Chapter 523 The Emperor Sets Up Vassal States, An Lushan Everywhere

＋So...＋

＋He said I told him so? ＋

【According to what Perturabo wanted to convey to me: That's right. 】

＋...No! ＋

＋I'm not, I didn't. ＋

＋Don't listen to his nonsense. ＋

The Lord of Mankind waved his hands repeatedly, his expression was like an old man sitting in a public shuttle under the hive, holding a small portable data tablet, with a difficult face: but his next words were still full of the confidence of Holy Terra.

＋In fact, when I arrived in Olympia and met Perturabo, I was sure that I was more sincere and sincere than most of the time in the past, and I was also sure that every word I said was without any problem. ＋

【……】

＋I have shown my compassion to Perturabo as much as I can, instilled my love for him, conveyed and even warned him of the difficulties he would encounter in the future: and he promised me everything he would give, and swore to me the eternal loyalty in his heart. ＋

＋Open your heart and treat me with sincerity. This is my attitude towards Perturabo, and it is also what Perturabo gives back to me. We are not only father and son in blood, but also spiritual companions. In this respect, your Olympian brother is no different from his brothers. ＋

【……】

＋In the life blueprint I designed for them, they joined this Great Crusade as my assistants, not my servants. In this respect, your Olympian brother is no different from others. ＋

＋I treat every descendant with my blood in this way: they first agree with my ideas, the necessity of the Great Crusade and the Human Empire, and then officially become the genetic Primarch of the Human Empire. ＋

＋This is the case for every descendant of mine. ＋

【……】

＃Stare＃

＋Your gaze is very rude, my daughter Morgan: Do you have anything to say? ＋

【Well... I'm just thinking...】

The Primarch hesitated.

【Am I adopted by you? 】

＋……＋

The Emperor turned his head in astonishment and looked directly into Morgan's narrowed eyes: The Lord of Mankind almost instinctively wanted to give off an aura that would make his daughter retreat, but the Lord of Avalon, who was already used to it, only smiled and tore the gorgeous clothes that she had long been accustomed to into pieces.

[We have seen it many times, Father: Are they always the same? ]

So, the Lord of Mankind could only cough a little awkwardly.

+Your situation is relatively special, Morgan, you should not compare yourself with your blood brothers, and you should also admit one thing: you were not dragged into this great expedition by me. +

+You took the initiative to join. +

[What about Conrad? ]

+Conrad's situation is also special, and he did not refuse... +

[What about Angron? ]

+Angron is also a special one, and he also did not refuse... +

[……]

Morgan stopped talking.

The Lord of Avalon only showed an extremely fake smile, staring at her gene-father quietly. This fake smile was so vicious that even the Lord of Mankind could not continue to pretend not to see it: his voice actually became a little weak.

+ Can't you choose a more normal case, Morgan? +

[Ah, of course. ]

The Primarch raised her voice slightly, and her voice sounded a little sharp.

[Then let's choose a guy you like, a guy who completely meets your preferences in terms of how to behave: Mortarion, how about it? He must have joined the Great Crusade from the bottom of his heart, right? ]

+...+

The Emperor's silence made Morgan's happiness almost glaring on his face.

[Look, father, even Mortarion, this idiot, this fool who has always been favored by you, does not conform to the point of view you said: Then the question is, who are those heirs you mentioned? ]

The Emperor hesitated for a moment, and he did not answer this question directly.

+ You seem to be dissatisfied with Mortarion, Morgan: Are you criticizing your brother in front of me? +

[Ah, you misunderstood, father. ]

Morgan's smile became brighter.

[I am actually restrained in front of you. I will be more direct in other places, especially in front of Mortarion: the brotherhood between Mortarion and me is as deep as the sincerity between Magnus and Leman Russ. ]

[Anyway, I can beat him: that slow guy is a living target. ]

+...+

[And don't change the subject: Even so, I can confirm that Mortarion did not join the Great Crusade completely voluntarily, and his understanding of the Great Crusade seems to be different from yours: even so, he is still your favorite heir. ]

The Emperor pursed his lips and took advantage of Morgan's long speech to organize his words.

＋But you must admit that both Mortarion and Angron are fighting for the human empire now, and they are doing quite well. I will even condone their shortcomings in other aspects for this reason. ＋

＋They agreed with the Great Crusade, even if it was only the Great Crusade in their minds: But then again, the Great Crusade in everyone's mind is different, and I have no right to be an arbitrary tyrant in this regard. ＋

＋Ten million people have ten million Great Crusades in their minds, and the Great Crusade in the eyes of Mortarion and Angron may be different from mine, but they are indeed bleeding for the Great Crusade: That's enough, because that's all I ask of them. ＋

【Tsk! 】

Morgan snorted.

【Do you really want to skip the process and only look at the results, father? And in front of me, the person involved: There are no outsiders, and there are no silly golden corns under your command, only the two of us. 】

【In front of your daughter, in front of the poor person who was captured by you and soaked in the laboratory until his fingers were calloused: Why did Angron join the Great Crusade? Don't you have any idea in your mind? 】

＋……＋

The emperor's eyes were sharp, and his face finally became a little stiff and ugly.

+What about you, Morgan? +

+Why did you deliberately choose these extreme cases among your brothers, and in front of me, the Gene Father: Why don't you cite examples like Dorn, Sanguinius or Guilliman? +

+What's the point in embarrassing your Gene Father? +

[...Hmm...]

It was Morgan's turn to smile stiffly.

[This, this is not to prevent you, the person involved, from being confused by the situation~]

After noticing that her Gene Father's tone had become a little cold and hard, the Lord of Avalon did not hesitate for a moment, took a step back, and her voice became flattering again. Even her pale face, in the blink of an eye, completed the transformation from [sharp questioning] to [harmonious smile], and even the Emperor could not find more faults.

Morgan spread her hands, and her voice sounded so sincere again.

【No way, who told you to be surrounded by people like the Imperial Guards who are high-minded but incompetent, or morons who can't even speak a word properly under your intimidation: As your most filial and capable daughter, I think I need to point out those problems that have been hidden too deeply in the short time we are together. 】

Seeing his daughter naturally puffing up her chest and telling a lie that even Magnus would not believe without changing her face or heartbeat, the Lord of Humanity felt his breathing stagnate for a while: It's a long-lost feeling of suffocation.

＋……＋

＋You really did not retain even a little disguise. ＋

The Emperor smiled sarcastically.

【Because I chose to give you the truth, just like you did to me, father: You gave false family affection to others and left the cruel truth to me. This is such a touching thing. I am just repaying you in the exact same way. 】

Morgan's counterattack was not inferior.

＋……When did I...＋

【Do you need me to help you recall the scenes of our previous meetings? 】

＋……＋

The Emperor stopped talking. His eyes and face slowly left Morgan's sight and looked into the distance, at the horizon that was empty but magnificent. A long silence followed: at this moment, the absence of the guards was so fatal.

After a long time, the Lord of Humanity coughed with some difficulty.

＋Let's talk about your brothers, my daughter. ＋

【Okay. 】

Morgan smiled.

【Who should I start with? 】

——————

＋……Perturabo? ＋

When Morgan asked about his Olympian Lord, the Emperor hesitated for a second before slowly chewing on the name of his heir: as if he needed special time to recall anything about the Lord of Steel.

【Yes, Perturabo. 】

Morgan looked around. The Emperor's Dream was still as magnificent as ever, far superior to any of the Empire's Glory Queens, but it was not very attractive to Morgan: compared with these gorgeous sculptures and murals, the guards of the Imperial Guards who were specially ordered by the Emperor to stay where they were and could not follow the Lord of Mankind and the Primarch closely, were more pleasing to Morgan.

[I'm curious, how did you appease Perturabo? You even separated us for this, letting me stay on my warship, giving you and Perturabo some time to be alone together: and where is my Olympian brother now? 】

+In my library. +

The Emperor walked in front of Morgan, leading by about half a body length.

+ I took Perturabo to a secret library on the Emperor's Dream, a place that even Malcador didn't know about. It contained new knowledge for Perturabo: he could read and learn as much as he wanted in it, enjoying the new knowledge that was unique in the entire galaxy as my reward to him. +

+ At the same time, I also told him that my library needed a marble statue worthy of it. In the Empire, I could only give this task to him: he might stay there for more than ten days or even longer, and you need to inform the Fourth Legion of this matter. +

[Ah... no problem. ]

The Lord of Avalon did not hide his long sigh at all.

+What? Do you have any ideas? +

The Emperor turned around and saw his daughter smiling disturbingly.

[Nothing, I was just sighing, when will I be able to be like you, sending others to work for me, but still making them grateful for it: To be honest, father, your smooth deception method has been coveted by me for a long time. ]

+This is not deception, Morgan. +

The Emperor was a little helpless.

+I am just doing what you asked and satisfying Perturabo's desire... +

[Yes! This is what I want to learn! ]

+... +

The Lord of Mankind looked at his daughter in astonishment. It was only then that he began to think belatedly: Compared with the previous few times they met, has his Morgan become a little bit wrong in some places?

+You have changed a lot. +

[No, father. ]

The Lord of Avalon shook his head as if he had expected it.

【Actually, I had the same idea in my mind when we met several times before, but I just said it out loud this time: After all, you are so special to me (emphasis), I think I need to return the favor, right? 】

+...Why this time? +

【This...】

Morgan smiled provocatively.

【I think even you should understand my current situation: I just crawled out of the vortex called Dorn and Perturabo that you threw at me, and then I was dragged here by you, Mabulatin, and I am about to accept the next new mission. I think it is normal for any normal person to have some emotional fluctuations at this time. 】

+Emotional fluctuations? +

The Lord of Humanity turned a deaf ear to Morgan's overly obvious sarcasm. Instead, he turned around and continued to ask his daughter with interest, as if he saw some familiar shadows in Morgan.

And the Spider Queen just treated her genetic father coldly.

【Any questions, father? 】

+No, nothing. +

The Emperor turned back, still half a meter ahead of his daughter, and his laughter reached the Spider Queen's ears after a while: it was not an angry laugh, but a nostalgia for the past life, like nostalgia for something before the Great Expedition.

+Have I ever told you that you and Malcador are very similar, Morgan? +

[You have said it many times, father. ]

+Then I will say it again. +

The Emperor's voice sounded serious, as if he was telling his daughter some truth in the galaxy: a burning imprint that Morgan could not resist, could not ignore, or even forget.

+You and Malcador are very similar: you are almost exactly the same. +

[Is this a good thing? ]

+For me, not entirely. +

The Lord of Mankind did not look back, but Morgan could hear him laughing.

+Because, they are too similar. +

The Emperor sighed.

+There are some things I will only discuss with Malcador, but there are other things I will only discuss with Morgan, and it would be a pain for me if you were too similar: for example, when it comes to your brothers, Malcador's words have no authority at all, and I can only listen to your story. +

[I don't think I am like Malcador in this regard: never. ]

The Spider Queen followed her father with her hands behind her back, unsure where to take her: it was always the unknown hidden corners deep in the Emperor's Dream, and she and the Emperor had plenty of time to spend in such secret rooms before reaching the southernmost tip of the Storm Segmentum, where the sky was high and the emperor was far away.

+It's better. +

The Lord of Mankind slowed down his pace. He looked back at his daughter and turned his head back: although it was only for a moment, Morgan could confirm that the Emperor's eyes at that moment were indeed extremely serious, and his words were more like a tough warning than a weak suggestion.

+ You need to always remember that you are a Primarch, Morgan. You can get close to mortals, but you can't confuse your identity. You can learn the rules of mortals, but you must know where the roots of the rules are: I don't expect Guilliman to understand this now, but you must understand it. +

+ You need to always remember: you must keep yourself in this state, and also let your brothers, especially the brother who is about to come to you, understand this. He is a rare idealist among you. +

+ This is very important because you are about to bear more responsibilities. +

[Because you are about to leave? ]

Morgan didn't notice that his voice had some fluctuations.

+Dorn told you? +

[He doesn't think this is a secret. ]

+ He is still as smart as ever. +

The Emperor shook his head. He did not say anything more. Instead, he quickened his pace and followed Morgan, who followed silently, into the deepest part of the Emperor's Fantasy. There were not even a few guards of the Imperial Guards. Only a dark figure flashed in the corner. It was the black-armored Imperial Guards who had met Morgan once before.

The Lord of Mankind turned around in these complex corridors, and finally led his daughter into a room that was not very spacious: the decoration inside the room was not enough, and it looked no different from a mortal's conference room. The only thing worth noting was the huge Milky Way star map facing the door, the accuracy of which even amazed the Primarch.

Hmm, a new gold coin...

Morgan watched his gene father's finger point on the Milky Way star map, and then accurately reflected the location, specific situation, and even major events that had happened on any planet in the empire: and when the Lord of Mankind then waved his hand, the star map, which was originally only the size of a wall, expanded to the size of the entire conference room in the blink of an eye. The boundless holographic projection showed millions of stars and the clear outline of the imperial world. This scene was enough to make the Lord of Avalon feel a little jealous.

+What did Dorn tell you? +

[...Hmm? 】

Morgan was even stunned for a moment before she came back to her senses and answered the Emperor's question. She deliberately let out a smile to cover up her embarrassment, but the original laziness and playfulness in her pupils also disappeared, replaced by absolute concentration. The Primarch knew that it was time to concentrate on work and listening.

[One eighth of the Far East Star Region? ]

But in his mouth, the Lord of Avalon still covered himself with a layer of disguise.

+That's not all. +

The Emperor just shook his head, and his finger pointed to the Far East Star Region, where colorful spots appeared one after another. Each piece symbolized a country within a country or sphere of influence established by a certain Primarch, and the Lord of Humanity seemed to know these things like the back of his hand.

+The Federation of Avalon, the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, the Ghoul Ring Defense Belt, the Wolf Kingdom, the Red Sand Protectorate, the Baal Enclave, the Prospero Alliance, and the Nocturne Joint Defense Commune: the last two are the names given by Terra to the spheres of influence that your two blood brothers are about to establish. +

From light blue to beautiful silver, and then from deep red to gray, one after another bright color exploded around Morgan, making the face of the Primarch look uncertain, and the Gene Father standing in front of her just tapped his fingers, and these kingdoms spanning countless universes returned to the Emperor's palm one by one, and the entire Far East Star Region was also involved.

+They only saw this: and they were worried about it. +

The Lord of Mankind smiled.

+But they could not see more. +

With another wave of his hand, the remaining star regions of the empire also appeared one after another. In each star region, there were more or less spots of color. The only exception was the Solar Segment, where there was only the nothingness that symbolized Holy Terra, without a trace of color.

+In the north, in the Nebulous Segment, Ferrus and his Iron Hands Legion had an extremely loose [One Hundred Worlds] with their home planet Medusa as the core: my Gorgon was one of the first primarchs to join the Great Crusade, and the number of worlds he recovered ranked among the top. If he had not been obsessed with ruling, this country could have expanded two or three times, but even so, the Tenth Legion could still affect the rule of most of the Nebulous Segment. +

+But they were not alone: ​​because Luther's request was officially approved by Holy Terra not long ago, and with the support of Makado himself, he once again brought thirty-six core worlds into the Caliban Alliance, and hundreds of resource worlds, outposts and nameless worlds were also in his territory. ＋

＋Of course, don't forget my wolf god Horus. His wolf kingdom spans the Far East and the Hazy Star Region. If we only rely on the current territory, it is second only to your Far East Three Kings, but the entire northern part of the galaxy will be Horus's stage. One day, the kingdom of the Luna Wolf Legion will be a force that cannot be underestimated in the galaxy. ＋

＋In the other two areas, in the Storm Star Region and the Pacific Star Region, there is a lack of such a conspicuous presence: Lorgar is still wasting time on his Perfect City. He has built a small interstellar kingdom with the Perfect City and the Legion's home planet Kul as the core, but this kingdom is very loose internally and cannot provide more power for the Word Bearers Legion. ＋

＋Further south, in the Storm Segmentum south of Terra, the Imperial Fists and the Death Guard each run a small but prosperous military empire, controlling the power of a dozen or dozens of core worlds: considering the special nature of your brother who is about to return, there may be three small frontier vassal states in the Storm Segmentum at the same time. ＋

＋Thus, among the eighteen Primarchs who have returned, thirteen have established their own kingdoms, and being alone has become an exception: when the Great Crusade entered its second hundred years, my descendants finally remembered that they were born kings, not generals dragged onto the battlefield. ＋

[Does this worry you? ]

Morgan raised her head and carefully observed the kingdoms divided by the Emperor: she was slightly relieved to find that the Far Eastern Three Kingdoms of her, Conrad and Robert alone were larger than all the other kingdoms combined. If the fourth-ranked Wolf Kingdom belonging to Horus was added, it would almost tear off a quarter of the territory of the Milky Way.

+ Worried? +

The Emperor asked with a smile.

+Morgan, my daughter, let me ask you a question: Do you know why people like Vulkan and Magnus would choose to establish a country within a country, and at such a fast speed? +

[...with your instructions? ]

The Primarch raised his eyebrows.

+It's Terra's. +

The Emperor smiled.

+Whether it is Magnus's Prospero Alliance or Vulkan's Nocturne Joint Defense Commune, they have obtained Terra's permission and even support: Not only that, Terra is also planning to let several other Primarchs near the Maelstrom. For example, Fulgrim, Khan and Perturabo also establish their own spheres of influence. +

[...Why? ]

For the first time, Morgan felt a little confused, and her gene father did not answer directly, but adopted the usual Emperor-style answer: pull up a new topic from somewhere else, and then tell it slowly.

+Why? +

The Emperor shook his head.

+Morgan, do you know how many Imperial Worlds there are in the Human Empire we rule at this moment of the Great Crusade? Guess it, it's more than you think. +

[...300,000? ]

+No. +

The Emperor wrote a number.

+650,000, 654,357, this is the accurate number an hour ago, and it is expected that this number will fluctuate by one to three in the next hour: and in the final estimate of Malcador and I, this Great Crusade will eventually bring more than one million Imperial Worlds to the Empire. +

[...]

+Then how many of these one million worlds that will belong to the Empire can be effectively managed by the Imperial Government on Holy Terra? Or how many of these 650,000 Imperial Worlds are being effectively managed now? +

[...One eighth? ]

+More. +

The Emperor smiled bitterly. + I can't even guarantee whether Terra can effectively manage one eighty percent of these 650,000 worlds. After all, that's more than 8,000 core worlds: if you really want Holy Terra to be able to take on such a huge administrative function, then there will be nothing on this planet except administrative personnel and the slaves who serve the administrative personnel, and we obviously can't make Terra become like this, and we are not qualified to do so. +

[...Qualification? ]

Morgan chewed on the word.

+So, whether it's the expansion of you and your brothers, or the contraction of Holy Terra's direct jurisdiction, it's the result of discussions between Malcador and me: Your suggestion on Terra is indeed feasible, my capable daughter, especially considering that I have to return to Terra in advance, then many things can only be compromised. +

After that, before the Lord of Avalon could say anything else, the Emperor waved his hand and changed the star map in front of him. The empire's territory expanded rapidly, just like the scene predicted at the end of the Great Crusade: at this time, the entire galaxy was like a roll cake, divided into three clearly structured circles.

In the innermost layer, Holy Terra firmly controlled the entire Solar Segmentum and the part of the four segments close to the Solar Segmentum. The only exception was the Far East Segmentum: it seemed that Malcador and his Terran government did not even want the one-eighth of the Far East Segmentum.

Outside this inner layer, in places such as the Great Whirlpool area or the northern end of the Tempest Segmentum, there were several small Primarch states scattered around. Their owners were reassuring guys such as Dorn, Fulgrim and Jaghatai Khan. From a distance, they looked like armor wrapped around the Solar Segmentum.

Outside this armor, there are several huge countries with divided territories: whether it is Morgan, Robert and Conrad in the east, Horus, Ferrus and potential Jonson in the north, and Lorgar in the west, they are also drawn into a false outline: any one of them can be compared with the sum of the small Primarch countries in the core of the galaxy.

[Is this your final expectation of the Great Crusade, father? ]

Morgan looked at all this and muttered to himself.

+ Just one of the options. +

The Emperor is concise.

+ The feudal system is a physique that has experienced a long test and has been enduring in the long river of history. It has been picked up again and again by rulers, which in itself can explain its charm and vitality: when the size of the empire far exceeds its administrative capacity, it can only implement feudalization and military control for distant areas. +

+ Moreover, this feudalization is not subject to the will of Terra. +

The Lord of Mankind shook his head.

+In fact, even if Holy Terra desperately holds on to power, your brothers have already gone their own way in the local area, established their own countries that make them feel comfortable, and even an auxiliary army system: now, even a few Primarchs will use the Solar Auxiliary Army sent to them by Terra. +

[So, this is just a matter of course? ]

Morgan wanted to laugh.

+No. +

The Emperor was very serious.

——————

+This is not a matter of course. +

+This is the bottom line in my heart. +

+For the distant future, the final acceptable bottom line. +