Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 808

Chapter 802, Is This Fast?

After the second wave of troops joined the battle, the progress and speed of the expedition reached a new level.

And this wasn’t the end.

The Alliance’s military expansion plan continued unabated.

Furthermore, the Alliance’s economic system had already been shifting,

from a focus on economic development to one geared towards war efforts, even before the disaster.

A Level 3 mobilization order had been issued, and all units were instructed to be on alert and ready to issue a Level 2 mobilization order at any moment.

Factories began to serve military production. Official propaganda shifted the social environment and atmosphere. News control tightened, and war-related news became more prevalent, with government propaganda as the primary focus.

On many planets where conditions allowed, citizens began receiving four hours of weekly military training in militia camps as a reserve force. This requirement covered almost all residents and was considered mandatory.

Basic military training was required to strengthen the reserve force. If conscription became necessary, these reserve militias would reduce screening and training costs.

All military factories were freed from many of the restrictions previously imposed to support economic development. Many civilian factories began accepting large orders from military factories, some even being converted into them.

Some welfare policies for the entire population began shifting toward wartime policies.

There are many similar policies.

The issuance of the mobilization order essentially signifies the unleashing of the Alliance’s war potential.

Given the current size of the Alliance, completely shifting to a wartime economy and unleashing this potential all at once would be difficult and would inflict significant damage to Alliance society. The Alliance government will not do so, and the current situation is far from the point of a complete mobilization tomorrow.

A gradual shift is sufficient, and the Alliance has plenty of time to do this.

Furthermore, relevant propaganda policies must be implemented effectively.

Over the past two or three decades, the Alliance has experienced a long golden period of peaceful development.

Now, that period is coming to an end.

War will be the dominant theme in the future. All of society will be forced to serve the war effort, and this will not last for a few years or a decade, but perhaps for much longer, even spanning the lives of several generations.

Of course, this does not mean the Alliance’s development will cease.

However, development during the past “golden age” focused on universal, comprehensive, and fundamental development, laying the foundation.

Development after the mobilization order was focused on military and military-industrial development.

While the general living standards of the people might stagnate for a long time, or even regress slightly, the scale and quality of military production would see significant growth.

This was unavoidable.

In times of crisis, livelihoods must take a back seat to survival.

A similar situation occurred in the Eastern Universe.

The situation there was unique.

Prior to this, the alliance system had not been widely implemented in the Eastern Universe. The alliance’s control of the Eastern Universe was more like economic colonial control, tinged with plunder.

Objectively, the profits earned from the Eastern Universe accelerated the development of the Alliance itself. Similarly, the Alliance’s substantial investment, particularly in infrastructure, also resulted in substantial economic growth in the Eastern Universe.

However, without the support of the alliance system, this economic growth did not reach the general public, but rather was reaped by the Eastern Universe’s elite. Ultimately, the benefits to the general public were relatively minor.

At the time, the Alliance didn’t annex the Eastern Region, partly because expanding its control entailed significant costs, but more importantly, due to obstruction from Holy Terra. Unwilling to overly irritate the Imperial Central Government, the Alliance’s greed for the Eastern Region was significantly restrained.

Now, this worry is no longer necessary.

The Eastern Region’s political landscape, heavily influenced by the Alliance, was completely liberated during Operation Power Up. Later, after the landmark event of the “Letter to Compatriots in Disaster,” heralding the beginning of the Dark Side Expedition, the Eastern Region government, on behalf of the entire region, declared its acceptance of the full management of the Imperial Dark Side Control Committee, recognizing Gu Hang, the sole High Lord, as supreme authority in the Empire’s Dark Side. All planets within the region would fully obey the Control Committee’s orders.

This meant that the Eastern Region’s merger with the Alliance was completed quite smoothly.

In the years leading up to this, many planets within the Eastern Region had already employed numerous Alliance alumni as government officials and professional managers. The entire political transition and reform went quite smoothly—indeed, it was relatively smooth compared to other areas that still required violent transformation.

Subsequently, the alliance system would rapidly transform the entire Eastern Universe into an alliance-inspired entity, while also regulating public welfare and the scale of social production according to the standards of the mobilization order.

However, this peaceful evolution also left behind many historical issues, and the entire Universe inevitably retained a wealth of historical remnants. Unlike the fourteen Alliance star regions that had weathered blood and fire, which had been left blank, allowing the Alliance to freely paint.

To appease and reward the former elite, while they were incorporated into the Alliance system, they generally received exceptionally high ranks, enjoying high-level benefits and allowances. Not only were they generally exempt from special work assignments, but they also received additional allowances beyond their rank… a truly wonderful experience.

Those truly power-hungry or ambitious were also welcome. The Alliance’s thirst for talent was always great. Using the Alliance as a platform, they could shoulder responsibilities and control power far more drastically than they had in the past, with only a single planet, a single star region, or even a single universe. The allure

of joining a Dark Side crusade that could influence the fate of the entire empire

is greater than anything else for those with lofty ambitions.

And the Alliance welcomes and needs the participation of these idealists.

…

The Alliance’s fourteen home star regions, plus the seven in the Eastern Universe, totaling 21 star regions, constitute the Alliance’s current foundation for supporting the Dark Side crusade.

So far, the Dark Side Expedition has been underway for three months. The second expeditionary force has already been dispatched to the front lines, and the third will be fully assembled in at most six months.

In those three months, over seventy worlds have already been captured within the Magre Universe.

How can we describe this pace?

Slow, on average, it takes less than 1.3 days to capture a world. The Solar Expedition was similarly fast.

Who could say it’s slow?

Even many worlds change their flags upon the arrival of the Alliance army. Some even don’t even need to do that. As soon as communication is established, they declare their compliance with the Control Commission’s management and wait for the engineering vessels to tow the Lightning Torch to install it.

That’s why it’s so fast.

But wasn’t the Solar Expedition like that? After a crucial battle, after destroying the main force of a pocket empire, dozens or hundreds of worlds would surrender and become part of the empire’s territory. Speaking of control, it’s unclear whether the worlds captured after the Solar Expedition are as controllable as those taken by the Alliance’s Dark Side Expedition.

Most likely not.

Of course, there are differences. The Dark Side Expedition has a significant advantage over the Sun Expedition: the targets the Alliance targets are all former Imperial worlds, so the resistance is much less than with the Sun Expedition, which targeted worlds in the Dark Outer Realm.

Still, a pace of one world every 1.3 days is certainly not slow.

However, even at this sustained pace, how long would it take to conquer the entire Magray Universe?

The Magray Universe has 5,000 worlds!

Even if this pace were maintained, assuming the Dark Side Expedition encountered no significant obstacles later in the process, it would take at least 17 years, nearly 18 years, to reclaim the entire Magray Universe.

And that’s just for the Magray Universe.

The entire Dark Side Empire encompasses 25 universes!

Excluding the Spider Web and the East, there are 23 remaining. At this rate, it would take 400 years!

The Alliance is undoubtedly wealthy, but can it sustain a full 400 years? At a 20-year generation rate, can it sustain an expedition that would take 20 generations?

Probably not.

This Dark Side Expedition cannot be sustained solely by the Alliance’s own strength.

The power of the planets captured during the Dark Side Expedition must be mobilized and utilized.

Otherwise, as the Dark Side Expedition expands and the area under its control increases, the Alliance will be overwhelmed.

This means that the Alliance must effectively manage the captured planets during the expedition. Both

economic and political development must continue unabated.

The former goes without saying, while the latter determines the extent to which the Alliance can mobilize and utilize power on these planets.

A large number of economic and political talents are essential.

Conversely, the challenges posed to the Alliance government are enormous.

The entire government is on full alert, like a wound-up spring, unable to pause for even a moment.

All actions must be swift, yet steady. Any misstep in such a massive undertaking would have far-reaching consequences.

Yet, it is precisely in this context that the Alliance faces a new and even greater challenge.

The Alliance now faces more than just the challenge of supporting the ever-expanding Dark Side Expedition, which seems to have no end in sight. The Alliance’s own security suddenly arose.

This was in the northern part of the Spider Web Realm, bordering the Devouring Realm, part of the Empire’s northern frontier.

The Devouring Realm was pierced by the Great Rift, and a portion of it was separated from the Dark Side of the Empire, where the Alliance resided.

Although the Alliance’s Dark Side Crusade didn’t target the Devouring Realm, due to its proximity to the Great Rift, that area would be significantly more affected by the Warp. Disasters there would be significantly more severe and more severe than elsewhere.

Furthermore, Chaos rebels and Chaos demonic vanguards could likely use the Scarlet Scar to move quickly.

For the Empire and humanity, the Scarlet Scar was a formidable barrier separating the two ends of the Empire. However, for the Chaos enemies, it was a shortcut, allowing them to move swiftly. Chaos armies could appear almost anywhere within the Scarlet Scar.

Therefore, in the early stages of the Dark Side Crusade, it might be tempting to avoid the northern part in favor of speed.

But even if we don’t go on an expedition, we must continue our reconnaissance and early warning work in the areas bordering the Scarlet Scar.

The challenge lies in that border area.

A Chaos Demon Army has burst forth from the Scarlet Scar.

It’s a bloody crimson fleet, its crimson skull emblem striking.

And their goal is clear.

They ignore the territories of the three star regions in the Devouring Star Realm and head straight for the northern Spider Web Realm of the Alliance!

(End of this chapter)