Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 778

Chapter 773, Army Construction

Salihovich’s multiple countermeasures, which can now be activated.

The intelligence regarding Yang Shiwei’s corruption and insider trading, gathered over several years of investigation, is one key component of their combined attack.

Furthermore, the memorandum signed by Yang Shiwei as the Empire’s representative, obtained by the young man, is a surprising bonus and will play a significant role in the subsequent countermeasures.

Gu Hang’s orders were clearly communicated to the Alliance Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Salihovich will lead this effort,

but the execution will certainly extend beyond the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Alliance, a machine poised for action, rumbled into action.

From the administrative and economic departments to the military, legal, and intelligence departments, all necessary actions were implemented.

However, the process of execution, fermentation, detonation, and the final feedback of the results all require time to mature. Since the specific executors had already been determined, Gu Hang no longer oversaw the matter personally, simply awaiting the report.

The first thing he had to personally attend was another Alliance government work report conference.

This was held almost annually, and Gu Hang naturally attended.

Some conferences were of modest importance, while others were crucial.

The most significant was fifteen years ago, when Gu Hang returned from Holy Terra with the signed “Alliance Plan.”

That conference report essentially determined the Alliance’s future direction.

This was also a crucial juncture.

On the one hand, successive development plans had been successfully implemented, and with the war expenses owed to the Alliance by the Imperial Central Government fully offset, the Alliance’s most important period of development had concluded. It was time to reflect on the overall progress of the past fifteen years.

On the other hand, the Alliance had observed changes in Imperial politics and the deteriorating external political environment facing the Alliance. At this juncture, it felt like it had reached a crossroads. Even the Alliance desperately needed a crucial, integrated meeting to unify its thinking, determine its course, and clarify its future course.

The first half of this meeting was primarily focused on government reports.

The intelligence the Empire currently possessed on the Alliance was indeed “correct.”

The Alliance’s annual GDP had indeed reached 50 trillion.

It was precisely because of this data that they produced the document riddled with errors and omissions, proposing an annual tax of 5 trillion to the Alliance.

However, the word “correct” is in quotation marks because 50 trillion is just one of several estimates from Holy Terra’s intelligence department, and it’s the highest.

The generally accepted figure is between 30 trillion and 35 trillion.

This is already a considerable figure, almost three times that of a universe of the same size.

The Empire still clings to some common sense.

They can’t imagine how a massive economy with a population of 12 trillion could sustain hypergrowth for 15 years, increasing its GDP fivefold.

That defies common sense.

In fact, 30 trillion is already a significant challenge.

They have always believed that the Alliance’s strength lies primarily in its efficient political system, which results in exceptionally efficient tax collection.

It was on this basis that the Imperial Central Committee formulated the figure Yang Shiwei later mentioned as his actual goal: 2.5 trillion tax coins.

From the Imperial Central Government’s perspective, this represents a 500 billion yuan concession to the Alliance, without actually imposing the exact 10% Imperial tax rate. Combined with the Alliance’s exceptional tax collection efficiency and institutional advantages, the Alliance should still generate substantial revenue. This fully takes into account the Alliance’s strength and the respect shown to High Lord Gu Hang. Gu Hang and his Alliance should be grateful for this.

This is the difference in perception between the two sides.

Setting aside the Imperial side, the Alliance’s actual general public budget revenue and state-owned enterprise operating income combined actually reach approximately 10 trillion yuan annually.

As the Imperial Central Government considers, the Alliance system is highly efficient in capturing the surplus value of labor.

And that’s not the end of the story.

Trade with the North, South, and Lingze Star is also profitable for the participating chambers of commerce. While the tax revenue is already included in the tax revenue, the Alliance’s affiliated chambers of commerce are also reaping significant profits. This is

especially true on Lingze Star.

All of this revenue, after paying taxes, must be turned over to the Alliance. This alone accounts for approximately one trillion yuan annually.

Of the total 11 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue, the Alliance retains none, except for the portion paid to the Imperial Tax. The remaining funds will be reinvested in Alliance development, primarily focusing on economic development.

The rapid, frantic, and entirely economic-driven development cycle is now coming to an end.

This doesn’t mean economic development will be neglected. On the contrary, it will remain the government’s primary focus.

However, at this juncture, with the potential for a significant shift in the situation, the Alliance will need to spend significantly more on other areas.

Even the most extreme preparations are necessary.

Speaking of extreme situations, the Alliance does have wartime decrees.

Over the past fifteen years, these decrees have become somewhat unfamiliar to the new generation. However, over the Alliance’s fifty-plus years of history, they have been in effect for over half of the time. The

current Alliance population has consistently maintained a relatively high standard of living. Of course, the specific level of living standards depends on the development of each star region. The Dragon Eagle Star Region undoubtedly boasts the highest standard of living, with annual per capita consumption reaching nearly 7 tax coins. While much of this expenditure is spent on public services, the overall standard suggests a fairly comfortable life.

If the Alliance were to implement wartime regulations, restricting all consumer goods and shifting civilian factories to military operations or other needs, the Alliance could potentially squeeze out an additional 10 trillion in fiscal revenue for war.

Of course, this isn’t necessary right now.

It ‘s simply a reorientation of current fiscal spending.

A crucial component of this shift is military development.

Over the past fifteen years, while the Alliance has been reducing its military forces and cutting military spending, military development has not stagnated.

Remaining resources have been used effectively: upgrading existing equipment and establishing more combat-capable model and experimental units.

The accumulated experience will be highly effective. When the Alliance needs to expand its military capabilities, all it needs to do is invest money and resources, and the military progress of the past fifteen years will be quickly realized.

This applies to both the Army and the Navy.

Changes to the Army have been relatively minor. The focus has been on developing several different levels of divisions, corps, and army groups.

These are divided into four tiers: A, B, and D.

Tier D is the standard for planetary defense forces. However, each planet’s defense force must include a certain proportion of C and B tier divisions and corps, determined by the planet’s economic situation and jointly determined by the Alliance government and the Alliance military.

Tier C units are division-level units built to Alliance standards from the Ironclad War era. A Class C Army is composed entirely of Class C divisions. It typically consists of 26 divisions, including 20 large infantry divisions, five combined armored brigades, and one death’s head division.

A large infantry division costs approximately 1.35 million tax coins; an armored combined brigade costs 5 million tax coins; and a death’s head division costs 10 million tax coins.

A Class C large infantry division primarily consists of frontline infantry, but lacks full motorized equipment. Tactical maneuvers rely primarily on foot. Strategic maneuvers of hundreds or thousands of kilometers within a planet require other vehicles. These typically rely on armored tracked trains and other equipment belonging to the Army or Army Group.

In addition to the 12 frontline infantry regiments, a division typically also has eight artillery battalions for core firepower, eight battalions for logistics, engineering, and communications, an air defense regiment, and an aviation squadron.

Including the division headquarters, the total strength is 44,000 personnel.

Such a large infantry division’s combat capabilities rival those of a standard Astra Militarum division. In fact, it’s even more capable than the average Astra Militarum unit.

This capability isn’t just about increased firepower and the presence of additional air defense and aviation units; it also reflects the quality of its personnel.

A Category C division can guarantee over 60% coverage of T5 soldiers.

A Category C combined armored brigade is significantly smaller, around 14,000 men. However, it possesses approximately 1,000 armored vehicles, ranging from infantry fighting vehicles to armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft vehicles, wheeled assault guns, and communications and command vehicles. Its primary combat power comes from its 320 Lion tanks and 40 King Lion tanks. Not to mention

the support companies, logistics, and engineering corps of each combined and tank battalion, the combined brigades also boast aviation squadrons and anti-aircraft battalions.

These five combined armored brigades constitute the primary offensive force of a Category C army.

The Skeleton Division, on the other hand, has 60,000 troops and is essentially a combination of a large infantry division and an armored brigade. It’s primarily designed for independent combat, with significantly more infantry weapons like bolter guns, plasma guns, and melt-throwers. It also has a subordinate special forces brigade, primarily responsible for the most challenging and demanding missions, including airborne and special operations.

This totals to 62 million. Adding in the army headquarters, several aviation brigades, and strategic firepower, the total cost reaches 75 million.

A Category C Army Group consists of 20 such armies, totaling 20 million troops, along with additional strategic firepower, strategic mobile facilities, engineering units, and multiple strategic air corps.

The Alliance’s requirement for division-level units is to independently or collaboratively command objectives in a single combat zone. The combat zone typically spans no less than 40 kilometers, typically around 70 to 100 kilometers.

This is under normal combat conditions. If necessary, large numbers of troops may need to be stacked, forming more batches of battles, or even more troops may be deployed in frontal engagements. This figure may fluctuate

depending on tactical requirements.

When fighting an enemy with heavy firepower, you absolutely can’t just pile up your forces randomly; that would be a deadly act, like fighting human traitors. However, when dealing with an enemy like the Zerg, you need to pack them in densely, especially with concentrated firepower; otherwise, you won’t be able to stop the endless Zerg’s frontal assault. The Orks are somewhere in between.

The requirement for an Army Group is to lead combat in a small area of a planet; an Army Group can essentially independently handle the entire combat needs of a planet.

Of course, this all depends on the intensity of the war.

At the level of an apocalyptic battle, not only divisions, but even Army Groups are attrition-rates measured in days. An Army Group could be wiped out in ten to half a month, and the main battlefield might be concentrated in a width of several hundred kilometers.

Each situation requires a specific analysis.

However, if we must define normal and ideal conditions, here’s how they’re categorized.

A Category C Army Group is roughly comparable to a regular Imperial Astra Militarum regiment, and often significantly more powerful.

As for Category B divisions, the Grand Infantry Division will have more exoskeleton armor, plasma cannons and melta cannons, a larger number of Sentinels, and higher-level aircraft in the divisional aviation squadron. For example, the Wind Falcon will be replaced with more Kirin fighters, significantly increasing overall mobility and endurance.

While the number of personnel will remain around 44,000, the total cost will soar to 4.5 million, nearly triple that of a Category C division.

A Category B armored division, based on the Category C, will increase the number of Lion tanks to 120 and also equip 30 Holy Sword tanks—heavy tanks even larger and more powerful than the Lion. The total cost will rise to 15 million.

Category B armies, on the other hand, will require Category C armies to have Category B divisions comprise at least 50%. Category B army groups will also require Category B armies to comprise at least 50%.

The Combat Power Alliance compares these Category B divisions, armies, and army groups to renowned Astra Militarum legions.

They can basically outmaneuver normal Astra Militarum units.

Even many wealthy Space Marine Chapters only have their own auxiliary forces at this level.

And when it comes to Class A divisions, they’re truly top-tier. All infantry members are equipped with exoskeletons, and a significant proportion even have feedback-based power armor. There are also numerous Dragon Elephant fighters, and their combat effectiveness is truly remarkable.

Furthermore, in terms of manpower, there are a significant number of T4 and T3-class units.

As for armored divisions, there are more Holy Sword tanks and even Titans.

A Class A Army requires at least eight Class A divisions, with the remainder all being Class B divisions.

The same applies to Class A Army Groups.

The Alliance’s standard for building Class A ground forces is to create the most powerful mortal units in the Imperium, surpassing most Astra Militarum units—including those renowned Astra Militarum regiments.

(End of this chapter)