Some rejoiced while others worried. After three days of discussions, on July 22, 21 BBY, following the conference on Geonosis on May 21, 22 BBY, where the Confederacy was declared founded, the second summit of the Confederacy of Independent Systems finally came to an end.
During this time, earth-shaking changes had taken place in the Galactic Republic, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and even the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
At this summit, the determination Count Dooku displayed even surprised Tang Xiao. He had expected Count Dooku to still be somewhat hesitant, after all; Darth Sidious's influence over him ran far too deep.
But now, Count Dooku seemed prepared to go all the way down this dark path.
This forced Tang Xiao to reconsider what calculations—or even conspiracies—Count Dooku might have been harboring behind the scenes.
Count Dooku pushed through a large-scale reform with great resolve and, according to the plan, shoved the Merchant Guilds forward as cannon fodder. Put bluntly, this reform amounted to trading power for money.
During this reform, Count Dooku began deliberately and gradually strengthening the administrative authority of the Confederacy of Independent Systems Core Council, while correspondingly demanding that corporate giants, including the InterGalactic Banking Clan and Trade Federation, surrender part of their own interests.
In other words, they would begin transforming from purely commercial organizations into state-owned entities.
Naturally, this was also a long-term plan and could not be accomplished overnight.
The first measure of this reform was the announcement that all major corporations' private fleets would be abolished. Apart from essential escort fleets, all other large offensive warships had to be transferred to the Confederacy of Independent Systems Navy, which would provide a certain amount of financial compensation.
Next came the standardization of naval warships and centralized procurement.
The Confederacy of Independent Systems' naval