"An interstellar civilization does not need a capital?"
The theory shattered the fixed ideas in Li Yao's head again, opening a brand-new door for him.
"Exactly. In the age of the ancient Cultivators, the means of communication and transportation were relatively underdeveloped, and the territory was not very large. That was why the rulers gathered most of the leadership and experts in one place and established it as a 'court', a 'capital', which was the center of politics, economy, and military. It was quite a reasonable approach at that time."
Wuying Qi went on, "However, to this day, the unified country of the civilization of mankind boasts hundreds of Sectors and a territory that spans millions of lightyears. Isn't it too absurd to rule the entire sea of stars with one planet based on the political experience in the past?
"Just look at the capital planet today. In order to govern the entire sea of stars, too many government agencies have been established in this place. The population is booming, the agencies are bloated, and the environment is polluted. The various departments and forces restrict each other, and the functions as a 'brain' and a 'heart' have been completely lost.
"In the meantime, when the nobles and magnates at the remote edge of the Imperium grew disobedient, the capital was too far away to restrain and suppress them in time. As a result, the four Kurfürsten and the local warlords all rose up, putting the Imperium on the verge of collapse.
"What's the use of such a capital?
"As a matter of fact, human beings should've completely abandoned the way of governance in the past when they first stepped on the journey to the sea of stars. They shouldn't have a fixed capital at all. It's a pity that neither the demons nor the Imperium a thousand years ago saw that clearly, resulting in tragedies time and time again.
"Let's talk about the collapse of the Star Ocean Imperium, the greatest tragedy ten thousand years ago. At that time, the wise Supreme Emperor also regarded the capital planet as his capital, but he asked his general, the Blood God, to lead the strongest expedition army to suppress the remnants of the demon race. As a result, the political power and the military power of the Star Ocean Imperium were completely separated. It was impossible for the capital planet to effectively command the expedition army millions of lightyears away. There were too many variables in the expedition that lasted decades. Even if the Blood God was the Supreme Emperor's clone, so what? A rebellion was inevitable!
"If the Supreme Emperor had seen through it in time and refused to consider the capital planet as the capital but moved all the government agencies of the Star Ocean Imperium to the expedition army, with the expedition fleet as the 'mobile capital', would the Blood God have had any chance to rebel, and the Star Ocean Imperium would've collapsed?"
Li Yao was fascinated. He felt that what Wuying Qi said made sense and that he could not refute it at all.
"Actually, since ancient times, countless knowledgeable people have vaguely recognized this problem and have made some efforts, intentionally or unintentionally."
Wuying Qi went on, "From the demon dynasty to the Imperium of True Human Beings, a lot of people in power built super enormous space fortresses at tremendous cost. They even hollowed out a whole planet and modified it into military fortresses, such as' Stars of Death ',' Stars of Destruction ',' Stars of Doom ', and so on.
"In fact, purely from the military point of view, such enormous but useless super space fortresses that put all their eggs in one basket have very low combat efficiency. Not only do they have almost zero mobility, they can be easily wiped out once the enemy invades them. It is better to spend the abundant resources on them on building fleets or strengthening the armed forces on the surface of the planet!
"However, even if the 'Stars of Death' of the previous dynasty did not perform well on the battlefield and were destroyed instantly, the new dynasty would still build new 'Stars of Death' again and again. Why? Are so many military specialists and technical experts idiots who cannot see the fatal shortcomings of the super enormous space fortresses?
"No, the key is not military but politics. The purpose of building the super enormous space fortresses at such a cost is not to make them perform well on the battlefield, but to absorb tremendous local resources during the construction to weaken the local magnates so that they cannot resist the command of the court. Only in such a way can the long-term stability of the unified Imperium be ensured.
"Of course, the local magnates are well aware of the court's plan too. Therefore, they slandered the super enormous space fortresses through all kinds of channels. They even depicted the destruction of the 'super Stars of Death' in their literary works and mocked the 'useless' weapons. In fact, it was just because they did not want to be sucked dry by the court with the excuse of building 'Stars of Death'.
"In the past, the counterattacks of the local magnates all worked. None of the Imperium carried out the strategy of weakening the local magnates to the end. Besides, the capital planet was too prosperous and convenient. No emperor was willing to leave the glamorous world and start from scratch.
"I couldn't see through it a thousand years ago, either. But today, I've clearly realized the hilarity of a fixed capital. I've long decided to move the capital from the capital planet to an enormous, powerful fleet, turning the Imperium into a 'civilization of great starships' to some extent.
"However, this is a big deal. There are too many interest groups on the capital planet. Not only do the four Kurfürst families have tremendous interests here, but the reformists, including the Wuying family, are deeply rooted here too. If I propose the proposal to move the capital recklessly, countless people will object to it. It can't be helped. The capital planet has been the capital of the civilization of mankind for fifty thousand years. Those shortsighted, conservative guys are used to it and don't see the problem at all.
"Therefore, I've simply decided to destroy the Empyreal Terminus Sector and the capital planet. As a result, those gossiping flies will all shut up, and they will have to move the capital even if they want to!
"Although a small price will be paid in the short term, it will be of great benefit to ensure the sustainable development of the civilization of mankind in the long term. As the saying goes, it's better to cut the Gordian knot than to cut the Gordian knot quickly!
"Sacrificing the Empyreal Terminus Sector will give us a super fleet that has the highest combat ability and whose everybody is loyal and honest. Then, I'll move the entire court to the new fleet, which can be named 'Capital Fleet'.
"From now on, the fleet of the Imperium will cruise in the entire universe regularly. Every time we reach a Sector, especially the Sectors controlled by the powerful lords, we will strengthen the fleet with the local resources, deal with the local malpractices and corruption, select the local talents, and bring the most distinguished ones to the fleet. While the court is strengthened, the local forces will be weakened. In such a cycle, the fleet will cruise the entire Imperium every twenty to thirty years. During the twenty to thirty years, even if the local magnates intend to rebel, they will not have the time to develop new rebellious forces. Even if there is corruption at the bottom level, it will not spread too badly, and it can be removed and treated immediately.
"In such a way, not just a thousand years, even ten thousand years later, the Imperium will still be stable and uncorrupted!
"The scale and combat ability of the Capital Fleet, as well as the experts living in the Capital Fleet, will be stronger and stronger, climbing to the peak of evolution. When the time is right, and enough resources, technology, and combat ability are stored, the Capital Fleet will be able to transform into an expedition army of the grand universe and march out directly!
"Li Yao, what do you think of the future that I've described? Do you not think that it's the only feasible solution?"
Li Yao licked his lips again and again, but he still felt that his mouth was dry.
He felt more and more that Wuying Qi did have a point, at least part of it.
"Just like I said, if you think that I missed any details or made any mistakes, feel free to tell me," Wuying Qi said generously.
"As long as your words have substance, I promise that I'll follow your advice."
"Yes, there's one more omission!"
Li Yao's head was in a mess. Focusing on the details, he said, "Your Next Sun Plan will not kill billions of people instantly, but it will completely disrupt their brains and turn them into beasts that are filled with the desire to kill, creating infinite horror on the capital planet. However, won't it be easy to trigger the arrival of extraterrestrial devils if you do that?
"When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Your Majesty, you think that you've considered the factors of the reformists, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, Lei Chenghu, the four families, the Holy League, and even the Cultivators. But have you considered the issue of the extraterrestrial devils? What if the extraterrestrial devils suddenly show up and turn the civilians on the capital planet into 'devilized people'?"
After hearing that, Wuying Qi couldn't help but put on a gloating smile.
"Li Yao, you are truly considerate to consider the issue of the extraterrestrial devils. However …"
Wuying Qi said with a smile, "Don't worry about the extraterrestrial devils. I've taken that into consideration. I can even control all the devilized people and make them work for the Imperium obediently."
"Your Majesty can control billions of devilized people?"
Li Yao was shocked again. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Wuying Qi's confident face. Countless nerves were bouncing crazily in his head, as if he had thought of something.
No, no, something was seriously wrong. He had been neglecting something very important.
What was it exactly? Think about it. It was the key of the key. It was Wuying Qi's greatest secret.
Right, it didn't make sense at all!
"Speaking of which, how did Your Majesty learn the secrets of the Gold Crystal Pyramid? Not only do you know the precise coordinates, but you also know the manipulation method and the way to transform the Gold Crystal Pyramid into a super-large brainwave amplifier?"
As if he were talking to himself, Li Yao mumbled in the feeblest voice, "Although Your Majesty spent hundreds of years in the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum, you couldn't have learned it from the Supreme Emperor, because the key to the core of the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum was never found by His Majesty, and it eventually fell into my hands.
"Since Your Majesty never really opened the core of the mausoleum, you certainly couldn't have received all the Supreme Emperor's legacies. Besides, I don't believe that the Supreme Emperor would modify the Gold Crystal Pyramid to brainwash all mankind. Besides, the Supreme Emperor was the greatest enemy of the extraterrestrial devils. It was impossible for him to control billions of devilized people.
"Judging from the battle on the capital planet ten thousand years ago, only two people knew the secrets of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. They were the Supreme Emperor and the Mad Armageddon. Also, the Mad Armageddon turned into a demonic Cultivator and betrayed the Supreme Emperor because of the corruption of the extraterrestrial devils. The rebels that the Mad Armageddon commanded were exactly the coalition army of human beings, demons, and devils!
"Could it be —
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