The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2093: Dawn Report

"I'm sorry, Prime Minister. I lost my composure that day. I will take responsibility for this matter." In the Prime Minister's office on Dawn Planet, Douglas Stamp looked annoyed.

"I can only say that this is indeed not right, Doug." The Prime Minister of the Principality of Dawn, Francis Underwood, shook his head. "Helmut Zemo is using the media and public opinion to attack us, and we should not give him this excuse."

He stood up, walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked at the demonstrators outside the Governor's Palace.

With a cold smile, Francis lowered the curtains and said, "A momentary outrage cannot solve the fundamental problem. If the overly radical war policy is not eased, more resistance will emerge. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the Galactic Empire."

"Recent conditions make me feel that this storm is unstoppable..." Douglas Stamp sighed.

"That's just an illusion." Francis Underwood said lightly, "Zemo and Ling Liang tried to start a movement to dilute the contradictions. When others talk to them about working hours, they talk to you about ideology; when others talk to them about exploitation, they talk to you about ideology; when others talk to them about war, they talk to you about ideology... That's it."

"What about us?" Douglas asked.

"We should focus on substantive things." Francis Underwood made a grasping motion. "Will war come? Of course, I never deny it, but it should be a defensive war. Our main fleet should not fight within the territory of the Galactic Empire. This will only reduce our advantage. The Galactic Empire is not stable internally, and they face more enemies. Everyone knows this. If they dare to take the initiative to attack, they will definitely be the first to collapse."

"That's right. Our work so far has been very effective." Douglas Stamp nodded. "It was our two large-scale battles in the Model Sector and the Yago-Dur Galaxy that completely destroyed the foundation of the Galactic Republic. The current Galactic Empire is more extreme and radical, but its strength is not necessarily stronger than that of the Galactic Republic."

"This is exactly the key point." Francis tapped the table with his knuckles. "What we need to do now is not to have a larger military force than the Galactic Empire! The most important thing for us now is to prove that we are superior and richer than the Galactic Empire! We must prove to the people of the Milky Way that we are truly fair, just, and free! Tang Xiao wants to be a dictator? There is no problem. As long as he can guarantee the bottom line of people's lives, then everything is not a problem. The people of the Milky Way will naturally make their choice."

"That's right. Our policy should be defensive. As long as the current situation continues, many people who can't stand the Galactic Empire will naturally come to our side. The general trend cannot be reversed." Douglas said, "But Zemo and the others..."

"It's still the same. We want to prove that Zemo is wrong and we are right." Francis said, "Because of the dark side of the Force, Tang Xiao's decisions are often more emotional than rational. It's a good thing that he can't be contacted for the time being, because it keeps him away from villains like Zemo. When he comes back, he will naturally see our fruitful current situation."

"We will definitely succeed." Douglas nodded.

"Next, we will promote new economic policies as much as possible, or at least put this policy on the table. If Zemo continues to promote his war plan, then the public will naturally distinguish between the good and the bad of this open choice. As I said, the enthusiasm aroused by public opinion is only temporary... What do the people really need? Benefits. Therefore, we must firmly grasp this point in order to grasp public opinion. With public opinion, we have a foundation."

"Yes. This is the wisest choice," Douglas said.

Francis leaned back on the backrest, crossed his fingers, "Tang Xiao will eventually understand that the position of Prime Minister of the Empire was not given to me by him, but I fought for it. For this goal, I have made efforts that he can't imagine."

“That’s what we’re working towards,” Douglas said.

"And you, Doug... I'm sorry. You must give the public an explanation for this matter." Francis said lightly, "Hold a press conference, apologize publicly, and then resign. Come back to me and keep a low profile for a while, just like before. Find a few outstanding people to write your speech, and show it to me when it's done. You should know that the point of an apology is not to apologize, but why you did it? Why? Because of your ideals, your beliefs! That's right, talk about your beliefs."

"I understand." Douglas nodded, not at all shaken by the request to resign.

……

"Your Majesty... This is the whole story of the recent political turmoil in the Principality of Dawn." Harus Ison, deputy director of the Imperial Security Bureau, stood very respectfully on the stage, bending over as he reported to the man on the throne who represented the highest authority of the empire.

Palpatine, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, sat on a tall throne, with almost his entire upper body shrouded in shadow. Only his pair of eyes emitting golden light flashed a ferocious look in the darkness.

Today, Palpatine held a secret meeting, and just as the Principality of Dawn had been talking about the Galactic Empire, they were also discussing the Principality of Dawn.

The core members of the Empire, including the Governor of the Fourth Army, Wilhuff Tarkin, the Governor of the Ninth Army, Dunn Wessex, the Governor of the Twentieth Army, Octavius ​​Grant, the mysterious director of the Imperial Security Bureau whose name is unknown, the Imperial Intelligence Department and Dark Advisor Black Hole, the Emperor's Advisor Crueya-Vandron, the Dark Prophet Kadang, and the leader of the New Order Protection Committee, Ishin-Il-Raz (I really don't know how to pronounce the II in the middle... Ishin-II-Raz?), are all here. "Tang Xiao... Hehehe..." Palpatine laughed distortedly, "He is just a brat who made his fortune by robbing Heige's legacy. He is proving that he is not capable of ruling the Principality of Dawn. Soon... everything he has will fall apart, and he himself will be torn to pieces by me. Tell me where he is."

"Tang Xiao has not made a public appearance in the past four months. We believe that he is most likely not in the territory of the Principality of Dawn." Harus Ethan said, "Considering the recent actions of the Principality of Dawn in the unknown star region, we believe that he is dealing with the troubles over there."

"What are the chances of us launching an immediate attack if he's not here?" Palpatine asked with a grin.

"There are difficulties, Your Majesty." Wilhuff Tarkin stepped out and said, "At present, the main fleet of the Imperial Navy is too scattered. We have maintained a force of 1000 Star Destroyers in the core area of ​​separatist activities, the Laxus system. In order to monitor the Hutt space where the civil war is breaking out, the 800th Army has also been strengthened to 1000 Star Destroyers. To guard against the chaos of the Principality of Dawn, 3500 Star Destroyers have been deployed in the direction of the Yago-Dur system and the Eriadu system respectively. Then there is our wise and powerful Governor Wessex, who has occupied 2000 Star Destroyers in the name of fighting against the Geth... Excluding the fleets used for defense in other places, such as the 1000 Star Destroyers of the First System Army, this leaves us with less than mobile forces available."

As he spoke, he did not forget to put some eye drops on Dunn Wessex, glanced coldly over there, and then continued: "According to our plan, if we want to destroy the Principality of Dawn in one fell swoop, we will need to mobilize at least 5000 star destroyers. Considering the occupation and loss of various places, we will have such a force in the next five years."

"I've said it many times! I don't want to hear anymore that our warships are not as good as theirs, so we must rely on numbers to win! The fleet of the Principality of Dawn has less than 1000 ships, why must we wait until five years later!" Palpatine growled.

"The three-body environment of the Yago-Dur system and the solid defense system of the Eriadu system are both difficulties we need to face, Your Majesty." Octavian Grant stepped out and said, "And we must admit that after the Principality of Dawn occupied the vast territory of the 18th and 19th Armies, they have a greater strategic depth, which is also a factor that will absorb the power of our fleet."

Governor Octavian Grant actually did not have the same influence as Dunn Wessex and others during the Galactic Republic period. However, because he was the one among the many generals of the Galactic Empire who had been in continuous confrontation with the Principality of Dawn for the longest time, although most of his experiences were failures, he was still able to have a greater say in such meetings.

Dunn-Wessex said: "According to the current simulation results, our Imperial II-class Star Destroyers can gain an overwhelming advantage in battles against most of the main battleships of the Principality of Dawn. Including the Martha-class missile heavy cruiser and the Cole-class battlecruiser, in the simulated battles, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyers can achieve a record of more than one to five, and a record of one to three against the Behemoth-class battlecruiser. The only ones that are more troublesome are the Hell Angel-class battlecruiser and the Disaster-class battlecruiser... The former's defense system allows it to hold out for a long time when facing the Imperial-class firepower, while the latter's particle light spears are always a headache."

He projected some simulated combat scenes on a light screen, and then said: "But the firepower of the Hell's Angels is far different from that of the Empire II, so there is no need to be afraid. As for the Disaster Class, this can be solved through excellent tactical organization. High-speed assault fleets and powerful carrier-based aircraft groups can become a real disaster for the Disaster Class. At the same time, in order to gain an advantage at the fighter level, we have installed the most advanced anti-stealth radar on the Tracker-class aircraft carrier, and the stealth fighters of the Principality of Dawn will have nowhere to hide. And the most important thing is..."

The huge and majestic figure of the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer appeared on the screen, and Dunn Wessex said proudly: "The Titan battleships that the Principality of Dawn is so proud of will undoubtedly be reduced to ashes in front of the Executor-class!"

Wilhuff Tarkin sneered, "Why? Are you speaking up for your wife again? When has the warship built by Kuat ever been reliable?"

At this time, the sinister voice of Black Hole, the Minister of Imperial Intelligence, came, "The Principality of Dawn has put new warships into service, and the number of Archon-class aircraft carriers that caused us great trouble before is also increasing. It's too early for you to be complacent, Wessex."

"Although the intelligence is unclear, there are no signs of mass production of those new warships. In other words, they are just toys that Tang Xiao uses to satisfy his vanity. And the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer? It has been a mass-produced equipment from the beginning, and we have sufficient plans," said Dunn-Wessex.

Harus Eason, deputy director of the Imperial Security Bureau, said: "What Wessex said is correct. In recent years, the Principality of Dawn has focused on the relocation of the planet Rendili and has built a huge number of passenger ships. From the perspective of production capacity, they have not put their industrial power into building warships. Their eyes are on the future."

"You mean their star rings and the unknown mine with huge output?" Palpatine's voice lowered. "Black hole, I asked you to investigate this matter. Do you have any results?"

"The principle of the star ring is not complicated. In fact, we have also used stellar energy collectors very widely. Their star ring is just a super-large array. I organized a large number of experts in energy, astronomy, and engineering to discuss it. They all tend to believe that super-large arrays such as star rings will actually cause energy overflow. That is to say, if there is no equal amount of energy consumption, the collected energy will still be useless." Black Hole said, "So, the most suspicious thing in this matter is the mine with huge output."

"Given the scale of that star ring, at least several mineral planets need to be hollowed out. After all, materials that can withstand the temperature of a star at close range are not easy to create." Black Hole continued, "But how to mine is still a problem... Our experts believe that the Principality of Dawn may directly blow up some mineral planets and then directly smelt the metal planet cores. But this is not very credible, because I don't think the Principality of Dawn has the ability to blow up a planet."

"That means you still have no results." Palpatine said coldly.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I will continue to strengthen our intelligence capabilities." said Black Hole.

"Put your Inquisition well. Leave the hunting of Jedi Knights to the Inquisition." Palpatine waved his hand. "Aden-Lin has returned to the Empire. That's good. With her help, there will be no problem hunting Jedi Knights. You, just focus on things here."

Hearing Arden Lin, Black Hole's expression was somewhat grim, but he still nodded and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. With the help of the Tribunal, the secrets hidden in the Principality of Dawn will be exposed!" (End of this chapter)