Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 716

Chapter 714: Population Dilemma

. Aside from the three star regions controlled by the Alliance, there wasn’t a single good piece of land left in the entire Spider Web Universe.

The Princess Star Region couldn’t be blamed; it wasn’t just rotten; it could be said the entire region had been completely emptied out.

Almost one-third to one-half of the worlds had been baptized by the Extermination Order, rendered worthless.

The remaining half, a little over half, had a very small population. Perhaps only ten billion people remained on over three hundred worlds combined? That

works out to an average of thirty to forty million per planet.

This reminded Gu Hang of his early days on the Angry Owl Star.

Relying on this local population to rebuild planet after planet? Gu Hang wasn’t too keen on doing that.

It wasn’t impossible.

Back then, when he rebuilt Angry Owl Star, he wasn’t as powerful. He’d built everything from scratch, and still it had ended up like this, hadn’t it?

However, he knew better than anyone the sheer effort required.

The cost-effectiveness was too low.

It would be better to concentrate the population as much as possible, then select a nearby world with a good natural environment and an acceptable level of Zerg damage, and settle and develop it uniformly.

Other worlds can be left alone for now.

Use them as training grounds and gradually clear them, just like the Irontooth Orcs’ former occupation of the northeastern Dragonhawk Sector.

Over the past decade or two, the core policy there, centered on recolonization, supplemented by long-term monitoring and military cleanup, has generally been quite successful. Now, there’s little worry about the Orks reappearing as a massive, unified horde that could sweep across a planet. The combat power of the colonies, armed with the Alliance’s weapons, is more than sufficient to counter those Orks.

Four sectors, forty or fifty worlds, thanks to persistent immigration and childbirth incentives, have seen their population exceed six billion.

In the vast, sparsely populated plains, where threats are less severe, vast farms have been developed. An adult couple, perhaps with one or two elderly people, will have three or five children. Even with only two or three workers, a small farm can still be established, often encompassing over 500 hectares.

Intensive farming wasn’t necessary. The high-quality seeds cultivated by the Alliance Biological Research Institute, combined with the advanced agricultural machinery they produced, could be used for large-scale mechanized production.

Even so, it was possible to avoid planting on land that wasn’t truly fertile.

These farms were all considered state-owned farms within the Alliance. All the food produced belonged to the Alliance. Those working on the farms weren’t actually farmers, but rather agricultural workers, with ranks, salaries, and a share of the farm’s output. Their high production allowed them to advance quickly, allowing their descendants to acquire more land upon adulthood—either by expanding the family farm or branching out to establish a new farm elsewhere.

Life was quite pleasant.

It was a bit sparsely populated, and they could only survive on Alliance radio, television programs, and alcohol. But compared to their lives in the lower levels of the hives before they immigrated, it was certainly a far cry from their previous lives.

On some planets, where the ecological environment wasn’t suitable for large-scale agricultural production, mining was also a good option.

In short, those four star regions had long ceased to be a burden on the Alliance. Instead, they had become granaries and mineral deposits, meeting the massive food needs of Qimadi and Yunluo, providing military rations, and generating surpluses that could be sold as merchandise or used to pay taxes.

The success stories of these four star regions were intended to be replicated on the worlds in the Imperial Princess Sector that could still be saved.

However, besides the Imperial Princess Sector, the Fox Moon Sector, at the easternmost tip of the Spider Web Sector, was considered relatively well-off, comparable to the Nepeta Sector.

However, the battlefields on the northern and western fronts were a complete mess.

The western front was relatively better off; at least the battles there were won, and the Zerg swarms were unable to devour large swathes of the planets. The main issue was the infestation, which could be addressed through the “Zerg Control Office” in the Nepeta Sector.

It could be considered a deteriorated version of the Nepeta Sector.

However, the northern front was in dire straits.

The northern legion had truly left a huge hole for Gu Hang. They had allowed the infestation to spread there and then lost the war.

The problem there can no longer be solved with a simple “insect control” solution, and it must be recolonized.

There is a bit of good news.

The Black Crusaders Chapter still feels a certain amount of guilt for the mess they left behind. They will leave behind a battle fleet consisting of 500 Space Marines, a large number of mortal troops, and a battle barge as their core, and work with the Alliance to gradually resolve the mess on the northern front.

They won’t need Gu Hang to pay for their war.

While this saves some military expenses, the greater burden will still be on reconstruction costs.

The two star regions of Lefu and Jianmen in the north are only slightly better off than the Princess Star Region.

Recolonization will take at least ten years to see results.

Furthermore, there is another difficulty.

One of the reasons recolonization was possible in the Irontooth Orc-occupied areas was the abundant population of the Dragonhawk Sector, with several Hive Worlds deemed by the Alliance to be overpopulated.

On these Hive Worlds, the population is already a burden, having long exceeded the ecological capacity of the planets. Much like Koroja III, the population itself can only be used as a resource to offset taxes.

That’s clearly a colossal waste.

Outward migration not only solves the large population needed for recolonization, but also alleviates the planet’s ecological pressures. Those who migrate out will also have a better and brighter future. Beyond the initial investment, the rest is all profit.

However, the battered Spiderweb Universe truly lacks population.

It’s certainly possible to conduct a larger-scale migration from the Menghe and Dragon Eagle star regions to the worlds within the Spiderweb Universe.

But obviously, that would be much more expensive.

Furthermore, it might not even meet demand.

Basic policies encouraging childbirth must still be implemented.

Beyond that, Gu Hang must find other ways to rapidly increase the population.

Births might not be enough, or timely; immigration within his own territory might be insufficient. The only remaining option is to migrate from outside. This

could be purchased.

In the surrounding universes, including other star regions in the Eastern Universe, there are numerous Hive Worlds that profit from selling their populations.

However, purchasing population is expensive. Ten tax coins per adult is the base price. Gu Hang’s desired population growth is in the hundreds of billions or even trillions, which is prohibitively expensive. Transporting people is also quite costly.

There were many pitfalls.

Letting Gu Hang take over the entire Spider Web Universe, and then levying exorbitant taxes, would be quite stressful.

However, Gu Hang decided to accept.

This was a good opportunity for legal and reasonable expansion.

The pressure was greater, so be it.

He could handle it.

And the vast territory of an entire universe represented enormous potential for development. A little hardship in the early stages, but the future held promise.

(End of this chapter)