The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge

153. Wind of Coruscant

After getting off the shuttle, Aliya Isabel looked very cramped, and she followed Tang Xiao very carefully with small steps. He wanted to look around curiously, but he didn't dare to go too far, for fear of provoking someone he shouldn't.

Even if the clothes she was wearing were gorgeous dresses bought at a high price in the commercial center of the planet Corellia, this outfit alone was worth tens of thousands of credits, equivalent to the price of a fighter jet, but walking in the middle of the mothership She still felt like a redneck in town for the first time.

Tang Xiao sent a message to Daphne Clement, asking her to send a female assistant to settle Alia in her bedroom, and then went to the office by herself.

The matter of assembling the fleet has already been left to Qi Jian, he came here mainly because he needs to worry about other things.

After connecting to the communication, Francis Underwood's holographic projection appeared in it. Tang Xiao asked, "The situation on Planet Marathal may intensify. Is there any news in Coruscant?"

Francis smiled and said: "There are a lot of rumors in Coruscant every day, administrator. The dispute between Marathal Planet and the Enterprise Alliance is the core of the recent storm, but to understand this storm, one must fully understand the storm." look at the problem."

Tang Xiao nodded for him to continue.

"The root of the current problem of the Galactic Republic is the financial crisis. You heard it right. Although the Galactic Republic has neither major disasters nor large-scale wars, the treasury of the Galactic Republic is becoming increasingly empty." Francie S said with a sneer.

"Corruption and embezzlement..." Tang Xiao frowned.

"And the root of corruption and embezzlement lies in the unscrupulous expansion of the major trust enterprise oligarchs. Almost every industry has produced monopoly trusts. For example, the trade union in the trans-galactic transportation industry, the Interstellar Banking Association in the financial industry, manufacturing and Business alliances in the processing industry, etc. In order to ensure their monopoly position, these trust companies have been bribing the officials of the Galactic Republic, even to the point that they cannot stay in the officialdom of Coruscant without accepting bribes." Francis said .

"So under the large-scale bribery that is effective from top to bottom, the decree of the Galactic Republic has become a dead letter." Tang Xiao shook his head.

"That's right. So, the Galactic Republic is out of money now. Huge bureaucratic organization and inefficient administration filled with a lot of redundant staff. If you ask Rosanna Goods, she will tell you that even if Someone helped me get through the relationship, how many procedures have I gone through in the process of applying for the company registration of the fourth group, and the development license of Dawn Planet Colony."

Tang Xiao nodded and said: "So this is the root of the contradiction. The Galactic Republic, which lacks a strong central authority and cannot even maintain a large-scale regular army, has become a cake for those large enterprises."

"That's right, and this is the crux of the problem. Many people have seen the problems of the Galactic Republic, so the call for the establishment of a powerful regime has never stopped. When I first heard you tell me about the Galactic Council When it came to the political ecology, I once thought that the person with the strongest voice was Heev Palpatine. Because he will rely on this to become the chairman of the Galactic Parliament in the future, and I have already believed in this." Francis said.

"So... it's not him?" Tang Xiao frowned.

"No, the one with the strongest voice is the representative of the planet Rylos, the Twi'lek Orn Free-Ta. He is also the person who opposes the current speaker Finnis-Valoren the most. And Palpatine Hiding very cautiously behind his back, on the surface he was supporting Finnis-Valoron, but in fact he has created an image of himself who is loyal to the current speaker despite his lofty ideals. Ri-Ta sees him as a comrade, and Chancellor Valorum sees him as his right-hand man."

"How did he do that?"

"It's been a long process." Francis shook a book in his hand, "Shiv Palpatine has written many works on politics and power, and some of these books have even become textbooks in colleges and universities. ...And every time something difficult happens to Chairman Valorum, he is always the one who wipes his ass. And he solves the matter satisfactorily every time."

"A satisfactory solution is impossible. Based on what I know about Palpatine, his solution to the problem is almost certainly a palliative, not a root cause. The problem is solved on the surface, but in fact it leaves a hidden danger, and detonates this hidden danger The switch is in his own hands."

"If you don't say it, no one will know about it." Francis shook his head, "Say it again. Now Phoenix-Valorum is deeply involved in a bribery scandal. He received more than 1 million through a trust fund Credit point bribery, and the news was discovered by Aoun Free-Ta. After some investigations that were not difficult, the target was locked on an illegal organization, the Nebula Front."

"The Nebula Front is the secret agent of Schiff Palpatine. No one knows their relationship." Tang Xiao sneered.

"In any case, accepting bribes from an illegal organization is a fatal blow to the speaker of the Galactic Parliament. Councilor Orn Free-Ta has launched two impeachments in a row, but Speaker Valorum is in Schiff-Pal Patin's help made it through."

"Then?"

"Then Finnis-Valorum started his plan. In fact, when he came to power, he has been taking taxation from the Outer Rim Star Region and increasing the financial revenue of the Galactic Republic as his policy agenda. To win votes. But the difficulty of this matter can be imagined with your toes. Therefore, when Valoren was about to make a move, those corporate leaders who had heard the news for a long time started to act first."

"Is this why the Enterprise Alliance suddenly increased the fuel tax on the planet Marathal?"

"That's right. The Enterprise Alliance uses this to show an attitude to Speaker Valorum—don't you want to collect taxes? Yes, I will also collect taxes. When the time comes, let's see who has more influence in the Outer Rim star region." gone."

"So they won't give an inch in this matter, and they must use the planet Marathal to drive Speaker Valoren to a desperate situation?"

Francis suddenly showed a strange smile, "But that's the problem... just last year, the planet Nile was besieged by Bislanca pirates, and the Galactic Republic dispatched the Judicial Fleet with great fanfare to completely wipe out this force. Pirates (Chapter 7 of this book). And the man behind this expedition...is none other than Schiff Palpatine."