The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2637, The Twelve Marshals of the Empire

Following Palpatine's return, on May 20th, 9 BBY later, the Imperial Celebration, which had been postponed for more than half a year, was finally held in grand style. This celebration was known as—the Emperor's Celebration.

Because Palpatine had just returned from a nearly two-month absence, almost no one knew what he had experienced or thought during those two months, let alone what his sudden return would bring to the Galactic Empire.

Moreover, during Palpatine's absence, almost everyone in the Galactic Empire was restless and ambitious. They were all frantically accumulating wealth, enriching themselves, forming cliques, and trying to get a share of the huge power vacuum that Palpatine had created.

Naturally, these people had something to hide. Especially the Imperial Chancellor, Sartre Pestach, who, after Palpatine's disappearance, even began preparing for the Emperor's funeral in order to gain an advantage in the ensuing political maneuvering!
After all, if Sartre Pestacchi presided over His Majesty's funeral, it would indirectly prove that he was His Majesty's successor.

Halfway through the funeral preparations, His Majesty the Emperor returned! Sartre-Pestachy quickly explained to Palpatine that the event he was organizing was definitely not a funeral, but preparations to expand the scale of the celebration.

Palpatine ignored the clown, simply letting Sartre Pestacchi continue preparing for the imperial celebrations while he went off to attend to other matters.

Therefore, this imperial celebration was much larger than originally planned, since it included half the expenses for a funeral.

Of course, the side effect is... if you occasionally glimpse white wreaths that are only used at funerals during the celebration, please don't panic, don't be afraid, and don't overthink it—it's just decoration, decoration.

Well, you can't let your imagination run wild. The secret police, belonging to the Imperial New Order Maintenance Committee (COMPNOR), will help correct your misconceptions. Those white wreaths are just decorations; they have absolutely nothing to do with a funeral!

The entire surface of Coruscant was decorated with lights and banners. Every flying spaceship and hovercar was adorned with celebratory slogans and red ribbons, and hundreds of millions of artificial trees decorated the Imperial Square and Imperial Avenue, covered with beautiful flowers picked from all over the galaxy.

Countless enormous holographic projections continuously played out Emperor Palpatine's glorious achievements, and every channel page of the Galactic Holographic Network was broadcasting various speeches by Emperor Palpatine.

Even within Coruscant's atmosphere, hundreds of Imperial-class Star Destroyers descended to extremely low altitudes, then projected various celebratory slogans onto their undersides using massive holographic projectors on the ground.

The celebration officially began at 10:00 AM Galactic Standard Time.

First, Emperor Palpatine took the stage to speak, and his ever-brilliant speech set a perfect tone for the celebration.

In his speech, Palpatine vehemently denounced the Dawn Kingdom's militaristic and expansionist policies, describing it as a den of iniquity that trampled on democracy and freedom. Palpatine also reiterated that although he had reorganized the Galactic Republic into an Empire, he firmly believed that democracy and freedom were the true foundation of the Galactic Empire.

But now, in order to deal with the invasion of foreign enemies, he has to take on the responsibility of the entire empire and lead everyone forward.

Palpatine also stated that the Dawn Kingdom was a group of refugees from other galaxies whose aim was to seize control and turn the entire Milky Way into their colony. Therefore, every citizen of the Galactic Empire must fight to defend their homeland.

Not only that, Palpatine spent a full half hour talking about the rebels. He believed that the rebels were nothing more than a conspiracy by a small group of ambitious people who incited the people to rise up against the Galactic Empire, ostensibly to resist the Empire's rule, but in reality to satisfy their own lust for power.

He declared that the rebels had always used the people as a shield. They would extend their evil guns from behind the people, pull the trigger on the empire, and then immediately retreat behind the people, leaving them to bear the brunt of the empire's retaliatory fury.

If that were not the case, Palpatine said, if the rebels dared to actually stand in front of the Empire, they would not survive for more than a second!

The speech was passionate and successfully portrayed the Galactic Empire as a victim facing foreign invasion. He also skillfully evoked empathy from the audience, making everyone feel the same way.

Finally, Palpatine shouted almost hoarsely, "We will be victorious! The Kingdom of Dawn and those rebels will be swept into the dustbin of history, only the Galactic Empire will stand tall forever!"

Amidst thunderous cheers, a large fleet of warships flew overhead in formation, followed by fighter jets and transport ships. On the ground, millions of fully armed Imperial Stormtroopers marched past in formation, the towering silhouettes of the AT-AT walkers conveying immense intimidation.

As the army marched along Imperial Avenue, the surrounding crowds shouted and showered the soldiers with pre-distributed flower petals.

Then came the most anticipated part of the celebration.

Palpatine declared that, in recognition of those who had made outstanding contributions to the Imperial Army, he would appoint twelve Imperial Marshals. These twelve Marshals would be the symbols of the Imperial military, directly representing the entire army and accountable to him personally.

Most importantly, these twelve marshals, as the highest military rank above admirals, also possess the highest degree of autonomy and can mobilize all available forces within the empire within their respective jurisdictions.

Palpatine then personally announced the list of twelve marshals, and personally awarded them medals and the marshal's staff.

This was also the climax of the celebration.

Twelve enormous holographic projections were projected and cleverly arranged around the Imperial Plaza, symbolizing the twelve marshals united around Emperor Palpatine, with His Majesty at the center, protecting the entire Galactic Empire.

But at this moment, apart from the uninformed masses who were still cheering enthusiastically, many places throughout the Galactic Empire fell into a deathly silence.

Because... the selection of these twelve marshals is not quite right.

……

After the appointment of the marshal was completed, there were song and dance performances and parades, and the entire planet Coruscant celebrated until late at night before gradually calming down.

However, the turmoil caused by this celebration has only just begun.

Because these twelve marshals were not the people people had previously expected.

Originally, the various noble families and high-ranking officials of the Galactic Empire believed that there were two possibilities for the twelve marshals. One was to appoint the governors of the existing major legions as marshals. This would further ensure the governors' control over their respective territories and enable them to unleash greater power in the face of foreign invasion.

After all, of the twenty legions that were originally inherited from the Galactic Republic, some were destroyed and others were crippled. Now, there are only about twelve that still have strength.

Another possibility is to directly appoint the twelve most powerful figures in the military as marshals. This approach would also be convincing. After all, becoming a powerful figure in the faction-ridden Imperial military requires ability, family background, and connections—all are indispensable.

This time, however, Palpatine chose the third option.

The twelve marshals he appointed were Josef Grunger, Miltin Takel, Osvald Teshik, Rufaan Tigellinus, Nial Declann, Martio Batch, Demetrius Zaarin, Peccati Syn, Ishin-Il-Raz, Daneta Pitta, Afsheen Makati, and the last one was none other than Orman Tagh!

(In the original story, there was another marshal, Octavian Grant, the governor of the 20th Army, who remained in hiding until the end of the war, eventually retiring in the new Republic. However, in this book's story, he dies, and is replaced by Orman Tag.)
In short, none of the twelve marshals were corps governors. Furthermore, while there were indeed powerful figures within the military, there were only three: Joseph Glenger, Miltin Tucker, and Oswald Tesick, and they were not among the most influential figures in the military.

Miltin-Tarkl was a drug addict who couldn't fight without using drugs. His long-term spice consumption meant he was rarely lucid. By the standards of the Kingdom of Dawn, he was actually a Force Sensitive, because his spice use granted him a certain degree of telepathic ability.

Perhaps among them, only Oswald Tesik, who was in charge of the defense of the inner circle, could be considered truly deserving of the title. His family had served in the military for generations and held high positions, making him a military family. He was also the only one of the twelve marshals who was not controversial.

Besides, for example, His Majesty the Emperor's most trusted military confidant, Wilhelm Tarkin, was not selected as Field Marshal. However, this is understandable, as his military rank was not high; the Governor-General of the Fourth Army was more of an administrative rank. Since His Majesty the Emperor had chosen to separate military and political affairs, it was reasonable not to select him.

However, the decision not to choose Admiral Gideon Tarkin is quite strange. Gideon Tarkin was very active during the Clone Wars, and despite several defeats in the war against the Dawn Kingdom, he played a significant role. Furthermore, he currently commands the Galactic Empire's Eastern Fleet; both his ability and influence make him deserving of the rank of marshal.

However, neither.

Besides these three traditional military leaders, Mattio Bach and Demetrius Zarin were responsible for the development of the TIE Mirage fighter and the TIE Defender fighter, respectively; in short, they were technical personnel. Then there's Orman Tag, the head of the Advanced Technology Alliance.

These three men can't even be considered generals!
Oh, and we also have to add Isin-Il-Raz, the number two figure on the New Order Maintenance Committee, second only to Krul van der Londo. Yes, this guy isn't a general; he can be a politician, an orator, a lackey, but he can never be a general.

Then there's Rufon Digorinus, handsome and with a sunny disposition, practically a celebrity within the Imperial military. His fame is undeniable, but that's all he has left. His only military achievement is suppressing pirates—that's right, he never even fought a single rebel.

Of course, his efforts in suppressing pirates were undeniable, and he did indeed guarantee absolute safety for navigation in his territory, which greatly enhanced his reputation. But no matter what, is the reputation gained through being an internet celebrity and a pirate enough to qualify him as a marshal? Especially now, with a war raging with the Kingdom of Dawn, are you really going to appoint someone who specializes in fighting pirates as a marshal to fight the Kingdom of Dawn?

Neil Decklane—almost no one even knew this guy. It was only through using resources to get the intelligence agency to investigate that they learned this black man, before being promoted to Imperial Marshal, was a TIE fighter pilot… pilot… pilot…

Damn, he's not even a colonel!

Afshin-Makati, who once led a fleet to reinforce the planet Tarasia, which was suffering from a Geonosis riot, and was promoted to marshal for his meritorious service in suppressing the riot. But the problem is, before that operation, he was merely the captain of an Imperial-class star destroyer.

Pekkati-Sin and Denita-Pita were not actually members of the Imperial military; Pekkati-Sin had only served in the army. However, they were fervent followers of Emperor Palpatine. Of course, Emperor Palpatine had a vast number of followers, so why these two were specifically chosen remains a mystery.

This is the highest military honor appointed by His Majesty the Emperor—the twelve Imperial Marshals.

Although each of them has their own strengths and can indeed be considered outstanding individuals of their time, the Galactic Empire is so vast that there are countless outstanding individuals. Why should it be just these twelve?
Many imperial nobles simply couldn't understand this. In their view, these twelve people could only be described in four words—grotesque and deformed!
However, some truly calm people analyzed Palpatine's move and realized his true intention—to establish a balance of power!
Among the twelve marshals were traditional military leaders, emerging technocrats, loyal followers of the emperor, rising stars promoted from the lower ranks, and members of aristocratic and powerful families.

It can be said that these twelve individuals encompass every aspect of the current power structure of the Galactic Empire. Most importantly, these individuals are not the true leaders of their respective factions.

In other words, these twelve marshals did not have any personal background or strength!

It's fair to say that without His Majesty the Emperor, they alone would be utterly incapable of causing any trouble. In other words, without Palpatine, they would never have enjoyed such a high position!

This is Palpatine's true purpose! (End of Chapter)