StarCraft: Tyranid Empire.

At this moment, the palace.

When Arcturus entered the war room, the Emperor's chief engineer, Rory Swan, was rushing out. This Madam Mainhof, who was as hard and stubborn as a Kemorian prospecting drill, was wearing a well-tailored suit, but she still looked like a butcher who had just slaughtered a pig, and Arcturus bet that Swan was definitely cleaned up by his men just before leaving for the palace.

Any cabinet official who has dealt with Swan will admit that the Chief Engineer is even busier than the Emperor of the Terran Empire, and he would rather spend any free time outside of work drinking beer and chatting.

The heavy fighter production lines of Nav II and Norris VI produce an average of one Viking every few minutes, which would take them at least half a month to do in peacetime. And these newly built fighters did not appear out of thin air.

If it is not necessary, Swan will never step into the palace, even if the mansion awarded by the emperor is at the foot of the palace. With Swan's outstanding contribution to the empire, no one would question that he should not receive such special treatment.

Rory Swan has under his command a group of the most outstanding designers, engineers, and metal technicians in the Empire. Other teams of the Imperial Engineering Corps are also manufacturing tanks and large mechas. Construction is only a small part of their work. As the war between the Empire and Amon continues to escalate, repairing damaged machinery and dealing with junked space ships that must be scrapped are the most troublesome parts.

These people are also true supermen. Under extremely harsh circumstances, the dispatched engineering teams sent to various battlefields can even make aviation parts by hand or build a planetary fortress from scratch.

An Imperial engineer from Char once drove a space engineering vehicle to kill four Zerglings in extreme anger, and used exploration explosives to collapse the underground lava tunnel and buried hundreds of Zerglings. Although he died in the mine in the end, he did not live to go to Augustgrad to be awarded.

Geniuses are always unusual, and based on this, Arcturus can tolerate some of their quirks, such as the fact that Swann slipped away from under his nose like a gust of wind and didn't notice that the second-in-command of the empire was greeting him.

Arcturus caught a glimpse of Swan holding a large stack of equipment blueprints, which were all the Empire's latest fighter jets and mechas.

The speed of weapon replacement in the Terran Empire can be said to be very fast, so they are not outdated as soon as they are installed. Although many armies are still using weapons before the Battle of the Brood, their fleets are very different from the past.

The Empire's enemies are mainly Amon's hybrid forces and his vassal armies among the three tribes, and the Dark God will not bother to upgrade weapons for his cannon fodder, so the existing weapons are more than enough to deal with them.

However, considering the complex and ever-changing battlefield environment, the Imperial Equipment Department still needs to upgrade existing equipment or directly develop new ones. There are more than a dozen models of power armor alone.

In addition, Arcturus also knew that the emperor needed a protective measure that could effectively fight against the corruption of the void these days, so that the imperial ships could travel unimpeded in the void. This was probably the reason why Augustus specifically asked Swan to rush to the palace in person.

". In addition, immediately provide government funding to Andra, Arcadia, Rose, Michael, Angus, Olivia, and Boyla for specific purposes." As soon as Arcturus entered the room, he heard his brother giving orders in an unquestionable tone: "Listen."

The Emperor handed a clerk or private secretary in the war room another pile of bills that needed to be signed and implemented. He said, "Let the new Prime Minister immediately convene an Imperial Conference and vote on it. The sooner the better."

Standing opposite the emperor is the current Minister of Finance, Aldeo Cistler, who entered the imperial political arena through votes rather than direct promotion, which means that he has considerable reputation among the people and has accumulated political capital by attracting attention by speaking for the people or making political shows.

Of course, it is unlikely that Sistler would be able to hold his current position during his lifetime just based on this. Undoubtedly, the Ministry of Finance is one of the most powerful departments in the empire, and the head of this department is naturally the most sought-after figure in the empire.

In any case, if Sistler wanted to make progress in imperial politics, he had to gain the emperor's appreciation, regardless of whether he was a supporter or opponent of the emperor.

Ironically, before his rise to power, Sistler was a staunch opponent of Augustus's new policies, and he always fantasized about returning to the good old days of the old federation, but now he can't wait to bow down at the feet of the emperor.

Every seat in the parliament is elected, and each member represents the interests of all classes, but the people who really hold important positions are either old faces or retreat behind the scenes. After all, all imperial officials and planetary governors must be appointed by the emperor.

Emperor Augustus never bothered to silence his opponents, because he saw no need to silence the "censors". There were many parties in the imperial political circles, but most of them were insignificant. There were also many people who opposed Augustus and his policies, but usually they just made their own political claims. In fact, even they themselves did not know who would be elected to power when Augustus was really overthrown.

If there really were a group of people preparing to force the emperor to abdicate in the parliament right now, I'm afraid that others would first suspect that they either had a problem with their brains or were corrupted by the void. Who knows that the current Imperial Parliament is worse than a vegetable market, at least there are people who actually listen to your bargaining.

"But the most important things are medicine, clean food and water. Most of them are new colonies established after the accession day. They lack everything. The interruption of trade routes and the Zerg invasion almost defeated them." Sistler is a standard imperial politician, dressed in a suit and tie, with extraordinary momentum.

Generally speaking, the farther away from Korhal, the more difficult it is to maintain order, and Arcturus agrees with this statement.

Just maintaining stable prices in the core world during wartime would be enough to drive a string of imperial finance and monetary experts to their deaths, so they must not act rashly at the slightest sign of trouble.

As for the new colonies and frontier worlds that are farther away, the situation is much more difficult, but most of the difficulties of these worlds do not come from lack of money.

The empire's new colonies basically belong to the resource world, where the least lacking thing is minerals, but it is difficult to buy industrial products and agricultural products from the core world, so rapidly rising prices have become the norm.

In addition, the smaller the colony, the more vulnerable it is to war and disease. A terrible plague had struck St. Patrick not long ago, killing hundreds of thousands of people in the first two weeks of the outbreak. It was some kind of unheard-of intestinal infectious disease, accompanied by fatal diarrhea and dehydration. When help arrived from neighboring worlds, there were not even a few living people on the entire planet.

This is undoubtedly another masterpiece of the Zerg.

This problem was not obvious when the shipping routes were unobstructed, but the situation began to take a turn for the worse since Amon's army began to bypass the Empire's escort fleets and directly attack their trade routes with the outer colonies.

".That's it." Seeing Arcturus coming in, Augustus waved to Sistler, as if getting rid of an annoying trouble.

Sistrum was obviously not a favorite of Augustus, but the emperor's advantage was that even if he didn't like someone very much, he would still use him as long as he had enough ability.

In contrast, Arcturus placed more emphasis on ability, while Augustus believed that character was equally important, but the reality was that they had a hard time finding people who possessed both qualities.

Although Tychus has low quality, he is very fierce in fighting.

Jim Raynor is a "farmer". He has never been to a military school and has never received systematic training, but it turns out that he is a natural military genius. He fights based on his talent and intuition, and his character is recognized as being upright.

But instead of letting Renault engage in politics, it would be better to let Tychus cook. The latter learned a few tricks from Augustus when he was young, so at least he can cook some caramel and won't starve himself.

When leaving the war room, Sistler was much more perceptive than Swan, and he quickly greeted the Imperial Prince. After all, he was recommended by Arcturus himself. "This Sistler is indeed very capable. I wonder what his colleagues think of him." Augustus looked up at Arcturus.

"A clown, a two-faced man, with a greasy face and powdered hair." Arcturus said, "My evaluation is similar."

"I thought you were very fond of him," said Augustus.

"So you don't like him," Arcturus asked. "What did he tell you?"

"He proposed that I allow local governments to increase taxes on their own to raise revenue, otherwise they would have to borrow from banks in Eumoyang." Augustus commented: "Ridiculous."

In fact, the empire is not short of money now. Even when investing so many resources in the military, the income from other sectors of Koprulu and the Sigma sector can even make them profitable.

This is exactly the result of Augustus' colonial policy. He wanted not only territory, but also the most important resources. In other words, he wanted to open mines everywhere and cast a wide net to catch more fish.

Crystal ore and high-energy gas are the most indisputable hard currencies in the Koprulu Sector. Since the beginning of the war, countless people have made a fortune and lost everything in the Augustgrad Stock Exchange. An invasion by Amon's army or a victory by the Imperial Army may bring huge changes to the stock market, but I am afraid that only the most well-informed people can know the movements of the Dark God.

However, those who invested in the Imperial State Mining Company in the early days made a fortune without exception, and it was almost a sure win.

Years ago, perhaps long ago, Arcturus would have been ecstatic about a large and rich crystal vein, but now wealth meant little to him, even though he was already one of the richest men in the empire.

With the discovery of new worlds and the development of new colonies, large quantities of high-quality minerals have also been discovered by imperial exploration ships scattered throughout the universe. Traces of crystal mines have even been found in the void. The reserves are at least enough for an interstellar empire-level force to explore for hundreds of years, which is far beyond the reach of past eras. Ultimately, all that needs to be considered is the cost of mining, smelting and transportation.

Just like the best iron ore is always accompanied by high-quality coal, the best crystal ore is also accompanied by high-energy gas springs. The empire now has no shortage of such good mines, but only the manpower and time to mine, and how they can transport these minerals to the manufacturing plants in the core world when Amon launches a large-scale attack.

"That's impossible. In a few years, they will be able to list a bunch of tax items that you and I don't even know about." Arcturus said, "Sistler is not a brainless person."

"He is testing me to see if I will delegate power to the local authorities." Augustus snorted and stopped discussing the topic. A Sistler alone could not make much waves.

"Tell me the news you brought."

"The fleet bound for Baysher has already set out." Arcturus didn't even have time to find a place to sit down: "One Xel'Naga world ship, thirty Gorgons, and eight hundred Minotaur. Warfield and Horner's two squadrons are also on their way to join them."

"Air sent the Spear of Adun and several expeditionary fleets. The High Lord of the Tal'darim said he was considering sending the Death Fleet to help, but I guess he only paid lip service as usual."

"What about the enemies? How many are there?" Augustus nodded.

Arcturus noticed that the emperor's desk was piled with all kinds of reports, assessments, and copies of bills. He worked from morning till night, and the pile of things never showed any signs of decreasing. In fact, Augustus' officials were reliable enough, but he was still used to asking about everything.

In fact, the war room had not held many war meetings in the past few days, and only a few unremarkable galaxies were still flashing on the holographic image. On the one hand, these were the emperor's most outstanding generals and military talents, and on the other hand, the general strategic direction had already been determined, so Augustus did not intend to make decisions on the front line.

Besides, fighting is only a small part of war, important enough, but not all.

"Two Doomsday Arks and countless other types of ships. There are now so many Zerg in Baysher that they can submerge the planet."

"Two?" Augustus was a little surprised: "The Protoss said there would be one. Then we must re-evaluate this number. There may be a third one."

"They made a mistake," Arcturus said. "But the result was not bad. Executive Officer Phoenix boarded one of the Doomsday Arks and turned it into a battlefield, which was equivalent to directly paralyzing an Ark."

"If they had known there were two arks, they might not have done this."

"No." Augustus knew his old friend. "Then Phoenix would land on both arks at the same time, rush into the cockpit, and force them to collide head-on."

"Just like what is written in the heroic stories, but it is not realistic." Arcturus continued: "No matter what, at least one thing is certain, Bachelor's importance to Amon must be higher than we expected."

"It's always Beysir," Augustus said to himself. "I hope we'll get the answer soon as to why he has to pick a fight with this inconspicuous planet."

However, although most of his time with Arcturus had been filled with endless discussions of politics and military affairs, today Augustus decided to talk about something else.

"Well, let's not talk about this. It will take at least a week for us to get the latest news from Baisher."

"How is it?" When Arcturus sat down, Augustus immediately realized that he was asking about his work situation.

"As usual, bottomless expenditures, unbearable losses, shocking casualties. And our annoying neighbors. There is nothing to cheer us up at all." Augustus wailed, "The worst is the non-combat casualties, human factors, swarm viruses, and void corruption."

"There are all kinds of ridiculous reasons. You just can't believe that someone would be stranded on an undeveloped planet alone because he misremembered the assembly time, so that he had to live a Robinson Crusoe-like life while waiting for rescue." He took out a bottle of brandy from the wine cabinet next to him, poured a glass and handed it to Arcturus:
"The doctor told me to drink less, but he didn't say I couldn't indulge in my eyes."

"Have you any news about Valerian? He is also in Baisher," he asked Arcturus again.

“He never writes to me, and I don’t get any messages on my private newsletter.” Arcturus said this like an empty-nester, but he didn’t seem too worried about his son; he was just stating the facts.

"What's going on?" The emperor asked ostentatiously, which made him look like a child. "And I receive letters from him almost every week." (End of this chapter)