Chapter 275: Meeting
Galactic Calendar 9428.
After two years of development, the population of Hans Civilization miners from outside in the Solar System has now reached half of the total population of Human Civilization.
That is, nearly one billion, this terrifying number.
These Hans Civilization mineral workers, short in stature but extremely burly, work like tireless machines, with working hours reaching 70% of the total annual time.
The remaining 30% is rest time.
Unlike humans, whose total working time is only 25%, with the rest of the time used for sleep, vacations, daily entertainment, and so on.
Coupled with their mining industry-related technologies that lead humans, it must be said that in the field of mining operations alone, the gap between humans and the Hans Civilization is unimaginably large.
But correspondingly, human development in other areas is not lagging behind.
Compared to the Hans Civilization’s overwhelming lead in the mineral domain, Human Civilization focuses more on balanced development across various industries.
For example, disciplines related to materials, structures, mechanics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, medicine, electronics, mechanics, and so on in the field of cosmic aerospace.
Human Civilization has invested in all of these.
Although in the short term, it is still far behind the average level of related technological products in the starfield market, everyone believes that as long as this balanced development momentum is maintained, once the timing is ripe, Human Civilization will surely enter the tier 3 civilization level with a comprehensively developed posture, strongly igniting the entire technology tree.
However, evidently, this ideal is not favored by other civilizations.
Hans System, Capital Space Station.
The Peace Messenger completed a nearly year-long diplomatic journey and returned to the Solar System with numerous cooperation agreements a year ago.
And now, in the central area inside the Capital Space Station here, a meeting involving few personnel but very high-ranking officials is intensely unfolding.
Hans Ming, as the emperor of the Hans Civilization, his family has been passing down the legacy since the intelligent lifeforms of the Hans Civilization first developed territorial awareness.
As the indisputable Hans Family, which exists like gods in the minds of the Hans Civilization’s intelligent lifeforms, their family history can even be seen as the history of the Hans Civilization.
But since entering the cosmic era and contacting the Galactic Alliance, the Hans Family’s control over the Hans Civilization has gradually weakened.
Led by the Mai Family, a group of high-ranking officials have, over these hundreds of years, risen from a civilian force to a power group in the Hans Civilization’s imperial system that is nearly like the “prime minister.”
And now, the two groups led by these parties are quarreling fiercely.
“Mai Si! The previous expeditionary force led by Mai Er was completely wiped out, causing huge losses to our civilization. You still haven’t given an explanation for this matter, and now you’re even trying to threaten His Majesty Ming with military power to prevent sending troops. Does your Mai Family intend to rebel?”
Under the gaze of Hans Ming, the emperor wearing a crown at the head seat, Hans Luo Er, the Minister of Personnel of the Empire, is angrily accusing the Empire’s Prime Minister, Prime Minister Mai Si, opposite him.
In contrast, this Prime Minister of the Mai Family appears relatively calm.
This prime minister, who has been in charge of the Hans Civilization’s internal and external affairs for nearly 300 years, glanced indifferently at the Minister of Personnel and did not rush to retort. Instead, he turned his aged gaze toward the new emperor on the throne who had not spoken yet.
It is hard to imagine that as a tier 2 civilization with hundreds of thousands of space battleship troops, the Hans Civilization is still an imperial civilization.
Of course, this may be due to the inherent obedience of its intelligent lifeforms.
Hans Ming did not speak. Although he looks young, he came from the planetary era. After taking the carbon-based organisms’ delaying aging drug custom-sold on the starfield market, his lifespan has reached the terrifying limit of 600 years.
And now, he is only 350 years old.
In comparison, Prime Minister Mai Si to his lower right is now 550 years old.
It is no exaggeration to say that these are all old monsters who have seen much struggle and cosmic situation development.
And these old monsters have one thing in common.
That is, seeking stability.
Sure enough, after a brief silence, Prime Minister Mai Si spoke in his sharp yet somewhat aged voice:
“Luo Er, don’t get agitated.”
He first stopped the increasingly intense meeting atmosphere, then slightly cupped his hands toward the emperor in the upper seat, and continued:
“Respected Your Majesty the Emperor, and all the ministers present, as the prime minister and the main person in charge who personally formulated the previous expedition plan, there is something I need to stand up and explain to everyone.”
After he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the meeting room predictably calmed down as expected. At this moment, even the breathing sounds became slightly slower.
Prime Minister Mai Si paused for a moment, nodded inwardly upon seeing this, and then continued:
“The investigation into the previous expedition plan actually had a rough result as early as several years ago.
But due to some aspects that could not be verified, as well as reasons involving military headquarters emotions and imperial prestige, this matter was suppressed and not made public.
However, with the empire’s situation becoming increasingly difficult in recent years, and the emergence of that emerging civilization.
I think, this matter has reached the time when it can be made public.”
After saying this, he involuntarily turned his gaze again to the young emperor on the throne.
“But!”
Hans Ming took a deep breath; he too was extremely puzzled about the investigation results.
Although Mai Si had given him all the investigation results, he really couldn’t understand it.
Why could a powerful imperial expeditionary force, led by a small flagship aircraft carrier, be quietly destroyed in interstellar space in a manner close to total annihilation.
And only a few special ships escaped.
That was interstellar space!
That was interstellar space with no substances existing within 2 light years around; how could a powerful fleet appear there?
This was the part he had always been puzzled about.
Mai Si nodded slightly, sighed without hesitation, and then operated on the panel in front of him.
Immediately after, on the meeting room’s simulation tabletop in front of everyone, two ships appeared before their eyes—identical in most parts except for a few blurred sections.
But looking closely, these two huge battleships: one had an army green coating and was marked with the Human Civilization emblem featuring a human figure.
While the other had a relatively comical emblem above it.
Not only that, everyone also discovered at this instant that this battleship not only had a comical emblem, but its coating color scheme was completely different.
