Start a core cabin

Everything in this world ultimately depends on strength.

And strength depends on violence.

As a wandering trader, Dardanelle is also very clear about this.

On the surface, the trade alliance he formed spans five star systems and has dozens of colonies, which can be regarded as a powerful force. But Dardanelle himself knows that this is all empty shells, which can fool those interstellar civilizations that have not yet stepped out of the atmosphere or are just starting out.

But if he really wants to negotiate business with those business alliances that are stronger than him, then he can only ask for help.

So... Grandpa Inquisition, help me!!!

"……………Okay, I almost understand the specific situation."

Duanmu Huai picked up the teacup, drank tea, and looked at Dardanelle opposite.

"So? What kind of result do you plan to get?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

Dardanelle looked sad.

"As for the situation of the trade alliance, Your Excellency the Judge knows that we have just started to develop, and integrating the economic systems of these planets alone is a big problem. At present, it has only begun to show results. I..."

"Speak to the point."

Duanmu Huai is not interested in the economy. He is the same as the empire. As long as you pay the tithe on time, there will be no problem. But if you don't pay the tax, then there will be a problem.

"Frankly speaking, we can't beat them."

Dardaniel decisively told the truth.

"Although I don't know much, I can see that the huge force behind this trade mission is far beyond the trade alliance formed by a small merchant like me. Their strength and financial resources are a hundred times stronger than ours. Facing such an opponent, the best way is to shut them out."

"But you can't do it, so you come to ask for help, right?"

"That's right."

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai understood that free trade, if you don't want to trade, they will use strong ships and powerful cannons to open the country's door and force you to trade. Duanmu Huai has not been to history, so he still understands such a simple and easy-to-understand truth. If Dardanelle didn't call the Inquisition and tell them that they were not easy to mess with, who knows if the company would call directly.

Although it is called the Interstellar Peace Company, peace and commercial trade are incompatible.

"What do others think?"

"They...remain neutral, because the Interstellar Peace Company also promised them that they could help them rebuild, but because they don't know each other well, they are still in the discussion and wait-and-see stage."

Dardanelle understood why these people remained neutral, because of their relationship with the Inquisition. After all, their worlds were saved by the Inquisition, so they would also remember this friendship. Therefore, unless the Interstellar Peace Company's offer was higher than this friendship, they would not change their partners casually.

"This is really a bit unexpected."

Duanmu Huai reached out and touched his chin. He has always been laissez-faire about this matter. Because the Inquisition is not an empire, and it has no intention of rebuilding the empire. Of course, if Dardanelle intends to trade with other forces, then Duanmu Huai doesn't mind introducing them to each other, but he doesn't care much about other things.

But an invasion by an unknown outsider is another matter.

"Is the enemy human?"

"If not, I don't have to worry so much."

"That's true."

If the enemy was not human, Dardanelle would have begged the Inquisition to destroy it completely. For the Inquisition, which believes in human supremacy, aliens are the original sin.

Unfortunately...

"Hmm..."

Duanmu Huai turned his head and looked to the other side.

"How clever! Do you think the Star Alliance can help?"

"Karen doesn't think it can."

The world's cutest horse girl shook her head.

"The impact of the unexpected enemy that the Star Alliance encountered before has not subsided. At present, the entire Star Alliance is seriously injured. Kallen thinks they should be wary of external forces interfering in the trade network."

"Hmm......"

If the Star Alliance is still strong, then Duanmu Huai can let Dardanelle and the Star Alliance cooperate to deal with this Interstellar Peace Company. Unfortunately, the Star Alliance has been unlucky recently. First, it was the Reapers, then the Dark Elves, and then the unexpected enemies. A series of attacks have made the Star Alliance breathless. Like a patient who has suffered a serious illness and has not fully recovered, in this case, the Star Alliance is naturally unwilling to cause trouble for no reason.

"It seems that the support of the Inquisition is very limited."

Duanmu Huai spread his hands and shook his head at Dardanelle.

"Strictly speaking, the Tribunal certainly supports you, but you also know that the Tribunal does not intervene in disputes between humans, not to mention that this is an economic matter, so all we can do is to ensure that you will not be coerced by force, but if it is an economic issue, then the Tribunal is powerless."

"I understand what you mean, Your Excellency the Inquisitor."

Faced with Duanmu Huai's answer, Dardanelle's expression was a little helpless, but it was understandable. After all, it was not the first time he did business with the Tribunal.

"But no matter what the other party is, since it wants to do things on the Tribunal's territory, it must pay taxes to the Tribunal."

Duanmu Huai snorted. The tithe of the Tribunal is indispensable. Although the tax rate of the Tribunal is not as strict as that of the Empire, and it is often just a token of appreciation, the problem is not how much, but the attitude. It is one thing if you are willing to pay, and another if you are not willing to pay.

"Then... Zhen Ji Ling, go talk to that Interstellar Peace Company and see what the situation is on the other side."

"Understood! Big brother, just leave it to Kallen!"

For this matter, let Zhen Ji Ling, the world's most adorable horse girl, do it.

Duanmu Huai did not pay much attention to the Interstellar Peace Company. If the other party is a human, then most of the problems do not need to be concerned. The policy of the Tribunal is not to interfere in the fights between humans. He actually understands that Dardanelle hopes that the Tribunal can intervene more deeply, which is also easy to understand.

For example, Dardanelle's business alliance is like a leading domestic enterprise, while the Interstellar Peace Company is a foreign enterprise, and it is also likely to be a multinational foreign enterprise. Facing such a business giant, local companies can only rely on protectionism to survive. Unfortunately, the Tribunal is not the government that rules this area, so even Duanmu Huai can't say that he won't allow the Interstellar Peace Company to operate here. After all, they can bypass the Tribunal and go directly to those political entities to discuss.

So strictly speaking, there is not much the Tribunal can do. Dardanelle still has to rely on itself... Of course, if the other party wants to use some tricks, that's another matter.

After all, the Trade Union of Dardanelle also has a part of the Tribunal's shares. You don't want to live and dare to trouble the Tribunal?

That's the only way to die.

Commercial trade is not a problem that Duanmu Huai cares about. After leaving it to Zhen Jiling to solve, he began to pay attention to the construction of the planetary fortress again. Of course, Duanmu Huai did not forget to ask Aikote to send a reconnaissance fleet to investigate the direction of the merchant group. After all, it is an extraterritorial galaxy, and there may be treasures that can make his natural disaster progress full.

Well, I hope so.

Zhen Jiling acted quickly. Only two days later, Duanmu Huai received intelligence from Zhen Jiling after the first meeting and negotiation.

"Most of the species that make up the Interstellar Peace Company are humans and subhumans, but there are also a small number of abominable intelligences... um..."

Looking at Zhen Jiling's report, Duanmu Huai nodded. Zhen Jiling's investigation was very accurate and knew what the Tribunal wanted.

But at the end, he frowned slightly.

"According to the investigation of its internal corporate culture, there are signs of religious beliefs?"

After reading the report, Duanmu Huai raised his head and looked at Zhen Jiling across the screen.

"What do you mean? What the hell is religious belief?"

"As you can see, big brother, this Interstellar Peace Company believes in a star god named Klipper..."

"Star God?!"

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai almost jumped up and issued an extermination order.

After all, this is not a good word in the Tribunal.

Fortunately, after listening to Zhen Jiling's explanation, Duanmu Huai finally breathed a sigh of relief. According to her, this star god should not be a fragment of a star god, but a god across galaxies. Well, as mentioned before, there are indigenous gods and gods across galaxies. The gods in Feren are all indigenous gods, and the gods they believe in should be higher-level cosmic gods that exist across galaxies.

And each star god has his own destiny. Duanmu Huai is not surprised by this. Just like the gods of justice, love, war, and tyranny, this destiny is simply a priesthood.

As for the destiny walkers who walk on it, and the messengers who receive a glance from the star god, gain his attention, and have powerful powers... well, let's put it in Feren's shoes. In fact, they are just believers and gods.

"In other words, this Interstellar Peace Company is the church of Klipper, believing in protection, the employees inside are all believers of Klipper, and the senior executives are the gods?"

"Yes, that's about it."

"Oh, that's fine, I can understand it."

Duanmu Huai nodded. There are many forms of religions in the interstellar, but to be honest, it really makes Duanmu Huai feel a little weird that a capitalist company believes in protection.

After all, no matter how you look at it, it should be believing in gods such as business or money. What is protection? Is your Interstellar Peace Company mainly engaged in protective facilities?

But, star gods...

Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment.

Maybe I should go to that extraterritorial galaxy to see if I can upgrade my natural disaster?

After all, there are so many star gods, so there must be followers.

Find one that is a threat to humans and then destroy it, wouldn't that speed up the progress?

Why not...try it?