Chapter 263: Black Arrow Star Battle Conclusion
Regardless of the treatment that Ness Luman's soul suffered after being quietly pulled into the kingdom of God by Gu Hang, the atmosphere in the field command post of the Alliance Expeditionary Force outside the city was full of joy.
Everyone thought that Nestor Luhmann was finished, but no one expected that this proud and ambitious king would put aside all his dignity and say such words.
No one thought that the head of the Gu family from the Angry Owl Star would actually agree!
Gu Hang accepted Ness Luhmann's apology and his "gift".
From then on, the Kingdom of Luman was to be renamed "Gu".
This is the biggest change.
But some places seem to have not changed.
Nestor Luman is still the ruler of this country, but he is no longer called king, but has been demoted to duke.
Gu Hang seemed to really believe the king's words of loyalty and planned to let Nestor Luman continue to rule the country.
The loyal ministers of the kingdom and the envoys of the two marquises were all filled with disbelief.
So... magnanimous?
So what’s the difference from before?
Oh, the only difference is that King Luman... Duke Luman now has a Governor Gu above him. But what difference does it make to the people below them? Will they still obey Ness Luman's orders from now on?
No, it seems that we can’t be so naive.
It should just be supporting a puppet, right?
But isn’t Gu afraid that this puppet will get out of hand?
Or do we need to deploy a lot of extra people?
But is it worth it?
…
Many questions linger in these people's minds.
But on the surface, everyone's performance was surprisingly consistent: they were grateful for Governor Gu Hang's magnanimity, and vowed to work hard and serve the governor well. Some even hinted that they would keep a close eye on Nestor Luhman.
And Nestor Luhmann himself behaved normally.
He was delighted with Governor Gu's magnanimity and swore to seriously reflect on himself and do his job well.
In this way, there is a seemingly happy ending.
…
After seeing off many people, Gu Hang, who was alone, called out the system interface.
Here, there is a new functional interface.
【vassal】
When he clicked it, he saw some new information.
[Black Arrow Star: Luman Kingdom]
[Vassal level: LV3, low tendency to secede. ]
[Status: Military conquest, puppet leader, domestic separatism]
[Monthly gift income: 344 points]
This is a pleasant surprise.
He explored the [Vassal] system and found that it didn't have any special functions, just a display of some data.
But it’s already very good to have this display effect.
The vassal level is a comprehensive assessment of various factors, including the degree of interference from external forces, the degree of control over the ruling class, the local separatism of the vassal state itself, and the public sentiment of the vassal state...
LV3 represents an ordinary level. If this level is maintained, the possibility of this vassal territory breaking away, becoming independent, or separating is not high.
If it is lower than level 3, it will be more turbulent. At level 2, the possibility of separation will become higher; at level 1, it is equivalent to sounding the alarm. If no intervention is made, separation chaos will almost certainly occur and need to be quelled.
On the contrary, if it is higher than LV3, it means that it is almost impossible to separate. If it reaches LV5, it means that it is recommended to annex this vassal and make it the homeland.
Of course, this is not a game, but the real world.
The rating given by the system is real enough, but how to do it specifically is up to Gu Hang.
He could have announced the complete annexation of the Kingdom of Luman right now, appointed himself king, interfered in all military, political and economic affairs here, and acted like a complete ruler.
But obviously, this would have huge hidden dangers.
Firstly, the system might judge that Gu Hang only has nominal ownership of the place, or even no such title, and that he has occupied it purely through military means, without even establishing effective rule. Therefore, the system would certainly not recognize that the land belongs to him, let alone any income from grace points.
Secondly, it would be difficult for Gu Hang to establish a reasonable rule here. The other six countries would jump up all of a sudden; the empire would not easily admit this; Gu Hang's military occupation was very unstable, and he had to mobilize more troops to maintain the occupation; the uprisings might happen one after another...
This is why it is not recommended to directly annex at level LV3.
Gu Hang wouldn't do this either.
He is satisfied with the current vassal status.
Don't underestimate the vassal state. Gu Hang has already got what he needed.
He could use the vassal governments to influence national policies. For example, he wanted to abolish the feudal system and liberate productivity. Even if the Luman Kingdom was an agricultural country, the efficiency of agricultural production should be improved. The value of increasing grain production in millions of square kilometers of land was also extraordinary.
The liberated peasant population can go to factories and carry out preliminary industrialization.
All in all, it is meaningful to make the whole country prosperous.
Gu Hang doesn't want to work for a place where the annual fiscal surplus is only a few hundred thousand tax coins.
If the Kingdom of Luman maintained the same status as before, he would lose money on this action.
Now that he has more money, Gu Hang will be able to suck more blood from the Luman Kingdom.
In addition to wealth, Gu Hang also had his eyes on another thing in the Luhmann Kingdom: people.
The Kingdom of Luman is not big. It is only about the size of a province under the Angry Star Alliance regime.
However, although this place is backward and poor, it is much better than the initial state of the wasteland world of Angry Owl Star. The relatively fertile land supports a population of 40 million - this is enough to cover the entire population of Angry Owl Star.
Gu Hang plans to continue to draw people from the Kingdom of Luman as an immigration policy to populate the Angry Owl Star.
The Angry Owl Star is his base camp, and building it well will be the foundation of everything.
The mining areas in the eastern provinces needed manpower; the Weixing City Industrial Zone he had built had an almost endless demand for population; the thousands of kilometers of fertile land in the two provinces of Qinggu were waiting for people to develop...
Both people and money are where Gu Hang can continue to suck blood from Black Arrow Star.
Not to mention, the vassal army established directly on Black Arrow Star can also supplement Gu Hang's army in large numbers.
Moreover, vassal states can also provide gift points income, which is an extra surprise. However, the amount given is very small, only 344 points for a population of 40 million.
On the one hand, it was because the productivity of the Luman Kingdom was really too low;
On the other hand, the grace points given by vassal states are inherently greatly discounted.
This discount will also increase as the vassal level increases.
These are direct benefits.
And politically, if Leunis Luhmann were to live, he could also complete the plan he had told his mother before.
Ness Luman is not only the head of state of the Luman Kingdom, he is also the planetary governor of Black Arrow - even if he is just a governor elected by the King's Council and has a term limit.
Before, Gu Hang was still worried about how to successfully get the temporary governor after planning to kill Nest Luhman.
Don't worry now.
It is natural for Ness Luman to be like this, and the pressure on him in the "international affairs" within the Black Arrow Star will be much less.
As for Ness, there are only two years left in his term...
It’s okay, let’s talk about it in two years.
Perhaps, by then, Black Arrow Star will not need to elect a governor.
…
After reading the information about the vassal system, Gu Hang clicked on another message.
This is normal battle settlement information.
[Battle of Pinser City: A bloody victory, 5695 points of grace obtained]
[Total loss 16144, 67823 eliminated, 52446 captured]
[Alliance Expeditionary Force: Loss 16144, 67823 eliminated]
The reward of grace points was roughly within Gu Hang's expectations, perhaps a little less.
Although the Luman troops are not strong enough to fight, the four Knight Titans and the Sentinel Mechs destroyed by his troops are not useless, but high-value targets that can improve the overall situation.
It’s just that the four words ‘bloody battle and bloody victory’ are a bit glaring.
Although he led his team to come from Angry Owl Star for support, and fought all the battles with great enthusiasm, before that, at the beginning of the battle, Perbov led three divisions and brigades in a bloody battle in the suburbs for eight days, and the losses were indeed not small.
It was destined to be a bloody battle, so Gu Hang just accepted it.
If you don’t admit it, what else can you do?
After obtaining these more than 5,000 points of grace, Gu Hang's total grace points reached 17,594.
The composition of this gift point is due to the fact that after the last battle in the northern border of the Angry Owl Star and the killing of the original Angry Owl, there was a large amount of income; plus the monthly gift income in the past two months, Gu Hang did not spend it, and it was all saved. Add to that the more than 5,600 points of income this time, and the total is this much.
In fact, there should be more. However, Gu Hang had previously raised his psychic level from LV5 to LV7, especially the stage from 6 to 7, which cost a full 10,000 points of grace.
Of course, it's not a pity. The upgrade cost of more than 10,000 points is necessary.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to deal with Nest Luhman’s matter today.
In the recognition of the [Vassal] interface, the Kingdom of Luman has a piece of information about [Puppet Head of State].
That of course refers to Nestor Luhmann.
And this puppet is not just a puppet in the simple sense.
Although Ness Luman had clearly expressed his unconditional surrender and willingness to surrender with all his strength, Gu Hang had looked into his past experiences and learned a little about his past from his mother.
This is not a coward or a waste, nor is he someone who can be easily manipulated.
The more sincere and humble he acted in front of him, the less Gu Hang believed him.
Why does the hero lie dormant?
Gu Hang understood the story of sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall.
He was confident that he could defeat Nestor Luhman, especially since the military power was in his hands. No matter how powerful that guy was, he couldn't make much trouble without the knife in his hands and had to rely on Gu's Trading Company for foreign trade.
However, this is just a vassal state and a colony. Gu Hang’s base is still on the Angry Owl Star, and he will not be able to stay here for a long time in the future.
This guy doesn't look like he is willing to be a puppet. Maybe he will be very stable at the beginning and do his best to serve Gu Hang, but it is inevitable that he will do various small tricks in secret to accumulate strength for the future.
I'm not afraid of going home, but I'm really worried.
The key is that it will hinder Gu Hang from advancing his own plans.
But Gu Hang couldn't bear to give up his political significance, and he did have the ability to govern.
Then, it is necessary to create a real puppet.
During a past upgrade, Gu Hang acquired the innate ability of [Mind Tampering].
He had always restrained himself from using this ability, but now was the time to use it.
However, the ability of [Mind Tampering] is not as invincible as imagined.
It has a time limit; if the content it tampered with is significantly different from the original intention of the recipient, then the possibility of being able to break free will become very high; the person whose mind has been tampered with will have a deviation in his personality and will be easily discovered; his IQ and subjective initiative will be greatly affected, and even if he does not receive any instructions, he will become stupid and only have instincts left...
These are all problems.
It's fine to use it to influence the enemy in battle, but it's a big problem to use it to train a qualified political puppet.
But if it was just a technical problem, there was still a way to make up for it. At most, Gu Hang would come to Black Arrow Star more frequently in the future, and whenever he had time, he would come to give Ness Luman a psychic effect.
But the other core problem is more serious: if Nestor Luhman encounters some psychic masters, or inquisitors, or high-ranking clergy of the state religion, his altered mental state will be easily exposed.
And Gu Hang will let this person serve as the governor of Black Arrow Star for a long time.
It is no small matter for a planetary governor to have his mind tampered with. Once it is exposed and traced, it will be very troublesome.
To be on the safe side, Gu Hang decided to undergo a major surgery.
He dragged Nestor Luman's soul into his kingdom of God and carried out a detailed transformation from beginning to end.
The difficulty of the major transformation far exceeded Gu Hang's initial expectations. It not only required the talent of mind tampering, but also the call upon the original power of the real world.
But fortunately, with the home advantage in the Kingdom of God, he was able to complete the task.
In the process of performing this major operation, he even gained some extra inspiration: Could he use the corresponding technology on his own soldiers?
Remove the part about mind tampering, emphasize the implantation of the subspace origin, and add the physical transformation and strengthening that are not involved this time...
What kind of thing would that lead to?
The Storm Chosen?
It must be very strong!
However, this is still just a fantasy for now. Transforming a mind and creating a puppet is already so hard that it is almost exhausting, let alone directly creating the Storm God's Chosen.
However, all the hard work Gu Hang put in was worth it.
Now, he can guarantee that unless someone whose attainments in the field of soul and psychic power far exceed his level comes and examines Ness Luman carefully, conventional detection methods will definitely not be able to detect that the Governor of Black Arrow Star has been mind-controlled.
Nestor Luhmann completely retained his personality and intelligence, but he would guarantee his loyalty to Gu Hang 100%.
Even if necessary, Gu Hang can project his consciousness into Nestor Luhman's body at any time.
This is more stable.
He spent a huge amount of energy and effort in creating such a super-concealed puppet, and the number he could maintain at the same time was extremely limited.
After paying such a huge price, Gu Hang achieved the best result he could, and there shouldn't be any trouble.
If he is really unlucky enough to meet a master of mind who is far superior to him and insists on giving Ness Luhmann a full body check-up on a whim, then he can only accept it.
However, the probability of this happening should be infinitely small, so Gu Hang felt that he could rest assured.
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4.3k
(End of this chapter)
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