Chapter 1721: Chapter 978: Bloodless Victory?
Gu Hang has immense ambition.
But he prefers to call it determination.
By now, he roughly understands his role in this universe. At this position, he has no room to escape.
So, if he’s going to do it, he must do it well.
Retaining the mess of the Old Empire and then expending who-knows-how-much effort with uncertain results—
Why bother?
As for Robert, Gu Hang knows he will find it hard to accept at first.
On one hand, there’s a worry over Gu Hang’s ’ambition’ and a lack of trust.
On the other hand, there’s a concern about whether this approach will work.
Regarding the latter, Gu Hang believes Robert will understand.
If he really started from scratch, having nothing, relying solely on brute force to overthrow the Old Empire’s system and build anew from the ruins, it would lead to major issues. The Empire’s territory is too vast, and governing it too difficult. Even a poor old order is still order, and destroying it would lead to significant chaos if any problems arise during reconstruction.
But the situation is different because Gu Hang does not rebuild the Empire from scratch; he has the Alliance. He spent over a century forming an efficient administrative system capable of swift takeover.
Regarding whether the Alliance Government is capable of such a takeover, and if the Alliance Central can manage this enormous Human Empire after replacing the Central Empire, Gu Hang believes that Robert, known for his reason and wisdom, is entirely capable of discerning this clearly.
The Alliance is, of course, not perfect; no one can achieve perfection.
Even The Emperor himself couldn’t do so when he ruled directly.
As long as it’s stronger than the old system, and significantly so, that’s enough.
As for Robert’s potential first concern, that depends on him.
It depends on whether Robert possesses enough wisdom to form mutual trust with Gu Hang.
More importantly, does Robert truly uphold the ideal of ’Empire Supremacy, Humanity Supremacy,’ devoid of personal desire?
If he harbors a desire for power, valuing the immense authority represented by the position of ’Regent King’ more, then regardless of a potential honeymoon period, eventually, they might have to part ways.
But if he is both smart enough and selfless, then no matter how much friction arises in between, he will ultimately see clearly that having Gu Hang fully control the Empire is the best choice.
Gu Hang has said that the mutual trust between him and Robert is the foundation for millennia of stability in the New Empire. But he never said that this foundation is a ’dual leadership.’
Of course, discussing this now might be a bit premature.
They haven’t even taken Holy Terra yet.
Before grasping this heart of the Empire, everything being discussed is just castles in the sky.
The distribution of post-war benefits depends on winning the war.
Without Terra, what is there to discuss about kings and ministers?
And this war is already underway.
Currently, the situation seems favorable.
After finishing his ’discussion’ with Gu Hang and roughly confirming the future distribution of benefits, Robert immediately began preparing for the war on Holy Terra without delay.
Honestly, Robert had never imagined being on the attacking side of the Holy Terra defense battle.
However, he does have the advantage.
He understands Holy Terra very well.
He knows all about the defense installations in the Human Empire capital, including many secret trump cards.
As the Regent King of the Human Empire after the Emperor’s ascension and the civil war’s hard-won victory, he was the supreme ruler for over a century.
Originally, he was worried about whether there might be changes in the orbital defense cannons, defense strategies, and various other trump cards on Holy Terra. After all, a millennium had passed.
But... based on current observations and intelligence, there have been none.
Humanity hasn’t progressed at all in this millennium.
Furthermore, even if they haven’t progressed, they have regressed a lot.
The Imperial Guard told him so.
Regarding the defense situation on Holy Terra, they’re certainly well-informed. Undoubtedly, the largest, strongest, and most steadfast fortress on Holy Terra is the Imperial Palace. They, the marchers are obviously most aware of the palace’s internal defenses.
Furthermore, moving forward, they should take over the entire palace forcefully.
In the past, not only the Empire Government, but many important Empire departments operated in the Terra Imperial Palace. Now, they plan to seal all those. The palace will go on lockdown, with the Imperial Guard taking full control. The Imperial Palace Guard, completely subordinate to the marchers, is a mortal unit whose loyalty and purity should be unquestionable. However, the Imperial Guard will still closely reassess the Palace Guards’ reliability, for caution’s sake.
Moreover, besides the Imperial Guard and the Palace Guard, all other military forces will be cleared from the Terra Imperial Palace.
Afterward, Terra Imperial Palace’s defense facilities will no longer be an obstacle to Robert’s assault.
This removes Robert’s greatest concern.
If the firepower atop those deep palace walls was aimed at the sky, the sacrifice needed to control the planet’s orbit would be immense.
Of course, the orbital defense forces on Holy Terra are not limited to the Imperial Palace. Removing the palace still leaves about seventy percent.
Robert also suggested whether the Imperial Guard, if resources permit, could actively engage in controlling some of these.\p>
It’s not just leaving it to them to do. After all, though the Imperial Guard is strong, their numbers are too few. Subsequently, Robert’s expeditionary force will risk an airborne operation, attempting to land a significant number of troops on the landing field opened within Terra Imperial Palace.
At that time, they will, under the leadership of some Forbidden Army Soldiers, attack those strategic points.
This has been agreed upon, and the Imperial Guard has approved.
Thus, the issue of controlling Holy Terra’s orbit has been partially resolved.
The other part of the threat lies with the Solar Fleet.
This navy has a contingent on the moon—where many Navy Generals once bowed to him.
They can now follow Robert’s commands and are no longer an obstacle.
However, they make up only ten percent of the whole Solar Fleet.
Relying on them to turn their guns on their past comrades right now is a bit unrealistic.
First, it might provoke backlash, and also because their internal situation is complex, lacking loyalty checks and thus uncertain reliability. If they suddenly change sides in battle, it could be disastrous.
Yet, turning it around, since they are already part of the Solar Fleet, they could contact more Fleet Commanders and Captains, hoping to win more to their side.
This process is already underway, with many Captains expressing their intent.
Therefore, Gu Hang and Robert are in a good mood, feeling that things are progressing smoothly.
If we’re optimistic, perhaps political diplomacy and leveraging influence might take Holy Terra without bloodshed?
