In early spring, ice and snow melt and everything revived. The Baston Military Academy, located in the northern suburb of Ao City, ushered in the 280th anniversary of its founding. Its birth can be traced back to the Ulster dynasty before the founding of the Free Federation. Although it was the king of the feudal era who built such an amazing military academy with a sword as a plow, its true glory is mostly written in the history of the Free Federation. Whether in people's resistance to freedom and democracy, or in the battles to defend federal sovereignty, the officers trained by the Baston Military Academy have always been the mainstay, and countless heroes of the country have emerged.

As an outstanding graduate of the Baston Military Academy, the lucky and outstanding person of the "Fireline Graduation Class", Weiss wore a military academy dress that was "under the bottom of the box" and once again walked into the long-lost campus through the gate. At this moment, he hid his distant memory in his heart and regarded this great military academy as his alma mater. The great man said that no matter how far a person goes, he should not forget the way he came. Indeed, without the tempering and forging of the Baston Military Academy, he could not have changed from a civilian to a soldier overnight, and he would not have survived the arduous journey from the northern border to Lorraine. At this moment, he was full of gratitude and respect for the Baston Military Academy.

With such a grand celebration, the still-surviving "Bastonians" came from all over the Federation. Among them were old generals with frizzy hair, young and middle-aged men with ambition, classmates and friends of the past, and officials of the present. When they came here, they did not divide military ranks, did not talk about their positions, or had high or low status, and only recognized one common role, that was the "Bastonians".

The old principal Fanluo came back. During the war, he carried the banner of federal military reform and greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the federal ground forces by training "defense experts", laying a solid foundation for the great turning point in the middle of the war. Those who sacrificed their lives for the country "returned", and the names and deeds of each victim were engraved in the newly completed memorial hall for future generations to admire.

After a series of celebrations and commemorative activities, the noise gradually dissipated. Under the night sky, Weiss sat on the steps in front of the memorial hall, savoring the familiar atmosphere here, feeling the little bits of the past, and melancholy about the future where he went. Philosophers believe that time is the unique "elixir" in this world. The long years can eliminate the most unforgettable pain and sorrow. Even the "deep blood hatred" accumulated by the corpse will gradually fade away from the inheritance of generations, until it is gone. In just half a century, the country on the planet Orence has experienced two casualties and millions of economic losses.

In the face of war, those who survived the war were burdened with indescribable pain, sorrow and hatred. However, from the day of the truce, anti-war public opinion firmly dominated. After discovering "spacecraft ruins" in the north and conducting international joint research and excavation, the voices calling on countries to deepen military and political cooperation overwhelmed everything. In the face of such a wave of times, those inherent or new contradictions could no longer cause too much trouble. Even the attack on Bella Katha, which endangers the lives of the main member of the Norman royal family, was rarely handled calmly by both sides, and was not swept by public opinion to escalate into diplomatic or even military conflicts.

On the one hand, the clouds of international war dissipated invisible, and the continuous escalation of transnational military cooperation made the overall self-defense capability of the planet Orens develop in a direction of qualitative change. On the other hand, the post-war reflections inevitably evolved into some form and degree of change, such as the military reform of the Free Federation and the political reform of the Kingdom of Wissex. In the Norman Empire, because Emperor Hohenstaufen IV was terminally ill, the constitutionalists began to publicly build momentum for the "constitutional revolution". The purpose of this movement was to restrict the power of the monarch through the constitution and parliament, aiming to turn the country from monarchy from monarchy.

To promote constitutional monarchy, national affairs are no longer decided by the monarch alone, but under the framework of the constitution, the parliament representing the will of the people and the monarchs share power. From the historical trend, it is a progress, but not an absolute—there are cases of direct transformation from monarchy to democratic republic. As for constitutional monarchy and democratic republic, at a specific stage of social development, there is no pure progressive relationship between the two, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Whoever survives and whoever dies depends to a large extent on the historical evolution and the times of the country...

Unconsciously, Weiss has been the governor of the local government of Lorraine for four years and has been re-elected without any suspense. In the past four years, Lorraine has transformed from a frontier poverty-stricken province with resource mining and agriculture and animal husbandry production to a vibrant emerging industrial area. Metallurgy and machinery manufacturing jumped second in the west and fifth in the country. Medical and educational conditions have also been greatly improved. The unemployment rate has been close to zero for a long time, and social stability and public satisfaction are high, becoming the "Lorraine phenomenon" after the war in the Free Federation. With its leadership in the Lorraine Industrial Alliance and its large investment in the machinery manufacturing and education industry, the Klumber-Hisen family has also quickly transformed from a well-known regional family to an influential and driving local industrial family.

Behind this infinite scenery, there is no need to say much about his long-term efforts. Weiss is not as "satisfied" with everything at present as outsiders think, nor does he sit and enjoy the harvest with peace of mind. Instead, he is worried, prepares for the future, and does his best to race against time. He and his partners, as well as the few knowledgeable people in the military and political circles, have always regarded the Norman Empire - to be precise, the ambitious people who have or intend to control the Norman Empire as the number one threat to the Free Federation, believing that they have put on hypocritical faces, are changing

The past strategies have changed and the layout is made in a more roundabout way. However, before they have enough evidence to expose the Normans' layout, they can only prepare carefully in a rational way. The engine-powered vehicle competition that was popular in the Free Federation is a successful example. Through the healthy operation of the competitive economy, the development of the internal combustion engine technology of the Free Federation is fully guaranteed while the flying ships reoccupied the core position of the military strategy. Based on this, the technological research and development process of the aircraft has also been maintained to the maximum extent.

Nicholas Lebord, a special "dropout" in the war-time graduating class, walked to Weiss with two bottles of wine. Because of her special identity and sensitive nature, she deliberately avoided everyone's sight and came to participate in the celebration of the Baston Military Academy in the most low-key way. She and Weiss' class of Baston Military Academy students went to the battlefield before they graduated. Almost everyone threw their youthful blood into the fertile land of the Federation. More than two-thirds of the people sacrificed their precious lives before the end of the war - those vibrant faces were permanently engraved under the relief of the memorial hall.

Weisbon did not drink alcohol, and the "first time" of coming to this time was to accompany Nicholas to relieve his fatigue during the Baston Military Academy. At that time, drinking was at the risk of being punished. Now they sat in front of the memorial hall, half of whom they respected their old classmates and half encouraged themselves to move forward.

Drinking wine, Nichola whispered: "Next month, the first large-scale military exercise after the establishment of the Joint Staff will be held in the Kingdom of Fries. Except for the Fries, other countries have expressed their expectations for this exercise, and the largest flying fleet in history will appear - it is regarded as the strongest force to defend the planet Orence, hopefully so..."

At this time, there was no one around. Even if the dead robes could hear it, they would not disclose the secrets. Therefore, Weiss did not have to worry about anything and whispered: "They should be very vigilant in the first joint exercise. The Normans are likely not to make big moves at this time. What we have to worry about is that after this joint exercise becomes the norm, the Normans suddenly attacked one day while they were relaxed, which would be a real disaster."

"Under the ice, undercurrents are surging, but no one knows when the ice will melt."

The "undercurrent" that Nicholas called is not mainly in the Free Federation, but in the Norman Empire on the Monamolin Mountains. Every festival day, all Normans must toast to the health of "My Emperor Hohenstaufen IV". The Norman leader, who was repeatedly cursed by countless people in the hostile countries during this war, unexpectedly became the greatest guarantee of this peaceful time. If he could live for ten years or even longer, such peacetime would probably continue, but how long could he live for the outside world

It is an unexpected thing. Since the end of the war, he has not appeared in public for a long time. It is said that only the core royal members and military generals can occasionally see the situation. The outside world also uses their expression to confirm that the emperor is still on earth. As time goes by, Crown Prince Albert and his brother Prince Balas have become more and more stable in control of the empire situation, and the value of the old emperor's life has also quietly declined, and it has even become a kind of obstacle. Perhaps after reaching a certain critical point, his health will become insignificant.

Weiss sat on the steps and looked up at the vast starry sky: "If a space fleet suddenly arrives, causing the security of Orence planet to be threatened with unprecedented threats, prompting countries to abandon their existing interests and truly unite together, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Bad things!" Nicholas replied almost without hesitation, "When facing the threat of powerful foreign enemies, if you do not see the hope of victory, you will surrender to the enemy in order to survive and help the enemy deal with your own kind. In my opinion, whether there is a threat from space or not, we must fight against that kind of person."

"What you said makes sense!" Weiss agreed, "War is the necessity of human greed and the effect of historical inertia. As long as this type of person exists, as long as they continue to hold the authoritarian power of an authoritarian state, we must be wary of them, fight against them, and defeat them, rather than expecting them to put down their conquest in their hearts."

Nicholas muffled a sip of the strong wine and sighed: "Poor world, cherish this peaceful time! Who knows how long it can last?"

Weiss drank wine and smiled bitterly: "The ignorant world can cherish this peaceful time, and how can we, who have experienced the truth in pain, be at ease?"
Chapter completed!