Chapter 172: I thought you really came to support your cousin
The letter that Wang Qi saw was indeed written by Gu Hang himself, without anyone teaching him.
When he wrote this letter, he actually had two ideas.
First, emotionally.
As someone with the same name and surname, and having used someone else's body, Gu Hang felt that he should give an explanation when the time was right.
Having used his body, Gu Hang had a certain responsibility towards this person with the same name and surname. His predecessor was obsessed with "proving his mother", so he should satisfy this obsession.
Therefore, Gu Hang wrote the first half of the letter.
But if we only stop here, it is not enough. Digging deep into the memory of his previous life, his resentment towards his mother is not derived from his love for her. If he really has no feelings for his biological mother, how can he hate her?
Hence, there is the saying of admitting mistakes but standing tall and expressing one's ambition.
The relationship between mother and son needs a way to ease. This way cannot be simply to admit mistakes with tears, which is definitely not in line with the previous life's thinking. Not only that, but the mother must also see the change.
However, emotional factors are relatively secondary. What is more important are some practical considerations.
All Gu Hang saw in his previous life's memories were dissatisfaction with his biological mother. In his previous life's mind, his biological mother was a cold, rational, unfeeling, and controlling strong woman. Her status as a person in power far exceeded that of a mother, and he had felt very little maternal love since he was a child.
But this is the perspective of the predecessor.
From Gu Hang's perspective, digging up those memories again, from an outsider's perspective, he was still certain that Ms. Wang Qi still loved her son. It's just that the emphasis was different.
I can understand that.
It was true that Gu Hang's line was once the leader of the Gu family. His grandfather was the head of the family, and his father, as the third child, was the most favored and outstanding one by his grandfather. He was designated as the first heir early on, but he died before his grandfather.
He was just born when his father died, and he was only three years old when his grandfather died.
After Grandpa's death, the identity of the heir may not necessarily fall into Gu Hang's hands, he still has several uncles. In addition, there are many other people in the same clan, each with their own bloodline and each in control of a certain industry.
Brothers from the same clan, uncles, cousins... who can wait for a three-year-old child to grow up and become the leader?
Unrealistic.
At this time, Wang Qi is the only one who can support this small family. Without his mother's support, Gu Hang might not grow up if he is a bit cruel. When he grows up, I am afraid that the things left by his grandfather will be divided up by his uncles and aunts, and what is left for him will depend on others.
However, Wang Qi's behavior of using her late husband to expand her influence in the family and trying to get a piece of the pie was bound to be met with hostility, criticism and exclusion.
She was strong enough to not be afraid of the hostility, and even fought back and forth, that was her ability. But when Gu Hang was a child, he suffered verbal and even physical bullying from his fellow clan members, but he was powerless to resist and resolve it. His mother was so busy that she was unable to protect him all the time, so that the psychological trauma affected the establishment of his personality.
In terms of raising and caring for children, Wang Qi is indeed not a qualified mother; but under the special family environment, her primary concern was to protect the property that belonged to their family, and it is hard to say that she did anything completely wrong in this regard.
From an outsider's perspective, Gu Hang should still be very important to his mother, but the actions and ways of expression are different.
Based on this judgment, Gu Hang believed that he could not be deceived by the memories of his previous life, and the relationship between the two parties was not completely irreconcilable.
And if the relationship can be reconciled, the value of Gu's Trading Company will be enormous for a developing planet.
Just look at Wang Jiarong's arrival this time. Gu Hang had seen the many goods she brought on board and expressed his deep desire for them.
Trade is an important point in the development of the planet.
Moreover, if the relationship could be reconciled, the Gu family, especially his biological mother, would in turn become a huge help in the development of his planet.
If the Gu family could fully support him in building the planet, with dozens of caravans of varying sizes, divided into several groups and transporting several batches of supplies, then his process of rebuilding the world would be greatly advanced.
It’s not that it won’t work without it, it’s just that it will be faster with it.
In addition to establishing interstellar trade and direct material support, Gu Hang also values the interstellar influence of the Gu family.
This is what he lacks.
This would bring political benefits and allow him to buy things that he could not buy even if he had money.
So, the follow-up will depend on the effect of his letter and whether it impresses his mother.
"It should be okay, right? I've been thinking about how to write the letter for a long time."
While he was thinking, Gu Hang had already seen the Angry Owl Star, appearing before him.
Going home.
…
Gu Hang returned to the surface on the first batch of transport spacecraft.
One wave of spaceships cannot bring everyone back. The soldiers behind will need multiple batches of transport spaceships to travel back and forth between the planet's surface and orbit.
The three spaceships in the starry sky will each stay for a period of time.
The Quintet will stay for about a month and a half.
It needs to complete some preliminary maintenance work in the planetary orbit. The mechanical priests and technicians on the starship will carefully check the status of the starship during this period. If there are minor problems that can be repaired without the help of star fortresses or orbital shipyards, they will be dealt with first.
But when it comes to major hull repairs and the reconstruction of some destroyed weapon systems, that is definitely not something that can be done with just a few minor repairs, and it still has to be returned to the factory.
Gu Hang also promised to help with this work. If there are any materials or metal parts needed, Angry Owl Star can provide them.
It is hard to say about other things, but the alloy plastic steel related industries are already very mature in Weixing City. There should be no problem in building materials and even processing metals into suitable parts as needed.
Ye Lixia also told Gu Hang that this support would not be given for nothing. The raw materials and parts provided by Angry Owl Star would be converted into an invoice and sent to the Imperial Navy. The Navy would then confirm the invoice and send it to the Military Affairs Department to complete the collection procedures and pay the tax coins to the Governor of Angry Owl Star.
Gu Hang didn't care much about this at first. They were just some basic processed parts and raw materials, how much could they be worth?
However, he was glad that he didn't pretend to be rich. The one and a half months that the Quintet was in orbit of the Angry Owl consumed half a month's production capacity of the Weixing City Alloy Plastic Steel Processing Plant, and the final bill was 3,000 tax coins.
It would be painful if this was given away for free.
And in a month, a destroyer from the Pegasus fleet will arrive in orbit of the Angry Owl Star and take over the job of the Quintet.
At first, Gu Hang was a little dissatisfied with this. How could I be happy when my cruiser was replaced by a destroyer?
However, Ye Lixia's words made him change his mind.
In fact, the reason is very simple. If it is really a cruiser, the captain of that ship is at least a brigadier general, the same rank as Ye Lixia's current military rank, and his qualifications are definitely much older than hers. She really can't command it, and can only provide some suggestions at most. That would not be very good for cooperating with Gu Hang's actions on the surface of the planet.
If she changes to a destroyer, the captain will most likely be just a colonel, or even just a lieutenant colonel. She really has the ability to turn the tables, and it will be more convenient to cooperate with Gu Hang's actions at that time.
Gu Hang admitted that what she said made sense.
In addition, Wang Jiarong's Beautiful Girl and a frigate will stay in the Angry Owl Galaxy for three months.
Gu Hang was also a little confused about this.
His personal trade needs were not that great. He did not have any particular need for bulk commodities. What he really wanted to buy were a few synthetic starch production lines to expand the food processing industry in his existing territory and ease the food pressure; in addition, he wanted to buy the high-end commodities that the Phoenix Legion needed.
In addition, there were a large number of minerals, weapons and equipment, consumer goods... Gu Hang was not unenvious of these. He also saw a Knight Titan in the list of goods provided to him by Wang Jiarong! (Note 1)
This thing almost satisfies Gu Hang's romantic feelings about mechas that he read in some science fiction works in his previous life.
It is ten meters tall, humanoid, equipped with plasma cannons, missile launchers, and a revolver cannon that can fire 105mm kinetic cannons like machine gun bullets. In terms of defense, in addition to the alloy ceramic steel armor mixed with fine gold, it also has a powerful shield generator. The key is that it is very flexible in action, and it is quite difficult for conventional artillery to lock on and hit it.
This thing can be used as a super firepower platform at a distance, and can lead infantry to charge into battle at close range. It is a super killer weapon.
Of course Gu Hang was envious, but when he asked the price...
Ten million tax coins? Or the cost price that doesn't make any money?
Forget it, this thing is not something I can afford to play with for now.
Apart from these high-end products, he does not need to purchase large quantities of bulk commodities such as minerals and food for the time being.
The goods he needs now can be delivered to him in just a few transport planes. Why would they need to be parked for three months?
When she heard his question, Wang Jiarong smiled awkwardly and said that after she finished delivering the goods to Gu Hang, she still had to deliver some goods to Blackbird Heavy Industry, some of which had to be transported downhill and some of which had to be shipped onto the starship.
Gu Hang narrowed his eyes at that moment.
"Good fellow, didn't you agree to come to support your cousin?"
"Looking at you, sister, I'm afraid you've already had a clear discussion with Blackbird Heavy Industries, or with the Fachers family behind them."
"It's a really big business. The things your cousin needs can be shipped in half a week or a week. The Blackbird Heavy Industry business will take three months, right?"
"As expected, you are repairing your relationship with the Fats family."
Gu Hang spoke in a sarcastic tone, and Wang Jiarong was also very embarrassed.
She immediately said that this was a collective decision made by your Gu family, and it was not even your mother's decision alone.
She finally emphasized: "Anyway, I'm here to support you and do a business with Fats."
Gu Hang sneered, "You got it the other way around, right? Doing business with Fats is the key, and supporting me is just a by-product. Oh, no, it should be by-product of by-product. After all, I, the Governor, am not dead yet. Interstellar trade requires the Governor's approval, and you can't bypass me if you want to do this business."
Wang Jiarong was so embarrassed that she stopped talking.
Of course, Gu Hang was not really angry.
There's nothing to be angry about.
This is actually normal.
What happened to my cousin? She deserved to drive an interstellar spaceship to deliver a batch of goods with a total value that was unknown whether the gas was expensive or not, and sell them to my cousin at a fair price?
Everyone has to make money, so it's not shameful.
However, this sentence also applies to Gu Hang.
"I don't care how you conduct a deal with Blackbird Heavy Industries. I only want to remind you of two things: First, you have to deal with the Fofana family on your own. The Imperial Navy starship is parked in orbit. They probably don't want to see you doing a big deal with Blackbird Heavy Industries. The political price here has nothing to do with me. I will also make this clear to Ye Lishia."
"Well, I understand. You don't have to worry. Your Gu family had already been active before we set off. I'm just a worker. If there really is a problem, I won't take the risk."
"That's fine." Gu Hang turned to the second point, "Second, Blackbird Heavy Industries is part of the Angry Owl Star. I am the governor, and they are also my people. All interstellar transactions on the planet require my approval. Blackbird Heavy Industries must pay me the imperial tax for the past two years. My request is not excessive, 10% of the output value for two years; in addition, I will also collect a 10% transaction tax for this transaction."
"This... Of course I have no problem with it, but I can't guarantee whether Blackbird Heavy Industries is willing to do so."
"Then ask them to send someone to talk to me. If you don't agree, forget about doing this business."
"Cousin!" Wang Jiarong still tried to act coquettishly.
"There's nothing to discuss."
Wang Jiarong was helpless: "This is a deal between your Gu family and the Fats family, cousin, you..."
Gu Hang would not be so lenient: "Don't bring this up, it makes me even more angry. Gu's didn't provide me with any help on Angry Owl Star, so there is no reason for me to give special care to the business of Gu and Fa. I have exempted the transaction tax for the Beautiful Girl Caravan, I just want them to pay the imperial tax and transaction tax, which is already merciful enough."
"If you can't even agree to this, the Quintet will destroy all unauthorized orbital passages. I believe Ye Lishia will be very happy to help me with this."
Wang Jiarong had no choice but to sigh and say, "I will convey your meaning to Blackbird Heavy Industry. However, I still have to say that the family may not be happy."
Gu Hang didn't care: "Then let my uncles and my mother pout, jump and scold me on Feiyi Star. What can they do?"
"I thought you wanted to reconcile with the family."
"No." Gu Hang corrected his cousin's opinion, "There is no such thing as reconciliation or not. I didn't stop anyone. I just want to get the part that's due to me. If you can't even guarantee this, what's the point of talking about reconciliation or not?"
…
After returning to Fuxing City, Gu Hang called people to hold a work meeting.
It had been more than a month since he left Fuxing City, and even his monthly salary from grace income had been paid.
Although, it was necessary for him to personally participate in the military operations on the starship this time. If he, who was already a powerful psychic, did not show up, he would probably not be able to deal with the green-skinned warlord; at the same time, he had to be there in person to persuade Ye Lishia, who originally did not want to fight, to go to war; he also had to personally fight for the fruits of victory after the war.
However, the surface of the planet cannot do without him.
To put it bluntly, it has only been three or four months since he seized power in the alliance. He is still short of people, and even Ossena has to take on multiple duties and is busy all day long.
The political system established by the entire new alliance is a highly centralized and planned form. Without him as the governor, if it takes too long, who knows what kind of trouble will arise.
In fact, for a whole month, Gu Hang was worried about something going wrong.
Although he left a device for Osena and Yan Fangxu to communicate with the starship, Gu Hang did not fail to communicate with his subordinates during this period. However, the communication of several dozen minutes every now and then was not enough. Gu Hang urgently needed a practical work meeting to understand what had happened in his territory in the past month and whether the various tasks had been carried out as he expected.
While waiting for the arrival of his main subordinates, he was still thinking about Blackbird Heavy Industries.
There are three continents on the Wrathful Owl Star. The other two small continents were originally the main mining areas for psychic energy fields and were also the places most severely damaged by the war. They were almost dead lands. The waste energy storms never stopped all day long. The extremely harsh environment made it more difficult for people to survive and it was impossible to grow food. According to intelligence, those two continents were basically uninhabited areas.
On the main continent, Blackbird Heavy Industry has a very important position. The history of this company is even longer than that of the Wrathful Star Alliance. They have existed for a long time before the establishment of the alliance.
According to the information Gu Hang has at hand, the Blackbird Heavy Industry's base is located in the westernmost coastal area of the continent, tens of thousands of kilometers away from Fuxing City where he is now. They control a large area of land, and there are about 10 million people living there. The main source of food is partly self-produced - there are fertile plains in the west of the continent. Although there are many areas covered by the waste energy storm, the remaining land is enough to feed a considerable number of people.
The other part comes from the food produced by the pre-war technology breeding factories under the oases in the Western Desert.
From the name "Blackbird Heavy Industry", we can tell that this is a super enterprise with heavy industry as its main business. They are still a member of the Alliance in name, but since the second generation of Governors, they have gradually drifted away from the Alliance. Every two years, they pay a symbolic amount of the Imperial Tax.
According to the population of 10 million under their rule, they should, in theory, produce products worth 2 million tax coins every tax period and send them to the Union Government as their tax revenue for the year.
However, in the past six years and three tax periods, the most they paid was 400,000 tax coins at one time, and the least was only 200,000 tax coins at one time.
The difference is huge, but the key is that the Union Government is unable to collect it.
How to take it back? The old alliance army was in such a bad state, how could it cross thousands of miles to expedition to the western world of the continent? Even if all political forces were mobilized, it would not be able to do this.
The governors-general of all generations could only write letters to curse and accuse Blackbird Heavy Industries of being traitors to the empire and committing rebellion for not paying taxes.
But... it's a coincidence. It's the Governor's job to suppress planetary rebellions. If you can't do it well, it's your incompetence. In theory, when you encounter a rebellion, you can call for support from the Empire. It's possible that the Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy, or even a war group can fly in.
But unfortunately, this is only theoretical. Unless the situation is extremely bad, and it is possible or has already affected multiple surrounding areas, the empire will not bother to care about you.
There were even rebellions on some planets, and the rebels killed the governors before the imperial reinforcements arrived.
When we sent people to the ground, we saw that the rebels said: The previous governor was tyrannical and incompetent, so we overthrew him, but we are still loyal to the empire. We are willing to continue paying taxes, and we are ready for the new round of taxes.
When the imperial reinforcements heard this, they said, "Okay, then you are the new governor," and then they went home.
It sounds crude, but from the perspective of the empire: the rebellion is gone, the new governor is very loyal, taxes have not been reduced at all, and there is no need to fight a war. Isn't this a win-win situation for everyone?
As for the old governor? He was a useless man who couldn't even handle a rebellion. He should just die.
The probability of this happening is not high, but it has been recorded many times.
For Gu Hang now, he cannot directly interfere in the affairs of the westernmost part of the continent. He also does not have the ability to organize a large army to go on an expedition across thousands of miles, and the logistical supply cannot sustain it at all.
Orbital support is useless. It is impossible to establish rule by bombing alone without ground troops to control it.
Even if it is an orbital airdrop or orbital transport of supplies, the distance on the ground can be ignored. However, the Quintet is a standard warship and its orbital transportation conditions are poor, so it cannot support this. As an armed merchant ship, the Belle Maid does have the conditions to do it, but it is obvious that Wang Jiarong will not support him to fight this battle.
Even if he won, the current industrial level of Angry Owl Star could not support him to cross thousands of miles to rule the land on the other side of the continent in a short period of time.
In short, war is not reliable and the timing is not right.
But on the contrary, taking advantage of the key transaction between Gu and Fache, Blackbird Heavy Industry paid the money they should pay, and if they didn't pay, the trade would be blocked. This is still possible. The Quintet can tightly block the trade connection between the surface and the planetary orbit.
According to Gu Hang's idea, the minimum you have to pay is 2 million tax coins this time. In addition, Gu Hang also asked them to pay the shortfall of three tax periods in the past six years, which is about 5 million tax coins.
Seven million in total.
Of course, Blackbird Heavy Industries and Fats would not be willing to accept the latter one. Gu Hang did not intend to force the other party to death, otherwise the other party would part ways and Gu Hang's idea of taking money from the other party would be thwarted, which would be very bad.
We'll see how we talk about it then.
In short, 2 million tax coins is the bottom line.
————
Today’s update is late, but it has 6,000 words!
I actually finished writing 4,000 words last night. When I set the timer, I thought about it and decided that it would be smoother if I wrote 2,000 more, so I wrote it this afternoon.
I’ll see if I can update 6,000 words on time tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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