Chapter 383, He really believed it!
Fachers 1, the Palace of Time.
This is the ruling center of the Fachers family. The Fachers Three Stars has three governors, but in fact the other two are just symbolic positions. The real ruler is the head of the Fachers family, Governor Fachers No. 1.
The current head of the family is named Minnick Fats. Although he is already an old man, he has actually only ruled the Fats family for seven years.
Seven years ago, his father did not have the chance to undergo a third life-extending surgery and died at the age of 190; and he took over the family at the age of 80.
The way he took over was also legitimate, and the process was not too turbulent, and there were not many opponents within the family. However, any new ruler will almost certainly be questioned: Can you really lead us to a more prosperous path?
All rulers need achievements to dispel these doubts.
Minnick is certainly no exception.
The achievement he had his eyes on was Koroja.
He was the one who pushed the Fache family to take Koroja. If he could break the cage of the galaxy and expand to the outside, his contribution would be immeasurable.
And after he actually took over Koroja and his most outstanding son became the Governor of Koroja, he indeed gained huge reputation - and then, he lost it all at an even faster speed.
When he was recently punished by the empire and a huge fine fell upon him, his reputation was trampled into the mud.
The voices of dissatisfaction within the family are almost boiling!
One hundred and thirty billion!
This number is totally unacceptable. Many people in the family cannot imagine how they will come up with such a large sum of money in the next ten years - maybe it is possible, but it will cost them their lives.
Amid this seething discontent, and after Minnick had done almost everything he could politically to get rid of the fine, he took an even crazier action, after receiving some secret guarantees and with the encouragement of some people in his family.
He rejected all tax demands, expelled tax officials sent by the Imperial Tax Fleet, and blockaded the entire galaxy.
The Fachers had no fleet of their own, and with only a few small boats they could not fight against the Imperial Navy fleet, let alone the tax fleet which was mainly composed of transport ships and frigates. They had almost no proactive naval force.
But it does not mean that they do not have the ability to defend and blockade.
There are star ports on the three stars of Facheras, as well as star fortress systems built around the star ports; in the orbital circle, there are satellite fortresses orbiting in orbit. Combined with the anti-orbital firepower on the ground, the three planets will become three extremely difficult places to deal with.
If the Pegasus Fleet came, that was fine; but if we only had half of the Pegasus Fleet, that was not good enough. If we fought hard, we might lose more than a dozen ships, and we might not be able to take the city.
When Facheras expelled the tax collectors and blockaded the galaxy, it was undoubtedly an act of rebellion.
The entire Fats family, including the head of the family, Minnick, understood this clearly.
However, after the sector government angrily issued a statement of rebellion by the Fachers family, they refuted it.
"Use all external contacts we can to make our statement public:"
Minnick said sullenly to the clerk who was writing furiously in his court:
"The Fachers family has always been the most loyal servant of the Empire. The Fachers Three Stars is the Empire's eternal territory. We have never betrayed the Empire in the past, are not betraying it now, and will never betray it in the future."
"On the contrary, the star district government headed by Ivan Martinelli, and the governors of Winged Star and the Alliance who acted as accomplices, are the real traitors to the Empire. They forged evidence, distorted data, and deceived the higher-level government. For their own selfish interests, they persecuted the good officials of the Empire and took on punishments that they could not bear. They are the real traitors!"
"We blocked the Fache system not because we wanted to reject the sacred imperial tax. But since the star district government falsified data and raised Fache's three-star to the third-level development level a year ago, the additional unreasonable taxes have become a heavy burden on the people of Fache, not to mention the unreasonable fines they have to pay."
"The hundreds of millions of citizens of the Fache Three Star Empire are extremely angry! And I, on behalf of these hundreds of millions of citizens, appeal to all those who have the right to know and should know how unfairly the Fache people have been treated:"
"We are by no means traitors to the Empire. Loyal Fachers demand that the reputation of Fachers be restored!"
"We demand severe punishment for the evil officials who betrayed the empire;"
“We demand the abolition of illegal, unreasonable and unfair treatment;”
"Only on this basis will we fulfill our obligations!"
…
After Minnick had spoken out loud and written down the words he had conceived in one breath, he heaved a sigh of relief.
He knew that it was unrealistic to rely on a statement to get rid of the charge of "rebellion". Imperial tax has always been a red line, and the empire has clear regulations on this.
But this statement had to be made.
It is mainly for the convenience of making excuses in the future.
Although the imperial tax is a red line, in many cases, whether the so-called red line is really that red often depends on many factors.
Minnick had never thought of seeking independence, but taking a tough stance to demonstrate his firm stance was a necessary move.
In doing this, Minnick had two most important goals, one of which has been achieved.
After expelling the tax collectors and blocking the galaxy, the boiling opposition within the family was suppressed almost instantly.
Of course, those opponents did not give up their opposition, but after Minnick made such a shocking move, they had to shut their mouths for the time being.
With a powerful enemy outside, even the dumbest people know that they can’t fight among themselves now. Minnick is trying to turn this disaster from his own mistake into persecution from a foreign enemy.
He successfully transferred the internal conflicts that he could hardly suppress to the outside.
Now is the time to unite against a common enemy.
As for the second purpose, it is to erase the absolutely unacceptable number of 130 billion.
At least it should be reduced to an acceptable level.
The most ideal situation would naturally be that there would be no need for war and the star zone and star region governments would compromise.
As long as they consider the difficulty and cost of eliminating Fats to be greater than the benefits.
How much power would it take to destroy Fachers? It seemed like the benefits would be 100 billion, but if Fachers were destroyed, who would the empire ask for the 100 billion fine?
Do you want to loot it yourself? You can probably get a few cents from the broken Fats three-star after the war.
Moreover, doesn't plundering cost money? How many military forces does the empire need to station in order to scrape out more than 100 billion from a place where the total GDP was only 200 billion even before the war?
It can't be changed at all.
Considering this, it is possible to resolve the issue without going to war.
To this end, all of Fax's external personnel and their own personal connections were mobilized to lobby continuously.
If he really had to face the war, Fax would have to hold on in the following battles and continue to express his willingness to negotiate and surrender, and finally be summoned to the throne.
In this process, everything can be discussed.
Should the imperial tax be raised to 3 billion a year? We can discuss this.
The fine can be paid. 100 billion is not acceptable, but 20 to 30 billion is acceptable.
The specific conditions depend on whether Fax's strength in battle is sufficient and how much he is worth.
These thoughts swirled in Minnick's mind.
His secretaries have already gone down. They will take the statement that Minnick just said to the diplomatic department as quickly as possible. They will polish it and add some evidence and data to prove that the content of the statement is true and reliable.
Then send this statement to all possible places as quickly as possible.
After these clerks left, the next person Minnick was going to meet was a key figure.
His name is Salihovic, a diplomat from the Alliance. He was stationed at the Alliance Embassy on Fachs One a year ago and is responsible for communication between the two sides.
This mechanism was actually established several years ago. When Salihovic took over a year ago, it seemed to be just a normal rotation.
Minnick calmed down and said to Salihovic seriously: "The Alliance has violated the agreement with us! You promised on behalf of your governor that no matter what happens next, the Alliance will not be an enemy of Fachers!"
Salihovic spoke respectfully: "You are right, but we did not break our promise."
"Then what does it mean that you followed the sector government in announcing the Fats' rebellion? Who provided the information about Blackbird Heavy Industries and the Omnic rebellion? Doesn't the statistics of Koroja's losses have anything to do with the Alliance government? How dare you say in front of me that you didn't break your promise!"
"I need to correct you." Salihovich said, "Our promise of 'not being enemies' means declaring war on Fachers. As for what you said, we really have no way to refuse under the request of the star district government."
"What a silver tongue! I am very disappointed with your behavior. Go tell Gu Hang that he must have more explicit support! If we fall and Martinelli and Little Pedesi's gang take control of the Fache Galaxy, your alliance will be the next to suffer!"
"Our Governor fully understands this, which is why we support your tough stance against the Sector Government. However, what do you mean by 'clear support'?"
Minnick Lion opened his mouth and said, "Troops, munitions, and supplies! Return the Dragon Eagle 3rd Legion to me!"
Salihovich said earnestly, "I understand your request. The Alliance can certainly allow the 3rd Army Group of the Dragon Eagle Legion to return to the Fatsos base. But... excuse me, are you sure what they will do after returning to the Fatsos Stars? Will they be your helpers, or will they become a noose around your neck? They are the Astra Militarum."
Minnick was speechless for a moment.
He really wasn't sure.
Although the Dragonhawk III Corps was mostly composed of Fachers, they were still Astra Militarum after all. What would they do when they were given the task of suppressing the rebellion?
This legion has been on the three-star Farchers, so he has some confidence. As long as he cleans up some officers and strengthens the propaganda of the legion, emphasizing that they are not traitors, but the star district government is the traitor, these words may work.
But now, it has been nearly eight years since the Dragon Eagle 3rd Legion left the Fats system. They suddenly came back and big things happened right before their eyes. He had no confidence at all.
Salihovich continued, "The Alliance's army will not set foot on the territory of Faches. In fact, I believe that you will not allow this to happen. As for arms and supplies, the Alliance is willing to provide them to you in secret, but the blockade of the Star Sea makes it difficult for ships to pass..."
"It's an excuse." Minnick said coldly, "Gu's Company belongs to you, and the Pegasus Fleet belongs to your governor's fiancée. You want to transport the goods, but you can turn a blind eye and nobody will notice."
"But……"
"No buts, I'm tired of your excuses. Supplies! Supplies! Supplies! From food to daily necessities; from conventional industrial products to munitions! We will urgently recruit more than 20 million troops, and the Alliance must bear part of the demand! The Alliance and Facheras are a secret alliance, and this is what you promised!"
Salihovic was embarrassed, but under the wrath of the Minnick family, he had to answer reluctantly: "This is difficult. I need Governor Gu to give the order personally. However, I assure you that I will do my best to make this happen."
"Then do it quickly!"
Salihovic bowed and left.
He walked in the palace with a sad face.
But in fact, he was already very happy.
“He believed it, he really believed it!!!”
…
Feiyi Star, inside Tianma Palace.
Martinelli, Little Pedes, and a group of high-ranking officials from the star district government gathered together.
At this moment, there was an unconcealable panic on their faces.
The Fats rebelled...they actually rebelled!
"How dare they? How dare they?!" Little Pei Desi still looked incredulous.
In his concept, there has never been such an option.
As a planetary governor and an imperial bureaucrat, he never dared to think that someone would dare to rebel!
This is an option that should never have existed. This is an act of suicide. This is a choice beyond imagination.
Are you looking for death?
He knew that they had pushed Fats very hard. But before that, he and Martinelli and others not only did not worry about anything, but were proud of it.
They expected that what would happen next would be to watch Fats struggle to his death but fail, and then kowtow and negotiate. They might make some concessions, even reduce the fine to a very low level, or drop the charges against them for violating the ban on intelligent machines, as long as Fats succumbed to them.
However, Fats actually launched a rebellion, expelled the tax collectors, and blocked the galaxy!
After their first reaction of astonishment, their second reaction was joy - wouldn't this mean they could eliminate Fats openly?
So, the third reaction that follows is confusion.
This is only natural. It is easy to say that we should eliminate Fats, but who will do it?
The district government?
No soldiers and no generals.
Winged Star?
With only the Planetary Defense Force, can they defeat the Fachers? And how can they get through?
Star Domain Government?
Martinelli made a phone call and was scolded by his superiors.
"...You guys have to solve the troubles you caused by yourselves! Every penny of the Star Region Government is extremely precious, and there is no way we can clean up your mess! No matter what, the imperial tax cannot be reduced! The 6 billion that Fache must pay this time, and the 6 billion that must be paid every time in the future, must be stable! This is a clear rebellion by Fache, and it must be quelled. The traitors must be punished!"
"But……"
"No buts! If you can't do it, you can do it yourself!"
These cold words marked the end of the communication.
What should I do?
Martinelli's face was gray.
"…Call Gu Hang quickly!"
(End of this chapter)
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