Gu Hang had not seen Yelisia for a long time.
Since two years ago, when Yelisia led a naval vessel and completed her near-Earth support mission stationed in orbit around Rage Owl Star, they had only met once, and that was when Pei Desi was at death’s door.
Besides that, they had little other communication.
What was the relationship between them before?
They were, at most, well-coordinated partners, and even calling them friends felt like a stretch, to say nothing of harboring romantic feelings.
Clearly, their engagement had nothing to do with feelings, it was purely a political marriage, a union of interests.
Gu Hang didn’t have many scruples about such an arrangement, and he wasn’t particularly averse to political marriages.
The two were not complete strangers; in Gu Hang’s memory, they had interacted at a young age on Flying Wing Star; later on Rage Owl Star, they spent two years together.
Though they hardly met face to face during those two years, they had plenty of contact. The alliance’s establishment on Rage Owl Star wouldn’t have been possible without Yelisia’s protection of the planet’s orbit.
If a political marriage was to take place, having Yelisia as a partner was undoubtedly preferable to some unfamiliar person.
Moreover, Yelisia was quite beautiful, which suited his aesthetic preferences.
Of course, getting married and having a wife was secondary. Being the ruler of two planets, he was not lacking in women, no matter how beautiful they might be.
The main benefit was the alliance of the two households, which indeed had significant advantages.
Then, he would proceed with it.
Additionally, Gu Hang had another consideration.
Naval development was a critically weak area for the alliance at present, yet it was also the most challenging to improve.
At this point, all technologies related to the navy and interstellar travel were advanced items in the system’s [Technology Tree] panel. So far, Gu Hang had only managed to acquire the [Star Harbor Technology Blueprint] and [Traveler]. Other technologies, like compact energy technologies and anti-gravity engines, although essential for interstellar travel, did not count as core technologies.
Obtaining these technologies would require a substantial cost, necessitating draws from higher-level prize pools.
Furthermore, even if they were acquired, the related construction work would be hugely expensive and time-consuming.
The saying “ten years for a land army, a hundred years for a navy” was not an exaggeration.
The alliance needed to establish its navy, especially a powerful one that could truly be effective. There were many gaps to fill and a lengthy period to transcend.
Naturally, this was a step the alliance had to take toward the Star Sea, no matter how difficult the path. They still had to tread it.
But if a shortcut appeared before completing the journey, why not take it?
Yelisia Fufana was that shortcut.
She herself had finally reaped the fruits of victory after the recent successful defense against the Green Skin Orcs’ raiding fleet in the Rage Owl Star System, being promoted to the rank of proper Imperial Navy Rear Admiral.
While the Fufana Family may not have been said to control the Tianma Fleet, they certainly had many protégés and old associates within it; at the higher levels of the Imperial Navy headquarters, they also had their network of connections.
Having married Yelisia, Gu Hang could also call upon these connections.
That was not to say he could claim the Tianma Fleet as his own; even the Fufana Family would not dare to make such a claim.
However, at least when the alliance’s naval forces were virtually non-existent, he wouldn’t have to worry about being targeted by the navy; and when necessary, as long as he was willing to pay a sufficient price, he had a channel through which he could utilize the Imperial Navy’s services.
This was where the value lay.
Before setting off to attend his own engagement ceremony, Gu Hang had some matters to attend to.
He had accumulated a lot of grace points, which he needed to find an opportunity to spend.
This substantial sum of grace points had a relatively complex composition.
War rewards were one aspect; just in the Panbos Kingdom alone, despite significant troop losses, it was undeniable that it was a victory, and Gu Hang earned over twenty thousand points in rewards there.
Adding up the previous offensive against the Kingdom of Stefano and some counterinsurgency actions, as well as wars of annihilation against a few smaller nations with deluded rulers, the total exceeded another ten thousand points.
Moreover, the ongoing battles by the Rage Bear Legion on Korolya earned Gu Hang several thousand grace points from time to time.
All in all, he had accumulated forty thousand points from war rewards alone.
The bulk of the remainder stemmed from the accumulation of monthly grace points over the past year.
With a large influx of population moving to Rage Owl Star, leveraging the existing population for rapid developments in productivity, the monthly grace points provided to Gu Hang had already broken the four thousand mark.
Heijian Star, on the other hand, was initially considered a vassal state. It provided fewer grace points, just a few hundred. He supposed the small number was due to a significant reduction imposed on vassal states.
However, two events led to changes.
The first was the recognition and legitimation of the alliance as a political entity by the empire. This legally recognized and officially acknowledged Gu Hang’s ownership of the affiliated Heijian Star.
Secondly, Gu Hang’s military actions effectively brought global control.
Third, while wrapped in the guise of the New Kings’ Council, the actual political system being enforced, rapidly taking root over the last six months, significantly strengthened the alliance’s control over the entire Heijian Star.