Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1424: Chapter 809: A Bit of Sorrow

To support the Dark Side Expedition, not only did Gu Hang spend the Gift Points as soon as they were in hand, but the pressure borne by the Alliance itself was also immense.

The domestic situation of the Alliance had seen no development in livelihood for many years, and was even regressing.

This does not mean that the society of the Alliance did not progress. On the contrary, over these 27 years, focusing on the war effort, the economic growth remained very rapid.

But all growth was in the military sector.

The construction of ships increased, while the production of ammunition and energy, the main areas of consumption, grew dozens of times over. Other military production lines kept multiplying.

Everything else was regressing, making way for the war effort.

In terms of military personnel, the scale of the Alliance’s Army and Navy had increased more than twenty-fold in numbers compared to pre-war, now reaching nearly a trillion.

In relation to the mobilization rate of the total population of the Alliance, this number hasn’t reached 1%, but it’s not far off.

And this only accounts for the Alliance Army and Navy, without including the Planetary Defense Force. If the latter is included, this number would swell over fivefold.

If needed, the Alliance certainly has the capability to raise the mobilization rate far beyond this number. The simplest method is to enlist and assemble the Planetary Defense Force, which is not currently factored in, into the Alliance Army’s ranks.

In reality, the Defense Army is originally a reserve for the Alliance Army. Currently, at least 70% of the manpower in the Alliance Army has been drawn from the Defense Army.

New recruits from various planets are conscripted into the Defense Army. The excellent ones are selected to join the Alliance Army for reorganization, training, and then become part of the grand enterprise of the Dark Side Expedition.

Even to the point where, when pressure is particularly high, Gu Hang doesn’t have enough Gift Points left to conduct ordinary T5 level soldier training for the Alliance Army.

It’s somewhat unaffordable.

With millions or even billions of Gift Points required here and there, Gu Hang is indeed pushed to the limit when he has a massive amount to spend.

If it involves training ordinary people into T5 level soldiers, then it’s still quite cost-effective and rewarding. Gu Hang is definitely not the kind of person who would throw freshly conscripted civilians into boot camp for a few weeks and then send them to the front line.

In such situations, he does pay the Gift Points required for troop training when it’s necessary.

However, under the current recruitment mechanism of the Alliance, the ’new recruits’ in the army have already undergone several years of training in the Defense Army. Many of them have already reached the T5 level. Those who have not reached it might not be far off.

Given this premise, spending millions or billions of Gift Points on new recruit training is really unnecessary. The improvements are small and the cost-effectiveness is low.

The Alliance still has to stick to its original recruitment plan.

Even if the command centers at the front keep yelling about insufficient troops, it doesn’t sway them.

If there are not enough troops, then come up with other solutions by yourself. If it really doesn’t work, slowing down is an option too.

Stability is more crucial.

Anyway, while the sacrifice of personnel in the front line is one thing, their cries for more soldiers are mainly because the front lines are advancing fast, the occupied territories are expanding, and each planet needs to deploy a certain number of troops to stabilize the ground situation locally.

The need for troops here is relatively the greatest.

On this point, Gu Hang’s mindset seems quite contradictory.

Clearly, there’s a sense of urgency, yet when dealing with it, stability is foremost.

But in fact, these two points are not conflicting in Gu Hang’s mind.

Precisely because time waits for no one, stability must come first.

His greatest reliance now is the foundational strength of the Alliance. No matter how intense the Dark Side Expedition gets, it relies on this foundational strength for support.

What he must do is ensure the stability of this basic foundation.

The current situation might not have reached the limit, but Gu Hang has no intention of pushing the Alliance towards extremes—unless the larger environment deteriorates further.

In many places, reports from local officials have already come in, indicating that life standards and allowances, which have not improved or have slightly declined for many years, as well as increasing work pressures, have given rise to some public discontent.

In normal circumstances, suppressing these discontents would be easy and wouldn’t even come to the surface.

However, in the current environment of chaotic erosion, it’s different. Even with Gu Hang overseeing the Alliance, the ubiquitous subspace whispers are hard to defend against. They always manage to softly whisper in the ear of a discontented person at a critical time, corrupting his mind and nurturing his dissatisfaction.

In most cases, this might be quelled by psychologists, church priests, or the Alliance’s propaganda institutions. But a few that remain un quelled could accumulate over time into ’latent threats.’

If these ’latent threats’ erupt individually, that’s still a manageable situation. Incarceration or execution are ways to deal with them. However, often these ’latent threats’ do not erupt easily. Instead, in hiding, they spread ideas of chaos in various ways.

They find equally discontented workers, guide and amplify their dissatisfaction; form clandestine meetings and associations under the guise of fighting for workers’ rights, expanding their influence; organize strikes, violently sabotage factories; form rebel armies, openly occupying areas…

This whole setup might look familiar, but in essence, it’s just a beautiful facade. The fundamental difference between chaotic corruption and genuine expressions of discontent for better benefits lies in whether it is truly about workers’ treatment, which can be resolved through negotiation; whereas chaotic corruption is purely for destruction, and negotiation cannot resolve it.

However, within the Alliance’s internal auditing agencies, distinguishing these two is—grudgingly—a significant practical challenge.

In urgent situations, they must be uniformly suppressed.

Gu Hang could not help but worry watching the numerous reports surfacing from within the Alliance.

The Dark Side Expedition may be proceeding with vigor outside, but it must not lead to a fire in the rear courtyard.

The most secure fortress is often breached from within; and the most illustrious cause often starts to rot from inside.

Gu Hang must remain constantly vigilant against this issue.

He must ensure the stability of the foundational strength, and even expand it, as that would be the greatest support for sustaining the Dark Side Expedition.

This inevitably forces Gu Hang to divert more Gift Points and social resources towards internal management.

During this process, auditing agencies and religious institutions unavoidably become strengthened.

Honestly speaking, Gu Hang feels some sadness about this.