana, and the princess asked the head maid to wait outside.
…
Secret door or secret passage?
Yang Ming frowned slightly, and Lu's voice sounded again:
"The secret passage should lead to the emperor's bedroom. There are no electronic devices in it, so their conversation cannot be captured. But it is enough to prove it, boss."
Yang Ming nodded imperceptibly, picked up his watch and pretended to yawn, and whispered:
"Find a way to eavesdrop on Princess Daina's chambers. I want to know what they will say when they return."
"yes."
About fifteen minutes later, the sound of the secret door opening was heard again, and the farewell conversation between Princess Dana and the strange woman was heard in the headphones.
…
"You've done very well, Dana. You will complete your term in three years. Your work will focus on two points. The first is to select a crown prince who is most beneficial to the empire, and the second is to urge it to resolutely resist the New Federation."
Princess Dana asked softly, "Can we get some external assistance? The agents of the New Federation are a headache. They even threatened us before and launched a direct cyber attack."
"Not yet, unfortunately," the strange woman said, "The elders disdain such low-level means as assassination and seduction. The Empire has its own way of dealing with problems. If this gets out of control , you know what will happen. The generals of the Empire are eager for any opportunity to make achievements."
"Well, I will try to complete both tasks," Princess Daina said softly.
"This guy, a mere artificial intelligence, actually dares to give me orders."
"See you in three years, sir."
"Well," the strange woman seemed to hug Princess Dana, "you are the best."
…
The sound of electric current.
Monitoring ends.
On the projection wall in front of Yang Ming, the veiled woman appeared in the corridor. Accompanied by the head maid, she slowly walked towards the palace gate.
The officer standing by secretly saw that Yang Ming's expression became very gloomy for a few minutes.
It was gloomy and a little scary.
