The moment he heard this, Bail Organa could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. "Make those liberated planets pay? They may once have been part of the Separatists, but after the fighting ended, they had already begun to merge into the Galactic Republic! If we saddle them with crushing debts now, they will undoubtedly rebel again!"
"So what you mean is that the Core Worlds planets that have remained loyal to the Galactic Republic from beginning to end should bear the ever-growing burden of the war, while those Outer Rim planets that once stood against us need only sit comfortably on their sofas, watch the war progress, and wait for us to deliver victory right to their mouths?" Wilhuff Tarkin said mockingly.
"They must pay a price for the war, but absolutely not through such a ruinous method! It will only plunge the newly stabilized occupied territories into chaos once more!" Bail Organa argued forcefully.
"But hadn't Senator Amidala just said so? Our finances have already crossed the red line. Under such circumstances, the Galactic Republic certainly should not bear this enormous expense, should it?" Tarkin said coolly.
At this point, the senators began clamoring one after another. The senators from the Inner Rim and Core Worlds planets, especially, were loudly arguing. This matter directly affected their interests. Naturally, they did not want to pay, and naturally, they hoped to claim victory in the war without spending a single credit.
After all, with the war having reached this point, the potential gains after its conclusion had already been laid bare—thoroughly plundering the Outer Rim planets and at least half the Mid Rim planets through war reparations!
At that moment, Sheev Palpatine stepped forward again. He raised both hands to signal for the surrounding senators to quiet down, then