Chapter 80: Chapter 80, Ideological Construction
Over seven thousand soldiers had been disarmed and gathered for surveillance, but that didn’t mean the matter was over.
Were there still Heretic Cultists among them? Was it possible that some cult followers had not revealed themselves during the recent actions against Gu Hang?
It was very likely.
The Battle Nuns were in charge of this task. Unlike the Phoenix, which had become idle after the battle, the Sisters of the Holy Mercy became even busier.
They began searching within the entire army for any latent cult members. Under the watchful eyes of the Holy Mercy, the Heretic Cult had nowhere to hide. They were quickly identified, exposed, and executed publicly.
Their actions did not provoke a backlash from the soldiers; on the contrary, they further aided Gu Hang.
The Primordial Wrath Owl Sect did not have a good reputation. When the soldiers realized there were many heretics among them, they were actually angry. They wondered whether the previous commander had intentionally tolerated this. Did they really want to continue opposing the Planetary Governor alongside the treasonous cultists?
Certainly not.
In other words, this gave the soldiers another reason to convince themselves to peacefully accept the decision to surrender.
At the same time, the Sisters of Holy Mercy also seized the opportunity to proselytize, instilling the national religion’s teachings, faith in The Emperor, and loyalty to the Empire into the hearts of the soldiers.
Their strength had already made a deep impression during the previous bloody battles; now, they were showing mercy. Their faces carried gentle smiles, and from them radiated a divine light.
The faith in the ascended Divine Emperor was already the most widespread belief throughout the Human Empire, Rage Owl Star being no exception. Capitalizing on the cult’s defeat, carrying the victor’s authority, and leveraging the soldiers’ post-defeat confusion, their proselytizing was quite effective.
The Sisters of Holy Mercy did this not specifically to help Gu Hang.
Was there any other reason for the nuns to evangelize?
As for the fact that it objectively helped Gu Hang, the spokesman for the Empire’s rule and Planetary Governor, by reinforcing the soldiers’ loyalty, that was an unexpected boon.
While the Battle Nuns were busy, Gu Hang was not idle either.
He met with all the surviving company and battalion-level military officers in the POW camp and talked with each of them for a while.
After completing the one-on-one meetings, he gathered all the company-level and higher military officers for a closed-door meeting.
During the conversations, Gu Hang listened a lot and also said a lot.
He learned about the soldiers’ confusion, demands, and hesitations, and he gave many firm responses.
Gu Hang had not come to destroy Revival City; on the contrary, he had come to build it. Loyalty to the Empire was every soldier’s duty. They would be able to earn more merits on the battlefield, fighting for a better tomorrow for themselves, their families, and their hometowns.
Of course, such things were abstract. But Gu Hang also discussed many concrete matters:
In Revival City, the treatment for those of the Alliance Regular Army was fairly decent, and Gu Hang could ensure that their material supply would only be higher than before, officers included;
In the future, the army would expand, and well-performing officers were likely to have more opportunities for promotion;
The army would receive more attention, better equipment, which would be distributed among the troops;
All soldiers’ and officers’ families would get subsidies according to their ranks;
If there were casualties, the compensation ratio would be higher than before…
On both the spiritual and material levels, Gu Hang provided assurances to these mid- and lower-tier military officers.
The officers, one after another, were as though injected with adrenaline, thumping their chests and assuring the Governor that they had been deceived in the past and now understood that loyalty to the Governor was the only right path.
Overall, the conversations were satisfactory for both host and guests.
Of course, Gu Hang was not naive.
Could he fully trust the words of people thumping their chests? Could he immediately consider them his own people?
“`
That was clearly unrealistic.
For instance, Gu Hang could not possibly assign the task of blockading the city to these Alliance soldiers now.
If that were the case, a bunch of powerful individuals familiar with the officers, drawing on connections, and offering bribes with money… It would be feared that in the end, an unknown number of people would escape.
In the current situation, it would be exceedingly foolish for those seasoned soldiers and officers mixed within the political circles of Revival City not to say some pleasant things.
But Gu Hang didn’t care.
As long as he presented the right attitude, that was enough.
After that, Gu Hang would have plenty of methods to increase the armed forces’ combat effectiveness and tighten his control over the military.
He would truly fulfill the promises regarding material conditions without deceiving anyone. Soldiers rely on provisions, and by ensuring the promised benefits were delivered, he could establish a foundation of loyalty; the construction of a spiritual civilization needed further strengthening. In this regard, Gu Hang planned to adopt some special measures.
He would select a batch of people from the six infantry battalions he had created and put them through special training. He planned to invite Battle Nuns and interstellar warriors to teach them classes.
After they completed these classes, Gu Hang himself would also teach.
He would not conduct any particular military training, but rather cultivate ideological awareness. Loyalty to the Empire and faith in the Divine Emperor needed to be further emphasized. And Gu Hang had to associate loyalty, honor, and faith with himself.
There was no problem with that, logically speaking.
If you have faith in the Divine Emperor and are loyal to the Empire, then as the Planetary Governor appointed by the Empire, I am the very person executing the Divine Emperor’s rule on Rage Owl Star. Loyalty to The Emperor equates to loyalty to the Governor.
There was nothing wrong with that.
However, inserting this personal merchandise into the mix was not a job for the Phoenix or the Merciful Lily; Gu Hang was willing to take on the extra burden himself.
And all the individuals who were trained would be placed among the various levels of officers within the Alliance Legion.
They were not there to seize power or act as military leaders, but to work as political officers.
Their responsibility was to spread devotion to the Governor throughout the entire army and review the actions of military leaders. If there were any signs of disloyalty among the officers, the political officers would report it to their superiors for action to be taken; in times of war, or other emergency situations, they even had the authority to execute military leaders and take over command of the troops.
Similar positions existed within the Imperial Regular Army.
But what Gu Hang intended to do was even more radical.
He intended to establish political officers right down to the level of individual units!
Building the army, strengthening discipline, boosting morale, and spreading loyalty… these were the tasks these individuals would undertake for Gu Hang in the future.
For these tasks, Gu Hang stayed outside the city for a full two days.
The nearly fifty ‘political officers’ were also selected. They temporarily donned black coats, put on newly dyed red military hats, moved into the prisoner of war camp, and joined the various units within the Alliance Legion.
Although these individuals were pushed into their roles rather abruptly, and even the planned ideological indoctrination by Gu Hang was quite basic—half a day of conversation with the nuns, and a half-day chat with Gu Hang himself—that was it.
Regardless, their personal loyalty to Gu Hang was somewhat guaranteed. Throwing them into the army would enhance control over the military, no matter what.
As for training, once there was spare time and the situation had calmed down, it wouldn’t be too late to start a more in-depth process.
While Gu Hang was busy with the army, the inner city was turned upside down in these two days.
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It is estimated that at zero o’clock on Monday (twelve o’clock Sunday night), the story will be on the shelves.
There are three chapters added today; there will also be two regular chapters tomorrow noon; chapters launching on the shelves start at night!