Chapter 3244: Politicians
Standard Terran Calendar, 989.M41, Segmentum Tempestus, Parish of St. Casparon, Sixth War Zone, Giovanni System
After taking charge of the archdiocese, in order to better deploy defense and command, Ustad followed Soshyan's model in the Maelstrom Expedition and cut the frontier of the archdiocese into several war zones, and established a war zone commander in each war zone. Being appointed as the company commander of the Astral Knight or the White Templar, this can ensure that his will as the legion consul can be carried out. After presiding over military and political affairs, Ustad finally realized that deployment and decision-making are actually very important. The easy thing is always the execution.
Originally he had quite a lot of confidence in mortals, but after countless shirks, delays and even deceptions, he gradually lost patience with mortals, so even though he knew that dispersing the Astartes would weaken his own mobility, Uth Tad was still determined to implement the division of military zones.
However, the Astartes also need to use a large number of mortals to host the war zone, and some problems are still unavoidable.
"Sir, due to the rupture of several main pipelines and damage to some facilities due to the last operation at the refinery, the supply of promethium in the next quarter is expected to decrease by 14%, and some plants may face the risk of complete power outage."
In the temporary office, Bahram listened to the report of the Mechanic Priest. The hall was not luxurious. There were only many communication equipment and screens, and a huge round table. It used to be an abandoned castle. In order not to disturb the people, Bahram also He did not occupy other people's property, so he chose this place. It happened to rain during his first month of meetings. Since the roof had not been completely repaired, everyone could only hold meetings in the leaking hall, but Bahram did not care at all. Mindful that he stepped in muddy water and his armor and accessories got wet.
The Sixth War Zone governs 2 galaxies, 14 inhabited planets, and 28 unmanned planets, with a total population of approximately 7.6 billion. Most of the inhabited planets are relatively backward agricultural and feudal worlds, and only 3 worlds have a certain industrial base. , the comprehensive strength ranks relatively low among several war zones, but the frontal defense pressure is not small. Tyran's tentacles have already extended into the war zone. Fortunately, Bahram commanded it well and successfully blocked it in the Elgre system. Taryn.
Then he formulated a defense strategy for the theater - Bahram did not blindly promote the militarization of the theater, because the resources that the rear could provide were very limited, and most of them needed to be invested in the front line. He understood that a strong fortress requires a A strong heart, the name of this heart is industry.
If you want to fortify a region, you must first industrialize it. This is the biggest difference between Bahram and other theater commanders.
But it is not easy to do this. Although he has been given great autonomy to act, the allocation of resources still has to obey Ustad, the Legion Archon of the Cardinal World and the St. Casperon Parish led by him. The General Headquarters, and according to the requirements of the General Headquarters, each theater must provide a certain amount of combat readiness tax for rear deployment. Bahram does not have many resources to use. The Sixth War Zone itself is poor and weak. Most of the agricultural world is still a serfdom. The majority of tenants and serfs live below the poverty line. Bahram personally visited the people. He took off his armor, put on a tattered robe, and disguised himself. The biochemical slaves of the Mechanic Priest came to the most widespread and least noticed bottom layer, and witnessed with their own eyes the miserable and difficult lives of the vast majority of people.
The most cruel thing is the life of slaves. During the day, they are often whipped by their masters while working, and have ropes around their necks. At night, they are locked in dungeons with wooden shackles. In order to prevent them from escaping, the masters will slap their faces on them. Branded with the mark of the owner, the archdiocese still has a very vague attitude towards slavery. Because Soshyan did not handle too many government affairs and handed them over to Ustad, and Ustad had discussed this issue at a legion meeting, the vast majority of company commanders felt that internal stability must now be achieved in order to concentrate their efforts. To fight against the Tyranids, there was no choice to completely abolish the slavery system like the Naisen System or the Bracato System.
In addition, due to the recent wars, many people have become slaves due to debts or other reasons. Many refugees who escaped from fallen galaxies even actively sold themselves or their children into slavery because they had no food and clothing. This has led to the increase in the number of slaves. Prices plummeted all the way. Bahram went to the largest slave market on the planet. It was very lively and bustling, and people were like Objects are also displayed. Some people buy beautiful female slaves and even brutally rape them in dark alleys without waiting. Of course, under such cruel oppression, slave riots are naturally common. Many slaves who kill their masters and escape have no way out. But if they go, they will have no choice but to become bandits hiding in the jungle and mountainous areas. And if they want to survive, they can only rob houses.
The situation of serfs is a little better than that of slaves, but only a little. They have their own economy and family, but it also means they have to bear the most obligations. Not only do they have to pay very high local taxes, but they also have to pay regular taxes every week. Their lords served as corvees, and many Living in a half-buried cave, the whole family couldn't put together a complete set of clothes and relied on meager land to survive. But even so, it was difficult to live a stable life, with many children, famine, exorbitant taxes, disease, and banditry. , officials and gentry, each of which seriously threatens their fragile life.
The situation of the tenants is a little better, but they still need to pay a very high proportion of land taxes to the landlords. In addition, they also need to pay taxes to the rulers. They often cannot earn a penny in a year, and even owe money. Lots of loan sharks.
After spending half a month visiting hundreds of different families, Bahram had a clear idea and started his plan.
The first is slavery. As the commander of the war zone, he issued several decrees. He did not abolish slavery very recklessly. Instead, he requisitioned all the slaves in the war zone on the grounds of "war preparation needs", and those who were requisitioned were A certain percentage of tax exemptions will be obtained, and then an order will be issued to prohibit private slaves and human trade. Only the Mechanicus and the State Church have limited power in this regard.
He then introduced a rent reduction law, which stipulated that after serfs paid a tax of 25% of their output, the remaining 75% of their output should be shared equally with the landlords, and the landlords were not allowed to charge a land tax higher than this ratio. However, this still could not fundamentally solve the problem. Bahram then turned to the Shengyan Order and asked the Shengyan Order to take the lead in establishing multiple mineral development companies and large-scale industrial entities in the war zone, and then used the shares of these industrial and mining companies as bait to attract Those landowners used the land in exchange for greater profits. Since it was guaranteed by the strength and background of the Holy Flame Order, this did not arouse any suspicion, so Bahram immediately gathered large tracts of land in his hands.