After a pause, Wang Qi continued, “Moreover, this is just a simple economic calculation, and there are other factors that haven’t been taken into account. Here we are on Heijian Star, which has an owner, which is governed by the King’s Council. If you occupy the Luman Kingdom, how will the other six kingdoms and a myriad of smaller states view this? How will you establish a legitimate rule?
If the tensions escalate, is there a possibility of war breaking out? How many resources will you need to commit to dealing with these wars?”
Clearly, Wang Qi was skeptical about this. In the end, she offered her own suggestion, “Why not trade these battle gains for some tangible benefits?”
“Population and land are tangible benefits.”
“I mean more short-term, more direct ones.”
Gu Hang sighed.
The biggest disagreement between him and his mother was exactly this.
Merchants consider profits, investment returns, risks…
But Gu Hang never considered himself a merchant. Pure profit was never his primary concern when making decisions.
This included his decision to become the governor of Rage Owl Star.
Speaking of which, Gu Hang said, “When I was rebuilding Rage Owl Star, did I invest anything?”
Just with that rhetorical question, he had stumped Wang Qi.
Indeed, the situation on Rage Owl Star was much worse than that of Heijian Star. According to what Wang Qi said, wouldn’t Rage Owl Star be an even more negative asset?
But what about the outcome?
Even she could not deny the developmental state of Rage Owl Star with her eyes open.
And all of this was built on the premise that Gu Hang started from scratch.
She was well aware that, in the nearly two years’ time, Gu Hang hadn’t received a single penny of investment from the family.
But even so, Rage Owl Star was already a thriving prospect.
She did not know how her son had achieved this. She had tried to inquire indirectly, but never received a straightforward answer.
But if the corresponding model could be replicated on Heijian Star, then what potential could the forty million people of the Luman Kingdom unleash?
She couldn’t help but ponder.
And Gu Hang’s words continued, “Of course, I won’t treat this place as my homeland or as a core area for development. My energy and resources are limited, and I will give priority to Rage Owl Star. Furthermore, as you have said, Mother, taking control of the Luman Kingdom will come with various obstacles and troubles. Here, I will merely treat it as a colony for the time being.”
“But I will still invest a small amount of development resources. After all, given the current state of the Luman Kingdom, whatever I do, it is all hollow, and squeezing it dry would yield but a trifle of oil. The real solution is to increase productivity and expand the economy as a whole. I have calculated the investment needed, and it won’t be too high.
Moreover, I will liberate the people; their current production relations are simply too primitive and backward.”
Wang Qi expressed her concerns, “By doing this, you’ll inevitably offend the other six Feudal Kingdoms, and there will be significant diplomatic issues.”
Images from history in his previous life flashed through Gu Hang’s mind. Indeed, what would it look like to have a centralized state emerge among a group of feudal monarchies?
“You are right. However, there will soon be a major window of opportunity that can bring a period of peace.”
Wang Qi immediately furrowed her brows.
She thought for a moment and understood what Gu Hang was talking about, “Imperial Tax?”
“Yes,” Gu Hang said, “If nothing unexpected happens, in at most another two or three months, the fleet of the Imperial Taxation Department will arrive at the Tianma Star Sector.”
Wang Qi followed Gu Hang’s train of thought and pondered, “And now, the ‘Governor’ of Heijian Star is the king of the Luman Kingdom, authorized by the King’s Council and registered with the Empire’s Administrative Department. This means that the entire planet’s imperial tax is to be submitted through Nes Luman… Theoretically, he still owns the entire planet…”
“Right,” Gu Hang said, “Once I’ve taken care of Gu Ming and Nes Luman, you go clean up the family’s mess, and I’ll take care of the Heijian Star mess.
I will reconvene the King’s Council, affirm the Gu Family’s claim over the Luman Kingdom, which is ownership of the entire Luman Kingdom; I will hold in my grasp the governorship of the Luman Kingdom for two more years, using the occasion of the imminent submission of the imperial tax.
The other six nations won’t be able to disagree, they’ve already sent their share of the imperial tax materials to the Luman Kingdom in succession, they must compromise on this matter.”
“The risk is still too high,” Wang Qi said, “You’re right, at least before the imperial tax is submitted, no matter what you do, the other six nations won’t make any significant moves.
But three months later, once the imperial tax is submitted, they won’t let you hold onto the Planetary Governor’s powers, they will definitely reconvene the King’s Council, elect a new governor, and you won’t be able to get elected.”
“Who agreed to them reconvening the King’s Council?” Gu Hang said.
“It’s the tradition of Heijian Star.”
“What do their traditions have to do with me?” Gu Hang retorted, “Does the empire acknowledge the traditions of Heijian Star?”
“They do… No, wait.” Wang Qi realized something.
Does the empire recognize the so-called King’s Council traditions of Heijian Star?
It depends on the perspective.
Heijian Star changes its governor every four years, this governor is nominated by the King’s Council from one of the seven major nations’ kings, reported to the empire, accepted by the empire, and then for those four years, tax collection is the governor’s responsibility.
From this angle, the empire certainly recognizes it. The Empire’s Administrative Department will respect the local traditions of the planet to some extent, if you want to change the governor, they will let you change.
However, from another perspective, this does not conflict with the empire’s policies at all. The empire collects taxes by keeping tabs on the governor, whoever is the governor is who they go to; the same applies to all of the empire’s governance policies, they are also directed at the registered governor. Military aid, interstellar trade, it all follows the governor.
Fundamentally, the empire views the process of changing governors on Heijian Star as the incumbent governor resigning and nominating a new one, approved by the Star Sector Government, then by the Star Domain Government, and finally by the Empire’s Administrative Department.
It’s just that because of the special circumstances of Heijian Star, the entire process goes very smoothly.
But what if the incumbent governor doesn’t resign within the process?
What would happen if Gu Hang used the governorship authority acquired from Nes Luman to stubbornly hold onto power?
In the eyes of the empire, there’s no term limit for a governor. As long as you submit the tax every two years, you’re the recognized governor by the empire, anything else is none of their concern.
In the history of Heijian Star, there have been more than one such occurrence.
Those who clung to the governorship, if they were from a particularly strong nation at the time, the other nations would just hold their noses and bear it, endure beatings if they didn’t, and ultimately still had to obediently comply.
And if they weren’t strong enough, then a war would break out. The strong nation clinging to the governorship, while satisfying the imperial tax requirements, would brutally punish the disobedient, through methods such as overthrowing royal authority, setting up puppets, and plundering territories, to affirm dominance.
This is all brightly recorded in the history of Heijian Star.
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However, this kind of dominance usually didn’t last very long. In the last one or two hundred years, international affairs on Heijian Star have been relatively stable, the King’s Council has played an important role, everyone obediently complied, and there wasn’t much war over the struggle for governorship for dominance.
Wang Qi sighed, “You’re about to turn Heijian Star upside down.”
Gu Hang spread his hands innocently, “They struck first.”