Chapter 294: This Is a Guaranteed Win for the Universal Enterprise C! Stay Calm and Don’t Waste Time!
Immediately, Leto told Paul a long list of information about the Universal Corporation, but the core content is two points:
First, with the Universal Corporation's fleet here, we basically won't give up.
The guards of our Atreides family are just there to cheer and pick up the leaks. The main output is the troops of the Corporation, and we just need to get an assist.
Don't rush up and give up heads. If anyone dares to give up heads, don't blame me for scolding them.
Second, the position of Galactic Emperor does not belong to their Atreides family, so there is no need to rush up and work for the Universal Corporation.
The revolution is about to succeed and the fruits of victory will be divided. If you stay honest, you can enjoy the benefits for generations. Don't do anything at this time.
Keep calm and don't be reckless, it's more important than anything else!
After learning that the Atreides family has the powerful fleet of the Universal Corporation to lead the flight, and the opponent's unparalleled shield technology, it can crush any troops of the empire.
Paul was a little confused.
He suddenly remembered the man who appeared in his dream. Could it be Leon, the executive officer of the Universal Corporation? !
If that was the case, then there was really no need for him to work hard anymore. It would be easier to achieve the family's strategic goals if he didn't struggle much at this time.
Since he could win by lying down, there was really no need to do anything more.
"Okay, father, I understand!"
Paul nodded thoughtfully, keeping Leto's words in mind.
...
Two weeks later.
The fleet of the Atreides family, without asking for help from the Space Guild, successfully arrived at Arrakis with the fleet of the Universal Corporation.
This Atreides fleet, composed of the Universal Corporation's advance expeditionary corps, 200 micro-ships and 500 flappers, was Leto's confidence in fighting against the Corino royal family.
Although the less than 1,000 ships and flappers were not even comparable to the number of carrier-based aircraft carried by an aircraft carrier of the Universal Corporation, this was already all the assets of the Atreides family.
Fortunately, the giant ships of the Universal Corporation helped to support the scene, so that the Atreides fleet was not killed by the high-ranking ships of the Space Guild.
At this moment, under the watchful eyes of many family forces, the fleet of the Giant Corporation, which first occupied the near-Earth orbit on the sunward side of Arrakis, began to release countless AI drones and carrier-based aircraft to fly towards the ground.
From a distance, it looked like a metal locust, which surprised many family dignitaries.
They didn't know when the Atreides family secretly built this huge interstellar fleet.
You know, the core technology of the Galactic Empire's warships is basically controlled by the engineers of the Space Guild. Without the help of the Space Guild, these families can only rely on self-research if they want to own a fleet!
But if they want to rely on self-research, they need a lot of Mentat for scientific research calculations, and the demand for spices is unimaginable.
The royal spies were furious when they saw that the guards of the Atreides arrived at Arrakis without the help of the Space Guild.
Because in order to weaken and delay the fleet of the Atreides, Emperor Shaddam bribed the Space Guild with a large amount of spices, asking them to take their time and not to care so much about the affairs of the Atreides.
Who knew that Leto did not place any warship orders with the Space Guild at all, and drove his own fleet directly to Arrakis.
But the rewards were all sent out, and the addicts of the Space Guild would not return the spices. They could only promise to provide more help to the royal family and the Harkonnen family in terms of warships.
As for how much help they could provide, that was not certain!
At this moment, in a star field 30,000 kilometers away from Arrakis, inside a spaceship, the senior members of the Harkonnen family were watching the fleet of the Atreides family, showing curious and surprised expressions.
Like members of other families, they were also curious about the interstellar battleships of the Atreides family, especially the blade-shaped dreadnought, which looked particularly domineering!
"My Lord Baron, the offensive devices and aircraft carrier formations of that fleet look quite powerful, and their reconnaissance and detection of the surroundings are also quite in place."
"Until now, our scouts have not obtained any effective intelligence. It seems that the Atreides family has been planning for a long time. No wonder they dare to declare war on the emperor and us!"
The person who spoke was Peter DeFre, the Mentat of the Harkonnen family. As a loyal lackey of the Harkonnen family, Peter has won the trust of Baron Barron with his clever and vicious means.
The head of the Harkonnen family is Barron Vladimir Harkonnen, but he is different from the mature and sophisticated Duke Leto with extraordinary temperament.
At this moment, Baron Barron is like a piece of white and tender human-shaped pork belly, bloated and greasy fat image, and it is impossible to tell that he will be the patriarch of the Harkonnen family.
But in fact, Baron Barron was once handsome, but because he offended the Virgin Helen, he was infected with a virus and became the unrecognizable person he is now.
And this state of a dead fat house also created Baron Barron's perverted, vicious, and crazy character. He is greedy, lustful, and greedy for money.
In order to maximize the exploitation of Arrakis's spice resources, this dead fat house has oppressed and exploited the local native Fremen.
This has led to the Fremen's long-standing resentment against the Harkonnen family. As long as there is a chance, they will rush up and smash this powerful family at any time.
"Is there really no news at all?"
Barron squeezed out a low questioning voice with his fat throat. He suspected that his subordinates were incompetent and couldn't even do such a small thing.
"I have urged them. I believe there will be new news soon!"
Peter responded cautiously. He knew the temper of his own baron. Any answer that did not conform to him would immediately arouse his anger.
To put it nicely, it is difficult to predict the kindness and power. To put it bluntly, he is a giant baby who can't control his emotions, a classic crazy tyrant.
"Hehehe! That fleet looks pretty good. No wonder old guy Leto dared to attack us."
At this time, Baron Barron sneered. He didn't understand why the Atreides family would rather spend such a huge price to create those live targets.
Do you really think their Holtzman shield doesn't exist!
"That fleet is a bit big, but it won't take many energy turrets to deal with their fleet. I think Leto is old and confused." Barron showed his contempt and disdain for the Atreides family. These idiots are worthy of robbing his Arrakis and spice business. Dream on! But Peter, who noticed something was wrong, hesitated for a moment and reminded Barron, saying: "Baron, I don't think this matter is that simple. Duke Leto may not be equipped with Holtzman shields. In that case, it may not be that easy to destroy this fleet." Peter just looked at the warships from a distance and felt that the other side's armor was too thick. Relying on some small-caliber energy cannons may not be of any use. "That's fine."
Baron Barron smiled disapprovingly, "War is just burning money. In order to completely destroy the Atreides family, I exchanged all the money that the Harkonnen family earned from spices over the years for warships."
"Now nearly half of the spaceships, warships and navigators of the Space Guild are basically on our side. The Atreides built so many useless things, and they must have run out of money."
"Leto is now an old poor guy. Once this war starts, he will be dragged to death even if it is delayed!"
In the Galactic Empire, the space fleet strength of the major families is almost equal to zero.
Most of the time, when they have a need for warships or spaceships, they will look for the Space Guild to organize an interstellar battleship corps.
Either by leasing or by buying out.
Of course, most families will choose the more cost-effective leasing of spaceships. After all, the cost of long-term maintenance and upkeep of a fleet is really too high!
In addition, there are usually few conflicts between families that will go to such a deadly point, so even top families like the Harkonnen family only ask the Space Guild to rent ships to fight.
Even the royal family is the same.
In short, fighting a war is a very expensive hobby, and fighting an interstellar naval battle is an extravagant act that costs a lot of money.
So in this embarrassing situation where a good cook cannot cook without rice, the major families in the empire will basically set a battlefield first before making an appointment to fight, and everyone will fight a more "economical" ground war.
Anyway, the dead soldiers can still allow civilians to continue to live, but if a spaceship is destroyed, the family really has to spend real money to buy or rent it!
What's more, this time the Corino royal family took the lead and asked the Harkonnen family to fight the Atreides family together, and the two families exploded the gold coins of Rato Laoden together. Where can you find such a good thing?
"Emperor Shaddam has brought his Sadoka Legion to guard the battlefield. With the joint siege of our two families, I want to see how long that old thing can live!"
Just as Baron Barron and the major families were paying close attention to the war in the Galactic Empire, a group of Atreides guards had already appeared on the ground of Arrakis.
On the dry, sandy planet, Hawat and the guards of the Atreides family had arrived here in advance and conducted a series of inspections and scouting for the arrival of Duke Leto.
After clearing out the dead men and assassins left by the Harkonnen family, Hawat dared to let Duke Leto come to the ground of Arrakis.
Here, as the two flapping-wing aircraft slowly descended, Duke Leto, dressed in military uniforms, and his family members all walked out of the cabin.
Leto went to the battlefield in person despite the danger, mainly to show the outside world that he had come to Arrakis in accordance with the contract and was waiting for the troops of Corino and Harkonnen to fight.
Who will be the throne of the Galactic Empire? Let's go to the battlefield to find out!
At this moment, Duke Leto stood on the high platform and looked around at the soldiers. He saw the family guards and tens of thousands of Fremen mercenaries, and he immediately felt a surge of blood boiling.
Although these people were all just there to help, it did not affect Duke Leto's enthusiasm at this time.
Listening to the melodious war drums and the cheers to welcome him below, Duke Leto nodded repeatedly and said with emotion: "From now on, the owner of Arrakis is our Atreides family!"
But soon, Leto realized that he had said the wrong thing. Arrakis and spices were things chosen by the Universal Corporation, and he was only holding them temporarily.
Thinking of this, Leto immediately whispered to Hawat, "We must mine as much spices as possible before the Universal Corporation takes over Arrakis, in case of emergency."
Since the Atreides have reached an agreement with the Universal Corporation, they cannot break their promise.
But it is a pity to give up spices like this. While I can still mine some, I should try my best to keep some for myself.
"Yes...but at our current mining speed, it may be a bit slow."
Hawat said dumbfounded.
It turned out that the Harkonnen family had taken away all the advanced mining equipment before leaving Arrakis, leaving only some dilapidated and outdated mining machines.
This also caused their mining efficiency to be a bit slow. Fortunately, the giant company of the world has agreed to provide equipment to help them mine spices, but it has not been delivered yet.
"Um."
Leto nodded.
It is of course the best to have the help of giant companies in the world.
But when he thought of the mysterious and unpredictable giant company executive Leon, Leto felt a strong curiosity and the desire to meet him.
Through the information provided by Song Zhaomei about the giant company, Leto found out that Song Zhaomei was just an ordinary department executive within the giant company, not even the most important department executive.
What kind of big shot is Li Ang, who is about to become the God-Emperor of the Galaxy Empire?
After thinking for a moment, Leto came back to his senses and continued to ask Hawat: "Has anything else important happened during this period?"
Hawat thought for a while and then replied: "It's nothing too big. It's basically within our expectations."
"Emperor Shaddam appropriated a large amount of money and sent the Sadoka Army to go here. The boy Barun also spent money to rent spaceships and battleships."
The Sardoka Legion is the elite force of the Kolino royal family. Their ability in ground combat is quite good, but times have changed now.
On the surface, Leto had made an agreement with Emperor Shaddam and Baron Baron to fight on the ground in Arrakis, but in fact, he had already ordered the giant fleets to occupy various fortress passages in advance.
Part of it is used as a frontal lure, and the other part is used as an ambush to surround the rear.
As soon as the Aerospace Guild's high-class ship and the spaceship carrying the Sadokar Legion appeared, they would immediately attack and defeat the opponent!
With a powerful naval fleet here, who would stupidly wait for the other side to land on the planet and engage in time-consuming and laborious land battles.
Since the royal family can form a team to play two-on-one justice, it is not too much for the Atreides family to launch a sneak attack.
With the huge expeditionary force of the Universal Company, the royal family and Harkonnen's ground troops cannot land on Arrakis unless they pass the Giant Company first.
As soon as the fleets of these two companies confront giant companies, they will immediately know what the civilization-level gap is!