Chapter 126: Long Live the Governor!
In fact, not everyone in the inner city was wealthy.
Given their meager productivity, it was impossible to sustain a large rentier class.
Most inner-city residents still relied on their own labor to support themselves and their families. They simply had relatively more solid family assets, better education, and more opportunities.
They were industrial workers, employees of factories and enterprises, clerks at trade guilds, and officials of the Alliance government… They had stable, even decent jobs, but that was the entirety of their source of income.
Under the new system Gu Hang had designed, these people still had far greater opportunities than the outer city residents if they performed their jobs well. Their higher level of education and broader work experience were their main advantages.
But this point could not be made clear simply through propaganda. Gu Hang also did not need to rely on mere words to maintain stability for now; his army would be able to accomplish that in a short amount of time.
As for the future, these inner-city residents would experience this benefit firsthand.
In fact, Gu Hang already had some preliminary ideas about the entire political and economic structure of the future and had discussed them with Osena.
The entire social welfare system would be based on 45 ranks: five tiers from A to E, with each tier divided into nine levels.
Each rank would have corresponding welfare benefits, including food rations, housing, medical care, and purchasing privileges for certain scarce commodities.
Every formal employee who entered the workforce would have at least an E6 rank, while those below E6 would be apprentices, trainees, some assisted students, criminal workers, and individuals unemployed for reasons beyond their control who would receive relief assistance.
The specific level within the rank would be determined by the position and personal contributions.
Although rank was somewhat linked to the position, they were not completely identical. At the early, lower ranks, promotions would be based on years of service and job contributions, resulting in gradual improvements in basic benefits.
At higher ranks, promotion speed would slow down.
Outstanding performance could lead to jump promotions.
Military personnel would receive benefits through a separate system, though corresponding. Privates and first-class soldiers would receive E-level stipends, varying based on their unit. After discharge, they would be assigned positions corresponding to their rank as much as possible; non-commissioned officers, senior non-commissioned officers, and some lower-ranking officers corresponded to D-level; mid- to high-level officers to C-level benefits; and high-ranking officers to B or even A levels upon retirement, depending on their service.
Wages would also be distributed monthly based on rank and position, but no longer in Alliance currency. Currently, they used work points, which might undergo currency reform in the future. Using work points or currency, items could be purchased in stores.
Most civilian goods, as long as they were not scarce items, would be normally displayed on store shelves.
Want better food beyond standard rations, like cake, ice cream, or dairy products? You could buy them.
Want quality appliances? You could buy them.
Want a three-wheeled vehicle, or even a car? It might not be available immediately, but when production capacity increased, after military needs were met, and if there was surplus, it would be available. Initially, this might require a certain rank, but as production capacity increased, the restriction would be lifted.
When resources became even more abundant, personal hobbies like reading, entertainment, and art would also be available for purchase.
In other words, housing, basic necessities, and healthcare—the three burdens—would be guaranteed as long as one was part of the new system. Wages would then satisfy higher-level, more personalized, and diversified needs.
Want even better options? Then strive for promotions and pay raises.
Education was the only exception.
Gu Hang planned to implement public, free, performance-based education.
This entire system would eventually include future public officials, industrial workers, service workers, farmers…
Of course, for now, this entire system looked like an idealistic utopia, and it might face many challenges upon implementation.
Ensuring fairness, guaranteeing reasonable promotions, ensuring sufficient supplies, meeting diverse individual needs, preventing corruption, avoiding systemic stagnation, planning material distribution, and coordinating production… these issues were numerous.
However, this collective, planned system had a fundamental advantage: it could more easily concentrate resources for major tasks.
On Fury Owl Planet, there was a fundamental difference from the modern world: for a long time, there was no problem of overproduction.
The significance of market regulation was limited.
Any excess production capacity would be absorbed by the enormous pressure of imperial taxes.
The only thing Gu Hang needed to do was expand production as much as possible, to produce as much as possible; if they couldn’t sell or use everything, it didn’t matter—the vast empire would consume it all.
Given this premise, Gu Hang’s top priority was how to make this system highly motivating for those within it.
He would not allow apathy, freeloading, or a large-scale complacency with welfare.
These were thoughts that should be thrown onto the gallows, yet they were precisely what Gu Hang had to tackle.
Rank promotions, salary increases, and heavy promotion of values—all served as positive incentives.
Performance evaluations, competitive promotion quotas, and demotion penalties…
Such competition-driven measures were essential.
If the people were not diligent, how would Gu Hang prosper?
They needed to work hard so that next year, His Excellency the Governor could afford a sports car.
Of course, this was just a joke. Gu Hang’s ambitions were far from such trivial interests.
Expanding the army, developing industries, building starships, supporting one or multiple battalions… his ambitions were vast.
Returning to reality, once these inner-city people entered his new system, their educational advantages, professional skills, and previous work experience naturally made them more effective than those outer-city residents who couldn’t even read. They would easily secure higher starting ranks and faster promotion rates.
As long as they supported the Governor, they would see benefits.
Restoring their previous standard of living would not be difficult. With the improvement of productivity, it was even inevitable. Better class mobility would give them opportunities they could never have imagined.
Better days lay ahead!
…
Gu Hang’s broad-ranging thoughts settled as the last batch of those being executed met their end.
Next came another major event: the awards and parade ceremony.
These two events were held together.
In fact, the large square was currently occupied by about ten thousand citizens, with open space reserved for the upcoming parade.
Each military unit would depart from the staging area outside, proceed down the main road outside the Parliamentary Square, and along the paths cleared by the observing public until they reached the podium.
The unit commanders would ascend the stage to receive medals, ranks, and, most importantly, to accept their unit’s formal designation and banner.
The military band had already begun playing, with four bands positioned at the square’s four corners, creating a booming soundwave. Loudspeakers strategically placed around the square amplified the music even further.
Shortly after, a formation slowly began to approach.
Four “Walker V” infantry fighting vehicles led the procession. Behind them were tanks, still bearing their original paint, seized from the former Alliance Legion, followed by a convoy of iron ox trucks advancing with Huntress motorcycles alongside them. Some trucks transported soldiers as personnel carriers, while others towed massive 155 howitzer guns.
This was the 3rd Battalion of the former Governor’s Infantry Regiment. In the leading officer vehicle sat Pobov from the 2nd Battalion and the commander of the 3rd Battalion.
Strictly speaking, it should have been the 2nd Battalion inspected first, with Pobov, as the commander of the 2nd Battalion, taking the lead. Unfortunately, he was rather isolated; the main forces of his battalion were still in Guardian City recruiting and reorganizing, so he had to join the 3rd Battalion’s formation instead.
Once the formation reached the stage, both the soldiers in vehicles and those on foot shouted slogans in unison!
First, the lead officer shouted, “For the Emperor!” and all the soldiers echoed in unison.
Then came another call, “For the Governor!”
Gu Hang stood at the forefront of the reviewing platform, watching his army pass by. He remained expressionless, only nodding slightly in acknowledgment.
The soldiers followed directions to enter the open area reserved for them in the square and took their positions. Pobov and the 3rd Battalion’s commander stepped up onto the stage.
Gu Hang personally pinned the insignia symbolizing the rank of major on them; next, he awarded them medals.
Gu Hang had designed two types of medals himself.
At this moment, the one they received was the “Revival Medal.”
This medal was roughly circular in shape, depicting an arm raised with a hammer surrounded by ears of wheat.
The Revival Medal was intended as a basic honor. It was primarily awarded to soldiers and officers who had performed outstandingly in the battles around Revival City.
Half of the recipients were those who had died heroically or were injured in battle. The former needed no further mention, and the latter would generally retire with the medal.
These medals, though unrecognized across the empire, unlike military ranks, still held meaning. The Imperial military acknowledged the ranks of the Planetary Defense Forces—though with greatly differing levels of prestige.
Nonetheless, Gu Hang needed to establish this system.
Soldiers who fought for him deserved to receive honor.
Moreover, beyond honor, medals provided real benefits. The “Revival Medal” itself was equivalent to an E5 stipend. Though it didn’t seem like much, it was an additional amount on top of the basic soldier’s stipend, and it would continue until retirement. Even in cases of injury or death, the compensation would increase.
In fact, awarding medals to disabled veterans and fallen soldiers was also a way to provide additional compensation to the families of those who died bravely.
For those without family, the military’s political department
would assign an orphan—there were plenty on the wasteland—to inherit these, provided the orphan adopted the hero’s surname.
They would be raised in special war orphan institutions, receiving the necessary education.
After Gu Hang pinned the ranks and medals on the two battalion commanders, the medal ceremony for them was concluded, and the formation of the 4th Battalion arrived behind them.
The two battalion commanders, along with several soldiers they had brought to the stage, each received a sizable box and several rolled-up flags from the Governor’s aides, then hurried off the stage to make room for the 4th Battalion.
The box contained several Revival Medals, which the battalion commanders would award to their own soldiers; the rolled flags were red battalion and company flags with the unit designation clearly written.
Once the flags were handed down, they were immediately raised by the designated flag bearers.