Chapter 74: A Dilemma
“Why hasn’t anyone stopped them?”
In the outer city, stationed at the gate and overseeing the troops, General Mondok had just been woken up.
Upon hearing the news, he was already feeling very anxious.
After the Governor’s army arrived yesterday, although his nephew never returned, the Governor’s troops had indeed stopped outside, obediently staying put.
This made him quite satisfied, believing his firm stance had worked.
The next steps, he thought, would be to consider how to negotiate with the Governor.
But who could have imagined that early this morning, he would receive such shocking news!
The Governor, escorted by seven Space Marines and eleven Battle Nuns, was swaggering through his army, walking down the main road towards the inner city.
And during the entire process, his troops and the Governor’s guards were “peaceful.”
Apparently, one officer blocking the path was killed, his head smashed in with a single punch.
But aside from that, not a single shot was fired, not a single cannon was used.
His soldiers simply allowed the “enemy” to walk through.
Why?
Have all my troops rebelled?
This was the source of Mondok’s anxiety.
Because it wasn’t impossible.
He was the General, the commander, but nominally he was the Governor’s subordinate; the Governor was the supreme commander.
The average grunt didn’t understand the higher-ups’ intricate politics and wouldn’t easily label the Governor as an enemy.
In some sense, if the soldiers truly “rebelled,” what could he do about it?
Mondok couldn’t help but look around nervously, fearing that before the Governor’s men even arrived, his own soldiers might bind him and declare something like, “Borrowing the General’s head for a cause.”
But fortunately, that scenario didn’t happen. His personal guard remained loyal, standing watch outside.
The adjutant who had come to deliver the news answered his earlier question, “Indeed, no one stopped them. I inquired and was told that they thought you might have allowed the Governor’s team to pass, so the soldiers didn’t dare to obstruct or fire…”
Never mind others, even he had thought so.
“Nonsense!”
Mondok roared in anger.
“Uh… you didn’t give such an order, did you?”
Facing this question, Mondok calmed down instead.
He steadied his emotions and quickly analyzed the current situation in his mind.
The situation wasn’t as dire as his wild imagination had just suggested.
The soldiers were merely confused, bewildered, and at a loss, but they hadn’t shown signs of rebellion.
The prestige Mondok had built within the army still existed; the soldiers would still regard him as the highest commander of the troops.
And more importantly, the propaganda the Alliance authorities had long been disseminating within the army and throughout the city was still effective.
The era of the Second Governor’s brutal rule had only ended six years ago, and the memories were still fresh.
No one wanted to return to that time.
Leveraging this public sentiment, they had, over the past six years, turned the Governor into a puppet, making it so his decrees couldn’t leave his office, let alone affect the wider lands beyond Revival City.
Simultaneously, they secretly pinned many of their misdeeds on the Governor.
On Fury Owl Planet, in Revival City, after the last twelve years, although some still reminisced about the prosperous days of the First Governor, the current populace had little goodwill towards the Imperial-appointed Governor.
Hatred might be too strong a word, as he was newly arrived and hadn’t had the chance to do anything wrong yet. But lingering fear and resentment were strong.
When Gu Hang arrived and then left Revival City to tinker outside, it was unexpected by the Alliance higher-ups but welcomed.
If he wanted to play some construction game, let him.
No one believed he could sustain himself by building from scratch outside for two years to meet the Imperial tax.
In two years, when the Governor was executed, the Alliance leaders would push out some scapegoats, claiming they were members of the Governor’s administration, and then wait for the next Governor, enduring another two-year cycle.
Because of this, they had recently relaxed their smear campaign against the new Governor.
Not to mention, there was a traitor among them—Old Hodgson!
Intentionally or not, news of the new Governor’s successful activities outside had spread among the outer city’s poor.
Recently, when they realized the gravity of the situation, they killed Hodgson and openly declared their opposition to the Governor.
Under these circumstances, they launched an emergency propaganda campaign, trying to depict Gu Hang as a new “Second Governor,” saying he was coming back to seize power and would take half of Revival City’s population as Imperial tax, describing how terrible it would be to be taken as human tax…
But in truth, if the poor were taken as human tax… it might not be all that bad.
Life as slave laborers on a starship might be better than being poor on Fury Owl Planet.
Of course, there’s also a chance they could be sent to the Star Fleet as slave workers, cannon fodder, or frontline logistics… which might be slightly worse, though they’d still be well-fed, but with a lower average lifespan, measured in hours.
But their propaganda wouldn’t mention being well-fed or the honor and glory; they’d only talk about the short lifespan.
Their propaganda had some effect.
Previously, Gu Hang’s successful construction efforts outside, attracting many refugees, and the promotions by Henry and Hodgson had given him a good reputation.
Now, their smear campaign had limited effect, but it had at least diluted his previous good name, reminding people of the fear of being governed by a Governor, causing previously favorable attitudes to become hesitant again.
Reflecting on this, Mondok had to admit it was a good move.
Otherwise, he might indeed face a situation where the Governor’s rallying cry would turn the soldiers against him.
Having analyzed the situation, Mondok knew roughly what he needed to do.
He needed to appear in person, using his prestige to firm up the soldiers’ resolve, helping them clearly understand the situation and distinguish between “enemy” and commander.
Even more critically, he needed to maintain his hardline stance, inspiring his personal guard to decisively block Gu Hang’s advance, thus leading the entire army.
But thinking this far, he hesitated again.
Logically, this made sense; but to appear in person and face the Space Marines?
If the Governor ordered an attack regardless, could his few hundred personal guards hold them off?
Wouldn’t his head be taken before the army even had a chance to react or the heavy artillery could be mobilized?
Mondok found himself in a dilemma.