On the summit of Qiuzhang Mountain, at the Qiuzhang Mansion.
Fu Qiuyan left her spacious office and went into the restroom, locking the door behind her. She took deep breaths in front of the mirror. The face staring back was exhausted, etched with pain, and her lips were the pale hue of the dead.
Reaching into her pocket, Fu Qiuyan took out a small bottle of pills. She poured several orange tablets into her mouth and swallowed them with a handful of water from the tap.
Then, she pulled out her phone and dialed Jiang Ye’s number.
After a full half-minute wait, the call finally connected.
“I’ve made up my mind. I need your help,” Fu Qiuyan said. “Tell me your conditions.”
“Daughter Star and its affiliated planets will still be led by you. You will be responsible for daily operations, but I will decide the major development direction,” Jiang Ye stated calmly.
“The military forces of Daughter Star and its affiliated planets will be halved, retaining only police, disaster relief, and small-scale expeditionary forces, with a total personnel limit of one million. All weapons and equipment will be supplied by me at cost price, and your military expenses will be paid to me.”
“The Xinke Asteroid Belt will be mine, including mining rights and sovereignty.”
“I have already dispatched a rapid response force of 200,000, all female soldiers. They need to be stationed on your planet for a period to clear out remnants of the mutiny.”
“These are the initial conditions. There will be other conditions requiring your cooperation later,” Jiang Ye said.
Fu Qiuyan remained silent for a long time. “Do you think I would accept conditions like these?”
“What is the problem?” Jiang Ye countered.
“From my personal perspective, you are completely sidelining me, turning me into a puppet. From the planet’s perspective, you are directly controlling our sovereignty,” Fu Qiuyan said. “Even if I die after the mutiny and my niece takes over, she is still a Daughter Star person.”
“Don’t you know your niece’s capabilities? Can she hold this position? The behind-the-scenes supporters of the mutiny are a faction within the Galactic Empire’s military. If the mutiny succeeds, Daughter Star’s sovereignty will be completely lost,” Jiang Ye said. “To be frank, I have no intention of seizing your planet. I haven’t even managed my own Spiral Star properly, and I don’t have the capacity to take yours.”
“Actions speak louder than words. Your conditions mean you want to take everything,” Fu Qiuyan said. “I absolutely cannot accept these conditions.”
“Since you have spoken from both personal and planetary perspectives, I will also speak from both perspectives,” Jiang Ye said unhurriedly.
“Please do,” Fu Qiuyan picked up the pill bottle again and took a few more tablets.
“Your current sphere of influence includes the main planet, Daughter Star, with a population of 10.6 billion. Apart from occasional alien merchants and ambassadors, all citizens are female. Then there is Liujing Star, a planet with a developed marine industry, with a population of 2.9 billion, all citizens female. Dongfeng Star, recently developed, with a population of 100 million, over 99% female, with only a small number of alien male mercenary groups and contract workers, who occupy the lower strata and fringes of society. The Xinke Asteroid Belt, also recently developed, with only tens of thousands of workers,” Jiang Ye said.
“That is correct. These are all public data,” Fu Qiuyan nodded.
“Currently, Daughter Star, Liujing Star, and Dongfeng Star are an inseparable whole, operating under your unified command. They are prosperous and strong, enjoying peace and happiness, with a high civilian happiness index and ambitious plans for the future. If everything goes smoothly, you will continue to improve.”
“If you accept my conditions, I will hardly ask you to change anything. You can continue to develop along your original trajectory and realize your desired future. The three planets will remain in the hands of their citizens, and also in your hands. This mutiny will be just a small episode in your long history; if it’s not written in history textbooks, no one might remember it in a few decades. You, Fu Qiuyan, will occupy a significant portion of the history books.”
“However, if the mutiny succeeds, your niece will become a true puppet, and the behind-the-scenes military faction will dismember you. First, geographically, the three planets will become independent, no longer integrated, and even hostile to each other. Then, socially, the name Daughter Star will likely be changed arbitrarily, and large numbers of males will be introduced, turning it into a common, unremarkable planet like any other. Then, economically, you will be burdened with enormous debt, hidden reparations, trade controls, and dumping of goods, plunging the entire planet into systemic long-term poverty, becoming a planet that the behind-the-scenes military faction continuously shears like sheep.”
“Your dreams will be gone, your history erased, your future deformed. Are you sure you want to lead the three planets in your hands into such an abyss?” Jiang Ye asked.
Fu Qiuyan fell silent. “How do you know all this?”
“I cannot guarantee that what I say will happen, but guess the probability,” Jiang Ye asked. “You know me, we have a friendship, and our planets have extensive cooperation in many fields. The citizens of our planets are familiar and friendly with each other. You can judge whether my promises to you will come true. But the behind-the-scenes faction of the mutiny, you don’t know them, you don’t even know who they are. They want to kill you from the outset. Do you dare to gamble on what they will do in the future? They resorted to barbaric means like mutiny from the start, do you think they will respect your ideals?”
Fu Qiuyan stared at the mirror, her expression pained.
“Now that we’ve discussed the planet, let’s talk about you personally,” Jiang Ye said. “Fu Qiuyan, Cen Yemeng and I are both your friends, and we have a very good personal relationship. Mengmeng and I both believe you are an excellent leader and a good person. That’s why we won’t do anything to you. Our help is largely out of personal affection. There are countless planets undergoing mutinies in the universe; we wouldn’t even glance at them.”
“As I said earlier, you can continue to be the leader, just as before. It’s just that on critical matters, we need to be in agreement. We are allies, friends, superiors and subordinates, and comrades-in-arms,” Jiang Ye said. “Think it over carefully. From both personal and planetary perspectives, you have no reason to refuse me.”
A moment of silence passed, and both could hear each other’s breathing through the phone.
“Jiang Ye, I hope you are a person who keeps your promises,” Fu Qiuyan took a deep breath. “I accept your conditions.”
“You will be grateful for this choice in the future,” Jiang Ye said. “Tell me about your situation there. How much longer can you hold out?”
“Four or five hours,” Fu Qiuyan said. “I only know about the situation near Qiuzhang Mountain. I don’t know about further away. How do you plan to save me?”
“Wait a moment, I’ll have the fleet set sail,” Jiang Ye paused for about ten seconds. “Alright, my fleet is expected to arrive in the vicinity of Daughter Star in two hours. I will inform you of the specific measures step by step via phone.”