The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2798. Grievous, here we come!

According to the information, General Grievous will arrive at the planet Idu in the northern part of the Hutt space in two days. That is the secret research center established by the Vasari.

He will then rest on Idu for a day before setting off for Losar.

Lin Nan, the interim governor of the Eastern Sector, convened another meeting to deal with the mess in the Eastern Sector before General Grievous's arrival, so as to avoid losing face later.

Lin Nanyi desperately wanted to stay in office and continue serving as the governor of the Eastern Star Region, but he also understood that this goal was still very far away for him.

The Eastern Sector is currently temporary, and so is his position as governor. A sector will only be established after the Kingdom of Dawn has firmly established its rule over the Eastern Sector. Right now, the Eastern Sector is rife with rebellions and war, clearly far from being 'stable'.

Lin Nanyi hoped to make significant contributions to stabilizing the Eastern Territory, thus securing his place as a core member of the newly established Eastern Star Sector. This would bring him closer to the position of Star Sector Governor.

When he was studying under General Severance Tann, Lin Nanyi once greatly admired the general who had almost conquered the entire galaxy. In his eyes, Severance Tann was beautiful, brave, intelligent, and powerful, almost the epitome of a perfect military god. However, as he got to know her better, he also learned about the hardships that Tann had endured.

Severance Tann was always just a general leading troops in the field; she had almost no base of operations or power of her own. She was like a sharp sword—incredibly sharp, but once it left the hand that wielded it, it was nothing but scrap metal.

Lin Nanyi then realized that his previous belief that the military was everything, and that power was everything, had a premise. No matter how powerful an army is, it cannot exist without the national system that supports it, and those who control the national system are those who sit behind the scenes.

Even if they are physically weak and have never fired a single shot, the resources they control are fundamental to maintaining the army's strength. Without them, the army would be unable to move an inch.

Such people always consider the military last when thinking about problems. Because for them, problems that can only be solved by the military are always the least worthwhile.

That's right, such a person is called a politician.

Therefore, this time, Lin Nanyi wanted to seize this opportunity to truly step onto the political stage and transform himself from a pawn who could not decide his own fate into a player who could control a region.

The Eastern Territory is my stage!

Upon entering the conference room, several holographic projections were already waiting. They were Hillka, the Governor of the Givens on the planet Losar; Karl-Vinga, the King of the planet Dark; and Epassy Gouet, the representative of the planet Semirs. These individuals currently constituted the highest power core of the Eastern Sector of the Dawn Kingdom.

As soon as Lin Nan entered the venue, his fiancée, Feng Lisi, followed a moment later. She wore a dark blue military uniform, glasses, and her long hair was tied into a braid that hung down her back, making her look smart and capable, yet possessing a unique charm.

Logically speaking, von Liss, a mere naval captain, had no right to attend such a meeting, but Lin Nan insisted on bringing her along. This was because von Liss often served as his secretary and advisor.

“General Grievous will arrive on Losar planet no later than three days from now. Moreover, he has brought a reinforcement fleet, the number of which is unknown,” Lin Nan said bluntly. “Without a doubt, General Grievous’s arrival means that the Supreme Command is about to launch an operation in the Eastern Territory. Although no explicit orders have been issued yet, we must prepare for it.”

"Haha! Then let's take the planet Jabim as General Griffith's welcoming gift! Hahahaha!" said Epsi-Guitt, the representative of the planet Semirs, laughing loudly.

The Semirs are a constitutional monarchy. They have a king, but he is largely a symbolic figure; the primary authority is the parliament. The representatives of the planetary parliament also represent the voice of the highest authority on their planet.

Epsi-Guitt, who had only come to power a year earlier, was a leading figure in the war-loving faction who was constantly pushing forward with war policies.

“The army of Jabim is no match for us. Their so-called Cloud and Rain Commandos are like eggs hitting rocks in front of us Semirs!” Epsi-Guitt said.

Von Liss's cool voice said calmly, "Defeating their main force is just the beginning. Don't forget how the Galactic Republic suffered a crushing defeat on Jabim. When their forces break up and launch guerrilla warfare, that will be our greatest threat."

Epsi-Guitt glanced at von Liss with some displeasure, then looked at Lin Nanyi, and seeing that the latter didn't speak, he waved his hand and said, "Whatever! Leave the problem of Planet Jabim to us Semirs to handle!"

Governor Hilka of the Given people said calmly, "Judging from the last Supreme Command's operational orders, there is a 79% chance that our mission in the Eastern Territory this time will still be to attack the Galactic Empire's Eastern Territory fleet, to contain their main fleet, and to create opportunities for offensives in other directions."

He projected an image of a massive meteorite onto the screen beside him—it was none other than the Eye of Palpatine, the Galactic Empire's super battleship from before. Hilka continued, "Our plans were disrupted by the appearance of the Eye of Palpatine, and it didn't have much of a restraining effect. Therefore, if the Supreme Command's orders are for us to continue the attack, our mission will be extremely difficult."

“To launch an attack, we need a secure rear, but we don’t have that,” said Cal-Vinga, King of Dark, a Quarun. “The Galactic Empire retreated its main fleet to Chalos IV in the hope of stretching our supply lines and making us vulnerable to harassment by the rebels.”

“Without resolving the issue of the rebels, large-scale military operations are simply out of the question,” Lin Nan said, frowning. “But are we just going to hand over such a mess to General Grievous? He may be coming with orders from the Supreme Command, which could very well affect our standing in the eyes of the Supreme Command. At the very least, we must ensure the safety of our base.”

His gaze fell on Governor Hilka of the Givens, who shook his head and said, “The rebels that have appeared on our planet are very troublesome. There is a group that calls themselves the Ghost Squad, and we have tried everything but have failed to capture them. Especially after the stargate was repaired, the number of ships entering and leaving Losar every day is too great to keep track of.”

Lin Nanyi then looked at Carl-Vinga, who also sighed and said, "The Monkaramari have over ten billion people, and many of them hold important positions in various industries across the planet. If we enslave them all at once, Planet Dark will need more time to re-integrate its industries. Considering the widespread shortage of skilled workers, it will take at least five years for enough qualified personnel to fill the vacant positions through continuous education." "No problem! I've already issued orders to General Cummings: capture the capital of Planet Jabim within three days!" Epsi-Guitt said.

Lin Nan rubbed his temples. Although he was now considered a chess player, even if it was only temporary, the problems he faced were much more macroscopic and complex, far beyond what he could do by commanding a fleet to attack a planet.

At this moment, von Liss spoke, her calm yet cool voice saying, "If we are to launch an attack on the Galactic Empire's Twelfth Army and threaten their main frontline military base, Chalos IV, then Bonta is our best position to launch the attack. However, the route from Losar to Bonta is not safe, and we have no way to start. Therefore, I suggest that we outsource the management of the planets along the route to those companies."

“That’s impossible! If we outsource planetary defense to companies, how will the local government of the Dawn Kingdom stand? Will we rule in the name of the nation or in the name of the companies? In the end, will we be letting these companies have their own armies?” Hilka exclaimed.

Of everyone present, he truly considered the Kingdom of Dawn his homeland, a sentiment long held by the people of Given. In contrast, the Semirs had only recently returned and their sense of belonging wasn't as strong. The Quarun were even less so.

Von-Liss said, “If we don’t want to see a mess, then this is the best way. You should understand that if we establish a rule in the name of the Dawn Kingdom, we need to set up a local government on the planet, cultivate bureaucracy, and establish an administrative system. This process is very slow. But if we outsource it directly to a company, we can skip this process and focus on the results, opening up a safe channel.”

“But the consequence is that it sows the seeds of more hidden dangers,” Hilka said. “Don’t assume that those companies will consider the long-term peace and stability of the planet.”

“This is a risk we have to face,” von Liss said. “Once we can defeat the Galactic Empire’s fleet, we’ll have plenty of time to go back and deal with those companies.”

The others also turned their attention to Lin Nanyi, after all, he was now the supreme ruler of the Eastern Territory, even though he was only a young man in his early thirties.

Lin Nan frowned and began to think. He was very clear about the potential problems that might arise from outsourcing planetary defense to a company.

Simply put, when the government is handling matters, it must consider factors such as stability, public sentiment, credibility, and image. Profits are secondary, and in many cases, it even has to subsidize the process.

Furthermore, because all expenditures must go through the treasury, the approval process is extremely slow and meticulous, requiring multiple layers of review before implementation, resulting in extremely low efficiency.

But outsourcing to a company is like tearing off that last layer of pretense. They don't consider any other factors at all; as von Liszt said, it's results-oriented—to maintain channel stability, they'll stop at nothing.

Similarly, when funds need to be allocated, one or two people in the company can make the decision directly. The efficiency in this process is certainly incomparable to that of government agencies.

The company's employees never consider permanent residence, so once handed over to the company, it is foreseeable that these planets will be engulfed in bloodshed.

Moreover, outsourcing to companies is tantamount to creating a wall between the people of these planets and the government of the Dawn Kingdom, making it even less likely that these planets will accept the rule of the Dawn Kingdom.

Therefore, while outsourcing to a company might seem like a quick fix in the short term, in the long run it's akin to drinking poison to quench thirst—it's about sacrificing the very foundation of the Dawn Kingdom's future rule for temporary stability.

Lin Nan thought for a long time before finally nodding.

……

Three days later, a Protoss transport arrived on Losar. Lin Nan arrived early to personally greet it.

If before, as a young general nurtured by the Fourth Civilization, he had looked down on General Grievous, a robot general who had defected from the Independent Star System Confederation like a stray dog, then after the previous operation to annihilate the Eye of Palpatine, he truly developed respect for General Grievous.

General Grievous's accurate and decisive judgment, ruthless and efficient tactical execution, and ability to remain calm in dire situations reminded Lin Nan of Severance Tann.

When General Grievous came, Lin Nanyi didn't feel at all that he was there to take away power. On the contrary, he felt relieved, believing that the chaotic situation in the Eastern Territory had finally taken a turn for the better.

The Protoss transport slowly landed on the helipad of the Royal Palace on Losar. The hatch opened, and a tall figure stepped out, accompanied by heavy footsteps.

As Lin Nanyi watched Grievous emerge, he noticed that although Grievous's appearance had changed considerably, his armor was thicker, and golden energy nodes were constantly flashing, Lin Nanyi felt a chill run down his spine when General Grievous actually stood before him, and goosebumps involuntarily rose on his skin.

This is an instinctive reaction when faced with incredibly powerful mental strength.

“You didn’t need to come to greet me personally, Governor Lin Nanyi,” General Griffiths said slowly as he stepped off the spaceship with his hands behind his back.

"In the battle to annihilate the Eye of Palpatine, you saved the war from near collapse. Both morally and practically, I should perform this ceremony." After saying this, Lin Nan asked, "So, General Grievous's arrival has prompted the Supreme Command to make any strategic arrangements for us?"

Beneath General Grievous's mask, his beast-like vertical pupils stared at Lin Nanyi as he said, "According to orders from the Supreme Command, the operational objective of the Eastern Sector is—to destroy the Galactic Empire's Twelfth Army!" (End of Chapter)