Chapter 672: Chapter 382, He Really Believed It!_2
Minnick had never contemplated seeking independence, but displaying a firm stance with a tough attitude was a necessary measure.
By doing so, Minnick had two main objectives, one of which had already been achieved.
After expelling the tax officers and blockading the star system, the bubbling internal opposition within the family was suppressed almost instantly.
Of course, those opposing voices hadn’t been extinguished; however, after Minnick took such a dramatic action, they had to shut their mouths for the time being.
With a great enemy at the gates, even the most foolish knew it was not the time for internal strife. Minnick was working hard to shift this disaster from his own mistake to persecution from external foes.
He successfully shifted the nearly uncontrollable internal strife to the outside.
…
Now was the time for common resentment against the enemy.
The second objective was to erase the unacceptable figure of 130 billion, or at the very least, reduce it to an acceptable level.
The ideal situation, of course, would be to avoid war and for the Star Sector and Star Domain Governments to compromise.
As long as they consider the difficulty and cost of annihilating Fatches to be greater than the benefit.
How much power would have to be spent to wipe out Fatches? It might seem like there’s a gain of one hundred billion, but once Fatches has been annihilated, to whom will the Empire turn for this one hundred billion in fines?
To gather it themselves? The amount that could be scavenged from the devastated Fatches Tri-Star after the war is uncertain.
Moreover, doesn’t “scavenging” entail costs? How many military forces must the Empire station to scrape together over one hundred billion in a place that had a total GDP of only two hundred billion over ten years, even before the war?
It’s impossible to conjure.
Considering this, solving the problem without going to war is possible.
For this reason, Fatches’ people and their personal connections active outside had been mobilized, constantly lobbying.
If war truly became unavoidable, then Fatches must hold firm during the upcoming battles, continuously signalling a willingness to negotiate and to submit, until finally being granted amnesty.
In this process, everything could be discussed.
The Imperial Tax being raised to three billion a year? Negotiable.
As for the fines, they could also be paid; a hundred billion was out of the question, but a figure of two to three hundred billion was acceptable.
The specifics would depend on how much strength Fatches displayed in battle and what that strength was worth.
These contemplations churned through Minnick’s mind.
His secretaries had already gone down; they were to take the statement Minnick had just made to the diplomatic department as quickly as possible. They would polish it and add some evidence and data to corroborate the authenticity of the content in the statement.
Then they would send the statement to every possible destination as quickly as they could.
After the secretaries had left, the next person Minnick was to meet with was a crucial figure.
His name was Salihoovich, a diplomat from the Alliance. A year ago, he had been stationed at the Alliance Embassy in Fatches One, responsible for communication between the two sides.
This mechanism had in fact been established several years prior, and Salihoovich took over a year ago, seemingly as a routine rotation.
Minnick composed himself and spoke sternly to Salihoovich, “The Alliance has broken the agreement with us! You represented your governor by promising that no matter what happened, the Alliance would not become an enemy of Fatches!”
Salihoovich spoke very respectfully, “You’re right, but we haven’t broken our promise.”
“Then what does it mean when you follow the Star Sector Government in declaring the revolt of Fatches? Who provided the information on the rebellion of Blackbird Heavy Industries and Smart Mechanisms? Does the data on the losses suffered by Korolya have nothing to do with the Alliance Government? How can you shamelessly say to my face that you’ve kept your promises!”
“I need to correct you,” Salihoovich said. “Our promise of ‘not being enemies’ referred to declaring war on Fatches. As for what you’ve mentioned, under the demands of the Star Sector Government, we really had no way to refuse.”
“Smooth talker! Your actions disappoint me. Go tell Gu Hang he must provide clearer support! If we fall, letting Martin Nelli and Pei Desi’s group take control of the Fatches Star System, the next unlucky ones will be the Alliance!”
“Our governor fully understands this, which is exactly why we support your tough stance against the Star Sector Government. However, what exactly do you mean by ‘clear support’?”
Minnick demanded with boldness, “Troops, weapons, materials! Return the Dragonhawk 3rd Corps to me!”
Salihoovich’s demeanor was very earnest, “I understand your request, and of course, the Alliance can return the Third Group Army of the Dragon Hawk Legion to its station in Fatches, but… if I may speak frankly, are you certain what they will do after returning to the Fatches Tri-Star? Will they be your aid or become a noose around your neck? They are Star Realm Army.”
Minnick was momentarily at a loss for words.
He truly couldn’t be certain.
Although the personnel of the Dragonhawk 3rd Corps were mostly from Fatches, after all, they were the Star Realm Army. What would they do once the order to suppress the rebellion was given?
If that Legion had always been stationed in the Fatches Tri-Star, he felt somewhat assured. By purging a portion of the officers and intensifying propaganda within the Legion, emphasizing that they were not traitors but the Star Sector Government was, perhaps it might have an effect.