Chapter 118: Control_1

Hong Haifeng answered, "At present, the Space City that appears in the Three-Body Game is our only reference. Therefore, we have collected relevant materials and asked every player who has experienced the 193rd civilization."

"In the end, we found that the Space City in the game seems to be a bit too large."

"We don't know if this is meant to mislead us, or if they have had other Space Cities before this one.""

Another expert added, "Because the game has never opened up the internal structure of the Space City, there's actually not much we can reference."

Hearing the frustration in both people's voices, Jiang Yu almost blurted out, "Seeing you two so troubled assures me!"

During this inspection, Jiang Yu didn't obtain the information he wanted. After chatting with everyone for more than an hour, he stood up to take his leave.

He had just returned to the Star Defense Department when Chang Weisi suddenly came looking for Jiang Yu, "I heard you're going into hibernation?"

Jiang Yu responded with a smile, "That's right. I can't waste my own life."

Chang Wesi said, "Before you go into hibernation, come by my place to help boost morale."

Jiang Yu invited Chang Weisi to sit down, "No problem at all. I've already set my price, after all."

"I'll give it to you after you wake up!" Chang Weisi said with a laugh, "You're going into hibernation in just a few days; there's no way you can finish two packs of cigarettes."

The two chatted idly for a while, and then Jiang Yu followed Chang Weisi to the Space Force Headquarters.

To call it headquarters was somewhat misleading; the space was not large after all since the Space Army was just getting started, and even counting the chefs in the cafeteria, there were only a handful of people.

It just so happened that the Space Army was about to hold a small meeting, and Jiang Yu followed Chang Weisi in to attend.

Seeing one officer after another in their crisp new Space Army uniforms, Jiang Yu couldn't help feeling a bit sentimental. Who could have imagined that a military branch would have so few people at its inception?

Zhang Beihai stood out in the crowd. While the other officers all wore somewhat melancholic expressions, only Zhang Beihai's face still showed some vitality.

The meeting began, and Chang Weisi pointed at Jiang Yu as he introduced him, "This is an old colleague of mine, someone everyone here should recognize—one of the five Wallfacers."

"Today, I've brought him here hoping you all can exchange ideas with him, to think outside the box."

Everyone applauded in welcome.

Once the applause died down, Jiang Yu spoke up, "On my way here, I was pondering what to talk about.

"I haven't served in the military myself, and I don't know what everyone's vision for the Space Army has advanced to. Therefore, I can only speak from my specialty, to share my views on the Space Army.

"In the future, especially after we establish our base beyond the Solar System, everyone knows communication will experience delays.

"And in terms of distance, travel between each other could take several months or even years.

"Has anyone considered how the headquarters on Earth is going to control a Space Army that's far out in the heavens?"

Everyone looked at each other. An officer asked, "Could our fleet really travel such far distances?"

"Why not?" Jiang Yu asked with a smile. "Has anyone here served in the Navy before?"

Half of the people there, including Zhang Beihai, raised their hands.

Jiang Yu said, "In the year the country was established, the Navy had just been founded, and the ships were those that had defected from the enemy.

"After that, we purchased some, but it wasn't long before we started to build our own.

"When the Navy was first established, our predecessors probably dreamed of building our own aircraft carriers, right?

"More than sixty years later, hasn't that wish come true?

"Now we have more than four hundred years to make use of. We can accomplish much more!"

An officer said, "It's not the same, back then we could draw on the developmental history of other nations' navies, but now, we have nothing to reference."

Jiang Yu smiled and replied, "The first modern navy on Earth hasn't even been around for four hundred years. Could the early navies have imagined that three centuries later, there would be nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers?"

Jiang Yu clapped his hands, "The establishment of the Space Army signifies a new beginning; we are all creators of this beginning.

"If everyone lacks confidence in themselves, I suggest taking a look at the history of the Republic, and revisiting that indomitable spirit.

"For a latecomer nation, the road to catching up is a process of cutting through thorns and thistles.

"Our current situation is just like the beginning of our nation—we are in pursuit of the Trisolarans. Let's not make the problem too complicated."

Zhang Beihai led the applause, and Jiang Yu's words touched many people.

Indeed, humanity's current situation is so similar to the early days of our nation!

After the applause, Jiang Yu continued, "So, let's return to our initial question, how do we command the Space Army that's far away in the heavens?

"Reasonably speaking, the time it takes is similar to when the West established colonies in the Americas.

"The Westerners would certainly say they have experience, but is their experience really applicable?

"Keep in mind that during the Age of Exploration, Western powers didn't have expansive territories, and they never had experience governing over such long distances.

"Now, let's consider us. Is Xinjiang far? Parts of Xinjiang have been within the territory of the Han Dynasty since those times.

"Is Yunnan far from Beijing? Given the speed of information transmission back then, it would take at least half a month to travel from Yunnan to Beijing, right?

"Yet, the control over Yunnan was still firmly in Beijing's hands!"

Jiang Yu straightened up and said, "So instead of learning how to control colonies, we should draw inspiration from ourselves.

"In ancient times, it was also very slow for the frontier armies to send messages to the capital, but the military power was tightly held by the Emperor.

"And although future space travel may be long, messages can be transmitted within a day or two. Compared to ancient military systems, we do have certain advantages in the future."

Chang Weisi chuckled, "It seems we need to invite a few historians to give us some lessons!"

Everyone laughed along.

Jiang Yu smiled and went on, "No matter what, at any time, an army that can be commanded unifiedly is the foundation of our victory."

The audience applauded warmly, finding Jiang Yu's remarks novel and thought-provoking, having never considered such angles before.

Jiang Yu had intended to share his views on the tactics and strategies of the Space Army, but realizing that doing so might undermine everyone's confidence, which would be counterproductive to today's purpose, he decided not to discuss it.

Because in space combat, it's hard to find cover, with all three dimensions exposed; in such a situation, it comes down to the weaponry of both sides.

And with Earth's technology locked down, the weapons of the Space Army would obviously be much weaker than those of the Trisolarans.

Perhaps the Earth's Space Army thinks that they haven't even reached the battlefield, yet they've already entered the enemy's attack range.

Fortunately, although there is a technological gap between Earth and the Trisolarans, it is not insurmountable. If we were to face a warship like the 'Singer', we wouldn't even know how we died.

After concluding this small meeting, Jiang Yu chatted leisurely in Chang Weisi's office.

As they were talking, Chang Weisi suddenly sighed, "Can you tell me, where does your unwavering belief in victory come from?"

Jiang Yu was taken aback, "Why add the word 'yours'?"

"Zhang Beihai, like you, also has an unwavering belief in victory, but I can't imagine where your conviction stems from."