Chapter 380, Senior Central Official

Gallardo had a very clear understanding of his situation.

Do nothing and he'll die.

He is the War Apostle of the Sun Lord, and the closest confidant of the great man who held the highest power in the empire for decades during his lifetime. When necessary, the Sun Lord even likes to directly exercise the highest authority through his War Apostles. that power.

This was a normal choice. In his view, the imperial government was too bloated and inefficient. With his supreme prestige, he directly dispatched war apostles, or directly served as the administrator of a large star field, or acted as a tax collector to raise war supplies (Gallardo was such a role), or directly appointed war apostles. The Apostle is the direct person in charge of a certain war zone, integrating the Astra Militarum, the Navy, and even armed forces such as Space Marines, Sisters of the Ecclesiarchy, the Inquisition, and the Adeptus Mechanicus...

This greatly improved efficiency and integrated the complex and bloated power of the empire, but it also undoubtedly destroyed the empire's inherent system.

When the Sun Lord was alive, this was not a big problem, and the War Apostles could still call the shots.

But after the death of the Sun Lord, there will definitely be a comprehensive counterattack by the entire empire's inherent system, which will push the War Apostles to a desperate situation.

With its biggest backer gone, will the empire tolerate these War Apostles, who rely on the Sun Lord's reputation to wield huge power, to continue to hold high positions and steal the power of the imperial government?

Obviously not.

So the question is, what will the remaining War Apostles do?

Will they be killed?

Obviously it is impossible.

Just like Gallardo tried his best to find a way to survive, the other more than 40 war apostles also had their own methods and means.

It has been four or five years now, and the death of the Sun Lord has still not been announced.

There are very few people who know the news for sure; there are quite a few people who have guessed and felt it, but no one has evidence and dare not be so sure; those who think that the Sun Expedition is still in full swing are the ones The vast majority.

But in fact, under the water, everything is already undercurrent.

War apostles have already been purged, and a series of forces they represented have collapsed as a result.

And some war apostles, especially those who served as generals and bosses in the 'Solaria' space that was conquered by the Sun Crusade, quickly developed into separatist forces.

There is a lot of turmoil between them. There are more than forty war apostles. Are they all close comrades-in-arms? Obviously not. During the long process of the solar expedition, some of these colleagues were good friends, but some also had many conflicts due to different ideas, different personalities, and other reasons.

When the Sun Lord Sochkaim was still alive, all contradictions were suppressed underwater; when he was gone, these contradictions also exploded.

Some war apostles hope to elect a new leader, hoping that the position of 'Lord of the Sun' will continue to exist and continue to lead the continuation of the Sun Crusade; some do not want to continue fighting and must obey the orders of the empire; some just want to Separate one side and become the local overlord...

But no matter how much power they each inherited, whether they were generals or politicians, whether they were loyal or disloyal, in short, the Solaria universe was in chaos.

Gallardo had foreseen these situations and future trends.

And he himself is different from his former colleagues. He neither controlled the army nor became a feudal official. He serves as a tax collector among the war apostles, and his greatest reliance is the authority and reputation of the Sun Lord.

He could neither separate one side from another, nor had he any leverage to negotiate with the empire.

On the contrary, he offended countless people within the empire through tax collection and war fundraising. Although the vast majority of them are local officials and lords, after losing their backers, these local officials and powerful lords may be able to easily kill him.

However, he also has advantages that his colleagues do not have.

Unlike other war apostles who are in the Solaria space all year round and expand their territory beyond the borders of the empire, Gallardo's 'workplace' is within the territory of the entire empire, especially in Holy Terra stayed for a long time. After all, he needed to deal with various government departments, especially the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Department of Taxation.

He has many connections.

Although, in the chaos, connections seemed to be nothing compared to the strength Zhenger Ba Jing had in his hands, Gallardo also quickly analyzed another layer of key - the Sun Expedition. No matter how powerful the army is, no matter how powerful the empire's elite is gathered, without Suohkeim himself, it will be nothing but scattered sand, unable to cohere at all.

His colleagues, no matter how powerful their inheritances are, are still far behind compared to the truly endless power of the empire.

He didn't know how long the turmoil in Solaria would last, how serious it would be, or even whether a civil war might break out. However, he believes that the one who will win in the end will still be the human empire that has been standing for more than 10,000 years.

Therefore, the path he chose was very clear.

After running to the Promise Star, he first took advantage of the fact that the Sun Lord's reputation was still there and the speculation about his death was not yet widespread. He pretended to be powerful and built a network of contacts, and successfully established a connection with Holy Terra.

In the process, he helped Gu Hang complete the legal procedures for the 'alliance'.

Then, after he sorted out his connections, took out some bargaining chips, and obtained some political guarantees, he left Wuji Star, left the Eastern Universe, and came to Holy Terra.

What was the bargaining chip he paid?

There are two things:

One is the political legacy left by Sochkaim in Holy Terra and throughout the empire.

During his lifetime, the Sun Lord could be regarded as the supreme ruler of the entire empire. In addition to the most conspicuous forty-six War Apostles, he certainly has other cronies, and they are widely distributed in various central departments of Holy Terra, as well as government departments in various cosmic and star regions throughout the empire.

And Gallardo, due to the nature of his duties, knows better than anyone else who these people are. This list, his understanding of these people, and even many cooperations... Gallardo spent the not-so-short period of time he spent at Promise Star on the ideas of these people.

He tried his best to bring the familiar and valued parts of these people under his command and establish closer ties. Of course, he cannot conquer everyone, and even the supporters he can find are, at best, just the tip of the iceberg among the former Sun Lord supporters. Otherwise, he can make all these people obey his orders, and he can seek a seat in the Supreme Council without even saying a word.

Those who cannot be conquered by him cannot be wasted. He will sell them all to the central government of the empire.

He did sell this list and his knowledge of these people at a good price.

Secondly, there are his colleagues on Solaria.

He knows the other war apostles very well, what each person thinks, who can be won over, who is forced to have no choice, and who is the real ambition. Moreover, he has a very good relationship with many of them. After all, during the Solar Expedition, as a person who made money for the expedition, he would certainly be welcomed by his colleagues.

Knowing and even having a good relationship with him, his existence provided Holy Terra with a means to differentiate and resolve the chaotic situation in Solaria after the death of the Sun Lord.

To put it bluntly, he had convinced a war apostle who was a marshal to return to the empire with his troops - of course, that was his original intention.

These two things reflect the extraordinary role of Gallardo. After he clearly showed his cooperative attitude, he mobilized his connections, and took him into his lap. Not only was his life safe, but he also enjoyed a meteoric rise.

At this stage, he also got Gu Hang the Imperial Lieutenant General and the Glory Medal as a benefit.

"Originally, I wanted to get you the rank of general and the sacred medal. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it. I have tried my best to get the lieutenant general and the glorious medal. What happened in the Dragon Eagle Star Territory is still too far away from the sacred Terra. Well, many of the officials on Holy Terra have never heard of things like Raging Owl, Koroga, and the Pegasus Sector."

"However, you don't have to worry. I'm already in Holy Terra, working hard to help you publicize your achievements. A war group was saved under the rule of Governor Gu; the savior of 40 billion people; an outstanding and practical politician; Wise ruler... I found some newspapers and radio broadcasts and spent a lot of money to promote your reputation; some of your deeds, such as defeating cults and saving the world, there was also an opera house that accepted my request and compiled a new The play will be released soon."

"To be honest, it's not easy to do these things. People on Terra have heard stories of heroes from all over the universe. After every hero has done some deeds, they all want to come to Terra to become famous. In order to fight for you In terms of layout and drama scheduling, I suppressed the deeds of several so-called heroes."

"I also asked the best dramatist to make some reasonable adaptations of your deeds. Please understand that if you want to impress people in Terra, you have to have some twists and turns, bizarre stories, and of course Indispensable is a little bit of love that acts as seasoning and sensory stimulation.”

"When your reputation grows, I can use these things to get you a higher military rank and medal, and then I can make real benefits. By the way, what do you want? The head of the Dragon Eagle Star Territory ? Or even the chairman of the Eastern Universe? Or take a step further in the Astral Militia and strive to become a marshal? Or make more progress within the Psychic Order? You choose a path, I will help you, work hard As I progress on this road, I look forward to meeting you again in Holy Terra within a few decades, and then we can move forward hand in hand!"

……

After ending his communication with Gallardo, Gu Hang sat blankly in his chair.

This guy is indeed very capable.

Not everyone can think of a way to survive in a desperate situation.

Gallardo's reaction was quick enough, his decision-making was decisive enough, and his action was strong enough. Judging from the results and deducing the process, he was able to not only save his life in that situation, but also find his own qualifications for promotion. This is of course a sign of ability.

And it was to be expected that this guy was so friendly to him.

Back then, he had tampered with Gallardo's soul. Through the 'life-saving grace' and the hint implanted in his soul, he made Gallardo regard him as his closest friend.

But Gu Hang also knew that doing so was very risky. Gallardo's identity is destined to continuously undergo relevant psychic examinations again and again to ensure that his mind has not been contaminated. Because of this, when Gu Hang was tampering with Gallardo's mind, he was very careful and his movements were very small.

He dare not change any memory, personality, or cognition of the other party. All he can do is plant a seed and let it take root. The seeds dissipated on their own a little later, and what was left behind were some thoughts that grew from Gallardo's soul.

But even so, Gu Hang would still be a little worried after hearing that Gallardo was going to Holy Terra. He was afraid that in the heart of the empire, capable people were emerging in large numbers, and now that Gallardo was in a high position, he would definitely conduct continuous inspections on his own initiative or by force. If someone can find something strange in Gallardo's soul, that's normal.

The purpose of Gu Hang's call to him was to test it out.

However, for now, Gallardo is still stable. The psykers of Holy Terra did not detect anything.

Gallardo was still the one who regarded him as his biological brother.

Just...a little too enthusiastic.

My deeds were published in newspapers and radio stations, and I also had to compile a drama to stage love and hatred. In order to expand my influence, I had to adapt it 'reasonably' and make something twisty and bizarre...

Gu Hang covered his face, deeply worried about his reputation.

You won't do anything weird, right?

Gu Hang sighed deeply.

Forget it

Anyway, he was far away in Holy Terra, even making a phone call was so laborious, and he couldn't interfere with anything.

I just hope that Gallardo can be more reliable.

He quickly asked himself to stop thinking about what is and is not, and to turn his attention to the present.

Representatives from the Star Realm and the Cosmic Realm have not left yet, but the Raging Owl Star will soon welcome the second wave of guests.

These people did not come from afar. They were a working group of the star district government that set out from the Winged Star. Their task was to determine the tax amount for the Raging Owl Star and even the entire alliance in the next ten years.

(End of this chapter)