In fact, the suggestion to recruit retired Astra Militarum veterans was given by Ockham. He told Soshyan that there are a large number of retired Astra Militarum veterans in the Maelstrom area. Many of them are actually from the Ultramarine Star Territory, hoping to join this chaotic zone full of wealth and opportunities.
They can use the skills learned in the military to make a lot of money, but they need to use special methods.
For veteran Youzi, it is not easy to impress them simply by relying on faith and calling. Adding some benefits is enough. Although Soshyan was somewhat doubtful about the loyalty of such soldiers, Occam's words moved him.
"Only those who have witnessed fear have a chance to defeat it. Most of them are actually losers who have been destroyed by reality. If you can let them witness the hope of self-worth and success, they will be the most fearless and loyal
warrior."
"grown ups."
Saint Dalton frowned and muttered.
"This is a holy war. Many of those wanderers are robbers, liars, and drunkards. If they could die on the battlefield, we would be more grateful to them. But now they are just living like a group of cowards.
Even become heretics and pirates."
Suoshiyang suddenly felt angry in his heart.
"Please tell us, Your Majesty the Patriarch, what is the crux that caused those veterans to become like this?"
The Patriarch stared at Soshyan for a while, puzzled by this question.
"Ah, that's obvious."
He carefully expressed his opinion.
"Indolence, suspicion, hatred of wealth, resentment of others, these men allowed their lack of inner piety to become so ungrateful for the Emperor's blessings that they fell."
Soshyan nodded, then looked around the table, and then looked at Talos aside.
"Company Commander, who is managing the spiritual well-being of those Astra Militarum veterans? Who is supporting their common beliefs?"
Talos replied in his unique mocking tone.
"Oh, Chapter Leader, those must be the priests of the state religion."
"Priests of the Established Church."
Soshyan said, nodding thoughtfully.
"Your Excellency, Supreme Lord Commander..."
When St. Dalton was about to speak, Soshyan raised a hand and looked at Vice Admiral Frost de Minos of the Navy.
"Vice Admiral Frost, in the fleet, is it your officer class that is looking after the mental health of the rank and file?"
He shook his head.
"No, my lord, no, that responsibility falls on the priests, and if it must be said, they are in most cases less effective than a bottle of moderate rum."
"Supreme Lord Commander Soshyan, I must protest against Frost..."
The Patriarch spoke again, but Soshyan interrupted him with a gesture.
"Patriarch St. Dolton, I am not interested in your protests, nor is the Emperor interested in them, who blames a peasant when his herd is devoured by wild beasts or he wanders aimlessly into a deep ravine.
His fellow farmers? Maybe the beast itself? Or should he admit that he allowed his pens to fall into disrepair and should work to repair them before more animals are lost? You, like other priests, have an obligation
Restore the morale and spiritual purity of those soldiers, for this is your duty from the Emperor, and do not turn it into a crime."
After the patriarch was reprimanded, his face turned pale and he stammered an appropriately regretful answer.
"Understood, Lord Commander Soshyan, Supreme Lord, I will ask more priests to... take care of the emperor's sheep."
Soshyan ignored him. He had shown that he could be a kind, just, gentle friend. He had also shown that he could be ruthless and would not tolerate stupid people. Saint Dalton at least helped in this regard.
His busyness.
The agenda of the parliament is basically over here, but Soshyan is still worried about material and logistical issues. Although there is Reza's guarantee, it will take some time for Reza to establish a stable route. Judging from the current situation of Huron's actions,
The longer it is delayed, the more trouble it will become. We must take action as soon as possible, at least not to allow Huron time to prepare with peace of mind.
"I hope that in the next two years, 1.5 billion mortal troops and at least 10,000 Astartes will be able to reserve the equipment and ammunition needed for ten-year operations, and ensure that every port and dock can operate at full capacity. At the same time, in order to ensure that each system is in wartime
We need to ensure the basic survival supplies and production order, and ensure the smooth passage from the war zone to the Sun Star Territory. Is there any problem with the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"
Junot Rigo hesitated for a moment, then whispered:
"Sir, it's only been 2 years..."
"If you have any difficulties, just tell me directly. I don't have time to be here with you, mother-in-law. I'm not the kind of incompetent boss who leaves everything to his subordinates. I will definitely handle the matters that I should handle as soon as possible."
"Sir, we do not have any levy power except for the quantitative tithe, and we do not have a ready-made transport fleet to complete the transportation of materials in a huge star region. In addition, in order to ensure the safety of these war preparation materials, we need to establish a large-scale warehouse in a relatively safe star system.
Warehousing facilities require a lot of manpower and the assistance of mechanics."
Soshyan thought for a moment and then asked:
"The High Lords Council appointed me as the Supreme Lord Commander, and the official document from the Ministry of Military Affairs also stated that I can supply supplies on the spot. Does this mean that I have the power to collect precise tithes?"
In the areas that the empire can effectively control, each imperial world needs to pay two tithes. The first is called the military tithe - which is to pay one-tenth of the planet's planetary defense force or the young and middle-aged people.
One tithe, as a new recruit to the Astra Militarum, and the second is called the precise tithe, which includes all other types of resources or wealth (i.e., other than manpower).
The collection of military tithes is supervised by the Ministry of Military Affairs, while the collection of precision tithes is supervised by the tax department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The tax department regularly visits various worlds to collect taxes, and the frequency of visits to each world is also different, but
At least once, the Ministry of Military Affairs will decide based on the fighting situation in the surrounding area.
The amount of precise tithe depends on the type of world it applies to and the tax level determined by the world. It can be any form of resources, food, weapons, minerals or even native creatures, but it is all tax in kind without exception.
The disadvantage of this kind of tax is that it is difficult to effectively distribute the large amount of collected physical goods, and the storage and transportation are extremely troublesome. For example, if grain is collected as tax, it will be collected due to various losses (due to contamination of goods caused by poor management or drifting during transportation).
), the final amount that actually reaches the tax collector may be less than one-third of the original amount, which also leaves loopholes for all kinds of corruption. Therefore, in order to ensure that the tax revenue that finally goes to the Ministry of Internal Affairs is sufficient, the Governor of the Planet,
Taxes were often collected in excess of the amount payable, causing the people to be overwhelmed. This was also one of the reasons for the perennial riots and unrest in the empire.