Apart from the three star systems controlled by the Alliance, there is not a single good spot left in the entire Spiderweb Space.
No one can be blamed for the state of the Princess Starfield; it's beyond just being bad. You could say the entire starfield has been emptied out.
Roughly one-third to one-half of the world has been ravaged by extinction orders and rendered utterly worthless.
Of the remaining slightly more than half of the planets, the remaining population is extremely small. Perhaps, across more than three hundred worlds, only ten billion people remain?
On average, a planet has 30 to 40 million inhabitants.
This reminded Gu Hang of the Angry Owl Star when he first started out.
Relying on these local populations to rebuild planets one by one? Gu Hang was not keen on doing such a thing.
It's not that it's impossible.
Back when the Wrathful Star was rebuilt, Gu Hang didn't have such strength. He started from scratch, and yet it still turned out like this.
However, he knew better than anyone how much effort it would take.
It's not good value for money.
Instead, we should gather the population together as much as possible, then choose a nearby world with a good natural environment and an acceptable level of damage from the Zerg, and settle and develop it in a unified manner.
Let's put the other planets aside for now.
Use it as a training ground, clear it out slowly, just like the Irontooth Orcs' former territory in the northeastern part of the Dragonhawk Starfield.
A decade or two has passed, and the policy centered on recolonization, supplemented by long-term surveillance and military cleanup, has been generally quite successful. Now, there's little need to worry about orcs reappearing in large numbers, forming massive, unified tribes that could sweep across a planet. The colony's fighting strength, armed by the Alliance, is sufficient to contend with the orcs.
With four star sectors and forty or fifty worlds, the population has exceeded six billion thanks to persistent immigration and encouragement of childbirth.
In the vast, sparsely populated plains where threats were relatively minor, large tracts of farmland were established. A typical family, consisting of an adult couple and perhaps one or two elderly relatives, would have three to five children. The workforce might consist of only two or three people, but this could still constitute a small farm, often encompassing over 500 hectares of land.
There's no need for intensive farming. The superior varieties cultivated by the Alliance Biological Research Institute, combined with advanced agricultural machinery, can be used for large-scale mechanized production, and that will suffice.
Even so, it is possible to avoid planting on land that is not truly fertile.
These are all considered national farms of the Alliance. The grain produced belongs to the Alliance. The people on these farms aren't really farmers, but rather agricultural workers. They have ranks, receive wages, and share in the farm's output. Because of the high yields, their rank advancement is relatively fast, which allows their descendants to acquire more land upon reaching adulthood—whether by expanding the family farm or by splitting off and establishing a separate farm elsewhere.
Life was quite wonderful.
It's just that the population is a bit sparse, and they can only pass the time with Alliance radio, television programs, and alcohol. But compared to their lives in the lower rungs of the hive before they immigrated here, it's definitely much better.
There are also planets whose ecological environments are not suitable for large-scale agricultural production, so mining is a good option.
In short, those four star sectors were no longer a burden on the Alliance. Instead, they became granaries and mineral deposits, supplying the enormous food needs of Seven Horselands and Yunluo, while also providing military rations. There was a surplus that could be sold as goods or used to pay taxes.
The successful experience in these four star sectors is meant to be replicated in the Queen Star Region, in other worlds that still have a chance of being saved.
However, apart from the Princess Starfield, the Fox Moon Starfield, located at the easternmost edge of the Spiderweb Universe, is barely considered to be in a better situation, similar to the Thorn Mustard Starfield.
However, the battlefields on the northern and western fronts were a complete mess.
The situation on the western front was relatively better. At least the western front campaign was won, and the Zerg swarm failed to devour planets on a large scale. The main problem was infection, which could be solved through the "Zerg Control Office" plan in the Thorn Starfield.
It can be considered a worse version of the Thorn Starfield.
However, the northern route was in a bad situation.
The Northern Front Army truly left Gu Hang with a huge hole. They allowed the infection to spread there and then lost the war.
The problem there can no longer be solved with a simple "insect control" approach; it requires recolonization.
There is a slightly better piece of news.
The Black Cross Legion felt somewhat guilty about the mess they had left behind. They would leave behind 500 Space Marines, a large number of mortal troops, and a battle fleet centered around a single battle barge, to work with the Alliance and slowly resolve the mess on the northern front.
They don't need Gu Hang to pay them for fighting.
While a portion of military expenses was saved, the larger portion went into reconstruction costs.
The two star regions on the northern route, Lefo and Jianmen, can only be considered as the slightly better-off Empress Star Region.
Recolonization, even if it takes at least ten years, will not yield results.
Moreover, there is another difficulty.
One of the reasons why it was possible to recolonize the Irontooth Orc-occupied territories back then was that the Dragonhawk Starfield had a large population, with several hive worlds that, according to the Alliance, had an overpopulation.
In those hive worlds, population is already a burden, far exceeding the ecological carrying capacity of the planet, much like the former Koroga 3. The only option is to simply use the population as a resource to offset taxes.
That would obviously be a huge waste.
By migrating outwards, the need for a large population for recolonization is addressed, ecological pressure on the planet is alleviated, and the relocated population will have a better and brighter future. Apart from the initial investment, everything else is a benefit.
However, the Spiderweb Space, ravaged by war, is indeed short of population.
It is indeed possible to conduct larger-scale migrations from the Menghe Starfield and the Longying Starfield to those worlds in the Spiderweb Universe.
But obviously, that would cost much more.
Moreover, it may not be able to meet the demand.
Basic policies to encourage childbirth should still be released.
But besides that, Gu Hang also needs to think of other ways to quickly increase the population.
There might not be enough people to raise enough children, and there might not be enough time to do so; the number of immigrants within our own territory is also insufficient; the only remaining option is to bring in immigrants from outside.
You can buy it.
In the surrounding cosmic regions, including other star systems in the eastern cosmic region, there are many nest worlds that make money by selling people.
However, buying people is very expensive. The basic price is 10 tax coins per adult; Gu Hang's desired increase in population is in the hundreds of billions or trillions, which is too expensive. The cost of transporting people is also quite high.
There are many pitfalls.
Letting Gu Hang take over the entire Spiderweb Universe and then imposing exorbitant taxes would put a lot of pressure on him.
However, Gu Hang still decided to accept.
This is a good opportunity for legitimate and reasonable expansion.
If the pressure is greater, then it is greater.
It can withstand it.
A vast territory spanning an entire cosmic domain represents immense potential for development. A little hardship in the early stages will surely lead to a brighter future.