Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 645

Chapter 643: It’s hard to persuade the damned ghost with kind words

Gu Hang had Gallardo explain the situation on both the northern and western fronts. Besides the process of corruption, he also offered some speculation about the current situation.

In today’s circumstances, the enemy should no longer be considered a group of rebels, but rather a cult infected with a verminous virus.

While this “cult” is unique, comprising a large number of Space Marines and having spread across thousands of worlds, it remains a verminous cult. This directly reflects a significant difference in their motivations. Their ultimate goal is not conquest, but extermination and subsequent consumption.

With this understanding in mind, the Imperial strategy on both fronts is undoubtedly foolish,

especially on the northern front.

The idea of entering Rheaduches first and treating the Ironclad as a Space Marine Chapter, assuming that once their homeworld is reached, they must abandon everything and return to defend, is sheer folly.

Beyond the pleasantries of the narrative, the rest is full of flaws.

Gu Hang judged that Leroy would suffer a great loss.

In contrast, the western front fared somewhat better, but not much better.

While they had also targeted many worlds on the Western Front, clearing out the infestation, and some of their methods were quite effective, even being adopted by Gu Hang, he inevitably shared Leroy’s mentality.

His handling of the situation on the Western Front was only marginally better than the completely disregarded Northern Front. However, there was a problem: the Devouring Star Realm in the Northern Front was still strong, and the invasion wasn’t as severe, allowing them to clean up their mess on their own. The Magre Realm was completely destroyed, and Salilius showed little concern, even diverting resources from the Realm itself to support his expedition. This threatened to create problems within the Realm itself.

Both the Western and Northern Fronts faced their own challenges.

This was why Gu Hang refused to rush to the Princess Realm like them.

He didn’t deny that he harbored the separatist tendencies of a local leader. While he couldn’t admit it publicly, there was no need to lie to himself, and there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Even putting all that aside, from a commander’s perspective, Gu Hang believed that stabilizing the rear, thwarting the Zerg enemy’s potential biomass harvest, and advancing cautiously were the more reliable options.

A reckless advance into the Imperial Star Region would be unwise.

The main forces on the western and northern fronts would likely face a situation where, on the Imperial Star Region, they would face devastated worlds, devoured by countless Zerg swarms. Behind them, neglected problems would erupt, and new Zerg swarms would cut off their retreat.

Gu Hang had already spread the word, and Gallardo had promised to help warn the two commanders-in-chief of the western and northern fronts.

In this regard, he considered himself exceedingly selfless. Even when he had a conflict with Mathieu Leroy, he didn’t forget to warn and remind them.

However, Gu Hang was pessimistic about the effectiveness of his warnings.

Salilius might be a bit better. Gu Hang hadn’t had much experience with him, so he didn’t know his personality, but he certainly wasn’t worse than Mathieu Leroy.

As for the latter, Gu Hang was 90% sure that this person would not listen to advice at all.

And it was not just the commanders-in-chief of the west and the north who would not listen. As the messenger, was Gallardo really so sincere in speaking for Gu Hang?

The two of them had a good relationship and were firm political allies, with generally consistent interests… There was nothing wrong with that.

But generally consistent was not completely consistent.

For example, on this matter, there would be some differences between the two of them.

…

“Report to the Prime Minister! The warning has been transmitted to Commander-in-Chief Salisbury and Commander-in-Chief Leroy!”

“Okay.” Gallardo, who was tidying up his appearance, responded simply.

The secretary hesitated for a moment, but still spoke, “Is that all? I’m afraid they won’t take it seriously… Are you sure you don’t need to communicate in person? It would be much more persuasive.”

“No,” Gallardo said nonchalantly. “This is just a reminder, a way to pass on some of the Southern Front Commander’s opinions to the commanders on the Northern and Western Fronts, so they’re aware of the situation. Don’t take it too seriously, and it doesn’t constitute advice or even an order to the frontline commanders. Let them handle it on their own.”

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid the two regimental commanders on the front won’t take Governor Gu’s advice seriously and will continue the attack…”

“What’s the harm in that?”

Gallardo’s question left his secretary momentarily stunned.

Everyone knew that their Prime Minister, their closest political ally, and their greatest local supporter, was none other than Governor Gu.

The secretary had listened to every word of Gallardo’s previous conversation with Gu Hang.

Hadn’t they agreed to help Governor Gu persuade them?

Gallardo sighed and said earnestly, “There’s nothing wrong with Xiao Gu’s idea. Prudence is the best approach. However, in such a large-scale military operation, the final decision still depends on the front-line commander’s own ideas. The Empire has appointed a commander, so we should fully trust their judgment. Gu Hang judged that he should be cautious on the southern front, so he should be cautious and take steady steps one by one. As for the other two, if they decide to continue the attack after receiving Gu Hang’s intelligence and speculation, then we should also trust their judgment. Gu Hang’s concerns are justified, but we must also trust Captain Salilius and Marshal Leroy.”

After saying this, he looked at his secretary again: “There is no reason to let the commander-in-chief of the southern front decide the overall strategy of the western and northern fronts, nor is there any reason for us to sit in Holy Terra and directly interfere with the decision-making of the commander-in-chief on the front line. This is a taboo.”

“What’s more… it’s also very important to attack earlier and resolve the princess’s issue as soon as possible. If I go to persuade them both now and let the Prime Minister and other high lords know, what will they think? The Prime Minister has not directly interfered with the military command, so why should I take the lead?”

“The Prime Minister has strongly supported the reconstruction of the main force on the Western Front. He is looking forward to Captain Salilius leading the direct line of the Solar Legion to win the most important honors and achievements. If Leroy is taken away, it will once again boost the reputation of the traditional Space Marine group, and the Prime Minister will be unhappy.”

After hearing this, his secretary suddenly realized.

If one considers this, then persuasion really shouldn’t be necessary.

Furthermore, he could draw inferences from one instance and understand another.

The Western Front represents the Prime Minister, while the Northern Front represents the prestige of traditional Space Marines within the Empire. This is determined by the formation and composition of the main forces of both fronts. So what does the Southern Front represent? Gu Hang on the Southern Front, of course, represents Prime Minister Gallardo.

This is precisely why the secretary was worried about Gallardo earlier.

Those two fronts are about to advance into Iron Armor’s heartland, while the Southern Front is still dithering under Commander Gu. After victory, wouldn’t all the credit go to someone else?

Since Governor Gu is unwilling to advance, they should find a way to stop the Western and Northern Fronts, allowing them to proceed with a similarly “steady and steady” approach. That would be the best approach.

But on second thought, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Gu Hang on the Southern Front represents Gallardo, yes, but does the Western Front simply represent the Prime Minister?

No.

The opportunity to rebuild the main Western Front forces lay in Gallardo’s victory over former Justice Minister Oujuren. This move was achieved with the support of Prime Minister Zibodu. After Oujuren’s fall, Gallardo seized the seat of High Lord and served him diligently. Leveraging the Ministry of Military Affairs’ proximity and close operational ties, he exerted considerable effort in the formation of the Western Front’s main forces.

From this perspective, success on the Western Front also meant Gallardo’s success.

So, what’s the point of persuasion?

This is clearly the best possible situation!

If Leroy’s victory in suppressing the Princess’s rebellion on the Northern Front was considered the primary achievement, then not only would the Prime Minister be unhappy, but Gallardo would be unhappy too. Since Gu Hang couldn’t be relied upon, it was only natural to rely on the undoubtedly more powerful Salisbury.

If the situation changed, and the battle in the Princess Star Region turned out to be a trap, as Gu Hang had predicted, with the threat from the rear particularly severe, ultimately worsening the situation, then Gallardo could accept it: “I warned the two commanders on Gu Hang’s behalf, and it’s all your fault for not listening!

Besides, there would still be a single viable candidate on the southern front, and coincidentally, it would be Gallardo’s good brother!

” Even if the worst-case scenario happened, and Leroy took the highest honor, so what? Gallardo

had already contributed to cleaning up the mess left by Phoenix on the western front.

The destruction of the Alfonzo sect on the southern front was a proven achievement, the second-greatest achievement in the entire counterinsurgency campaign.

Frankly, Gallardo was the most stable man, standing firm no matter what.

In this situation, what was there to worry about?

After figuring this out, the secretary felt much more stable.

He relaxed his frown, smiling as he followed Gallardo, who had already left the house, to the balcony and then out again. A hovercraft was already waiting on the landing pad.

After boarding the hovercraft, they arrived at a banquet hall moments later.

Following Gallardo, the secretary watched the Minister of Military Affairs converse cordially with one high-ranking official after another on Holy Terra. He occasionally spoke of Gu Hang, praising his victory over Alfonzo, his foresight, his steady approach, and his ability to consolidate the front.

When discussing Marshal Leroy’s criticisms of Gu Hang, Gallardo skillfully defended Gu Hang from various angles, praising Salilius. It was unclear who would eventually capture Readuches, and Leroy might actually suffer the heavy losses Gu Hang had warned him about. The more

the secretary listened, the more he felt his Prime Minister was truly remarkable!

…

Of course, Gu Hang didn’t know about what was happening on Holy Terra. Even

if he did, he wouldn’t care.

He could guess what Gallardo might be thinking.

But it didn’t matter.

He’d said what needed to be said, done what needed to be done.

If he still wouldn’t listen, then forget it.

Good words couldn’t persuade a damned devil.

The only concern was that if they really collapsed the western and northern fronts again, leaving Gu Hang alone on the southern front, the pressure would be too great.

The thought of this annoyed Gu Hang.

It wasn’t just a matter of bad teammates, it was a bad teammate with whom he had a terrible relationship. It was not right to save them, nor was it right not to save them.

But no matter what, Gu Hang wouldn’t take his own troops and die in the Imperial Star Region without knowing the enemy situation.

At most, he would increase intelligence and reconnaissance efforts within the Imperial Star Region, while strengthening communications with the western and northern fronts.

If relations on the northern front weren’t good, that was another matter. At least on the western front, he needed to keep as close to their strategic dynamics as possible.

He couldn’t say he could help in a critical moment, but at least he needed to know what was happening in the Imperial Star Region at all times.

————

The typhoon is coming again…

Listening to the wind, I write another chapter!

(End of this chapter)