Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 144 The Conquest of the Tang Dynasty

Awakening them would be easy, but the risks involved kept Doom from acting rashly.

Killing intelligences are extremely dangerous; they are born for war, and their cold thought processes are filled with aggression and a destructive urge.

In the final moments, they drove away the invaders, demonstrating their continued loyalty to humanity.

If their minds are intact, awakening them is a great help.

However, the erosion by the silicon-based virus may damage the killing intelligence's mind, causing it to launch attacks indiscriminately upon awakening.

Every time Doom recalls the Ring of War, the horrific scenes it created remain vividly clear.

In the final battleground of space, floating warship wreckage filled the entire galaxy, broken and scattered around the ring of war.

The ship's logs echoed with the frenzied electronic howls of the killing AI, filled with a sense of destruction and annihilation.

Tormented by the corrosive effects of the silicon-based virus, it howls and unleashes destruction, inflicting pure violence upon the invaders.

In the final moments of the battle, logic completely collapsed, and the character indiscriminately killed based on pre-set instructions.

"My compatriots are still asleep, and the dismantling of the intelligent core is progressing slowly."

Sofia shook her head regretfully, casually summoning a holographic projection to tell Doom about the progress: "These designs are too complicated."

"Even I, or the Iron Man Brothers, don't understand the mystery behind it."

"If you are not careful and touch the wrong circuit, it is very likely to trigger an alarm and activate the killing AI."

"Progress isn't the most important thing, just be careful." Doom's eyes reflected the light and shadow as he solemnly instructed, "Be extremely careful about the safety of the technical personnel."

Doom's plan was to first remove the intelligent core from the ring and place it in a safe quiet room, and then activate the killing intelligence.

Even if it goes mad, it won't cause too much harm.

The demolition work proceeded in an orderly manner, and Dum nodded, his worries lessening somewhat.

The cycle of war is like a dud; it must be cleared and dismantled to prevent endless future troubles.

If one day in the future the enemy discovers its existence, its malicious activation would be a disaster.

Now that we have the time and energy, we should decisively dismantle the core issue to prevent future problems.

The spaceship quickly returned to the Ring of Nur, and Doom arrived at the Ring Palace, a bright and spacious place where the lines of the dome were reflected on the mirror-like ground.

Several sheets of parchment were on the table.

“This is something you need to handle.” Sophia’s fingers drooped slightly, pointing to the documents on the table. “I cannot make a decision for you.”

"Thank you for sharing my burden," Doom whispered his thanks to Sofia.

If it weren't for her, my desktop would probably be piled high with files when I returned from my trip to Terra.

"It is my honor to relieve your worries." Sophia's rational voice was elegant as she lifted her skirt and bowed again.

Doom sat down, opened the first document, and his brows gradually furrowed.

The powerful characters on it read "Resignation Letter".

He finished reading quickly, finally sighed, and instructed Sophia, "Let him come to see me."

"I will notify him immediately."

The lower pages mostly contained external issues that required Doom's approval.

With Sophia managing internal affairs and other intelligent machines assisting with research and production, there's naturally not much to worry about within the Nur Star Cluster.

After arriving in Nur, Li Tang studied military culture and led the Destroyer Warriors on numerous campaigns.

In just a few months, they conquered dozens of independent worlds.

Doom looked at Sophia with a puzzled and confused expression: "How did he do that?"

Indeed, he had reviewed the records of each of the Li Tang family's descendants at the Legion's base in Terra and was aware of the family's illustrious past.

I don't understand how he managed to conquer faster than the Great Expeditionary Army.

"That lord is a wise general."

Sofia said with an admiring smile, "His conquest stemmed from a combination of intelligence and physical methods."

She summoned the holographic projection and explained to Doom the key to Li Tang's conquest: "Tithe."

Tithe? Doom looked even more puzzled.

Tithes are the taxes levied by the empire, requiring the world under the human empire to regularly pay taxes on manpower, materials, special resources, etc.

Humanity, with its abundant population, served as an auxiliary force for empires, helping to conquer world after world.

In the mineral world, minerals are handed over; in the agricultural world, food is handed over; and in the industrial world, manufactured goods are handed over.

Simply put, whatever the planet has, it has to hand over.

Although it is called "tithing", the amount of tax payable needs to be adapted to local conditions, and the amount of tax payable varies from place to place in the world.

The Nur Stars are granted "special tax exemption" by the Empire, meaning they do not need to pay any taxes.

Doom didn't understand why the program was initially designated as a special tax-free category.

Nur was merged into the Empire, and the two sides had a cooperative relationship, so why was there still a tax collection level? "What did he do?" Doum asked in a low voice.

He remembered clearly that the taxes he set for the worlds outside the Nur Stars were much higher than those for the Empire.

Given these conditions, and comparing the two, would the world still be willing to submit?

"When Lord Li Tang took a tithe of the empire to the scattered worlds, they surrendered."

Sophia smiled gently, her thin lips parted slightly as she spoke softly, "My lord, it seems you have overlooked something?"

"what's up?"

“Time.” Sophia pointed at the hologram, then displayed an image: “The uncertainty of subspace time.”

"We are located on the far frontier of the Human Empire, on the edge of the Star Torch, far from the heart of the Human Empire."

“The ships that come here to collect taxes may come once every few days, once every few years, or even once in a century.”

"My lord, you should now know," Sophia asked her master with a smile, "what terrible consequences the people scattered across the world are facing, right?"

"I understand!" Doom, having been singled out, immediately grasped the key point.

Within the human empire, the planetary governor wields immense power and can do almost anything within the worlds they govern.

He indulged in wine and meat, levied exorbitant taxes and levies, lived a life of extravagance, and oppressed his subjects.

They can do anything, but they absolutely have to pay taxes; they wouldn't dare evade taxes.

Paying taxes to the empire is the only way to maintain the governor's rule; taxation is the cornerstone of everything.

This was true for the empire, and it was also true for the governor.

When the empire's tax ships arrive in planetary orbit, it signifies the arrival of imperial authority; they are beings that defy reason.

The governor was also willing to pay taxes, after all, the empire's tax revenue was still somewhat squeezed from the people.

However, the timing was wrong, and trouble ensued.

The industrial world is capable of paying tithes every year, and if the tax-collecting ship were to arrive a century from now, it would be a disaster.

Industrial products have a shelf life, and during storage, they are consumed and the material is continuously lost.

A hundred years later, the tax collection ship arrived.

The Empire's tax envoys demanded that the planet pay its full tithe for the year in order to avoid Imperial punishment.

No problem, the industrial world is naturally capable of paying this year's tithe.

Then the envoy demanded that you also pay all taxes for the past hundred years, not a penny less, and without compromising quality.

It is naturally impossible to make up for all historical tax revenue at once.

Tax ships will not compromise or change; they represent the will of the emperor and are fundamental to the survival of human empires.

The empire's iron fist then descended, severely punishing the worlds that failed to pay taxes, for they had betrayed the emperor.

The planetary governor was hanged, the industrial world was reorganized, and the people were forced into slave labor to pay their tithes.

If this is the case in the industrial world, the agricultural world is even more helpless.

Agricultural production requires cycles, and grain harvests are a fixed cycle. Production capacity is limited, and storage time is short.

Imperial tax ships arrive without a fixed schedule; they may set off at any time, but their arrival is unpredictable.

Doom shook his head helplessly. The empire's territory was constantly expanding, but it lacked effective management.

While seeking a new path for the Nineteenth Army, he heard in the Great Hall of the War Council that a rebellion had broken out in the world over taxes.

Such incidents will only increase as the Great Expedition progresses.

Sofia pulled out a list of worlds conquered by the Tang Dynasty, representing its achievements:
"Lord Li Tang presented the imperial tithe clause, explained the stakes, and the surrounding world surrendered one after another."

“After he came to Nur, he conquered a total of forty-seven worlds, but used force in only nine of them.”

"He is excellent." Dum nodded and smiled, acknowledging Li Tang's achievements.

This son of genes, like his ancestors, conquers the stars as he conquers the land of Terra.

Dum acknowledged the achievements of the Tang dynasty and also saw the drawbacks of the imperial tithe, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the emperor.

The world that submits to the Nur Stars has slightly higher taxes than the Empire, but it is more stable and collects taxes in a real and tangible way, which is a million times better than the Empire's random tax collection.

This provides an indisputable reason for his obsession with the Internet and his desire for humanity to migrate there en masse.

With a high-speed and stable network, most tragedies—tragedies that should never have happened—can be avoided.

"Let them come back too." Doom instructed Sophia to summon the Gene Child; he needed to gather power and plan a new expedition.

The Emperor decided to grant independence to the Nur constellations and made a promise.

The world conquered by Nur came under Nur's jurisdiction.

In the hazy star field, a stable regime is indeed needed to maintain humanity's influence.

(Two updates for now, to confirm I'm positive. I'll resume frequent updates once I've fully recovered. I'll explain if I need to take any leave.)
(End of this chapter)