2204. Political Storm
Tang Yu was still wandering around Planet Geonosis. When he had nothing to do, he would go to Ganzo Dausolar and try to establish a relationship with him. He had received news from Chen Gang that everything seemed to be going smoothly, so he had even less to worry about. Over at the construction site of the Death Star, he had already used his mechanical domain to control the mainframes of the computers. This way, the construction of the Death Star would be under his control. However, at the moment, he could only monitor it. He could also influence the construction period of the Death Star to a certain extent. Depending on the specific development of the situation, the completion date of the Death Star could be advanced or delayed. As for whether he could do more in the future, he could only leave it to fate for now.
As expected, Grand Duke Bogle made an application to let the Geonosians join the next phase of the Death Star construction project. At the same time, he also wanted to replace the rigid B-1 robots with more intelligent robots. This was what the Confederation called the mechanical lives under Tang Yu. However, when this application was made, Count Dooku would also know that Tang Yu had secretly gone to the Death Star. It might be another showdown.
Tang Yu smiled faintly. He and Count Dooku were like two people playing cards. They were both throwing out their cards one by one. However, the difference was that Count Dooku's cards were transparent in front of him.
The peace talks between the Confederation of Independent Systems and the Galactic Republic were still ongoing. The negotiator sent by the Confederation was Minna Bonteri. It seemed that Count Dooku also wanted to let this representative have a good understanding of the nature of war. However, Minna did try her best to work for peace. She argued strongly at the negotiating table, neither servile nor overbearing. She had no intention of sacrificing the interests of the Confederation just because she wanted peace. The representative sent by the Republic was full of arrogance. Based on his words, it was obvious that he looked down on the Confederation. On the first day of the negotiations, he was rebuked by Minna. When he was speechless, he even wanted to jump up and beat someone up.
This negotiation was destined to be a farce, because the Republic did not stop the pace of war during this period. The Kuat Kinetic Dock's countless gigantic factories were operating day and night, and hundreds of warships were gradually taking shape in the interstellar dock. A large number of tanks, walkers, and fighter jets kept coming off the production line. Batch after batch of clone soldiers walked out of Planet Camino and joined the ranks of the Grand Republic Army.
Furthermore, the Republic had invested a huge sum of money and started to produce a large number of mechanized exoskeletons to equip the clone army. Various new types of equipment and warships were also being designed in full swing. Sina Fleet Systems (Corporation) proposed a plan known as the 'Titanium Project'. This plan included the production of a brand new series of space warships, and under the premise of maintaining the performance of this new warship, reduce production costs and increase production. This new type of fighter would gradually replace the more expensive V-wing fighter, expanding the size of the Grand Republic Air Force at a lower cost. The Titanium Project was still in the design stage, and the preliminary prototype was expected to be completed within five years.
The Republic's industrial capabilities were naturally extremely strong. During the period after the defeat of the Battle of Mulkana, the Republic could not even spare a complete mobile fleet. Now, the number of warships that they could mobilize was gradually increasing.
Politically, the impact of this negotiation was also far-reaching. First, it was because of the tacit understanding between Palpatine and Count Dooku, and finally, it was because the Republic was the first to propose the negotiation. This way, the Republic, who took the initiative to make a gesture of peace, diluted a lot of the negative impact of the orbital bombardment on Planet Mulkana. Although the news of the orbital bombardment was strictly blocked, some forces still managed to learn about it through their own channels. At least, this negotiation would prevent those forces from completely losing hope in the Republic.
Moreover, this negotiation also deterred the Hutts, who had been constantly leaning towards the Independent Star System Confederation. The negotiation would cause the Hutts to be unable to grasp the true intentions of the two warring parties. In a situation where the situation was unclear, the cautious Hutts would naturally not recklessly bet on the Independent Star System Confederation.
It could be said that the peace talks had given the Republic a very rare chance to catch their breath. Just as Tang Yu had been vexed, the results of their bloody battle had been offset by more than half by the peace talks. Politicians like Minna Bonteri only thought about their own political ideals, but they did not think about the thoughts of the soldiers who fought for it. In the eyes of these politicians, war was just a game of numbers. Therefore, since ancient times, the sharp contradictions between the civil officials and the generals were really not without reason.
Of course, the Independent Star System Confederation was not idle. It was necessary to prepare for war, but the bigger movements were happening internally. The cause of this incident was a massacre on Planet Asmeru. The Commerce Guild forcibly imposed extra taxes on the planet and occupied a large number of companies and factories run by the indigenous people, which eventually led to a riot. In the face of this riot, the Commerce Guild did not hesitate to send out a robot army to suppress it. Countless B-1 robots marched forward step by step, crushing the people holding wooden sticks and iron shovels into pieces. There were countless casualties!
In fact, this kind of situation often happened on planets occupied by the Independent Star System Confederation, but this time it was a big deal. The Confederation Sheriff of Planet Asmeru did not know what was wrong with him. After the massacre, he immediately asked the Commerce Guild to stop the massacre, and then carefully investigate the illegal tax collection and the forcible seizure of the residents' property. The Commerce Guild naturally refused this request, but then the sheriff actually pulled the local garrison troops to fight with the Commerce Guild!
So this battle between B-1 robots and B-1 robots lasted for an entire day, and the whole planet Asmeru was in chaos. When Count Dooku learned about this, he immediately summoned the president of the Commerce Guild, Shu Mai, and demanded an immediate explanation from her.
But what explanation could she give? These business giants were used to being arrogant in the land of the Independent Star System Confederation. In Shu Mai's opinion, the despicable sheriff should give her an explanation, and it would be best if she was executed! But unexpectedly, Count Dooku, who had always turned a blind eye to these things, took it seriously this time. He announced on the spot that Shu Mai and the Commerce Guild were stripped of all military positions, and prohibited the Commerce Guild from managing and commanding any army of the Confederation Confederation. At the same time, the planets that were under the management of the Commerce Guild were all taken away and handed over to the other business giants to divide and manage.
Shu Mai immediately said that the Commerce Guild wanted to withdraw from the Independent Star System Confederation, but Count Dooku only told her indifferently that if she wanted to withdraw, she could do as she pleased, but there would be no dividends from the war, and she would not be able to recoup her previous investments. She could go to the Republic to make money on her own. At this time, Shu Mai realized that she was already in the same boat as the Independent Star System Confederation. It was impossible to get off the boat, unless she drowned herself.
Would the Republic accept Shu Mai's allegiance? Of course, but they would definitely pull out all of her assets, kick her out, and give her an idle position.
This was war, and betting on both sides had always been a false proposition.
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