Chapter 235: Chapter 166, Victory and the Fruits of Victory are Not Always the Same Thing_2
This is like asking a friend to give you a lift in a taxi, and then there’s an accident. You can’t blame the passenger for wanting a ride, can you? Plus, I did my best to rescue the people in the car.
I’m not a Prophet. Who could have predicted that calling a convoy would result in a Green Skin Fleet lying in wait in the Star Realm Tunnel?
If it were just ordinary pirates, it would have been fine. Typical pirates might have a few shoddy ships at best. Her convoy had three escort ships, and including the firepower of the Beautiful Lady itself, handling small-time pirates would have been a piece of cake.
However, by pirate standards, the Green-Skinned Fleet that appeared was enormous. It would take terrible luck to encounter such trouble.
Furthermore, upon receiving the intelligence, Gu Hang immediately began thinking of a solution. This was certainly to save his own planet, but also to rescue his cousin’s convoy.
I can’t be blamed for what happened. I tried hard to find a solution when things went awry, and I indeed saved you.
Thinking about it at this level, most of Gu Hang’s guilt dissipated.
Still, it was only right to compensate my cousin for her losses.
When Wang Jiarong boarded the ship, Yelisia and Gu Hang welcomed her. After their initial interaction, they moved to a reception room to continue their in-depth discussion on post-war matters.
In the reception room, there was a table with three chairs around it where the three of them sat.
There was no particular arrangement regarding the seating order signaling any hierarchy.
Yet, it was Gu Hang who spoke first, “The war has ended, but the matters after the war are equally important. Victory doesn’t erase the losses. We need to seek the dividends of our victory, not let the victory become a scar.”
He made an opening statement.
The two others found his words reasonable.
Victory is one thing, the fruits of victory another.
Don’t think that winning means you can enjoy the spoils. There are plenty of cases where victories end up costing more than defeats.
This battle in particular.
Fighting the Green Skins, there was no option to capture warships. All twelve Green-Skinned warships became space debris, with practically zero loot. The Beautiful Lady Convoy lost two ships, and the Quintet’s repairs would cost a great deal. Even Gu Hang, with the smallest losses, had over four thousand soldiers killed or wounded and at least forty Strider Combat Vehicles destroyed—this is roughly the monthly output of Gu Hang’s munitions factory.
If we can’t find other ways to reap the fruits of victory, then even a win would come at a blood loss.
Also, there was an unspoken implication: the fruits of victory had not only to be sought out but also divided among them.
Gu Hang spoke logically, and Wang Jiarong agreed.
However, she found it somewhat strange that her cousin was acting as if he was the one in charge, hosting the meeting.
What was more critical was that Yelisia didn’t seem to have any objection and listened intently.
“This incident was not an accident,” Gu Hang continued. “It was a premeditated, planned invasion by the Iron-Tooth Clan against the Tianma Star Sector. It included deploying spores to Rage Owl Star, attempting to infect the entire planet with greenery and use it as a springboard for invading the Tianma Star Sector. I thwarted their ground actions on the planet, and with the help of the Imperial Navy, destroyed the vanguard clan the Iron-Tooth Clan had cultivated on Rage Owl Star during the last governor’s term…”
“The Iron-Tooth Clan, unwilling to accept defeat, dispatched their main fleet, consisting of four destroyers and twelve escort ships, complete with a large contingent of ground troops, attempting a forceful invasion of Rage Owl Star. I intercepted the intelligence, the Quintet contacted the nearby Beautiful Lady Convoy, and under the authority granted by the War Act, temporarily requisitioned the convoy’s ships. We lured the Green Skin alien fleet into a pre-set ambush location and near the jump point of Tunnel One in the Rage Owl Star System, we conducted a successful annihilation battle. The entire Green Skin Fleet was eliminated, and the Beastman Overlord was beheaded.”
Gu Hang was telling a story.
The two ladies beside him listened more and more intently as he spoke.
Now, what they were discussing was the information soon to be reported to the Star Sector Government, to the Imperial Military Department.
Lying was out of the question. Inventing facts, exaggerating triumphs, concealing losses…These factual matters could not be falsified. You could gamble on the Star Sector Government not caring, or bet that the Imperial Military Department wouldn’t spot the discrepancies, but if you gamble and lose, you end up with nothing.
However, Gu Hang’s statement was not afraid of scrutiny.
On the specific facts, there was no fabrication. Indeed, a crisis of green-skinned beings proliferating occurred on Rage Owl Star, and the size of the Green Skin Tribe had indeed reached tens of thousands, with technological advancements reaching the level of possessing Killer Cans and Iron Fear Cans, and even the emergence of Green-Skinned Warlords.
Who could say that such a Green-Skin Army was a wild, primitive Green Skin?
Even if one were to perform genetic sequencing, it would undoubtedly be from the Iron-Tooth Clan.
The Iron-Tooth Clan, a large space Orc Clan within the Star Sea that has some renown, majorly operates in the Eastern Cosmos Domain. Their most famous deed is the destruction of over fifty Empire Worlds across three star sectors. To date, they still hold those territories and have not been eradicated, with the war between humans and them ongoing.
Afterwards, the configuration and scale of the Green Skin Fleet with 4+8 was also entirety true. The ‘Quintet’ indeed pulled in the Beautiful Lady Convoy and entirely annihilated that fleet around the transition area of the Rage Owl Star System.
The general account of the engagement was factually correct, entirely based on reality. But this narrative, in comparison, was much more appealing than the bare facts.
The discovery of Green Skin proliferation on Rage Owl Star was due to biological research prior to the world’s destruction; local Green Skins sending messages into space which were picked up by the Green Skin Fleet; that marauding fleet ventured to this area; the Beautiful Lady Convoy happened upon them and got involved, accidentally attacked, then rescued by the ‘Quintet’…
What does this mean?
According to Gu Hang’s statement, everyone benefited.
The whole event was magnified into a major assault on the Tianma Star Sector by the Iron-Tooth Clan, with the vanguard defeated. This was a great military achievement, far greater than annihilating a group of Green Skin pirates.
Especially pleased with this narrative was Wang Jiarong.
Her convoy, by changing its banner, was not merely a victim or a rescued party, but became a convoy drafted to coordinate with the Imperial Navy’s operations.
And under the relevant laws, she could report her losses to the Empire Commerce Guild and the Military Affairs Department to receive certain compensations.
It’s not as if she would directly receive replacement Escort Ships for the two destroyed ones, but at the very least she would receive a considerable sum of money, as well as perks such as higher-level qualifications for ship purchases, ship-buying discounts, tax breaks, and compensation…
Especially when it comes to ship-buying qualifications. Large starships aren’t something one can buy whenever they wish; the Empire Government has strict restrictions on this. If handled well, she could obtain the qualifications to buy a destroyer or even a cruiser-grade vessel, and just that qualification alone, even if she doesn’t use it personally and decides to sell it, would be a substantial income.
All of these taken together, it’s quite possible not only to recover all her losses but also to make a hefty profit!
At the same time, Yelisia was set to gain the most profit.
Or in other words, in this battle her and her ‘Quintet’ were undeniably the main force. No matter how the spoils of victory were divided, she wouldn’t miss out on taking the biggest share.
The Iron-Tooth Clan’s vanguard fleet invading the Tianma Star Sector, consisting of twelve naval ships, was completely obliterated by her leading a small convoy. She was the supreme commander, the absolute main force in battle; her decisive judgment, extraordinary strategy, and impressive military achievements were all out in the open.
She advantageously thwarted the Beastmen’s assault and inflicted a devastating blow on the Orc naval forces.
The ‘Quintet’ took damage? What of it? The Military Affairs Department would pay for the repairs, which could hardly be considered her responsibility, but rather a merit.
With the Fufana Family’s influence in the Imperial Navy, she was set to be promoted to a rising star general.
With just her military academy and drill performances, she could become a provisional general, a starship captain. Now, with her stunning wartime achievement laid bare, her rapid promotion to a true general was certain. Even more so, this would pave the way for even further advancement in her future.
A promotion to major general within a year, then with a few more years and ample experience, aspiring to take the position of Fleet Commander for the Tianma Fleet was not beyond hope.
And Gu Hang could also reap considerable benefits by virtue of eradicating the surface vanguard, providing important intelligence, and participating in the star battle to solve the Beastman Overlord—all being three significant merits.
————
It was only while writing today that I realized, the name of the cousin sounded so familiar, no wonder—it’s very similar to the name of the female mechanic under Gu Hang’s command…
Let’s call it a beautiful coincidence!