The relationship between the Empire and the Alliance has become a key research subject for many experts and scholars.

Related reports and predictions are everywhere. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

But apart from a few sensationalists, normal research has generally reached a consensus: the Empire cannot afford to bear the consequences of going to war with the Alliance.

Not that it can’t win, and certainly not that the Alliance can directly drive to Holy Terra and overthrow the rule of the Central Empire.

It’s about loss.

Severe loss, catastrophic loss, and even after enduring massive losses to destroy the Alliance, the Empire could still fall apart.

Thirty-three years ago, the Iron Armor War was the most recent large-scale rebellion the Empire experienced, and it can serve as a reference.

In that war, the Empire spent directly or indirectly over a quadrillion, bearing an enormous financial burden. Even with the Alliance’s fiscal input of two trillion annually, many military expenses spread over more than a decade, paid in installments to ease the pressure, the burden was still painfully heavy.

The people in the Central Department of Taxation felt this especially deeply.

And how does the current Alliance military strength compare to that of the Iron Armor?

Only stronger, not weaker!

But that’s not all.

That’s just a military comparison; in terms of war potential, it’s not even on the same level.

Look at how robust the Alliance’s economy has become!

Guangling Ze Star alone earns them nearly a trillion annually. What about the tangible economic production within the Alliance?

Yang Shiwei doesn’t have exact data reports here, but as the Central Empire grows increasingly curious about the Alliance’s current state, there are significant overt and covert investigations.

On the surface, under the "Alliance Plan" document framework, some ’supervisory teams’ have been dispatched into the Alliance. They are guests of honor within the Alliance, but they are just ’guests,’ not owners, and cannot truly perform any ’supervision’ role. At best, because they are within the Alliance, they can obtain firsthand information.

Meanwhile, covertly, there are numerous spies from Holy Terra and some other local powers with vested interests.

All gathered information generally suggests that the Alliance’s annual fiscal surplus could be over four trillion.

This includes not only their gross production value but also the money earned from Lingze Star, trade between the North Line and the Star Devouring Cosmos, and the Infinite Cosmos, as well as trade income from the Southern Line and the Eastern Cosmos Domain.

After deducting the 2.1 trillion Imperial Tax, the Alliance still has a two trillion income annually.

The Alliance is truly wealthy!

With such a robust economy, if they no longer need to pay the Imperial Tax, how many troops could they maintain?

If the Alliance so wishes, they have the capacity to significantly expand their military power in a short time!

Furthermore, it must be pointed out that there are at least two interpretations of this four trillion revenue:

First, the discrepancy between the investigated Alliance revenue and the real situation—the Alliance’s income may be even higher than this figure!

Second, beyond this fiscal surplus, the Alliance still has large amounts of resources continually invested in economic construction. If the Alliance shifts its focus from economic construction to a full-scale war mode, it’s unclear how much production capacity could be unleashed.

Under such circumstances, a comparison with the Iron Armor War is possible.

In the Iron Armor War, the rebels had no choice but to expand their frontlines madly to sustain the war with war. Otherwise, Iron Anger Stone and a group of traitors, if they had just held Princess Star Domain, would have been captured long ago.

But the Alliance is not like that; in a protracted war of attrition, the Alliance is unafraid.

Even cutting off trade, losing one or two trillion annually, doesn’t matter to the Alliance.

They avoid paying the Imperial Tax too.

The Empire is indeed much larger, but it absolutely lacks the ability to concentrate all its power to suppress the Alliance.

By the standards of the Iron Armor War, if gathering the Southern Line, Northern Line, and West Line to simultaneously attack the Alliance, the Alliance likely has the capability to engage in long-term military confrontation with the Empire.

At that time, not only would the Empire lose its two trillion annual income, but it might have to bear at least ten trillion a year in costs to suppress the Alliance to prevent them from striking outward; to destroy the Alliance would mean an annual expenditure of fifteen to twenty trillion, sustained for at least twenty years.

The Central Empire simply doesn’t have this fiscal expenditure capability.

Even if spending is forced, continuous internal rebellions might erupt, leaving no strength to suppress them.

With local outbreaks of Beastman invasions, Insect Race invasions, Cult rebellions...

It would truly lead to national ruin!

If one day the Alliance harbors second thoughts and starts a rebellion to become traitors, then there’s no question—it must fight, otherwise, what else can be done?

But if the Alliance is forced to rebel by the Central Empire, then whoever caused it would be an eternal criminal of the Empire.

Under such circumstances, should Yang Shiwei be sent to discuss raising taxes with the Alliance?

Yang Shiwei himself has no confidence!

Because he understands the Alliance, he more firmly believes that there’s no way to discuss tax increments.

The Central Empire simply has no bargaining chips; how could they negotiate?

As for adopting a tough attitude... he’s afraid to do so.

He doesn’t want to be that ’eternal criminal.’

But without a tough stance, negotiating normally, then how can things not achievable on the battlefield be gained through negotiation?

He cannot unreasonably accept such a task.