"Major General Du Shiliang, the formation you command will return to the fleet and fall under my command,"
Upon hearing these words, Du Shiliang instinctively glanced over at Gu Hang.
It shouldn't have been .
He was the captain of the Tianma Fleet's Concerto cruiser and a Major General of the Imperial Navy. General Tilermungs, the commanding officer at the rank of Lieutenant General, was indisputably his direct superior from any perspective.
When given a command, he should have stood up without a word and accepted it.
Tilermungs noticed his gaze and was slightly annoyed.
However, he didn't say anything to Gu Hang—not because he didn't dare—but continued to stare at Du Shiliang, his voice becoming unconsciously colder and harsher:
"Major General Du, do you have a problem?"
Du Shiliang was helpless.
He could only stand up, utter a "Yes," and then sit down again.
A smile returned to Tilermungs's face.
This was not his main goal for the day; at most, it was just an appetizer.
Now, it was a triumphant start!
Gu Hang didn't speak when he clearly received Du Shiliang's plea for help, which gave Tilermungs even more confidence. Maybe, Mr. Gu, too, was considering Imperial decrees, not daring to oppose his proposal that clearly conformed to the related Imperial regulations.
The encouraged General cleared his throat and continued: "Since there's no problem with this matter, let's move on to the second topic."
"In light of the current war situation and the complex composition of our space forces, I propose gathering all ships belonging to the Seven Horse Territory for unified deployment and establishing a single command system. This would enable us to better leverage this power and combat the Green Skin Orcs, similar to how Mr. Gu organized the signing of the Seven Horse Accord across Star Sectors."
As he spoke, Tilermungs's gaze kept drifting towards Gu Hang.
Aside from the Tianma Fleet, ships belonging to the Seven Horse Territory also included those of the Alliance Navy and the Gu Commercial Firm's vessels. Although other Star Sectors' Planetary Governors and smaller Empire Commerce Guilds also had some ships, they were few in number, lacked capital ships, had inferior combat capabilities, and were almost negligible.
This was the issue Gu Hang was most likely to oppose and had legitimate reasons to do so.
The Alliance Navy was his, and so were the Gu Clan's ships. If he didn't want to, Tilermungs couldn't snatch them away.
But he had prepared a series of arguments and tactics for this. Later, depending on how exactly Gu Hang opposed, he would present corresponding arguments to counter or pressure him.
"I agree," Gu Hang was the first to express his stance.
Tilermungs was momentarily stunned, then quite elated!
What he had thought would require much argument and possibly a falling out with Gu Hang now seemed easily resolved.
Though unexpected, this was certainly good news!
This Gu Hang seemed to care about the bigger picture.
His gaze towards Gu Hang became much warmer.
But his eyes still turned slightly cold when they occasionally swept across Du Shiliang.
Although Gu Hang had a sense of the larger situation, you, young man, are quite the issue. Wait, I will have you stripped of your position.
Of course, not right now.
I must show respect to Mr. Gu at this moment.
With these thoughts, Tilermungs also stood, his face bearing a sincere smile as he said, "With this, we have reached a consensus. I believe that with Mr. Gu's support and our united efforts, those damned Green Skin Aliens will be utterly annihilated!"
He spoke these words with the air of a host.
However, at this moment, Gu Hang also rose to his feet.
His face also wore a smile, but his words sent a chilling cold through Tilermungs:
"I have another proposal: I suggest appointing Major General Yelisia and Major General Du Shiliang as the First and Second United Commanders of the Seven Horse Fleet. Major General Yelisia is very familiar with the Tianma Fleet and can take on the responsibilities of the First United Commander; Major General Du Shiliang has amassed extensive experience in the past years, integrating the Tianma Fleet with the Alliance Escort Fleet and the Gu Clan's merchant fleet and can assist General Yelisia in coordinating the joint efforts of the three parties."
Tilermungs did not voice this foolish question.
He stared at Gu Hang with a grim expression and said, "I object. The position of a United Commander is unheard of."
"That's because General Tilermungs has seen too little," Gu Hang replied, "There are precedents for this when multiple Imperial Fleets operate together. Usually, a United Commander is appointed, responsible for the coordinated command of multiple fleets. At the Golden Pass and Silver Pass, when combating the Green Skins, wasn't it Admiral Zhang Shaoxun of the Yunluo Fleet who took on the role of the United Commander during the joint operations with the Tianma Fleet and the Northern Fleet?"
"That's required only when multiple fleets within the Imperial Navy operate together! Right now, the only legitimate Imperial Navy here is the Tianma Fleet! The Imperial Navy has the right to conscript..."
"No, it does not," Gu Hang interjected. "The Eastern Star Domain is under my control, and all Imperial forces here should comply with my command and deployment. When I say we should establish a United Fleet, it will be a United Fleet."
"What is this 'Eastern Star Domain' you speak of?"
"My appointment grants me control over everything in the Eastern Star Domain."
"Where's the document?"
"I can send you to Yunluo to request it."