Chapter 578, So, what’s the price
Ewing has already silently re-adjusted his judgment on the strength of the alliance in his heart.
This cannot be taken lightly.
He must consider how to deal with the relationship with the alliance in the future.
Since the Blood Sharks have accepted the call to participate in the rebellion launched by the Iron Armor Chapter and avenge the Iron Armor that caused the Chapter to suffer a loss 130 years ago, it is obvious that they still need to fight with the Alliance. A relatively long-term cooperation.
This counter-insurgency war does not look like it will end anytime soon.
Gu Hang, a powerful psychic, an alliance ruler who cannot be underestimated, and the commander-in-chief of the southern theater of the counter-insurgency war, is someone who will have to deal with for a long time.
As the leader of the Blood Shark Chapter, Ewing must of course deal with it carefully.
Ewing, who was quite worried, completed the task of capturing the entire battleship together with Phoenix and the Alliance army.
The Alliance promotes a policy of accepting prisoners and even giving preferential treatment to prisoners; the Space Marines take the lead, the Battle Sisters cooperate, and the Glory Guards serve as the main force. They have repeatedly destroyed some Alfonzo die-hard elements in the ship. On their deathbed, , an action that attempts to cause damage to a ship.
In the end, the Retribution-class battleship was completely controlled by the Alliance.
The crew and even the entire command system entered the ship and began debugging.
Soon, the Retribution-class battleship, which originally belonged to Alfonzo's fleet, was activated again.
However, now it belongs to the Alliance.
According to convention, the Alliance named a giant ship of this level after a star region in the Dragon Eagle Starfield: Iron Horse.
Its condition is not very good. While the previous space naval battle caused some damage to it, the boarding operations launched by the blood sharks, phoenixes and alliance forces were not too gentle, causing some damage from the inside.
The engineers of the alliance and the technical priests of the Mingyang Sect accompanying the army are already conducting a comprehensive inspection of all aspects of the ship's condition.
For now, the situation is quite optimistic.
The Iron Horse at least does not need to be returned to the factory for overhaul.
Driving the ship to a star port with relatively better conditions and spending a few months should be able to restore it to normal combat effectiveness.
At this point, the mission of the Space Marines is completely over.
Ewing was planning to take his battle brothers back to his flagship 'Ghost Shark'. But at this moment, he saw a red-armored warrior wearing a cavalry Terminator walking towards him.
Ewing knew him.
His name is Calduso, he is the first company commander of the Phoenix Chapter, and he is also the commander of the three hundred Phoenixes operating on the ship.
This fierce-faced space warrior actually left a deep impression on Ewing. He will always subconsciously evaluate the gap between others' strength and his own through the performance of others. In his opinion, this Kalduso is still worse than himself, but he is almost as good as Blood Shark's own first company commander.
Very rare.
Some leaders of battle groups who are not well-known and have average strength may not have this strength.
Name and criticize the New Age Torch.
However, the Phoenix's company commander didn't look very good, and looked at him with a bit of hatred.
Why?
Ewing quickly figured it out: they had no hatred for the Phoenix, but the Phoenix didn't hate them.
During the Great Redbud Rebellion one hundred and thirty years ago, although their main target was the Redbud Chapter, they also killed quite a few Phoenixes by the way.
But he didn't feel any guilt or apology about it.
Back then, the two sides were at war, and the Phoenix was labeled a traitor by the empire. So it was natural for the Blood Sharks to counter the rebellion and defeat the Phoenix. That's what fighting is like on the battlefield, life and death, nothing else.
If the Phoenix has hatred and goes to those who label them as traitors to the empire, they should not come to them.
Even looking at blood feuds, the number of phoenixes killed by the blood sharks back then was definitely not as many as those of the angry flames and iron armors.
But no matter what, if Phoenix insists on treating them with hatred, he has nothing to say. If we go one step further and Governor Gu Hang makes some either-or choices because of his closer relationship with the Phoenix, then it will be a pity to declare that the two sides have become enemies.
With this mentality, Ewing faced Calduso calmly.
Calduso looked him up and down in front of him, but his expression was still not good-looking, and he even let out a cold snort in his nose.
But in the end, he didn’t do anything drastic and said angrily:
"The Governor invites you to meet him."
……
Ewing did not hesitate or hesitate. As soon as he received the invitation, he boarded the spaceship and arrived at Gu Hang's Alliance aircraft carrier, the Eagle Horse, to meet with the governor.
Gu Hang is not like Calduso, who only has a bad face.
He greeted Chapter Leader Ewing with a smile and a gentle attitude. A simple refreshment for just the two of them was served by the attendant, and Gu Hang invited Chapter Leader Ewing to taste it.
Ewing was unmoved by this, and even showed some discomfort with the environment here, this set of etiquette, and the pleasant words in Gu Hang's mouth.
To be honest, Ewing has no experience in dealing with the scene. He is neither good at it nor likes it.
Gu Hang quickly noticed this.
He chuckled lightly, as expected.
Precisely because he had made predictions in advance, Gu Hang didn't ask anyone to make any extravagant decisions.
And he himself, after the initial pleasantries and tests, quickly got down to business: "I hope that the Blood Shark Chapter and the Alliance can become a closer alliance."
"Not just this war, but also the future after the war."
"I know the tradition of blood sharks, and I also know the existence of gray taxes and blood taxes. There is no problem with these, and I fully agree. But I want to say that the alliance cannot allow blood sharks to directly collect gray taxes and blood taxes through violent and non-negotiable means. , at the same time, I also think that this is a very inefficient and hugely wasteful thing.”
Having said this, Gu Hang paused for a moment, observing the expression of Ewing who was not wearing a helmet.
He had no expression.
Space Marines have always been like this, not to mention the Blood Sharks who are relatively taciturn and don't show their emotions among various chapters.
But Ewing didn't angrily leave the table when Gu Hang said this, which was a good result.
After all, Blood Shark has a criminal record. The conflict between them and Tie Kai happened here.
Even if it is possible to offend the blood shark, Gu Hang must draw this bottom line clearly first.
"Very good, it seems that we have reached a consensus on this most basic principle."
"I agree that blood sharks have the right to collect blood tax and gray tax. This is what you deserve after fighting side by side with the alliance and achieving results. You also agree that collecting blood tax and gray tax requires the alliance to provide it, rather than directly obtaining it through violence. By respecting each other, we have a basis for cooperation.”
"According to the results of the blood shark's victory, the blood shark has the right to put forward a series of material and personnel requirements to us. According to the tradition of the blood shark, let's talk about the gray tax first. In the past, when you made deals with those Mechanicus, What is the price? The Alliance’s price for the technology and equipment recovered from the blood sharks will definitely exceed theirs by more than 20%.”
"The blood tax can be discussed in two parts. The blood sharks need excellent reserve personnel as a source of new blood for the development of the war group. I promise that when the blood sharks are in need, there is no need to have any military exploits or results, as long as you need them To add new blood, you only need to tell the alliance a number, and the alliance will provide this number of outstanding young people.”
"The second aspect of the blood tax is that the blood sharks need ordinary mortals to supplement the blood shark auxiliaries, chapter fleet crews, and chapter servants. The alliance can also provide it, and it is completely free of charge. But on this basis, the blood sharks Shark needs to agree to a series of conditions: the mortals provided by the alliance have service years, basic treatment, and the right to basic protection. Their lives should not be trampled on at will, and they should receive basic respect."
"Wait..." At this point, Ewing had to interrupt Gu Hang's speech.
He stared at Gu Hang without even asking his own question.
He believed that Gu Hang understood what he meant.
Blood sharks never treat mortals as human beings.
Not just enemies, not just friendly forces, but also their own auxiliaries and mortal servants.
This is not just a matter of tradition, but also a matter of concept. They don't care, and at the same time, they also believe that only those who survive the training of blood and fire are worthy of being their auxiliary army, that is, becoming high-level cannon fodder; if they fail to survive the training, then just in time, they will be the glorious cannon fodder. Sacrifice at work is their best destination.
Then, now Gu Hang said that he should respect these mortals?
And you have to fucking get paid? There are still years of service, can you retire when the time comes?
Ewing hoped to tell Gu Hang how nonsense this matter was with his eyes.
However, Gu Hang did not back down from this matter.
"The traditional blood tax you want is not impossible. I can give it to you from the prisoner of war camp; but every world declared as territory by the Alliance will not provide such 'slaves' without rights."
"But please listen to me, there are also benefits to this matter. You don't need to pay the reward, the alliance will pay it; but because of this, they are still a part of the alliance, so you cannot trample on their lives and dignity. At the same time, , I believe that during this period of time, you have also seen the mortals of the Alliance The heroic appearance of the soldiers. Let me say it without any shame. Apart from the fact that many of them have no chance to be implanted with gene seeds and do not have superhuman bodies, they are no better than anyone else in terms of technology and spiritual will. A bad Space Marine"
"Like your Honor Guard?"
"Yes, of course, I cannot guarantee that when I provide you with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of manpower, each one will have this level. However, I will guarantee that there will be such elites among them. At the same time, , their average level is not weaker than that of the Empire’s Astra Militarum. You should know the value of this.”
Ewing fell silent again.
This time, he was thinking.
Of course he knows what such value means.
The Blood Shark Chapter has collected a lot of experience in collecting blood taxes for so many years. Those 'slaves' who were forcibly taken by them, if they really train to the level of the auxiliary army recognized by them through the 'blood and fire training' they call it, let alone one out of ten, I am afraid that one out of a hundred will be the same. Sounds good.
Therefore, they need to keep collecting blood tax. On the one hand, they do need a considerable amount of cannon fodder, but at the same time, they also need a considerable amount of cannon fodder to wash out a sufficient number of auxiliary troops.
But if the alliance provides it directly, then why do they need so much cannon fodder?
What's more, the low-level cannon fodder actually doesn't match their fighting style. They are a battle group that specializes in quick reactions and quick assaults. Why do they need cannon fodder? Will fighting head-on consume each other?
A more elite auxiliary army will obviously better assist them in combat.
Even if some ordinary troops are sometimes needed to help attract the enemy's attention on the frontal battlefield so as to create opportunities and space for them to quickly attack the rear, it is better to use cannon fodder than to use elite auxiliary troops to defeat the enemy in the front. The stay was good.
It sounds very beneficial.
The only problem is that the Chapter needs to change their traditions, change their perceptions, and change their concepts.
This is a bit challenging.
"Let's put it aside for now." Ewing put aside the controversy and said, "Your conditions sound very good from beginning to end. There are more gray tax transactions, and the blood tax is provided to me by the alliance for nothing..."< br>
"So, what's the price?"
"What does the Alliance want from Blood Shark?"
Gu Hang showed a big smile and almost said 'all this'.
But he still held back.
He said: "Allies, we need a long-term, reliable ally, an ally that establishes a unified command system and acts for a unified goal."
"Just allies?"
Gu Hang's smile still remained on his face: "Of course, they are just allies. These are all the conditions of the alliance. Do you hear any more questions?"
(End of chapter)