Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 707

Chapter 705, Chairman Gu?

Every word Gu Hang told Gallardo was the truth of his heart.

In his view, neither of the two routes Gallardo outlined to enter the Supreme Council was secure.

Becoming Supreme Commander of the Astra Militarum and securing a seat on the Thirteenth Council?

Not to mention that Gallardo downplayed the difficulty, even if he succeeded, it would be like a tree without roots, a source without roots.

Gu Hang didn’t rise through the ranks of the Astra Militarum system, so even if he could truly claim that the Alliance Army belonged to the Astra Militarum, that was nonsense. While the Alliance Army was formidable, its influence was limited to the periphery of the Alliance. Ultimately, it was the Alliance’s foundation. The Alliance Army wasn’t a renowned regiment within the Astra Militarum, marching across the universe and establishing its reputation.

Without a stable foundation, how could an outsider, using political maneuvering to usurp the position of a fellow Astra Militarum member and secure a seat on the Thirteenth Council? Could such a position be secure?

It certainly wasn’t.

Gu Hang was no child. He fully understood that power doesn’t come from holding a position; it’s held by those who possess power.

Forcing his way to the top would require relying on Gu Hang’s merits built through the alliance, relying on political maneuvering and facing immense internal friction. The Astra Militarum system might not only fail to provide a boost, but become a bomb under his wing.

Gu Hang would have to expend even more energy suppressing internal unrest, forcing him to rely even more on the political forces that helped him ascend to the position. At best, Gu Hang would be a puppet, at worst, he’d be ousted within two years. And

if he abandoned the alliance again, what would he do then?

Start all over again?

Nonsense.

As for Gallardo’s second option—leveraging his status as arguably the most powerful psyker in the empire to unify the Order of Psykers and enter the Council of Thirteen as the Grand Master—it also carries its own risks,

potentially even greater.

The Order of Psykers is a more fragmented and powerless organization.

Or, to be more precise, they have power, but whether it’s the Chapter’s think tanks, the psionic experts of the Inquisition, the psionic corps of the various Astra Militarums, the psionic corps of the navy, the psykers of various planets… will these so-called “bases” obey the Psionic Order more or their original superiors?

Undoubtedly, the latter.

The Psionic Order has long been fragmented by its various subordinate organizations.

Unifying this force is virtually impossible.

And within the narrowly defined Psionic Order, there might only be one A-rank psyker per sector, a far cry from the Alliance’s Stormcaster Corps. What could they accomplish by themselves?

While uniting them wouldn’t be difficult, their power would be too weak to even hold a seat on the Supreme Council.

Past Grand Masters have been unable to secure the highest seat for centuries for precisely this reason: they were nominally eligible, but the actual power they wielded was too weak to sustain the situation.

Even if Gu Hang had gone, the result would have been the same.

Unless he was willing to start over again, spending countless years and enduring countless hardships to elevate the authority and responsibilities of the Psionic Order to its broadest level—meaning that the entire psychic power of the Imperium, from Chapter Librarians to Inquisition psykers—would be under the unified management and dispatch of the Psionic Order. That would be a formidable force.

The challenge would be immense.

Relying solely on a ragtag group of Grand Masters to gain access to the Council of Thirteen would rely not on one’s own base but on the power of the political forces behind them.

This would be the same outcome as using the Astra Militarum route to enter the Supreme Council: they could push Gu Hang in, but if they were unhappy, they could also kick him out. Gu Hang wouldn’t be able to truly wield the political power of his seat. He would have to rely on others for voting, proposals, and execution.

For many, such a High Lord position was an unattainable dream. A puppet High Lord was still a High Lord, nominally one of the thirteen most powerful individuals in the Empire.

However, to Gu Hang, it was meaningless.

Of course, if Gu Hang could truly ascend to the position of High Lord, he would welcome it.

He could formulate strategies that would benefit himself and the Alliance from the perspective of the Empire’s central leadership.

But such a position must be backed by sufficient personal power.

Hence, his final words to Gallardo were precisely what he meant.

He would also pursue the same approach.

First, he would strive for the position of Cosmic Domain President.

He had two ideas, but they were still undecided.

Either he could seize the presidency of either the Spider Web Cosmic Domain or the Eastern Cosmic Domain. With the powerful alliance providing the necessary support within, and the official title of Cosmic Domain President as the highest administrative authority within the Cosmic Domain, he would be able to exert considerable influence throughout the entire Cosmic Domain.

As Cosmic Domain President, he would be able to send representatives to Holy Terra to participate in central government affairs. Even some cosmic domain representatives, like the current chairman of the Devouring Stars cosmic domain, sit in the position of High Lord.

If Gu Hang were to become a High Lord in this way, he would truly be a person of great power.

The Alliance controls one cosmic domain; from that one domain, its influence spreads to over ten cosmic domains across the entire Eastern Frontier of the Empire. This means that any matter concerning the Eastern Frontier, equivalent to one-fifth of the Empire, requires Gu Hang’s approval. Only with such power can a truly legitimate High Lord position be established.

And why does Gu Hang refuse to give up his local interests?

It’s because of the system.

Gu Hang possesses such a powerful tool, one that played a decisive role in his rise to power. Naturally, he must continue to exploit it.

Giving up this advantage, abandoning the foundation he’s spent decades building, to fight the human government in the Star Realm Army, or to seek psychic authority in the Psychic Order against almost every other imperial faction… That would be a traitor who chooses to take the crooked path over the legitimate path.

Of course, Gu Hang couldn’t tell Gallardo about the system. He could

, however, discuss local interests, local foundations, and the need for sufficient strength to hold a truly high-ranking chairmanship.

Gallardo, however, felt very embarrassed about this.

He understood Gu Hang’s meaning, but also said,

“It’s extremely difficult to push you to become the chairman of the Spider Web Domain or the Eastern Domain. Your report really messed up Holy Terra.”

————

One more chapter before dawn!

(End of this chapter)