Resurrection Empire

Chapter 1551: Chapter 582: Marvill’s Autocracy and Unrivaled Military Stratagems

Marvell Louis had a deep understanding of Ren Zhong, and hearing him like this, he became nervous.

In Marvill’s eyes, his dear brother, who remained unshaken even when stars collapsed in front of him, now seemed extremely dejected.

His situation was truly challenging.

The economic issue was indeed fierce; three Contribution Points could stump a hero.

Marvill thought for a moment, then spoke with deep emotion and loyalty, "Ren Zhong, the matter has happened, one must think of a way to cope. You can’t just take one step at a time. Didn’t you yourself say a great battle is imminent? If it were peacetime, development stagnation would mean just that, and one could slowly recover. But times have changed, and now every day of production stagnation means less Strength during wartime. In essence, although war appears to be a contest between two armies on the surface, it is also a competition of logistics, production capacity, and how well preparations are made."

Ren Zhong continued his act, nodding in agreement, "Yes, the only good news is that my people are loyal, so there is no fear of a rebellion due to the economic crisis. I could go as far as selling some assets, releasing some of the retained research results, and downsizing a little. I’ll manage to scrape through eventually. It’s just a pity that the vast military industry I’ve spent decades building must either cease operations or be sold. The new warriors I’m training must be temporarily sent home to resume basic work. The educational standards for the children yet to grow up must be continuously reduced. In the long run, come wartime, I might barely maintain a fleet comparable to that under Nanxiang’s Earl Mansion’s command. Alas."

"Absolutely not!" Marvill’s emotions turned agitated, "If the Ascenders are indeed as thoroughly prepared as you say, Ren Zhong, just the existing Strength in the Three Major Star Regions would be insufficient to repel them, and we might suffer a crushing defeat. What if the many Star Gates are also seized by the enemy in one fell swoop? Reinforcements from the central hub would be too far away, and we would face annihilation. At that point, forget about a counter-offensive; even escaping would seem like a luxury."

Ren Zhong sighed again, "But there’s nothing that can be done."

"Let me think about it." In the video communication, Marvill stood up and paced back and forth, seeming to wrestle with a difficult decision.

His brows furrowed deeply, as if battling internally, with a face sometimes determined, sometimes struggling, appearing extremely conflicted.

Seeing Marvill like this, Ren Zhong felt a bit guilty, thinking secretly to himself, "Am I overacting? Anyway, I’m about to reveal the truth; maybe I should just tell him directly."

Cough, cough, having just played the pity card, making my dear brother anxious, to suddenly reveal all feels a bit embarrassing. Moreover, with Empire Super Network communications being susceptible to eavesdropping, it’s not very secure.

Opposite, several seconds later, Marvill seemed finally to have made up his mind, slamming the table beside him, "I’ve decided!"

Ren Zhong: "Ah? What?"

"Although the Marquis Mansion’s resources are also quite stretched at the moment, I can always manage to allocate some. I’ll first offer you a batch of interest-free loans; the loan amount should cover five years’ worth of mortgage payments at Wenle Duke Mansion. I’ll then instruct the transport team to bring energy cells across the Star Gate to temporarily solve your urgent needs. Whatever happens, the production of stealth coating mustn’t halt; if it stops, it will all be over," Marvell Louis said, seemingly through gritted teeth.

Ren Zhong was greatly shocked, "Interest-free loans are fine; I can use them to purchase more energy cells and pay the owed mortgage to Duke Wenle. But transporting energy cells across the Star Gate entails massive loss. With a three-month trip covering five hundred light years from the Marquis Mansion’s region to Nanxiang Star Cluster, the energy cell loss rate exceeds fifty percent, which is too uneconomical."

Marvill sighed, "There’s nothing that can be done, no choices to make. Ultimately, the root problem lies in your disregard of the Dyson Giant Structure Project construction over recent years, leading to insufficient self-sufficiency in energy. Yet, your Red Blade Clan possesses leading industrial production capability and the highest energy consumption in Nanxiang Star Cluster. But now is not the time for blame. The real issue is, if I don’t provide energy cells, forces within Nanxiang Star Cluster holding energy cells, especially the Nanxiang Marquis Liu An, would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to raise prices again, until it corners and exhausts your financial capacity. At that point, I can either turn a blind eye to your plight or join the fray. Duke Wenle and the Nanxiang Marquis are not just bleeding you dry, but us two families as well."