Chapter 789, Ten Years

Ten years have passed in a hurry.

During these ten years, excluding those small-scale wars that were resolved within the stars, the Alliance has experienced three relatively large-scale wars.

Fortunately, none of these three wars were fought with the Central Empire.

It is rare.

Although a series of new treaties were signed between the Empire and the Alliance ten years ago, when the bilateral relationship fell into the most critical state, the two sides were pulled back from the brink of war.

However, any knowledgeable person can recognize that the contradiction between the Alliance and the Central Empire has not been resolved. That series of agreements are full of compromises, which essentially ease the contradictions slightly, but do not solve the fundamental problems.

The core contradiction is still there. This time it was suppressed. When it can't be suppressed next time, it will only erupt in a more violent way.

It seems that only war is the final means to end all contradictions.

However, it should also be recognized that with the current situation of the Alliance and the Empire, the war between the two sides is extremely destructive and will bring a crisis of destruction to both sides.

No one can afford it.

It is unknown how long this fragile balance can be maintained.

In fact, in recent years, the problem has gradually become larger and more serious.

Objectively speaking, both sides are responsible.

On the alliance side, there are also hardliners in the alliance. The alliance has made a lot of money from the escrow taxation and trade in the Eastern Universe. In this case, naturally, a considerable number of people hope to expand similar models.

They believe that the Magre Universe to the west of the Spider Universe and the Devouring Star Universe to the north can reuse the model of the Eastern Universe, and indirectly control them through economic and cultural influence, and even colonize them.

Of course, it is not that simple. There are many innate factors that allow the Eastern Universe to be controlled.

When Zuo Zhaofeng was the chairman of the Universe for more than ten years, he provided many conveniences to the alliance; the most core territory of the alliance, which is also the best developed territory, the Dragon Eagle Star Region, is located inside the Eastern Universe, very close.

These conditions do not exist in the Magre Universe and the Devouring Star Universe.

The presidents of these two universes were actually newly appointed after the Iron Armor War. Before they came, they were all warned by the Central Empire about how terrible the alliance was, and that they must be very careful about the existence of the alliance when they were in power, and must avoid the influence of the alliance on the universe.

However, even so, the economic and cultural hard power of the alliance is still too strong. Relying on this hard power and hard influence, even with the strict defense of those local politicians, the two or three star regions in the near future will still be affected to a considerable extent.

The presidents of the two universes took the corresponding lawsuit to Holy Terra. And Holy Terra will also use it as an excuse to attack the alliance and rebuke the alliance again and again.

At the same time, in recent years, taxes have been gradually increased, with an increase of 50 billion per year. It is expected that by this year, the alliance tax will be increased to 3 trillion. However, in the past ten years, the rapid growth of the alliance has never slowed down. Even if the growth rate has dropped a little, it is also due to the excessive size. In terms of absolute increase, it is still a very scary number.

In this case, the Empire hopes that the Alliance's tax revenue can continue to grow.

The first idea proposed by the Empire is to extend the agreement of increasing tax revenue by 50 billion per year for another ten years.

It was rejected by the Alliance.

Good guy, you still want to collect 50 billion more from me every year for countless years in the future, right?

What's the concept? Every four years, the Empire Center will expand the tax base of a universe?

Where is such a good thing to think about!

And for the Empire, it is normal for them to have similar ideas.

Your Alliance earns so much money every year, can't you get a little more?

According to the standard Imperial tax of 10% of annual output value, you have to pay 7 trillion!

Now the Empire only wants you to pay 500 more every year, and in another ten years it will only increase from 3 trillion to 4 trillion. Why not?

The tax increase plan was not successfully passed, which became the root of all contradictions.

At the negotiation table of Holy Terra, the diplomats of the Alliance and the officials of the Imperial Taxation Department would gather together every once in a while to discuss these issues. In addition to discussing tax issues directly, the Empire always tried to find some things in other directions to put pressure on the Alliance.

The Alliance was not easy to mess with. The Alliance government, which had originally maintained a certain restraint on the areas that encroached on other cosmic domains, later slightly relaxed its control over the hardliners. In the name of Alliance caravans, investment institutions, etc., they began to enter those star regions to a greater extent.

The game was going on all the time.

…

As for the three wars that the Alliance really participated in in the past ten years, it had nothing to do with the Empire.

These three wars were an orc war, a war with the dark elves, and a war in Solaria.

In the third year after the signing of the "Alliance Plan Supplementary Agreement", a large orc force gathered in the Eastern Universe. That area was already affected by the orc disaster. It is very likely that the energy gathered by these local orcs was transmitted outward, attracting a powerful orc warlord from outside the empire.

In terms of its strength, it is even more serious than the threat of the Iron Tooth Orc Empire faced by the Dragon Eagle Universe.

However, it doesn't matter.

With the current strength of the alliance, such a war is not difficult to deal with.

Since the Eastern Universe has been considered as its own territory, the alliance will definitely not ignore them.

Led by the two war groups of New World Torch and Fury Flame, the alliance army and navy went out together. Under the "invitation" of the Cui Ru government in the Eastern Universe, the alliance joined the war and destroyed the orc army in three years.

In fact, there is no need to say much about the war in Solaria. The alliance has been involved in the war in Solaria for 25 years.

As early as 25 years ago, one of the conditions for Gu Hang to become a high lord and sign the "Alliance Plan" was that the alliance had to send troops to help the empire fight the Solaria rebellion war.

The alliance has always fulfilled this responsibility, and in recent years, the army has been sent more and more.

At first, the central government of the empire was quite happy about this.

But now, it is a little bit grumbling.

The Solaria space domain is in the southern border of the empire. It is supposed to be quite far away from the alliance. The cultural and economic influence cannot be expanded. Why not just use military force to project expansion?