The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2668 What is the Powerful and Wealthy?

2668. What are the powerful and wealthy?

The Imperial Intelligence Service’s brazen arrest of a group of Imperial councilors, led by Mon-Mosma, caused a huge uproar throughout the inner circle!

The arrested members of parliament were not ordinary members of parliament, but members of the inner circle.

Since the founding of the Galactic Republic more than 25,000 years ago, such a thing has never been heard of!

Being a member of the inner circle of councilors signifies two identities—the inner circle itself and the councilor. Firstly, the inner circle comprises the most developed and prosperous planets in the Milky Way. It could be said that even the least developed and least habitable planets within the inner circle have economies a hundred times larger than the capital cities of the outer ring star regions!
For 25,000 years, countless races have risen in the Milky Way, bringing with them countless enemies—the Infinite Empire, the Leto Legion, the Hutt Empire, the Dion Alliance, the Eternal Empire, the Sith Empire, the Mandalorian Crusade, and the Independent System Confederation.

Each of these enemies was extremely dangerous and incredibly powerful. Yet, throughout the war against them, the Republic's regime remained steadfast. Why?
This is because the core region accounts for more than 80% of the economic and industrial output of the entire Milky Way! In other words, the combined industrial output of the other inner, middle, and outer ring star regions of the Milky Way is only a quarter of that of the core region.

The Galactic Republic’s strong economy and industrial power allow it to lose countless battles in foreign wars, but its enemies can only withstand one defeat.

The core group can build powerful fleets time and time again, while their enemies can only cautiously cling to the meager resources they have accumulated over decades or centuries.

Although with the generalization of the galactic economic system, the core circle's industrial chain has now expanded to the entire galaxy, including the import of labor, the training of talent, the extraction of resources, the relocation of processing industries, the expansion of markets, the dumping of products, and a series of other economic activities, it seems that the core circle's presence is not so strong anymore?
But in reality, if you take a closer look at those companies that expand overseas, it becomes clear who their shareholders are.

It wasn't that the core circle relocated its industries; rather, it expanded its sphere of control. This is what's known as secondary colonization.

First, bring those planets into the Galactic Republic through geographical means, making them members. Then, completely control these planets in the economic sphere, leaving them without the capital input from the core circle, where they can hardly even solve their basic needs!

If a family from the core of the Milky Way has a similar historical foundation as the Galactic Republic, their assets would reach an incredibly terrifying level after 25,000 years of accumulation.

With such a family branching out and flourishing, it may control thousands or even tens of thousands of planets! Then, the families unite through marriage and alliances, giving birth to increasingly terrifying family entities.

Then, such a behemoth will inevitably sink and split down in the process of continuous development, becoming countless new families and new entities.

These newly formed families may have little contact after a few generations, but in any case, they all come from the same origin. They can greet each other and there's nothing that's difficult to get things done.

Take, for example, the Targ family, which has been the most prominent family in the last 200 years.

The reason why the Targ family is known as the most powerful family in the galaxy is because they are still in the rising phase. Compared with other powerful families in the core circle, they are still in the first stage of development—meaning that all their spheres of influence are still directly under the family's control, and the family members are united and working together as one.

Therefore, at this stage, the Targ family directly controlled the largest scale of industries, including the economy, industry, scientific research, and manufacturing, among all the major families in the galaxy.

This is because those super families that have accumulated over thousands, tens of thousands, or even 25,000 years have long since split into countless smaller families.

This is precisely why, despite their formidable strength, the Targ family's network of connections is extremely limited. It's fair to say that if it weren't for the excellent reputation built up by their first patriarch, Tarzan Targ, other families in the inner circle, or even high-ranking officials of the Galactic Empire, wouldn't even give them a second glance.

Therefore, whether it was the former head of the family, Sanya-Tagh, or the current head, Orman-Tagh, although their paths and policies diverged, they shared a common goal: to expand their networks. Whether it was developing connections within the military or in politics, they spared no expense in building their foundations.

Moreover, the Tag family has already shown signs of splitting up. For example, Adelaide Tag is a branch, and if things continue this way, her descendants will likely split into another family a few generations from now.

Then there are the couple Blaise Tag Falken and Leila Tag Falken, who have even adopted a different surname, and it seems like the future is bright that they will separate and become a new family.

If this trend continues, the Tagg family may, like other families, gradually branch out and become numerous, with its power constantly weakening but its network of relationships continuously strengthening.

Thus, through this repeated process of sedimentation, rebirth, elimination, and competition, those who have always stood at the core of power in the Milky Way are the truly top-tier nobles, powerful clans, and aristocratic families of the Milky Way.

These families may not have great power, but if they stand up and shout, countless planets will immediately rise up in response.

At the same time, it would be relative to say that they lack strength.

Indeed, manufacturing and industry in the core of the Milky Way are not as concentrated as before, but the concentration of capital continues to increase daily. These core families still control the largest capital markets.

This is the true core of power in this galaxy, the power controlled by the most elite aristocratic families!
If they want to become officials, someone in the relevant department will immediately give them the green light all the way, allowing them to sit directly at the pinnacle of their connections.

If they want to start production, there will immediately be corresponding educational institutions and headhunting agencies to equip them with management and technical personnel. From raw material mining to labor supply and finally to the sale of goods, they will provide a one-stop service and handle everything.

If they want to do business, a large number of brokers and merchants will immediately flock to them, opening up countless sales channels for your products and finding the most suitable suppliers for the goods you want to buy. And rest assured, the prices you can get are absolutely at cost price. And this cost price is often a figure that the poor people in the outer star regions can only dream of!

Therefore, for 25,000 years since the founding of the Galactic Republic, no matter what has happened, the Republic has never touched the families in the core circle. At the same time, these families have generally never encountered any trouble.

Spices? Smuggling? Murder? Kidnapping? The powerful families said they didn't need to handle these things personally. With just a glance, the lower levels would arrange everything and get it done. You couldn't even trace it back to them.

Embezzlement? Corruption? Bribery? Sorry, this is just normal friendly exchanges between our families. As for whether you can understand the flow of millions or tens of millions of dollars? That's just your imagination being limited by poverty. Selling official positions? Forming cliques for personal gain? Sorry, this is normal interpersonal relationships. Any behavior you might consider illegal, the law will proactively make legal.

Therefore, the Galactic Republic and the powerful families in the core circle have long formed a community of shared destiny, inseparable from each other.

When Palpatine reorganized the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire, he effectively took over everything from the Galactic Republic, including the deeply entrenched interests of the aristocratic families in the core circle.

The Galactic Empire cannot withstand a riot in its core, because if those families in the core start a disturbance, it could have far-reaching consequences, potentially affecting thousands or even tens of thousands of planets!

Moreover, the core family can do far too much. A strike or withdrawal of investment will bring production to a standstill. Industries controlled by the family, such as education, public utilities, manufacturing, and logistics, can be paralyzed with a single word.

The Galactic Empire simply cannot withstand such an uprising!
However, those families were unwilling to do so. Doing so would result in severe harm to themselves, tantamount to mutual destruction.

After understanding these points, you can understand why Mon-Mosma was so calm and composed when the Imperial Intelligence Agency invited her back for tea.

For 25,000 years, the central government of the Milky Way has never dared to touch the core elites. And for the elites, what is illegal? Shouldn't the law be the one to govern us?
The planet Chandela was one of the founders of the Galactic Republic in its early days! The immense power and influence of the Mosma family, the first family on this planet, is self-evident.

Keep in mind, this is the result of 25,000 years of operation!
If Mon-Mosma were to stand up and raise her voice, the entire galaxy would tremble! It's just fortunate that she is a person of high moral character; otherwise, with her power, it would be far too easy for her to do something bad.

That's why Palpatine tolerated Mon Mosma's various criticisms of the Empire. While the situation Aisani Isaad described certainly existed, the bigger reason was that the Galactic Empire couldn't touch Chandrira.

You can imagine the uproar that Mon-Mosma's arrest caused in the Galactic Empire!

Of course, there has always been a constant power struggle between the Galactic Empire and these aristocratic families. Palpatine knows he can't touch these people, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to.

Palpatine's first priority was to appease these noble families, and the Imperial Diet, this strange institution that was neither democratic nor centralized, was designed to accommodate them, making them believe that there was a channel through which they could speak directly with His Majesty the Emperor.

At the same time, he continuously promoted a new generation of officials, nationalized enterprises, and introduced the Dark Theocracy into the core of the empire's power. His aim was to divide the power of the aristocratic families.

He established henchman organizations such as the Loyalty Committee and the New Order Maintenance Committee in order to cultivate his own political power.

He continuously expanded the military and always kept military power in his own hands. Moreover, it was clear that those who held actual military power in the Galactic Empire were not the top aristocratic families. For example, people like Dunn Wessex and Wilhoff Tarkin had families that initially possessed considerable strength, and then rapidly expanded through the military power granted by Palpatine.

Dunn Wessex’s rapid rise was due to the Geth’s rampage in the North, while Wilhoff Tarkin had formed a friendship with Palpatine very early on.

Incidentally, during the Galactic Republic era, the existence of the Jedi Order meant that matters such as violent organizations and military power were naturally outside the reach of the aristocratic families. It could be said that the Jedi Order helped the Galactic Republic solve many of its most pressing problems.

Palpatine's most important tactic in countering the aristocratic families was to implement a system of governors.

The governor's status as a powerful local official with both military and political power stemmed from the Military Creation Act, which he painstakingly enacted during his tenure as Speaker of the Galactic Republic. This act established the Grand Republic Army and, in response to the simultaneous separatist movements erupting across the galaxy, divided the galaxy into twenty legions.

The leaders of these legions are governors, or more specifically, high-ranking star sector governors.

The governor possesses absolute power within his jurisdiction, including administrative and military authority. He can independently decide whether to launch a campaign and can also independently appoint and dismiss officials. At the same time, the legion has a relatively independent industrial and economic system.

Then, under the senior sector governors, sector governors were established, who shared some of the governing functions with the senior sector governors.

The governorship system was essentially a non-hereditary, disguised form of feudalism.

In this way, these governors-general, who combined military and political power, would greatly diminish the strength of those aristocratic families. After all, their smaller branches would not dare to oppose the governors-general who held military power in their localities.

In addition, the Galactic Empire's own rapidly expanding military power will reach a point where it can destroy the very foundations of those noble families, marking the complete defeat of those nobles.

In the original storyline, this milestone was the completion of the Death Star.

In fact, in the original storyline, Palpatine's methods ultimately succeeded. The various warlords who emerged from the governorship system did indeed destroy the very foundation of the aristocratic families. Through countless civil wars and foreign invasions, they completely shattered the galaxy's original political and economic structure, which was then reorganized and ultimately formed the Galactic Federation, a more enlightened regime.

At that time, the monopoly of the inner circle and the privileges of aristocratic families had disappeared. The Milky Way once again flourished.

However, by then, the Galactic Empire had been extinct for nearly a hundred years.

However, now that Mon-Mosma has been formally arrested, Palpatine and the Galactic Empire are about to face the final counterattack of the noble families that have lasted for 25,000 years!

In a sense, the rebel armies at this stage were merely a tool for the aristocratic families to launch a counterattack.