The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge

2456: Hari Seldon's New Deal

"...In summary, we have to get used to the existence of the Rebellion. We must understand that the liberalism they believe in is a deformed thought pattern that has been growing for 25,000 years! This is not a problem that can be solved by simple persuasion or blockade of public opinion. This is the pattern that the people who once lived in the area ruled by the Galactic Republic have believed in for generations!"

"Dealing with the rebels and liberal ideology is a long and arduous struggle, just like cancer cells. It is difficult to eradicate them by force. We can only strengthen the immune system and purify them gradually. Now both we and the Galactic Empire are constantly suffering from the poisoning of this cancer cell. The only difference is who is suffering more severely. What we have to do is not to hope to completely eliminate the rebels once or twice, but to compete with the Galactic Empire to see who can survive longer under the rampage and poisoning of the rebels!"

"That is to say, we will be in a two-front war with the Galactic Empire and the Rebellion for a long time! The Rebellion may not have a large fleet or heavy armor, but they are everywhere and can get support from anywhere! This support is not limited to funds, weapons, equipment, intelligence, and even our own internal rebellion."

"We must understand that 98.1% of the population of the Kingdom of Dawn are natives from various planets and immigrants from other planets. This 98.1% of the population has a natural tendency to accept liberal ideas. Therefore, we must abandon all illusions and digest them step by step in a down-to-earth manner. At the same time, military victory on the front line is still an important guarantee for the rationality and legitimacy of our regime! We must do both!"

In the capital of the Kingdom of Dawn, at the Supreme Command Meeting of the Planet Dawn, Hari Seldon, Secretary General of the Prime Minister's Office, was speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office of the Kingdom of Dawn.

Although the audience included Chief of Staff Qi Jian, Cabinet Prime Minister Helmut Zemo, Defense Minister Cheng Shitao, Navy Commander-in-Chief Matt Horner and other most powerful people in the entire Dawn Kingdom, Hari Seldon, who was only 32 years old, was not at all stage fright. He spoke clearly and orderly, and made a profound analysis of the existence and thinking of the rebels.

Then, Hari Seldon raised his hand very firmly and said loudly in a resonant voice: "Now that the Rebellion and liberal thought have completely erupted, the ultimate goal of the Kingdom of Dawn has not changed - conquering the planet Coruscant is our top priority! And when the time is right, we will support the Rebellion and re-establish the New Republic! In order to achieve this goal, we can even give up the planet Coruscant and let the Rebellion rebuild its capital there!"

Many bigwigs in the audience nodded, but there were also many voices of opposition. Admiral Matt Horner, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, knocked on the table and asked, "But have you ever thought about whether allowing the rebels to rebuild the New Republic and build a capital on Coruscant would further strengthen the immortal myth of the Galactic Republic for 25,000 years? Would it lead to the liberal ideology becoming more deeply rooted?"

Hari Seldon nodded and said, "Of course. So by then, it will be a head-on confrontation between us and the liberal ideology. But this confrontation is not about big ships and cannons, nor about armored torrents, but about the soft confrontation of politics, economy, and people's livelihood. The rebels are born malnourished. They lack heavy industry and scientific research. Facing a unified and powerful us, they will inevitably make a lot of compromises in order to compete with us. And compromises will become the tiny cracks on this seemingly flawless gem of freedom."

"Compared to fighting against the invisible rebels and liberal thoughts, it is obviously easier to fight against the New Republic, which has a political entity. Even some extremely stubborn liberal elements in our country will take the initiative to go to the New Republic and be completely eliminated by us!"

Marshal Matt Horner thought for a while, then he exchanged glances with Cheng Shitao beside him, and both of them nodded and stopped talking.

At this time, Helmut Zemo raised his hand and asked, "What about the current situation in our country? Is it necessary to continue this cycle of uprising, suppression, uprising, and suppression?"

Hari Seldon said very seriously: "First, this cycle will always exist. Don't doubt it. We must use some of our strength for this. We can't save it. At the same time, we need to build a fast strike fleet, divide each star region into more detailed defense zones, and build local defense fleets. These are all very important plans. So, here are a few suggestions made by the Prime Minister's Office."

He clicked on the console, and the holographic projection in the middle of the conference room listed the proposals and their basis one by one. He then said: "The most important point is to implement a limited planetary autonomy system in the free trade zone in the southern border."

He pressed a few more buttons, zooming in on a partial star map in the holographic projection, and said, "The Southern Free Trade Zone includes Terminus, Tatooine, Christophsis and other areas. Since this star region is relatively remote and the economy is not developed, the cost of managing the planet is extremely high. Therefore, a free trade zone was established to allow those planets to maintain autonomy while recognizing the status of the Kingdom of Dawn as its overlord. At the same time, Christophsis will serve as the core of the free trade zone and maintain a strong political and military presence."

"The free trade zone is adjacent to the Hutt space. Currently, the Hutts are still internally unstable, and there may be a resonance between them and the free trade zone, causing a chaotic situation. But as far as our policy is concerned, this kind of chaos is actually what we need... As long as the planet Christophsis remains stable, this is the only requirement."

"The existence of the Southern Free Trade Zone will be a temporary container for us to channel and accommodate liberal elements and the rebels before the birth of the New Republic. If they want freedom, we can give it to them - to the Southern Territory." Hari Seldon drew a circle with his hands, "Turning the rebels from invisible to visible, this is our core strategy!"

Hari Seldon finished speaking and began to elaborate on the remaining topics. "The next step is the control of public opinion..."

He spoke eloquently, proposed dozens of effective administrative policies, and calmly answered many questions from the audience without missing a single thing, so that most of these topics were passed in this meeting. (End of this chapter)