Galactic Star Calendar 3033 · early October
This was the first day of October.
Zhao Chen sat in his office chair, drinking milk, eating his breakfast, and reading the electronic newspaper before him.
It was a Starlight Empire electronic newspaper, and the greater part of its content was, of course, this civil war of the Starlight Empire's.
For the people of the Starlight Empire, this was the third month since the outbreak of the north–south civil war.
For those interstellar soldiers at the line where the Starlight Central Star Region met the Chu River and North Wind Star Regions, it was a day as ordinary as any other.
As always, it was nothing more than the two sides' back-and-forth of attack and defense.
Today you seize your chance to attack; tomorrow he seizes his to strike back.
As for taking and holding ground?
Up to now, neither side had actually brought any local star-region area under its control; at most it was a matter of how many military fortresses had been destroyed, how many interstellar warships annihilated, or some blitz that had successfully carried out an orbital bombardment on some frontline military planet.
"So far, the one that's taken the heaviest losses is the North Wind Star Region. I hear old Zhu's side is already past a 30% loss-rate; not long ago he even lost three T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships in the space of a single day. It's got old Zhu so worked up he hasn't slept well for days," Zhao Chen muttered.
Secretary Lilith, seeing the milk in the Commander's cup gone, thoughtfully topped it up for him.
She knew the Commander's present living habits by heart.
"The quality of the North Wind Star Region's interstellar fleet can only rank level with the imperial forces within Starlight; it's wholly beyond comparison with the border group-army and Chu family legion under Governor Chu's hand. Its being made the Prince Faction's point of breakthrough was hard to avoid. But the imperial legions attacking the North Wind Star Region haven't come off with much advantage either; the loss-ratio has, by and large, stayed at about one-to-one. That, of course, is thanks in part to the interstellar warships Governor Chu sent to reinforce them," Lilith said mildly.
"Lilith, call up the two sides' total combat-expenditure figures for me." Zhao Chen gave a satisfied belch.
"Yes." Lilith called up this daily updated data.
One could see very clearly the count of damaged interstellar warships on each side.
"The Prince Faction's side has lost near 40,000 interstellar warships these two months. But the Empire's various great starship works are all now producing interstellar warships at full load — all Prince Faction military-procurement orders. Every month they can guarantee at the least 10,000 T2-grade interstellar warships rolling off the line into service, which makes up for a portion of the Prince Faction's interstellar-warship losses. Besides that, the value of the Prince Faction's battlefield-materials consumption over these two months has already reached 300 billion star coins."
This was the terrifying strength of an imperial war-machine once set running; and so, in a large-scale pitched battle of this sort — where the two sides' technological capabilities weren't far apart — what was fought was, as a rule, attrition: whoever could outlast whom.
And in the matter of great family fortune, that was, of course, still the Prince Faction.
The Prince Faction now represented the Starlight royal house — represented the terrifying deep foundation of the Starlight Empire.
From the battlefield-consumption figures alone, the gap between the two could be seen.
The Prince Faction spent 300 billion star coins in two months; Chu Changhe spent 70 billion — a full fourfold difference.
Perhaps someone would wonder: since the Prince Faction's expenditure was so great, why had they gained no real advantage on the battlefield?
Come now — one must understand that the attacking side always has to bear more battlefield expenditure than the defending side.
Supply lines, logistics lines, damaged interstellar warships you have to haul back for repair — reckon it all up, and there's the reason the Prince Faction's expenditure ran fourfold Chu Changhe's.
But that they could hold fast under so great a gap owed as well to the strength of the Chu River legion and the border group-army, and to Marshal Chu Changhe's terrifying command of the battlefield!
Truly the Starlight Empire's strongest marshal!
But strong as he was, there were losses all the same.
"Chu Changhe's side has lost 20,000-odd interstellar warships, 70 billion star coins in battlefield expenditure; the North Wind Star Region's side has lost 10,000-odd interstellar warships, 30 billion star coins in expenditure. And the local industry of the Chu River and North Wind Star Regions can, at most, guarantee the production of 1,000 T2-grade interstellar warships a month rolling off the line — nowhere near enough to fill the gap in interstellar-warship losses." Zhao Chen shook his head with a sigh.
This was, too, why Chu Changhe had said before that a Chu-family revolt was bound to fail.
"But it's not that Marshal Chu and the others have no advantage. In the matter of the most elite T4-grade interstellar warships — by the intelligence so far, the count of T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships already appearing on the frontline battlefield has come close to 100! And the Prince Faction's count of T4-grade interstellar warships is no more than 100 either," Lilith said.
"And because of the civil war, the royal house's side has had its supply of T4 Boreas cut off."
Zhao Chen now drew out a piece of top-secret intelligence: "But just yesterday, I got a piece of news. The Prince Faction's side, it seems, is about to roll a class of T4-grade interstellar warship off the line in mass production — the first batch already numbering 30! And to be delivered and made combat-ready within this year's end. It looks to be a T4 battleship too; my guess is that over these years the royal house has been studying the T4 Boreas it holds, and has built up some technical grounding. Only there's no telling just how well this T4 battleship they've built can measure up to the T4 Boreas."
Sure enough — usually everyone looks a useless lot, but once they truly take up arms, once you press this pack of fellows a little, the energy they've got in them is considerable after all.
Chu Changhe had quietly amassed 100 T4 Boreas.
And the Prince Faction, without a word, had begun rolling off the line the T4 battleship of its own devising.
Lilith, too, let show a look of surprise.
"Up to now, the North Wind Star Region's side has lost five T4 Boreas over the two months, two of them so badly crippled they must return to port for repair. No wonder old Zhu was so angry before — losing three T4 Boreas all at once; by all estimates the commanders in charge of that battle are in for it." Zhao Chen gave a light laugh and a shrug, then went on: "The Chu family's side has lost eight T4 Boreas, three crippled and back in port for repair. The Prince Faction's side has lost 15 T4 Boreas, six crippled and back in port; and lost one T4 Starlight Emperor-class Medium Carrier Starship. Looked at this way, the two sides are fighting it out on fairly even terms. By all estimates it'll truly take until the fifth month before any great shift comes."
Lilith nodded.
That the Chu family's strategic reserves could sustain only about six months was, by now, no secret.
And under the present, generally high-intensity fighting, that span might well be shortened by a good deal.
Everyone on the Prince Faction's side was waiting for this crucial turning point — the key as well to the Prince Faction's victory!