Chapter 1011, Military Construction
Spending the Gift Points in Holy Terra seemed a bit forced at first.
After all, there was some concern. The area had a special status and complex situation, and wasn't completely under the Alliance's control. Although the system allowed the use of Gift Points to develop the area, Gu Hang was also worried that subsequent changes and setbacks would make his investment go to waste.
But the situation has reached its current point, and Holy Terra must be revived. All Gu Hang can do is increase investment.
Whether it is direct investment of funds and resources or investment of grace points, the goal is to boost the construction of Holy Terra.
The better the reconstruction, the better the stability will be, and the two complement each other.
As for the danger of losing control, it depends on the governance level of the new imperial government and whether it can control it.
So far, the situation is good.
The dismemberment of the local powerful families on Holy Terra was relatively successful.
On the one hand, it eliminated a hidden danger, or rather, it stimulated some of the hidden dangers and suppressed them severely; on the other hand, it extended the control of the new imperial government to the grassroots level of Holy Terra.
Only after gaining power at the grassroots level can many development strategies be truly implemented.
And the construction of Holy Terra - in fact, it should not be the word construction, but restoration.
As long as it is restored to its previous size, this planet will be able to replace the entire Tianma star region, the richest region in the alliance.
It has a large population and a good foundation, that's how it is.
This doesn't even include the nearby Martian forge world.
The eight hundred worlds surrounding Holy Terra and Mars, belonging to the Solar Region, also possessed excellent foundations. Although some areas were even worse off than Holy Terra due to decades of turmoil, they nonetheless possessed a strong foundation and a large population. With sufficient investment of resources and grace points, this entire region could, drawing upon the influence of Holy Terra and Mars, rapidly regenerate.
In fact, so far, it can be considered that initial results have been achieved. Although it is not yet time to recoup the investment, looking at the long term, the potential is gradually being realized. In three to five years, another powerful engine for the imperial expedition will be formed.
At this point, Gu Hang seemed quite happy with his investment in this place.
…
In addition to the exchange of factories and schools and the enlightenment of talents, another major part of the consumption of gift points is actually closely related to "people".
Military construction.
Six expeditionary fronts, plus a central front guarding the homeland and relying on the rapid mobility of Comoros, not only require massive resources and financial investment to maintain, but also require huge personnel support.
The losses caused by war are one aspect, but the losses are actually even greater on the other hand: the normal retirement of soldiers.
Firstly, the Alliance's military laws are generally much more lenient towards soldiers than those of the former Imperial Astra Militarum. It is rare for them to be like the old Empire, where once soldiers are conscripted, unless they are stationed locally, they will never be able to return home once they go out to fight.
The first reason for this situation is that the empire is not humane.
Secondly, there are objective reasons.
Crossing star regions is difficult and costly, and with frequent warfare, veterans are naturally not easily released. Even the wounded, disabled, or extremely elderly, whose combat effectiveness is affected, are more likely to be relocated locally. Only the lucky few, who encounter a ship carrying logistical supplies and whose empty cabins return to their home region, can return home.
But it’s different here in the alliance, where they attach great importance to the retirement benefits of veterans.
The Alliance's Dark Side Expedition has been going on for over a hundred years. New recruits join at twenty, and by the time they're in their thirties or forties, their physical strength is already declining. However, they can still maintain a relatively strong fighting capacity thanks to their greater experience. However, after fifty, the decline in physical strength becomes truly unbearable.
Except for a small number of officers and generals who have been appointed to command and management positions, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops, those who should retire have to retire even if they have no serious injuries.
In fact, in the Union Army, many people retired in their thirties or forties.
In fact, the alliance also prefers local and nearby placement. After all, this is more convenient and more cost-effective.
But compared to the old imperial army, the Alliance's resettlement of veterans didn't rely on coercion, where they simply dumped people where they couldn't leave anyway. Instead, the Alliance relied more on rewards and incentives to resettle veterans.
Veterans of the alliance can obtain corresponding retirement benefits based on military merits, medals of honor, military rank, military position level and other conditions.
Those who choose to retire and transfer to other jobs nearby can receive higher preferential treatment based on the regulations.
This meant better career transitions, such as becoming an instructor, logistics officer, or officer in the local planetary defense force; or becoming a local police officer under the Ministry of Justice; or working for a local security company...
These are relatively suitable positions. In addition, other government departments and corporate sectors also have quite a few good positions for veterans.
The more difficult the environment, the closer to the front line, and the closer the resettlement, the better the conditions for discharge.
If you really don't want to stay in a place with poor conditions or too close to the front line, you can step back a few steps and be resettled in a more convenient place along the transport ship supply line, which barely meets the preferential conditions of "relocation nearby".
Of course, the Alliance now has a particularly large number of veterans each year—after all, given the size of the army, it's impossible to accommodate everyone solely through government-related positions. This primarily involves officers at all levels, who are often resettled through this method.
But ordinary soldiers and non-commissioned officers are actually relatively well off. After they leave the army, they are often able to directly obtain a relatively high social rank, which directly means a very good monthly allowance. Even if they don't have a good job, they can still make a living.
For those who are young and strong, without any special achievements or high military ranks, the Union's Veterans Resettlement Bureau will tend to place them in technical colleges and use special channels for training. If they perform well, they will become engineers; if they perform poorly, they will be skilled workers.
Or perhaps the resettlement planet lacks sufficient worker positions, and if it's an agricultural planet, more land will be allocated. On the Empire's agricultural planets, the land is state-owned, and rather than farmers, it's more about farm companies and agricultural workers leasing state-owned land. However, due to the differences between agriculture and industry, farms often receive leases of ten, twenty, or even fifty years. Rents are affordable, but they must pay taxes and sell their crops at a set price.
But in general, large farms, large-scale mechanized production, and purchase targets ensure that farmers will not suffer losses unless they encounter extreme circumstances.
Being a small farmer who subcontracts land is even more comfortable than being a skilled worker or engineer.
If all else fails, they'll receive a generous retirement bonus and some guidance on employment and entrepreneurship. If they're not a scam, they'll usually work in a residential convenience store, the restaurant industry, or the construction industry... In short, you can do whatever you want.
The alliance also supports those who really do not want to be resettled nearby, have families in their hometowns, or want to return to their hometowns for no other reasons.
It was not very convenient before, but now it is getting easier to solve.
The alliance's shipbuilding industry is becoming more and more developed.
This is not only the guidance of the federal government, but also actively implemented by local administrative heads.
Because shipbuilding is a large-scale industry that can accommodate a large number of workers, most of whom are skilled workers and engineers, it is a high-end industry. The introduction of a shipyard can often bring about a leap forward in the economic development of the entire planet.
Technology-intensive, high-value-added, promising growth, strong interdependence, and significant driving force are all key characteristics. As the core of the production chain, it can drive the development of a wide range of industries and create numerous high-level positions.
Chief executives who introduced shipbuilding to their planets, star regions, or even entire star regions often received promotions. This was a direct evaluation metric for chief executives in the Alliance, but it was also because developing the shipbuilding industry often led to significant economic growth in the region. This latter aspect was the core achievement of chief executives.
Of course, this also led to some problems. Some people, with high expectations but poor skills, ignored the actual conditions in the region and forced projects into operation, which had some negative impacts.
If the project is finally successfully implemented, it would be good, even if the local area does not have the basic industries to support the shipbuilding industry, resulting in a large number of parts needing to be purchased from outside, and the production costs are extremely high, which makes it impossible to make ends meet. However, the relevant foundation can be supplemented, and as long as some of it is supplemented, it will eventually be useful.
But there are also some cases where the projects are ultimately not implemented, which results in huge waste.
In either case, the relevant officials will be severely punished.
Regardless, the Alliance's shipbuilding industry has developed at a very rapid pace. It's not just about building warships; even ordinary merchant ships and transport vessels with much lower technological requirements are also very valuable.
The core reason restricting trade between planets is the lack of ships.
With the size of the Alliance, and even the entire Empire, there is no such thing as too many interstellar spaceships.
The army needs a large number of transport ships for supplies; trade requires a large number of ships; even the most ordinary interstellar flights are valuable for personnel exchanges.
The so-called shipbuilding industry launched in many places is actually to build ships of the "Traveler" level.
Even smaller spacecraft that can only carry a few dozen people.
But it is these spacecraft that support a large number of interstellar flights.
The alliance's official star navigation company made great efforts in purchasing and opened one fixed route after another for the transportation of materials and personnel.
Veterans who want to go home can take empty logistics supply ships back to the rear, and then return to their hometowns through the interstellar shipping that the Alliance has developed so far.
Of course, this may take a long time, not only the flight but also the waiting time for the flight, but for many veterans who long to return home, all the waiting is worth it.
When they return home, they are often treated like heroes.
Their experiences, including those who did not return to their hometowns and chose to settle nearby, whose lives had changed dramatically, and who, if not becoming wealthy in another world, at least lived a relatively comfortable life, inspired generation after generation of newcomers to enter the alliance's recruitment offices, dreaming of winning merit.
And they are also the last ones that Gu Hang will spend a lot of gift points on for a long time.
Soldier training.
He did not pursue the goal of directly training every soldier to the T5 or T4 level. Soldiers would usually serve in the planetary defense force for one or two years, while the former Alliance Army and the current Imperial Army would only recruit new soldiers from the planetary defense force.
At this stage, the percentage of people reaching T5 is between 20% and 40%. The specific percentage depends on the planet's local military development, which is also one of the key assessment indicators of the Alliance's planetary governors.
On some special planets, training by the Planetary Defense Force can even raise this ratio to over 80%, with even T4-level and higher soldiers available. For example, the Death Legion's home planet, Krieg, now under Alliance control, or the Jungle Legion from the Death World of Catachan.
The Alliance respected the traditions of these special forces, establishing them as independent armies and incorporating them into various fronts for combat. They were often used as trump cards.
After recruiting the best recruits from the ordinary planetary defense forces, the Imperial Army will also give these recruits more intensive, one-year training.
After completing the army's training courses, the concentration of T5 soldiers can reach more than 60%.
On this basis, Gu Hang used the gift points to recruit about 20% of the soldiers, bringing the proportion of soldiers above T5 level in the entire army to more than 80%. In this way, the Alliance Army Reserve Force was formed.
Sometimes, they would join the front line as a brand new organization; but in most cases, the soldiers would be transported to the front line one by one and sent to the existing division-level units that had just withdrawn from the front line.
Those frontline troops often just finished fighting and are resting. Soldiers who were killed, wounded, or retired due to age have just left, and new recruits who have completed training will replace them.
After resting for a while and replenishing personnel and equipment, they will return to the battlefield.
The organization of many divisions has a history of decades or even hundreds of years, and has accumulated countless glories.
This is how the Dark Side Crusade's front lines have maintained wars for over a century. The entire process is mature and relatively robust, ensuring the treatment of veterans, the quality of recruitment, and the combat effectiveness of frontline troops.
Under this entire process, Gu Hang spends hundreds of millions of grace points every month on training grounds exchanged from the [Construction] interface and training new recruits directly by spending grace points on the [Training] interface.
This is enough to exchange for training places for tens of billions of new recruits. According to the alliance's training method, that means more than 50 billion new recruits to supplement the front line.
Of course, there aren't actually that many.
After all, the Alliance had long since passed the stage of prioritizing quantity over quality. The Army was developing towards becoming increasingly elite, not only with increasingly advanced weaponry but also with a demand for a large number of T4-level soldiers or higher.
Then the price is not one gift point for one hundred people, but only ten people, or even only one person.
Gu Hang spends 100 million gift points every month, but in reality, the total number of troops and naval forces sent by the alliance to the front line each year is only about 10 billion, which is roughly enough to maintain the size of the seven fronts unchanged.
The combined strength of the seven fronts was less than 80 billion soldiers, and the number of soldiers killed or discharged during the expeditions each year was roughly 10 billion. The specific ratio depended on the severity of the war. During periods of intense conflict, the majority were killed or wounded; during periods of relative peace, the majority were discharged. This variability was significant, so it's difficult to generalize.
Except for some elderly senior officers and generals who are eligible for life-extending surgery, all combat personnel of the entire expeditionary force will be completely replaced in about 13 years.
(End of this chapter)
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