“I heard that it was because everyone from the 23rd Division recommended him.”

“If that's the case then that explains it.”

With the 23rd Division being built from the ground up by Ling Xiao, the respect everyone in the division had for Ling Xiao was unwavering. They definitely wouldn't accept any general who didn't have any connections with the 23rd Division to take over the position. Even if that general was of the same caliber as Ling Xiao, they still wouldn't be able to accept that.

Of course, if they were to choose a general from within the 23rd Division, someone like He Xuyang would be their ideal candidate. However, He Xuyang didn't have enough merits and didn't have any support from the higher-ups in the military so he couldn't get onto the list of candidates. Moreover, the 23rd Division didn't have a deputy general so no one was available from the 23rd Division internally to take up the position of general.

However, the truth laid in front of the 23rd Division was brutal. They must accept someone else to be their general. But, all of the members of the division would still be frustrated if a general they didn't acknowledge joined.

Instead of those outsiders, it would be better for General Ling Xiao's family members to take this position. In terms of their feelings, they would be able to accept it.

In reality, although the 23rd Division was established only for eight to nine years, the entire division still had reached a perfect maturation state because of Ling Xiao's hard work. Even if there wasn't a general giving them orders, the 23rd Division still could continue to function well. Thus, the 23rd Division didn't need their next general to be amazing. They just wanted this new general to be able to take over the fighting spirit of the 23rd Division that General Ling Xiao had left them with and not mold the division into something new. They didn't want anyone to make changes and get rid of the mark General Ling Xiao had left in the hearts of those in the 23rd Division.

Thus, after careful consideration, He Xuyang and the other higher-ups of the 23rd Division spoke with Lan Luofeng to push Ling Lan into the position of general. That way they would be able to protect the 23rd Division General Ling Xiao had put all of his effort in.

However, there was still a problem presented before them. That was the disappearance of Lieutenant General Ling. Although the military didn't have any regulations that restricted disappeared individuals from competing for an important military position, it still clearly stated that if an individual that had been missing in action for more than three months, their position would be revoked and new arrangements would take place. Even if Ling Lan was chosen for the position, his position would probably be revoked if he didn't come back to the Federation, and they would return to this problem again. If that happened, all the effort they put in doing all of this would all be for naught.

However, nothing was impossible for those with a will. He Xuyang and the others from the 23rd Division studied through all of the military regulations, rules, bills and methods. In the end, they found a possible method on a doc.u.ment from the military headquarters.

If an army unit was met with a special circ.u.mstance (such as a disappeared individual who couldn't return to the Federation for certain reasons and he or she also couldn't contact the military headquarters) and if the position had some special attribute to it which could not have anyone subst.i.tute for the position. If that was the case, they would be able to find a representative to work as a deputy of the army unit. After the said person returned to the Federation, the power of command would be returned to that person. The representative would be removed for their position automatically afterwards.

The best candidate for Ling Lan's representative was Lan Luofeng.

However, with Lan Luofeng's military rank, it was clearly not enough for her to be a representative. That was why Lan Luofeng needed to go find the First Marshal and have him support her. The First Marshal had used different methods and the connections he had to successfully rank up Lan Luofeng's military rank before the other marshals and the neutral factions had discovered this fact. He managed to raise her rank up to the lowest requirement of military rank for being a representative.

Everything was ready and only a match was needed to light the fuse.

Finally, on this day, the plan was unfolding.

After realizing why the First Marshal did what he did in the past few weeks, both the Second and Third Marshals called the First Marshal ‘an old b.a.s.t.a.r.d' in their minds. That sly old fox got the better of them once again without them knowing. They were busy using that time to comfort the emotions and frustrations of the citizens so they just approved of it willingly when asked to rank up Lan Luofeng. This was why Lan Luofeng advanced in military ranks without any issues that fast.

Now that they thought about it, they really regretted it. Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng combination seemed to be ridiculous by itself, but with General Ling Xiao's death having happened recently, this combination was deadly. Many representatives would lean towards Ling Xiao's successor over the other candidates when there wasn't much difference between the three of them due to their respect towards General Ling Xiao and the feeling of sadness after his death.

It was no wonder that when competing for the Lingtian Independent Army, the First Marshal's faction didn't try their best to win it. Their faction's main goal was still the 23rd Division.

The feeling of joy the Third Marshal originally had, after successfully taking Lingtian Independent Army under his wing, was instantly gone. Not to mention the Second Marshal, who was already defeated in the first round.

Moreover, the host of this conference was also part of the First Marshal's faction. Otherwise, when he introduced Lan Luofeng, why did he mention that Lan Luofeng was Ling Xiao's widow? It was a clear reminder to the representatives sitting in the audience to respect General Ling Xiao's wife, Lan Luofeng. In this way, the scales within the minds of these representatives would tilt more towards Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng.

After the list of names were announced, the people from Lingtian Independent Army couldn't help but clench their fists. They held back their excitement and made small fist pumps to celebrate.

Those from the Lingtian Independent Army didn't have much political power. They couldn't even get close to the people who were the top bra.s.s of the military. That was why they didn't know the 23rd Division would put Boss up as a candidate. They were still thinking about how they could protect the Lingtian Independent Army. The issue with the 23rd Division was something that they could only watch unfold because they could not even get close to that position. They had discussed among themselves about who would be successor of the 23rd Division. After all, it was a division established by Boss's father, Ling Xiao. They hoped that the person who took over would continue to be generous to them and continue to work well with them. Everyone from Lingtian understood that the reason why Lingtian had developed so quickly was because of General Ling Xiao's support. Many of the weapons and equipment that were impossible to acquire by armies like Lingtian Independent Army, were taken from the 23rd Division by Boss.

If they were to lose the 23rd Division's full support, they predict that the Lingtian Independent Army would be in a difficult situation in the following years. Although Qi Long took up the position of commander and could go to the 13th Division for help, Qi Yaoyang was still only just someone who took over recently. There was still the deputy general watching over his shoulders. It was impossible for them to receive limitless aid like they did with the 23rd Division. Qi Yaoyang especially wouldn't dare to give them those restricted weapons and equipment. There were just too many people watching him and waiting for him to make a mistake.

Ling Xiao on the other hand was different. He was a G.o.d-cla.s.s operator. One of the ten great generals of the Federation. A general of a division who didn't have a deputy watching over him. Without a doubt, all of his subordinates were his confidants. He could do whatever he wanted to do. Even if the military headquarters had problems with his decisions, they wouldn't dare to go find General Ling Xiao and talk to him about it… That was the power Ling Xiao had. However, it was also because of this that the higher-ups within the military headquarters were afraid of Ling Xiao. They just didn't have any method of deterring or stopping him.