Chapter 990 — Cecil in Motion
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
"Tell me the current situation," he said, looking at Hetty. "Remote communication was never smooth enough. I need to know more details."
Hetty nodded, and thereupon gave a general account of what had happened within and beyond the Empire since Gao Yang's departure, then began to describe in detail everything that had occurred since the deterioration of the Typhon divine calamity: including the sudden attack on the Longwind Line, the battle at Winterwolf Fortress, Anluo's surrender, and the many reports that had only recently come in from the vicinity of the Winterwolf Line.
In the course of this, she also spoke in detail of the various responses the Supreme Council of State had made to the shifting situation, as well as the plans the Triumvirate had currently drawn up and their considerations for the future.
Throughout the entire account, Gao Yang scarcely interrupted; he merely listened earnestly and quietly, nodding slightly most of the time, only occasionally offering an opinion on some matter or inquiring about a detail. His brow furrowed now and then, but as Hetty's report went on, it finally smoothed out completely.
By the end, there was even a hint of a smile on his face.
Rebecca watched the changes in her ancestor's expression with some bewilderment — not being particularly adept at reading faces, she did not at this moment understand what Gao Yang was thinking.
At last, Hetty's long report came to an end, and the relaxed, gratified smile on Gao Yang's face grew more pronounced. He let out a soft breath and looked up at Hetty. "Very good — I am glad to see that after my departure, everything has been running in good order."
"But of course," Hetty said at once. "Maintaining the Empire's normal order during your absence — that was the command you left us before you went."
Gao Yang smiled. "Indeed... and yet this was precisely what worried me most before. Now, of course, I need not worry."
There was not the slightest falsehood in his words; this was truly what had been on his mind. For a long time he had often worried whether the order he had built possessed sufficient stability, whether it could sustain and run stably in his absence — and now all of it had undergone an unexpected test, and the conclusion was gratifying.
Even though he had left the Empire, even though such a grave emergency had occurred, the Supreme Council of State had not fallen into chaos; everything ran in good order. Shifts in domestic public opinion, the supply of goods, the deployment of personnel, and production and daily life were all handled properly by one department after another, while the Triumvirate held firm to the "helm" at the very top of the Empire.
Of course, all this perhaps came with preconditions: Gao Yang had not been away too long, and everyone knew he could return at any moment; General Anluo had made the right choice and had not let the situation spiral entirely out of control; many departments of the Council of State were merely running on inertia and had not yet truly begun to bear the strain of a prolonged state of war. But even so, the performance of the Supreme Council of State and the Triumvirate this time had set Gao Yang considerably more at ease.
Faced with her ancestor's affirmation, even the ever-composed and serene Hetty did not conceal her delighted smile.
She drew a soft breath and asked Gao Yang, "Do you have any objections to our response plan?"