Reforms for the Imperium of Man

Guilliman stopped speaking, simply sitting in his seat and scrutinizing them.

The words had been laid out to this extent; if they agreed to join, they agreed, and if they did not, they would simply have to be excluded from his plans.

This reform was undoubtedly a massive storm for the current Imperium, and it was essential to select loyal and obedient people to carry it out, ensuring as much as possible that his will would not be distorted, nor taken advantage of by Chaos.

Resistance to the reform was inevitable; that was a matter beyond doubt, as no one liked the feeling of losing power.

Back when Terra was still named Earth, ambitious men had launched countless wars over tiny kingdoms of a few million square kilometers, all to obtain that supreme power to look down upon all living beings.

Among the stars, such ambitious men were even more numerous. They craved power, the kind of power that could decide the fate of a planet or a sector with a mere flick of the wrist.

After a moment of contemplation, Ziller was the first to stand, bowing slightly in salute, "Hittel House is willing to serve you, honored Regent. Please accept my humble loyalty. Hittel House hereby swears that our loyalty to you shall be as scorching as the sun of Terra forever."

With one person taking the lead, the other Planetary Governors also stood up, bowing one after another.

"Valen House is also willing to serve you."

"Hittel House is also willing to serve you."

.

They knelt before Guilliman, letting their mechanical limbs or flesh-and-blood knees hit the cold floor to signify their allegiance.

Several Rogue Traders saw this scene and exchanged glances; after a moment of hesitation, they all knelt as well.

"The William Trade Guild will firmly implement your will."

"The Nancy Trade Guild will firmly implement your will."

Scattered and sparse, half of the people chose to submit and kneel.

The remaining half had shifting expressions, their eyes turning grave; some even gripped the holsters at their waists, scanning the hall with heavy gazes.

They were terrified that a group of Ultramarines clad in blue power armor might burst out with power axes to cut them down—this was no laughing matter.

Guilliman's words had crossed a line; it was clear he was attempting to hollow out the control Terra and the Solar System held over the Imperium.

From the perspective of Terra, this was undoubtedly a betrayal.

Guilliman wore a smile as he looked at those who had not bowed to him and were now tense.

"Do not worry, I do not have any of the thoughts you are speculating about. For me, the most important thing is how to save this dying Imperium, not to immerse myself in the struggle for power. Over the past ten thousand years, the Imperium has deviated too far from the path my father set, and I must steer it back on course as soon as possible."

"Those who did not kneel, please leave first. Please leave some time and space for me and my followers to discuss the future reforms. You need not worry about any retaliation from me; I am not a person who does terrible things for the sake of power."

Guilliman politely asked those people to leave, leaving only himself and those who had knelt on one knee.

"Everyone, stand up. I am very glad you chose to stay."

Guilliman told them to stand and find a seat.

The Imperium of Man was vast, spanning tens of thousands of light-years, far exceeding any empire humanity had ever imagined.

With inefficient travel and communication, reform was undoubtedly an extremely complex and delicate matter.

Guilliman planned for the reforms to spread slowly alongside the new technologies in the hands of Cawl, subtly changing the entire Imperium over the course of one or two hundred years.

Every policy change would be implemented with the utmost caution to minimize negative side effects.

The positions and functions of those officials and trade guilds who did not follow him would not be immediately replaced, but rather hollowed out bit by bit, like a frog in boiling water.

Once everyone was seated, Guilliman offered a smile, ensuring he could better integrate into this conversation.

"I am glad you could stay to assist me in implementing this plan, which may seem somewhat treasonous. But everything we do is so that our race can continue to survive in this dark universe and maintain the Imperium my father created with his own hands, so that it does not vanish into ash and collapse under the tides of Chaos."

"We have no disrespectful thoughts."

"Regent, you need not worry; we do not have such thoughts."

"Regardless of what you think, it is a good thing that you stayed. In the ten thousand years I slept, the development of many planets broke my heart. The Imperium completely abandoned them, leaving them to struggle in ignorance and stupidity, offering up the only things they had while in rags. It ignored that every life is equally important to my father. I am not saying this is a betrayal; war and greed can make things unrecognizable. Some have everything—fresh food, water, even a beautiful private garden and a group of servants—while others can only search for food to survive in toxic trash. This is highly unreasonable."

"People will only fight for what they deem worth protecting. If they have nothing and live in hell, then what reason do they have to reject the hell that Chaos shapes for them?"

Guilliman did not hide his inner anger regarding the current state of the Imperium. If anyone else had said such things, they would likely have been assassinated or declared a traitor by now.

Humans were born to obey the Imperium and believe in the Emperor; this was an important ideology long promoted by the Ecclesiarchy.

If someone else had used such rhetoric as Guilliman, their body would likely be missing by the next day.

Ziller and the others who remained sat in their seats, shifting uneasily.

They wondered if, after the meeting, the Inquisition would come to "open the door" and send them some warmth.

For the sake of their own lives, they did not express any opinions and only focused on listening.

"I will sign orders for you. A new wealth distribution system will be implemented in Ultramar and then gradually expanded to the entire Imperium. At the same time, I will raise funds to establish specialized educational institutions, promoting compulsory education on every backward and ignorant world, aiming to let all children attend school for enlightenment, learn the new Imperial ideology, and destroy any organization involving Chaos at its root."

"The Imperial law will also apply a unified standard, abolishing those damned feudal nobles and dictators. We do not need their existence; we must reduce the possibility of people rebelling and joining Chaos."

Guilliman stated his reform ideas one by one, letting those present record them all to serve as the foundation for future reform plans.

During the Great Crusade ten thousand years ago, in order to speed up progress, the Emperor allowed planets to remain as they were as long as their rulers were willing to promote the Imperial Truth and pay taxes.

The Imperium was deformed; some planets were socialist, some were dictatorial, and others were slave-states, among many others.

The Emperor was gravely wounded and placed upon the Golden Throne, and the Primarchs departed in the subsequent wars. The remaining Council of High Lords of Terra did not have the courage to carry out such reforms, so they simply let those twisted systems persist as long as taxes were paid on time.

The High Lords of Terra were useful in the past, but now, they were utterly useless.

Every meeting was a clash of interests between various factions, where everything moved at a glacial, almost maddeningly sluggish pace.

The great families racked their brains to squeeze their people into Terra, striving to place their own kin as officials within the Administratum or the Departmento Munitorum to safeguard their interests.

Guilliman had no desire to play political games with these people while fighting the Chaos Gods, nor did he want to worry about being stabbed in the back; he demanded absolute control.

After a long discussion lasting several hours to formulate a relatively comprehensive reform plan, Guilliman finally dismissed the meeting, authorizing these individuals to form a new organization, similar to a council, to serve him and refine the reform plan.

As the many Rogue Traders and Planetary Governors filed out, Guilliman rubbed his eyes, looking slightly weary.

He had barely rested since his awakening.

First, he had repelled the forces of Chaos, then summoned everyone to hear about the current state of the Imperium, and now he had been meeting with representatives from all sides one after another to appease them and make the necessary arrangements.

He stretched his fingers and let out a long, calm breath.

A soft electronic chime sounded, and the voice of Sicarius, Captain of the Second Company of the Ultramarines, came through the communicator at his side.

"My Lord, the other chapters that arrived upon hearing the news of your resurrection hope to be granted an audience with you."