Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1422: Chapter 808: 27 Years of the Dark Side Expedition

The Safe Zone Policy was proposed by the Dark Side Expeditionary Command, and ultimately, it still needed Gu Hang’s approval.

Gu Hang gave full affirmation to this policy, considering it a viable solution to the current situation.

Let’s see how the implementation goes in the core area of the Magrey Cosmic Domain.

If necessary, the policy can be extended to the entire Dark Side Expedition.

Currently, the Dark Side Expedition has been ongoing for 27 years, with the main battlefield still in the Magrey Cosmic Domain.

But besides the Magrey Cosmic Domain, the Alliance also initiated actions in four other cosmic domains.

Namely, the Star Devouring Cosmos and Infinite Starfield in the north, the Forward Cosmic Domain southwest of Magrey, and the Adan Starfield to the west of the Eastern Cosmos Domain.

Including Magrey itself, the flames of the Dark Side Expedition have spread over five cosmic domains.

The situations in these five cosmic domains are varied and need to be discussed separately.

The Magrey Cosmic Domain is essentially fully recaptured. The core area controlled by the Alkafon Royal Family is the last major region. Conquering it would basically mark the end of the expedition actions in the Magrey Cosmic Domain.

Among the over five thousand worlds in the Magrey Cosmic Domain, 98% have been recaptured. The remaining scattered hundred or so worlds are dispersed throughout and can be managed by dispatching a detachment from the main fleet without affecting the big picture.

Of course, the numerous recaptured worlds are not without problems. Not to mention those worlds requiring safe zone policies, even the majority of ordinary worlds have significant internal issues.

According to the Alliance Government’s estimate, the Magrey Cosmic Domain will bring a total financial deficit of 21 trillion to the Alliance over the next ten years.

If the Alliance were to govern this cosmic domain according to the Empire’s traditional approach, it wouldn’t incur such a high burden.

It could even turn a profit.

After all, under the Empire’s traditional model, local planets are left to govern themselves unless there is a need for imperial intervention—except for collecting the Imperial Tax.

Merely taxing without bearing the costs of governance ensures a profit, doesn’t it?

This approach seems as though all worlds in the Magrey Cosmic Domain have implemented a similar policy to the Alliance’s safe zones.

But Gu Hang does not favor this approach at all.

What is the point of such a recapture?

The hope is not for these worlds, reclaimed by the Dark Side Expedition, to resemble the homeland of the Alliance but at least to reach the level of the Eastern Cosmos Domain.

It is precisely with this expectation that the Alliance is willing to endure substantial financial losses and high governance costs to manage these worlds.

Investment, infrastructure, chaos corruption management, industrial development… let the decade of losses be.

As long as the five thousand worlds of the Magrey Cosmic Domain can, according to the plan provided by the Alliance Central Government, turn losses into gains and embark on a proper path after ten years, their development speed will accelerate notably each year, thus converting from a fiscal burden of the Alliance into another engine driving the Dark Side Expedition.

In the Forward Cosmic Domain southwest of the Magrey Cosmic Domain, it is also under Marshal Yan Fangxu’s command for an offensive direction. A few years ago, when they had largely subdued Magrey, some vanguard forces had already entered the Forward Cosmic Domain to initiate preliminary actions.

And now, with the main issues of the Magrey Cosmic Domain resolved, the main forces of the Dark Side Expedition will also advance into the Forward Cosmic Domain.

This domain consists of seven star domains and three thousand worlds and is considered mid-small sized among all cosmic domains. Marshal Yan Fangxu estimates it will take about fifteen years to conquer it, shorter than the time spent on the Magrey Cosmic Domain, with progress also faster.

The actions against the Magrey and Forward cosmic domains are essentially part of the western line of the expedition.

And the northern line of the expedition is the Star Devouring Cosmos and Infinite Starfield.

These two need to be discussed together.

The two cosmic domains are the northeasternmost two cosmic domains in the northern frontier, and during the formation of the Great Rift, each had three star domains torn into this side.

Originally, they were not part of the initial phase of the Dark Side Expedition plan. Considering their proximity to the Scarlet Scar, the chaos corruption might be more severe, posing higher difficulty.

However, the Oath Star battle that year was a slap to the Alliance.

If you ignore these nearby editorial positions to the Scarlet Scar, they might indeed pose a major crisis for you.

Trying to evade difficulties only invites them to confront you.

After quickly abandoning notions of treating these worlds as buffer zones or quarantine areas, the Alliance shifted strategy to actively bring these worlds under its control, aiming to manage the borders properly.

The Alliance forces that fought the Oath Star battle were already half crippled by then, but that didn’t matter. The subsequent reinforcements from the more robust Fourth Expedition Fleet, with half of its strength, were sent to the north line, reaching a force comparable to the time of the Oath Star battle.

Hence, the Dark Side North Expedition Command was officially established, with General Li Kexi as the Northern Commander.

The North Line Command has two tasks: recapture the six star domains combined in the Infinite Starfield and the Star Devouring Cosmos, estimated to total around three thousand worlds.