Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 523

Chapter 521, Veto Power

“Stealing” Jindi Star with the power of veto likely wouldn’t happen overnight.

However, the value Wu Jiarong brings to the Mingyang Sect as a Main Sage doesn’t have to wait that long to be realized; it can be realized right now.

Gu Hang personally traveled to Jindi Star to negotiate with the Mingyang Sect’s leaders with two primary objectives:

first, to reclaim the three star regions and forty worlds that Jindi Star shouldn’t legally control.

Second, to ensure Jindi Star can accept equipment manufacturing orders from the Alliance, particularly for starships.

Both conditions proved difficult.

Even with the recent influx of Gu Hang, and the presence of Wu Jiarong as an insider, the sages of Jindi Star remained unimpressed.

Wu Jiarong was, after all, an outsider and a recent appointee. Crucially, everyone knew she came from the Alliance and had received considerable support from Gu Hang, naturally raising doubts about her position.

The first round of negotiations ended in failure, but Gu Hang wasn’t upset.

Although the Mingyang Sect didn’t agree to his terms, after his visit, the oilmen showed a relatively good attitude and showed respect for Gu Hang.

He spent some time on Jindi Star, visiting several key factories and meeting with numerous sages of the main profession.

…

Jindi Star’s Casting General, Chen Haixu, had been confined to his workshop for several days. He

publicly claimed he had a very important product that required him to craft in seclusion. To that end, he politely attended the first meeting with the alliance delegation brought by Governor Gu, then personally presided over a welcoming banquet for Gu Hang.

But in reality, anyone with a discerning eye could see he was avoiding Gu Hang.

Of course, even if he stayed indoors, the Casting General was fully aware of what was happening outside.

“Who did Gu Hang meet today?”

Chen Haixu asked, operating a dozen robotic arms.

There was no one beside him, but there was a servo-skull connected by mechanical spinal cords, floating in mid-air in his laboratory. Its mouth was equipped with a speaker.

“Reporting to the General, Gu Hang met with the Master Sage Ke Zonggang today. This is the seventh Master Sage he has met in recent times. Currently, he has only met you and Master Jing Yiming.”

The Mingyang Sect currently has a total of nine Master Sages, not even the original eleven.

Chen Haixu nodded slightly, his already somewhat inhuman face forcing a smile as he continued, “Let him slowly make contact. Anything else to report?”

“Sage Wu Jiarong has requested a second Sages’ Conference, continuing the same topic discussed at the last conference.”

“Hmph, she’s still ruthless.” Chen Haixu scoffed, then sighed, “Wu Jiarong, I still have high hopes for this young talent, and I’ve given her a lot of support. But why is she so stubborn, insisting on getting involved with the Alliance?”

The servo skull floating beside him continued, “So, General Casting, is there anything we need to do? Like, prevent the second meeting, warn Sage Wu Jiarong, or…”

“No need,” Chen Haixu stopped his servo skull assistant from continuing. “Let them mess around. What can they possibly accomplish?”

At his master’s words, the servo skull shut its mouth, leaving only the red light flickering in its eyes.

As Jin Di Star’s General Casting, Chen Haixu naturally had the confidence to say this.

Gu Hang proposed some terms in exchange, such as the Alliance’s desire to reclaim all remaining planets except Jindi. To this end, the Alliance guaranteed that all raw materials produced by these worlds would be given priority to Jindi.

All conditions remained the same as before the Iron Teeth Green Tide.

However, such terms were no longer acceptable.

Previously, they had to “pay” for the raw materials, though this payment typically consisted of low-end products or a few orders.

The same applied to human resources.

Simply put, those mineral resources and human resources were worthless. In comparison, the various products produced by Jindi were more highly valued.

However, Jindi no longer possessed the wealth it once possessed. After internal discussions, the Mingyang Sect’s sages were unwilling to pay even the minimal costs of raw materials and manpower, which pale in comparison to their added value.

The Mingyang Sect, licking its wounds and replenishing its strength, was determined not to be generous.

The same applied to external sales orders.

Other items would be fine, and if the Alliance offered additional resources in exchange, they would accept orders; however, they certainly wouldn’t accept orders for starships. All production capacity was prioritized for the cult’s fleet.

They planned to construct a new mechanical ark, eight battlecruisers, and over forty cruisers to complement it, creating a powerful Ming Yang cult fleet.

After experiencing the Iron Teeth Green Tide, everyone in the Ming Yang cult agreed that the cult must possess sufficient self-defense capabilities and could not rely on others. They had at least escaped disaster this time, but who knew if they could survive the next one?

The construction of the fleet and the accompanying Skitarii army had completely occupied the Ming Yang cult’s production capacity. Even if all the shipyards were operating at full capacity, it would take approximately twenty-five years to complete the fleet.

Time and production capacity were stretched to the limit, and this, in turn, required enormous external resources and manpower.

To put it bluntly, it’s already quite good that our Mingyang Sect hasn’t continued to seize more territory or gain more benefits. You, Gu Hang, still want to give up the places we’ve already occupied and take back our already full orders?

Dream on.

They are not interested at all in the conditions proposed by Gu Hang on behalf of the Alliance, which would provide Jindi Star with greater resource support and full military protection.

In other words, they are interested in the former, that is, resource support; the premise is that the Alliance can accept that these supports and investments will not be paid to the Alliance until at least 25 years later, after Jindi Star completes its own construction and guarantees its own security.

That is obviously impossible.

As for the military security provided by the Alliance?

I don’t believe it!

The Star Domain Government and the Cosmic Domain Government used to say the same thing.

During the Iron Teeth War, didn’t we have to fight on our own?

After this incident, they deeply realized that no matter how many interests they had, no matter how many solemn guarantees they had, when life and death were at stake, the only person they could rely on was themselves.

The Alliance’s military support?

The Alliance did seem quite capable, far more so than the previous star region government.

But… sorry, it wasn’t them, so they couldn’t trust it.

Besides, doesn’t your alliance face more enemies?

Your Governor Gu is no quiet man, constantly stirring up trouble. He’s currently caught up in the conflict with the Iron Fury Stone.

The Mingyang Sect considers itself a small sect, with only one Forge World. It’s not in its best shape right now, and we have no desire to get involved.

This decision was made after consultation and consensus among all the sect’s main sages, as well as a significant number of the more prominent ruling bishops.

Oh, except for that traitor Wu Jiarong.

But her opinion on this matter isn’t important. She should just honestly contribute her ingenious technologies. This ungrateful traitor isn’t the right person to interfere in matters that will determine the future of the Mingyang Sect.

With such a unanimous decision among the entire sect’s leadership, Chen Haixu truly isn’t worried about Gu Hang’s activities on Jindi Star.

After all, he’s the star region leader, and Jindi Star is within the alliance. There should be no conflict between the two sides; proper respect and courtesy must be extended.

But forget about the rest.

After the Alliance’s governor had been met with rebuffs from one Sage after another, he should have known better than to waste his time.

As for the second meeting he was about to call for? Just

have it. It

was just another collective veto, after all.

…

Chen Haixu’s mechanical face was filled with shock.

Even white steam was emanating from his modified ears.

The Sage Council, comprised of nine Sages of the Main Sect, was the nominal supreme authority of the Mingyang Sect.

And now, eight mechanical arms were raised before him.

Sitting across from the Sages’ round table was Gu Hang, who had been active on Jindi Star for over half a month.

Half an hour earlier, the second Sage Council had convened, and Gu Hang, just as he had the previous time, began to explain the Alliance’s policies.

Compared to his first proposal, this time, Gu Hang made greater concessions. While the demands remained the same: control of the three star regions excluding Jindi Star, as well as various construction orders for Jindi Star.

However, the Alliance would increase the purchase price for orders and provide more raw materials. Furthermore, the Alliance could also accept production orders from the Ming Yang Sect in return. This meant that some of the Ming Yang Sect’s low-end, low-value component production could be transferred to planets controlled by other Alliances.

According to Gu Hang, this was a win-win situation.

The recipients of technology and production capacity saw economic growth; ownership of this transferred capacity would be calculated based on the proportion of each party’s input and the value of the technology; and management rights would be transferred to the Ming Yang Sect.

In return, the Ming Yang Sect could use technology and production capacity transfers, through economic and political means, to expand its influence and control, further securing control over raw materials and low-value-added industrial components.

Furthermore, the capacity freed up from some low-end industries on Jindi Planet could be better invested in high-end industries.

However, these conditions did not go beyond the conditions previously discussed among the Ming Yang Sect’s main sages.

Logically, after politely listening to Gu Hang’s proposal, when it came time to vote, everyone should have sat quietly when the vote was in favor of the proposal, and then raised their hands in unison when the vote was against the proposal.

However, what happened next was completely beyond Chen Haixu’s expectations.

When the vote was in favor, he first saw Wu Jiarong raise her hand.

Yeah, good, as expected.

Then, another main business sage raised his hand.

This made Chen Haixu look sideways.

Gu Hang, this kid, have his activities over the past two weeks really paid off?

You, kid, are taking advantage of Gu Hang, right?

Chen Haixu was not happy.

Although it was just one extra vote and meaningless, in fact, according to Chen Haixu’s previous hint to the other sages, Gu Hang should not have been given a single vote to avoid any unrealistic fantasies in the Alliance Governor’s mind.

The sooner he got beaten to a pulp, the better.

At this point, he could only console himself by thinking that perhaps Sage Ke Zonggang, who had raised his hand, was simply doing so as a token of appreciation, having received a favor, to save some face for Governor Gu.

With this mindset, Chen Haixu watched as the third, fourth, and fifth mechanical arms rose.

Just a few minutes later, he was the only one of the nine Mingyang Sect sages who hadn’t raised their hands…

No, what the hell was going on!

Even though his body had undergone extensive mechanical transformation, and many of the emotions generated by hormones had been silenced, Chen Haixu still felt a surge of rage.

What are you doing?

A collective rebellion, huh?!

But he quickly calmed down, and his still-human brain, still not fully transformed, began to think carefully.

Things weren’t yet at the point of no return.

Even though eight of the nine votes had voted in favor, that didn’t mean Gu Hang’s proposal had passed.

He is the Casting General. Although he only has one vote in the parliament like the other main business sages, the most special thing about the Casting General is that he has a veto power.

If he wants to promote any major policies, strategies, or decisions, he needs to obtain the consent of the four main business sages; but if he opposes a decision, he only needs one vote.

The current situation is very suitable for using this veto power.

However, is it really necessary to do so?

Voting seems to be a rule, but any rule must consider the meaning behind the rule.

He has the veto power not because he has the ability to veto any proposal he does not want to agree to.

On the contrary, he has the veto power because he has the ability to prevent the implementation of any decision he disagrees with.

However, the current situation is too complicated.

(End of this chapter)