Chapter 236: Chapter 167, Gu Hang’s Past
Compared to those two ladies, what Gu Hang could obtain was relatively little.
But he was content.
The Iron-Tooth Clan’s raiding fleet was originally targeting Rage Owl Star. By involving the Beautiful Lady Convoy and the Imperial Navy, it was like solving a massive problem for him, one that he couldn’t have resolved by himself.
That was the biggest gain.
And the thousands of grace points seemed like an incidental benefit, taken for granted.
However, Gu Hang would still strive to secure more additional rights for himself.
Eliminating the surface vanguard, providing important intelligence, taking part in space battles to take down the Beastman Overlord… The Planetary Defense Force of Rage Owl Star made such a great contribution in this war and suffered heavy losses; shouldn’t the Military Affairs Department consider issuing some more advanced equipment to cope with the possible future wars?
Even more, Gu Hang was contemplating something:
Now, with definitive intelligence involving a giant like the Iron-Tooth Clan possibly launching a massive attack on Tianma Star Sector, they have de facto sent out a vanguard fleet.
Thus, the Empire needs to strengthen the defense forces on Rage Owl Star, right?
In addition to stationing a starship, deploying a certain number of land forces, stationing an actual Star Realm Army Corps would be quite reasonable, right?
Oh, the Star Realm Army is stretched thin? Can’t temporarily draw a sufficient force?
No worries! I, Gu Hang, the Planetary Governor of the Empire, The Emperor’s most loyal subject, will certainly take on the Empire’s worries.
This matter, leave it to Rage Owl Star.
As the Planetary Governor, Gu Hang will fully support the construction of the Star Realm Army.
With just ten million tax currency, a group army of hundreds of thousands, equipped with various heavy weapons, can be established on Rage Owl Star.
The people and the equipment will all come from the planet.
And Governor Gu Hang, due to his outstanding performance in the last war, could become the corps commander of this Star Realm Army.
But this point is very difficult to arrange. A Planetary Governor doubling as a Star Realm Army corps commander is not unprecedented, but it’s quite rare.
If that doesn’t work out, Gu Hang could also settle for promoting Tadeusz to that position.
And since they’re establishing a new corps, the Empire will certainly provide funding.
Ten million tax currency, isn’t that perfect?
Rage Owl Star was supposed to pay an Imperial tax in a year and a half anyway.
The Imperial tax quota for Rage Owl Star is at the lowest bracket. With the planet’s population officially set at 50 million by the Imperial Taxation Department, it was obligated to pay an Imperial levy of five million tax currency per year, paid biennially, totaling ten million at a time.
For his first tax payment, Gu Hang only needed to pay a quarter, thanks to a concession from the Star Sector Government. Of course, the Department of Taxation wouldn’t acknowledge this deal; in essence, the additional 7.5 million was paid by the Star Sector Government on behalf of Rage Owl Star to the Imperial Taxation Department.
So, the Star Sector Government’s 7.5 million tax currency shouldn’t be given to the Department of Taxation anymore, but should instead make a detour to my hands, directly to me, plus the 2.5 million tax currency that Rage Owl Star itself has to pay, adding up to ten million. It’s very reasonable to establish a group army of over 500,000, equipped with various heavy weapons, on Rage Owl Star.
When the time comes, Gu Hang would shove all of his troops under his command into it.
After all, constructing the army was always on the agenda, and it’s a major support effort. With the Imperial tax covering the cost, it’s a win-win. The soldiers are my men, the officers are my men, the highest commander is my man, and the troops are stationed on the planet; at the end of the day, who gets to call the shots?
It’s just a change of name.
Of course, it’s not entirely without drawbacks.
The Star Realm Army is different from the Planetary Defense Force. The latter is completely subject to the Governor and only deals with internal planetary matters. The former, on the other hand, must obey orders from the Military Affairs Department. Today, if the orders are to garrison Rage Owl Star, then Gu Hang could still use his influence to keep the entire force under control. But tomorrow, for all we know, a dispatch order might arrive, possibly sending troops to fill in on some difficult battlefield.
Could he refuse to accept the orders?
But such things are uncertain.
Not to mention that the likelihood of it happening isn’t particularly high, even if I don’t transform the forces into the Star Realm Army, when there’s a real need, the Military Affairs Department could invoke special emergency statutes to conscript the Planetary Defense Forces into the Star Realm Army. Gu Hang wouldn’t be able to stop that either.
Instead of that, it would be better to turn them into the Star Realm Army. If they are to be taken away, then so be it; after all… the money for forming the army, or the people involved, can be considered as purchased by the Empire with allocated tax funds.
Consider it as paying the normal tax, what would Gu Hang lose?
It’s definitely more reliable than having the Planetary Defense Forces conscripted without any compensation.
Of course, all of the above are still just Gu Hang’s ideas.
To turn them into reality, there’s still a long way to go.
He said to the two ladies, “This is essentially about converting the reality of military victory into tangible political success, and then into corresponding economic benefits. Since everyone agrees with the approach I’ve suggested, what remains is to resolve some minor details.”
Yelisia agreed, adding, “The overall facts are not a problem, but there are two important nuances. First, what exactly is in the intelligence I intercepted; and second, the matter of Yelisia drafting the Beautiful Lady Convoy into battle in the name of the Imperial Navy needs real evidence.”
Wang Jiarong said, “The latter issue is relatively easy to resolve. Sister Yelisia, you can sign a retroactive conscription order on paper, claiming it was signed afterward; at the same time, we need to create a communication record that shows I accepted the Navy’s conscription from the start of the battle, and all actions taken after emerging from the warp point were aimed at luring the Green Skin Fleet into the predetermined battle location.”