Chapter 989 - 393: Chasing Money, Planets, and Resources!
In the Old Emperor's bedchamber, the contemporary Emperor of the Sherman family, who hadn't picked up a pen in a long time, sat behind a desk carefully tracing the artistic script in front of him.
A maid stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty."
"How is the meeting?"
"It hit a deadlock about a Galaxy Time ago. It's now in intermission and a discussion is ongoing. The Military Department and the Elder Court couldn't reach a consensus; the proposal by the White Ghost gained support from the Military Department, but the elders seem unwilling to let the White Ghost gain too much voice."
"What White Ghost?"
The Old Emperor looked up at the maid: "He's Daphne's fiancé, my Knight Commander."
"Yes, the respected Knight Commander, the elders and nobles have united to oppose his proposal." The maid hurriedly changed her tone.
The Old Emperor set down his pen, puzzled: "What is his proposal? Isn't he just there for a hearing? How could he have come up with a plan to resist the Insect Race?"
The maid thought for a moment, organized her words quickly, and said:
"The division between the Military Department and the elders lies in the preset position of the battle lines. The Military Department prioritizes military honor and wants to utilize all of the Empire's firepower to protect more civilians. The Elder Court is conservative, believing the Emperor Star Circle and the Pan-Emperor Star Circle economic belt should be protected first."
The Old Emperor slightly furrowed his brow.
He murmured: "All these elders have their industries inside the Emperor Star Circle; naturally, they want to protect their own interests first. The Military Department has never let me down, alas... When the insect swarm comes, who knows how many people will die. What is Hanton's proposal?"
"The Knight Commander offered another idea: to protect as many planets as possible while safeguarding the populace on their original planets from the Insect threat or minimize their exposure to the attacks."
The maid pondered briefly:
"This involves several key technologies, mainly biological information shielding. Currently, in our Empire, fewer than ten high-tech companies possess this technology, and there's no certainty that these technologies will actually work.
"In addition to this, the Knight Commander also provided supporting plans, such as the construction of shelters on planets and a conceptual plan for internal population migration."
The Old Emperor asked: "Does Hanton want the populace to hide in shelters? What kind of shrewd idea is that?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, you've seen right through the problem in this plan," the maid said softly, "Unless it's truly possible to find a method to screen the Insect Swarm from detecting human life forms, otherwise... the Knight Commander really bungled it."
"Ah, the bravest warrior of the Empire doesn't understand technology; that's quite normal."
The Old Emperor chuckled, then slightly furrowed his brow again:
"Doesn't he have an ancient tech battleship? Could it be that this guy here who proposed this plan actually has related technical means?"
The maid blinked and reminded: "Your Majesty, if the Knight Commander truly possesses this technology but didn't offer it during previous insect swarms, it could easily tarnish his heroic reputation."
No sooner had she spoken than another maid hurried over, bowed, and quickly spoke:
"Your Majesty, we just received a message. An old technology company named Empire Glory has announced over 160 patents. At this moment, they are holding a press conference to launch a biological information shielding technology called the 'Life Origin Energy Shield.'
"This technology is reportedly reverse-engineered based on the White Ghost's genetic sequence. The technology company plans to appoint the White Ghost as its spokesperson.
"According to our investigation, the White Ghost holds a five percent stake in the company, and this equity transfer was completed about three years ago."
The Old Emperor was momentarily stunned, then laughed silently.
"See," he sighed softly, with a hint of reflection in his eyes, "a Dragon Slayer will inevitably become a dragon. In using him to suppress the Imperial Nobles, the result is that after suppressing the old forces, he transforms into a new force."
The two reporters from the Antenna Organization lowered their heads, not daring to say more.
"Go tell those guys in the Elder Court," the Old Emperor casually remarked, "If Hanton's proposal is proven feasible, then promote it vigorously. Is that Empire Glory run by the nobles?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, it is Prince Kinov's enterprise."
"Have him transfer control of this technology group to the Military Department. Future profits, half of it, will be handed over to the Emperor Star Resources Administration, and then casually reward his descendants with some honorary sinecures."
The Old Emperor stated nonchalantly:
"Such critical technology in the hands of my useless brother is not a good thing; he could flip it to the New Federation at any moment."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Not bad," the Old Emperor clicked his tongue lightly, "if this can save a few hundred billion lives this time around, then that would truly be commendable."
Two Galaxy Times later, the Empire's top-level preparatory meeting for dealing with the insect swarm concluded.
The revised preparatory plan was officially passed.
All information throughout the meeting remained highly confidential, with the Imperial Military Department concealing the location of the insect swarm defense line from the public.
...
So tired.
After exiting the holographic matrix, Boss Yang couldn't help but yawn several times in a row.
Princess Daphne, standing nearby, brought over a cup of warm tea, and spoke softly: "You've worked hard, I didn't expect this meeting to last so long. I heard from the Antenna Organization's discussions that you played a key role again."
"Letting these nobles get involved is a problem in itself," Yang Ming muttered, "dealing with the Space Worm Clan requires only the Military Department's coordination; those nobles' private armies should all be consolidated."