Chapter 169 Master, Deceive Me Once More_1

Moon Base Command, Holographic Projection Combat Command Hall.

Lin Sen also arrived at the Command Hall but did not interfere with any of Xiang Gaofeng's commands; he simply watched quietly, as always.

Moon Military Advisory Group: "Commander, Earth has just sent a request for negotiations. Should we consider it?"

Xiang Gaofeng: "The war was started by them; it's not for them to say when it ends.

"As for their request for negotiations, ignore it. Making them wait a while longer will be more advantageous for us."

This was an act of disregard, and silence was the greatest form of it.

In the original work, the Trisolarans disregarded humanity for two centuries, and now Feng Zi was responding to the Earth Alliance with the same disregard.

The military command ability that Feng Zi demonstrated in this battle earned everyone's deep admiration and submission.

Each of his decisions was like those from the hands of a master chess player—exquisite and spot-on, steering the development of the battle flawlessly.

What was even more astonishing was that he grasped all the details of the entire battlefield, making precise and accurate judgments and responses for both allies and enemies alike.

Moon Military Advisory Group: "Do we still need to continue the attack? The bombardment from the Moon Reverse Slope Position can't completely conquer the Earth Alliance.

"Should we deploy our active warships to strike at them, to utterly conquer the Earth Alliance?"

The Moon side had also suffered substantial losses during this battle. If the war were to end abruptly and for no reason, the personnel on the Moon side would not be satisfied.

The Moon side trusted Feng Zi, not only because of his outstanding abilities but because they believed he could secure a better future for them, a trust Feng Zi had to maintain.

Even if he did not attack the Earth Alliance again, he needed to provide sufficient reasons, after all, Feng Zi was not a Wallfacer.

The Lagrange battle was a balance of power standoff, where, under certain circumstances, Lin Sen and Feng Zi were the ones controlling the battle, with the Moon side being harder to control.

Without striving for favorable conditions for the Moon side, how could he make the forces on the Moon side obey him?

Even a Wallfacer, who doesn't need to be trusted, would lose everything once people completely lost faith in them.

Lin Sen suddenly stood up, and everyone's gaze converged on this Wallfacer as he slowly walked to the front.

Half a century had passed, and Lin Sen's prestige in the hearts of the Moon people had never diminished, closely related to the education they received from childhood.

Lin Sen: "I have said before that you are the commanders of the war, and I will not interfere with your choices.

"I just want to offer some suggestions. Before that, I want to ask, do you really want to completely conquer the Earth Alliance?"

Everyone pondered this question, hesitant to speak, with only Feng Zi stepping forward to respond.

Feng Zi: "Mr. Lin Sen, when the arrow is on the string, it must be shot.

"The Earth Alliance started this war, and they must pay the price. If we had lost, they would have devoured us like wolves.

"We have no choice, for what we have today has not come easily—it is the result of the hard struggle of countless generations.

"We pioneered in the most dangerous places, fighting hard battles on Saturn, Mars, and the Jovian Moons, while they have been engaging in internal strife and civil war.

"Actually, not many of them perished in the natural disasters, yet countless lives were lost in the subsequent struggles for benefits. They are like wolves—we cannot trust them.

"Under the crisis of Trisolaris, we also do not wish to engage in large-scale warfare with them, for we value life more.

"Perhaps establishing a new alliance is a good thing, but we must be the ones leading that alliance."

Feng Zi's words voiced the sentiments of most in the hall; the naive psychology of the Moon Base populace meant that naively expressed opinions were more likely to gain their support.

Lin Sen: "You are right, I am physically younger than most of you here. Many of your fathers were once my subordinates, and many might still be alive. Psychologically, I see you as the younger generation.

"I might understand you better than you think. I want you to ask yourselves honestly, are you really ready to take control of the leadership of the alliance?

"In your hearts, there is fear. The Earth Alliance is like a pack of hungry wolves, and to establish an alliance with them is like dancing with wolves.

"You possess the best virtues of humanity: kindness, respect for life, hard work, struggle, courage, and the drive to pioneer the future.

"But they all grew up in the most perilous conditions, and they harbor an essential animosity towards this world. You should all be familiar with the integration process of the Underground City. Are you truly at ease entrusting your descendants to them?"

"They possess the ability to challenge the limits and break through the lower bounds of your understanding. I even have a speculation; what if the purpose behind instigating this war was something else?"

"Perhaps they wished to negotiate peace with you, but given their shrewdness, could they not see that this war was unwinnable?"

"Peace talks are just their ruse, and their ultimate goal is to infiltrate you quickly and then consume you bit by bit from the inside out."

"After all, this has always been their way; you know that better than I do."

Such arguments caught the Moon side completely off guard—they had never considered this angle before. To wage such a massive war, could it all have been a premeditated ploy? The idea was terrifying.

Of course, the argument had its flaws, but it was sufficient for the Moon side at the moment.

It wasn't that Lin Sen's ability to lie had diminished, but that different people required different lies, and the humans at the Moon Base had also severely declined in cunning and intellect.

In fact, this was normal. The accomplishments the Moon side achieved in half a century had even surpassed the achievements of Earth's entire industrial age.

They saw Earthlings as people of the 21st century might view ancients: in their eyes, everything about the ancients was ignorant and backward. A long-standing sense of superiority could cause them to lose touch with basic reality, weakening their cunning and intellect.

Returning to the present, had some of their elders been present, they would surely have exclaimed, "Master Lin is bluffing us again!"

"Back then, we were so bluffed by Master Lin that we rushed to the Moon and sold our entire lives to him."

"This man is utterly devoid of martial virtue. Even the most cutthroat capitalists are naive babes compared to him, making us work our hearts out for him and still be grateful."

"But the one thing we are most grateful for in our lives is being bluffed by Master Lin. It was Master Lin who led us out of the darkest days of our souls."

"If there is still one wish left in this life, it is... Master, bluff me once more!"

In fact, Feng Zi was also Lin Sen's accomplice. The Moon Base was their stronghold, and bluffs must continue.

Feng Zi: "Mr. Lin Sen, are you suggesting that this Earth-Moon conflict is a ruse by the Earth Alliance, and their goal is to merge with us, only to later dissolve us from within?"

"After all, this is what they have been doing for years. They've employed such tactics countless times during the integration process with the Underground City. In this respect, we simply cannot compare with them."

"They can't beat us militarily, but we are no match for their treachery."

Moon Chief Executive: "Then what should we do?"

A masterful strategy often only requires a subtle hint. Master Lin has been bluffing in his simplest form for a decade.

Lin Sen: "What they cannot achieve militarily, they should not be able to gain through political means either."

"The greatest vulnerability of the Moon Base is the scale of our civilization. Everywhere we face the problem of population shortage. Once we establish cooperation with Earth, a massive influx of Earth's human population is something we cannot stop."

"But militarily, they are at an absolute disadvantage. As long as we can blockade them, by the time our colonies spread throughout the Solar System, we will have the capacity to assimilate them."

"I suggest we build numerous Starports in the Moon's Earth-orbital trajectory. The Starports built by the Earth Alliance are a great inspiration to us; we too need to establish Starports that serve both offensive and defensive purposes, leveraging these to completely blockade any outward expansion by the Earth Alliance."

"In the near-Earth orbit, release a large number of surveillance satellites to monitor all space activity by Earth's surface and the Earth Alliance."

"Our attacks on them must not stop. We can carry out a 'sniper campaign.' Historically, intense wars last only a few months, but low-intensity conflicts that follow can persist for decades."

"We don't engage in substantial peace talks with Earth nor do we further invade Earth. We maintain a low-intensity war to preclude their peace of mind in reconstructing."

"If we covet a particular technology from the Earth Alliance, we simply threaten them with war, compelling them to provide that technology willingly."

"Take, for instance, this campaign, where the Earth Alliance's Ultra-High-Energy Laser Cannon technology is at least two to three generations ahead of ours; we directly demand their provision."

"Also, their Starport technology, the propulsion technology of the Thunderstrike Fleet—these can offer us great reference value, and they too must be provided. If not, we will intensify our assaults."

"If you have other opinions, feel free to voice them. We need to pool our wisdom!"

All those present could not help but admire Lin Sen wholeheartedly; he had considered everything.

The secret to successful bluffing lies in exploiting trust and preying on fears; master these, and you can elevate to the rank of a bluff master. But to reach the grandmaster level of bluffing like Master Lin, one must travel a long and heavy road.