Canned!

{Xi Yan: Huh? What did you say?}

{Xi Yan: What kind of interstellar joke is this? Are you sure this is real?}

{Xi Yan: A habitable planet, possibly a Gaia Planet, a native civilization with sub-light technology, and they're edible?}

Once the Marshal was informed, he immediately expressed intense interest in the matter.

{Xi Yan: !!! Tell them to wait for me. The fleet will be there right away!}

Far away on the Ring World, Xi Yan leaped straight up and punched the air.

We've got this! We've got this!

The planet was very close to the Ring World, making it easy for him to control. Moreover, it was most likely a Gaia Planet with an excellent climate and 100% habitability, suitable for colonization by any species.

More importantly, the native creatures there were edible!

(A tribute to the legendary, delicious native species, the Plant People.)

According to the Hyacinth's original colonists, these native creatures were nutritious and extremely tasty.

That settled the food problem!

He immediately opened his Wristband and messaged Ning Zhiyuan. "Old Ning! We've struck it rich!"

{Ning Zhiyuan: How so?}

"We've discovered an edible alien species! And their planet is perfect for us to colonize!"

{Ning Zhiyuan: Understood. I'll contact General Prigozhin and General Veronica.}

"Talking to smart people really is easy."

Xi Yan was in a wonderful mood.

With just those few words, Ning Zhiyuan knew what to do.

General Prigozhin, who oversaw the Army, would assign him a large force, while General Veronica, who oversaw sub-light vessels, would build transport ships to prepare for an Army landing on the colony world. Meanwhile, three corvettes would depart immediately to help the Hyacinth bring back some food.

I'll gladly take all that labor aboard the Hyacinth!

{Xi Yan: I want to speak directly with the Hyacinth.}

{Science Ship One: Understood. [Connecting video feed]}

The Old Captain and the crowd gathered behind him immediately appeared on Xi Yan's screen.

Xi Yan assumed Commander Gendo's seated pose, all smiles.

"Hello, my fellow humans aboard the Hyacinth. I am Xi Yan, Marshal of the Interstellar Human Military Junta. I'm glad you're still alive."

Was this young man, who looked barely old enough to be an adult, really the ruler of this interstellar empire?

The people looked curiously at Xi Yan, forgetting to greet him for a moment. Finally, the Old Captain came to his senses and bowed with a smile.

"Greetings, Marshal. Thank you for being willing to lend us a hand. On behalf of the entire crew of the Hyacinth, please accept my sincerest respects."

The Old Captain gazed intently at the young man on the screen.

A white-and-gold marshal's uniform, an upright posture, squared shoulders, and an extraordinary air of valor-what a fine young marshal!

However, something sinister lingered around the Marshal's brow, and his eyes were filled with contempt for all things. He hardly looked like a good man.

But that didn't matter. Anyone who saved them was a good man!

"No need for formalities." The Marshal's voice was clear and steady. Concealing the malice in his expression, he said with a faint smile, "I hereby declare you provisional citizens of the Interstellar Human Military Junta."

"At the same time, I appoint you colonists of the colony world [Amat Eiro II]. My fleet will arrive in two months. Your task will be to join us in retaking the colony and secure as much territory as possible."

Xi Yan made the announcement with a beaming smile.

After a moment of stunned silence, everyone aboard the Hyacinth erupted into cheers again!

"Counterattack! Counterattack!"

"Long live the Marshal!"

"Yahoo! Woohoo!" (So excited they reverted to their primitive ancestors.)

Heaven only knew how humiliated they had felt when those natives drove them away!

Now they finally had a chance to fight their way back!

This was the dream of colonization shared by all 110,000 residents of the Hyacinth.

Banzai, Marshal!

"On behalf of the entire crew, thank you, Marshal. We 110,000 warriors of the Hyacinth will not disappoint you." A glimmer of satisfaction flashed through the Old Captain's cloudy eyes as well.

"Excellent. Once we gain control of the planet, you will enjoy the same rights as our citizens. Oh, and our empire practices public ownership. Food, housing, consumer goods, and jobs are all provided free of charge," Xi Yan added.

Naturally, the entire Hyacinth went wild at those words.

What had they just heard?

Equal distribution!

For these people who had drifted through the universe, such a life sounded like paradise!

"And!" Xi Yan raised his voice, expertly stirring the crowd. "Your labor will earn you labor points, which you can exchange for a higher standard of living!"

"Labor is the greatest honor! Labor creates all wealth!"

Xi Yan's words were broadcast live throughout the Hyacinth, and everyone present cheered!

"Long live the Marshal!"

Xi Yan paused, then continued his announcement. "And our scientists deserve credit too. Both you and your families on the Ring World will receive preferential treatment!"

At that, even the crew of Science Ship One erupted with excitement.

Who had called him a bastard?

He was clearly the greatest Marshal in the empire!

Greatness this flavorful needed no extra seasoning!

On the Ring World, Xi Yan ended the call and began happily turning things over in his head.

"Following Stellaris tradition, I'd build a holo-theater on every colony world, and amenities and stability would take care of themselves."

"But in the real world, I don't have to build anything. Maintaining public ownership and resource distribution alone will guarantee amenities."

"They should show a little grit and endurance. Mature imperial citizens need to learn to think of me. How can they focus only on enjoying themselves and ignore the empire's development?"

Xi Yan, the great philanthropist, saw it all with perfect clarity.

When I put it that way, I'm a genius!

Sometimes ideology and ways of thinking really could solve major problems.

Xi Yan opened his notes and added the [Artificial Ethics] technology and the Ideology Construction Edict.

While the Hyacinth's people were fired up, he should get more work out of them.

They needed to build the colony on Amat Eiro II quickly, then move the food production base there.

If we canned this alien species, wouldn't our food production shoot up?

Xi Yan's thoughts were decidedly unethical.

"Aside from machine species and rock species, all the other alien species should be edible..."

"Canning them would make them easy to recognize, but if I secretly broke them down into biomass and made Green Apples, probably no one would know... Heh heh!"

After indulging in that little fantasy, Xi Yan returned his attention to the communications screen before him, offered his scientists a few casual words of encouragement, and disconnected.

Right, the Hyacinth was technically a colony ship belonging to the United Nations of Earth. He needed to talk to its leader about this.

For various reasons, Xi Yan still held a friendly attitude toward the United Nations of Earth.

Naturally, the Interstellar Human Military Junta had communication channels with other nations, such as the United Nations of Earth and the United Nations of Earth. They simply weren't used very often.

Xi Yan immediately asked Beta to find the communication channel for the United Nations of Earth and route it to his computer.

Beta worked extremely efficiently. In less than a minute, Beta gave him a faster-than-light communications address and automatically connected him to the Stellar Base's signal amplification equipment, preparing for real-time communication across star systems over an immense distance.

His computer was now connected directly to the Starport. Its equipment would transmit the signal across who knew how many light-years to the United Nations of Earth's communications equipment.

The title of the United Nations of Earth's supreme leader was also Grand Marshal.

According to the records, if nothing had changed, the current Grand Marshal of the United Nations of Earth should have been a man named Bai Fengfeng.

Sidney, who would later become Marshal, was probably still a nobody at this point. At least, Xi Yan had yet to hear anything about him.