"This isn't important. Palpatine only needed this lie to carry him smoothly through the Galactic Empire's first decade, just as he did during his first term as Chancellor," Tang Xiao said coldly.
"During his first term as Chancellor, he was utterly humble, mild-mannered, and approachable. He even gave people the impression that he was very weak," Francis Underwood said. "Everyone thought he was merely a second Phineas Valorum, so they all moved closer to him, hoping to draw him into their own camps. Throughout that process, Palpatine skillfully played both sides and gained enormous support."
"But I still can't accept it..." Chief of Staff Qi Jian said. "We all know Palpatine is extremely vulnerable right now, yet we can't seize this chance to deliver a fatal blow."
"Palpatine and his Galactic Empire are vulnerable, but we are even more vulnerable." Helmut Zemo glanced at Qi Jian. "Our industrial capacity has already been pushed to its limit, and with the end of the Modell Sector Campaign, the Modell Sector will inevitably descend into unrest. Not only can we no longer receive help from the Modell Sector, we must instead pour vast resources into it to stabilize the situation again and rebuild Annaj Planet."
Qi Jian shook his head. "Of course I understand... After these two major campaigns in the Modell Sector and the Yag'Dhul system, our mobile fleet is basically half-crippled. Only the Xuanwu is still holding things together. And unlike a year and a half ago, when we paid a huge price to capture Terminus Planet—back then, our fleet was due for replacement and upgrading, so even if the mobile fleet lost more than half its strength, we could simply rebuild it... But now..."
"Our own production capacity has been severely affected, and the pressure of war at home has