Starting from the Planetary Governor

The Alliance’s participation in Solaria’s war is certainly not free of charge.

The Executive Council needs to contribute financially, the Star Realm Army Headquarters also needs to fund it, and the Military Affairs Department must allocate funds as well.

Within the Alliance Army itself, there exists a Star Realm Army unit from the Rage Bear Legion. This unit can be utilized at this time.

Since they are participating in the war as part of the Star Realm Army, they must receive all the standard benefits that come with being in the Star Realm Army.

Costs for replenishing various equipment losses and budget allocations for the entire legion are all required.

Moreover, the prices for the Alliance must be even higher.

On one hand, the Empire needs to bear the war expenses, and now the Alliance Army has a considerable number of armored vehicles, artillery, reconnaissance system command vehicles, and more than just a gun and protective gear per soldier. There is also a large amount of individual fire support. Squads are equipped with numerous single-soldier missiles, rockets, and heavy bomb machine guns for positional warfare…

More than the average troop level.

These equipments do not require funding from the Empire, but their consumption is inevitable. Fuel, shells, and various consumables… the Alliance Army uses much more than ordinary forces.

This is an expensive component of the military budget.

The other aspect is labor costs.

The soldiers of the Alliance Army receive higher pay than ordinary Star Realm Army soldiers, from daily allowances to combat allowances, to pensions. This also constitutes a considerable sum of money.

Additionally, there is a deployment fee paid to the Alliance for the legion.

For a regular Star Realm Army corps, this money is given to the corps. For the Alliance Army, naturally, it goes to the Alliance.

These three expenses combined roughly constitute the cost of deploying the Alliance Army for war.

This is far more expensive than deploying a regular Star Realm Army corps and not much different from deploying those famous Star Realm Army corps.

However, Luo Fei does not feel it’s a loss.

Funding is not an issue since he is not the only one paying. Solaria’s budget is quite ample, and all parties are not afraid to spend money; what they fear is spending money with no results.

Instead of deploying a large wave of underperforming troops and spending money on giving compensation to low-level troops and arming them as cannon fodder, it’s better to spend on hiring truly elite troops to quell the rebellion. By securing a planet or a star sector, they can stabilize that area, begin to rebuild, and in turn, levy taxes, thus providing funds to the Empire.

The difference is significant.

Luo Fei is not afraid to spend money, but within the Empire, there aren’t that many elite forces that can be easily summoned simply by spending money to go to Solaria, that quagmire.

Recruiting an additional unit of such troops is beneficial.

After realizing he couldn’t oppose or stop Gu Hang, he had already adjusted his mindset accordingly, aiming to leverage Gu Hang’s expansion efforts to his advantage.

Currently, this has proven to be a good start.

…

After dealing with Luo Fei, the last obstacle was essentially eliminated.

However, the Empire still operates with low efficiency.

The “Alliance Plan” documents still require further review, and by multiple departments;

Once the review is completed, the documents must be formally presented to the Supreme Council for another discussion;

After discussion, the Prime Minister needs to seal approval, and Gu Hang needs to sign. According to Prime Minister Zebert’s view, they also need to conduct a ceremony, broadcast live, with at least ten High Lords attending.

Running through this entire process would take at least one and a half months, if not two.

Gu Hang indeed felt a bit urgent about this.

On one hand, he feared that delays might bring unexpected twists. The political situation in Emperor Holy Terra is always so intricate and volatile; who knows what might happen in that one and a half to two months?

But there is no alternative; he can only patiently wait, reassuring himself that the wait will be worthwhile.

The more regulated the process, the stronger the “Alliance Plan” document’s effectiveness becomes.

From multi-departmental review to Supreme Council discussion to the fully live-broadcasted ceremony, with over ten High Lords participating.

In this context, the legitimacy of the Alliance’s rule over the East and its future expansion in the Spiderweb Domain will reach unprecedented heights.

He could even take this document and declare to any surrounding power, “I am fully supported by the Central Empire; I am the rightful authority of the Empire!”

So, he waits.

During the waiting period, Gu Hang did not waste time.

Traveling to Holy Terra is no easy feat, taking almost two years for a round trip from the Eastern Border to the Central. Now that he’s here, Gu Hang takes every opportunity to meet with various factions.

He negotiates partnerships where possible, establishes connections where feasible, and, if nothing else, ensures familiarity, which is quite necessary.

Gu Hang had long recognized that when dealing with Empire matters, connections are vital.

Not only is he active, but his wife, Yelisia, as the First Lady of the Alliance, also accompanies Gu Hang at various events or ventures out independently.

A month slipped by amidst clinking glasses and dazzling lights.

During this period, two matters are worth mentioning.

Gu Hang, as expected, went to meet the Emperor’s Forbidden Army Marshal, the leader of the Ten Thousand Man Team, Yan Xinzhen, who holds a very detached position in the entire Empire’s political landscape.

Meeting him, Gu Hang was rather apprehensive.

Previously, during the exchange event at the Psychic Cultivator’s Association, when he unleashed his spiritual energy to display power, one of his main concerns was potential trouble from the Imperial Guard.

Thankfully, the Imperial Guard was managed at the scene, but he received an invitation from Yan Xinzhen.

He was indeed worried about a potential ambush, fearing that if he attended, he might be detained for special research by the Imperial Guard.

Within the deep palace, the Imperial Guard always remains enigmatic. They seem apathetic to external affairs, as long as the conflicts don’t reach Holy Terra or penetrate into the Imperial Palace, they appear indifferent.

They squat within the deep palace daily, apparently researching some mysterious matters.

Fortunately, the meeting did not unfold into the dire scenario Gu Hang anticipated.

Yan Xinzhen amiably discussed several matters about spiritual energy, how to handle high-level Psychics, and ways to train spiritual power.

He also talked about the current state of the Empire in various regions.

Gu Hang realized that this Imperial Guard Marshal is actually fairly well-informed about the Empire’s condition, not as oblivious as people imagined.

This entire conversation left Gu Hang somewhat puzzled.

It felt like small talk, but was the Imperial Guard Marshal seeking him out just for idle chit-chat?

He sensed something was off.

But Yan Xinzhen’s attitude seemed genuinely like a “let’s get acquainted since we didn’t know each other before” gesture.

It was perplexing.

However, as it currently stands, there is no adverse impact from this.

On the contrary, due to this discussion, Gu Hang’s standing in the Imperial Palace improved somewhat.

Apparently, being able to converse alone with Yan Xinzhen was quite a prestigious affair.

This kind of privilege isn’t necessarily extended to those High Lords within the Central Empire.

His status unknowingly rose a bit more. ᴛʜs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀ s ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛ ʙʏ N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Aside from this, another matter of note is that Zebert frequently called Gu Hang to discuss the development of the Sixth Rejuvenation Surgery techniques, confirming many details.

This was somewhat expected.

Time gradually passed; a month went by without any unforeseen events.

Until one day, an unannounced visitor arrived without prior notice.

It was a Great Sage from Mars—Kao’er.