"Why, do we have a fourth-level tax exemption?" Ron couldn't believe it. Tax exemptions were granted to planets or regimes that made significant contributions to the Empire. Erth, a low-level hive planet, didn't seem like a likely candidate for such a status.
"God Emperor, it seems you've truly forgotten a lot," Bayev said with a heavy expression. "This story begins five years ago," he said, gesturing to the assessment report on the table. "Five years ago, the Holy Terra Ministry of the Interior raised Erth's tax tier..."
As Bayev recounted the story, Ron finally understood what had happened. It was the story of Ron's father, Grant Senior, the former Governor of Erth. Erth was a typical mineral-producing planet with a thriving mining industry. Under the former Governor Grant's rule, mineral resources were developed in an orderly manner, resulting in a substantial surplus after paying the tithe to the Empire.
Compared to other extravagant, tyrannical, and incompetent planetary governors, Grant Senior was relatively benevolent; at least he cared about the lives of his people. Under his leadership, the planet flourished.
The people of Erth didn't have to toil day and night in the mines, nor did they worry about starvation. They could occasionally enjoy a meal of bread mixed with sawdust. In this cruel universe, this was a paradise.
This continued until officials from the Holy Terra Interior Ministry arrived. They assessed Erth and determined it had greater tax potential. They misjudged Erth's ability to bear the tax burden and abruptly raised the tax tier by three levels!
Grant Senior desperately appealed, but all fell on deaf ears. With tax season approaching, and after repeated warnings, Grant Senior was forced to mobilize all his forces to exploit the resources. However, this reckless mining led to massive environmental damage, frequent mining accidents, and the deaths of millions of his people.
"Is there no other solution?" Ron couldn't help but ask, even though he knew the outcome.
"Do you mean to resist?" Bayev shook his head: "Resistance is unwise and meaningless. That is a betrayal of the Empire. Erth will become a battlefield, and the people of Erth will shed their last drop of blood in their homeland!
No one can refuse the Empire's orders. The Empire has thousands of huge fleets, hundreds of billions of soldiers, and millions of powerful Space Marines. Just send a fleet or a squadron of Space Marines, and it can easily destroy Erth."
The consequences of not paying taxes are serious. "Tithe is loyalty to the God-Emperor, the greatest obligation of the citizens of the Empire. It is aimed at everyone and no one can refuse it."
Bayev sighed: "Your father knows this very well, but his heart is not cruel enough... The result is that he failed to collect the corresponding materials and the tax was postponed. Your father begged the Ministry of the Interior to give him some more time, but those damn officials of the Ministry of the Interior only saw taxes and didn't care about the suffering of Erth! They believed that Erth was resisting taxes and directly sent the inquisitor from the Ministry of Justice to investigate."
Ron's heart was gripped. The intervention of the inquisitor meant that things had gotten out of hand.
"What is the result of the investigation?"
The Inquisitor's team was attacked by Chaos heretics. The Inquisitor himself was slightly injured, but a female investigator died. It was an accident..."
Ron sighed. They were attacked just after they came to investigate. Who would believe it if you said it was an accident?
Bayev seemed to know what Ron was thinking and continued, "As you thought, the Inquisitor did not believe it was an accident. He was extremely angry and reported the matter to the Inquisition, claiming that Chaos had eroded the planet Erth and needed a comprehensive cleansing!"
Good guy, was the Inquisitor so angry that he dared to involve the Inquisition.
The Inquisition was the most powerful secret agency of the Empire during the Horus Heresy, responsible for identifying and destroying all threats facing the Empire and humanity. The Inquisition has extremely broad powers. There is no formal hierarchy or corresponding centralized leadership within it, and it is only responsible to the Emperor.
This means that the Inquisitors are free to maintain the survival and continuation of the Empire in the way he sees fit. Without restraint, Inquisitors often become fanatical and ruthless lunatics, even murdering their own people in fits of rage.
As Ron had predicted, the Inquisitor had the bad luck of encountering a manic Inquisitor. His important ceremony was interrupted, and he, overcome with rage, journeyed to Erth. Upon arrival, he first investigated the Inquisitor.
After uncovering evidence, he executed him on the spot for bribery and abuse of power. The Inquisitor then investigated Erth, but nothing happened; it was truly an accident.
Grant Senior thought the matter was over, but the Inquisitor believed that paying taxes was a sacred obligation and the foundation of the Empire. No planet, no matter the reason, could evade taxes.
If everyone behaved like Erth, the Empire would be shaky and at risk of collapse. Erth must fulfill its obligations, not only paying the overdue taxes but also paying fines!
Grant Senior pleaded with the Inquisitor to consider the people of Erth; they could not bear such a burden.
"Life is the Emperor's coin, sacrifice the cornerstone of the Empire!" declared the nearly insane Inquisitor.
Thus, under the Inquisitor's watch, a brutal taxation system was implemented on Erth. Any resistance would be executed. Billions of people toiled day and night, billions perished in the mines, and countless more were sent to the Astra Militarum to fight the xenos on the front lines.
By the time the taxation was over, Erth had lost half its population, its surface extensively devastated, and suffused with deadly pollution.
"After paying such a price, the people of Erth finally collected the taxes demanded by the Inquisitor," Bayev said, tears welling in his eyes. "Those are Erth's blood and tears!"
"When the Inquisitor left, Lord Grant begged him for help in appealing. Erth truly couldn't bear such heavy taxes. He hoped he would tell the Holy Terra Ministry of the Interior the true situation on Erth, so they could reassess Erth and lower its tax rate."
"Did he agree?" Bayev's eyes were red. "He, he chopped off Lord Grant's head, and blood splattered everyone... He declared Lord Grant a heretic, saying he smelled Chaos! But Lord Grant was so kind, how could he be a heretic?"
Ron clenched his fists slightly. "What was the Inquisitor's name?"
"It doesn't matter, he's dead."
What? Ron was incredulous.
The Inquisitor was a powerful being capable of fighting Chaos, aliens, and any potential threat, even battling Chaos demons in single combat. How could he die so easily?
Bayev addressed Ron's doubts: "We didn't kill him, it was the Warp Storm..."
An accident had occurred after the Inquisitor's ship had departed and entered the Warp. A powerful Warp Storm tore through the ship, hurling debris and human remains from the Warp to the ground.
"A small part of the Inquisitor's body is missing. He lay on the ground, unable to move, and ordered us to treat him immediately!"
Bayev recounted, seeming to feel some relief. "We could have saved him, but no one moved. We just watched him. We watched him lower his head and plead for our help, watched him slowly despair, and begin to curse our blasphemies... We all watched him struggle on the ground until he died!"
Ron sighed and patted Bayev's shoulder.
"Maybe Old Mike was right..." Bayev wiped a tear from his eye: "We blasphemed the God-Emperor, and we've been abandoned!"
"Why?" Ron was puzzled.
"That inexplicable Warp Storm destroyed the route, and the planet's only astropath died. We've been cut off from Holy Terra until now..."
Astropaths are the crucial intermediaries between Imperial territories and Holy Terra. Normally, Warp Storms wouldn't affect them.
A Warp Storm powerful enough to kill an astropath directly? Ron stood up quickly. "Could it be the Great Rift?"
(End of Chapter)