Emperor's Bane

Chapter 903 Horus's Strategy

Chapter 903 Horus's Strategy
"The sudden death of an authority figure?"

When he first heard the name, Chagatai Khan smiled.

"I bet you spent a long time carefully choosing this name, right?"

Then, his first question caused the Wolf God's wine cup to freeze in mid-air.

"how do you know?"

Horus looked up in surprise: he could tell, of course, that the Khan was being sarcastic.

And he was right: Horus came up with the name in less than a millisecond.

This was not the first time: Chagatai Khan always managed to offer profound insights on things he knew nothing about. Many people would interpret this behavior as a kind of innate Primitive wisdom, but Horus never thought of it that way.

He is also a Primarch, so why can't he feel that he possesses this kind of intelligence?

"You see, the idea is very simple."

The Khan held a wine glass in one hand and used the other to draw the sequence of his thoughts in the air.

"First of all, it's a terrible name."

"..."

The Wolf God's hand trembled slightly.

"Generally speaking, people only have two states when naming their own projects."

"The first type is impulsive, which comes up on a whim after the plan has already been fully formed."

"The second type is to think carefully and start thinking of a name before the plan even begins. Then, they spend a long time researching various classics and quoting them to find a name related to their plan in those obscure history books that no one reads except them. This way, they can appear to have a lot of literary knowledge and refinement."

"Considering that your name doesn't fit the latter, it should be the former, right?"

"..."

A drop of sweat was slowly trickling down the broad neck of the Wolf God.

As Khan said, Horus's entire thought process regarding the name of the plan was limited to a millisecond after Abaddon asked, "What should this plan be called?" during the military conference.

As for the reason for such a rush?

It's probably still a psychological issue for Shepherd God.

Giving a name is fine, but if the warlord hasn't even thought of a name for his action plan in advance, it will inevitably make his descendants and followers feel that Horus's plan to invade Terra is not so rigorous, thus greatly undermining their confidence.

Of course, the Wolf God also knew that he was most likely just scaring himself.

But he just couldn't help thinking that way.

After all, what he's doing now is indeed not a very safe thing.

"Cough cough..."

Perhaps the embarrassment and dejection lingering on the face of the Wolf God were too obvious, so the Khan had to put down his wine cup temporarily, think for a moment, and try to save face for his war hero brother.

"Of course, you don't need to worry about it too much."

"You're not the worst in this respect."

"The worst name I've ever heard was the one Morgan named her second Queen Glory ship, Glory of Man, decades ago."

"Humanity, glory."

"What a boastful tone: even Forgrim wouldn't dare name his warship that."

"God knows what she was thinking."

"indeed."

Horus nodded in agreement, his expression finally softening.

The name isn't bad, it's just a bit too arrogant and outrageous.

This is like a warship naming itself Emperor or Human Empire. Regardless of whether it deserves such a name, if it were to perish in war and the Emperor, Human Empire, or Human Glory were to die on the battlefield, the resulting public opinion would be unbearable and something no one could bear.

This is also why the War General would agree with the Khan. He had actually had concerns for a long time. When he first heard the name "Humanity's Glory," the Wolf God was very surprised: Horus had already been in contact with Morgan at that time, and he knew what kind of person his sister was.

She couldn't possibly be so arrogant and reckless.

But on the other hand, if the name could not possibly have been chosen by Morgan, then who could persuade the powerful Spider Queen, or rather, who had the courage and confidence to use such a sharp name: and whose authority was so great that Morgan could not even disobey him?
Naturally, Horus did not continue thinking about it.

He had already developed this habit.

In fact, as the Warmaster gradually distanced himself from the influence of the Emperor and Holy Terra, Horus began to look back and reflect more and more on his past life trajectory. Many things that he had not cared about or could not understand before, after a few years, he could easily see through their secrets with just a little thought.

There is only one exception: anything concerning the Lord of Mankind.

It wasn't that Horus couldn't understand, but he had never been willing to delve into such matters: because of an underlying sense of crisis.

Zhan Shuai gradually realized that behind many of the problems that had initially displeased him, the root cause was actually the shadow that he admired so much: he absolutely did not want to have any conflict with the owner of this shadow, even in name, as this would completely destroy his worldview.

He admitted that he was deceiving himself, as if as long as he didn't dwell on these issues, his relationship with the emperor would never change, and he would remain the most favored eldest son, able to confidently and boldly revere his father, instead of needing to explore those deeper truths.

This is both an escape and a boost.

At least for now, as they are about to clash with the Holy Terra, Horus must force himself to believe this fact: he is the Emperor's most trusted son, and when the Lord of Man is not by their side, the will of Horus is the Emperor's own will. He can act with confidence because his father will always stand behind him.

He has to think that way.

If he can't even convince himself, how can he convince his followers?
But at some point, the Wolf God had already learned the answer he was unwilling to admit.

That is: he is not the most trusted offspring of the Lord of Mankind, at least not the first.

Among all his brothers, some clearly received more burdens from the Emperor, some knew more secrets than Horus, and some seemed to have complete control over the development of the galaxy's situation. Even the struggles and rage of the Wolf God himself were just pawns they casually manipulated as they looked down on the whole situation.

The emperor knew about these things, tacitly approved of them, and even facilitated them himself.

……

Horus had initially thought that accepting this fact would be more difficult than he had imagined.

Fortunately, and sadly, independent growth may have been a significant benefit for the Primarch. In any case, fifty years after leaving the glory of the Emperor and the Great Crusade, the Wolf God accepted the sad reality that he was no longer the most beloved son of the Lord of Man with an unimaginable calmness.

He... wasn't that angry.

I wasn't even that scared.

He still cared a lot, but this concern could no longer interfere with his calm and collected mind.

Even when formulating plans, the Wolf God's actions were completely different from his outward slogans.

No matter how much he proclaimed the Emperor's favor towards him and promised his followers that the Lord of Man would support their actions, in private, when Horus was meticulously planning his invasion of Terra, he openly listed the Emperor's attitude as an uncontrollable factor: he was prepared that his father would not recognize the legitimacy of his actions, because it was necessary to do so.

Although acknowledging this caused him immense pain.

This deep-seated pain naturally did not escape the eyes of Chagatai Khan.

This made the prairie eagle admire his brother even more.

In the Khan's eyes, Horus was undoubtedly the best among his many brothers, even though he did not seem to be the best in any field: even his affability and diplomatic skills, which were usually touted by everyone, were not very impressive in front of the Spider Queen, who lived deep in the Far East but could influence the entire galaxy.

But no one can deny that Mulangshen is the kind of top student who may not be first in his major, but is far ahead in all subjects.

At least in the Khan's view, the Warmaster's most significant and greatest weakness was his dependence on the Emperor. This dependence often affected his thinking ability, causing him to make decisions that were not so rational: this was fatal for a decision-maker.

Even though the Khan didn't actually care how the empire would ultimately operate, Chagatai still had some sense of national responsibility. He didn't want to see a ruler with fatal flaws sit on the throne that would determine the fate of the entire galaxy. Therefore, when Horus was able to deal with issues related to the Emperor more calmly, the Khan was undoubtedly relieved.

The current War General is more suitable to sit in the position of Lord of the Galaxy than the previous Wolf God.

If he can maintain this state.

And: if they can actually put Horus in that position.

"So, what's your plan?"

After lingering on the issue of names for a while, and seeing that the atmosphere had been set just right, Chagatai Khan decided to get down to business: he took out a second bottle of wine and solemnly filled it for his brother.

Horus drank it all in one gulp.

He certainly understood what the Khan meant.

Simply put, it's about creating a fait accompli.

"What established fact is this referring to?"

"For the entire galaxy, and for our brothers, but more importantly: for the Emperor who may return at any time."

The Wolf God was resolute; this time, he was not swayed by the name of the Lord of Humanity.

The Khan nodded.

"You mean you don't believe the Emperor will definitely be on your side?"

"Of course I would believe it, but I can't make military plans based on my own ideas, can I?"

The general's face was somewhat bitter as he gulped down the second cup of wine that the Khan had poured for him.

"We always have to... just in case."

"To prevent the Emperor from returning early?"

"...That's right."

The Wolf God remained silent for a while.

"If the Emperor chooses to support us, then of course there won't be any problem."

"But if he supports Terra, we will all be doomed."

"You are the Wolf Shepherd God."

Khan clearly did not agree with this statement.

"I don't believe the Emperor will punish you severely."

"I think so."

Shepherd Wolf smiled.

"But for me, giving up my dream future is no better than being killed."

"So what does your dream future look like?"

"At least it shouldn't be like this now."

Shepherd Wolf raised his wine cup, and the two brothers clinked glasses again in silence.

"Is this current lifelessness destined to lead to a stagnant and bloated future?"

"This shouldn't be the end of the Great Expedition."

"Believe me, Chagatai, mortals should not be the highest power in the empire. After conquering Terra, I will spare the lives of the Sealholders and High Lords, and even preserve their status and power. However, they will exist as high-level executive and advisory bodies rather than the highest decision-making bodies: this is the most suitable position for them."

"So, to whom do you intend to hand over power?"

"Guilliman, or Morgan."

Horus answered without hesitation.

"I will retain a portion, mainly military, but I will hand over the political and internal affairs to them."

"A reasonable arrangement."

The Khan frowned slightly.

Why do you think the Emperor would oppose this?

"Actually, I'm not very clear either."

After hearing about this, Shepherd Wolf God seemed somewhat confused.

“I have suggested to the Emperor countless times that our brothers join the Terra government.”

"In my opinion, this is a very reasonable suggestion, but the Emperor always stubbornly refuses me on this matter."

"He seems to favor a future ruled by mortals."

"I'm not so sure. Maybe it's because the pioneering era and the dark age of technology gave him too many fond memories?"

"So you're worried that the Emperor won't be on our side?"

The Khan nodded.

“Reasonable concerns.”

"And your solution is to create a fait accompli before the Emperor returns?"

"Is such that."

Horus put down his wine glass and began to draw on the earthy grass with his finger.

"My plan is to lead the army into Holy Terra before the Emperor's return, forcing the Highlord Council and the Seals to submit to us. Then, I will quickly restore order to the current chaos within the Empire, using absolute military superiority to force all regions to pledge allegiance to Terra once again. At the same time, I will invite our best brothers to Terra to form a government and clean up the mess left by the Highlords."

“We all know, Chagatai, that war is the best way to eliminate old interest groups and support new ones. After we conquer Terra, the core territory of the empire will be filled with new powerful families who have followed us in our uprising. Their interests are highly tied to ours. Then, as long as we win over those neutral forces that are important enough, we can make the empire a unified entity again in the shortest possible time.”

"Even if the Emperor returns, he will not be able to reverse the advantage we have gained."

"Those who have betrayed once will certainly not have the courage to betray a second time."

Why do I think this way: that someone who has betrayed someone once is more likely to betray them a second time?

"If it's like a third party, then yes."

"But have you ever seen anyone who has betrayed another dare to betray the same power they once betrayed: especially the Empire?"

"Isn't this a bit too risky?" The Khan frowned.

“If we only rely on threats, I don’t think our genetic father will give in.”

"Besides, we can't just rely on these followers and traitors to blackmail him, right?"

"Of course we cannot threaten them."

Horus shook his head in denial.

"What we need to rely on is merit."

"As Primarchs, and our offspring as Astartes, the best among us are destined to have a much higher ceiling than the best among mortals. Once we conquer Holy Terra and establish a fait accompli, our brothers across the galaxy will have no reason to oppose us. At that time, we can invite them to Terra to join forces and create a far more efficient government than the High Lords."

"We can clean up the mess left by the High Lords before the Emperor returns, bring peace and stability back to the precarious galaxy, and establish a sound system to ensure harmonious coexistence between the Astartes and mortals. We will prove to the Emperor with our achievements that our rule is indeed more beneficial to mortals than the rule of mortals, and we will not lose to those beautiful memories of the past in his mind."

“We will prove to him that if he insists on restoring mortal rule, then he is the one who is wrong.”

"Hmm...that sounds good."

Chagatai Khan nodded.

"Is this how you persuade other people?"

"more or less."

Zhan Shuai waved his hand.

“Forgrim is interested in shaping a more efficient and perfect government, and he is eager to play a role that will go down in history in this great revolution, while Mortarion craves his power. He expects me to promise him a new position after the revolution and assures him that he will make good use of his power.”

Do you really think he can do it?

"At least, Mortarian isn't a bad person: deep down he genuinely wants to do some good things."

"And what about Sanguinius?"

“He didn’t care about that. After hearing that I didn’t intend to kill the High Lord and the Marksman, he didn’t ask any more questions.”

"This is very Sanguis."

The Khan chuckled softly.

"Well, I have another question."

"Tell me?"

It's clear that the Wolf God is gradually getting into the zone.

"Horus."

The Khan also put down his wine cup.

"Your idea is brilliant: after conquering Terra, achieve even greater success than the Highlords Council, and use that to convince the Emperor to endorse your revolution."

"But have you considered how you will implement your governing ideals when the time comes?"

"Or to put it another way: How can you be sure that you will do better than the high lords in a short period of time?"

"A little trick, my brother."

Horus's smile was somewhat sinister.

"First of all, the power structure maintained by the Primarchs and Astartes is certainly more efficient than that of mortals."

That's absolutely right.

"Secondly, if we want the entire galaxy to regain its upward momentum in a short period of time, then what we need to do is actually very simple: just completely and thoroughly abolish the unreasonable tithes that Terra has previously levied. Without this oppression, the entire galaxy will support us."

"..."

The Khan remained silent.

"Horus, you don't really believe that those unreasonable taxes were decided by the high lords, do you?"

"Of course I wouldn't think that way."

Zhan Shuai shook his head.

“I know very well that only our genetic father has the right to levy this terrible tax.”

"But think about it the other way around."

Zhan Shuai leaned forward and slowly clenched his fist under the Khan's nose.

“Take a good look back at what promises the Shaman made during the Terra crisis: on the issue of taxes.”

"Gradually reduce or even eliminate taxes."

"Yes."

Zhan Shuai nodded smugly.

“Since we all know that this additional tax is something the Emperor wants to collect, and since Holy Terra has the audacity to gradually abolish this tax, it means that the Emperor currently has no need for this tax, either subjectively or objectively. So, after we seize power in Terra, we can naturally abolish this tax.”

"..."

"That does seem to make sense."

Chagatai stroked his beard.

"But wouldn't doing this be considered plundering the high lords' work halfway through?"

"of course."

Zhan Shuai admitted it without any psychological burden.

"What? You only allow the High Lords to do everything they can to suppress us Primarchs and Astartes, but you don't allow us to turn around and take away their work."

"I don't object to that."

The Khan shook his head.

"I just wanted to remind you, Horus."

"Your plan is indeed very good."

"We seized power on Terra, using our legitimate status and undeniable justification to invite our outstanding brothers to help us reshape the entire Imperial government. We also used the tithe, which was supposed to be abolished, to appease the galaxy, thereby creating a better record of governance than the High Lords Council, impressing the Emperor and making him acknowledge our rebellion."

"At least give us a chance."

Horus added.

The Khan nodded.

"But as you probably know, you've based all of this on the best-case scenario."

"It can't withstand any unexpected events."

"Yes."

Zhan Shuai nodded somewhat dejectedly.

"After all, we are taking a risky move. If we could win over a few more brothers, we wouldn't have to do this."

“But Johnson is not destined to join us; Morgan and Guilliman prefer to remain neutral.”

"As for Luo Jia..."

"To be honest, Khan, I'm even a little afraid of him."

"Me too."

The Khan nodded solemnly.

"It's best not to involve him."

"But what I'm more curious about is: what if the Emperor returns before we invade Terra?"

"Okay, that is indeed a problem."

Horus's expression also turned serious.

"Although our reasons are perfectly justified, and the High Lords have indeed incurred the wrath of both heaven and man, it is unlikely that even if the Emperor were to return, he would favor them."

"But you're right, Chagatai: we can't focus all our plans on possibilities."

"This plan is already dangerous enough; we can't create any more uncertainties."

"Therefore, we must ensure one thing."

"To conquer Terra in the shortest possible time, that is, within one to two years at most."

"Or force Terra to submit to us."

"You mean: in two years, we'll make that tough guy Rogdorn bow down and admit defeat to us?"

The Khan smiled.

“I feel that this seemingly simple step is more difficult than your entire previous plan combined.”

"That is indeed very difficult."

Horus laughed too, even though he himself wasn't actually that confident.

"Therefore, we need to ensure two things."

"First."

"Tactically, we cannot be too hasty."

"second."

Strategically, we cannot afford to be slow.

"..."

Could you be more specific?

The Khan raised his glass: for the first time, he felt that this plan might actually have some possibility.

"It's very simple."

Horus was still smiling.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but Chagatai feels that the War General's smile is becoming more and more convincing.

------

"We need to do the following."

"Less bloodshed, less killing."

"If you can use a whip, don't use a knife; if you can use words, don't use a whip."

“Treat the world that surrenders with respect, and regard them as our subjects rather than spoils of war.”

"Many naval battles, many sieges."

"Killing ten thousand space wolves and trapping ten thousand space wolves in a world without ships have the same effect."

"In any case, don't let Astartes bleed, and if possible, don't let mortals bleed too much."

"Publicity should be the primary focus, with strategy as a secondary measure."

"Let everyone know that we are the army of justice, and let everyone believe that if Terra is ravaged by war, then the responsibility lies entirely with the High Lord."

"Ordinary people can't understand battle reports, but a three-sentence rumor is enough to make them believe it without a doubt."

"Attacking the city is inferior, attacking the heart is superior."

"Do not attack Dorne's fortresses: after you take one, he still has ten more."

"We must break the spirit of ordinary people, because once they lose the confidence to resist, there will never be a second time."

"As long as our Imperial Fist brother hasn't made up his mind to become a wartime dictator."

"Then consider this: when the high lords and mortals of Terra decide to submit to us."

Even if he still has a million fortresses, how many choices will he have left?

"So you mean: you want to submit, not be destroyed?"

The Khan nodded.

“I am not a cruel person, Chagatai.”

"This won't be a war to the death: at least I won't let it become that."

Horus picked up his cup and drank it down in one gulp; he had never appeared so confident.