Gu Hang currently has a total of over 17,000 grace points at his disposal.
With such an amount of grace points, Gu Hang could do many things.
The first thing to be done was military construction.
At present, the total strength of the Alliance Army was about 330,000, with 38 division and brigade-level units, divided into several group armies, deployed in different places to perform different tasks.
He had calculated that, according to the standard of Imperial Tax, the total value of these 38 divisions, if all at full strength, would be about 6 million Tax Currency—that was the combined value of both people and equipment.
Moreover, Gu Hang had already obtained permission to establish a Star Realm Army Corps at Rage Owl Star.
The authorization had even been issued.
The designation was Corps 43.25.09.03.
This string of numbers was quite interesting. 43 was the code for the Eastern Cosmos Domain; 25 was the code for the Dragonhawk Star Domain; 09 was the code for the Tianma Star Sector; 03 was for Rage Owl Star.
Put together, this was the administrative code for Rage Owl Star at the Empire’s Administrative Department.
For another example, the Human Ancestral Star, the imperial capital, Holy Terra, is 01.01.01.01: Sun Zhou Domain, Sun Star Domain, Sun Star Sector, Holy Terra. If the last number changes to 2, it would be Foundry World Mars, which is the headquarters of the Mechanical Cult Guild, also known as Mars.
The Star Realm Army also liked to do this: whatever planet was the main source of recruitment for the newly formed corps, that planet’s code would be given to the corps.
Of course, this method of addressing was very cumbersome. With too many, you just couldn’t remember them all, so it was generally only used in internal documents. Gu Hang could choose his own name for the corps and report it. Generally speaking, the Star Domain Military Headquarters would not fuss over this and would allow it.
Gu Hang came up with a very simple name: Rage Bear Legion.
There was a high likelihood of duplication of names, which was normal. But duplication was not a problem, as long as the identification number was correct. Whether it was requesting supplies or issuing orders, as long as it was an official document, a unique identification number would be attached to ensure that there were no mistakes due to language differences, duplication, etc.
The Star Realm Army that Gu Hang was tasked to create was required to have a total value of over 2.5 million Tax Currency, which was two years of Imperial Tax for Rage Owl Star.
In principle, the tax amount should be 10 million. The remaining 7.5 million, according to what was said before Gu Hang’s arrival, was to be paid by the Star Sector Government.
With the goal of creating an army worth 2.5 million Tax Currency, and the total value of the Alliance Army being over 6 million, Gu Hang definitely wouldn’t transfer all of the troops into it.
Even if the Star Realm Army would be under his control, with positions from officers to corps commander appointed by Gu Hang, and could be permanently stationed on Rage Owl Star under the pretext of guarding against a potential attack from the Green Skin Orcs, ensuring the stability of Rage Owl Star…
Despite this, Gu Hang still had to be cautious. After all, this troop would still be under the unified command of the Imperial Star Realm Army. If an official order came through sending them off to fight somewhere, they would have to go, wouldn’t they? It wouldn’t be possible to defy orders.
There were benefits, though.
Firstly there was the tax credit. And secondly… it was still the tax credit.
However, even the method of tax credit could vary.
After establishing this troop, the immediate tax credit of 2.5 million in tax payments was one aspect. In the future, whether it was for expanding the troop or routine maintenance, the Alliance would not need to pay out of its own pocket any longer.
If permission was obtained for expansion, and if the new troops were transported by the Military Affairs Department from outside, that would be one thing. But if they were recruited and bought from Rage Owl Star, then that would also be a tax credit.
For day-to-day military maintenance, such as equipment depreciation, ammunition replenishment, personnel replenishment, the Military Affairs Department and Star Realm Army would foot the bill.
Of course, in reality, it would not be feasible to transport troops and equipment from far-off worlds, so Rage Owl Star would still need to provide for them. And all these expenses could also be used as a tax credit.
When calculated, the annual maintenance cost of an army with a total value of 2.5 million Tax Currency would also have to be around 250,000 Tax Currency—provided there wasn’t a major war. If there were a fierce war with substantial losses of equipment and personnel, replenishing those would entail extra costs.
From an economic standpoint, planning to reassign a portion of the Alliance Army into the Star Realm Army – Rage Bear Legion, in itself, wasn’t a losing business.
As for how much control Gu Hang could exert over the Rage Bear Legion, that was an added bonus.
Gu Hang planned to incorporate thirteen divisions into this legion.
They were the 3rd Beast-slaying Brigade, the 11th and 12th Infantry Divisions; 14th Infantry Division; 26th to 30th Infantry Divisions; 31st Airborne Division; 32nd and 33rd Infantry Divisions; 35th Mechanized Brigade.
The total strength of the army was 140,000 people, nearly half the force of the Alliance Army. However, the number of crucial mechanized brigades included was small, only one.
An infantry division with 12,000 people cost only 200,000 Tax Currency to form; a fully-staffed mechanized brigade had less than 9,000 people but its cost soared straight to 460,000 Tax Currency.
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To assemble these thirteen divisions, Gu Hang had essentially dismantled and merged the group army that was previously used to recover the North Territory and the Central Group Army that had been used to pacify the Eastern Provinces.
The thirteen divisions had already received their orders. They would assemble and station near the capital, Revival City, to await inspection by the Imperial Tax Officers arriving two months later.
Considering this, Gu Hang scratched his head, feeling that he still needed to expand the military further.
After allocating the “Rage Bear Legion,” the number of troops under the Alliance Army was a bit insufficient.
Gu Hang had several plans moving forward.
Firstly, he wanted to establish the Eastern Group Army. The manpower for this part of the army was already available; they were militias established on-site by Yan Fangxu after pacifying the Eastern Provinces, stationed locally, totaling about 100,000 people.