The Guide to the End of the World: Four Sentinels Compete for Favor

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jon frowned and scolded, "I didn't mean that at all!"

Wagner stood up with a sneer: "Major General, look at what you said. Only God and you know whether you mean that. Of course, you can say whatever you want."

"In order to conceal your true purpose, you asked her to stir up trouble and confuse the public." Wagner pointed at Ai Wanxin, "But how could you hide this from the wise and powerful marshal?"

"You know, it is a serious crime for military generals to collude with local governments. All those who may be involved will be dismissed on the spot and handed over to the federal military court for investigation and trial."

"Let me think about it. If you, Major General, are not trying to follow the example of that woman you can't forget and rebel against the Federation, then you are trying to use yourself as bait to frame the Marshal. After all, you are nominally under the command of the Marshal now!"

Schnatter's triangular eyes revealed a fierce murderous intent. No matter which possibility it was, he would never allow it to happen under his rule!

A confident smile appeared on Wagner's face. Just look at how cautious Schnatter, who is already the head of the three armies, is to know how much the Speaker and the Parliament are wary of the army's connection with local governments. Jon, Jon, it's you who wants to die today, so you can't blame me.

A layer of sweat beads appeared on Jon's forehead. Of course he knew about this matter, so he did not get involved in the establishment of the alliance government on Earth.

He never expected that Wagner would find such a tricky angle. He knew very well that he might not be able to leave the Conqueror safely today.

"Hey~" Ai Wanxin glanced at Wagner disapprovingly, "How come you are so low-level? You keep talking nonsense all the time. I don't know how much trouble you have caused the Marshal."

Jon: “?”

Schnatter: “???”

Wagner:"??!"

"What do you mean?" Schnatter asked in a deep voice.

Ai Wanxin smiled and said, "Marshal, I wonder if you have heard of a period of history in our country in ancient times, the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty."

Although he didn't know what she wanted to say, Wagner had a hunch that she had bad intentions, and he immediately said, "Marshal, she must be trying to exonerate Major General Jon. Don't listen to her excuses!"

Before Schnatter could speak, Ai Wanxin spread his hands and said, "Okay, Marshal, since the Inspector General doesn't want you to listen, then you'd better not listen."

"You!" Wagner sputtered, "that's not what I meant at all!"

Ai Wanxin laughed: "Look at what you said, Inspector General, only you know what you think. Of course, what you say means what it means."

"I am just an unarmed Earthling. What impact can a casual conversation with the Marshal have? Doesn't the Marshal know how to make a distinction? Why do you have to interfere here?"

"Those who know you think you are helping the Marshal, while those who don't think you are manipulating him."

Wagner was so angry that his heart was pounding. He must kill her, he must kill her!

"Pa--" Schnatter slapped the armrest of the chair and said sternly, "What do you want to say?"

Ai Wan changed her mind and said to Qiao En, "You go out first."

Jon slowly opened his eyes and said, "No, why should I go out first?"

With her back to Schnatter and Wagner, Ai Wanxin's eyes suddenly became sharp. Jon shuddered and turned around subconsciously, as if his obedience to her had long been engraved in his bones.

It was not until he walked out of the luxurious rosewood door that Jon realized how he could have come out like that.

Jon's heart felt like it was immersed in a boiling oil pan. He was worried about Ai Wanxin's safety, not just because he was afraid of losing the commander-in-chief substitute he had found with great difficulty.

In just half a day, Ai Wanxin defended him several times. He would never let anything happen to her.

Jon made up his mind instantly and strode towards the flagship's helipad.

Inside the gate, although Schnatter did not stop Ai Wanxin from sending Jon away, his voice was already full of impatience: "You don't think that by sending him away, this matter will end here, right?"

Ai Wanxin turned around, stared into Schnatter's eyes, and said bluntly: "Of course, the fewer people who know what I am about to say, the better. Marshal, if you want to call him back, I don't mind."

She was so dismissive that Schnatter remained silent. After a long while, he said, "You go ahead."

Ai Wanxin said slowly: "In the history of our country, there was a period of three kingdoms. The person I want to talk about today is Sima Yi, a veteran of four dynasties in one of the countries, Wei."

"Sima Yi had made great military achievements and accumulated profound political and military prestige in the military confrontations with the other two countries, Shu and Wu. However, in his later years, he was squeezed out of the center of power by Cao Shuang, who was also a regent."

"Sima Yi lay dormant for several years, then launched the Gaopingling Incident and seized power in Wei. At the time, the military force he controlled was not even one-tenth of that of the marshal."

Wagner's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. Are you instigating a Marshal coup in front of me? !

Schnatter obviously thought so too. It was really eye-opening that someone would come up and instigate others to do such a life-threatening thing. You don't think I'm an idiot, do you?

Ai Wanxin smiled and said, "Marshal, what I mean by this is not to encourage you to stage a coup, please don't misunderstand me."

"There is an old saying in our country that goes, 'Use copper as a mirror to adjust your attire; use history as a mirror to understand the rise and fall of a country; use people as a mirror to understand gains and losses. I'm telling this story to talk about these two people."

"The first one is Sima Yi, who won the coup. The key to his success, in addition to the loyal soldiers he had and the pitifully small number of troops at the beginning, was more importantly the network of power relations he had built over decades."

"The second one is Cao Shuang who failed in the coup. When Sima Yi launched the coup, he had the opportunity to fight back, but he thought that if he surrendered, he could at least become a rich man. As a result, everyone knows that Cao Shuang, who surrendered, was eventually found an excuse to exterminate his entire clan.

"Marshal, you should know better than me that in a power struggle, it's either you die or I live. If you give in step by step, you will only end up dead."

Schnatter remained silent, and Ai Wanxin continued, "Of course, I have no intention of instigating a coup d'état, Marshal. I just feel that if you are docile and submissive, your fate will be in the hands of others, just like Cao Shuang, who eventually died without a burial place."

"But if you prepare for a rainy day and accumulate strength, you can fight back even when you encounter a crisis. For example, Sima Yi launched the Gaopingling Incident and became the actual ruler of Wei. Later, his descendants destroyed Shu, became emperors in Wei's place, established the Western Jin Dynasty, and then destroyed Wu. From then on, the Three Kingdoms were returned to the Jin Dynasty."