The marquis's second son looked thoughtful.

To be honest, cooperating with them now is risky, since they are now part of the Princes' faction, and the Princes' faction still holds the upper hand in terms of apparent strength.

If the princes' faction wins, they will be purged.

"I know what you're worried about. You're worried that if we're defeated, you won't be able to explain it to the princes' faction, right?" Zhao Chen said calmly. "Whether we win or lose, you won't believe anything I say to you now."

In fact, if you simply accept these things, the princes will not punish you in the future.

On the contrary, you can wait until we are defeated and hand over all the data about this star system to the princes, and you can still continue to develop this star system.

In fact, this kind of cooperation will not harm you in any way.

Bump Bump Bump

The Marquis's second son's eyes lit up; it has to be said that he was tempted.

He's really tempted now.

“But I’m worried about the family... and I don’t have any funds right now...” the Marquis’s second son said with some concern.

"I can't help you with your first problem, but to be honest, do you really want to depend on your family forever?"

Zhao Chen's words struck a chord with the second son of the marquis.

As the second son of a marquis family, he didn't actually have much of a chance. He couldn't inherit the title, and in the future, he would most likely just be in charge of a certain aspect of the family business and die without achieving anything significant.

Some dangerous tasks even had to be handled by these collateral branches, such as the recent expansion into the outer star regions.

When it's time to harvest the fruit, the eldest son will pick it.

This was something that even the second sons from collateral branches could foresee, but there was nothing they could do about it.

This is the rule of the world's most powerful and wealthy families.

To find a way out, one must break free from the family, develop independently, and build a successful career.

Zhao Chen noticed the change in the other party's expression and continued, "As for funding, I can provide you with some loans initially."

Actually, I have all the other equipment and technology; what I lack is the talent to manage this place.

Not just for this short period of time, but potentially for generations to come.

The information contained in Zhao Chen's words is quite significant.

In fact, it was quite clear from Zhao Chen's words that he wanted to recruit an 'agent' to help him manage the rest of the affairs of this star system.

In simple terms, it's equivalent to a lord appointed by the empire.

"I...I need to think about it." The marquis's second son had a complicated expression, hesitant and conflicted.

"It's okay, you can think about it slowly."

"Give me an answer within three days, or you leave," Zhao Chen said with a smile.

After saying that, the video call ended.

“This one will choose to stay,” Lilith said from the side.

"Why?" Zhao Chen looked at Lilith.

Lilith smiled faintly and said, "Commander, you've forgotten that one of the succubi's greatest strengths is their ability to read people."

We're usually very good at judging people.

Zhao Chen nodded with a smile.

He raised his hand and opened the star map of this cosmos, which contained a vast amount of information.

"Next, we'll proceed according to this formula."

We will disperse our legion's three thousand interstellar warships into two groups. One group will be a border garrison fleet of one thousand interstellar warships, which will be stationed at several key locations bordering the Holy Radiant Empire's controlled areas, according to our pre-determined positions.

"The remaining two thousand interstellar warships will be divided into two hundred interstellar fleets, with ten warships in each fleet, to 'hand over' these star systems," Zhao Chen instructed.

Each fleet has only ten interstellar warships, which some might think is too few.

But don't forget that these are all T3-class interstellar warships. What kind of interstellar warships are stationed in those star systems?

T3 interstellar warships are extremely rare; the vast majority are T2-class combat interstellar warships.

Zhao Chen's ten Xiaolong-class interstellar warships would be enough to deal with them.

"Okay. I've already assigned the leaders to each small fleet, and they can all set off within a day."

At the latest, it will take at least half a month to reach all star systems.

Within a month, we can bring all these star systems under our control.

"Within two months, establish the ten most basic stargate hubs; the subsequent stargates will be completed by the end of the year!" Lilith said.

"Okay, you'll be in charge of overseeing this matter. Notify me immediately if there are any problems."

In particular, we dispatched some of our T3 Silver Rat-class light interstellar stealth reconnaissance ships to monitor their every move in relation to the Holy Radiant Empire.

The key focus is their deployment of interstellar transport fleets to the border.

"And the large-scale mobilization of combat-type interstellar warships!" Zhao Chen reminded him.

With Charlotte stirring things up on the Warhammer United States' side, their expedition plan is bound to fail.

Therefore, Zhao Chen and his team only need to deal with the Holy Radiant Empire.

beep beep beep

Zhao Chen and Lilith's handheld terminals rang simultaneously. They exchanged a glance and opened the information window at the same time.

Just as they imagined.

"The war has finally begun," Zhao Chen murmured.

The information is very simple.

A day earlier, the long-awaited princes launched the first attack, choosing to employ a two-pronged approach.

Each side dispatched fifty legion fleets and 150,000 interstellar warships to launch an attack on the North Wind Starfield and the Chu River Starfield.

In other words, this time the princes' party directly mobilized 300,000 interstellar warships!

That's a powerful move right from the start.

However, it's unclear whether the princes' faction is real or not.

After all, it was easy to guess that the most suitable strategic approach for the princes' party was to wage a war of attrition against the Chuhe army, dragging it out until the Chuhe army's strategic resources were exhausted.

"The question now is whether the Prince's Party should focus its attack on the Chuhe Star Region or the Beifeng Star Region?" Zhao Chen rubbed his chin.

Lilith analyzed from the side: "Normally, people pick on the weakest one."

If the Chuhe Star Region is a tough nut to crack, then the Beifeng Star Region is an easy target.

This two-pronged approach—applying pressure and then seeking opportunities to launch a direct attack on the North Wind Star Region, ultimately swallowing it up—is an effective strategic policy.

After all, the industrial systems of the Chuhe Star Region and the Beifeng Star Region are connected. For example, 30% of the industrial chain for the T4 Boreas-class heavy interstellar battleship is built in the Beifeng Star Region.

"If we take over the North Wind Star Region, it will be equivalent to cutting off both hands of the Chu River Star Region."

Zhao Chen nodded: "That makes sense."

But Old Man Chu also thought of this. His legion fleet had already established a cooperative combat system with the North Wind Star Region, and would definitely rush to the aid of the North Wind Star Region when the time came.

The princes' faction would also anticipate this, and it's possible they'll feign an attack on the North Wind Star Region, then seize the key military starports of the Chu River Star Region.

Zhao Chen and Lilith exchanged a glance, their expressions turning helpless.

This is an interstellar war, a real interstellar war, which cannot be resolved in a single local battle.

There are countless possibilities!