Chapter 64: Confusing Oneself_1

Jiang Yu said to the disheartened crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, at the cosmic level, or even the Milky Way level, the Trisolarans are only slightly more powerful than us.

"You are the last line of defense for humanity, and you must buck up."

However, the applause was sparse in response to Jiang Yu's impassioned speech.

It must be said that the Trisolarans' strategy was quite effective; even though everyone present knew that all the intelligence they had was deliberately provided by the Trisolarans to flex their muscles to Earthlings.

But the conviction of the attendees was still severely shaken.

Jiang Yu, somewhat disappointed, did not continue to motivate everyone.

The discussion then shifted to whether or not the aliens' information should be disclosed to everyone.

Jiang Yu suggested that in order not to cause worldwide panic, it should not be disclosed for the time being, or only partially disclosed.

But nearly everyone else believed that, given the massive amount of wealth and resources that would need to be invested in the upcoming war of resistance, the support of all humanity was essential.

Everyone agreed that most of the intelligence about the Trisolarans should be made public to everyone immediately.

Jiang Yu slammed his hand on the table and said, "By doing this, you are helping the Trisolarans, promoting their might!

"Even someone of my age knows that when people are in a state of great emotional fluctuation, they should not make any decisions.

"Please look at your colleagues on either side, you all look like walking corpses without a soul!

"Can we not make decisions at this time? Any decision you make now, you will regret in the future!"

A British colonel who had attended the meeting said, "By doing this, you're severely infringing upon the citizens' right to be informed..."

"Don't fucking put on airs!" Jiang Yu shouted angrily: "Isn't this the same as when you deceive your own people with filters and smear campaigns?"

Chang Weisi tried to smooth things over, "All right, both of you, our time is pressing, let's not have this pointless argument."

Jiang Yu leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and suddenly laughed, "I get it now, I understand what you're all thinking!

"Hahaha! You're so lost and anxious now, so you want everyone else to feel the same way, just so you can feel a little better, right?"

The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly froze, and a few seconds later, not only the British colonel but everyone else started berating Jiang Yu for talking nonsense.

Da Shi had no choice but to take Jiang Yu out of the meeting room first.

Outside, the two of them smoked in silence for a while before Da Shi asked, "Little brother, why are you going so hard?"

Jiang Yu smiled bitterly, "I really didn't control my emotions just now, but seeing them so defeatist just made me so angry."

Da Shi took a drag on his cigarette and said, "It's perfectly normal for everyone to feel so lost; after all, no one has ever squared off against aliens. You can't expect others to be up to your level."

Jiang Yu sighed. If he hadn't had God's View and found out about the existence of aliens, he surely would have felt uneasy for a while too.

Of course, under those circumstances, he would never have been able to act as an advisor in the battle center.

All work related to aliens was now the responsibility of the battle centers of various countries.

In this special period, it was a monster of power, with all kinds of forces bubbling under the surface. Chang Weisi only had the right to chair meetings and did not have much decision-making power.

Moreover, as the PDC's predecessor, the battle center was already in disarray even among the frontline soldiers, so it was pointless to talk about defending.

Jiang Yu sighed again. A certain amount of disarray at the beginning was inevitable, but since he had the opportunity to attend meetings of this level, he had to minimize the mistakes made during such disorder.

With this in mind, Jiang Yu threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and crushed it vigorously with his foot, "Let's go, back to the meeting."

Following that meeting, Jiang Yu maintained enough restraint, and ultimately gained certain concessions regarding the timing and content to be announced from others.

In the subsequent days, a series of intensive meetings became the norm, and Jiang Yu thwarted many of the reckless actions of the participants.

For instance, some proposed to surrender to the Trisolarans immediately, to become their slaves, or second-class intelligent life forms on Earth, buying a chance for a small number of our species to survive, to continue the human spark.

Or to immediately release the members of the ETO, recognize the ETO as a legitimate organization, and ease hostile relations with the Trisolarans; maybe then there would be a chance to negotiate with them.

In the face of these ideas, clearly the product of brains kicked by a donkey, Jiang Yu could no longer contain himself and once again burst into unabashed profanity.

Those being scolded didn't dare to retort much, because deep down they actually knew Jiang Yu was right, resistance was the only path they could take at this point.

But they couldn't help but want to strive for a chance at peace talks.

Jiang Yu said to them, "Your minds are like slingshots, do you think this is like your previous experiences, divvying up the sovereignty and interests of a weak nation?

"This is a struggle for survival! There's no room for compromise at all! Peace talks, go drink gruel for all I care!

"What? How do you translate 'drink gruel'? Fine, I'll change it, go eat shit! Is that easier to translate now?!"

After several days of meetings, Jiang Yu was like an undefeated rooster in battle during the meetings, but as soon as they ended, he collapsed into his chair to rest.

His voice had gone hoarse, dark circles had formed under his eyes, and he looked utterly drained.

Yet, when someone put forth a laughable idea, he could go back into combat mode.

Many attendees suggested that Jiang Yu should be removed from his position as Special Advisor, but Chang Weisi kept him on and had him attend every meeting.

The meetings finally drew to a close, as the first phase of discussions regarding the Trisolarans came to an end.

Because Jiang Yu was present, many unfounded ideas were rejected, and the command center managed not to disgrace itself before the public.

At the last meeting, Chang Weisi said, "In the past few days, Comrade Jiang Yu's actions will definitely be written into the history books!"

Faced with sincere, or not-so-sincere, applause, Jiang Yu could not feel elated.

He had not expected that the human hesitation in face of the Trisolaris crisis would be so damaging at the onset; he had done all that he could, but this was as far as he could go.

Feeling somewhat lost, Jiang Yu felt there were aspects of his actions during these days that warranted self-review.

It wasn't until Shi Qiang asked him, "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

That Jiang Yu collected himself, "Nothing planned."

Shi Qiang suggested, "Then let's invite those two thoroughly drunk scholars for a walk to clear their heads."

"Sounds good!" Jiang Yu smiled, "Let's bring Yang Dong along too; although she's not as drunk as Ding Yi or Wang Miao, she's not much better off."

The next morning, with Da Shi driving, they took Yang Dong and the other two, along with Jiang Yu, onto the expressway.

In the car, Ding Yi and Wang Miao rambled drunkenly from the back seat. Although Yang Dong had not drunk, she seemed to have lost her spirited vitality from before, looking lackluster.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu slumped in the back seat, fast asleep.

Yang Dong glanced at Jiang Yu, "How can he sleep so much?"

As Shi Qiang drove, he found a video for Yang Dong, "This I clipped from the meeting records, nothing confidential. Have a look yourself."

In the video, Jiang Yu sat ramrod straight, arguing with two foreigners, looking like an irate lion.