Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 273 Population Problem
Due to the escalating conflict, the Imperial State Religion has now completely suspended the migration of pilgrims to the Rostov sub-sector.

This decision temporarily deprived the Rostov sub-sector of a new source of population inflow.

Fortunately, a large number of state pilgrims had already been transported to the Rostov region before this.

According to the latest population registry data, the total population of the entire Rostov sub-sector is approaching 10 billion.

Most of these people remained in the Rostov system, which houses nearly half of the population.

Another two billion people were relocated to the planet Zaporosh to become miners in the local mines; one billion were assigned to the foundry world of Rostov III to work as laborers in the roaring factories; and another two billion were sent to the newly developed colony world of Kherson to build new homes.

After a short period of adjustment, these immigrants have basically settled down in the local area.

They not only completed the construction of basic living facilities, but also established a complete administrative system, enabling these worlds to truly possess the operational capabilities of an imperial standard colony.

From the perspective of imperial law, if Governor Chen Xi of the Sub-Sector were willing to adopt a more stringent ruling strategy, he could now begin levying the standard imperial tithe.

In addition, hundreds of millions of people are scattered throughout the secondary star sector.

They are scattered across various small mining colonies—settlements often built on the surface of asteroids or moons, with populations ranging from several million to tens of millions.

Although these mining stations are considered legal colonies by Imperial standards, they cannot be compared to a complete planetary world.

This population distribution led to a surge in the population of Rostov II to four billion.

For a planet that has not been explored for very long, this is undoubtedly a huge burden.

Fortunately, the hydroponic farms on the orbital ring are fully operational, and the foundry is also able to produce corpse starch while refining promethium, so so far the planet's food supply is not a problem.

There is no need to worry too much about living space. Rostov II is slightly smaller than Holy Terra, and the planet's original population was only a little over a billion before it received immigrants.

Although the development period is not long, it is not to the point that the additional two billion people cannot be accommodated.

Although Chen Xi did not order the construction of the Nest Capital, it would not be a problem to expand the city and cramm two billion people into it.

The real pressure lies in how to effectively utilize these two billion people, assign them jobs, and enable them to generate value, rather than simply keeping two billion living organisms idle.

Chen Xi was truly in a difficult position regarding this matter and didn't know what to do.

In fact, this is not a problem for the average Imperial planetary governor.

Because they simply don't care about these things! Unemployment rate? What's that? People not having enough to eat? What does that have to do with me, the governor!

For the empire, the very poor are not even included in the empire's population statistics. If the empire cannot manage its huge population, it is better to let them fend for themselves.

Take the hive as an example. The lower hive is home to a huge population, most of whom are hive gangsters, mutants, and the poor. However, this huge population is not included in the Empire's population statistics because they do not pay taxes to the Empire.

Even from the perspective of strict Imperial law, they cannot be considered human. Yes, according to Imperial law, mutants who have undergone severe mutations, grown a third limb, or have other obvious mutations are no longer considered legal mutants in the Empire and are subject to execution upon discovery.

However, if they only grow ears or tails, such as animal-eared girls or even Fury, they are legal mutants in the Empire, although they are also classified as mutants.

This is why the Linguang family, despite having upright ears on their heads, remained noble imperial nobles; such a degree of mutation was really nothing special.

Here's another corny joke: according to the Empire's criteria for judging mutants, gene stealers aren't actually considered a serious mutation.

If it weren't for the fact that they were mentally controlled by the swarm's will, the cunning would truly be considered a model demi-human in the Empire.

For Chen Xi, it was impossible for him to simply leave these two billion people there and let them fend for themselves.

This is not only a huge destabilizing factor and a huge waste, but also a serious destructive force to the planet.

After all, the pollution generated by the eating, drinking, and excretion of more than two billion people is enough to completely destroy the ecosystem of an entire continent on the planet.

To understand this, one only needs to look at the sanitation conditions in India during the 3K era to know how badly people can ruin themselves when they become filthy.

Therefore, Chen Xi not only built residences for them, but also ordered the construction of complete supporting living facilities, which undoubtedly solved the employment problem for some people.

At least jobs like sewer plumbers need to be done, right?
Even though Chen Xi has resettled many workers through these supporting facilities, there is still a long way to go before he can properly resettle more than two billion people.

After all, the number of jobs that these service facilities can provide is very limited, and a city can't just consume without producing anything, right?

Although Rostov II currently has no shortage of food, and Chen Xi could afford to support this group of people, he doesn't have the habit of keeping a bunch of useless people who only know how to eat.

He would guarantee these people a food supply to ensure they wouldn't starve, but he wouldn't say they would only produce excrement besides eating.

These people must create value through their labor to pay Chen Xi for his food expenses, instead of continuing to owe him money on the Governor's Office's bills.

Some of these people were quite clever and quick to seize opportunities. They tried to apply to the Planetary Governor's Office to establish factories to produce everything that might be needed in daily life.

Chen Xi approved the application instantly, which not only solved the social needs of the Rostov II but also provided employment opportunities to some extent, thus relieving the political pressure on Chen Xi.

After all, in this empire, the more you want to get things done, the more you need to learn to withstand pressure.

Because you never know what kind of tricks the Highlords Council or the Hive City gangs might pull on you.

Therefore, although the applications were approved instantly, Chen Xi still had them undergo a very strict and serious review of the numerous proposals submitted.

Only after ensuring that everything complies with imperial law and there is no suspicion of heresy can a factory truly begin construction.

However, this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the massive number of two billion people. Chen Xi must come up with a better way to accommodate, or rather, consume, this labor force.

(End of this chapter)