693: Chapter 693 Cold Treatment?

Li Yang looked at the grave, somewhat anxious expression on Cang Xi's face, shook his head slightly, and sighed helplessly. Deciding to stop hiding anything, he laid out his currently most confusing and frustrating situation in full detail.

"Army Commander Cang, to be honest with you, I truly have no news whatsoever regarding how the Nineteenth Division will be reorganized next or which System it will be reassigned to. It's not just the troops; even my own personnel appointment is still a complete blank."

Subsequently, Li Yang told Cang Xi the whole situation: the General Commission for Discipline Inspection had ordered the Inspection Team to disband, and while everyone else had received notifications to return to their original posts, he alone had received no transfer order from the State Council, no new position, and no new assignment.

After hearing Li Yang's account, the surprise on Cang Xi's face deepened. His brows furrowed tightly as he muttered to himself.

"Even your appointment hasn't come down? That shouldn't be..."

He pondered for a moment; the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

"You achieved unparalleled merit during this comprehensive inspection. You received the Best Inspection Official medal, a First-Class Merit, and were promoted five ranks to Major General. You haven't lacked a single honor. Logically, the central authorities should be promoting you to an important position, so why would they leave you hanging like this?"

Halfway through his sentence, Cang Xi suddenly thought of a very common tactic in Official and military circles...

The cold shoulder.

This tactic is usually used by superiors against subordinates who have great merit, strong backgrounds, cannot be easily dismissed, but refuse to obey.

Their Official rank and military rank cannot be lowered due to their merits, and on the surface, they may even be given promotions and medals, but substantive positions are simply never arranged. They leave you with the rank but no position, letting you wear yourself out waiting, grinding down your spirit until you voluntarily give in and bow your head in obedience.

But this tactic, no matter how one looks at it, should not be used on Li Yang.

Li Yang is strong in execution, firm in his work style, has distinguished merits, and is loyal to the Empire. He has never disobeyed orders or clashed with superiors, nor is he the type of troublemaker who needs to be disciplined or suppressed.

The more Cang Xi thought about it, the more confused he became, shaking his head as he said.

"That's not right. The cold shoulder is used to deal with those who are unruly and difficult to control. You, Li Yang, have been diligent all along, and your merits are there for all to see. The central authorities couldn't possibly treat you this way. There must be... some other reason for this."

Looking at the unconcealable confusion and unease between Li Yang's brows, Cang Xi immediately realized that this matter was far more suspicious than it appeared on the surface. He also understood how agonizing Li Yang's situation was—holding honors and military rank, yet hanging in limbo with no position or assignment.

He immediately set aside all his casual demeanor, his expression becoming solemn, and spoke to Li Yang on the light screen in an incomparably serious tone.

"Li Yang, don't let your imagination run wild, and don't overthink it yourself. Leave this matter to me. I will use my connections in the Imperial Military Department right now, and ask a few old leaders and comrades at the core level to quietly inquire for you, to figure out what the central authorities mean—whether this is just a temporary shelving or if there are other special arrangements."

He paused, his gaze firm, his tone full of confident reassurance.

"You can set your mind at ease. Given your ability, your merits, and the great achievements of this comprehensive inspection, the central high-level authorities know better than anyone. They would absolutely not have any unfavorable thoughts toward you. The delay in issuing your appointment is most likely due to special considerations we are currently unaware of, or because personnel layouts at a higher level haven't been finalized yet. It is definitely not targeting you."

Hearing that Cang Xi was willing to take the initiative to help inquire about the news, Li Yang's eyes lit up. The heavy feeling that had been pressing on his heart for days dissipated by more than half, and a genuine look of joy immediately appeared on his face as he hurriedly stood up to thank him solemnly on the light screen.

"Army Commander Cang, thank you so much! With you stepping in to help inquire, I feel much more at ease!"

He understood very well that as the Army Commander of the Homeland Security Force, Cang Xi had a deep Foundation and extensive connections within the Imperial Military Department, and the high-level information he could access was far beyond what Li Yang could compare to.

If he just waited here without any clue, he would only become more and more anxious. But once Cang Xi took action, it was highly likely he would directly get to the core of the situation, allowing him to completely escape this agonizing state of uncertainty.

"Just wait for my news with peace of mind. Don't overthink it, and don't guess."

Cang Xi waved his hand at Li Yang, his tone crisp and decisive.

"As soon as I have any leads, I will contact you immediately."

As his voice fell, the light screen flickered slightly and then slowly faded away, officially ending the call.

The office returned to silence. Li Yang stood where he was, exhaling a long breath, his mood now completely different from before.

The previous feelings of depression, confusion, and anxiety had now dissipated for the most part.

Just as Cang Xi said, for the past two and a half years, he had been diligent and dutiful, leading the Inspection Team to sweep across a hundred Galaxy Clusters and achieving illustrious merits. He had no faults, had firmly obeyed his superiors' orders throughout, and had completed all tasks in an orderly manner. No matter which angle one looked at it, there was absolutely no possibility of him being given the cold shoulder.

As for whether someone was targeting him in the shadows, deliberately suppressing him...

Thinking of this, Li Yang shook his head slightly, casting this thought out of his mind.

With his current merits, military rank, and the dual recognition from the General Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Imperial Military Department, he was not someone who could be suppressed just because someone wanted to.

Asking himself, during his years of inspection and service, he had indeed been impartial and incorruptible, investigating countless Officials and offending countless people.

But the problem was, those corrupt Officials he had personally sent to the trial bench and stripped of power—whether it was the Galaxy Speaker level Rowan, the Guard Division Commander, or the tens of thousands of mid-to-low-level Officials—had long since had their fates sealed.

The most heinous had already been executed, those with serious offenses were serving life imprisonment, and the lightest cases were also serving time in prison, having completely lost all power and influence.

Let alone causing trouble in the shadows, they didn't even have their freedom; they had absolutely no ability to come back and retaliate or frame him.

As for whether there were deeper, more powerful figures, old connections, or old factions hiding behind these fallen Officials who wanted to retaliate against him in the shadows...

Li Yang shook his head slightly, directly rejecting this thought.

That was even more impossible.

To want to silently give him the cold shoulder, making the General Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Imperial Military Department, the Guard Division headquarters, and the Supreme Political Council—four core institutions of the Empire—all remain silent at the same time and join forces to suppress his appointment, a person of that level would already stand at the very top of the Empire's power, an existence truly capable of deciding the fate of the world with a single word.

Conservatively speaking, they would at least be an A-level Official.