Zhao Chen agreed with this very much in his heart; of this he had, after all, "deep firsthand experience." Though his Owl Dragon Legion was, in strength, no weakling now, the strategic materials it had in reserve simply could not sustain a large-scale campaign. The more so a total war of that kind.
Zhao Chen seemed already to have seen the Chu family legion's end.
Were he himself the Starlight Empire side's supreme commander, then at the very first moment the Chu family legion rebelled, he would first sever all the links between the star gates and the Chu River Star Region. And adopt a scorched-earth strategy. Once a star system was on the verge of falling, then before that system fell, first destroy that system's star gate. This being so, the Chu family legion's battle-line would be drawn out exceedingly long — and their strategic materials being none too plentiful to begin with, this would then cause the efficiency of their offensive to drop by a great margin. And if that system had resource-mining zones, then move away outright what industrial equipment of those resource-mining zones could be moved, destroy on the spot what couldn't, and at the same time damage the resource-mining zones so far as possible, to increase the difficulty of restoring extraction. This being so, even were these resource-mining zones seized by Governor Chu of Chu River, they'd be unable to restore production work in any short span of time. And at the last, at the very most one would pay the price of a single star region, and one could exhaust and deplete the Chu family legion's strategic materials. And by that time, the empire side would launch a full counterattack. And the Chu family legion would come to face a situation of having ships but no shells.
"Still — my coming to the Capital Star: even should they truly mean to imprison me, they'd not dare do anything to me. To wantonly harm an imperial duke, a five-star marshal, a star-region governor — and, what's more, the descendant of a whole household of loyal martyrs who've, for several hundred years, guarded the frontier and warded off outer foes — for the Starlight Empire, that would be not far from splintering to pieces." Governor Chu of Chu River laughed aloud, secure and unafraid.
That was true. Had the Starlight Empire no external afflictions, it could indeed, heedless of any cost, move against Governor Chu of Chu River; but in the present state of things, the royal house had to take into account the hearts of the people within the Starlight Empire. For, after all, if you'd move against even the Chu family — then what of those other star-region governors, dukes, and marshals? Was it, then, that so long as you, the royal house, willed it, you could just casually find some pretext to root out those not of your faction?
"But you're situated in the Capital Star… is this not, all the same, handing your very life into the royal house's hands?" Zhao Chen worried.
Governor Chu of Chu River waved a hand and said with a light laugh, "If the Chu family rebels, then they'll naturally move against me. If the Chu family doesn't rebel, then my being here is, on the contrary, a scalding potato for them. Set your heart at ease — here is a good deal safer than the Chu River Star Region. And besides — do they not fear the Chu family throwing in its lot with one of the other two empires?"
Governor Chu of Chu River gave, at the last, a wicked little smile.
Zhao Chen saw that this old fellow had ideas of his own — he was treating himself as a chess piece, to settle the endgame for the Chu family.
"All right; we two, elder and junior, have chatted up to here. And don't you go putting too great a pressure on yourself — if the sky falls, there'll still be a taller one to hold it up."
The chat between Zhao Chen and the old fellow, Governor Chu of Chu River, drew to a close here.
"I have a constant feeling that at this conferral ceremony, some great matter is about to occur," Zhao Chen muttered.
……
The next day, the receptionist Xiangxiang got in contact with Zhao Chen, and took Zhao Chen to the banquet grounds.
This banquet was within a "Sky City" of a near-planetary orbit; Zhao Chen came here aboard a shuttle. He saw no small number of lord-nobles. The noble medals worn upon their breasts were, without a single exception, viscount-grade at the starting point — indeed, Zhao Chen even saw several marquis medals. Those able to receive the Starlight Emperor's personal conferral, the titles they obtained were all at the least earl-grade and above. And the overwhelming majority were of a comparatively advanced age, 40 or 50 years or so. Zhao Chen, being so young here, appeared somewhat out of place.
Zhao Chen found a rather out-of-the-way seat and sat down; sweeping a glance around the banquet grounds, he, of all things, caught sight of a few familiar faces. Five-Star Marshal Huang Zhixiong, and the Azure Star Region Governor. These two were, after all, old acquaintances of Zhao Chen's.
The Azure Governor, too, spotted Zhao Chen sitting in the corner; wearing a whole harmless-as-a-lamb expression, he walked over.
"Marquis Zhao Chen, why sit off in the corner? Those people all very much wish to make the acquaintance of the greatly renowned Marquis Zhao Chen," the Azure Governor said warmly.
Zhao Chen shook his head, and, putting on a show of nervousness, said, "I'm a rather timid sort of person, unused to grand occasions of this kind. Azure Governor, so long as you enjoy yourself, that's fine; there's no need to mind me."
"Now how can that do. Speaking of it, that outbreak of hive-race disaster that occurred earlier in my Azure Star Region was turned from peril to safety, all thanks to Marquis Zhao Chen. I've yet to properly thank Marquis Zhao Chen — for shame, for shame," the Azure Governor said.
You gave me a fine "thanks" back then, a whole helping of it; if not for Governor Chu of Chu River and the little Princess's royal fleet arriving, there's no telling what deviltry the lot of you would have gotten up to. It had to be said, this pack of people truly did have very thick skins. Back then, in that sort of situation — and now they could still, calm and even-tempered, chat idly with him here. But were he to learn that his own Hurricane Conglomerate had tumbled off its altar precisely because Zhao Chen was backing Li Yaqi's Northern Goose Starship Technology Group behind the scenes — then, by all estimates, this fine face of his wouldn't be able to hold together.
"You're too kind," Zhao Chen said.
"In truth, before, we had some misunderstandings. I think there's, all the same, a possibility of cooperation between us. For, after all, I have the connections and the resources, and in your hand you have the technology. Though you're Governor Chu of Chu River's future grandson-in-law — yet, as the saying goes so well, a good bird chooses its tree to perch upon![1] There's no need to insist on hanging yourself to death on the Chu family's one single tree; the more so, since the Chu family of now is no longer the Chu family of old." The Azure Governor's words, within and without, seemed all to be insinuating something.
Zhao Chen knew full well in his heart: this Azure Governor was digging at the foot of the wall — and, at the same time, letting him understand that the Chu family was about to fall into decline. Rather than sink together with the Chu family's broken ship, better to take the starship technology in your hand and come over to me.
"I'm not thinking so far ahead just now; I only think of developing my own territory well, that's all," Zhao Chen said, playing the fool.
The Azure Governor clapped Zhao Chen on the shoulder, for all the world like an old friend. "Little brother Zhao Chen, I believe you'll, in the end, make the wise choice."
The smile upon the Azure Governor's face gave one the feeling of a smiling tiger.
It was just at this point that, at the banquet's great doorway, there appeared a squad of attendants; the attendants escorted two persons in, into the banquet grounds.
"The Second Prince and Prince Yan arrive!"
Zhao Chen gazed over — surrounded in the midst of the crowd, a middle-aged man and a youth. Though he'd never seen these two before, the information on these two Zhao Chen had, back at the Northstar Academy, heard his fellow students discuss.
The Second Prince, Qin Ming. He and his own younger brother, the Third Prince, Qin Hu, had formed the Prince Faction.
Prince Yan was the present Starlight Emperor's own younger brother. Granted the title of Prince Yan, his fief the Snow-Swallow Star Region, he was the only man in the Starlight Empire to hold the rank of Prince. But it was heard that he'd all along been an idle, unoccupied prince, of no great ambition in his breast, fond of collecting novel curios from the various star systems and cosmos. Every year the Starlight Emperor would bestow upon this younger brother of his some rare and precious treasures. Who'd have thought that at this conferral ceremony, even Prince Yan would appear in person.
The Capital Star, in this instant, seemed to be filled, for all the world, with a kind of eerie, mysterious cloud of doubt.