Chapter 578: Chapter 337, Expand the Army_2
If Gu Hang agreed, she might put in some effort and push for it, but if he didn’t, then so be it.
Realistically thinking, if the Fatches Family couldn’t solve the issue, how could Gu Hang, with his shallow foundations, definitely resolve it?
Lois didn’t continue to dwell on this and instead reminded him about another matter, “Although you are not very keen on becoming the Governor of Korolya, you still have to take on some responsibility there. After all, you have another identity, as the commander of a Star Realm Army Corps. Your Rage Bear Legion must expand its forces by at least three to five times in the coming years…”
Seeing Gu Hang looking like he wanted to speak, Lois waved her hand to interrupt, “Don’t be in a rush to refuse, in fact, there’s no room for rejection. This is an initiative started within the Star Realm Army system, and the Military Affairs Department has approved the corresponding need. No one is making trouble for you, it’s purely because your troops performed very well on Korolya III, and the commanders of the Dragonhawk Legion hope to increase the size of your legion; the Governor of Korolya has also applied for an increase in the size of your troops.”
Gu Hang scratched his head, considering what he heard, there really seemed to be no room to refuse.
He said, “The augmentation of troops, equipment, and logistical supplies…”
Lois immediately replied, “Don’t worry, everything will follow the normal Star Realm Army procedures.”
Gu Hang truly felt reassured.
He smiled and asked, “How much longer will you be staying in the Tianma Star Sector?”
“Probably another six or seven days.”
“Then you should make it, I hope to invite you to my engagement ceremony.”
“Engagement ceremony?” Lois said with some surprise, “I have heard rumors before, but I didn’t expect it to be true. Congratulations to you and Major General Yelisia.”
“Thank you, thank you,” Gu Hang responded with a smile.
…
For Gu Hang, expanding the Rage Bear Legion was not out of the question, after all, it was his troop and entirely under his control.
But freeloading was not an option.
Even if it wasn’t freeloading, Gu Hang was reluctant to transfer more Alliance Army troops to the Rage Bear Legion, even with payment. The core issue was that for a significant time to come, the Alliance’s primary work would be assimilating the immigrant populations of Heijian Star and Rage Owl Star, hoping to boost production and construction through the explosive increase in population. Gu Hang didn’t have enough manpower to pour tens of thousands into the construction of the Rage Bear Legion.
However, if it were a standard Star Realm Army construction procedure, there wouldn’t be an issue.
After the agreement about the Rage Bear Legion’s expansion, Lois left.
She was a very busy person, and taking the time to meet with Gu Hang was already a great honor and treatment.
However, after she left, she still had some of her team stay behind.
On one hand, the tax transfer work between the two planets continued, and on the other, there was the matter of the Rage Bear Legion’s expansion.
The two leaders had already discussed and agreed upon the general intent, but to formally accomplish things, it was still up to the subordinates to negotiate the details and push forward the actual implementation, right?
Among those she brought was someone from the Military Affairs Department.
The tasks of the Military Affairs Department included the formation and logistics of the Star Realm Army and the Imperial Navy. Although it did not have battlefield command authority or the responsibility to mobilize troops or issue military tasks, logistics and the creation of new armies were extremely important responsibilities.
The person negotiating with the Military Affairs Department wasn’t Gu Hang himself, but rather the logistics department of the Rage Bear Legion… oh, actually, the Rage Bear Legion didn’t have any logistics department, it was just the Logistics Bureau of the Alliance Military and Political Department with a new signboard.
As discussed by the two leaders, the Rage Bear Legion was to expand its forces to over 500,000 members. Currently, the Rage Bear Legion’s full strength was only 180,000. Between them, there was a gap of over 300,000 people.
According to the Rage Bear Legion’s founding mechanism, the newly expanded 300,000 were ultimately allocated according to the Alliance’s military organization, adding 30 new division brigades.
The newly expanded troops, numbered from 73 to 102, included 8 Armored Composite Brigades and 22 infantry divisions, totaling a force of 320,000 people and a cost of 9 million Tax Currency.
Adding the original troops of the Rage Bear Legion, the total strength came to 510,000, with a total cost of 13 million Tax Currency.
The cost of establishing the army was secondary, maintaining and using the army was also a significant expense. To maintain a moderate level of combat, one would have to spend roughly the same amount as the cost of establishing the army each year; and if the combat intensity was higher, the cost would be even higher. After all, on some high-intensity battlefields, a division could be wiped out in a day.
But since the Rage Bear Legion had become part of the Star Realm Army, all the expenses of fighting with these 500,000 people were borne by the Empire.
The Alliance would provide all logistical support, including equipment and personnel, but the Empire had to pay for these, requiring the Star Realm Army or the Military Affairs Department to place orders with the Alliance.
Moreover, Gu Hang did not want the additional 300,000 troops to come from Heijian Star or Rage Owl Star, so the Military Affairs Department would have to find a way to transfer labor from other places.
The Tax Fleet carried many more people than just taxes, and more crucially, Korolya III was originally the place that submitted the largest population.
However, Korolya couldn’t come up with three hundred thousand qualified soldiers—if they had that many soldiers, they would have been sent to war already.
After several rounds of negotiations and wrangling, the Alliance’s military logistics department—oh, it was the logistics department of the Rage Bear Legion—finally generously stated that three hundred and ten thousand regular manpower would suffice, and for the rest, “You make up the difference in payment; we’ll figure something out ourselves.”
This difference amounted to one and a half million Tax Currency. In reality, the training of these soldiers and political commissars is estimated to cost Gu Hang four thousand points of grace.
In plain terms, Gu Hang was essentially exchanging four thousand points of grace for one and a half million Tax Currency.
This deal was actually one he wasn’t too keen on making, but he had no choice.
Even if the Military Affairs Department provided Star Realm Army soldiers according to the supposed standard of 10 Tax Currency per person, Gu Hang would still have to train them. Although, by all accounts, 10 Tax Currency per person should correspond to the standard Star Realm Army soldier, theoretically having already reached the level of a T5 grade soldier, which wouldn’t require training.
However, everyone knew the reality of the situation.
If you actually received those soldiers, it would be quite good if a third of them could reach the T5 grade, and the rest were basically for show.
Since they all needed to be completely retrained anyway, it was better to just start with ordinary people, as long as they were physically healthy. The [Soldier Tag] Training System would naturally elevate the quality of the soldiers to the appropriate level.
And save one and a half million Tax Currency.
Of course, this wasn’t according to regulation.
But regulations are determined by people. Bureaucrats in the Military Affairs Department have only ever been scolded daily for providing soldiers of insufficient quality, and this was the first time they encountered someone who wanted lower quality soldiers.
Wasn’t this giving them a chance to manipulate the situation to their advantage?
Finding such an opportunity had been quite difficult before, but now this was too easy to exploit.
Of course, the bulk of the benefit had to go to the Alliance, but getting a share of the profit was quite good too.
…
Subordinates were discussing the specific details of the military expansion, and naturally, Gu Hang didn’t need to get overly involved; he only needed to review the final report to ensure that everything was more or less within expectations.
In fact, not long after, he was also going to leave his territory and make a trip to Flying Wing Star.
His engagement ceremony was to be held at the Starport on Flying Wing Star.
On the other side was Yelisia.
This marriage, of course, was a bona fide political alliance. Miss Wang Qi had been in touch with the Fufana Family for a long time, and the matrimonial match was firmly settled.
The idea originated from Wang Qi herself, who felt that:
Firstly, Gu Hang was of age and it was time for him to marry;
Secondly, the Fufana Family was a very suitable match for a political marriage; one family being a member of the Empire Commerce Guild, the other having deep influence within the Imperial Navy—joining in marriage would surely be effective;
Thirdly, politically speaking, after the death of Pei Desi, the Fufana had withdrawn from the vortex of the struggle between the ‘Parliamentary Faction’ and the Fatches Family, and like the Gu Clan, they were now a neutral third party.
Being the third party sounds comfortable—no need for conflict with others—but in reality, it’s not an easy position. A misstep could offend both sides and leave you caught in the middle.
A neutral party without strength is not taken seriously; a neutral party with strength becomes the subject of envy and wariness.
But all in all, having strength is always better than having none.
By forming a union on the level of neutral third parties, the Gu Clan and the Fufana would effectively bolster each other.
Of course, by now, Miss Wang Qi had fully acknowledged her son’s position and wouldn’t act on her own. Before pushing for this issue, she fully sought Gu Hang’s opinion.
Gu Hang agreed.
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