Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 1387 - 789
Chapter 1387: Chapter 789
In fact, the Empire has always believed that the Alliance is pursuing expansion, but in truth, it somewhat wronged the Alliance.
With the current scope of the Alliance’s territory, it’s already more than enough for them to handle.
As long as the external environment is stable, Gu Hang and many other Alliance leaders unanimously agree on simply staying at home and farming peacefully. Even if the economic growth rate slows down, it still maintains 6-8% annually.
This growth rate is quite rare throughout the entire Empire, and it could even be said to be unique.
Every decade or so, it can double!
Honestly farming and doing business can make you rich, so why wage wars?
It’s not like in those old days when territories were small and impoverished.
But there’s no choice.
The external environment never improves on its own, you have to rely on your own efforts.
Moreover, the innocent carries the guilt of possessing value. When the Alliance became wealthy, the ’impoverished’ Empire naturally turned its gaze upon them.
Besides, with the Alliance becoming rich, many naturally assume they are ambitious and pursuing expansion.
No matter what Gu Hang does, it always seems like he’s the kind of ambitious person trying to expand, to overthrow the current order, or to move into Holy Terra.
The Solaria War that the Alliance participated in is a particularly typical example.
The Alliance Army participated in the Solaria campaign in the name of the Star Realm Army Corps ’Rage Bear’, following the usual way Star Realm Army joins battles, as per the Empire’s requirements.
Under such circumstances, it should have been imperative for the Central Empire to take on logistical supply responsibilities.
However, in reality, supplies were often withheld layer by layer by the bureaucracy.
The higher command of the ’Rage Bear’ corps repeatedly pushed the Alliance forces to the deadliest front lines.
They actually had a reason for this – isn’t the Alliance military supposedly capable? Those who are capable should take on more work, so they were given the tough battles.
To fight hard fights is actually something the Alliance doesn’t mind. The Command’s reasoning is understandable.
But if you consider me your sharp blade, why withhold supplies?
Why is there often inadequate allied support?
Why, during battles that clearly had no hope, were the Alliance forces commanded to fight to the death?
Is this how you treat elite troops?
Clearly not.
So what should the Alliance Army do?
They can’t just let themselves be destroyed unjustly.
Being too far removed from their home base and unable to stretch their reach there, the Alliance Expeditionary Force’s command center was forced to initiate the ’Combat Zone Autonomous Initiative’—taking over some key hub planets under the guise of ’temporary military control’, establishing a complete closed-loop system from recruitment to production and taxation.
And surprisingly, the area under ’military control’ of the Alliance Army indeed became quite the remarkable scene during the Solaria War.
Solaria’s decay far exceeded expectations.
After the Sun Expedition concluded, the Human Empire stopped further expansion and shifted its overall goal towards stabilizing Solaria to preserve the achievements of the Sun Expedition.
Although on the Empire’s political stage the Sun Expedition was determined to be an action with more drawbacks than benefits, it had lasted for over sixty years, costing so much money and lives. The benefits obtained needed to be preserved.
However, the sudden death of the Sun Lord caused the Solar Expedition Army to lose control instantly. The Solaria Domain, with its more than ten thousand worlds divided into 17 star domains, at least twice the size of ordinary domains, fractured under the divisions of numerous Apostles of War and local forces.
In name, they all are forces under the Empire.
But in reality… it was just a group of divided warlords.
The things they’ve done compared to the Alliance are way more extreme.
Nominally, the Alliance follows the Empire, believes in the National Church and Sect of Mechanics, pays taxes, and is becoming one of the Empire’s most important sources of fiscal revenue, obeying when called to battle.
Those who criticize the Alliance’s loyalty may not contribute as much to the Empire as they claim.
Meanwhile, the separatist warlords of Solaria are truly separatist. Each of them actively seeks money from the Empire, causing trouble if they don’t get it.
Taxes? Not at all, everything is used to suppress uprisings; if they have the capability, they can deploy tax officers and the Tribunal to investigate them.
Yet every investigation leads to silence.
The ambition of localizing territories, the simmering chaos rekindled like wildfires, the Parasite Sect entrenched in the depths of Nest Capital, Beastman uprisings… Solaria’s corrupted situation has seen contributions from various sides.
For such a situation, naturally, the Empire would strike back with force.
It’s been fifty years since the Sun Lord’s death. The Empire’s suppression of rebellions in Solaria has never ceased.
The war situation there is unlike the all-out domain-scale war that consists of multiple battles and large-scale skirmishes like those seen in the Spiderweb Domain, but more like a fifty-year uninterrupted police action.
It’s a piece of diseased flesh growing on the body of the Empire—reluctant to cut it off as it has some working functions, yet it requires immense resources for maintenance, continuously bleeding resources.
Although not much direct expenditure went into rebellion suppression each year, and in some years it even offset the taxes collected, after fifty years the overall cost has been even greater than waging an Iron Armor War.
The crux is, after the Iron Armor War ended, even though the Spiderweb Domain was given to the Alliance, the Central Empire received a very high return—just the collected Imperial Taxes alone were nearly ten times what they once were. Meanwhile, despite vast resources being devoted to Solaria, it’s still bleeding out today.
