“We stand on the high ground of the present, looking back at the past, and it seems as if everything is clear. But those who were truly there at the time know that every decision was difficult, and doubt, hesitation, and indecision are the truth of history. Foresight is merely a luxury. Many pieces of information were simply unknown to the decision-makers of the time, who could only rely on bold guesses and keen intuition to change course in a vast fog. This kind of shift carried immense pressure, unbearable for ordinary people.”
“In other words, if any of you students were to go to war on the battlefield yourselves one day, you would most likely find that everything you learned was useless, and the mistakes you made were ridiculously absurd, while the small errors of Jiang Ye would be almost the work of a genius.”
“Before I came to work on Jiang Ye Star, I had already been fighting in this industry for many years, witnessing the victories and defeats of economic reforms on hundreds, even thousands, of planets in the galaxy. Many victories were won by gambling, and many great defeats were preceded by fierce struggles. In the years I’ve worked with Jiang Ye, I’ve lost count of the all-nighters he’s pulled. Many times, I’d send him a message at two or three in the morning, and he’d reply instantly.”
“What is most commendable about student Jiang Ye is that despite his incomparably brilliant achievements, he is still willing to be a student. This is what they call, a true master always has the heart of an apprentice.”
“I hope that everyone present can learn from student Jiang Ye.”
As Feng Zhi Shuang finished speaking, the entire classroom erupted in thunderous applause.
The students in the class looked at Jiang Ye with immense admiration.
Jiang Ye felt a mix of amusement and helplessness, thinking that this flattery was too obvious. Did she really need to do this at the last class?
Many students thought that the climax of the class had arrived, but they didn’t expect the real climax was yet to come.
After Feng Zhi Shuang finished her speech, she asked the “outstanding student representative,” Jiang Ye, to come to the podium to give a summary.
Jiang Ye went up to the stage, cleared his throat, and gave a brief speech:
“There is an old saying that goes, ‘teach your apprentice and starve your master,’ so many teachers hold back.”
“But Teacher Feng is truly a good teacher; she has taught everyone all the important knowledge.”
“Especially in this last lesson, Teacher Feng demonstrated superb flattery skills, which are clearly very important.”
The entire class burst into laughter, followed by a huge round of applause, and Feng Zhi Shuang’s course concluded successfully.
While Feng Zhi Shuang was teaching, Jiang Ye also had a mountain of work to attend to on other planets.
The gun ban trial began on Rong Ping Star.
It started with a pilot program in five medium-sized cities.
All gun stores were shut down, and those who bought or sold firearms would be severely punished. Simultaneously, the police went door-to-door to collect guns, repurchasing them at cost price.
There were rewards for reporting hidden firearms and ammunition, with the prize money coming from the fines of those found to be hoarding weapons, with no upper limit.
To ensure the smooth implementation of the gun ban, Jiang Ye established the First Star Conquest Army Group, comprising 25 Star-class warships, 70 Planet-class warships, and 30 various supply ships. The commander, Liu Ming Yuan, flew directly to Rong Ping Star for a so-called "exchange visit."
Zhang Qiong Shi spoke with Jiang Ye by phone every few days. She was very pleased during their calls. Previously, her attempts to ban guns were met with heavy resistance, but now, with the Star Conquest Army Group Jiang Ye had dispatched, the pressure for the gun ban operation was very small, and it was progressing steadily.
Zhang Qiong Shi planned to use media promotion to build momentum and garner public support for a larger-scale gun ban once the gun ban in these five cities was fully completed and the number of shooting incidents and crime rates had significantly decreased.
Jiang Ye was in a good mood. Rong Ping Star had so many deaths from shooting incidents each year. With his help, the casualties from shooting incidents would surely plummet, which he considered a good deed.
Jiang Ye couldn’t help but sigh, thinking he was truly a benevolent person. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda; he had saved thousands of lives, and the pagodas he had built could probably circle the planet.
The situation on Wheeler Star was also very promising.
Gant’s territory was shrinking, more and more Gant warlords on the tropical border were surrendering and switching allegiance, and the number of stowaways had surged to seventy thousand per day.
Gant’s army dispatched some troops to the border to try and intercept the stowaways. However, among the stowaways were Gant soldiers who fought them on sight, rendering any interception efforts futile.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified in other regions of Wheeler Star.
Millions of mechs, drones, and automated armored vehicles were deployed onto the battlefield, exploding into scrap metal amidst dense gunfire. The terrifying inferno melted metal parts and dried up rivers. The smoke from the battle was visible even from outer space.
In the brutal tug-of-war between mechs, the factories managed by Huang Bing Yan made a fortune. Small warlords, unable to withstand the economic pressure, repeatedly abdicated their positions and pledged allegiance to Jiang Ye, becoming minor local officials.
Although the fighting on the battlefield was savage and brutal, there were basically no human casualties. Some regions on Wheeler Star had already begun large-scale urban construction, even attempting to introduce alien immigrants. The number of company registrations was increasing, and the economic race had begun, with the financial system being rebuilt.
To monitor the situation on Wheeler Star, Jiang Ye established the Second Star Conquest Army Group, comprising 35 Star-class warships, 80 Planet-class warships, and 70 various supply ships. The commander, Yu Jun Min, was tasked with orbiting Wheeler Star and overseeing the entire planetary situation.
Good news also came from Ju Lan Lan: the mineral output of the Xinke Asteroid Belt had reached new heights, with profits increasing by 205% compared to last year. There was also bad news: unidentified ships frequently zipped past the vicinity of the Xinke Asteroid Belt, remotely scanning the ore-carrying ships. Although there had been no instances of theft or robbery by unidentified ships yet, the concern was that if thieves wanted to steal, they would.
Fu Qiu Yan requested an expansion of the tourist groups from Daughter Star, Jiang Ye Star, Bi Rong Star, and Exile Star, so that more citizens could complete their life extension surgeries as soon as possible. In exchange, Fu Qiu Yan offered substantial financial commercial aid, transferring technology from some of Daughter Star’s advanced commercial companies, hoping to co-build large interstellar enterprises with Jiang Ye’s star-based enterprises.
After careful deliberation, Jiang Ye quickly established the Third Star Conquest Army Group.
It included one Nebula-class warship, 5 Star-class warships, 20 Planet-class warships, and 10 various supply ships. The commander, Ge Fei Luan, was dispatched to Daughter Star for fuel and ammunition resupply and routine maintenance, and would patrol the Xinke Asteroid Belt on a regular basis.
At the same time, the Fourth Star Conquest Army Group was also in the process of being established.
The planned number of warships for the Fourth Star Conquest Army Group was: 1 Nebula-class, 20 Star-class, 30 Planet-class, and 160 various supply ships.
The commander had not yet been determined, but there was no urgency as the warships, soldiers, funds, and equipment had not yet arrived and were being selected from various planets.
The target of this force was, of course, Ping Dao Star.
The handover procedures for Ping Dao Star had been completed, and it was now a planet under Jiang Ye’s name.
The military factories on Exile Star were accelerating the production of various types of probes, preparing to deploy them towards Ping Dao Star.
Jiang Ye’s plan to conquer Ping Dao Star was simple and brutal: first, deploy a large number of probes to ascertain the situation, then send troops to land and occupy it, after which mining, farming, and city construction could commence.
The first batch planned to produce fifteen million probes, which would be sent to Ping Dao Star to test the waters.