Chapter 679: Chapter 385, The Time is Ripe
“It was Gu Hang who beguiled me into rebellion!”
The words that Minnick cried out were, to some extent, indeed the truth.
Salihoovich was the executor.
Over a year ago, after he arrived at the Fatches Star System and took over from the previous diplomatic envoy, he began this task.
In various semi-public and secret talks, he met many high-ranking members of the Fatches Family, claiming to them that the Alliance similarly loathed the current Star Sector Government, and had great sympathy for the plight of the Fatches Family.
There were few who questioned his honesty, most felt he was simply adding a touch of diplomatic rhetoric to his words.
…
The Alliance indeed was at odds with the Star Sector Government. Ever since Pei Desi’s death, the “Tianma Iron Triangle” had ceased to exist. And when the Gu Clan and Fufana banded together, forming a third-party neutral faction, that relationship turned outright frosty.
At that time, the Fatches Family celebrated; the weakening of their enemy and the emergence of a neutral faction were certainly favourable developments.
The millennium-old Fatches, who looked down on the ‘nouveau riche’ Alliance, nevertheless believed that the Alliance resembled them in some aspects—both were multi-planet political entities at odds with the Star Sector Government.
Such political entities would inevitably have poor relations with the Star Sector Government, something the Fatches would not doubt.
Upon this foundation, Salihoovich further fantasized with these officials about the possibility of the Alliance and the Fatches collaborating, whether to sideline the Star Sector Government or to employ some more drastic, forceful measures to oust the current head of the Star Sector.
These suggestions were usually made in private, as jokes. They weren’t concrete policies, just collective musings—what was the harm in that?
However, didn’t these activities gradually introduce the notion into the minds of the Fatches Family’s upper echelon members?
Of course, having just an idea wasn’t significant.
During these conversations, Salihoovich identified individuals genuinely open to deeper discussion. Privately, they explored the feasibility of cooperation, hoping these high-ranking members could persuade the Fatches Family to adopt more aggressive measures against the Star Sector Government.
Putting it bluntly, Salihoovich was inciting the Hawk Faction within the Fatches, stoking more intense emotions.
He even went further, spurring the hawks to take action.
And in fact, it wasn’t just him acting.
After all, Salihoovich was a diplomat whose actions, taken this far, were already at their limit, and many of them were being monitored.
But beyond him, the Alliance had another group working within the Fatches.
They were agents of the Alliance Intelligence Bureau.
Their operations were more covert and unrestrained than Salihoovich’s—bribing, blackmailing, and for certain individuals who could significantly impact the plan, executing assassinations and making them look like accidents.
But truth be told, their earlier operations were far from smooth, fraught with difficulties.
However, once the huge fines demanded by the Alliance were publicized, their work suddenly became much smoother.
Within the Fatches Family, whether the radical or conservative factions, hawks or doves, all were stirred up over the enormous sum. There was immense dissatisfaction with Minnick, the Family Head who had taken over the family seven years ago and who had led to the catastrophic failure at Korolya, as well as the enormous fine.
In such an atmosphere, the Alliance Intelligence Bureau managed to secure quite a few people.
Then, under the direct instigation of Salihoovich, a large number of the Fatches Family’s mid to high-ranking members began to entertain the idea of starting a war explicitly.
On one hand, they were heavily oppressed, so a firm stance indeed seemed like a solution; on the other hand, they truly believed when the Alliance said it would stand with them.
They thought this was a strategy, trusting that the Alliance would indeed stand with them, so they kept making proposals and lobbying upwards. Minnick heard about this and he believed it too.
Thus, under diplomatic efforts and the secret hard work of intelligence agents, coupled with the Fatches Family possibly having such inclinations initially, the rebellion of the Fatches was eventually provoked.
Then, the Alliance turned its back on them.
The Fatches were dumbfounded.
Their greatest expected ally had now become a death warrant!
This was a disaster!
Salihoovich, as the ambassador of the Alliance, came under immense pressure.
But from this, two effects immediately followed.
The most apparent was the rage from being betrayed by an ‘ally’.
But beneath that anger lay a tremendous panic.
Once the rebellion started, the conservative faction within the Fatches Family grew extremely dissatisfied. There were also the compromisers and capitulators, who were in constant anxiety over their fear of the Empire.
Although Minnick’s actions seemed to shift the conflicts outward, in reality, the dissatisfaction had not been completely eliminated; it was merely hidden because of fear and inability.
All these became opportunities that the foreign intelligence service could exploit.
With the relied upon allied support turning into an army to suppress the revolt, how could the Fatches withstand it?
The capability of the Alliance had been fully demonstrated in the Battle of Korolya; the Tianma Fleet was on their side; even the Dragonhawk Third Legion, the former pride of the Fatches, had become the vanguard in attacking them.
Could the Fatches Defense Army withstand such opponents?
Indeed, a landing operation was not easy, especially since all three stars had robust orbital defenses. But no matter how much damage they could inflict on the enemy, it seemed that defeat was inevitable in the end.
By then, the more people you let the Alliance lose, the worse off you’d be.
If it were some alien invasion or a Cult rebel army, those were situations where compromise was impossible, and no lenient surrender terms would be offered just because you surrendered. In a war where extinction of the race was on the line, no matter how arduous, you would have to keep fighting, if only to survive.
But to fight the Alliance and the Empire to the death, what the hell was that for?
In the early stages, the intelligence collected by Salihoovich and the foreign intelligence service played a role. They quickly distinguished who were the waverers and who among them could be persuaded or even turned.
Up to now, there were quite a few who had secretive contact with the foreign intelligence service and Salihoovich.
Moreover, as the Tianma Fleet mounted its blockade and the Alliance Army closed in mightily, many who were not originally on the list came forward.
Unable to find an agent, or even having never been in contact with one, not knowing how deeply the Fatches had been infiltrated, they had no other choice but to take the risk and meet Salihoovich in secret.
They often claimed to be loyal subjects of the Empire, never intending to rebel, that the Fatches were loyal too, and it was just Family Head Minnick who was not very loyal.
By this point, Salihoovich felt that the timing should be ripe.