History Is a Cycle 2

"Is... isn't that so? The Planetary Governor is a greedy exploiter. He wants to snatch away the last grain of food from our bowls. Isn't he the reason we live in such misery?"

The rebel sub-leader was extremely agitated, his fists clenched tight. He was a smart man, and he had already realized something.

Li Qinwu's next words shattered the last trace of wishful thinking in his heart.

"Have you considered the possibility that the Planetary Governor was actually a competent ruler? Perhaps when he was young, he also wanted to change the living conditions of this planet's ordinary people and fight for something on your behalf.

"But as far as I know, more than ten years ago, the industrial planet next to ours was attacked by Greenskin Orks, a particularly brutal alien species.

"It was precisely because of those alien attacks that the Imperium imposed heavy taxes on our planet to support that industrial world."

The rebel sub-leader's heart died completely. Sure enough, the heavy taxes had not come from the Planetary Governor, but from the massive entity standing behind him: the Imperium.

Li Qinwu continued:

"Your revolution has been going on for more than ten years, and you have completely taken control of this agricultural planet's surface.

"While that is an achievement worthy of recognition, forgive my bluntness: because of your rebellion, the Planetary Governor has owed the Imperium ten years of taxes.

"I dare not imagine how you would respond if, after you completely breached the Hive City, killed the Planetary Governor, and established your own government, the Imperial tax fleet suddenly arrived in the midst of your victory celebrations and demanded that you pay more than a decade of overdue taxes in one lump sum."

The old man's face tightened, and large beads of sweat streamed down his forehead.

He knew what Li Qinwu's words meant. It meant they would become the new exploiters!

The Imperium's power was impossible to resist. A single warship could range from one to ten kilometers in length and carry thousands of powerful kinetic cannons or Lance Cannons.

One volley could blast out an area on the surface resembling a small nuclear explosion, while a full broadside could wipe an entire city off the map!

That was not even counting the hundreds of aircraft, tanks, and tens of thousands of elite Astra Militarum troops carried aboard those warships.

There was no resisting it. To survive, the newborn regime could only become an exploiter.

They, revolutionaries who had risen from among the people, would become tax collectors serving the Imperium like the Planetary Governor, becoming the exploiters they so despised!

Seeing how pale the man had become, Li Qinwu sighed and summed it up.

"History is a cycle. When there is no way to change the larger environment, dragon-slayers will eventually become dragons, and revolutionaries who cherish ideals and freedom will eventually become exploiters serving the Imperium."

Li Qinwu had always had a suspicion. During the months he had spent on this planet, based on what he had seen in the Hive City, he suspected that the Planetary Governor had been fully capable of reclaiming the surface.

The Hive City accounted for 99% of the world's industrial output and housed tens of billions of people. How could it possibly lose to a bunch of farmers outside waving hoes around?

The Planetary Governor had probably calculated that even if he immediately launched the most brutal pacification campaign and swiftly resumed production afterward, he still would not make the tax deadline.

No matter what he did, the Imperium's tax fleet would be waiting for him. He would fail to pay enough taxes, and then the Inquisition would blow his head apart with a Boltgun.

Since that was the case, he might as well not suppress the rebellion or continue draining the planet's resources. He could let the people enjoy ten or twenty years of peace, then wait for the Inquisition to arrive and bleed them dry.

Perhaps because the Planetary Governor had not suppressed the rebellion or fought a civil war, and had not squandered excessive resources, the next generation could use the foundation his generation left behind to repay the Imperium's taxes sooner and spare so many people from suffering.

Of course, that was only Li Qinwu's personal speculation. He did not know what kind of person the Planetary Governor really was; he had never met him.

Still, the polarized situation in which the rebels and the Hive City remained separate and did not interfere with one another looked far too much like someone had deliberately arranged it.

Without the approval of the Planetary Governor, the highest authority on the planet, such a situation would have been basically impossible to achieve.

The rebel sub-leader had absorbed too much information at once, and he did not fully trust Li Qinwu yet, so he ended the conversation.

Yet at the very last moment, he still instinctively asked, "Is there really no way for us to take control of our own fate?"

Li Qinwu had actually considered that question before, so he answered immediately.

"To take control of your own fate, at the absolute minimum, you need a spaceship capable of entering the Warp. Only then will you have a ticket to begin controlling your own destiny."

Li Qinwu had once considered his own future. In this turbulent world, staying on a single planet forever was dangerous.

On any given day, aliens or demons might invade and cripple an entire planet in an instant, leaving no chance to escape.

If he truly wanted to control his own fate, he still needed to get himself a spaceship.

Its size and armaments did not matter, but it had to be fast, its Geller Field had to be intact, and it had to be capable of Warp travel.

Only once one possessed the ability to travel through space could one begin to take control of one's own fate in this world.

The conversation ended, and Li Qinwu prepared to leave. The rebel sub-leader personally escorted him out of the camp.

However, before they left the camp, Li Qinwu heard a low chorus of groans.

He looked toward the small wooden hut where the groaning came from and found several injured soldiers inside. They looked to be in poor condition, their wounds only hastily wrapped in bandages, with no medicine in sight.

Seeing Li Qinwu look toward the wounded soldiers, the rebel sub-leader sighed.

"Our medical supplies are extremely scarce. We can only give wounded soldiers some herbal remedies for comfort.

"If you can bring some anti-inflammatory medicine the next time you come, I believe our cooperative relationship will become more stable."

As soon as he finished speaking, a system notification sounded on Li Qinwu's side.

Ding! Mission available: The rebel leader is urgently short of medicine and requires you to provide three units of anti-inflammatory painkillers. If you do so, you will gain his friendship, and he will offer you greater convenience.

After accepting the mission, Li Qinwu said, "Have my food ready. Next time, I'll try to get some medicine."