Chu River Star Region · a large star-port on the border.
Because a great campaign had just ended, a great many interstellar warships waited here for repair or resupply.
There was even congestion.
But beneath this congestion there was one lane clear and unobstructed, and the interstellar warships voyaging along it all bore one and the same fleet-crest.
The Owl Dragon fleet-crest!
The Owl Dragon Legion's showing in that earlier great decisive battle could be called dazzling to all who saw — above all the feat of scouring the ground with 1 million interstellar missiles.
It had, moreover, fixed in people's memory the existence of this firepower-madman.
And at this nearest star-port, Chu Changhe had specially set aside some lanes and dry-docks for the Owl Dragon Legion's interstellar warships to use.
In truth, the interstellar supply ships and the T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships Zhao Chen himself carried could take on some of the repair tasks.
But since the goodwill was delivered to his door, there was no reason to refuse.
And within this star-port, the victors of this campaign were holding a face-to-face gathering.
In a quiet room, a company sat gathered in a ring.
Chu Changhe, Chu Xuan.
Qin Xiaolei, Zhao Ruyue.
Zhao Chen, Lilith.
The leader-representatives, that is, of the present Chu-family legion, the Imperial Princess Fleet-Group, and the Owl Dragon Legion.
"I never thought that fellow Qin Ming wouldn't be dead after all!" Qin Xiaolei said in indignation.
Chu Xuan said: "By the word we've gotten, at the very end, when they'd shaken off the Owl Dragon Legion's pursuit fleet and were set to warp-voyage back to the Starlight Central Star Region's White-Swan Star-Port— —Qin Ming suddenly made a decision, took 300 elite interstellar warships, and returned to the Imperial Capital Star by another route, spending a few extra days. That's what kept him from appearing at our ambush point."
This news the Owl Dragon Legion's intelligence network had confirmed too.
Zhao Chen could only sigh — that lad Qin Ming truly had dog-luck, to escape with his life even at such a moment.
"However it be, from where things stand now, the initiative in this civil war is already in our hands. Through this great decisive battle. Of the six fleet-groups the Princes' faction mustered— —the North-Expedition First Main-Fleet Group, the North-Expedition Second Main-Fleet Group, and the Azure Interstellar Main-Fleet Group were annihilated to the last by us! These three fleet-groups' commanders — Huang Zhixiong, Cao Jianye, Lei Dachuan, three Five-Star Marshals — are all dead. Besides them, the Royal Interstellar Main-Fleet Group and the Princes' faction Combined Main-Fleet Group were gravely crippled; save for a scant under 3,000 interstellar warships that fled, the rest were annihilated in our subsequent ambush. Beyond that, only the Prince Yan Interstellar Main-Fleet Group, thanks to its geographic position at the time, was spared. It too has lately returned safely to the Starlight Central Star Region. In this campaign, the Princes' faction lost over 250,000 interstellar warships outright. Even if the Princes' faction urgently musters fresh fleets, there's no way it can gather so vast an interstellar legion again in the span of a few months. Once our combat-resource resupply is complete, in the next stage we can take the Starlight Central Star Region outright. And by then, the remaining star regions will surely defect to us straightaway!" Chu Changhe analyzed.
Zhao Chen nodded; what old Chu analyzed was just what he thought too: "This is precisely why Qin Ming chose to take the throne at just this moment. It's the one chance he has now to turn the board around; under the name of taking the throne, he can mobilize more resources, and can forcibly requisition the various star regions' interstellar warships for his own use. By the intelligence we've gotten so far, if he's given ample time, he might even be able to form up another interstellar host on the scale of 300,000 interstellar warships. That is, of course, if all goes smoothly for Qin Ming."
Whether or not it went smoothly — that, of course, remained to be asked of Zhao Chen, and whether he agreed to it.
At this, Chu Changhe, Zhao Ruyue, and the rest all looked toward Zhao Chen.
For at present the strategic materials of both their houses' stores were near enough spent.
The Imperial Princess Fleet-Group needs no further telling; the strategic materials it had used were all traded for by loan agreement after loan agreement Qin Xiaolei had signed with Zhao Chen.
The Chu-family legion, too, would find it very hard to bring out strategic resources enough to supply a fleet for the next wave of offensive.
Though the Princes' faction was now grievously wounded, the Starlight Central Star Region was, after all, the Starlight Empire's central star region; without ample strategic resources for a hard assault, they would take grievous losses!
So all of this hung on Zhao Chen, this great moneybags.
Zhao Chen felt the eyes of the company upon him; he'd never thought a day would come when he'd be reckoned by all as a great moneybags.
"How much strategic resource would satisfy the next stage of military action for each of your two sides?" Zhao Chen asked, coming straight to the point.
Qin Xiaolei looked to Zhao Ruyue; her Imperial Princess Fleet-Group's every figure was Zhao Ruyue's charge.
Zhao Ruyue soon answered: "By our reckoning, if it's military action against the Starlight Central Star Region. The Imperial Princess Fleet-Group's hundred and twenty thousand interstellar warships' military action would need at least 50 billion star coins!"
Chu Xuan followed at once: "We on our side need 50 billion star coins too."
As for his own house's situation, Zhao Chen had asked Lilith well before coming.
The five resource-star-regions outside were developing very smoothly, and in another month or so could reach their maximum extraction.
That is — a single-month extraction of 500 billion star coins!
So supplying these two houses' military outlay was no great difficulty.
"Before the end of January, I'll supply each of your two sides 50 billion star coins in strategic resources; beyond that, I'll ready for each fleet-group a mobilization authority of another 50 billion star coins in strategic resources. To guard against the risk of the war possibly widening or dragging on." Once Zhao Chen said this—
—the four across from him were astonished beyond measure.
That was 200 billion star coins in a single stroke!
They'd reckoned the Owl Dragon Legion very rich now, above all on learning that the Northern Goose Group's behind-the-scenes boss was Zhao Chen; by the Northern Goose Group's money-making prowess, Zhao Chen surely had no small private coffers.
So to give each fleet 30 billion star coins in strategic resources should have been no problem.
But they'd never thought Zhao Chen would give more than they'd reckoned.
"Don't mistake me — these are all handed out in loan form, same as before; they're to be repaid." Zhao Chen tapped his fingers on the table.
Qin Xiaolei rolled her eyes; there were times she truly couldn't tell whether this Zhao Chen was a loyal subject or what.
Still, this bit of money was nothing; so long as she could have her revenge, so long as she could win back all that was hers.
In the future she'd repay Zhao Chen these sums sooner or later.
Chu Changhe minded even less; come the reckoning, he'd want repayment?
Heh heh heh — take that up with his granddaughter.
Thinking of this, Chu Changhe looked at his Chu Xuan, then looked at Zhao Chen, and felt the more that his arrangement of old had been an absolute win.
Who said he, Chu Changhe, was only a genius at fighting?
At making money and investing, this old man was likewise top-notch PLUS!
See there — this grandson-in-law of theirs!
A great goldmine, pure and simple!
Discovered by old Chu himself!
Now — I ask you all, aren't you envious!
"Little Zhao, give this old man a hint. Those five star regions of yours out there — just how much resource can you extract in a month?" Chu Changhe drew back his private schemes and looked at Zhao Chen, curious.
For Zhao Chen to be so open-handed, it surely wasn't the Northern Goose Group alone.
The likeliest thing was the development of those five resource-star-regions out there.
"Not much money — just a few tens of billions a month. This is all the nest-egg I've scraped together from between my very teeth; it's to be repaid down the road!" Zhao Chen wore the look of a pitiable, penny-pinching good family-man making do.
Beside him, Lilith very nearly laughed aloud.
The figure the Commander-in-Chief gave wasn't so far off, really — it was just short one little "0."