"My requirements for my subordinates are very simple, only two conditions," Jiang Ye said, holding up two fingers. "First, quality, and second, capability."
"Mr. Jiang, you jest. Those two seem to cover everything," Weng Zimo chuckled.
"I can hire you as a consultant for Wheeler Star affairs, responsible for liaising with various warlords, participating in the analysis of Wheeler Star's plans, and utilizing your business network when necessary. What kind of compensation are you looking for?" Jiang Ye asked.
"I hope for a long-term income," Weng Zimo replied.
"For example?"
"Any long-term, continuously appreciating income will do. For instance, give me a piece of land on Wheeler Star, and let that land keep appreciating in value. Or when Wheeler Star begins developing industries in the future, allow me to purchase original shares."
"That is certainly possible, but Wheeler Star is not currently under my control. Discussing this now is too vague," Jiang Ye said. "I can only give you my word."
"I trust your word," Weng Zimo nodded. "When I discussed this with the planetary governor of Cui Feng Star, he set a profit cap of five hundred billion. That is, if my assets on Cui Feng Star grew to five hundred billion, I could not earn any more and had to withdraw. Do you have a profit cap for me?"
"I will not set a profit cap for you. My requirement is that at least eighty percent of the money you earn on my territory must be spent on my territory; you cannot take it all off-world," Jiang Ye said. "You are a businessman. As long as you earn profits through legal operations, I will not restrict you, no matter how much. Because in acquiring profits, you will inevitably create wealth for my territory."
Weng Zimo's expression visibly changed, appearing surprised by Jiang Ye's generosity.
"You want to negotiate with the major warlord factions on Wheeler Star. What is your ultimate goal?" Weng Zimo asked. "I have no intention of prying into secrets; I merely need some information to work for you more effectively."
"I want to cultivate a planetary leader on Wheeler Star, someone capable of developing Wheeler Star and who will also heed my directives," Jiang Ye said.
"You want a puppet emperor?" Weng Zimo narrowed her eyes. "A marionette, with you pulling the strings from behind the scenes?"
"Ms. Weng, your words are truly unpleasant!" Jiang Ye said with some helplessness. "One could say that, yes, a... puppet emperor."
"I don't mean to be discriminatory towards puppet emperors. I've worked with many puppet emperors and find such situations quite normal. Some puppet emperors have no wealth or power, secretly borrowing money to start a small rural pharmaceutical factory, and then entrusting me to smuggle it to Wheeler Star, using the profits to supplement their household expenses. Some planetary puppet emperors have family fortunes of only tens of millions, with their children owing mortgage payments, living in circumstances worse than local small business owners," Weng Zimo said. "Speaking of which, everyone is a puppet to someone else. Being your puppet would be a stroke of luck I could only dream of. Do you already have a candidate for emperor? Rao Cheng Zhou or Gant?"
"There is no candidate," Jiang Ye shook his head. "The first step is to eliminate the warlord factions, large and small, and achieve planetary unification. During this process, I will observe the performance of each faction and find the most suitable person to ultimately ascend the throne."
"How do you plan to eliminate the fragmented warlords? By persuading them through discussions?"
"How is that possible? The major warlords have spent years meticulously building their power. The ashes of the money they've burned could form mountains. They've cultivated how many organized troops? Built how many impregnable fortifications? Appointed how many far-sighted powerful officials? With just my words, can I make them abandon all of this? Can I make them sheath their swords and become one family?" Jiang Ye laughed heartily. "Too naive."
"You have the strength for it," Weng Zimo said. "Your army possesses an absolute, overwhelming advantage, in terms of numbers, technology, and training levels, allowing you to easily sweep through all of Wheeler Star's forces. If you threaten the major warlords, I believe they will surrender to you."
Jiang Ye's smile faded, his expression turning serious as he slowly shook his head.
"Firstly, I cannot play the role of an aggressor; the repercussions would be endless. Violent conquest inevitably leads to continuous resistance."
"Secondly, rather than forcing enemies to unite against me, it's better to divide them and let them fight amongst themselves. Once they are severely weakened, then I will make my move."
"Finally, I have fought many battles, and I have also seen data from many major conflicts. My experience is that one should never underestimate human will to resist; there are many people with backbone in the world. The most likely scenario is not that the enemy will surrender out of fear, but that a large number of enemies will fight with terrifying madness, in a hysterical state, until death."
"If I were to directly deploy troops to suppress Wheeler Star, my forces might not suffer significant losses, but for the people of Wheeler Star, it would be no different from a massacre. Such man-made disasters are something I must avoid," Jiang Ye said. "I want to control Wheeler Star, but I cannot have my hands stained with blood."
"If I may be so bold, I believe your theory has logical flaws," Weng Zimo said.
"Perhaps it does," Jiang Ye nodded. "I'd be interested to hear them."
"You depict the armed factions as being in an incredibly resilient state, forced to fight to the death. Yet, you do not intend to eliminate them with absolute force," Weng Zimo argued. "Then how can a bloodless unification possibly occur? Stubborn warlords will continue their separatism without experiencing a destructive war."
"You are quite right, stubborn warlords will continue their separatism if they don't exhaust their resources," Jiang Ye nodded. "However, war doesn't necessarily have to be bloody."
Weng Zimo was stunned, remaining silent for a long moment.
"When I attacked other planets, my troop casualty rate was very low. When fighting on Exile Star, some regions had an enemy-to-friendly casualty ratio of five thousand to one, meaning for every five thousand enemy casualties, we suffered only one," Jiang Ye said. "The reason for such data is simple: mechanical soldiers."
Weng Zimo suddenly understood, but then her expression shifted to one of confusion. After a few seconds of thought, her face changed again, as if she had realized something.
Jiang Ye smiled wordlessly, watching Weng Zimo's expression flicker through various emotions.
"You intend to promote mechanical soldiers to the warlord troops on Wheeler Star?" Weng Zimo asked. "Have them use mechanical soldiers in combat?"
"Precisely," Jiang Ye nodded. "Living people earn money in the rear, and with that money, they buy mechanical soldiers to send to the front lines to fight. The mechanical soldier armies fight to the death, while the humans in the rear remain unharmed."
"Isn't your concept a bit too idealistic?" Weng Zimo asked. "Would the warlord troops be able to resist using human soldiers?"
"Idealistic plans are of course backed by strong realistic means," Jiang Ye smiled. "As you said at the beginning, my military strength is overwhelming, so Wheeler Star must adhere to the rules I set. Those who follow the rules can gain a future through competitive warfare, while those who do not will be eliminated first."