Chapter 237: Chapter 167, Gu Hang’s Past_2
Gu Hang similarly said, “I’ll handle the interception of relevant intelligence in the ruins on the surface.”
They began to meticulously discuss how to patch things up and ensure all details could withstand scrutiny.
In truth, most of this work was likely futile. As long as there were no issues with the broader facts, these details would probably not be scrutinized by the Military Affairs Department. If they had to deploy specialized inspection teams to verify every detail of each battle, they couldn’t possibly keep up with the countless wars happening across the stars at every moment, even if the Military Affairs Department worked to death.
Sometimes, even when the Military Affairs Department knew there might be issues somewhere, they couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.
As long as things were more or less accurate, without fabricating military achievements or inventing facts in major matters, that was sufficient.
As for what happened after reporting their achievements, the three of them tacitly refrained from discussing further.
How Wang Jiarong would operate to compensate for her losses, and perhaps even make a large profit, was a matter for her and the Gu Family backing her.
How Yelisia and the Fufana Family behind her would package her as a star of the Imperial Navy was their concern too.
And for Gu Hang himself, to turn the things he envisioned into reality, he had to find his own way.
These matters didn’t need to be communicated with each other. With their major contributions confirmed, how they seized political advantages was down to their own skills.
…
Gu Hang had a lengthy in-depth conversation with the two ladies.
They said there were only some details that needed to be supplemented, but even these details had to be perfected.
The Imperial Military Department had only a very small likelihood of checking, and even if they did check, they probably wouldn’t be too thorough; as long as they confirmed that a group of Green Skins had been slaughtered on the surface, that twelve Green Skin ships had been destroyed at the jump point, and that the severed head indeed belonged to a Beastman Overlord, that would be the end of it.
But even for that tiny probability, they wanted to do things as well as possible, to avoid even the slightest chance of mishap.
Once they had agreed on everything, what remained was for each of them to execute their parts.
And after Yelisia left first, only Gu Hang and Wang Jiarong, the siblings, were left in the small drawing room.
They fell silent for a while.
Actually, by this time, Wang Jiarong was no longer so upset about the losses.
Though the merchant fleet was registered in her name, it was essentially the property of the Gu Commercial Firm. She was the commander, a shareholder, and a leader. It wasn’t her fault that they suffered such significant losses; they were targeted by an overwhelming force of pirates, so her guilt would not be particularly heavy.
Her status within the firm would decline, and her own investment would take a big hit, which was to be expected, but it wouldn’t ruin her completely.
Moreover, following the new explanation given by her cousin, she might well turn her losses into profits, even a substantial one, so everything would be recovered.
The incident itself couldn’t entirely be blamed on her cousin.
With several factors combined, she really couldn’t stay mad at her cousin, who she had grown up with since childhood.
But she couldn’t seem too intimate either.
The main reason was another matter.
She sighed and said, “Cousin, actually… Auntie really misses you.”
“Oh,” Gu Hang replied with a word.
He had no other implications. From the memories of his former self, he could envision the figure of a beautiful woman. However, in his perception, the former self’s deep feelings for his mother were quite ambivalent.
Love, of course, was there, but also some resentment.
Honestly, he wasn’t too interested in dealing with the previous family squabbles. The things he sifted from the memories always seemed separated by a veil, a layer of cloth. They were clearly there, but the feelings were not profound. It was like watching a movie; the story was clear and even emotionally impactful, but it didn’t feel like it happened to him.
Of course, he couldn’t sever ties with them.
These things were etched in his mind, in his memory, indelible. Additionally, his ascent to the role of Planetary Governor was entirely due to his family’s status, an identity he couldn’t shed even if he wanted to.
The contradiction of feeling detached, yet unable to cut ties, manifested in his behavior as a nonchalant “Oh.”
Wang Jiarong on the other side, however, misunderstood.
She sighed again, “Cousin, you can’t blame auntie, she… sigh, anyway, it was your mistake this time. You shouldn’t have agreed when Mister Pei Desi nominated you to become the Governor of Rage Owl Star, it has put the Gu Clan in a particularly passive position.”
Gu Hang’s heart stirred.
Was there more to the story?
In his memory, he was one of the core members of the Gu Family’s generation; his grandfather had been the previous leader of the family, and his father should have taken his place but had died shortly after Gu Hang was born. Currently, the Gu Family didn’t have a true leader.
His mother, Mrs. Wang Qi, on the other hand, was quite capable—that was Gu Hang’s assessment of the beautiful woman in his memories.
A woman who, after marrying into the family and losing her husband shortly after giving birth, managed to preserve a significant amount of benefits for her own little family in the subsequent internal family struggles and became a significant force within the Gu Commercial Firm.
This was no easy feat.
However, in devoting herself wholeheartedly to her career, she inevitably neglected her son.
In the memories of his previous life, his relationship with his mother was rather indifferent; they rarely interacted, and with strict discipline, coupled with various rumors within the family, the implicit isolation by his kin, mediocre achievements, and lack of recognition… these things all contributed to the resentment at the core of his former self.
Then, a few months ago, he encountered the Star Sector leader, Mister Luo Ang Pei Desi, at an upper-class gathering.
The gap between the two was vast. One was the leader of a Star Sector, and the other just a rich second generation. But Pei Desi took the time to talk with Gu Hang carefully during a toast exchange.
According to the memories and feelings of his former self, he felt respected. Mister Pei Desi, with a cordial and gentle demeanor, praised him, recognized his yet unseen potential, and expressed hope for his future. They then talked about Rage Owl Star, saying they hoped a member of the Gu Family could take on the role of governor to solve this longstanding problem for the Star Sector.
His predecessor was not completely foolish; he could see that the Star Sector leader was somewhat conning him.
But he accepted the offer without hesitation.
From his perspective: Rage Owl Star was the source of the Tianma Star Sector, which had not paid enough Imperial Tax since its return to the Empire, constantly requiring the Star Sector Government to cover the shortfall. The decision to rebuild Rage Owl Star was made by Mister Pei Desi, and marked the expansion of the Tianma Star Sector into a ninth world, beyond the original eight.
Reclaiming territory was the main achievement that Pei Desi reported to the higher regional government when he had first become the Star Sector leader.
The nature of a Star Sector leader and a Planetary Governor, akin to a local emperor, were different. The latter was more like a lord, holding sway over military, political, and financial matters, ensuring loyalty with Imperial Tax collection, making it difficult to challenge them; the former was more like a bureaucrat, a politician needing achievements and stories to embellish their portfolio, requiring the support of powerful Planetary Governors to secure their position as the head of the Star Sector.
However, the story of reclaiming the old land that he had told when he first took office had, unexpectedly, turned into a burden years later, mired in decades of struggle.
This wasn’t merely due to the abysmal conditions and challenges in Rage Owl Star itself, but also because political rivals within the Star Sector were constantly holding things back, causing endless problems for the reconstruction efforts.
Pei Desi had had enough of this situation and was determined to resolve it.
He hoped to unite the Fufana Family and the Gu Family to tackle this problem head-on.
The Pei Desi brothers, the Fufana Family, and the Gu Family formed a solid triad within the Tianma Star Sector.
The Fufanas represented the Imperial Navy, while the Gus brought substantial financial strength. Moreover, with one Pei Desi brother serving as the Flying Wing Star Governor and the other as the political influence of the Star Sector leader, they had the complete capability to thoroughly develop Rage Owl Star.
The former Gu Hang believed himself to be the most capable person in the Gu Family identified by Mister Pei Desi.
Even fearing unexpected turns, such as another family member stealing the governorship from him, he kept silent until the appointment letter was in his hands.
And then, he bitterly experienced a slap in the face from his mother.