Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 531

Chapter 529, Alliance Northern Expedition

Chapter 529:

The political pressure on the Alliance’s Northern Expedition has always been there.

It was strong at first, then weak, then suddenly intensified, forcing the Alliance to compromise to some extent. In the past year, it has become so strong that it has led to widespread criticism of the Alliance’s policies.

Some of the harshest critics have even begun to regard the Alliance as a smaller version of “Iron Rage Stone,” the same state within a state, the same insubordination. They used to pay taxes, but now, after Gallardo, against all odds, gave the Alliance the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Front, the taxes have been retained, claiming they are preparing for war against Iron Rage Stone. However, there has been no major action in years.

This has led to a series of major changes.

Four years ago, the Eastern Cosmic Realm was still allocating tens of billions of dollars annually to the Alliance as war aid, but two years ago, this funding was completely halted.

Several Inquisitors from the Inquisition arrived, claiming to investigate the Alliance’s misconduct, alleging illicit ties between the Alliance and Iron Rage Stone. Although the case ultimately came to nothing and the Inquisition did not truly intend to take action against the Alliance, the gesture served as a warning.

The Astra Militarum headquarters rejected two expansion plans for the Raging Bear Legion. This forced the 200 million troops originally slated for integration into the Astra Militarum to remain Alliance land forces, preventing the Alliance from accounting for these expenses in Imperial taxes and instead counting them as Alliance fiscal expenditures.

The Alliance, through Gallardo, submitted a written statement to Holy Terra.

While the tone was not overly harsh, the Alliance clearly stated that the entire so-called Southern Front was effectively solely under the Alliance, without any reinforcements, and thus insufficiently equipped.

General Gu’s request was modest: if the Empire could allocate two or three chapters and five or more battleships, the Alliance would have the capability to launch a large-scale offensive.

Once this support was in place, the Alliance would launch an offensive without hesitation.

When Gallardo reached this point, it was reported that those outside the Military Affairs Department criticized him, asking why he hadn’t allocated sufficient troops to the Southern Front to allow Gu Hang to advance sooner.

Faced with such accusations, Gallardo didn’t even need to speak. The people within the Military Affairs Department began to evade the issue.

Simply put, where are the troops?

The Empire is a shattered mess! Countless wars rage constantly within the Empire.

It’s true that the unrest in the Spider Web region is currently the most concerning issue across the Empire. But that doesn’t mean the wars elsewhere are unimportant.

Take the Eastern Region, for example. Aside from the Dragon Eagle and Menghe regions, which of the remaining regions doesn’t have its own problems?

They all do!

In fact, most are facing a crisis similar to the one in the Dragon Eagle region before the Iron Teeth Green Tide erupted a few years ago. This means that each region needs to be prepared to address, or at least respond to, the crisis within their own region. The

same goes for the region government. In the Wuji region, the capital of the Eastern Region, the biggest problem facing the region is the proliferation of pirates. And

these aren’t just any pirates; they’re filled with Dark Eldar.

These tall, lanky space aliens with pointed ears and skin often colored gray-black, gray-white, or purple-white are known for their brutal and bloody actions. They have little interest in conquering specific planets, and their homeworld remains a mystery. However, what is known is that they are not only interested in plundering supplies and capturing people for slavery, but also a significant one.

Reports of Dark Eldar activity are commonplace throughout the Wuji Sector and even in surrounding regions. These despicable aliens are elusive and frequently attack human ships. They rarely target large-scale human military fleets, but if they encounter a poorly defended transport vessel or even a single warship on a mission, they are unforgiving.

After snagging a ship, they often seize both the ship and the crew. If they are unable to seize the ship, or if it is damaged in combat, they simply seize the cargo and the crew.

They even attack less fortified planets, seeking not only to capture them but also to plunder them. Most astonishingly, they can completely empty an entire hive city from the start to the end of an attack within a month. And that timeframe isn’t even enough for reinforcements to arrive.

The Wuji Star Region and the Eastern Cosmic Region governments must maintain a sufficiently strong and responsive force to deal with the Dark Eldar threat.

The same applies to other star regions, and even the entire Empire.

The threat varies, but it undoubtedly exists.

While the Empire is vast, its available mobile forces are limited.

How can they be deployed to the Alliance?

Even if there were sufficient forces, they would likely be deployed to the west and north. “

Giving you a Gu Hang who doesn’t work?

” The Alliance report explicitly outlined a timetable, stating that Alliance ships were under construction and that they needed time to prepare for war.

The Alliance had originally intended to be more explicit about this.

Keeping a low profile was a better option. Even if a war were to occur, it would be best to have some element of surprise.

But there was no other way. Political pressure was present, forcing Gu Hang to make a decision.

This part of his written report was barely justifiable. While there will still be considerable public criticism and pressure from all sides, it’s better than before.

However, with every advantage comes a drawback.

The Alliance’s claims couldn’t possibly be hidden from their friendly neighbors to the north.

The Ironclad Chapter’s intelligence capabilities couldn’t possibly be unaware of such a matter.

The clear timetable meant that the Alliance would strike against the Iron Rage Stones at that very moment.

Could Humphrey Paul tolerate the Alliance rapidly accumulating strength and then, after thorough preparations, launching an attack as planned?

Clearly, that was out of the question.

While the Iron Rage Stones were still focusing their primary efforts on the western front, relentlessly pursuing the Phoenix Chapter, they had also significantly increased their focus on the southern front.

Perbov first sensed that the Iron Rage Stones had clearly deployed a significant number of troops to the Arachne Sector, the southernmost sector of the Arachne Sector. Shortly thereafter, a massive army led by the Alliance’s old enemy, the Fury Flame Chapter, fiercely stormed into the Menghe Sector.

The leader was the current Chapter Master of the Fury, Adler Paulitos. He had originally been the Captain of the Fury’s Third Company, but after the bloody duel, the previous Chapter Master, Erso, had died, along with many other key members of the team. This left him, the Third Captain, as the only one left to take over.

A small area in the northern part of the Menghe star system was already occupied by rebels. Previously, under orders from Alliance headquarters, Perbov led an advance force to accelerate the offensive against this occupied territory. Due to insufficient manpower and Alliance strategic considerations, his actions in northern Menghe were not particularly aggressive, primarily to convey the impression that the Alliance was proactively attacking. Under

these circumstances, the fierce attack of the Fury Legion caught the Alliance off guard.

Perbov was the first to bear the brunt of the blow.

He carefully assessed the situation and avoided a decisive battle with his old rival, the Fury Legion, in the northern part of the Menghe star system.

Although Alliance intelligence analysts believed that the forces Iron Fury Stone could mobilize were insufficient, the Fury Legion already had at least a thousand men present on the Western Front. No matter how much the Fury Legion could rise above Iron Armor, could it not reach the level of Iron Armor? They had lost at least four to five hundred Space Marines in the war in the Dragonhawk Segmentum a few years prior, some of whom were key members killed by Phoenixes in that bloody battle, including their former Chapter Master.

Under these circumstances, how many troops could they mobilize for an offensive against the Alliance?

Unfortunately, Perbov’s forces were insufficient.

It’s better not to rush into this battle head-on.

After retreating, Perbov carefully held the defensive line, a ring of fortified worlds that had been built along the northern part of the Menghe Segmentum over the past few years, and began a simple yet solid defensive battle against the southward-moving Fury.

To be honest, upon hearing the news that the Fury had clearly marched south and that Perbov had abandoned its previously conquered territory and retreated to its defensive line, the entire Alliance was in a state of panic.

Some within the Alliance lamented their failure to withstand the pressure, and the explanation submitted to the Imperial Center explicitly outlined their military plans.

This explanation likely led Iron Rage Stone to believe that there was no room for maneuver, extinguishing any last glimmer of hope and deciding to strike first.

But at this point, there was no point in saying anything.

The Alliance began to deploy further troops and mobilized more Phoenix Space Marines to the northern Menghe Segmentum.

However, the overall strategy remained defensive.

The Alliance General Staff gave Perbov very clear instructions: no active cross-line attacks, avoid decisive fleet engagements, and utilize fortified planets, star forts, and battle stations located at various interstellar tunnel jump nodes to block the enemy fleets outside their defenses and strive to draw them into the quagmire of a ground war.

If necessary, a strategy of trading space for time could be employed. As long as the enemy could be prevented from launching a direct advance or a sudden surge, and as long as they could be held firmly within the fortified defenses, Perbov would have

achieved a significant victory. Perbov executed this strategy of dragging the battle into a quagmire with remarkable success. Like a skilled chess player, he meticulously planned his moves, each one calculated with impeccable precision. The artillery fire from the planetary fortresses and the interception systems of the battle stations formed a dense network, pinning the Fury’s fleets to the perimeter.

The ground war also reached a stalemate, with both sides engaging in repeated tug-of-war battles across the rugged terrain of each planet and within the fortified cities.

Two years might seem like a fleeting moment in interstellar warfare, but during that time, Perbov stood as unshakable as a rock.

His perseverance and wisdom stabilized the Alliance’s rear, providing precious time for fleet construction and army deployment.

Now, beyond Winged Star, the assembled Alliance fleet is unprecedentedly powerful.

Countless ships stretch across the starry sky like silver-blue waves.

The Alliance Army is also fully equipped. Organized into armies and army groups, they join one battleship and transport after another, now within this star field.

While the Alliance’s clarion call to war has yet to be sounded, its flag already flutters across the vast starry sky.

They await only the final order.

And the only one who can issue that order is Gu Hang.

After completing the last leg of his planned inspection tour, Gu Hang returned to Wing Star from Angry Owl Star, leading the Alliance National Knights, now the Alliance’s Titan Legion, which had recently been equipped with new equipment on the planet where the Alliance had its roots.

He convened a military meeting at Wing Star’s starport .

Many high-ranking officials from the Alliance government and senior generals from the Alliance military attended the meeting.

Gu Hang didn’t dwell on specific strategies or tactics.

These had already been discussed countless times in previous meetings to finalize the details.

This meeting was more like a final mobilization rally before the start of the war.

Gu Hang didn’t offer many lengthy speeches.

The first half of his speech simply emphasized the detestable nature of traitors like Iron Fury Stone, stating that they stood on the side of the Empire and would fight these traitors to the bitter end.

After this, the second half of the speech became more important:

“The Alliance needs development. We are bringing a better life to the people of the Dragon Eagle and Menghe star regions.”

“We have gathered immense strength, and we are also practicing our ideals.”

“We do not particularly welcome war.”

“However, to develop, we need a stable external environment.”

“Whoever refuses to provide us with this environment will be dealt a heavy blow!”

“Win this war and we will secure a century of peace!”

“Everyone, please join me in fighting for the Alliance!”

Gu Hang shouted, and the generals and high-ranking officials in the audience rose and followed their leader, shouting,

“Fight for the Alliance!”

…

After the meeting, the senior officials and generals departed.

Before they set off, they still had a lot of work to do.

Involving hundreds or thousands of warships, even more transport ships, and the deployment of over a billion land forces, it was an incredibly massive undertaking.

But truth be told, the Alliance had been preparing for this for years.

In the 235th year of the tenth millennium, the Alliance army set out from the Flying Wing System.

The Alliance’s Northern Expedition began.

(End of this chapter)