Chapter 213: The Solution
"Because they have always believed themselves to be irreplaceable, from the very beginning of the Great Crusade until now," Custodian-Warden Navradaran remarked. "They do not think about the future. The tax exemption has given them the capital for their extravagance, but when the tithe is reinstated, the nobles will remain extravagant. The only difference will be that the lower classes of their worlds will return to being squeezed dry."
"One of the few classes that can live with relative impunity," Romulus nodded.
The administration of a single planet was still within the realm of human capability. This meant that as long as a planetary governor could ensure the payment of the Imperial Tithe, they could live in relative comfort. And ensuring payment was not difficult, as long as you were willing to be inhuman enough.
Romulus's fingertips tapped lightly on his data-slate. The hololithic projection scrolled through the tax records and suppression reports of various worlds. Behind those numbers were countless drained souls and withered hopes.
"That is the most ironic part of the Imperial Tithe system," Karna said, coming to Romulus's side. "It actually encourages its rulers to become the worst kind of tyrants." He gulped down some water, and the slight sweetness from the fruit within brought a moment of relaxation to his mind. He finally let out a breath. "I don't know how Master Arthur can resist just cutting down all these nobles. I really can't stand it."
He was responsible for grassroots investigation and the promotion of their doctrine. It had to be said, for a galactic empire, you could find every kind of human situation imaginable within its borders.
"I can't stand it either," Romulus replied, "but simply killing people doesn't solve many problems, other than causing chaos." He continued to sort through the documents, nodding in agreement with Karna, and then handed him a file. "If you're interested, take a look at this."
"Eh?" Karna took the file, a little puzzled.
Before the main body of the Dawnlight Fleet had departed, Arthur had taken a portion of the Dark Angels and entered the Dawnlight Sector. On various planets, he had discovered large stockpiles of weapons provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus, mercenaries with extensive body modifications, and resistance pacts made with the sector's nobles. Their purpose was to use military force to secure their own power in the event that the Primarchs attempted to strip them of the rights "the Emperor had bestowed upon His 'great' subjects."
This was why Romulus was not planning any drastic reforms. If it were to lead to a civil war, the damage to the sector would be too severe. But with sufficient intelligence support, he could use a much more efficient method.
"We need to cut the connection between the Imperial nobility and the lower classes before they can react," Romulus explained. "Then we can take them all out in one fell swoop, preventing them from having the chance to incite the populace. This will preserve the sector's population to the greatest extent and reduce the intensity of the conflict."
First, deal with the external threats. Lull the sector's nobles into a false sense of security. Promote the new church to get a grasp on the grassroots situation. Use mortal agents to infiltrate the upper echelons of the nobility. Then, use the Astartes' powerful combat capabilities for a concentrated strike and take control of the various worlds.
That was the basic idea. The plan was nearing completion. It was a good thing he had the Dark Angels, a fighting force that was also proficient in other matters besides just war. It made his planning much more relaxed.
"Good, good," Karna said, rubbing his hands together. "Kill them all?" For once, he showed an unusual enthusiasm for killing.
"Kill them all," Romulus nodded. This was his territory. If he couldn't even be firm on this, what hope did he have of one day overthrowing the first Imperium and setting things right? "The Imperium's system and its people are both failing. Most of them are useless."
Even the Ecclesiarchy, the Dawnbreakers were using it while holding their noses. How advanced could a system that still retained the custom of human sacrifice be? If not for Karna's accidental success, their own religious reforms would have been a shot in the dark. After all, the old man on the Throne was, objectively, a god, and the citizens of the Imperium suffered too much. They could only use religion to maintain the faint hope in their hearts.
As for trying to change things without the advantages the Dawnbreakers had? A ruler with even a shred of conscience who wanted to develop their world and improve the lives of their people? They would quickly find themselves in a dilemma. Either the Adeptus Arbites would impose an excessive tax on their planet's development, leading to a popular uprising, or the Inquisition would start sniffing around for heresy.
The projection switched to an image of the Damocles Gulf. There had once been a league of reformist nobles there. They had built orbital factories, improved agricultural technology, developed trade, and even established a system of compulsory education. But after a sudden, excessive tax levy, the entire sector's economy had collapsed. Factories shut down, fields lay fallow, and in the end, a rebellion that swept across twelve systems had erupted.
As for the other group, everyone knew their story. They had been bombarded by an Inquisitor and the Imperial Navy. If not for the Crusade Fleet, they would have been wiped out long ago.
"If you are inhuman enough," Romulus said, his finger tracing another set of data. This was a report from a famous "model tithe world" within the Dawnlight Sector, a strong contender for the sector capital. "If you use 90% of your resources to maintain your tax collection capabilities, and keep the populace in a state where they are just on the verge of mass starvation..."
The image switched to the underhive of that world. Here, the workers lived in factory districts perpetually shrouded in toxic smog. The average lifespan was no more than thirty years. The breadwinner of a family would collapse not long after their children were old enough to work. And the fifteen-year-old son would then shoulder the heavy debts of his dead father and go to work, only to add a new set of medical debts for his own children in the next ten years due to occupational diseases.
In this way, they had "efficiently" maintained the production of a certain special paint required by the Imperium.
"...then not only will you serve out your term peacefully," Navradaran chimed in, his eyes filled with sorrow for the lost lives, "you might even receive a commendation from Terra."
For a native of this universe to say such a thing was a dark joke in itself.
Romulus closed the projection. In the bright light, his face was exceptionally stern. "This system is sick. It rewards tyranny and punishes reform. It forces the ruler of every world to face the same choice: either go along with the corruption, or be crushed."
A brief silence fell in the chamber.
"It is time to change that equation," Romulus finally said, his voice quiet, yet it seemed to make the very air solidify.
To be realistic, given the current situation in the galaxy, he could not completely eliminate the "nobility" as a class. But aside from the few that were actually useful, such as the Imperial Knights and the Imperial Navy—the 'military nobility'—Romulus did not want this privileged class to exist in the administrative system. If the Imperium as a whole was in a state of turmoil because of its system, then the turmoil on a single planet was purely the fault of its ruler.
It was like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Terra's ancient history. The number of monsters that local autonomy could produce was staggering. The cannibal king Zhu Can would have been just another drop in the ocean.
To be honest, coming to this world forty thousand years in the future, Romulus had, for the most part, been disappointed. It was hard to imagine that he would see such backwardness, ignorance, and corruption in a galactic empire.
"Ramesses," Romulus said, opening a private comms channel to the capitalist who spent all his time in the warp.
"Yo, what's up?" Ramesses answered. He was currently inspecting the Industrial Park and using his psychic powers to assist Arthur's operations.
"Is your astropathic administrative system template ready?"
For the Imperium, the biggest problem with centralized power was the lack of timely communication. The Emperor's authority literally could not reach the countryside. If Romulus wanted to change things, he had to create a more efficient method of interstellar communication. Fortunately, this was not difficult for the Dawnbreakers.
"Almost. The Aeldari still need some time to work on the compatibility," Ramesses replied, glancing at the work status of the Aeldari. Many of the Farseers had recently been sent out, which had slowed down their work. And the Exodites he had plucked from the paradise world were a bunch of illiterates who were good for nothing but fighting. They were learning slower than he was. If not for the fact that their attitude was acceptable and they could be used to pilot the Spirit-Forged series of war engines, Ramesses would have been tempted to ask the World Spirit for a refund.
"What's the current effectiveness?" Romulus asked succinctly.
"The encrypted protocol channel with the Dark Angels just passed its tests," Ramesses said, checking the usage logs from the Pentaculum Wing. "A trained scribe can now transmit a decree from the sector capital to the most remote mining world in three minutes. Of course, that's provided we have our own people on the ground there. And it's a huge strain on the psyker."
"What, you're planning to make a move before you've even found a capital?" he asked, curious.
"Better to be prepared," Romulus said with a sigh. He then cut the connection and looked down at the cardinal world of Astorgius. Through the observation window, the terminator line of Astorgius was slowly moving. The lights on the hive spires were lighting up one by one, like stars.
Beneath those lights were billions of souls. He wondered what kind of world they lived in.
He hoped this planet would be a little more to his satisfaction.
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