Galaraldo had caused quite a stir in the Dragonhawk Star Domain in the past few months.
“If you want to make money, just make money, but after that, you leave a mess, and naturally, the internals of the Dragonhawk Star Domain Government will have great discontent,” they said.
Among them, Nell Lavis was particularly unhappy.
After all, Galaraldo had been acting alongside her Tax Fleet. Whatever this Apostle of War did in the Dragonhawk Star Domain, she saw it all. She often had to clean up after Galaraldo, even getting dragged into the mess, so of course she wasn’t pleased.
But due to the status of the Apostle of War, she dared not show her displeasure.
But today, she could not hold back and wanted to say a few words:
“Your Excellency Apostle… I also roughly understand the situation of Rage Owl Star. It once got destroyed during wartime, and after being rebuilt, its population has always been small, the situation chaotic and dangerous, and the Imperial Tax it has to pay has always just been the minimum. Even so, this planet has failed to pay the full taxes for eight consecutive years, and I’ve executed four Planetary Governors,” she said.
“Their Imperial Tax due every two years amounts to only ten million Tax Currency. This time, their Star Sector Government covered 7.5 million for them, to give them time to recover and grow. Now, there’s a new one who’s arrived, and according to the message from Flying Wing Star, this new Governor named Gu Hang is doing quite well. The entire planet is in the process of revival, and by the next term, they should be able to pay the taxes on their own abilities,” she said.
At this point, Lavis couldn’t help but offer some advice:
“There’s not much on this planet, so why bother scheming against them? Even if you squeeze them dry, you’d only get a few million Tax Currency. Let them develop on their own…” she said.
Galaraldo turned around, facing Lavis as if seeing her for the first time, sizing her up from head to toe.
The gaze of the Apostle of War made Lavis somewhat uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Galaraldo laughed: “I never expected a Tax Officer known for making resolute decisions, not even blinking while executing Planetary Governors, to actually have a kind heart!”
His words carried a tinge of sarcasm.
Lavis remained silent, not retorting.
Galaraldo continued, “You make sense, but… what of it? The development of a planet that has already been destroyed once is nothing compared to the grand undertaking of the solar expeditions. Why did I not go straight to the wealthiest Flying Wing Star, the most populous Korolya III, or the Fatches Star System with three worlds around a single star upon arriving in the Tianma Star Sector, but instead choose Rage Owl Star, this remote and poor place, as my first stop?” he said.
“Because I am aware of the identity of that Gu Hang. I know he’s the patriarch of an Empire Commerce Guild family, and what I can gain from him isn’t just limited to whatever money there is on Rage Owl Star; his Gu Family behind him has considerable wealth.”
“Aside from the money, it’s also an excellent place in the Tianma Star Sector to make a breakthrough. I also know he’s been up to something on Heijian Star in this Star Sector, I know he wants to establish a Star Realm Army, to be responsible for the local defense of Rage Owl Star and concurrently to offset taxes… Look, this young man has lots of ideas. The more ideas he has, the more handles there are to grab hold of,” he said. Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire
“Based on my past experience, to do well and reap benefits in a Star Sector, one must first set an example. Whether it’s a positive one, using incentives to establish a beneficiary who attracts others willing to make donations, or a negative one, overturning a place to make others consider the consequences through fear and force compliance… in any case, such an example must be set.”
“And this Gu Hang, isn’t he perfect for it? An impoverished, broken, and remote planet, and the Governor just happens to represent a wealthy Empire Commerce Guild, along with some readily exploitable vulnerabilities… If I don’t make this place my first stop, it would be a disservice to my keen instincts,” he said.
Faced with Galaraldo’s lengthy discourse, Lavis fell silent as well.
Of course, she still disagreed with the behavior of the Apostle of War.
But what of it?
As he said, it was just an insignificant little planet. With no conflict between the interests of the Star Domain and the interests of the Tax Officer, Lavis speaking up to offer advice was already a rare act of conscience.
She couldn’t possibly start a conflict with the Apostle of War over this.
In the end, she could only sigh, thinking the kid named Gu Hang was somewhat unlucky.
It would be best for him to be sensible, to shed some blood softly and send the Apostle of War on his way. Should he resist or refuse, then given Galaraldo’s many methods, not only would the due blood still have to be shed, but there’d also be a host of additional problems.
…
Gu Hang, as the Tax Officer, had prepared a grand welcome ceremony for the arrival of the Apostle of War.
Of course, this ‘grand’ celebration was only by the standards of Rage Owl Star.
Rage Owl Star was quite “poor,” and under the federation system, especially under the leadership of Governor Gu Hang, they never cared much for pomp and circumstance; everything was oriented towards practicality, and any unnecessary ceremonies would be simplified as much as possible.
However, when it came to receiving the War Apostle and the Tax Official of the Star Domain, they had managed to put on as much of a display as possible. They understood that this might still seem quite modest to the two worldly figures, and at best, it just conveyed the enthusiasm of Rage Owl Star. But reaching that point was sufficient, as long as it didn’t give off a feeling of being overlooked.
Essentially, Gu Hang had no intention of offending either of them.
One was a War Apostle with a prominent position on the empire’s political stage, and the other was a Chief Tax Official who oversaw tax affairs within the Star Domain and had the power to execute Planetary Governors.
Both were not people anyone could afford to offend.
Moreover, Gu Hang had detected a particular “scent.”
Their personal arrival was unusual.
Based on common experience, an official of the Tax Chief’s caliber had a very tight schedule. Typically, upon arriving at a stable Star Sector, they would directly station themselves in the Star Sector Capital and take charge from the center. Sometimes they would personally visit some major tax-generating planets to supervise the situation. As for remote areas with low Imperial Tax quotas, it was enough for a detachment of the fleet to collect the taxes.
If the taxes couldn’t be collected, they would just issue an execution order, and the Legal Department’s agents would take care of the rest.
Gu Hang thought that he would only be dealing with a detachment of the fleet.
But he could never have imagined that the Chief Tax Official himself would come, and he brought a War Apostle with him.
Gu Hang felt that something was amiss.
Secretly on alert, he personally received the two guests during the banquet and had an exchange with both of them.
At one point, he considered using his spiritual energy ability to alter minds, to probe into what the two were thinking.
However, as soon as he entertained this thought, he suddenly felt a twinge of palpitation.
It was his spirituality, warning him.
He immediately came to his senses.
At the level of these two individuals, mental defenses would not be neglected. To carry out a silent and successful intervention without detection and without leaving any traces afterward would be extremely difficult.
The Chief Tax Official might possess some special artefact, and the War Apostle emanated a strong divine radiance that made Gu Hang feel particularly apprehensive.
He immediately extinguished the thought and focused solely on using conversation to probe them subtly.
Nell Lavis, the Tax Official, was always serious and spoke little; Gu Hang couldn’t glean much from him.
In contrast, the higher-ranking War Apostle was very approachable, always wearing a smile and lavishing praise on Gu Hang for his work on Rage Owl Star.
During the brief conversation, Gu Hang was surprised to find that the War Apostle knew quite a lot about his accomplishments over the past two years, if not in minute detail.
Instead of feeling elated by the praise, he grew more vigilant.
Such a significant figure knew so much about a minor governor on a remote planet…
What are you up to?
All throughout the banquet, this question plagued Gu Hang’s mind.
And at the end, as they parted ways, Lavis, the Tax Official, meaningfully sidestepped Galaraldo and whispered in his ear:
“The War Apostle’s requests must be fulfilled for your good and the good of your family.”