Chapter 53: Chapter 53, The Second Governor General

Gu Hang revealed a smile.

He stepped forward and gave Lambert a big hug, “I’m willing to trust you, welcome aboard, young comrade.”

Lambert’s expression was sincere, but Gu Hang didn’t completely trust him either.

After all, the guy brought a group of people with him, surrendered his weapons when asked, and worked when told; what was there to worry about?

Gu Hang didn’t expect much from them, nor would he use them for important tasks. Just let them clean up the battlefield, carry loads—who couldn’t do that? Using them was simple.

As for trust, that wasn’t something to be shown through words.

With more time and more shared experiences, he would eventually show his true colors.

Moreover, this guy brought Gu Hang an even bigger surprise.

Following him, apart from five hundred armed soldiers, there were also more than two thousand refugees.

According to Lambert, these were the people he had recruited from outside the city when he set out.

The reason he did so was that he had heard of a merchant named Dennison Henry who had recruited refugees for the governor. Figuring there was a significant labor shortage here, he did the same upon departure.

Not only that, he also arranged for people to carry out long-term resettlement propaganda outside Revival City, promoting that the governor’s place offered good jobs, treatment, and enough food and clothing to live on.

Wow, the young man was on the right track.

Gu Hang was overjoyed in his heart.

Because of this, he even felt embarrassed to chastise Hodgson when he was on the phone with him.

But, in fact, there wasn’t much to criticize.

The attack shouldn’t have had anything to do with them, at least currently there was no evidence to prove this. It was the cultists who took action, and the powerful Storm Sorcery made it very clear.

Moreover, before the attack, it was Hodgson who had given him the warning in advance.

Now, Hodgson also said that they had made further progress in their crackdown on the cult. They had captured two mid-level missionaries of the Primordial Wrath Owl Sect, and had learned that this cult organization was indeed secretly stepping up its actions in Revival City and that there might be a plan underway. If followed up, there should be more to be gained.

In addition to the cult issue that Gu Hang used to leverage against the Alliance Government, Hodgson’s performance in other aspects also satisfied Gu Hang.

Sending a grandson over, whether to serve him or to be a hostage, was in itself a statement on the attitude. Practically, he also made his stance very clear. The five hundred soldiers and two thousand refugees might not mean much; Hodgson had already implicitly promised that he would act in accordance with Gu Hang’s instructions within Revival City and cooperate with the governor.

But Hodgson also said that he needed the governor to understand his difficulties. He was the Speaker of the Council, but not an autocrat. Directly providing resources, promoting a law, replacing a councilman, or moving the military on a large scale… all these ultimately required discussion by the entire council and the formation of a resolution.

Gu Hang didn’t press the issue any further.

There was no point in pressing.

Currently, Hodgson could be considered on his side, at least that’s what his attitude suggested. Pressuring him was meaningless. On the contrary, Gu Hang needed Hodgson’s help to push the other councilmen.

This time, Gu Hang had a long talk with Hodgson.

They discussed what Gu Hang needed Hodgson to do, what support to provide, how to progressively advance Gu Hang’s will, and under what conditions Gu Hang would consider moving back to Revival City. They even briefly touched on some of the policies and reforms he would implement as head of the Alliance, how to ensure the planet could pay taxes in two years while still guaranteeing its development…

The conversation wasn’t deep, and most topics were just touched upon. After all, Gu Hang didn’t fully trust this council speaker who had expressed his willingness to side with him. But the fact that they could discuss such issues so extensively meant that Gu Hang, to some extent, had accepted the council speaker.

For now, Gu Hang did not plan to visit Revival City anytime soon.

The cult issue had not been resolved, and his safety in Revival City was not guaranteed; power was not yet fully centralized, and without this concentration of power, he would not be as effective; his own power reserves were also not yet sufficient, and without them, he would not be able to exert full authority once in Revival City…

But that time won’t be too far away.

…

Revival City, inner city district, a private club.

Three individuals, famous throughout the entire Alliance, were gathered here.

These three were Alliance Councilmen, and each owned significant industries within Revival City.

However, their expressions were very grim.Bradford spoke, “The recording, everyone has listened to it. Don’t be silent, let’s discuss our thoughts.”

He was a business tycoon in Revival City. While he didn’t own many industrial businesses, he had strong commercial channels to the east, south, west, and north. Many products from Revival City had to go through his channels to be sold; things that Revival City did not produce needed to be purchased through his channels.

In Revival City, a place centered around commercial hubs, his status was evident.

After Bradford had spoken, the old man sitting beside him shook his head and said, “I just can’t understand why Hodgson would do this. Is he not afraid of the same situation that the second Governor-General faced?”

This man was Norris, his family were industrial magnates in Revival City. Their enterprises included food, chemical, and textile factories, among other important categories, and they were also involved in the medical industry. He was an important ally of Wohan, and the collapse of Wohan’s industries after his death had also significantly impacted him.

When he mentioned ‘the situation of the second Governor-General,’ the other two’s expressions became even darker.

They all simultaneously recalled that dreadful era.

Twelve years ago, the second Governor-General arrived at Rage Owl Star aboard an escort ship. At that time, the Alliance was very powerful. Although its structure was somewhat loose, it was suited to the reality of Rage Owl Star, where the major powers, if not absolutely obedient, would at least respond to the requests of the Alliance Government.

This was the solid foundation built by the first Governor-General.

However, this foundation nearly collapsed within a mere six years.

Upon taking office and seizing the reins of the Governor-Generalship, he did not follow the previous Governor-General’s approach of recuperation and development above all. He believed that it was due to the mercy and weakness of the previous generation that tax revenues were insufficient. The natives of Rage Owl Star were disloyal and needed to be punished with the harshest attitudes to make them pay their taxes.

He held this position for six years, in the first two of which he managed to collect enough imperial taxes through plundering and coercion. However, his tyranny also sparked unrest that swept across the entire world.

Rebellions flared up everywhere, some powers withdrew from the Alliance, some paid lip service while defying in secret, some resisted violently, and some were destroyed… The population of the entire planet suffered a huge loss in those six years. This loss included a large number of people who were handed over as imperial taxes and many who died due to the unrest or starved or froze to death due to the shortage of supplies…

The seventeen years of recuperation by the first Governor-General on Rage Owl Star were almost destroyed in an instant. And the second Governor-General, naturally unable to sustain the third tax collection, died at the hands of the Imperial Taxation Department.

Those six years were a time that no person on Rage Owl Star ever wanted to live through again.

Whether poor or rich.

The last of the three, stood up.

He was burly and still wore camouflage military uniform even when meeting with friends.

He was Mondok, a general of the Alliance. Inside Revival City, those constantly ready ten thousand soldiers, those more than twenty aircraft, those seventy tanks, in theory, were all under his command.

“Everything must get back on track. Hodgson’s mistakes must be corrected.”

“Impeachment in the council? I remember the next council meeting is in four days, but we might not be successful. Hodgson has been operating for many years and has quite a few supporters; it would take us a long time to coordinate…”

“No,” Mondok rejected the idea, “That’s too slow, we need a faster way.”

The other two were stunned.

They saw Mondok’s somewhat ferocious expression.