Chapter 204: Commendation Order

After the Prince of Wales finished speaking, Yixian, who was seated in the guest section, stood up and walked directly to the Prince of Wales's side. He nodded at the two, then turned around and faced the commanders and staff below, saying:

Greetings, new forces, hello—I am Donghuang's Supreme Commander Yixian. Invited by the Prince of Wales, I have come to the Academy to attend this graduation ceremony, and I feel truly honored.

Because the Commander Academy is the cradle of all commanders, the place that supplies blood for Donghuang's fight against the Sirens. Therefore it is the holy ground in the hearts of all commanders and all shipgirls.

It is full of hope, full of dreams, full of all possibilities. Just as this year gave birth to Commander Qin Ge, this outstanding talent.

When the battle report of last year's Siren Tide was placed before me, my first reaction was that it was impossible, because the gap compared to what we had done before was simply too great.

But after thorough investigation, I learned that everyone who had listened to his lectures and studied his tactics there achieved great results in the previous Siren Tide, and also reduced losses to the minimum.

At that time we discussed how to give him a reward, but many thought that although he was an instructor for the commander cadets, he was merely a first-year commander. So we put it off, waiting until he matured a bit more before giving him an appropriate commendation.

As a result, it has been postponed until now. The reason we are now proposing to give Commander Qin Ge a commendation is that his second tactical textbook has been completed, and after our Command Department read it thoroughly, we felt it could be regarded as a classic.

Therefore, at this moment I have brought the Command Department's order, which is also the result of deliberation and decision by all its personnel.

Yixian said this, then took out a sheet of paper from his Ship Equipment Space and began to read it.

"Donghuang Command Department Order No. 75, in view of our subordinate Commander Academy Tactics Course Instructor Qin Ge, who works diligently and teaches excellently. Not only has he contributed to Donghuang's maritime defense efforts, but he has also compiled a strategic and tactical textbook, making up for Donghuang's shortcomings in tactics."

Therefore, after deliberation by our department, we hereby raise his rank to Captain and confer upon him the title of Outstanding Contributor, so certified.

Indeed, several shipgirls under Qin Ge on the stage couldn't help but nod; they had previously discussed with Qin Ge the idea of raising his rank. Because now Qin Ge, not only in strength but also in achievements, has far surpassed the scope of a private.

Raising the rank is urgent; otherwise, the Donghuang Navy would be called stingy by other factions.

The rank of Captain is neither too high nor too low, because ordinary people can achieve it with some effort, so it will not provoke too much jealousy or criticism.

Furthermore, the Captain rank puts him on equal footing with his title of Grand Fleet Commander, so people won't be surprised each time they hear he is a Grand Fleet Commander and see his rank.

After Yixian finished reading, he turned and handed the order to Qin Ge. Then he took the Captain's insignia from his Ship Equipment Space and personally placed it on Qin Ge, and afterwards took out a small box containing a medal and hung it on Qin Ge's chest.

"Thank you, Supreme Commander Yixian," Qin Ge said solemnly to Yixian.

"It's fine, this is what you deserve. If it weren't for considering your shallow seniority and fearing criticism from others, a Captain's rank could not match your achievements."

"So keep striving to create new accomplishments; then when we raise your rank later, it will be justified." Yixian smiled.

"Yes." Qin Ge gave a solemn salute.

Then Yixian waved his hand, saying, "After the meeting ends later, bring all your shipgirls to the Prince of Wales's office; I have something to tell you."

Qin Ge's heart skipped a beat; indeed, as A Furore and Mikasa had guessed, Yixian had come for him. But he didn't know what matter had prompted the Supreme Commander to come in person.

Nevertheless, Qin Ge couldn't let his mind wander; he could only answer affirmatively, "Understood."

"Hmm." Yixian nodded at Qin Ge, then glanced at the Prince of Wales beside him, and turned back to his own seat.

The Prince of Wales then had Qin Ge return to his original instructor seat and began the subsequent speech.

Since the trivial matters were finished, the remaining items proceeded quickly. After the graduation ceremony ended, Xu Fei stepped down from the instructor platform, gave his shipgirls a glance, and walked outside.

Everyone walked down the main road, heading toward the Prince of Wales's office while Qin Ge explained what had just happened.

"Yixian personally came to find you; this shows the matter is certainly not ordinary, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered the Donghuang Supreme Commander to come in person." After the prince and I thought for a moment, I then said to Qin Ge:

"I don't know what it is; could it be a reprimand? But the previous acts of giving rewards and honorary titles don't look like a reprimand." Guanghui said to Qin Ge.

"I think Yixian probably has a request." Weineituo said to Qin Ge.

"Oh?" Qin Ge, together with several shipgirls, looked at Weineituo and asked, "How so?"

Weineituo said, "It's been over half a year since last year's Siren Tide; if we wanted to reward a commander, we could do so anytime, so why pick this moment?"

"Could it merely be to read that order in front of the many commanders at the school? I think that's obviously not the case; there must be some hidden circumstance."

"And if I were to say, when you want to ask someone to do something, what is the first thing you should do?"

"To draw closer." Qin Ge said, word by word.

"Exactly, I think that's it; these rewards are merely meant to draw commanders closer. Because after a commander receives a reward, even if he doesn't want to, he will feel compelled to go along with whatever Yixian says, due to the reward given by others." Weineituo said.

"Not bad, truly worthy of being the Sardinian Empire's flagship, your analysis is so clear." Ou Gen Qin Wang smiled and said, "I thought you only knew how to take a bath."

Weineituo's face flushed, "Isn't bathing meant to balance work and rest? Moreover, isn't there anything in the world more comfortable than bathing?"

Everyone heard Weineituo's words and then couldn't help but burst into laughter. It seems this Sardinian Empire flagship indeed has genuine talent, but usually he appears rather lazy, or rather simple-minded.

After everyone finished laughing, Qin Ge looked up at the nearby office building and said, "We're almost there; let's see what this Supreme Commander has come for this time."