Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 1336 - 762: Disarmament (Part 2)
Chapter 1336: Chapter 762: Disarmament (Part 2)
Perhaps the terms are even better than staying in the military.
Speaking of which, the Alliance’s army strength is not solely limited to the Alliance Army.
The Alliance’s military strength is approximately divided into four major parts: the Alliance Army, the Alliance Navy, the Alliance Defense Army, and other special forces.
It actually has some similarities with the Imperial system. The Alliance Army corresponds to the Star Realm Army, the Navy needs no explanation, the Alliance Defense Army corresponds to the planetary defense forces of various Empire Worlds.
The number of Defense Army is definitely not as sparse as the Alliance Army.
With a population of 12 trillion and 7,000 worlds, it’s impossible for the Alliance to rely solely on the Alliance Army for defense. The mobilization ratio is less than six ten-thousandths of the total population, leaving only a million for each planet, what good is that?
Don’t laugh at the Empire, the Alliance also has to delegate military authority to the planetary governments, allowing Planetary Governors to form their own Defense Army, and the cost of the Defense Army is also borne by the local governments.
Of course, there are many differences as well as similarities. The Alliance’s Star Sector and Star Domain governments cannot form interstellar troops, the Alliance Army and the Alliance Navy have full responsibility for all interstellar operations. When necessary, Star Domain governments can mobilize planetary defense forces for interstellar operations, and Planetary Governors have no authority to refuse.
Planetary Governors of the Alliance do not possess the power that those in the Empire do. Empire Planetary Governors are like local emperors; after paying taxes, they can do whatever they want. Not so in the Alliance; Alliance Planetary Officers are mere bureaucrats, subject to oversight, with performance indicators, promoted if they do well, and dismissed otherwise. The Defense Army can be deployed by higher military units at any time.
Additionally, the difference between the Alliance and Empire military system is that the Alliance Army and Defense Force are closely linked. A large proportion of the Alliance Army is recruited from the Defense Force, and retirees will return; the Alliance Army has ample authority to mobilize the Defense Force. In fact, the overall commander of the Defense Force system falls within the Army.
When downsizing the Army, personnel is relocated to local governments for reemployment, and most of the remaining equipment is handed over as Imperial Tax, thereby unloading the burden.
The main reason is to relieve financial pressure, though it does provide an opportunity to discard some outdated equipment models.
Anyway, the Empire welcomes these items—given its vastness, it has the capacity to absorb the equipment unwanted by the Alliance.
What may be considered obsolete by the Alliance Army could very well be sought-after treasures elsewhere.
For the next two years, downsizing will continue, eventually reducing the Alliance Army’s total military expenditure to below 80 billion annually (in peacetime), while surplus military equipment and materials handed over in Imperial Tax will exceed 100 billion.
The Alliance Defense Army doesn’t need much discussion. Although no regulation is imposed on local governments by the Alliance Central, economic development is currently the primary task for local governments, and if not for Central’s specific requirements on the quantity and quality of local defense forces, they would undoubtedly prefer to maintain as little Defense Army as possible—since the cost falls to local government spending with no contribution from Central finances.
The Alliance Navy experiences similar conditions.
Currently, the Alliance Navy owns more than 2,000 warships. Armed merchant ships conscripted during wartime have all been returned.
Among the 2,000-plus warships, most are likely patrol ships and escort ship-level small ships. The number decreases significantly at the destroyer and cruiser levels, and there are only 21 in total when it comes to battlecruisers, battleships, and aircraft carriers.
However, these 21 giant ships account for nearly 70% of the Navy’s total expenditure.
The Navy is even more expensive than the Army.
The Alliance spends over 150 billion annually to maintain its Navy; a figure referring to peacetime expenditures for normal fleet operations, with wartime expenses rising unpredictably based on the intensity of the conflict.
The Navy also requires downsizing.
However, downsizing the Navy is relatively straightforward: simply hand over unwanted ships as Imperial Tax.
Furthermore, as the Alliance Navy was indeed underdeveloped in the past with insufficient ships, during wartime, they drafted any available ship into the Navy, resulting in some structural issues within the naval fleet.
This offers an opportunity for optimization.
Moreover, some old ships, or those with lower technological performance, should be sold.
For instance, the Musician-class and Long Snake-class ships are slated for elimination in the Alliance’s fleet.
However, the related production lines remain, as it’s a lucrative industry.
The newly built ships will just be handed over as tax.
Ships like those of the Moon-class or Holy Grail Level built by the Alliance will be kept for their own use.
The scale of the Alliance Fleet won’t decrease; rather, new ships will be continually ordered. However, it’s expected that for each Holy Grail Level ship built, one Long Snake-class ship will be eliminated from their fleet and tossed to the Empire.
The Navy is estimated to discard ships worth over 300 billion in the next two years.
But the maintenance budget likely won’t decline much, probably staying around 150 billion; with the need to order new ships, military expenses will also rise.
This naval downsizing is tantamount to doing nothing.
But there’s no alternative.
The Army can be handled relatively easily, and can be mobilized whenever necessary. Equipment production is swift, with ample inventory, and if needed, standards can be lowered, resulting in available options.
But the Navy is uncontrollable in this sense; excessive downsizing now means that in times of need, shipbuilding cycles often stretch to three to five, even six to seven years; core large ships can’t be instantaneously made available.
Overall, military expenses are one part of the preliminary ’suffering’ the Alliance must endure.
Once the Alliance’s financial situation improves in a few years, they can consider expansion again.
However, there has been one particular expense continuously invested at hundreds of billions annually under the guise of a classified project.
Even with significant fiscal pressure, this expenditure has remained consistent.
Due to its high confidentiality level, almost no one knows what the project is, but Gu Hang certainly knows.
It’s actually an investment in the Navy: the secret construction of the Glory Queen-class Battleship.
Once built, this powerhouse will be worth an entire Alliance fleet, with combat capabilities that the Alliance Fleet will support to an extraordinary degree.
The Central Empire currently does not have control over such a battleship.
The existing Queen of Glory is in possession of original founders of those ancient interstellar warrior battle groups.
It’s yet to be determined how much trouble the Alliance will face once their ability to build the Glory Queen-class is revealed, whether they dare to openly use it, but having it first is the main objective.
The difference between having and not having it is monumental.
…
Overall, military construction within the Alliance has practically stopped.
It’s an unavoidable step to make way for economic development.
But recently, Tadeusz’s work hasn’t merely been straightforward downsizing but rather an optimization phase: reducing costs and increasing efficiency while maintaining the framework of the entire Alliance military.
The structure of the forces can be optimized, costs can be reduced, yet flexibility must remain, allowing the existing framework to support the Alliance in quickly redeploying forces, expanding swiftly to become even larger and stronger if needed.
Gu Hang has full confidence in his abilities.
Simultaneously, he also has strong belief in Osenia’s capabilities.
He entrusts the work to be done well.
He will review the updates in both government and military reports.
He also possesses the system’s [Soldier Card] panel and the monthly income panel for Gift Points to cross-check whether his officers are deceiving him in their reports.
This is where his advantage lies: a digitalized panel that accurately reflects information that’s hard to gather with routine statistics.
Gu Hang can accept a certain degree of deviation between the two.
Statistics is a profound field, and deviations are a normal phenomenon.
As long as it’s not absurdly deviant, it’s acceptable.
Additionally, Gu Hang doesn’t remain passive in the Alliance’s development.
He has recently acquired a substantial number of Gift Points.
