1258: Chapter 710, Only Money 1258: Chapter 710, Only Money When Galaraldo first heard Prime Minister Luo Fei nominate Gu Hang to become the Cosmic Domain Chair of the Spiderweb Domain, he hadnāt reacted instantly.
What for?
Surrendered?
Immediately, he realized that was impossible.
Luo Fei had other plans in mind.
However, Galaraldo didnāt rush to speak.
Someone would speak up.
Sure enough, a High Lord raised a question: āThe matter of the Alliance hasnāt been resolved, and now you propose Gu Hang to govern the Spiderweb Domain.
Has the Executive Council considered this appropriately?ā
āNot at all, in fact, weāve been deliberating on this for a long time.ā Luo Fei appeared quite confident and assured.
Then, he presented his ideas to the audience.
Clearing away the decorative and insignificant long-winded statements, the key point was Gu Hang taking over the position of Cosmic Domain Chair of the Spiderweb Domain.
Gu Hang performed exceptionally in the last war and was the greatest hero of the war, a fact that could not be erased by anyone.
Therefore, achievements must be rewarded, and naturally, he needs to be promoted.
Isnāt Gu Hangās primary official title the Dragonhawk Star Domain Leader?
Then, he directly steps up, rising to the position of Cosmic Domain Chair, becoming a governor of regions, governing the Spiderweb Domain.
Moreover, the Spiderweb Domain happens to need a political strongman to lead the thousands of worlds through post-war crises.
Isnāt Gu Hang suitable?
As for the Alliance, which has been under discussion for a while, Luo Fei did not mention it again.
But the current intention was already very clear.
Regarding these two issues, there is no related regulation within the Empireās rules.
Thereās no rule that says someone who leads a unified political entity cannot assume the position of Cosmic Domain Chair.
In reality, within the Empire, there are actually a few Cosmic Domain Chairs under similar circumstances.
Of course, the political entities they command typically consist of only a few planets, several dozens of planets, formed into a military, economic, and political integration, usually located in the core areas controlled by the Space Domain Government, so that the Space Domain Government can manage a core area, wield core power.
Gu Hang, at such a scale, definitely does not exist.
But what of it?
Thereās precedent, others have done it before, the Empire has no stipulations, so why canāt Gu Hang?
Isnāt it just a tiny bit larger?
But Galaraldo couldnāt bring himself to say this openly.
At this moment, he silently shrank back, saying nothing.
He had to first observe the situation.
Actually, the present situation was already somewhat clear.
Luo Fei was advancing by withdrawing, throwing out the idea of a Cosmic Domain Chair as a strategic retreat, letting people thoughtfully consider what kind of might Cosmic Domain Chair plus the Alliance would possess?
How much power would Gu Hang wield?
Both Alliance and Cosmic Domain Chair, would Gu Hang push the already troublesome Alliance further?
Expand it to encompass the entire Spiderweb Domain, thus becoming a gigantic, powerful, politically and economically advanced political entity from military to political aspects?
Itās quite possible indeed.
Even Xu Fuzhen, who had always been greedy for the substantial tax revenue the Alliance could provide, hesitated.
Desire for money is one thing, but a simple Alliance exists as it does, after all, itās just five Star Domains; after all, the Alliance has existed for several decades, and Gu Hangās attitude towards the Central Empire has always been relatively obedientā¦
Nevertheless, regardless of the situation, the combination of Cosmic Domain Chair and Alliance leadership was still overly extravagant, the powers too vast, and internally it could form a power loop, virtually unregulated from the outside.
Xu Fuzhen also remained silent.
A staunch supporter of Gu Hang fell silent, a supporter greedy for the Allianceās money fell silent, the situation tended to become one-sided.
No need for Luo Fei to say anything more, rather, those High Lords with no relevant interests cautiously spoke one by one, expressing that Luo Feiās proposal was unreliable.
Luo Fei, being rebuffed, was not angry but instead smiled cheerfully, explaining one by one, agreeing with the views of the dissenters.
Subsequently, he proposed, whether to dissolve the Alliance.
In that case, wouldnāt it be a win-win situation?
Gu Hang gets promoted.
Without this opportunity, it would be extremely difficult for a typical Star Domain Leader to advance to the position of Cosmic Domain Chair, with numerous hurdles in between, each hurdle potentially causing a politician to spend their entire life in vain.
Now, let Old Gu step over at once, and do not let his wartime achievements go unappreciated.
The Alliance is dissolved, letting the lords on Holy Terra be reassured without facing a new ironclad entity.
For Luo Fei, once Gu Hang became Cosmic Domain Chair, he entered the Executive Councilās appointment system overnight, transforming from a political adversary to āone of us,ā potentially even becoming a friend in the future.
Even in Galaraldoās mind, this was a good thing.
Were it not known that Gu Hang absolutely would not want to abandon the Alliance for the position of Cosmic Domain Chair, he would vote in favor himself.
Isnāt it a win-win situation?
āI disagree!ā
Finally, someone stepped out.
āI disagree with dissolving the Alliance.ā The speaker was Xu Fuzhen.
This Minister of Taxation, with a cold face, tossed out a document, ignoring all other High Lords, her gaze fixed solely on Qi Bodu.
She reported in a detached tone, saying: āBy preserving the Alliance, we harvest not only the current 300 billion a year but also a future income of 1.3 trillion annually.
Meanwhile, through the Executive Councilās appointment system, we instead need to exempt the Star Domains within the Alliance, including the entire Spiderweb Domain, from taxes for ten or even twenty years.
We need to support a military to manage and suppress; we need to annually invest more than 300 billion to rebuild the Spiderweb Domain.ā
āSpecific datasets can be found in the files; I just want to inform everyone, taking ten years as measurement, the comprehensive income and expenditure gap will reach 20 trillion.ā
āThis financial gap cannot be remedied by the Department of Taxation from any other source.ā
āIn other words, whether Gu Hang takes the position of Cosmic Domain Chair and whether the Alliance remains preserved, I donāt care.
Iām merely telling everyone this one fact, if Prime Minister Luo Feiās proposal comes true, then Solariaās current annual investment of 700 billion must be halvedā¦ā
As she spoke, Luo Feiās face darkened.
Solariaās dozen Star Domains, tens of thousands of planets, are appointed by the Executive Council.
This territory from the Sun Expedition has always been the greatest increment of power from the Executive Council through the years.
Xu Fuzhen ignored him and continued, saying: āAll reconstruction investments for the Starfighter Battle Group will be halted entirely; the Navyās plan to rebuild and supplement the Solar Fleet needs a thorough re-examination; the Tribunalās budgetary allocation must reduce, it canāt support punishment on planet after planet; Holy Terraās production orders to Mars need reductionā¦ā
She continued to name several places.
A point advised, silently none.
āHence, my suggestion is not only shouldnāt the Alliance be dissolved, but why canāt the Spiderweb Domain be given to Gu Hang?ā
āGive!
Itās all possible!
Just as long as Gu Hang pays!ā