Song Xia originally planned to start by disrupting the entire Federation from the Vatican, but before she could even make a move, the Vatican issued a kill order against her.
“I guess the news of your return and promotion to deputy commander has reached them. After suffering such a huge loss, how can they be willing to accept it?” Nikas laughed gleefully. “They are really stupid to actually believe in the saintess. If there really is a god, the first to be punished will be these fame-seeking, dirty-minded people.”
"Actually, they may not really believe it; they just wanted to use it to win over more people's hearts. They didn't expect to end up losing more than they gained."
"Master, what should we do?"
“Since they’ve already made their move, I don’t need to look for other breakthroughs.” Song Xia raised an eyebrow and smiled. “If we truthfully announce the cause of the archbishop’s death and then boast about the military supplies we obtained from the third star, the council will surely not let us off the hook.”
"Although it is military funding for the third star, where does the funding come from? Isn't it from the taxes paid by the people of the Federation? The Parliament will certainly not let go of this opportunity to attack the Papacy and thus gain more benefits for itself."
"If we further simulate the way the Vatican operates to expose some of the darker aspects of the Parliament, the conflict between the two sides will naturally grow stronger."
"It would be great if we could drag the other military regions into this as well."
"The people of the Federation have long suffered under the Federation's mediocre government. Many star regions are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant towards the Federation. Once the conflict between the three parties is brought to light, these powerful star regions might take the opportunity to secede from the Federation."
"Then it will be time for us to establish a new regime."
Song Xia and his apprentices exchanged glances, all full of confidence.
She never considered replacing the Federation, after all, the star systems controlled by the Federation were too vast, and she knew she didn't have the ability for the time being. She only wanted to shatter the illusion of prosperity before her eyes and give those who longed for stability a place to go.
“Such a large star field is already beyond the control of the Federation. The decentralized government may be better for the lives of ordinary people, but there is only one problem…” Song Ye said, looking at Song Xia, “that is, how should we deal with a future invasion? Once the government is decentralized, without the coordination of the Federation, other forces will definitely not be willing to provide support.”
“We can assist.” Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Song Xia slowly revealed his thoughts. “Originally, we pirates made our fortune by robbing caravans. Although we reaped considerable profits, we not only had to guard against the Federation’s traps but also deal with the caravans’ guards. The casualty rate was always very high. After the establishment of the new regime, we can’t continue doing such things. After all, it doesn’t look good. If a conflict occurs, we will be the first to face suspicion and accusations. Moreover, everyone is not used to farming and doing business. They all need to find a stable and high-income livelihood.”
"Master, do you mean we're hired to help people fight the Zerg?"
“That’s right, what difference does it make who we fight? In the past, as pirates, we had to go through dangerous traps. Although the Zerg are troublesome, they don’t have so many tricks up their sleeves, and the money they make is honest and straightforward.”
The group looked at each other in bewilderment. After all, they had been pirates for so long that they never imagined they would one day be good people.
"It's just an exchange of benefits. Dealing with the Zerg can't just be about taking a little reward. Resources and security are relative. In the future, in our territory, those who want a peaceful life can find an ordinary job. As long as they can adapt to a simple life, basic supplies and security will be guaranteed. Then, if they're used to the extravagance of being pirates, they can apply to join the guard team. The excitement and rewards won't be any less than before."
After Song Xia said that, everyone felt that it was really feasible. It was better to fight against the Zerg than against humans. This source of income was also more legitimate. In the future, when the family members traveled through space, they would no longer have to live in fear because of their identity as pirates.
"I think many people would agree that being a pirate sounds like freedom, but it's actually far from easy. Most of those who voluntarily become pirates were initially driven to desperation. If they had a choice, who would want to be hunted down and killed?"
Therefore, the establishment of the new regime and the future management plan were initially formulated tonight, and the next step is how to provoke conflict between the Papacy and the Parliament.
In fact, Song Xia and the others didn't need to do much. The contradictions within the Federation were already deeply rooted and had reached an irreconcilable level. Even without her, the collapse of the Federation was only a matter of time. Even ordinary people had suffered under the Federation for a long time. Perhaps the only ones who still recognized the Federation were a few star systems, including the main star, which had relatively good welfare benefits.
Even on the main planet, dangers have been constant in recent years. The early death of Ling Chengrong's first wife in childbirth and Song Ye's abduction by pirates are just two examples. The marshal of the Federation's First Legion couldn't even protect his own family, let alone others.
Soon, news that the archbishop's death was due to the false saintess spread throughout the interstellar space. The fact that the Third Star had also given the false saintess a considerable amount of military funds caused an uproar throughout the Federation, and the reputation of the Holy See was instantly in jeopardy.
Parliament seized the opportunity to launch an attack, demanding that the Vatican relinquish its powers to quell taxpayers' anger and also requiring the Vatican to cease accepting donations from believers.
Neither of these two demands is acceptable to the Vatican. Then, in a fit of rage, the Vatican released news that parliamentary officials were abusing their power to give preferential treatment to their relatives and accept bribes. In particular, the exposure of the fact that the relatives of two members of parliament had committed crimes and were still at large has enraged the public.
From then on, the reputation of both the Papacy and the Parliament in the eyes of the people was in jeopardy. Many star systems declared that if the Parliament and the Papacy did not provide a satisfactory explanation and solution, they would no longer accept the Federation's decrees.
But what constitutes a satisfactory explanation or solution? Isn't that ultimately determined by one's own subjective desires?
After the credibility of the parliament and the federation was damaged, Ling Chengrong, the marshal of the First Legion who had long faded from the public eye, reappeared in front of everyone. On the StarNet, he was praised as the only pure land in the federation.
However, Ling Chengrong's abuse of military power to search for his son was soon exposed. Although this is human nature, the Federation has so many missing people every year, why didn't he bother to search for them? In the end, it was still an abuse of power.
In just a few months, the false prosperity that the Federation had painstakingly maintained collapsed completely, and many star regions began to reject the Federation's orders and stop paying taxes to the Federation's main star.
When government orders are not effectively implemented, a star system is attacked by the Zerg, and the Federation fails to come to its rescue, which becomes the final straw that completely destroys the Federation's regime.
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