The interests of the family come before those of the United Empire.
This was a very unpleasant statement, but in reality, it was precisely what a great many nobles were doing. The appearance of the Chancellor truly surprised many, but for the vast majority of Iridium Star's citizens, the appearance of the Chancellor didn't much affect their daily lives. At most, people would pay some attention to what the Chancellor looked like, how graceful his wife was, how cute his daughter was, how magnificent his fleet was. Beyond that, they would still need to buy their cooking oil and vinegar, and they still watched their sports teams if there were matches to be played.
But it wasn't like that for some people.
On Chunshe Star, a minor Administrative Star within the United Empire, the powerful noble Mi Family was in a state of anxiety, like ants on a hot pan, hearts filled with panic.
The patriarch of the Mi Family, Mi Daojian, sought out Hai Chen, the Governor of Chunshe Star, to discuss countermeasures. He made his visit late at night, even disguising himself at a club midway, before switching vehicles to arrive at Hai Chen's outside residence—all to avoid attracting attention.
"What should we do?" Mi Daojian directly asked as soon as he saw Hai Chen.
Hai Chen was the Governor of Chunshe Star, but for the planet to operate normally, the people of the Mi Family were essential. This wasn't for any other reason but because the Mi Family had been cultivating this planet for three thousand years. With the exception of a few Atomic Substance Construction devices, most of Chunshe Star's Atomic Substance Construction equipment was in the hands of the Mi Family.
This situation was quite common on other planets too. Although all Atomic Substance Construction equipment was nominally owned by the Empire and not supposed to be privatized, management and usage rights could be subcontracted. This way, many nobles had seized control of the Atomic Substance Construction.
Hai Chen shook his head, no longer able to show a pleasant face to Mi Daojian. A day before, all the Atomic Substance Construction equipment on Chunshe Star had "gone on strike"—not an actual strike but ceased to accept operation instructions from the factory's management. All production orders were now directly controlled by the Cabinet's Supply Department, which in actuality took all its instructions from Qiming Manor.
In the past, the usage of Atomic Substance Construction equipment followed a particular order: production arranged by Supreme Command was unquestioned and always took priority; those used to meet the everyday needs of the planet's populace, as managers controlling the equipment, got prioritized; and the excess capacity of Atomic Substance Construction, which often was more than half, could be used by managers to produce scarce resources or luxury goods, thereby earning more profits.
In such a scenario, whoever had the capacity held the wealth. The nobility developed their own resource extraction forces, obtaining a wealth of resources from various resource stars, while on the other side, they used the excess capacity of Atomic Substance Construction to manufacture developmental consumer goods.
Therefore, the average Iridium Star citizen lived without worry for food and shelter; calling them "content and happy" would even be an understatement. However, the nobles still continued to accumulate astonishing riches. They purchased spacecraft and luxury vehicles, lived in palatial manors, and spent money extravagantly. Ordinary people could only look on in envy. For them, no matter how hard they struggled, reaching such heights was practically impossible.
Anxiously, Mi Daojian said, "The current situation has surely caused strong dissatisfaction within the noble class. Remember, the nobility are the cornerstone of the United Empire. The Chancellor's first act after his return hit the nobility directly. This is truly unwise and has chilled the hearts of us, the Empire's loyal subjects."
Hai Chen had not expected Mi Daojian to be so greedy. He felt a bit of contempt but didn't show it, saying, "What can we do when even the Knight Family, the Knights of Destiny, have been uprooted, and the other eleven families are like dogs holding their tails, unable to let out a peep. The Chancellor controls the Supreme Command. He can do as he pleases."
With a pained expression, Mi Daojian said, "The united Imperial tradition of five thousand years, how could it be changed just like that? My various factories have started to produce some odd and assorted things, and they even require us to deliver these to designated locations. There's simply no profit in this."
All he could think about was the interests of his own family. Almost all noble families indulged in extremely extravagant consumption. In fact, the noble circle itself had created a luxury consumption-based economy because the high-end consumer goods they produced were unaffordable to the average person, leaving the nobles as the only market for their own products. Some nobles produced one type of luxury, other nobles another, and they exchanged with each other, ultimately forming an economic pattern completely disconnected from the general populace.
Once again, Hai Chen expressed his inability to help, feeling sorry for Mi Daojian's lack of awareness of the bigger picture.
Having received no help from Hai Chen, Mi Daojian was not discouraged.
His son, Mi Gengxi, with a worried frown, said, "Father, the Governor can't help us. What should we do?"
Mi Daojian's eyes narrowed as he said, "The situation is not unique to Chunshe Star; hundreds of other planets are experiencing similar issues. It's not just our family that's affected, millions of nobles have been impacted. Just because the Knight Families have cowered doesn't mean other families will. If we can't express our stance to the Chancellor, I fear there will be no more nobility in the future United Empire of Iridium Star."
Mi Gengxi shuddered, feeling frightened, and asked, "Father, what do you intend to do?"
Mi Daojian said coldly, "For the United Empire, stability is paramount. Since the Chancellor has taken rash action, he must bear the consequences of it. Many noble families have already contacted me, ready to protest. Of course, such protest should not be carried out by us nobles alone, but by everyone together…"
The next day, Chunshe Star was suddenly gripped by viral panic. Rumors spread that the Chancellor was forcing all Atomic Substance Construction equipment to operate haphazardly, dismantling the "highly efficient" management previously in place, potentially leading to a short-term shortage of daily supplies for all residents of the planet, including food and other necessities.
This rumor seemed corroborated as many people working for production plants and logistics companies started to receive orders that were vastly different from the usual, creating the impression that they may really be cut off from supplies.
In reality, Mi Daojian had secretly held back supplies meant for distribution across the planet, artificially creating a shortage, while workers in the factories received items like Powered Individual Armors or other tech devices—things utterly unrelated to their daily lives—naturally leading to panic.
When the same scene unfolded on dozens of other planets, panic and unrest emerged. Some people began to gather in front of the Governor's Mansion to petition, hoping the Chancellor would retract the reform and restore normal production, to return peace to everyone.