Preparations Before the Uprising
On December 24th, just one day before Christmas, Augustus still working at his temporary headquarters of the Korhal Revolutionary Army, set up on the sixty-second floor of the Mengsk Sky Tower.
A loose revolutionary organization is being transformed into a real army under the guidance of Augustus's documents. The Revolutionary Army will establish various departments, create a soldier database, integrate manpower, and organize platoons, companies, battalions, brigades, and divisions according to the soldiers' birthplaces.
Augustus was writing a document requesting his father to fund the establishment of the Mengsk Officer Academy. This was what he had been doing for the past few days—wanting people, money, everything.
Augustus considerable power; he is essentially building a new Korhal Revolutionary Army, and the Mengsk Family's wealth and resources are also being channeled towards it. Angus understands the importance of having a strong army, but he lacks the talent and Revolutionary Army -oriented individuals to put it into practice.
Angus, after all, just a politician. He always hoped to use political means to fight for the rights of the people, but he was not ruthless or resolute enough.
Augustus envisioned that each of the southern Confederate cities and the northern cities could field three fully-equipped divisions of 25,000 men each, while industrial cities, mining cities, farms, ranches, and towns could form even more troops, and the port cities near the two main seas of Korhal would provide Fleets soldiers for the future Fleets.
These initial armies were composed of true revolutionaries; they would be the most elite and loyal troops under Augustus's command.
Augustus a great deal of work to do. He realized that his father had completely underestimated the strength of the Confederacy army and the ruthlessness of the Tarsonis Confederate Congress. They had to deal with far more than just the decrepit Confederacy troops on Korhal IV, who were neglected due to their distance from the war and plagued by rampant corruption.
The Confederacy Fleets might not even send a landing force to try and retake Korhal; they would simply raze the planet to the ground. Korhal was the first planet to rebel, and destruction to ashes was their only fate.
At this time, Augustus's headquarters only had a few treasurers and staff officers temporarily transferred from the family business and the Korhal Revolutionary Army. Lisa Cassidy, one of the members of the Heaven's Devils, was sorting out documents next to the clattering automatic typewriter. Rocket soldier Connor Ward, due to his taciturn and reliable work, temporarily served as the leader of Augustus's private guard.
As for Harnack and Zander, Augustus assigned them to serve as instructors in the Sterling Guard Regiment, which was being formed in Sterling City.
The Mengsk Family bought up a large number of deserted islands and abandoned starports at sea as training grounds for new recruits. The Terran Confederacy would soon notice something amiss, but at that time they were busy negotiating with the defeated Kel-Morian Combine, using their Fleets to plunder colonial resources and for deterrence.
Once the negotiations were nearly complete, Korhal IV was also about to declare independence.
It is worth mentioning that Harnack and Zander trained their subordinates in completely different ways; Harnack was keen to establish authority through corporal punishment, profanity, and stricter discipline.
Zander, on the other hand, was relatively more easygoing, but he was equally strict with his subordinates. He also cherished the opportunity Augustus and realized that it was a turning point that would change his destiny.
Augustus's desk was piled high with documents and lists of plans, all of which his father Angus, had just handed to him.
The topmost plan is to "instigate uprisings in Antiga, Cha- Sara, Ma- Sara, and other places" and "a plan to unite the various planets to form a Pan-Terran Alliance." Below that are a series of ideas such as "creating independent newspapers and media in Korhal," "infiltrating the Old Families of Tarsonis," and "controlling members of the Confederate Congress through bribery and coercion."
Augustus's first plan was to seize Korhal by force, and then defend it at all costs, using every means to delay or prevent the Confederacy from pacifying Korhal in 2491. To deal with the worst-case scenario, Augustus had an alternative plan to gradually relocate the civilians of Korhal to Umojan and the outlying territories.
Of course, all of this was predicated on their ability to withstand the Terran Confederacy's Fleets. In Augustus's view, this was almost a revolution doomed to failure, as the two sides were simply not evenly matched.
Augustus knew that Angus was oversimplifying things. His father was a politically astute politician and a staunch reformer. However, he had never been to the battlefield and had overestimated the limits of the Confederacy.
Angus knew a war was inevitable, but he did not anticipate that the Tarsonis Council would pass a proposal to order the Fleets to use nuclear weapons to destroy the planet in high orbit after Korhal IV had completely slipped from its control.
Korhal IV remains the jewel among the thirteen main planets of the Terran Confederacy. Even though the Confederacy's dominance on this planet is declining, high-ranking officials and members of parliament are still able to amass considerable wealth.
However, after the Guild Wars, the Terran Confederacy will gain almost all of Kel-Morian's colonies and mining guilds, which makes them no longer as focused on Korhal's taxes as they used to be.
Compared to the brutal wars that followed independence, clearing out the Confederacy forces on Korhal was relatively easy, as the number of troops stationed there was not large.
In the early days of the Terran Confederacy, the Tarsonis government was limited in the number of troops it could send to the various Confederate planets. Although the Confederate Congress was attempting to remove this restriction by amending the law, the war with the Kel-Morian Combine forced them to commit more troops and resources to the protracted conflict.
Angus further vetoed Senator Korhal IV's proposal to increase Tarsonis deployments to protect "people's property" through his lobbying and speeches on several occasions.
The leader of this Old Families despised the aristocratic system that granted him power and wealth, and firmly stood on the side of the people. He wanted to establish a democratic republic, which would undoubtedly infuriate the noble lords.
This clearly runs counter to the wishes of those in power —Korhal IV who gained power with the support of the Confederacy Confederacy and the vested interests of the system—who despise Angus and fear he will take away their power, wealth, and status.
According to the data on paper, the Terran Confederacy only has two army groups with about 80,000 troops stationed on Korhal IV, scattered in various barracks and outposts. They are still using the old-fashioned CMC-200 powered weapons and E-type electromagnetic guns. Most of them are new recruits who have never experienced actual combat, and a considerable number are veterans who are about to retire but have never fought a war.
On core Confederacy planets like Korhal IV, which are quite far from Kel-Morian's homeworld Moria, the Confederacy army's main tasks are dealing with riots and suppressing local rebels. Compared to the frontline troops who shed blood in the brutal Guild Wars and constantly worry about their lives, being stationed on a planet far from the war is like a relaxing vacation.
It was commonplace for officers to accept gifts and mansions to provide protection for the wealthy and nobles; some had been stationed on the Korhal IV for over a decade, and frequenting noble balls and upscale venues was a regular occurrence for them.
Once Angus declares Korhal independent, Augustus's army will immediately occupy the planet.
Thank you to "I Just Miss You" and "Blue Dot Fish" for the donations!
Thank you for the monthly tickets from I Just Miss You, Cang, Ming, Fleets Idol Naka-chan, Coughing to Death, Nemo, Book Friend 20210223120119122, The Wind Blows Sand All Over My Face, Blue Spot Fish, Northern Warhound, Fear Originates from Illusion, Qingdi Qiongye Jun Bujian, Book Friend 161121213935249!