The Cyan Bird’s internal purge of the military undoubtedly provoked a strong reaction from some individuals.
The so-called progressive young officers were primarily mid and lower-level officers. After all, they tout themselves as young officers, and given the Empire’s military system, it is typically difficult for young officers to attain high-ranking positions.
Precisely because of this, these so-called progressive young officers hadn’t grasped power and developed a strong desire for it.
In order to seize power, they naturally began a frenzied expansion, developing a group of members supporting their claims within the current Empire officer corps.
Even Colonel William, who had finally completed his promotion, was approached by these so-called progressive young officers due to his age, hoping he could join their group and become one of them.
"Count, you know me well. I’ve always maintained my fidelity and passion for the Empire. Although I indeed had contact with the progressive youth group, I would never betray my oath of allegiance to Her Majesty the Empress." Although Colonel William was already wearing the colonel’s insignia, just a step away from becoming a general, his demeanor before Perfikot remained increasingly humble.
Colonel William was no fool; he knew why his promotion within the military was rapid, akin to riding a rocket.
If he offended Perfikot—he didn’t even need to really offend him—just a slight expression of discontent or a word or two about a change in stance from Perfikot could result in Colonel William losing his current status and position, transforming from a hot new star in the military into a marginalized figure assigned to remote frontiers.
Thus, Colonel William was very clear about his positioning and self-awareness, and didn’t lose sight of whose favor contributed to his swift rise. Hence, contrary to what one might expect, his attitude toward Perfikot did not become more casual with his ascending rank; instead, he lowered his head even more before him.
Colonel William indeed had tried interacting with these so-called progressive young officers; at the time, as a major, he saw engaging with them as a way to broaden his network in the military, thus didn’t resist interacting with this group. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveI(F)ire.net
But now Colonel William’s status and rank differed, and naturally, his attitude towards the progressive young officers shifted from network-building to seeking their utilitarian value.
With Perfikot beginning rigorous investigations and crackdowns on this group, Colonel William, to avoid entanglement, naturally distanced himself, going so far as to suppress rather than defend them.
"Since you’ve had contact with them, William, tell me about them. I’m curious about what kind of people they are and what exactly they aim to do," Perfikot looked at Colonel William and curiously inquired.
Regarding Colonel William’s eagerness to dissociate from this group, Perfikot didn’t care much.
This lack of concern could either be not caring about Colonel William’s contact with the progressive young officers group or not caring about Colonel William himself. It was subjective.
Upon hearing Perfikot’s inquiry, Colonel William dared not delay and promptly explained to Perfikot: "The so-called progressive young officers mostly come from small merchant or minor noble families; although some are from mid and lower-level noble backgrounds.
Some benefited from the military reforms of the Empire and rose to their current positions but found themselves unable to advance further due to traditional rules within the Empire’s army.
Others saw their interests suppressed by military reforms, leaving them desolate and unable to promote.
These two discontent groups gradually gathered together for various reasons, critiquing the Empire’s military system and even broader policies during their emotional outbursts, finally forming what is now known as the progressive young officers group.
They call themselves the Rose Legion, believing they inherit the Empire’s enterprising spirit from the era of the Red and White Rose wars, aiming to reform the current military system and even, inspired further by the French revolution, want to overthrow the Empire’s current political system."
At this point, Colonel William paused before adding: "However, extreme ideologies represent only a minority within the Rose Legion; most members still hope to gain promotion and power within the Empire’s army through their efforts, without wishing to overthrow the Royal Family’s rule."
Seeing Colonel William’s additional emphasis, Perfikot merely curled his lips slightly and chuckled, "It’s not up to you to decide, nor is it up to them, not even up to me, but Her Majesty the Empress."
Does Perfikot truly not have a say? Colonel William did not think so.
Yet since Perfikot made such a statement, he naturally wouldn’t dare to speak more.
Being able to extricate himself from this matter was already fortunate enough; there was no need to paint the lily by defending these individuals before Perfikot.
Colonel William realized that Perfikot intended to crack down on the Rose Legion, or rather further eliminate the unstable factors of the so-called progressive young officers within the military.
It was foreseeable that a storm was about to hit the Empire, and what he needed was to find a solid backing, then bow his head and ensure his survival through this upheaval was of utmost importance.
So after Perfikot finished laughing, Colonel William, looking earnest, stated: "Everything awaits Her Majesty the Empress’s verdict, but Count, your opinions hold significant value to Her Majesty the Empress, aren’t they?"
These words expressed loyalty to the Empress and framed his attitude toward Perfikot. Though somewhat ingratiating, Colonel William was, after all, Perfikot’s cousin, so it wasn’t excessive.
Perfikot was indifferent to this, merely saying to Colonel William: "How is the Behemoth now? Can it make a trip to Langton?"
The Northern Territory’s Flying Airship had already been taken over by a dedicated internal affairs department, so Perfikot need not bother with the details and thus wasn’t aware of the status of each Flying Airship.
Colonel William then responded by clicking his heels aloud: "Behemoth state is fine; it can take off at any time."
"Great, then I have a task for you. Run this errand for me," Perfikot nodded and subsequently assigned Colonel William a courier task.