The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

Chapter 583 Sickness
"I thought it was those guys in the Central Sector who were up to it, but I never imagined the most absurd one was that Phillips family member. No, I can't stand it, I have to tell my father." Zhou Xiuwen, who had been listening attentively, couldn't sit still any longer.

It turns out that Jiang Hui hadn't mentioned Phillips's situation when she told him about the unexpected incident during the exam. Zhou Xiuwen then assumed that the incident was caused by a fight, and that the reason she chose Jiang Hui and her group was probably because of Phillips's family background. Little did he know that Phillips himself also played a part in it.

Jiang Hui glanced at him sideways, and it was understandable that Zhou Xiuwen was angry. Her friend was an upright person who valued her friends, but it didn't warrant reporting it to Marshal Zhou.

Phillips's actions were somewhat unethical, but it wouldn't be easy to find much evidence against him. Even if it were reported to the military, it would at most be considered dereliction of duty, and given his family background, a little maneuvering would only result in a minor punishment. Besides, that was a matter concerning his immediate family, so why was Zhou Xiuwen speaking so angrily, as if... this Phillips was related to them?

If she remembered correctly, she seemed to have heard Taylor mention that Colonel Phillips was a member of the First Army.

Wait… the First Legion?! Jiang Hui suddenly remembered that she had read an old newspaper that mentioned something like that—she was sure her memory was accurate.

Zhou Xiuwen knew what Jiang Hui was thinking from her expression, and said frankly to his two friends, "Indeed, if he were from another family, I wouldn't be able to control him. At worst, I would just keep my distance in the future..." But this guy just happened to be involved with their family.

Zhou Yuanjing was once the commander and leader of the imperial military. At the height of his power, even the six marshals under him dared not challenge him. Of the empire's nineteen elite legions, he alone controlled five of them.

Among them, the First Army Corps, the Eleventh Army Corps, and the Twenty-Third Army Corps are the top of these nineteen elite forces.

The 13th and 33rd Legions were gradually built up by Zhou Yuanjing after he came to power; they were once just relatively weak small and medium-sized legions. In addition, the Zhou family also controlled several powerful expeditionary forces and more than a dozen small and medium-sized legions.

It can be said that Zhou Yuanjing once held more than half of the power in the military. Although the military was not exactly his personal fiefdom, he was still considered to have absolute authority.

The current leaders are far inferior to Zhou Yuanjing back then, not only in ability but also in their control. Otherwise, how could the empire have fallen into such chaos in recent years?
However, Zhou Yuanjing was poisoned and unable to take charge of the overall situation. In addition, there were villains causing trouble, and his power was gradually weakened.

Under the joint suppression of the six marshals, the Eleventh and Thirty-Third Army Corps under him were severely weakened. After the First Army Corps changed commanders, Zhou Yuanjing was left with only four elite army corps, two of which were suppressed to varying degrees.

To prevent further infighting among the various factions, and also for the sake of his comrades who had served him for many years, as well as his family and friends, Zhou Yuanjing had no choice but to relinquish his position of power. With his crippled body, he retreated to his former home planet, number 732, with his only son, barely clinging to life.

Who could have imagined that Zhou Yuanjing, who had dominated the battlefield for over a century and commanded respect both domestically and internationally, would one day be controlled by others, and that those who betrayed him were not his enemies, but rather his own compatriots and fellow countrymen who had been sheltering in the rear and enjoying his protection? It is truly a great irony.

Therefore, the First Legion was originally Zhou Yuanjing's legion, but now the commander has changed and another group of people from the military headquarters have taken over.

Of course, such a forceful seizure of power could not be made public, otherwise they would likely be condemned to death by the imperial people who supported Zhou Yuanjing before they could even seek benefits for their own faction. They always claimed that Zhou Yuanjing's old injuries had relapsed, and he lacked the energy to control the army, which was why the new army commander was replaced.

Zhou Yuanjing tacitly accepted this for various reasons, or rather, he simply ignored it.

Although the legion commander has changed, and the Zhou family has lost control of the legion as a result, their influence has not been eradicated. A large number of loyal men remain in the First Legion, steadfastly holding their posts. In terms of merit, seniority, and even ability, those transferred in by the military headquarters simply cannot shake their positions.

This large remaining force is the guarantee for Zhou Yuanjing, or rather Zhou Xiuwen, to regain control of the First Legion, which is just waiting to be realized in the future.

Given that Zhou Yuanjing's health is beyond repair and Zhou Xiuwen is too young to manage important matters, those forces that finally seized control of the First Legion will undoubtedly do their utmost to erode Zhou Yuanjing's old subordinates within the legion.

However, it must be said that the people at the top had terrible judgment. The person they sent to manage the area was a hopeless case. In the ten years since taking office, he not only failed to consolidate his power but also almost caused a major disaster.

Fearing that Zhou Yuanjing might use this as an excuse to regroup the First Army Corps, the military considered selecting a new leader. There were three candidates, one of whom was Odysseus Phillips' father.

The other party comes from a prestigious family, has sufficient qualifications, and maintains relatively close relationships with certain figures in the military, making them a suitable match. Of course, the other two companies are of similar standing.

So who to choose depends on their individual abilities.

In order to gain more support, General Phillips, unafraid of being feared, even went so far as to show his prowess to Zhou Yuanjing.

It must be said that the other party is quite wise, guessing that Zhou Yuanjing doesn't want to reclaim control of the First Legion for the time being. In this situation, it doesn't matter to the other party who is in charge, as long as they don't touch the roots of the Zhou family within the legion.

Although Zhou Yuanjing mostly remained silent, he had taken note of the other party's political and military achievements. Compared to the other two, General Phillips was indeed somewhat better, so he essentially acquiesced to his underhanded tactics.

However, if we take Jiang Hui's statement as an example, then General Phillips is indeed capable, but his son is so overconfident and ambitious... This is a considerable hidden danger.

Zhou Xiuwen wanted to report this to his father, because not only he himself, but his father also disliked this kind of person, believing that they were the beginning of family chaos.

They allowed those people to control the First Army for the time being for various reasons, but that wouldn't last forever. If they made a mistake and let the Phillips father and son take over so easily, they would regret it later if trouble arose.

The other party even arranged to meet with Zhou Yuanjing the day after tomorrow to discuss how to eliminate the spies involved in this incident, and supposedly hoped to get the support of Zhou Xiuwen's father... We really should think carefully about whether the other party truly wants revenge or is just using their name to eliminate dissidents.

Zhou Xiuwen felt it was necessary to have a serious talk with his father about this.

(End of this chapter)