Chapter 174

Chapter 174

In fact, the Earth Federation Army has long known that Anaheim has its own independent armed forces. After all, the last spy incident just happened not long ago, and the Earth Federation government and the military have long speculated on how the overly detailed spy list came from.

——Anaheim's private armed forces are very powerful, which is already a consensus among all those who know the situation.

Originally, this kind of civilian armed forces outside the control of the rulers should have attracted defense and hostility, but Anaheim is an exception - as the most important energy, military and technological enterprise on Earth, the rise and fall of Anaheim is even related to the strategic power comparison between the entire Earth Federation and the Martians.

It can be said that as long as Anaheim does not openly say that it wants to betray the Earth, the Earth Federation government and the military will always turn a blind eye to some "small problems" of Anaheim and Fang Yuan.

Besides, which international monopoly enterprise on Earth today does not have any private armed forces? Especially in the United States, a country dominated by capitalists, it is almost customary for big entrepreneurs to have their own private armed forces.

However, this time Fang Yuan made too much noise.

"We want to know, what happened to that armored cavalry? Did you capture it? What about the Martian Knight inside? And what about your power armor?"　　The Earth Alliance Army certainly would not be stupid enough to think that Anaheim had defected to the Martians. After all, they also had their own spies inside Anaheim, and had already reported to them that "the top boss personally brought back an armored cavalry and captured a Martian Knight."

Fang Yuan also knew the existence of these spies, but in order to reassure the people of the Earth Alliance, as long as these people did not affect his research and business, he would not touch these government and military spies.

To be honest, when the top leaders of the United Army heard the news, they thought the intelligence personnel were joking-the biggest boss of such a large enterprise actually captured a Martian Knight himself? And he captured him with an intact armored cavalry? 　　This joke is not funny at all! However, after they confirmed the source of the intelligence again and again, they immediately became restless.

Let’s not talk about the acquisition of the Martian armored cavalry, just talking about your personal force as the boss of Anaheim... This is already a bit beyond the standard!

"Yes, my intelligence department detected that the Martians had an invasion against Anaheim, so I took the initiative and defeated and captured the invaders in space."

Fang Yuan sat in the boss chair, put on a big boss style, and told the truth without hesitation: "As for the power armor... It's just an experimental equipment of mine, there's nothing to say."

Well, at least most of the truth, after all, he can invade the Aldnoah information network of the entire Martian Empire through [Ether] and even block the authority, or his armor can already achieve preliminary warp flight. It's too exaggerated to say it, so it's better not to tell others for the time being.

"..." Hearing Fang Yuan's statement, several senior generals of the United Army who had some small ideas in their hearts were speechless.

A Martian knight, just captured? Is it the kind of Martian knight who once drove the armored cavalry on the battlefield and beat the Earth Army to death? And he was captured by a private enterprise? It is said that the boss of this enterprise did it? What kind of experimental equipment was used... So Anaheim's experimental equipment is so powerful? ! This is nonsense! ! ! Countless alpacas ran through the minds of several generals. They looked at each other and didn't know what to say for a while... "... Ahem! Okay, Mr. Fang, since you have captured the invaders from Mars... can you 'lend' the armored cavalry to the military research department? Ahem! After all, we all know that you and your company seem unwilling to participate in the research and development of armored cavalry... And your 'experimental equipment', I wonder if it can be sold to the military after the 'experiment' is completed?" The middle-aged general with three general stars on his shoulders said this carefully. To be honest, if it was the boss of another ordinary company, he would not be so cautious, just say "military requisition" and send people to take the things away! 　　But it won't work this time! 　　Anaheim is not an ordinary company. Not to mention that it is a de facto international monopoly energy military technology company, Anaheim also has a large number of supporters and stakeholders in the United Government and the United Army.

In fact, the general who came to Fang Yuan to "borrow" things, he holds shares in some of Anaheim's companies. After all, they are all his own people.

'However, even so, it should be difficult to agree to such an excessive request. However, no matter what the other party asks, we have to get the armored cavalry, and it is best to get the power armor as well. These are all good things...'　　The general thought so in his heart.

"I can give you the armored cavalry!" Contrary to the general's expectation, Fang Yuan didn't bother to argue and agreed directly: "I can even give you the Martian Knight as well. Anyway, I have obtained all the information that should be obtained, and I don't think the armored cavalry takes up space here.

As for the power armor, it is far from perfect now, and there is still a long way to go before it becomes a mature and reliable product, so... I'm sorry!" Although several military officers were disappointed that Fang Yuan refused to sell the "experimental equipment", they were quite overjoyed that the other party could easily agree to the other half of the request.

To be precise, it was very unexpected! 　　That was the armored cavalry, which contained the core components of Aldnoah technology. How could they just give up such a big piece of cake? 　　They came for the Aldnoah core in the armored cavalry. Could it be that the behind-the-scenes boss and chief researcher of Anaheim had already thoroughly studied Aldnoah in just one night? 　　How could this be possible... There must be other requirements! 　　"But..." Fang Yuan spoke again.

——Sure enough, it's coming! "I ask for some simple privileges..." Fang Yuan supported his chin with both hands, leaned forward, and made Commander Ikari's signature gesture.

...　　"Okay, Mr. Fang, we agree to your request."

After more than two hours of discussion and negotiation, and several phone calls with several bigwigs in the coalition government, several generals agreed to Fang Yuan's request on behalf of the Earth United Army, and also successfully obtained the ownership of the armored cavalry, and also attached a Martian Count whose value is not yet known.

Before leaving, the leading general couldn't help but turn back and said, "Mr. Fang, don't you really consider putting that power armor on the sales list?"　　Well, obviously, he hasn't given up yet.

The scene of Fang Yuan returning to Earth with [Hector] at that time alarmed the entire Earth United Army. It was impossible for the army not to be jealous of this kind of personal armed force that can enter and exit the atmosphere alone, and is said to have defeated the Martian armored cavalry one-on-one.

In the previous conversation, the general had mentioned this matter more than once, but each time Fang Yuan avoided it with a few words. Now he wants to try again.

"I'm sorry, I've said it many times. It's an immature laboratory product. It's far from being technically finalized.

To be honest, when I wore it and put it into use, I was quite worried that it would malfunction. After actual use, I found that it still has many shortcomings... So, I'm sorry, it's not for sale for the time being!"　　"..."　　 Don't believe me! 　　You can capture the Martian Knight and you tell me that it's an immature laboratory product? 　　Then what level do you want your finished product to reach? Do you want to crush the entire Martian Empire by yourself? ! ! ')135'\u003eChapter 134 Martians eager for war

Just when the Earth was in turmoil because of the sudden acquisition of armored cavalry, the Martian Empire was also not calm.

In fact, the news of Reinhardt's defeat and capture was sent back to Mars as soon as possible.

Fortunately, since the exclusive Aldnoah core in Earl Reinhardt's territory was still activated, everyone knew that he was not dead, but was captured by the Earthlings.

However, even so, this news still caused an uproar in the Weiser Empire.

"How could it be... things shouldn't be like this!" It was still the small group meeting of the "three people who worry about the country and the people". Zazbarum, who was originally wise and had the momentum of "feather fan and silk scarf, masts and oars were destroyed in the midst of laughter and chat", had completely lost his calmness.

This is different from the plan! ! ! Things shouldn't have developed like this! In his plan, Reinhardt violated the order of the Emperor of the Empire, broke into the Earth Union without reason, and launched an armed attack on a private enterprise on Earth. In the end, no matter whether he successfully repelled the Earth Union Army and escaped unscathed or was defeated and driven out of the Earth Circle by the Earthlings, he would definitely be held accountable by His Majesty the Emperor when he returned to the Empire.

However, no matter which possibility, Zazbarum had never thought of the option of "Count Reinhardt was intercepted and defeated by the Earthlings in space and captured".

After all, as a Martian noble, and one of the 37 great nobles, Zazbarum also knew the combat effectiveness of Reinhardt's armored cavalry.

[Hector], who possessed both the "strongest spear" and the "strongest shield", was considered one of the strongest among all the armored cavalry in the Martian Empire.

Although the disadvantage that the "spear" and "shield" could not be activated at the same time made [Hector] likely to be defeated, Reinhardt was not a rookie who had never been on the battlefield. Naturally, he should know how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, and flexibly switch between offensive and defensive modes in battle. Even if he faced thousands of troops, he should be able to retreat unscathed! This was also an important reason why Zazbarum chose to let Reinhardt take action against Anaheim.

Although the general Martian Knights have various special abilities, they may not be able to escape unscathed when facing the human wave tactics of the Earth Alliance Army, especially the human wave tactics after the weapons and equipment have been greatly upgraded.

In terms of direct combat power and survivability, Reinhardt's so-called "strongest" [Hector] is indeed unmatched in the Martian Empire.

After all, what Zazbarum wanted was to delay the technological development of the Earthlings, that is, to effectively destroy and kill the industries and personnel of Anaheim, but he definitely didn't think about sacrificing a Martian knight! 　　However, according to the observation results of the observatory on the moon, Reinhardt was quickly defeated in a one-on-one battle with the Earthlings? 　　This is unscientific! ! ! 　　The cry in his heart was exactly the same as Reinhardt's when he was defeated.

When did the technology of the Earthlings develop to this level? 　　If a single soldier wearing space-powered armor can defeat [Hector], who is also one of the strongest among the armored cavalry, one-on-one, then what technological advantages do they, the Martians, have over the Earthlings? 　　When the next Earth-Mars War begins, facing the Earth United Army that has surpassed or equaled the population, economy, military, and technology, what kind of ending will their Weiser Empire usher in? 　　Zazbarum only felt that the future of the empire was dark... 　　"We have to go to war with the Earth immediately!" 　　After learning that Reinhardt was captured, Wolain also knew what this meant.

But she was not as worried or even desperate as her fiancé, but she said with anger that she would strike first and defeat the Earthlings before they completely overwhelmed the Martian Empire! "Yes, it's a little late to start a war now, but the longer we delay, the worse it will be for the Empire! We must use a full-scale war to completely suppress the Earthlings' progress and can't let them continue like this!" Kurut'o stood on the side of Wolain this time. He didn't agree with the female Countess's proposal to start a war because the emperor himself didn't want to start a war at this time, but now that the Imperial Earl was defeated and captured by the Earthlings, His Majesty the Emperor should not be able to remain silent anymore... "...You are right, we must fight back now!" Zazbarum was an elite among the Martian nobles after all. The despair just now only existed for a moment, and then he immediately cheered up again under the encouragement of his two allies.

"We must meet His Majesty and explain the pros and cons. We can't waste the empire's precious national strength in meaningless internal friction!" Zazbarum made a decision.

"It should have been done a long time ago!" "Yes, that's it!" The other two in the trio agreed with this.

... In fact, it was not just Zazbarum, Kurut'o, and Wolein who made such a decision.

When the news that Reinhardt was captured by the Earthlings with his machine spread throughout the upper echelons of the empire, almost all the nobles with titles made the same decision.

Even those opposition nobles who almost openly confronted the royal family were the same. At this moment, they stood together again, which was very rare, and together they asked the old emperor to go to war.

After all, these Martian nobles may be greedy, arrogant, or tyrannical, but there will definitely be no idiots among them.

Before, most of them ignored the threat of the Earthlings and devoted themselves to the struggle for power within the empire. That was because they looked down on the Earthlings and did not think that those backward "primitives" could threaten the Weiser Empire, which mastered advanced alien technology.

They could deal with the Earthlings at any time, but they must never give up the power within the Weiser Empire! 　　This is probably what the Martian nobles who were fighting internally thought.

But now this illusion has been broken by the bloody facts. All the Martian nobles, whether they admit it or not, it is an indisputable fact that the Earthlings can defeat the armored cavalry with Aldnoah technology in single-soldier force.

In other words, the absolute military suppression of the Weiser Empire over the Earthlings no longer exists! 　　This is absolutely unacceptable! 　　The Earthlings should stay on Earth and wait for these noble Martians to come and rule. How can they have a stronger power than them! 　　The backbone of the Earthlings must be completely broken! ! ! ')136'\u003eChapter 135 I, Butterfly Wings, Awesome! (broken voice)

"You... want to force the emperor to abdicate?!" The old emperor looked at the kneeling figures in front of him and said this slowly.

Although his tone was soothing and not harsh, the inexplicable majesty and solemnity made the large number of people who were half-kneeling below - whether they were real people or optical projections - feel nervous and sweat on their backs.

"... We dare not have such an idea!" Although there was no advance rehearsal, everyone still said the same thing in unison.

"Don't dare? Humph!" The old emperor snorted coldly, and his expressionless face suddenly became stern: "What else do you dare not do? Killing my son Gilzeria, disobeying my orders, and even daring to provoke the earthlings without authorization, and now running to me to force the emperor to abdicate... Do you still want my throne?! Have you forgotten who your power and status come from?!!" At the end, the old emperor's voice was so fierce that the roar even spread out of the audience hall, making the guards stationed outside the hall tremble with fear.

"We dare not..." Seeing the emperor so angry, everyone could only repeat this sentence.

After a while, when the old emperor finally calmed down, he looked at the half-kneeling nobles below and said in a cold tone: "I don't know that the power of the earth is growing too fast now, which is enough to threaten our Weiser Empire. .

However, you should also think about it clearly. When my son launched a war against the earth, we fought for a year without being able to completely defeat them, and even dragged the empire to the point of almost economic collapse.

And now that they have become stronger, what chance do we have of winning? " Having said this, the old emperor had to sigh deeply in his heart. If it weren't for one of these nobles or some white-eyed wolves who killed his son at the most critical moment, the people on earth might have been killed long ago. Defeated, how can these things happen now! He couldn't find out who the murderer was for a long time, and he even had the idea of ​​depriving all these nobles of Aldnoah's authority and then killing them and replacing them with another group of people.

But after all, his reason is still there, and he knows that the result of doing this will be that the entire empire will immediately fall into chaos. Even if he can suppress it, the entire Weise Empire is almost on the verge of collapse.

Even for the future of his only granddaughter, the old emperor had to force himself to calm down and use a rational attitude to face this group of so-called nobles who were most likely the murderers of his son.

"Send diplomats to jointly contact the Earth to discuss the redemption of Earl Reinhardt, and mobilize all forces on the Earth to try every means to sabotage their crackdown on Aldnoah and the Cataphract! If possible, will The Aldnoah core and body are all destroyed!" Without further ado, the old emperor gave the order directly.

"Your Majesty! This..." Zazbarum, Kuruteu and others were shocked, and immediately planned to give advice.

"This is an order!!!" The old emperor almost yelled these words, and everyone's words were blocked in their throats.

More advice? That was a direct disobedience to the emperor's order. Everyone, no matter whether they were truly loyal to the emperor or not, could not say anything at this time. They could only bow their heads in agreement and exited the audience room one by one.

When the last person left, the old emperor looked at the empty hall and sighed sadly.

He understood that after his order was issued, the future struggle between the Mars Empire and the United Earth would no longer involve a large-scale frontal war, but would be like the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union before the birth of the United Earth, with intelligence warfare, military Competitions, technology competitions, etc. are held.

After all, the best opportunity to defeat the Earth people has been missed. The current Martian Empire has not developed the Yanglu City that can be used as a large-yield nuclear bomb like in the anime plot. If it wants to defeat the Earth United Nations, other than head-on confrontation. There is no alternative to a war of attrition.

Moreover, in the view of the old emperor, even in a head-to-head war of attrition, the Martian Empire's chances of winning are really not high now that the Earth's technology has caught up in great strides and can even defeat the Martian armored cavalry in a single fight.

After all, the size gap between the two sides is too great. When the backward earthlings catch up in technology, the advantages and disadvantages between the two sides are completely reversed. The strategic initiative now does not actually lie with the Martian Empire, but with the Martian Empire. On the earthly side.

To be honest, after the old emperor learned about Reinhardt's capture, he had no intention of starting a war at all. Instead, he immediately wanted to ease relations with the Earth side.

After all, being born on Earth, he himself is not as condescending and arrogant as the average native-born Martian aristocrat towards the Earthlings. He knows very well that Martians and Earthlings are actually the same race, and no one is better or better than the other. A noble statement.

Although at the height of the conflict between the Earth and the Martian colonies, half out of righteous indignation and half out of selfishness, he used the power of Aldnoah to establish a feudal empire in Mars, artificially dividing the Martians into three, six, and nine. etc., and even pushed the Visser Empire step by step into the quagmire of militarism.

But deep in his heart, he still retains the original Dr. Lelegaria who was born and raised on Earth.

Without personal grudges involved, he didn't really want to fight to the death with the people on Earth.

Well, for the current Emperor of Mars, it is not the people on Earth who have personal grudges with him, but those hateful imperial nobles! He could bear the revenge of killing his son for a while, but he swore that one day, he would catch the culprit who conspired to kill his son, and then make him regret everything he had done! "..."The Martian Empire in this world...seems to be on the verge of collapse!" Well, a certain real culprit used the information intrusion ability of [Ether] to completely see this unsuccessful forced palace from beginning to end.

He also realized once again how amazing the butterfly effect was caused by the explosion that he had just had an idea a few years ago.

Not only was the moon not detonated, which indirectly saved half of the earth's population, but more importantly, because of his perfect crime, he immediately cast the suspicion of the entire incident on his own people in the Martian Empire, immediately making this man who had once been The terrible empire that suppressed all the countries on the earth fell into long-term internal strife.

Coupled with the fact that he was cheating and upgrading the Union Army on the Earth's side, now, the entire geo-fire strategic situation has been reversed by him, and now the Martians are actually starting to fear the Earth! "Tsk, the power of my butterfly wings is so awesome even when I think about it!"')137'\u003eChapter 136 Reactions from both sides

"The Martians actually sent diplomats here? Is this this year's new joke?" Most of the top leaders of the Earth Alliance probably thought this way when they heard the news.

This is indeed the first time since the open conflict between Earth and Mars, or in other words, since the establishment of the Weiser Empire.

In fact, ever since those Martians militarized Aldnoah technology, they have basically ignored the Earthlings. Even before the Second Emperor started the war, there were no diplomats between the Weiser Empire and the United Earth. of dealings.

In the past, when the Martian Empire wanted to convey any message to the Earth, it usually hijacked the Earthlings' information network and directly expressed their requests in a arrogant and commanding tone.

Like this time, it can be said that it is unprecedented to send diplomats to Earth to issue a formal diplomatic note to the coalition government, and the words used are completely different from the past tone of superiors ordering inferiors.

"Hmph! You probably saw that we Earthlings were able to capture their Martian knights, so you were afraid!" In the meeting held because of this matter, a certain Earth United executive said casually, but he hit the nail on the head with the truth.

"But it must be Mr. Fang of Anaheim who captured this earl. Our coalition is not actually strong enough to crush the Martian Knights..." Someone raised some objections to this overly optimistic sentiment. Different views.

This is also something that most of the higher-ups on earth with clear minds can see.

The people on Earth do have advanced technology and weapons that are enough to defeat the Martian Knights, but these technologies and weapons are not in the hands of the United Earth Army, but are privately owned by a private entrepreneur.

Well, it’s debatable whether you can continue to call someone a “private entrepreneur” given Anaheim’s size, scope of operations, and the many privileges enjoyed by its owners.

"This is not a problem...Anaheim is a company of earthlings, and Mr. Fang is also an earthling. Their power is ultimately the power of earthlings. Besides, Martians may not know this...the key for us now is, We should thoroughly study the technology contained in that armored cavalry as soon as possible, and then develop a truly our own armored cavalry!" said a big boss in the military.

Although there have been cases where Fang Yuan defeated the Martian armored cavalry with "experimental equipment", these soldiers who actually participated in the last earth-fire war still covet the armored cavalry, a weapon that is not only powerful but also cool and handsome. .

Deep in the hearts of these people, the equation "Cavalry = Powerful" has been ingrained in their minds. Even though someone has reminded them many times through different channels on different occasions that giant humanoid robots are evil in weapon design, but These stupid robot chefs are still unwilling to give up their investment in this area.

"That's right!" Another person nodded in agreement and said: "We are now too dependent on Anaheim's scientific research capabilities. Those researchers who are eating from the public must also come up with a salary worthy of their salary. The results are here!" It seems that this boss is very dissatisfied with the official researchers of the coalition government.

It’s no wonder that the Martians picked up alien technology, so there’s no need to talk about it, but they are both earthlings and they also conduct research based on the current earth’s technology. Look at Anaheim, short They have produced so much results in just over two years, and look at their own official research institution... This person is so hard to compare with others, and he has to throw away the goods! "Well, everyone has no objections to increasing investment in the armored cavalry project, so it's settled. Let's move on to the next topic..." "So, as for the Martians who want to redeem Reinha Do you have any thoughts on this special matter?" At the end of the meeting, the leaders of the Earth Alliance finally talked about the matter that was supposed to be the subject of this meeting - poor Count Reinhardt. In the eyes of the people on earth, he The priority of the matter was completely inferior to the Martian subduing, or the cracking of Aldnoah technology and the additional funds for the armored cavalry project, so ten minutes before the meeting was scheduled to end, they talked about it as if they suddenly remembered it. this problem.

"Redemption... do they still think it was in the Middle Ages? After the nobles were captured, they could pay some money to redeem them? It's too beautiful to think!" Some people are disdainful of this behavior of the Mars Empire.

This is already the interstellar era, but they are still playing the same tricks as the knight era... Sure enough, the Martian Empire is a barbaric country that is turning the clock back on history! In the eyes of some people, every one of these Martian nobles who launched a war of aggression against the Earth should be convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other crimes, and they should all be hung up on street lights. Those who should be put on the electric chair should be put on the electric chair, and those who should be put on the bottom of the prison should be put on the bottom of the prison.

This trend of thought cannot be completely eliminated even at the highest levels of the Earth Alliance.

"But, to be honest, we can't squeeze much profit out of this Earl of Mars. Keeping him on our side will only intensify the conflict between us and the Weiser Empire. If we can exchange him for If there's something good, just ask the Martians to redeem him."

Finally, the older and more stable politicians of the older generation put forward more pertinent opinions.

After all, the Earthlings have not yet reached the level of fully crushing the Martians, and sometimes compromises still have to be made.

What's more, it's just a Earl of Mars who doesn't have much luck. If he can be exchanged for some technologies or materials from the Visser Empire that people on earth don't have, it can't be said to be a disadvantage.

… Not to mention the upcoming negotiations with the Martians on Earth, the upper echelons of the Weise Empire suddenly became unstable because the old emperor insisted on suppressing many nobles’ requests for war.

"Why did Your Majesty make such a decision!" More than one nobleman shouted like this after finishing the interview.

For most of the new generation of nobles who grew up under the propaganda and education that "Mars people are more noble than earth people", the old emperor's decision is equivalent to surrendering to the earth people, which is worse than a certain Martian knight being killed by the earth people. It is even more difficult to accept that a man defeated a prisoner.

Especially for the "Three People Concerned about the Country and the People", as three die-hard loyalists, the old emperor's order filled their hearts with resentment and injustice - couldn't His Majesty the Emperor see it? If we don’t interrupt the progress of the people on earth, the empire will be finished sooner or later! They have a depressing feeling of "I originally put my heart toward the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch." They feel that their decades of loyalty have lost their meaning.

')138'\u003eChapter 137 The Backstab of Justice

"Is His Majesty the Emperor a fool? He is actually unwilling to start a war even like this..." In the private meeting of the trio, Zazbarum also let go of his courage and said such treasonous words.

"Zazbarum, watch your words!" Sure enough, Kuruteo immediately criticized this behavior with a serious face.

"...Your Majesty did indeed make a mistake this time!" However, the only woman in the trio, the female Jue Woleyn, spoke out to support her fiancé.

"You...you...forget it, I also know that you feel uncomfortable, and so do I! But since His Majesty has issued the order, what else can we do besides faithfully executing it?" Kuruteu was somewhat agitated. He sighed helplessly. To be honest, he was no less disappointed than his two allies, but what could he do? They are not opposition nobles who have completely lost their loyalty. They cannot directly launch a rebellion and put a knife on the emperor's neck to demand a declaration of war... "We have to correct this mistake!" At this moment, Zha Zibarum said this unexpectedly.

"Correct the mistake?" A bad premonition arose in Kurt'o's heart.

"His Majesty the Emperor is only a human being after all, and he is already very old, so it is inevitable that he will make mistakes in certain matters.

As ministers, we should not blindly obey our lord when he makes a mistake, but we should fulfill our responsibilities and help the lord correct his mistakes! "The young black-haired nobleman spoke righteously, his face was full of righteousness and awe, without any gloom in sight.

However, after hearing these words, the shadow in Kurt'o's heart was about to turn into reality! "Sir Zazbalum, do you know what you are talking about?!" Kuruteu suddenly stood up and questioned his friend with a serious and even cold face.