Chapter 384, No Choice
"...I understand everything you said, Mr. Leader."
"But what I don't understand is, what does this have to do with me?"
"I am the governor of the Alliance. I only govern four worlds. The Fache Three Stars is not within my jurisdiction. What does the rebellion there have to do with the Alliance? I cannot overstep my authority."
"Indeed, there are two Astra Militarum armies under my command, but both the Dragon Eagle III and the Raging Bear Legion are currently under the Koroja Theater. It's true that I am the commander of the theater, but my theater is limited to Koroja. How can I have the power to dispatch troops under my theater to leave the theater and fight in another star system?"
"Space Marines? You should ask the Phoenix Chapter Master. What's the point of asking me?"
"Can't get in touch? I'm sorry, Mr. Leader, but I haven't been able to get in touch with Chapter Master Martins recently. The Alliance has no authority over a Space Marine Chapter. We only have a good cooperative relationship. Whether they respond to the call or not is completely beyond my control."
"I know your concerns. Please believe me, I feel the same way as you do. The traitorous behavior of the Fachers family is outrageous. I have never imagined that someone would have the courage to do such a disloyal thing. They have crossed the bottom line. Their rebellious behavior is an indisputable fact and a sin that must be washed away! The Alliance has also made a serious condemnation of this. I also publicly called on Minnick to surrender unconditionally and accept the trial he deserves!"
"I am even willing to personally donate one million tax coins to the star zone as a token of my indignation!"
"I have tried my best, Mr. Leader. I hope you can resolve the incident as soon as possible and wash away the shame!"
After listening to what Gu Hang said, Martinelli's face became solemn.
He was thinking about the wording, wondering how to get Gu Hang to this front line.
But little Pei Desi beside him couldn't hold back anymore.
"Gu Hang, Governor Gu, Commander Gu, just tell me, what do you want in order to quell the rebellion?"
"I've made it so clear, don't you understand? It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. It doesn't comply with the law or regulations."
"Stop making these hypocritical remarks here!" Little Pedes said anxiously, "Just tell me what you want. We'll each have half of the Fachs Samsung. You take one and we take..."
"Enough!" Gu Hang shouted, "What kind of arrogant words are these? How can you say that the territory of the empire is like private property that can be distributed at will? Clerk, write down what little Peidesi said clearly for me, without any difference in a single word."
Little Pedes was obviously stunned for a moment, then he flew into a rage and opened his mouth to curse, but before he could even utter a word, he was stopped by Martinelli.
"Sorry, Governor Gu, please wait a moment."
After saying this, Martinelli temporarily muted the communication, then turned his head and glared at Little Pedes: "Do you know how much trouble your words will cause us?"
Little Pedes said disdainfully: "What kind of trouble could there be?"
Martinelli was really having a headache. The situation was already so difficult and troublesome, and he had to bring along a stupid teammate. Everyone said that the Pedes brothers in the Tianma Star Region complemented each other. After experiencing it personally, Martinelli realized that Pedes had to have at least three times the power to offset the negative influence of Little Pedes!
He really regretted coming to the muddy waters of the Tianma Star Region.
But the journey has already begun, what else can I do?
He took a deep breath and said, "You, get out."
"What?"
"Get out of here! From now on, you are not allowed to interrupt me when I'm talking about serious matters!" Martinelli didn't want to tolerate it anymore.
"Why do you talk to me like that!?"
"Just because of your stupidity!"
"It was you who came up with the plan to oppress Fats. Now that something has gone wrong, what do you mean by getting angry at me?"
"Yes, it is true, so now I am trying to make amends. Please, if you can't help, at least don't make things worse, okay?"
"...Okay, okay, I won't say anything and will just sit here and listen. Is that okay?"
“…”
In the end, Martinelli did not escalate the conflict further and tolerated little Pedes to continue staying here with only an ear.
After reconnecting, he first apologized and then continued to negotiate with Gu Hang.
Gu Hang joked and asked if little Pei Desi had been kicked out, which made the Governor of Feiyi Star who was sitting next to him clench his fists.
But at least this guy still remembered the agreement he had just made with Martinelli and kept his mouth shut.
Martinelli was quite skilled in political negotiations, but he met Gu Hang, who was stubborn and unyielding.
No matter what Martinelli said, whether it was providing convenience or providing political support to relieve Gu Hang's worries, Gu Hang kept repeating the two points that the war zone was not covered and the alliance was not covered.
Martinelli certainly understood what this meant.
In fact, what Xiao Peides said was not wrong at all. Gu Hang's intention to get Fache Three Stars was clearly laid out on the table. Either he could find a way to let the Korojia War Zone include Fache Three Stars, or he could let Fache Three Stars be included in the alliance.
In fact, there is no difference in the final results of these two conditions. Even if the former is just a war zone, when Gu Hang actually controls the three stars of Fache through military force, it is only a matter of time before they join the alliance.
However, even though he knew this, he couldn't promise these two conditions so easily.
The three stars of Fachs were given to Gu Hang, so what has he been doing for the past two years?
There is no benefit at all, and it only causes trouble.
But other than that, he doesn't have many chips left.
Otherwise, why not give away the Winged Star?
After hanging up the phone, Martinelli drank the wine in his hand in one gulp, and then sat there with a sad face.
"Can I talk now?"
"Of course." Martinelli hesitated for a moment, and felt that he still had to ease the relationship with Little Pedes. "I'm sorry for what happened just now. I was just a little anxious. I hope you don't take it to heart."
Little Pedesi still looked unhappy, but he managed to control his temper.
He said seriously: "I think I can give it to him."
"What?"
"If he wants Fats, give him all of it."
Martinelli stared at little Pedes and instinctively felt that this guy was talking nonsense again.
But little Pedes was very serious and added: "We don't have a choice, right?"
"I can't give him all three. If I give him all three, what's the point?"
"I can tell. He must have all three. Not one less."
"In that case, why don't I talk to the Fachers? The final result will be the same anyway..."
"You know that's impossible."
Martinelli was silent, he did know.
Little Pedes continued, "Besides, it's not that there is no chance. Even if the three stars of Fachs are given to him, it's not that easy to take them. The Fachs family has been running their nest for countless generations. With a population of tens of billions and a well-developed industrial base, they can mobilize hundreds of millions of troops at critical moments. The anti-orbital strike system, star fortresses, and planetary active defense mechanisms built around the three planets..."
Martinelli pondered.
And then, what little Pedes said made him feel that his evaluation of this guy just now was a bit too harsh:
"It won't be easy for Gu Hang to take down Fachers. There will be bloodshed. Our chance lies in letting them clash, until there are corpses everywhere and both sides suffer losses!"
…
"A river of blood? Corpses everywhere? Who do you want to fight to the death?"
Gu Hang looked at his chief military adviser, Major General Yan Fangxu, with an incredulous look.
Yan Fangxu was also a little confused.
Just now, he reported to the Governor the war plan made by the Alliance General Staff.
This strategy, in general, is based on the fact that the Pegasus Fleet still has forces remaining in the sector to participate in this war.
However, despite this, they still could not control the orbit of any planet, but if they concentrated all their forces around a planet, they could probably suppress it. If they wanted to destroy all the orbital forces of a planet, it might cost a cruiser or several destroyers, and the Pegasus Fleet would definitely not agree.
However, the Pegasus Fleet can completely blockade a single planet. Although the Facherians have some troop transports, it is obviously impossible for them to break through the navy's blockade, and thus cannot provide support between planets.
On this basis, Yan Fangxu will focus on attacking individual planets. The primary target is the most important planet, Fats 1. With the navy suppressing the star fortress and ground anti-orbital firepower, the elite forces of the alliance will force a landing operation in the Arctic Circle, the planet with the weakest orbital defense of Fats 1.
The goal of the first phase is to destroy the surrounding orbital defense facilities, establish and guard a safe landing site, and try to attract as many enemies as possible.
The goal of the second phase is to follow the same method, open up a second landing site behind enemy lines, and hold on to it, striving to fight a two-pronged, encirclement and annihilation war to eliminate as much of the Facheras's effective strength as possible.
After the success of the first and second stages, the best result would be that they eliminated enough enemies and temporarily destroyed the effective forces of the Fachers in the northern continent. Under the premise that the enemies could not gather together for the time being, the entire army would march south and directly capture the planetary capital of Fachers 1, striving to force Fachers 1 to surrender completely.
Of course, the strategy submitted by Yan Fangxu is not simply a method and goal, but also includes many details such as the manpower, materials, tactical plans, etc. to be invested in each stage.
Each step in this plan is full of difficulties, but there is hope that it can be achieved. Yan Fangxu's overall goal is to be able to take over Fats quickly and steadily, rather than getting stuck in a long-term stalemate. In that case, they will be sitting on their homeland, with four billion people on the planet as their backing, but the alliance's supplies and reinforcements will all have to be transported by sea, across two interstellar tunnels, to the Fats system, and the cost will be much higher than the other side.
But no matter what, no matter what plan was made, Yan Fangxu and the staff officers he led came to the same conclusion: this would be a bloody battle.
Although they were not facing any dangerous demons, but only the planetary defense forces, the number of enemies would be a very big problem, and the cruelty that the landing operation would bring to the attackers would be another big problem.
No matter how this war is fought, losses are inevitable and will be enormous.
It is for this reason that when Yan Fangxu reported to the governor, he couldn't help but use words like rivers of blood and corpses everywhere.
But obviously, this caused dissatisfaction among Governor Gu.
"Obviously, if this battle has to come to this, it means we have already failed."
"Sacrificing tens of millions of warriors, paying countless amounts of money, and gaining three worlds that need to be rebuilt after the war... I can't even imagine that scene. Can you, Old Yan, imagine it?"
“…”
Yan Fangxu didn't know how to answer this question.
"We need a smarter approach, and I'm ready for it."
"So... Governor, are we going to give up on this plan?"
"No need. If it really comes to this, we have to have a backup plan. However, the next task for you and your staff is to come up with a strategy for taking over the three planets of Fachers."
"Take over?" Yan Fangxu carefully confirmed the word he heard.
"Yes, take over."
As he spoke, Gu Hang stood up and looked into the distance.
"As your plan says, Faches is composed of three well-defended civilized worlds. But what is the best way to conquer a solid fortress? Of course, it is to break it from the inside. As it happens, we have been preparing for this for a year, and the Faches people are not as united as they claim. This is our chance."
"Now, we just have to wait and see if our beloved sector leader can figure it out. And I have no doubt about it."
Gu Hang said this with confidence, because he had seen through Martinelli's current predicament.
In the current situation, Martinelli has four main requirements to resolve the Facheras rebellion, in order of importance.
Don't let the star field take action = ensure the imperial tax of the Fats system > destroy the Fats family, severely punish rebellion > fine.
The first two items are equally important, and this is the real reason. It's not that the Star Region is incapable of solving the problem, but if the Star Region government wants to solve it, it will have to withdraw fleets and Star Army from the front lines of the Iron Tooth War. This will cost a lot of money, and will lead to defense loopholes on the front lines, and if the Greenskins take over several worlds, it will be a bigger loss.
The same goes for imperial taxes. The combined tax amount from Facheras and Samsung is 6 billion coins a year, which cannot be lost.
These two things must be preserved. If they cannot be preserved, Martinelli will be buried with Fachs - maybe even die earlier than Fachs.
Destroying the Fachers family and severely punishing the rebellion is a matter of face. The dignity of the empire must be guaranteed, and the rebels who dare to trample on the bottom line must be eliminated.
If we only save the "core", it won't work. Martinelli was the one who caused the chaos. If we only quell the chaos and let Fats remain at large, or even continue to control the planet, it will be like bringing shame to the Star Region Government. By then, Martinelli won't die, but his future will be ruined.
Fines are an additional benefit. If Martinelli can get the inside and the outside, he can probably keep his position. If he can't get the fines, that's fine.
On this basis, Martinelli had no basis at all to negotiate with the Fats family.
The Facheras family will not talk to Martinelli. They are also aware of the priority issue mentioned above. Their goal is to save the Empire's reputation. Martinelli will bear the loss of face. By then, the statement issued by Minnick will not be nonsense, but the truth. Martinelli will be the rebel who forces the loyal ministers of the Empire to save the Empire's face.
On this basis, Gu Hang had no doubt that Martinelli would eventually compromise with him and use his own connections, relationships, and means to help the alliance gain control over Fachs Samsung.
The sector leader had no other choice.
…
Although he was sure of it, everything still happened faster than Gu Hang had imagined.
Just eight days later, Gu Hang, who was in the Governor's Mansion No. 3 in Koroja, met Martinelli.
The head of the star sector came to Korojia in person, met with Gu Hang, and announced the latest orders from the higher government.
The Korojia War Zone has since expanded into the 'Tianma War Zone'.
Commander Gu Hang could mobilize military forces in the star zone, including the Dragon Eagle 3rd Legion - but this actually did not expand the scale too much, and essentially it was still the forces in Gu Hang's hands that were mobilized. The additional part was the remaining part of the Pegasus Fleet, and they were once again under the command of the theater commander.
But in fact, Gu Hang never expected any additional military help.
The Tianma star region can no longer provide anything extra.
And what Gu Hang valued most has actually been obtained.
After the war zone was formed to include the Three Stars of Fachers, Gu Hang had full authority to deal with the Three Stars of Fachers from then on.
This was clearly shown in the document brought by Martinelli.
After saying this and handing the authorization document signed by the star domain government and the star district government to Gu Hang, Martinelli left without any intention of communicating with Gu Hang any further.
Gu Hang didn't keep him either.
For Gu Hang, he has already got what he wanted.
From this moment on, the alliance's war machine began to move blatantly.
The first to be mobilized was Gu's Trading Company.
They received a large number of war orders - the money was paid by the Imperial Military Affairs Department - and several merchant fleets were mobilized. These merchant ships and transport ships will be responsible for transporting the alliance's troops and strategic materials.
The Pegasus Fleet has also been dispatched to the Fache star region. After the navy passes through the star tunnel from the Flying Wing Star to the Fache Star System, it will block the three Fache Stars. They will not rashly attack the planets with complete defense facilities, but they will surround the three planets from a distance and completely isolate them.
The small sampans of the Fats family could only stay in the star port and had no way to come out.
And half a month later, the alliance's war preparations were complete.
Almost all members of the Dragon Eagle 3rd Legion, which is the main force, have boarded the ship.
After being away from home for eight years, they are about to return to their hometown.
Many of them have mixed feelings.
Eight years!
Although, from the moment they became Star Army soldiers, they were told that their future journey would be to the stars and the sea, almost all of them, especially the new recruits who had just joined the army for a few years, had never left their home planet.
When they came to Koroja to fight, they thought it was just a war that would not last long, but who would have thought that they would stay there for eight years.
There is not much to say about the dead, but many of those who are still alive have grown from youth to middle age, got married and had children.
Getting married and having children may seem a little strange to the soldiers who were called up to join the Astra Militarum, but it is indeed what happened to them.
This originated from a strategy of Gu Hang.
After discussing with Hans, he allowed the Astra Militarum soldiers of the 3rd Dragon Eagle Legion to take a certain amount of rotation rest during the period of martial law in Koroja.
During their rest periods, soldiers were allowed to meet local women, develop feelings for them, or conduct monetary transactions. When the Astra Militarum was deployed abroad, they always left some ways for the soldiers to relieve stress, especially since most of them would be soldiers for life.
Discipline is discipline, but human nature cannot be erased. Alcohol, cigarettes, sex... are inevitable. The first two can be classified as normal military supplies, as for the third, the soldiers do it themselves, but the premise is legal. The army has discipline.
However, this is the normal situation. What Gu Hang did was to go a step further on this basis and provide those Farchers Star Army soldiers who left their hometown with a more stable environment - family.
Have a wedding that is not luxurious but full of ritual; have your own children; spend time with your family during your rest period...
Although the Dragon Eagle Corps did not belong to the Alliance Army, under Gu Hang's instructions, their spouses and children could still enjoy the treatment of Alliance Army dependents. This meant extra allowances, and they could join the Alliance system as soon as possible and receive a higher grade than ordinary people.
This makes soldiers ideal partners for local women in Koroja.
Now, these soldiers of the Dragon Eagle Legion are indeed Fachers, but their families, wives, and children are all in Koroja, which accounts for 30% of the entire army; within the legion, 15% of the newly added soldiers are simply Koroja themselves.
They are the Astra Militarum, fighting against rebellion in the name of the Empire, even if that rebellion is from their own homeland.
With several factors combined, how could these Facheras not feel complicated?
They couldn't help but complain, damn the Fats family, why did they rebel?
They really deserve to die.
————
This chapter 6k
Make up for yesterday and add more content.
Today, but in the second half of the night...
Still owe 11k
(End of this chapter)
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