Chapter 772: Governing the country is not easy, the emperor sighed
At this moment, the palace.
When Arcturus walked into the war room, the emperor's chief engineer, Rory Swann, was rushing out of the door. Mrs. Meinho, who was as hard and stubborn as a Camerian prospecting drill, was wearing a tailored suit, but she still remained the same.
He looked like a butcher who had just slaughtered a pig, and Arcturus bet that Swann was cleaned up by his men just before he left for the palace.
Any cabinet official who has dealt with Swann will admit that the Chief Engineer is even busier than the Emperor of the Tyranid Empire, and that he is willing to spend all his free time outside of work drinking beer and gossiping.
On average, a Viking rolls off the production lines of the Norris II and Norris VI heavy fighter aircraft every few minutes. In peacetime, it would take them at least half a month to do so, and these newly built fighters are by no means conjured out of thin air.
Swann would never step into the palace unless necessary, even if the mansion awarded by the emperor was right at the foot of the palace. With Swann's outstanding contributions to the empire, no one would question that he should not receive such special treatment.
Rory Swann has some of the most outstanding designers, engineers, and metal technicians in the Empire under his command. Other teams in the Imperial Engineering Corps are also building tanks and large mechas, and construction is only a small part of their work.
As the war between the Empire and Amon continues to escalate, repairing damaged machinery and dealing with space hulks that must be scrapped are the most troublesome aspects.
These people are also true supermen. Under extremely harsh circumstances, the foreign engineering teams sent to various battlefields can even make aviation parts or build a planetary fortress from scratch.
An Imperial Engineer of Char once drove a space engineering vehicle to kill four Zerglings in a state of extreme anger, and used exploration explosives to collapse the underground lava tunnel and bury hundreds of Zerg. Although he still collapsed in the end
Mining area, did not survive to go to Augustgrad for the award.
There is always something unusual about geniuses, and because of this, Arcturus is able to tolerate certain quirks in them, such as Swann's complete failure to notice the Empire's Number Two as he slips out from under his nose like a gust of wind.
The character is greeting himself.
Arcturus caught a glimpse of Swann holding a large stack of equipment blueprints in his hand, all of which were the latest fighter planes and mechas of the empire.
The Tyranid Empire's weapons are updated so quickly that they are not outdated as soon as they are deployed. Although many armies are still using weapons from before Brood War, their fleets are completely different from the past.
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The enemies of the Empire are mainly Amon's hybrid troops and his servants from the three tribes, and the Dark God does not bother to upgrade weapons for his cannon fodder, so the existing weapons are fully sufficient when dealing with them.
However, considering the complex and ever-changing battlefield environment, the Imperial Equipment Department still needs to upgrade existing equipment or directly develop new ones. There are more than a dozen models of power armor alone.
In addition, Arcturus also knows that the emperor is in need of a means of protection that can effectively combat the corruption of the void these days, so that the imperial ships can travel unimpeded in the void. This is probably why Augustus
The reason why they all specially asked Swann to rush to the palace in person.
"In addition, immediately give special government funding to Andra, Arcadia, Ross, Michael, Angus, Olivia, and Boyla." Arcturus said as soon as he entered the door.
Hearing his brother giving orders in an unquestionable tone: "Listen."
The emperor handed a clerk or private secretary in the war room another pile of bills that were eager to be signed into effect, and said: "Let the new prime minister convene an imperial meeting immediately and then vote. The sooner the better."
Standing opposite the emperor is the current finance minister, Aldeo Cistler. He entered the imperial political circles through votes rather than direct promotion, which means that this person has considerable popularity among the people and relies on his work for the emperor.
People's voices or political performances attract attention and accumulate political capital.
Of course, based on this alone, it is impossible for Sister to sit in his current position during his lifetime. There is no doubt that the Ministry of Finance is one of the most powerful departments in the empire, and the head of this department is naturally the most popular person in the empire.
figure.
In any case, if Sister Sister wanted to make progress in the imperial political circles, he had to be appreciated by the emperor, regardless of whether he had been a supporter or an opponent of the emperor.
The irony is that before his rise to power, Sisterr was a staunch opponent of Augustus's New Deal and fantasized about returning to the good old days of the old Commonwealth. Now he wished he could bow at the emperor's feet.
Every seat in the parliament is elected, and every member represents the interests of all walks of life, but the people who really hold important positions are either old faces or have retreated to the background. After all, all imperial officials and planetary governors are still controlled by the emperor.
Delegation.
Emperor Augustus never bothered to silence his opponents, because he believed that there was no need to silence the "spoken officials". There were many parties in the imperial political circles, but they were basically insignificant. Opposition to Augustus and
There are many people who support this policy, but it is usually just as their own political opinion. In fact, even they themselves do not know who they will elect to power when they can really overthrow Augustus.
If there is really a group of people in the parliament who are planning to abdicate the emperor, I am afraid that other people will first suspect that they either have a brain problem or have been corrupted by the void. Who knows that the current imperial parliament is worse than a vegetable market, at least there is really good bargaining there.
Someone listens.
"But the most important thing is medicine, clean food and water. Most of them are new colonies established after the Day of the Ascension. They lack everything. The interruption of trade routes and the invasion of insect swarms almost defeated them." Sister.
He is a standard imperial politician, wearing a suit and leather shoes, and has an extraordinary imposing manner.
Generally speaking, the further one travels from Korhal, the harder it is to maintain order, a statement Arcturus couldn't agree more with.
Just maintaining stable prices in the core world during the war years is enough to make a series of imperial financial and monetary experts hang themselves, so they must not act rashly just because of the slightest disturbance.
As for the new colonies and frontier worlds that are further away, the situation is much more difficult, but most of the difficulties in these worlds do not come from a lack of money.
The empire's new colonies basically belong to the resource world, where minerals are in short supply, but it is difficult to buy industrial products and agricultural products from the core world, so rapid prices have become the norm.
In addition, smaller colonies were more vulnerable to war and disease. A terrible plague struck St. Patrick not long ago, killing hundreds of thousands of people in the first two weeks of the outbreak. This was something unheard of. An intestinal infectious disease, accompanied by fatal symptoms of diarrhea and dehydration. When rescue from neighboring worlds arrived, there were not even a few living people on the entire planet.
This is undoubtedly another masterpiece of the insect swarm.
When the routes were clear, this problem was not obvious, but since Aemon's army began to bypass the imperial convoys in a targeted manner and directly attack their trade routes with the outer colonies, the situation began to take a turn for the worse.
".That's it." Seeing Arcturus walking in, Augustus waved to Sister, as if to get rid of annoying trouble.
Sister Sister was obviously not a favorite of Augustus, but the advantage of the emperor was that even if he didn't like a person very much, he would still reuse him as long as he was capable enough.
In contrast, Arcturus valued ability more, while Augustus believed that character was equally important, but the reality was that it was difficult for them to find people with both qualities.
Although Tychus is of low quality, he fights hard.
Jim Raynor is a "farmer". He has never attended a military school and has never received systematic training. But it turns out that he is a natural military genius. He relies on talent and intuition to fight. As for his character, he is also a natural genius. Recognized for acting with integrity.
But if you let Reno do politics, it is better to let Tychus do cooking. The latter learned two tricks from Augustus when he was young, and at least he can still cook something sweet and not starve himself.
When leaving the war room, Sister, who was much more discerning than Swann, quickly greeted the Imperial Prince. After all, he was personally recommended by Arcturus.
"This Sister is indeed very capable. I wonder what his colleagues think of him." Augustus raised his head and looked at Arcturus.
"A clown, a two-faced man, a greasy-headed and naughty man." Arcturus said: "My evaluation is similar."
"I thought you liked him very much," said Augustus.
"So you don't like him." Arcturus asked: "What did he say to you?"
"He proposed that I allow local governments to increase taxes on their own to increase revenue, otherwise they would have to borrow money from the banks of Umoyan." Augustus commented: "Absurd."
In fact, the current empire is not very short of money. Even with so many resources invested in the military, the income from other sectors of Koprulu and the Sigma Sector can even make them profitable.
This was exactly the result of Augustus' colonial policy. He wanted not only territory, but also the most important resources. In other words, he wanted to open mines everywhere and cast a wide net to catch more fish.
Crystal mines and high-energy gas are the most undisputed hard currencies in the Koprulu sector. Since the war began, countless people in the Augustgrad Stock Exchange have made a fortune but lost all their money. A single attack by Emon's army
An invasion or a victory of the Imperial Army could bring huge changes to the stock market, but I am afraid only the most well-informed people will know the movements of the Dark God.
However, those who invested in the imperial state-owned mining companies in the early days without exception made a fortune, almost always making a profit without losing money.
Years ago, perhaps a long time ago, Arcturus would have been ecstatic about a huge and rich vein of crystal minerals, but now wealth means little to him, even though he has long been the richest man in the empire.
one of the people.
With the discovery of new worlds and the development of new colonies, a large number of high-quality minerals have been discovered by imperial exploration ships scattered in the universe. Traces of crystal mines have even been found in the void, and their reserves are at least enough for an interstellar empire-level force.
Hundreds of years of excavation are far beyond what it can be compared to in the past. In the end, all that has to be considered is the cost of mining, smelting and transportation.
Just like the best iron mines are always accompanied by high-quality coal mines, the best crystal mines are also accompanied by high-energy gas springs. The current empire does not lack such good ores, but only lacks the manpower and time to mine them.
And how can they transport these minerals to the core world's manufacturing plants when Amon attacks.
"This is impossible. It won't take many years before they will be able to list a bunch of tax items that neither you nor I know about." Arcturus said: "Sistler is not a brainless person."
"He is testing me to see if I will delegate power to the localities." Augustus snorted and stopped discussing the topic. A Sister could not make many waves.
"Tell me the news you brought."
"The fleet bound for Baishel has already set off." Arcturus didn't even have time to find a place to sit down: "One Xel'Naga world ship, thirty Gorgons, and eight hundred Minotaurs.
The two squadrons of Warfield and Horner are also on their way to join together."
"Aiur sent the Spear of Adun and several expeditionary fleets. The High Lord of Tal'darin said that he was considering sending a death fleet to help, but I guess he only verbally supported it as usual."
"Where are the enemies? How many are there?" Augustus nodded.
Arcturus noticed that the emperor's desk was piled with various reports, assessments and copies of bills. He worked from morning to night, but the pile of things never decreased.
signs. In fact, Augustus' officials were reliable enough, but he was still used to interfering in everything.
In fact, there have not been many combat meetings held in the war room these days. There are only a few lackluster galaxies still flickering on the holographic picture. On the one hand, these are the emperor's most outstanding generals and military talents. On the other hand, the general strategic direction
It had been decided long ago that Augustus had no intention of dictating the front line.
Moreover, fighting is only a small part of war. It is important enough, but it is not the whole story.
"Two Doomsday Arks, countless other types of ships, and Baishel's zerg are now so numerous that they can submerge the planet."
"Two?" Augustus was a little surprised: "The Protoss said there would be one. Then we must re-evaluate this number. There may be a third ship."
"They made a mistake." Arcturus said: "But the result was not bad. Executive Phoenix boarded one of the doomsday arks and turned it directly into a battlefield, which was equivalent to directly paralyzing an ark."
"If they had known there were two arks, maybe they wouldn't have done this."
"No." Augustus understood his old friend: "Then Phoenix will land on two arks at the same time, and then rush into the cab, forcing them to collide head-on."
"It's just like what's written in heroic stories, but it's unrealistic." Arcturus continued: "No matter what, at least one thing is certain, Baishel's importance to Eamon must be higher than we expected.
."
"It's always Beisher." Augustus said to himself: "I hope we will get the answer soon, why he insists on getting along with this unobtrusive planet."
However, despite spending most of the time with Arcturus endlessly discussing political and military affairs, today Augustus decided to talk about something else.
"Okay, let's not talk about it. It will take a week at the earliest before we can get the latest news from Baishel."
"How is it?" When Arcturus sat down, Augustus immediately realized that the other person was asking about his work status.
"As usual, the bottomless pit of expenditure, the unbearable huge losses, the shocking casualty figures. And our annoying neighbors, there is nothing to make people happy." Augustus wailed.
: "The worst ones are non-combat attrition, human factors, swarm viruses, and void corruption."
"There are also all kinds of ridiculous reasons. You simply can't believe that someone would be left alone on an undeveloped planet because he misremembered the assembly time, so that he had to live a Robinson Crusoe style while waiting for rescue.
life." He said as he took out a bottle of brandy from the wine cabinet next to him, poured a glass and handed it to Arcturus:
"The doctor said I should drink less alcohol, but he didn't say I couldn't live with eye addiction."
"Do you have any news about Valerian? He is also in Baishel." He asked Arcturus again.
"He never writes to me, and I don't receive any information in my personal communication." Arcturus said this like an empty nester, but he didn't seem too worried about his son, he was just stating the facts.
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"What's going on?" the emperor asked with ostentatious knowledge, which made him look like a child: "And I receive letters from him almost every week." ()