Since it had been settled that they were to prop the little Princess up to the position, then, of course, a whole series of future plans had to be nailed down.
"To try to take everything back, the first thing needed is hard, solid strength. More interstellar warships! But at present, the number of our interstellar warships is far too few; set against the interstellar warships the Prince Faction grasps, there's simply no contending against them."
Zhao Ruyue began to set it forth, one point at a time.
"The whole Starlight Empire's imperial army, high and low, has close to 200 starship-legions — over 600,000 interstellar warships. By the look of it now, within the Prince Faction's grasp are the royal main interstellar-fleet-group garrisoning the Starlight Central Star Region, the Eastern main interstellar-fleet-group, and, besides, several governors' private armies and several marshals' interstellar legions. At the least 60 interstellar legions, with the interstellar warships under their direct control reaching 200,000! And this hasn't yet counted those lord-fleets. And, moreover, as the Prince Faction's power grows ceaselessly greater, coercing yet more of the originally neutral faction along with it, the interstellar fleets they control will grow more and more. On the strength of the interstellar warships in our hands alone, it's very hard, in any short span of time, to possess the ability to contend. But if we take the risk of getting in contact with those existing legion-fleet commanders and drawing them over, then we might well expose our position. For, after all, there's no one who would, at a time like this, choose to support a Princess who's lost her standing…"
When Zhao Ruyue said this, she couldn't help but cast a glance at her younger brother.
It was only this crazy fellow who, over a single word from her, would, of all things, directly stand on the Princess's side.
Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin and said, "This is true enough — and, moreover, relying on others is worse than relying on oneself; we do, all the same, need to have enough interstellar warships in our own hands."
"Then we'll just buy interstellar warships!" Qin Xiaolei said excitedly from the side.
Zhao Chen couldn't help a laugh; he looked at this little Princess, who seemed somewhat naive.
"Your Highness the Princess, this isn't so simple a thing as buying a few interstellar warships. It means buying interstellar warships by the thousands and tens of thousands — and that is no small figure of a sum."
Qin Xiaolei nodded earnestly, as though in agreement with Zhao Chen's view, and asked back, "Then to add on one interstellar legion, how much money would it take?"
This Princess seemed to have a thief's heart that just wouldn't die; was she still turning over the idea of buying interstellar warships?
So as to snuff out this Princess's unrealistic notion, Zhao Chen reckoned out an account for Qin Xiaolei; he raised a hand and called up some data.
"Going by the current construction standard of a first-line imperial-army fleet — and what I'm speaking of here is the old construction standard; the new construction standard requires phasing out all T2 interstellar warships, and the funds it consumes are more vast still — by the old standard, one first-line imperial-army fleet, of 3,000 interstellar warships, needs at least 100 T3 interstellar warships equipped, the rest all T2 interstellar warships. And the interstellar-warship types are chiefly composed of interstellar frigates and interstellar destroyers, equipped besides with a small number of interstellar battleships and carrier starships, along with a portion of interstellar battlecruisers and interstellar cruisers. At times the ratio of these ship-types is adjusted according to this interstellar legion's combat type. Reckoned by the ordinary case, the procurement cost of such an interstellar legion fleet is at the least 40 billion star coins! Of course, this is reckoned by the selling price; if built oneself, it would save no small amount of money."
Qin Xiaolei looked at this string of figures, and nodded as though understanding.
"40 billion star coins can procure a 3,000-interstellar-warship interstellar legion; this is, indeed, a bit expensive… Then in that case, let's first buy the interstellar warships needed for 10 legion fleets!"
Zhao Chen couldn't help a laugh.
"Didn't I just say — this needs a great sum of money. 10 legion fleets, then, is 400 billion star coins!"
"400 billion star coins — that, I have." Qin Xiaolei looked at Zhao Chen, blinking her big, watery eyes.
Zhao Chen froze.
He looked toward Qin Xiaolei.
"You… what did you say just now?"
Qin Xiaolei said again, "I said — I have 400 billion star coins."
Zhao Chen looked toward Zhao Ruyue at his side, no small number of question marks surfacing upon his face.
Zhao Ruyue gave a shrug.
"Don't forget the identity of the one before you."
Zhao Chen's train of thought cleared in an instant.
My goodness gracious! How had he forgotten so important a thing.
That's right — this one was, after all, the Starlight Empire's little Princess, the Starlight Emperor's most-beloved treasure, the pearl held in the palm of the whole Starlight Empire!
How could she possibly have not a scrap of money.
Zhao Chen at once looked at Qin Xiaolei with beaming brows and a smiling eye; at this moment, before his eyes it was for all the world no longer a little Princess, but rather a string of zeroes he was gazing at.
"Ahem, ahem… Your Highness the Princess, you're certain you have 400 billion star coins?"
At this moment, even Zhao Chen's form of address had changed.
Qin Xiaolei raised a hand and opened several data interfaces, upon which one could see the pages of several accounts, all displaying exceedingly vast figures.
"My father-emperor, in the past, would send me a great many gifts every year; and on my birthday, there'd be a great many ministers who'd give me things too. And then my mother-empress said that just storing that money away was a waste, and that it would be best if it could be set to working. From when I was three years old, my mother-empress helped me set up some financial accounts, and when I was 15, she handed them all over to me. Within the Starlight Empire I have a great many fixed assets, but I'd estimate that, on account of my situation, these enterprises will very soon be brought under Consort Zhen and the rest's control. Still, these enterprise-companies transfer, every quarter, a portion of their earnings into some secret, secure accounts of mine. And besides, I know my elder brother's secure accounts too. In fact, I personally have only 100 billion star coins; my elder brother's money is more — around 300 billion star coins! Though half of it is cash flow, and the remaining half is raw materials procured in various forms, stored away in warehouses in various places."
"These secure accounts — are they certain to be secure?" Zhao Chen inquired with worry; by now he'd already come to regard these 400 billion star coins as money in his own pocket, and he was quite worried.
Qin Xiaolei nodded, and guaranteed, "These funds are all very secure; the overwhelming majority of them aren't even within the Starlight Empire's borders, but rather in some other neutral nations — indeed, some are stored over in the Holy Radiance Empire and the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth. My mother-empress said that, being royalty, one must make ready for every worst eventuality — and so my elder brother and I have, all along, kept secret little treasuries."
Long live the great mother-empress!
Zhao Chen at once said in earnest, "Your Highness the Princess, in fact I have the channels to produce interstellar warships! But I need raw materials and funds. Right now you happen to be lacking interstellar warships — and you have raw materials and funds. The performance of those interstellar warships of mine you've seen too; their combat power is all quite advanced. And so, I think you can directly procure interstellar warships from me. Not only safe and reliable — but worthy of your trust besides!"
Zhao Ruyue, off to the side, looked at Zhao Chen with that whole merchant's bearing about him, and couldn't help feeling somewhat astonished.
This younger brother of hers had, in the past, been but a bookish fool; how had he, now, turned so slick and slippery a customer?
At this moment, the look of him was for all the world like a famished wolf that had caught the savory scent of meat.
"You can build interstellar warships?" Qin Xiaolei looked at Zhao Chen in astonishment, and then thought a moment.
"What you say isn't unworkable. But I can't hand the whole lot over to you all at once. Let's do it this way: we'll draft up a procurement plan, and I won't take unfair advantage of you either. You just tell me how long it takes to build one legion fleet for me. Before each legion fleet is delivered, I can pay you the corresponding funds and raw materials. And then, when the second legion fleet is being built, I'll give you the second sum of payment. And so on, and so forth. How does that sound to you?"
This little Princess did, after all, have a bit of a guarding wariness to her — though it made no great difference.
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth curled upward.
"Of course, no problem at all."
In this instant, it was for all the world as though he'd seen great sums upon great sums of funds beckoning to him.