Chapter 755, Wait and See
Gu Hang left Holy Terra.
This news once again became the biggest news in the capital of the empire and the home planet of mankind.
In the eyes of the vast majority of Terran people, they were very reluctant to leave.
'The most popular IP protagonist', a serious imperial hero, why is he leaving now?
Originally, when Gu Hang accepted the position of Chief Honorary Grand Master of the Order of Psychic Powers and then became a High Lord, the people on Holy Terra thought that Gu Hang would stay in Holy Terra for a long time and become one of the high and mighty rulers of the empire.
They were quite looking forward to this scene.
Gu Hang was not born in Holy Terra, which was a minus for him. Terrans have a strong sense of superiority.
However, Gu Hang's deeds were spread on Holy Terra through various literary and artistic works from the beginning. The people of Terra could be said to have watched Gu Hang grow up, and they felt quite close to him. The deduction brought by Gu Hang's background was actually greatly pulled back.
The Terran people can totally accept Gu Hang.
What's more, in people's general psychology, having a hero lead the empire is a better choice than having a politician lead the empire.
Because of this, the people of Terra were reluctant to see him leave.
But it's understandable.
After all, the border is not yet settled and there are still many hidden dangers that may evolve into disasters that threaten the entire empire and need heroes to solve them - this is what is implied in many literary and artistic works.
In addition to the general public, Gu Hang’s departure was also breaking news for high-ranking officials of the central empire on Holy Terra.
Among these politicians, not many of them welcome Gu Hangzhen to lead the empire.
Of course, they also realized that Gu Hang would not stay in Holy Terra. His status as a high lord was just a false title, and the power that he could nominally exert in the center of the empire was actually in the hands of the prime minister; the Psychic Order had given up some big but useless false titles and instead took the route of low-key development.
Although Gu Hang would not stay, his trip to Holy Terra, which lasted less than a year, brought profound changes.
Those with a keen eye can see that Prime Minister Qi Bodu's authority is becoming more and more powerful. He has a great general like Gu Hang in his camp. He suppresses the state religion with his left hand and ally with the Mechanicus with his right hand. The Inquisition and the Assassin's Court must obey his orders... In the more than 30 years since the death of the Sun King, he has become a powerful figure. Looking at this trend, if there is no trouble in the future, Prime Minister Qi Bodu will be able to truly control the power of the empire for a hundred years.
Those with a more far-sighted vision can see that a powerful prince who started from the frontier of the empire will have a profound impact on the empire's political arena. After experiencing war, Gu Hang has now built a solid base and obtained the legitimacy recognized by the central government, with both name and substance.
There are many local princes in the empire, but Gu Hang is the only one like him.
An entire universe and two star regions are under his full control. In name, he is under the appointment of officials by the central government, but in fact, he appoints all of them himself... Has there ever been such a prince in the history of the empire?
There should be. After all, the empire is too large and its system is inevitably rigid. If some places lose information or a key route node has problems, a large area will be cut off from information and communication with the central government.
However, the scale of the territory actually controlled by the alliance is unprecedentedly large.
Secondly, the uniformity is very high.
The powerful presidents of the universe domains currently in the empire may not be able to control all the heads of the star domains under their jurisdiction; even if they can, they are more like 'leaders of princes' or 'feudal leaders' rather than having established a unified regime. Most of them still have to obey the central government of the empire. At worst, they can only pretend to obey but dare not really do anything.
But Gu Hang was different. His independence and legitimacy were all confirmed after the signing of the Alliance Plan and after he obtained the position of High Leader Chairman as the Chairman of the Spider Web Universe. This meant that within the alliance, it was legal to ignore the imperial officials.
As long as Gu Hang does not openly rebel, as long as his position as high-ranking chairman is not deposed, and as long as the "Alliance Plan" is not declared invalid by the imperial central government... the existence of the Alliance as an independent kingdom is legal and reasonable.
At present, this will do more good than harm to the central government of the empire. The Spider Web Universe, which was destroyed in the war, was a major reconstruction burden and a financial black hole. Now, not only has it been thrown to the alliance, but the central government of the empire can also get 2 trillion yuan in annual income from the East Frontier. Even if the 2 trillion yuan has to grow gradually over the next ten years, the current 300 billion yuan in clear income is higher than the income of an ordinary universe under normal circumstances after deducting tax costs and losses; after ten years, it will be equivalent to the income of ten universes.
The area controlled by the alliance is fourteen star regions, which is much larger than the general universe. This is because the Spider Web Universe is relatively large, with twelve universes, while the general universe does not exceed ten, and the smaller ones may only have six or seven. If you add the two star regions of Menghe and Dragon Eagle to the north of the Eastern Universe, there are fourteen in total.
This is even equivalent to the administrative divisions of two smaller universes.
However, we must also take into account that the Spider Web Universe was the main battlefield of the Iron Armor War and the Zerg War. The flames of war burned almost all of the thousands of worlds in the entire universe. Many places were even hit by the Extinction Order weapons and could not be used again. A huge reconstruction investment was required.
From this perspective, it has been pulled back a little.
However, quite a few people believe that Gu Hang’s so-called future tax amount of 2 trillion yuan is purely for the purpose of gaining power, and it is an unrealistic promise.
It is impossible for the alliance to collect such a high amount of taxation while maintaining its rule, post-war reconstruction, and incurring tax losses.
Even if it can be maintained, is there anything the alliance can do?
I'm afraid not.
Therefore, many central officials who support the alliance do not want to see the emergence of a separatist regime. Instead, they believe that Gu Hang is using the political form of the alliance to demonstrate high administrative efficiency and provide huge tax revenues for the central government of the empire. Once this form is implemented, with a normal territory of two universes, it will be able to pay the central government the tax amount of ten universes. In the long run, this contribution is not even less than winning a war.
This is what many self-proclaimed smart people see: Terra is still the most important political stage, and Gu Hang is sacrificing the alliance and gaining greater power in the central government with the support of the two trillion yuan in central fiscal revenue per year.
Moreover, once this form can be promoted, then he, a capable minister, can naturally come to the big stage of Holy Terra? Will the Prime Minister want him to promote the policies of the "Alliance Plan" to other parts of the empire and carry out political and economic reforms throughout the empire?
That’s hard to say!
During that process, how will the relationship between Gu Hang and Qi Bodu, and the relationship between the alliance and the imperial center develop?
There are a lot of variables.
The perceptive dignitaries are now secretly turning their eyes to the eastern border of the empire, the area that has been portrayed as the "land of hope" in literary works.
They were watching Gu Hang, a very young high lord, grand mentor, chairman of the universe, marshal of the interstellar army... and what kind of achievements he could make in Dongjiang.
It has become a place where politicians focus their attention.
In addition to ordinary people and politicians, there is another group that also has great interest in Dongjiang.
They were even planning to set sail and head towards East Xinjiang in groups.
This group is the imperial merchants.
Unlike general trade, in the interstellar age, the cost of conducting trade activities across galaxies is extremely high.
Although merchant ships and transport ships are not as expensive as warships, it is difficult for ordinary forces to get so much money. In addition, interstellar trade is officially controlled by the empire and requires a license.
Add to that the threat of pirates, the risks of star travel, the risk of getting lost, the huge demand for manpower and energy during the long voyage...all of these make the survival ability of small merchants very weak.
The Imperial Chamber of Commerce came into being. They are the organization responsible for issuing licenses, collecting commercial taxes for each license, and directly managing a large number of large merchant fleets that do the actual work.
The president of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce is even a top dignitary who is eligible to run for the position of chairman of the Gaoling.
Furthermore, unlike the Psychic Order, which has been in decline and has not had a High Leader Chairmanship for a long time, the General Chamber President is still able to get the position frequently, just not in the last few decades.
The Imperial Chamber of Commerce has a strong interest in East Xinjiang. In economics, they are much more perceptive than politicians.
The Spider Web Universe is going to be rebuilt, and the Alliance's unusually developed manufacturing industry... these are all business opportunities that can be smelled.
When Gu Hang and many alliance officials were still in Holy Terra, many Chamber of Commerce clerks stationed in Terra and even the Chamber of Commerce presidents came in person and had many discussions with the officials sent by the Alliance Ministry of Commerce who were accompanying Governor Gu, and they drafted many trade contracts.
The reason why it was drafted was that businessmen also had to look at the risks of the policy. If the "Alliance Plan" could not be successfully signed, wouldn't it be a waste?
But now, the dust has settled!
A large number of adventurous merchants have already set sail for the East on merchant ships loaded with cargo.
There were even some who were quick and decisive who immediately formed a fleet of merchant ships and set off from Holy Terra with Gu Hang and his group as they headed eastwards to return to their hometown.
…
No matter what all parties thought, Gu Hang eventually left Holy Terra.
In a grand farewell ceremony, Gu Hang smiled and waved to the crowd and the camera. The door of the orbital elevator closed, and he and the large group of people accompanying him went up to the magnificent starport of Holy Terra, and then got on the hovercraft and entered his vehicle - the Emperor-class battleship "Golden Pass".
This time when he came to Holy Terra, he brought the Golden Pass with him.
As for safety, Gu Hang is here, so unless there is a falling out with the Imperial Central Government, the journey will be safe.
The Jinguan in the star port had already made preparations for departure. The crew members who had gone out to play and the materials that needed to be assembled had been recalled and loaded onto the ship several weeks ago. At this moment, the Jinguan, which had waited for Gu Hang, slowly sailed out of the star port.
Along with the Jinguan, there was a fleet of about 20 cruisers, destroyers, and frigates. The number was small, and the scale was not large, so it would not make people feel any sense of crisis, and at the same time, it was stylish and respectable.
The merchant fleets that were traveling eastward also valued the sense of security. Although they also had fleet escorts, in addition to their own armed merchant ships, some powerful merchant ships also had strong warships to escort them. But in an emergency, where could they find strong escort ships? In any case, it was not as safe as traveling with a battleship.
After leaving the port, the Jinguan passed through the "Arch of Triumph" with many escort ships.
This is the honor of being a hero.
Those accompanying Chamber of Commerce ships were definitely not worthy of passing through here, they could only go around from a distance and then catch up.
Gu Hang stood on the bridge, looking at the Holy Terra which was getting smaller and smaller on the big screen, and did not move for a long time.
This time, coming to Holy Terra, he had basically achieved his goals, but to varying degrees.
But overall I am very satisfied.
All the major worries have been resolved, and he has also gained the seat of high lord, even if it is just an empty title.
This time, I left with great satisfaction. From now on, the alliance should be able to have a long period of development time.
Go home and farm.
As for Holy Terra, goodbye for now.
This will not be the last time Gu Hang comes to Holy Terra.
He will definitely come again.
Speaking of which, every time he went to Holy Terra, his identity would change.
The first time he came, he was an unknown person. He became famous by virtue of the victory of the Iron Teeth War. Because of the threat of Iron Armor, he was supported and given the title of Marshal, so that he could lead the southern line to fight against Iron Armor. At that time, no one thought that the Alliance was the main force in the Iron Armor War. The powerful people on Holy Terra just regarded him as a sacrifice. It was good enough that he could play a little role in the southern line.
They all look down on you, but you are the most competitive.
This second time, he became a hero of the empire by winning the Iron Armor War.
He led the triumphal army, walked through the Arc de Triomphe, and received cheers from people all over the world;
He secured legal status for the League;
He became the Honorary Grand Master of the Order of Psionic Powers and actually controlled this organization, which, although in decline, still had considerable influence.
He shone brightly in the imperial political arena and even became a high lord.
So, what happens when he returns to the league, develops again, and makes further achievements?
What identity will he have when he comes to Holy Terra for the third time?
Gu Hang is waiting to see what happens.
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End of this volume
(End of this chapter)
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