Star Iron, conquer the world from Omphalos

After destroying the base of the Immortal Boat Fleet, Ash recalled the Imperial Guards to join in the construction of the Elro Galaxy.

The news of his return spread rapidly throughout the empire, and the originally turbulent situation quickly returned to normal.

Less than three days later, Kane, who was fighting on the front line, also returned, and with him came another person that Ash had not expected.

His son Petu.

This lucky guy was teleported to a group of Destruction Legion by the explosion, and met Kane who was fighting against Destruction at the time. After interrogating his good brother with a big knife on his neck, he determined that Petu's appearance was purely accidental and not a betrayal. Kane temporarily incorporated him into the 14th Legion.

The two brothers then worked together to contribute to the Great Crusade. With the help of Petu, Kane won battle after battle. If the mortal army in the rear could not keep up with the speed, they would have ruled half of Griffith long ago.

"Emperor!" Petu was so excited when he saw Ash that he was a little incoherent. "Emperor, I... I didn't expect to actually see you. The research institute exploded, and the others are nowhere to be found, including my mother. Luckily, Kane found me."

"Petu, my child."

Ash patted his shoulder and said with some emotion, "It's great to see you. This is indeed a misfortune. One day I will find the attacker and make him pay the price he deserves."

"Now, go to Yalilo VI. I need to call an Imperial meeting."

After a brief reunion, Ash prepared to board the battleship and head to Yarilo VI.

"Did you see that, Kane?" Petu said excitedly, standing still. "The Emperor just patted me on the shoulder. He expressed his approval of me!"

Kane shook his head. "Can't you see? The Emperor is worried. He just said that casually. Petu, you still have a lot to do. Work hard."

"Shut up, Kane. Even you can't say such words. We are all children of the Emperor. One day I will make the Emperor proud of me!"

"Then come on."

Kane muttered to himself, feeling somewhat worried. This time he had not cooperated with Dorne in building Elro. Although the Great Crusade had achieved considerable success, the Emperor did not look happy at all.

...

A day later, in the imperial government on Yalilo, in a towering palace.

Ash brought a group of high-ranking officials from the empire to hold their first official meeting.

So far, Shurima has either been fighting or on the way to fight, trying every possible way to expand and build.

Most of the positions were directly assigned by Ash, and some were not even officially announced. Among the senior executives, most were just acquaintances, and there was no way to say they knew each other very well.

This chaotic management method was nothing when the empire was small, but as the empire grew larger and covered more areas, problems soon began to emerge.

The empire urgently needs a meeting to unify internal thinking, consolidate the imperial concept, and determine the course of action.

u1s1, management is much more difficult than fighting.

In war, all you need to do is charge forward with your weapons, but this is not possible for management, especially as a ruler. This is a comprehensive position that integrates many disciplines such as management, psychology, sociology, ideological and moral education, etc.

There are two main things that Ash wants to talk about this time: one is internal construction, and the other is foreign policy.

The selection of the twelve councilors, their respective areas of responsibility, and previously ambiguous positions all need to be clearly defined to ensure that there will be no confusion in management.

Otherwise, if even the people above them can't tell what they are responsible for, how can the people below them go to them to apply for procedures?

Government affairs and the military are of paramount importance.

The Imperial Guards, Ascended Legion, and Astra Militarum were organized one by one. Ash only needed to express his ideas, and someone would naturally do the specific things.

In addition to this, there is the administrative division. As the political core of the empire, Yalilo will collect taxes on the planets under its jurisdiction in the future, including economy, food and even soldiers.

After all, many world empires are difficult to manage directly, so taxation is a good option.

Simply put, it is a colony.

In return, the Imperial Army will provide security for the planets under its jurisdiction, such as eliminating interstellar pirates, Zerg swarms, hostile forces, etc.

These are all things to consider for internal construction.

In fact, what Ash could think of was far from enough. He could only make decisions in the general direction. The detailed rules and processes still required a large number of talents and a long time to formulate and implement verification.

No one has any objection to these things, and some even think that they should have been put on the agenda long ago.

But when Ash talked about foreign policy, it quickly caused a commotion.

"Over the next five years, the Shurima Empire will develop around its existing territories, primarily adopting a defensive policy. I need five years to accumulate the Empire's strength. After five years, our Empire's fleet will conquer Griffith and completely break out of this galaxy."

Five years, Ash gave himself time to stabilize the current situation in the empire.

Whether it is policy making or military development, what Shurima lacks most at the moment is time. In fact, the empire is not poor, but it just does not have enough time to transform the existing resources into what it wants. Long-term combat consumption can only be achieved by constantly squeezing from other places. It is okay in the short term, but if it continues like this, problems will arise sooner or later.

"Emperor, isn't five years too long?" Kane couldn't help but ask, "We are fully capable of unifying Griffith now. Wouldn't it be better to slowly develop after we have conquered the entire galaxy?"

"Kane, you're overthinking it." Dorn shook his head. "Griffith happens to be the most difficult to capture. The Immortal Ship Alliance, Destruction, and even the Company are all trying every means to hinder the Empire's development. How could they possibly give us the resources of an entire galaxy?"

"They don't need to be sent. I've run simulations, and as long as we adopt the right tactics, it's entirely possible to take down Griffith."

"Simulations are merely extrapolations based on existing conditions and don't represent reality. Have you considered those unknown threats?"

"Dorn, the unknown is always there. If we stop moving forward because of this, when will the Empire finally rule the universe?" Petu chimed in. "You don't understand the art of offense and defense at all."

The argument among the three children became a brief scene in the conference room, and most of the others remained silent.

"I agree with the Emperor's decision," Cocolia said suddenly. "Unlike Ascended Warriors, the establishment of an Astra Militarum requires not only supplies and equipment, but also time and training. Otherwise, soldiers without any combat skills will only cause casualties even if they go to the battlefield. The Empire currently has too many enemies in the Griffith System, and who knows how many more are lurking in the dark. Giving ourselves some time wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Mother... ahem, Warmaster Cocolia is right." Bronya coughed lightly. "The empire's development has begun to lag behind its expansion. A cautious and steady approach is a good strategy."

Neither Julius nor Lion spoke, or rather, they did not need to express any opinions, the Emperor's words were their will.

Subsequently, core figures of the empire such as Tingyun and Wandi also expressed their opinions one after another. Their ideas were similar to those of Dorne and Cocolia.

Seeing that most people agreed, Kane said nothing more. In fact, other people's opinions were not important. What was important was the Emperor's decision. He just wanted to persuade Ash, but Ash did not respond.

This showed that there was no point in him continuing to speak.

In fact, what Ash was worried about was not only the fairy ship, the company and the destruction. Just like Dorn said, there were too many unknown threats in the empire. What he was guarding against was the attack on Calcas. There was still no news about the attacker, and he felt uneasy.

This attack also indirectly shows that the situation of the genetic warriors may have been known to outsiders. The leakage of this top secret of the empire may have been dug out by a powerful enemy, but it may also have been leaked from the inside.

If it is the latter, it means that the empire is not a monolithic entity and the infiltration of hostile forces into Shurima may be far greater than he imagined.

It is not difficult to capture Griffith, but once the Empire's power expands to an entire galaxy, it will surely attract more fierce attacks.

What’s the point if you can only attack but not defend?

Besides that, he also had to spend time looking for the seventeen missing Primarchs. In five years, there was too much to do.

Of course, during the five years, he will not only be on the defensive, he will also send people to attack the company and Xianzhou's forces, mainly through attacks, and reciprocity.

Isn't the company a big business? Five years is enough for Ash to get a lot of good things.

And these five years are just the blink of an eye when looking at the universe.

...

This chapter is a make-up for yesterday's. I'll continue writing and see if I can update a chapter at 12 o'clock. If not, I'll make it up tomorrow. I can always make up for it, hey~

Desert Emperor in Star Iron: Chapter 95 Ash Prepares to Marry His Queen

After the first Imperial Conference, the focus of the empire shifted from the Great Crusade to development and construction.

However, Ash did not publicize that Shurima was going to change its policy. The Empire's fleet was still deployed throughout Griffith, and the Elro defense was still under construction. From the outside, it seemed as if nothing had changed.

This illusion bought the Empire three months of rest. At first, the Immortal Ship Fleet in the Griffith Galaxy thought that Shurima was plotting something again. After all, Ash was back, and the cruel Emperor would have to kill 100 million people to cheer him up, right?

However, after three months of silence, Xianzhou vaguely felt that something was wrong, so it gathered its fleet and launched an attack on Elro.

The scale of this exploratory attack was not large. Dorn sent the Imperial Fists fleet that Ash had formed for him to attack. There were as many as two thousand ascended warriors in this ascended regiment. In addition, the entire Elro was equipped with millions of Astra Militarum troops to assist in the battle.

Under Dorn's command, the Immortal Boat Fleet did not gain any advantage. Seeing the powerful counterattack firepower of the Imperial Fleet, they quickly withdrew.

But as Kane's expeditionary force on the front battlefield withdrew its formation, not only the Xianzhou Alliance, but also the company saw Shurima's intentions. After confirming that the empire began to shift from offense to development, they also changed their strategy.

In fact, whether it is Xianzhou or the company, what they least want to see is Shurima seeking stability and development.

They wished Ash would continue to fight!

The harder you fight, the more enemies you will encounter. One day, you will not be able to sustain such long-term consumption.

The scale is getting bigger, the management is getting worse, and the internal situation is getting more chaotic. If you don’t collapse, who will?

As a result, Shurima suddenly stopped fighting, which made them anxious.

Especially on the Xianzhou Alliance side, the life and death feud is almost at its peak. Not long ago, the alliance even used the Cloud-Viewing Mirror to ask the hunting patrol to bring down divine punishment on Shurima, but unfortunately there was no response. I don't know whether they didn't want to care or didn't see it.

The hunting patrol route was not feasible, and the previously mentioned attempt to make Yaoqing Xianzhou change his mind was also unsuccessful. Although even the marshal personally showed up, Feixiao still gave up the idea of returning to the alliance.

The fox people were forced to leave the Xianzhou Alliance due to the situation. They had no choice but to find a way out for the entire clan.

But if we choose to leave Shurima again, we will become a group of traitors.

Feixiao's persistence made the Xianzhou Alliance feel very difficult. At least for now, they could not think of any other good way except to continue sending people to attack and harass the Griffith galaxy.

Fortunately, the company still "persisted" with them. An economic blockade and a military blockade were enough to significantly restrict the development of Shurima.

Then, as long as the internal contradictions of this rapidly expanding empire are released, it is not impossible to collapse Shurima.

So when they saw that Shurima actually calmed down and focused on internal development, they were really anxious.

But no matter how anxious they are, neither side has any good solution. They can't just have another big fight, right?

I can fuck her, but I can’t fuck her hard!

That's the point.

As long as they can do it, they won't hesitate.

Otherwise, we could send out combat forces beyond the level of ordinary emissaries, but at that level, there would be too many concerns.

To put it nicely, it is to take the overall situation into consideration. To put it bluntly, the longer you live and the stronger you become, the more afraid of death you become.

Even if those combat forces do not take action, just looking at the number of envoys from the Shurima Empire is enough to make any force feel scalp tingling.

The only consolation is that the destructive forces that were always thought to be on the side of Shurima are now on the opposite side.

Although not all was destroyed, Foehn's previous attack on Ash gave Xianzhou hope. If Shurima took a defensive stance, the destruction would certainly not stop.

Sure enough, in the fifth month after Shurima changed its policy, a legion of destruction entered the Griffith system and launched an attack on Shurima.

This Legion of Destruction is not very strong, with only two Doomsday Beasts leading the charge. Of course, it is only weak for the Shurima Empire. If any one of these two Doomsday Beasts is placed on that planet, it would be a devastating blow.

Ash ignored it. Anyway, as long as it wasn't something serious, he didn't intend to manage it directly.

Firstly, there is no need and he doesn't have the energy. He now needs to spend more time on his own cultivation and strive to unlock the next level of power as soon as possible.

Secondly, after the last incident, Ash felt it necessary to train the empire's ability to face crises alone. Even if he did not give orders, they could cooperate perfectly with each other, and both warfare and daily management could run smoothly.

Unfortunately, although this wave of destructive attacks was indeed eliminated, it was still achieved through brute force, and Ash did not see much cooperation throughout the process.

Dorne has his tactics, Cain has his own ideas, and Petu's legion has not been established yet, so he can only follow Cain. Julius and Lion brought the Royal Guards and did not attack, nor did they intend to intervene. As for Cocolia, although she has the title of Warmaster, she can't command those ascended legions at all.

Wan Di is also a 'newcomer', and currently has no army of his own, so his say is also insufficient.

After watching all this commotion, Ash just shook his head.

"Perhaps I should find a second-in-command for the Empire."

Ash couldn't help but think.

When Cocolia was the war commander, the empire was well organized in both the great expedition and the defensive battles. Even when facing an enemy that was much stronger than itself, it could still fight back.

Even the weak can defeat the strong.

If the troops were deployed in the same manner, the combat effectiveness they could exert at that time would be much higher than it is now.

So, it turns out that a war still requires a general to command. No matter how excellent the officers under his command are, if they cannot coordinate together, it will be useless. The two strong forces will become weaker when they join forces. Then it would be meaningless for him to find so many talents for the development of the empire.

After thinking about it, Ash suddenly had an idea: could he find himself a wife?

That is the queen.

In theory, the queen can naturally command the war.

Even those unruly Primarchs had to respectfully call the Queen "Mom" when they saw her.

But the problem came again.

Who is suitable?

"Black Tower, are you interested in becoming the Queen of Shurima?"

Ash asked as he contacted the Black Tower who was researching power armor for the Empire.

He plans to upgrade the Ascension Armor and make a more powerful power armor based on the original one. This batch of power armor will be given priority to the Imperial Guards. Once successful, it will greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards.

After all, they are his personal guards, they can't be weaker than the Ascension Corps, right?