Chapter 689: Chapter 390: Might as Well Call it Gu Hang Star Zone_2
The Fatches family had no illusions about the impossibility of standing against the empire indefinitely; they had long been prepared to cave, and their myriad assets had already been prepared—they would ultimately have to pay the imperial tax.
Even so, it’s possible that these were the very things they’d gathered to cover this imperial tax, but due to fines and the Star Sector Government’s coercion into rebellion, everything was left here.
And now, it all fell into the hands of Gu Hang.
No doubt, on the other two planets of the Fatches, there’d be similar treasures.
This was quite a pleasing turn of events, saving him the trouble of collection.
The jurisdiction of the warzone extended to the Fatches Tri-Star, but the Tri-Star itself was not militarised. If Gu Hang was to effectively control these three planets, he would have to shoulder their taxes.
…
This period, Fatches failed to pay and met their doom; the empire wouldn’t care for excuses, the tax amount had to be sufficient. According to the adjusted developmental tier, the Fatches Tri-Star collectively owed six billion, a sum fronted by the Star Domain Government.
However, the Star Domain Government was unwilling to foot the entire bill. Before this operation, during the various preliminary negotiations, this detail had also been settled.
The most recent tax season had already been missed—no point in mentioning that; for the next one in two years, Gu Hang needed to pay 66.6% of this period’s tax.
Two years later, for the Fatches Tri-Star, Gu Hang would have to pay ten billion in tax currency.
It was exactly because of this ten billion tax in two years that Gu Hang couldn’t resort to brute force with his troops. If he shattered everything, what would he do about the ten billion in two years? He’d have to use his own reserves.
Although he could cover it—Korolya didn’t have to pay taxes—why should he?
He had been somewhat worried,
The Fatches Tri-Star, three civilized worlds with a population of around thirty billion each, complete with various industries and high development, could very well shoulder this tax burden themselves, even managing a surplus, as part of the Alliance’s income.
But there was no place he could find the funds to cover this shortfall.
Unexpectedly, the Fatches United Government had prepared it all for him.
Gu Hang, quite content, led the main part of the Expeditionary Force away from Fatches No.1 and proceeded to Fatches No.2 Planet.
…
Of course, No.2 and No.3 couldn’t have held out any longer.
In reality, they made no stand at all.
After the events on Fatches No.1 became known and in the face of the immense approach of the imperial fleet, they hastily surrendered.
If No.1, with its stronger defenses and the seat of the United Government, fell in a week, what hope would they have had?
Moreover, in legal terms, Petes, the self-proclaimed interim president of the United Government, was now truly legitimate—he was the eighth in line, with the first seven gone.
Although it might be somewhat self-deceiving, this was the nature of surrender: finding some justifiable reasons.
The most significant reason was that they were faced with the Imperial Army, the Dragonhawk Legion—it wasn’t surrender, but restoring order, and there was even the order of the sitting president of the United Government. Could it be any more legitimate?
With no naval battles, the troops smoothly took over the starport and then directly arrived on the surface through the starport, assuming command of the local Defense Army on both planets.
This entire rebellion-quashing war was, for all intents and purposes, now largely concluded.
The thirty million Land Forces and the Tianma Fleet weren’t going to be withdrawn just yet. They had to remain under the guise of an occupying force on the Fatches Tri-Star for a bit longer; personnel from the Alliance Military and Political Department, along with government officials, had already been massively deployed to the Tri-Star.
The military needed to be reduced and command seized; the government had to be controlled, and the handling of the existing United Government considered… There was a whole basket of political tasks remaining, but as far as the war was concerned, it was effectively over.
Some subordinate officers flattered Mr. Gu, saying that with his intervention, the ‘great’ rebellion of Fatches, which had thrown the Star Sector Government into a panic, was quelled before it could last seven days. One week, three planets, averaging less than two and a half days to conquer a world! The commander deserved being hailed as the imperial hero, surely earning himself a place in Star Realm’s future!
Flattery never wears thin, even for Gu Hang—a bit of sweet talk was pleasing to hear.
However, he still had to be modest verbally, “Compared to the speed of capturing three planets in two days during the remote expeditions, there’s still room for improvement.”
…
“His efficiency is almost matching the Sun expedition! How is this possible?”
In the Tianma Palace on Flying Wing Star, Pei Desi once again lost his composure.
He found that whenever something was connected to Gu Hang, his defenses easily crumbled.
Martin Nelli, sitting opposite of him, pointed to the battle report and said, “Why not? The battle report is right here—we have those from the Star Realm Army, the navy, and the ‘Order Restoration Declarations’ from the three planets’ Planetary Governments. Could this be fake? Minnick and his son, as well as a list of individuals announced by the Star Domain Government, have their heads removed to be sent to Yunluo Star.”
Pei Desi certainly knew that it couldn’t be fabricated. But still, he found the whole thing absurdly fantastical.
In his view, the Fatches family was an incredibly stubborn and formidable foe. They were local powerhouses with a long tradition, strong capabilities, and united resolve…
Even his brother, the very capable leader Pei Desi, had spent years forming alliances and only managed to tightly contain them.