Hearing Lilith speak of the Owl Dragon Star System's development—
Zhao Chen felt a certain wistfulness.
Thinking back on when he first came to this world, the Owl Dragon Star System had been a place as barren as a place could be.
Its population a bare 500 million, and flowing out without cease besides.
And in this bare three or four years, the Owl Dragon Star System had undergone a change that turned heaven and earth over.
It had become so fine a system that today, those residents who held Owl Dragon household registration walked the streets of the Owl Dragon Star System with a certain pride.
And people from outside longed keenly to hold an Owl Dragon registration of their own.
Because the welfare terms Owl Dragon registration meant were, quite simply, too good for words.
But now the requirements for joining the Owl Dragon register were very strict. Apart from that first batch issued outright at the time—
those registered after it either possessed very strong technical ability, or had made outstanding, meritorious showings within the Owl Dragon Legion's system.
The most time-consuming path to registration was long service within the Owl Dragon system — 30 years, 50 years — before Owl Dragon registration could be gained.
So that with a permanent resident population of 30 billion, the registered household population was very small indeed!
"On the military side, we at present possess four Owl Dragon legions at full establishment, and two special fleets. And six Owl Dragon legions still under construction, of which the Owl Dragon Fifth Legion's building work is near complete; before the end of July, every warship the Owl Dragon Fifth Legion requires can be delivered. It is projected that by mid-August it can complete all training items and possess combat capability. Combat-type warships come to near 15,000," Lilith said.
15,000… and not a simple 15,000, but 15,000 T3-grade warships.
Lilith added, "Of which above 300 are T4-grade warships."
300 T4-grade warships — a number exceeding, after the civil war, the sum of every T4 warship in the whole Starlight Empire.
"Then the choice of commander for the Owl Dragon Fifth Legion wants settling," Zhao Chen muttered.
Lilith went on, "Our five resource star regions outside have broken 500 billion star coins in monthly output value; and with the T4 Tycoon-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ships to be committed hereafter— the projected monthly output value can be raised a further 100%! And our Northern Goose Group, which will handle the military procurement orders in future along with other civil orders, is projected to remit us 100 billion star coins a month. The North Dragon Group and the Rose-Red Dragon Group, those two trade groups, already generate a monthly profit of 200 billion star coins by interstellar trade. And there is the Eden Grain Trade Group in A-Na's charge, which at present possesses 1,000 T3 Silver Eden-class starships and 30 T4 Golden Eden-class starships, at a monthly profit of 200 billion star coins. Reckoning in the other sundry income besides, our monthly revenue now holds steady at 1 trillion star coins!"
"As easily… as that… 1 trillion star coins?" Zhao Chen was somewhat astonished.
He had known these groups and companies of his made money, but he had not thought they made money quite like this.
For it must be borne in mind that before the civil war the whole Starlight Empire's monthly revenue came to only some 1.5 trillion, and its yearly to around 20 trillion.
Which meant that this one ecosystem, the Owl Dragon Legion, already amounted to half a Starlight Empire.
Perhaps guessing what the Commander-in-Chief was thinking—
Lilith added, "By our secretariat's projections, if all goes smoothly, before the end of next year our yearly revenue can surpass the Starlight Empire's!"
Zhao Chen nodded, satisfied.
Possessing combat-type warships was important, granted.
But it must be borne in mind that a powerful legion fleet alone will not serve; one needs a solid and vast strength in logistics, economy, and industry besides.
And of these, the economy is the weightiest of all.
The economic base determines the superstructure!
Lilith began upon the next stage. "As for our present industrial system. Not counting the Northern Goose Group. We at present possess 2,000 T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships, which can produce in a single month 30,000 T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers, or 1,000 T3 Imperial-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships. And 50 T4 Gemini-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships, which can produce in a single month 400 T4 Skeleton-King-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers, or 10 T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleships. On the production of warships alone, the projected monthly expenditure is 600 billion star coins."
Well, then. Zhao Chen felt all at once that the trillion star coins a month he earned might, after all, not be quite enough.
Damn it — shipbuilding burned money.
"Then if we wished to gather the war materiel for one large-scale campaign, how much time would it take?" Zhao Chen asked.
Lilith thought a moment and answered, "For basic war materiel, only a month to two months. But if it is to swallow the whole Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth at one stroke, then at the least five months to stockpile the war materiel. That figure is rather hard to make exact, because it also wants a tally of how many of our legion fleets enter the fighting."
Zhao Chen nodded in understanding.
Fighting a war was not so simple as leading legion fleets forward to charge and kill.
Back when Zhao Chen had a few warships, or a few dozen, he had needed to mind none of this.
But not now.
Now Zhao Chen answered for above 10,000 warships and above 10 million women-soldiers, and every military order meant working this vast war machine.
Happily he had Lilith and the others to assist him; otherwise Zhao Chen truly did not know how he would have settled any of it alone — merely looking at these figures made his scalp prickle.
"Lilith, go and pass the word. Within one month, prepare the basic war materiel; and over this stretch see to the refitting of every legion fleet. Half a month at the fastest, a month at the slowest. And we may be intervening in the war over in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth. I fear the Holy Radiance Empire's side may not be able to restrain itself from making trouble, so the Warhammer business must be cleared away as fast as possible." Zhao Chen set out his plan for what was to come.
Lilith had long had a presentiment of it too; she nodded. "Understood. I shall find ways to hasten the preparations on that side."
Zhao Chen enlarged the interstellar holo-table before him without cease, until it covered the maps of all three great empires.
These three great empires were, just now, for all the world like a lion, a tiger, and a wolf.
Zhao Chen understood clearly that though the Owl Dragon Legion was very strong now, set against the vast Holy Radiance Empire it still fell somewhat short.
If the Owl Dragon Legion did not open a new front and seek new resource points—
then the Owl Dragon Legion's development would reach a bottleneck; and the Warhammer was beyond doubt the stepping-stone.
Swallow or control the Warhammer, and let it make blood for the Owl Dragon Legion.
And by then, Zhao Chen's Owl Dragon Legion would possess the strength to crush the Holy Radiance Empire outright.