N-A-A Chapter 47 Military Orders
Chapter 47 Military Orders
"Besides, you have enough resources, right?"
Peturabo, however, picked up where Magnus left off, glancing at Magnus with a hint of envy and a sour tone in his voice.
Although the Navigator Family and the Star Language Court were extremely discreet in their support of Qianzi, it was ultimately impossible to keep it completely hidden in Terra, a place where secrets never stay hidden forever.
Qianzi really got incredibly lucky; his Iron Warriors worked themselves to the bone to obtain only a pitiful amount of resources.
But Qianzi, without doing anything, has gained so many extra benefits.
Magnus was slightly taken aback. Looking at Perturabo's expression, he knew that it was highly likely that the fact that the Thousand Sons had received huge external support had been exposed.
However, he didn't care that the Empire was actually a loose interstellar union.
Each Astartes legion actually has an astonishing degree of autonomy. As long as they do not openly rebel or betray the Emperor, no one will care about their private cooperation.
He was considering whether to adopt Levi's suggestion to cancel the meeting.
He had known Li Wei for almost ten years, and Li Wei's predictions had rarely been wrong.
He also realized that the reason Qianzi promoted the establishment of the entire legion's think tank was to break the Empire's discriminatory shackles against psionicists and gain more political influence and strategic resources.
Is it a case of putting the cart before the horse to forgo the resources allocated by the empire and promote think tanks? Is it a case of losing more than you gain?
It would be a real shame to give up on promoting the think tank after spending so much time and effort on preparation.
Just as Magnus was pondering, Livy's next sentence dispelled all his hesitation and prompted him to make up his mind.
Li Wei took half a step forward and said in a deep voice:
"My Lord Archmage, the promotion of the Think Tank was indeed spearheaded by Thousand Sons, but is the Emperor's permission to convene all Primarchs for a public meeting truly just wishful thinking on Thousand Sons' part? Do the other legions really not need battlefield support from psionicists?"
His words were resounding and carried an undeniable force.
"I see." Magnus was stunned for a long time before he realized what was happening.
With Li Wei's guidance, he suddenly understood and realized the truth.
The think tank wasn't that crucial to Qianzi, simply because all of its members were psionicists.
But what about the other legions?
They encountered the corruption of the warp and the corrupted psionicists. How did they deal with it? There was only one way: to cover it up with indiscriminate firepower until everything was destroyed.
In a sense, the other legions are the ones who need think tank units the most.
It seems that when it comes to psionic issues, I become too caught up in the situation and don't see things as clearly as Li Wei.
Magnus looked at Levi with gratitude, feeling very fortunate to have such a insightful chief think tank member.
Peturabo's face fell. His plan had failed. He was waiting for the Thousand Sons to voluntarily announce the abandonment of the Empire's resource quota, but instead, he received this message.
His goal was the imperial resource quota that Qianzi had given up. In any case, with the strong support of the Navigator Family and the Star Language Court, Qianzi probably wouldn't care about that resource.
He could then support Magnus in establishing a full-fledged think tank for the entire legion, thereby gaining access to the Thousand Sons' share of the Empire's resources and strengthening the Iron Warriors' war machine.
Perturabo, his face grim, stared intently at Levi, who was whispering to Magnus, causing Levi to pause slightly in surprise.
I wonder what this Lord of Steel is up to, and why he's staring at me like that.
Li Wei, whose mind was racing, suddenly changed the subject:
"Primarch Perturabo, you've come at the perfect time. My Lord, we need the powerful military production capacity of your Iron Warriors to build more high-quality power armor, Iron Cavalry Terminators, and even capital cruisers for us."
Magnus, who was still thinking, suddenly snapped back to reality. He remembered that he had not told Levi that he wanted to cooperate with the Iron Warrior.
His gaze, tinged with a hint of doubt, shifted to Li Wei's face.
Seeing the subtle look Li Wei gave him, he nodded knowingly. Li Wei was trying to win over this war master who was good at siege warfare by offering military orders.
He also realized that the resources continuously supplied by the Navigator Family and the Star Language Court were only raw materials.
After all, these two are just special forces that control shipping lanes and communications; they neither have the guts nor the courage to directly provide ready-made standard weapons and starships.
This massive amount of resources requires top-notch industrial power to transform it into real combat power, and the Iron Warriors under Perturabo's command certainly have this capability.
He cleared his throat and, in response to Li Wei's words, smiled and said:
"Indeed, Your Excellency Peturabo. We are about to acquire a large amount of strategic resources, but these are just resources and cannot be converted into combat power. This is exactly what your Iron Warriors' massive team of technical sergeants need to manufacture for me."
Peturabo was just grieving over his failed plans when he was immediately struck by a huge windfall, and his face instantly brightened.
It's like they just cut off one path, and opened up an even wider one to make money.
The massive resources that the Navigator Family and the Star Language Court have poured in are incredibly lucrative. If they were to actually take over the profits and kickbacks from this OEM order, it would be far more substantial than Qianzi's fixed resource quota in the Empire.
"Sure, sure, Magnus brothers, let's go next door and discuss the specific costs and loss standards!"
Before he finished speaking, he grabbed Magnus with a beaming smile and ran to the next side hall to discuss the details of expenses for various military production projects.
He needed to avoid Qianzi's chief think tank. He dared not discuss this big deal with Li Wei. Given Li Wei's shrewdness and cunning, it was absolutely impossible for him to gain any extra benefits from this transaction.
Li Wei glanced helplessly at Magnus's bewildered and pleading eyes as he was dragged away, but did not move.
He really knows nothing about military cost accounting, so let Magnus handle it.
Magnus, after all, was the Legion's genetic prototype and had a clearer understanding of the Legion's overall income and expenditure than Magnus himself. It would be a huge loss if Magnus said something wrong because he was not knowledgeable about the matter.
With the two Primarchs no longer making a fuss, Li Wei plopped down on the black iron armchair next to him, tugged at his deep red robe, and loosened the collar.
He never wears power armor outside of combat situations, because he feels more comfortable without it.
Moreover, he had already realized that the power armor's protection for him might not be as reliable as a psionic barrier he could casually create.
"Looks like we'll have to get a power suit custom-made by Perturabo. As for the more powerful Terminator, forget about it; it's too bulky."
He also plans to engrave rune arrays on the new power armor to enhance its defense, and intends to use this armor as the blueprint for the standard armor of the Thousand Sons.