The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2658 Peripheral Forces
2658. External forces

The term "servant states of the former Independent Galaxy Confederation" is actually quite broad.

During the Clone Wars, the Kingdom of Dawn gradually grew into the most powerful force under Count Dooku. While the Trade Federation and the Interstellar Banking Association had larger economies, in terms of military strength, no one in the Independent System Confederation could compare with the Kingdom of Dawn at that time.

Although the Dawn Kingdom later made a separate peace with the Galactic Empire and unilaterally withdrew from the war, by then the Independent Star System Confederation was already in disarray, with almost all factions seeking their own way out. Therefore, this act, which would have been seen as a betrayal, did not actually cause much of a reaction within the Confederation.

Afterwards, the Confederation of Independent Systems was defeated in the four-year war on Sarukami, and its desperately built super fortress was completely destroyed. Following this, before Darth Vader's fleet could even arrive, the Confederation of Independent Systems disintegrated, with its member planets surrendering without resistance.

The conquest of Sarukami took four years of intermittent fighting, but the destruction of the Independent System Confederation took less than three months.

This left a lingering effect—the powerful factions within the Independent Galaxy Confederation did not suffer the devastating blows depicted in the original storyline. Apart from the Interstellar Banking Association, which had split and been nationalized by the warring parties, the Trade Federation, the Technology Federation, the Enterprise Federation, and other super-corporation giants retained considerable strength and surrendered to the Galactic Empire.

However, these forces soon discovered that the Galactic Empire's exploitation of them was incredibly cruel, as if they wanted to peel off a layer of skin!

Because the Galactic Empire did not reap sufficient benefits from the Clone Wars, and in order to appease domestic public opinion and sentiment, they could not simply swallow up the surrendered super-corporations. Therefore, the Galactic Empire adopted a method of slowly but surely cutting away their industries.

The corporate giants and powerful planets that realized this also came to their senses, and they turned their attention back to the former second-in-command of the Independent Star System Confederation—the Dawn Kingdom!
So these forces and planets began flirting with the Dawn Kingdom, constantly addressing it as "Big Brother." Of course, their ultimate goal was to use the Dawn Kingdom as a shield while they themselves quietly made a fortune behind the scenes.

Of course, among these forces, there are a few truly loyalists, such as the Semirs and the Quaruns. These two races are genuinely obedient to the Kingdom of Dawn and truly consider themselves part of it. The Enterprise Alliance is relatively better off; although they also surrendered to the Galactic Empire, they were severely weakened in the war and are extremely afraid of Tang Xiao, so they are still looking for opportunities to merge with him.

Others, including the Trade Federation, the Technology Federation, the Retail Federation, the planet Felucia, the planet Zieglia, and so on, simply treated the Kingdom of Dawn like a sucker.

The turning point came when the Galactic Empire's economic problems worsened, leading Emperor Palpatine to order the liquidation of the Trade Federation. Subsequently, the Galactic Empire practically plundered the Trade Federation's assets, expelling and massacring the Nemoideans.

This action made the other former independent star system confederations feel threatened, and as a result, these forces began to seriously consider joining the Dawn Kingdom to fight against the Galactic Empire.

Subsequently, the Kingdom of Dawn declared war on the Galactic Empire, and within a month of the war's commencement, it conquered the planet Kira, annihilating over 1100 capital ships of the Empire's fleet.

Those forces were greatly encouraged and secretly sent declarations of allegiance to the Kingdom of Dawn. However, since their homelands were not currently under the control of the Kingdom of Dawn, they dared not directly rebel against the Galactic Empire and instead continued to observe.

When the Dawn Kingdom's sphere of influence finally expanded to the eastern border of the Milky Way, the major powers of the former Independent Star System Confederation could no longer sit still.

The Quaruns, needless to say, joined the Dawn Kingdom and accepted Tang Xiao's rule immediately after the Givens migrated to the planet Losar and completed the construction of the stargate.

When the Kingdom of Dawn's fleet arrived, destroyed the Eye of Palpatine, and forced Gideon Tarkin's fleet to retreat, the Semirs, who were located further inland, also rose up against the Galactic Empire and joined the Kingdom of Dawn.

Such forces are not few in number; others include crews from former independent star systems such as Felucia, Laxus subplanet, and Siegria, who have now joined in.

The Corporate Alliance assured the Kingdom of Dawn that it would immediately join their ranks once the Kingdom's fleet reached their headquarters on the planet Murkana.

The Technological Alliance is somewhat unique because their headquarters, Skako, is located in the inner galaxy, so they dare not openly rebel against the Galactic Empire. However, after the events involving the Trade Federation, the Technological Alliance's leader, Foreman Walter Tamber, began secretly supporting the Kingdom of Dawn.

For example, the Scorpion Annihilator robots that the Dawn Kingdom has begun to assign to its army are actually secretly provided by the Technology Alliance.

Of course, among the former members of the Independent Galaxy Confederation, there were also many die-hards. For example, planets like Jabim and Kasik rejected all forms of authoritarianism and tyranny, and were equally opposed to both the Galactic Empire and the Kingdom of Dawn.

Therefore, one of the biggest achievements of Lin Nanyi and General Grievous after launching the Eastern Frontier Campaign was gaining a large number of former Independent Star System Confederation members, who then became vassal states of the Dawn Kingdom.

Its core forces are the Quaruns and the Semirs. The Quaruns hold the advantage on Dak and have rebuilt Parmant Port. The Semirs themselves also have strong industrial capabilities. With their support, Lin Nanyi's Eastern Star Region has become more stable.

At the same time, although the main body of the Trade Federation was robbed by the Galactic Empire, the Trade Federation did control the outer ring of the Milky Way during its heyday. Therefore, by cutting off the shipping lanes, they still retained some of their own industries, most of which were scattered in the outer ring of the Milky Way.

Now that the trade alliance has been gradually nationalized by the Kingdom of Dawn, these peripheral industries have also become part of the Kingdom of Dawn, and these can actually be considered as vassal states.

The Dawn Kingdom's vassal states are primarily active in the core region of the former Independent System Confederation, a large area centered on the subplanet Laxus. This region is a melting pot of diverse and chaotic entities; some planets want to join the Dawn Kingdom, some want to remain in the Galactic Empire, and some cry for freedom and autonomy.

These vassal states could provide the Kingdom of Dawn with approximately 300 capital ships and 8000 to 10000 medium and small warships. However, the quality of their fleets was mostly mediocre; apart from the Khurun, none of the others were capable of building very advanced warships.

The Semirthians are in a slightly different situation. After their defeat in the Independent System Confederation, they fought a fierce resistance under the leadership of Planetary Councilor Thunbak Tura. So, although they eventually surrendered, their planet's industry was destroyed, and reconstruction will take some time. However, their industry was built with the assistance of the Dawn Kingdom, and the Semirthians are hardworking and numerous. Once they recover, their industrial capacity will be very strong.

Therefore, the eastern part of the galaxy maintains a chaotic but generally friendly atmosphere towards the Kingdom of Dawn, which also helps to prevent the Galactic Empire from launching a counterattack in this direction.

Besides these vassal states, the Kingdom of Dawn also has a very important subordinate state, namely Jes.

Strictly speaking, the Kingdom of Dawn and the Geths should be allies. However, with Tang Xiao's technological blockade against the Geths and the increasing strength of the Kingdom of Dawn, along with the extensive contact and cooperation between the Geths and the races of the Kingdom of Dawn, the Geths have begun to integrate into the social system of the Kingdom of Dawn.

The most typical example of this is the Kali people.

Because the core of Geth is located on Hunter's Moon—the moon Sojoron, the former lair of Darth Pregus. This place is very close to the planet Kali, and at that time, the Kali people were already Tang Xiao's loyal subordinates.

Furthermore, after the rise of the Geths, they directly annihilated the Yamri, the mortal enemies of the Kali, so the Kali were very accepting of the Geths.

And so the Kali and the Geths began to live together. The Kali taught the Geths how to fight and how to strategize, while the Geths helped the Kali with construction projects, and the two sides coexisted harmoniously.

Furthermore, during the Clone Wars, the Geths, benefiting from the superior performance of their warships, once occupied numerous planets in the northern border of the Galactic Republic and established their own factories. However, the Geths' industrial system was still incomplete, and many of their products still relied on supplies from the Kingdom of Dawn.

Therefore, the Geth fleet has historically consisted of around 1000 heavy cruisers and over 15000 medium and small warships, most of which are outdated. Consequently, the Geth threat to the Galactic Empire is diminishing.

This situation changed when Tang Xiao finally agreed to lift the technological restrictions and hand over the technology portion of the Gallente Federation in EVE to the Geths.

Currently, Geth is rebuilding its fleet. Based on its current production capacity, Geth is using the Throne-class battlecruisers as its main battleships, and has built two versions—one a simplified version specifically designed for raiding and harassing Galactic Empire territory, aiming to deplete the Galactic Empire's forces with a very cost-effective kill ratio.

This version was personally named T-34-1 by Tang Xiao. He explained that this was the first T-34, but no one knew what T-34 actually meant. If it was a serial number, what about T-33, T-32, and so on? Tang Xiao simply told the people at the Supreme Command that this code name meant a cheap and effective consumable; they didn't need to know anything more, just be aware of it.

The T-34-1 version of the Throne of Kings-class ships was being produced by the Geths at a rate of 100 ships per month. This required an enormous amount of raw materials, primarily for the armor. Therefore, the armor was entirely made from the waste ore produced during the mining of neutron stars by the Matter Decompressor, essentially at almost no cost. This allowed for incredibly thick armor, enhancing its defensive capabilities.

It's fair to say that without the unlimited supply of resources from the matter decompression device, this plan simply wouldn't work. Even if you produced these inexpensive, high-quality, but ultimately disposable, warships, your final production capacity would still fall short of the Galactic Empire's. However, the problem is, if the primary material is scrap ore, then the situation is completely different!
In addition, Geth is also producing the standard version of the Throne-class battlecruiser, which is equipped with energy shields, thermally enhanced armor, drone hangars, and eight 425mm railguns that fire molybdenum railguns.

Although this type of warship is also a close-range combat vessel, its combat range is much greater than that of the T-34 version, and its survivability is also much higher.

Currently, Geths has produced 180 of these capital ship versions of the Throne-class battlecruisers in the first batch, which will be gradually completed in the next two to three months, and the number is still increasing.

It must be said that the Geths' industrial capabilities are also very strong, and their technology is highly compatible with the Gallente Federation in EVE Online.

The Geths have now split into three factions. The one in the north is the original faction. Affected by the war, they have become more bloodthirsty and warlike, and they always remember the alliance between Tang Xiao and them—to kill Darth Sidious.

Another faction consists of the Geth who followed the Legion to the Pioneer Sector to assist in its development. Because this group of Geth was too far from the core and thus unaffected by its influence, they gradually developed their own core.

The Geths who have long been engaged in construction and development are relatively more peaceful. They coexist harmoniously with the settlers and immigrants from other parts of the galaxy, helping and depending on each other, and have almost become part of the Kingdom of Dawn. They are known as the Southern Geths.

Finally, there's the Geth group that's with the Protoss on the Drey II moon. These Geths are the fewest in number; they were originally created to compensate for the Protoss's small population and help them build their homeworld.

However, under the long-term influence of the Protoss, this part of the Geths became far more intelligent and independent than the two factions in the North and South. They were even able to understand so-called psionic energy, or the Force, a relatively more idealistic theory.

The Protoss's current plan is to combine their Purifier technology with this part of the Geth to form a completely new mechanical life form and make it part of their own civilization.

Indeed, the Protoss have always considered themselves equals to the Fourth Civilization. They can be allies or friends, but never superiors or subordinates. This belief has never wavered, even amidst a vast disparity in their power.

However, with the merging of Tang Xiao and the Dark Archon, the Protoss became much more accepting of him and began to be willing to send their own fleets to participate in the war.

The Protoss's current total force consists mainly of 30 aircraft carriers, while the other warships, such as frigates and light cruisers, were built for them by the Geths and are not their own technology, totaling around 400 ships.

Thank you so much, Daowu Huaxia, for the 1500 Qidian Coins!