Chapter 405: The Empire's Longzhong Strategy (4k large chapter)

Even in the unscientific Warhammer world, technology is the primary productive force.

With the joining of the two Necron Overlords, Hogg's small group of heretics grew stronger and stronger, to the point where the Inquisition would immediately issue an extermination order upon sight.

I have to say that power is a good thing. If Hogg was just an unknown can, the Inquisition would not have to intervene. With all the things he had done, he would have been killed long ago.

But who can blame him for being the Primarch? Even if the young man from the Inquisition had ten thousand guts, he would not dare to start a war in Blackwatch. After all, if he dared to go to Alicia and make a noise today, he would be put into a sack and disappear from the world at night, without having to wait until tomorrow.

Just two days after arriving in Alicia, Hogg was called back by the Emperor through a psychic call, and was asked to bring his wolf-god with him.

To be honest, he has been a little scared of the yellow old man Hogg recently. He always feels that he is living in the shadow of this yellow-skinned guy. From the first time he returned to the legion and led the troops to fight, to now when he has grown into a young star god, no matter what he does, the Emperor can always see through it at a glance, as if he was installed with a camera.

"Will I never be able to escape from the clutches of Old Man Huang for the rest of my life?" Hogg, who was enjoying afternoon tea with Horus, sighed.

Hearing this, Horus, who had something to ask for help, wanted to tell the little secret, but every time he wanted to open his mouth, he found that the speaker on Hogg's waist flashed a golden light, as if he would be beaten up by his father as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Well, Hogg, have you ever thought about obeying your father?"

"Obey? Why should I obey him? That idiot Old Man Huang wants to order me around. Look at what stupid things he has done. Without me, the empire would have been destroyed long ago!"

Having said that, Horus still didn't understand why Hogg was always at odds with the Emperor. Even for him, who considered himself his beloved father, Hogg and the Emperor were not 100% similar, but at least they were cut from the same mold and were both deceiving.

Bald Ogryn's thoughts were easy to guess, even Hogg could see it. Facing this good brother who performed his duties diligently for all the Primarchs, Hogg could not do anything like letting a good man be pointed at with a gun;

"Alas, Baldy, you don't understand, it is precisely because that rebellious son of the yellow-skinned man is like me that I am so disappointed in him. Obviously, everything could be better, but it is his damn character that makes things that should have been normal become a mess.

You say I have no feelings for him? Of course I do. After all, I raised him from the bottom of my heart. But sometimes I really want to pry open his brain to see if there is a fart spirit controlling him. "

"Oh, I think it's okay! My father is so wise and brave, especially his tall and round figure is just what I like. I really want to..."

"Bang!" A big punch came from the backhand. The rebellious son who was awakened by the beating did not say what was in his heart in the end. But seeing his ulterior motives, Hogg still believed that this guy would become the chosen one of Slaanesh sooner or later.

"You idiot, don't expect Huang Lao to have much emotional intelligence. He is just a scumbag. If I hadn't educated the Primarch in the first place, with his idea of ​​using the Primarch as a tool, do you believe that at least half of the brothers would have rebelled?"

Thinking carefully about the Emperor's behavior, even Horus, a daddy's boy, had to admit that although his father was a wise and brave man, he was indeed lacking in personal morality.

But if his vision was broken by Hogg's words, then Horus would not be the well-known "sickly" filial son. He asked back:
"Come on, the brothers you educated are not much better. Little Mokhan aside, Curze and Corax are already useless. They don't look like Primarchs at all. Everyone knows that they are useless brothers. I even suspect that Tzeentch let them go on purpose."

"You're talking bullshit!" Having been hit in the sore spot, Hogg would never admit that there was anything wrong with his education method. No matter what, he was better than the Emperor:

"If I hadn't educated them well, how could they have escaped from Tzeentch so easily? Even though they are a bit useless, it's better than the previous ending."

"What's the ending?" Horus, who grasped the key to the problem, asked on the spot, and the speaker also emitted a barely detectable golden light.

Hogg originally didn't want to tell this dark secret that had been hidden deep in his heart, but now that things had come to this, he was unwilling to hide it and immediately told the dark ending of the original timeline.

Upon hearing that the Empire was beaten to a pulp by Chaos in that timeline, the Emperor far away on Holy Terra roared:

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't believe me." Looking at Horus who was shouting in front of him, Hogg picked up the cup of radioactive Nuka-Cola and drank it down, explaining:

"Don't think I'm kidding you. That scene is completely real. We almost made the same mistake and became the tragic empire that was bullied by the violent Hongru in the story."

Horus sat back on the sofa with a frown on his face. He was unwilling to believe the scene described by Hogg, and he could not accept that he was the one who beat his father to the point of paralysis.
"But if it was really as you said, the Empire wouldn't have fallen to this point and become a complete waste! What about the Space Marines? Can't they protect the Empire?"

Looking at the eldest son arguing with his rebellious son in the video, the emperor couldn't help but feel satisfied. He was indeed his wolf-herding god. Even though he was addicted to pornographic pictures, he was still his proudest offspring.

"Look, Old Ma, I told you my education method is not bad. Look how great Horus is!"

"Fuck you," Malcador knew that he would eventually turn into ashes, so he didn't pretend to be a sloppy middle-aged man. He turned back into his original silver-haired handsome boy and picked up the scepter to beat him, cursing as he beat him:
"Fuck you, Neos! It turns out that I'm the worst offender in the end.

"You're a dead liar. I shouldn't have believed your lies in the first place. Damn it, even if the Primarch betrays me, it doesn't matter, as long as I die, right, Tom!"

No matter what the other Eternals think, Malcador is the Emperor's true brother and beloved friend. He doesn't want this political kid to get upset, otherwise the pressure will be on him.

In order to make plans for retirement and idleness in the future, the emperor symbolically took a few beatings, and then he hugged Lao Ma in his arms and said a lot of nice things to him like a scumbag, which made him calm down.

"Neos, listen carefully. This is the last time. Otherwise, I won't help you anymore. But I must have two days off every week. This is non-negotiable."

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll listen to you. Whatever you say is right."

Just like when they first met, Malcador was still too young and could not resist the Emperor's persuasion, even his requests were so subtle.

But they didn't know that the walls had ears. This scene was witnessed by a dog head hidden under Achilles' armor and recorded with the help of the powerful information processor in the helmet.

Swallowing his saliva slowly, Rambo thought to himself that what the Emperor said was true. No wonder the Emperor would send the imperial guards away every time Malcador came. It turned out that the two of them were committing adultery in broad daylight. Even a dog could not bear to watch it.

Coincidentally, since Malcador was summoned by the Emperor today, Guilliman, who was no longer under supervision, decided to take a day off and directly occupied Rambo's gorgeous doghouse. Rambo, who had nothing to do, was forced to take over for his friend because of his consecutive losses in the game, and put on golden armor to guard the door, and then he saw such an eye-catching scene.

As a loyal citizen of the Dog Empire, Rambo happened to be one of the interstellar super dogs that fought with Gotha in the galaxy 6500 million years ago. Under the influence of his surroundings, he inevitably became infected with Hogg's suicidal character.

If the human guards saw this, they would definitely turn around and leave to prevent information leakage, but Rambo was different. After seeing this scene, he not only did not leave, but was so excited that his hair stood on end. He chose to keep silent and record it down:
"Woof! Hehe, it's worth it to see this scene, even if it is made into DOG meat hot pot! Maybe if I hand it over to His Majesty the Emperor, I can get countless canned ant bulls."

On this side, Rambo, who had transformed into a real paparazzi, was concentrating on peeping, on the other side, the Emperor and his companions were hesitant. Only Horus, who was thousands of miles away, was truly broken in. He could not accept that dark fate at all.

When asked why the Space Marines did not defend the Empire, Hogg sneered and pointed at the bald Ogryn and taunted:

"Horus, think carefully about it. Given human nature, how could they fully trust a superman who could overthrow their rule?"

"Do you think the Space Marines have no ability? Quite the contrary. It's not that they don't have the strength, but that they did too well, even exceeding everyone's expectations. It is precisely because of their strength that they attract fear.

Not to mention that after the Great Expedition, the Great Rebellion, and the Great Purge, the strategic direction of the empire has changed from external expansion to maintaining stability and development, and the military preparations have been relaxed to a certain extent. "

"No one in power will fully trust our heirs, not the Emperor, not Guilliman, not even you. Only I, Hogg, fully trust the Black Watch."

"Otherwise, why do you think Guilliman promulgated the Codex Astartes in the first place? Wasn't it because he didn't trust the Legion during that peaceful period? Only by splitting the Legion with the final say into Chapters can everyone feel at ease!"

Horus and the other two were choked and speechless, but he still argued:

"But don't we still have my descendant Abaddon? With him as an obvious external enemy, it won't be like this."

"Tsk, you won't believe me even if you tell me this. Abaddon's incompetence is well known to everyone from Caliban to Ultramar. For thousands of years, how many of his 12 dark crusades have been successful?"

"Does anyone really think that his 13th Dark Crusade will succeed? And then blow up Cadia in the process? No kidding, okay?"

The words are rough but the truth is true. Horus is more familiar with Abaddon than anyone else. He has launched 12 consecutive black crusades without being killed by his subordinates from behind. This is already an extraordinary performance.

Horus could not ask for too much from this loyal and hardworking son. Even the Emperor, the sword-wielding Ogryn with negative EQ, gave him the position of Warmaster because of his hard work and great contributions during the election.

"Alas, you are right. After all, not everyone is as loyal to the Empire as the Sons of Dorne. Even my Luna Wolf cannot do that."

Emperor Malcador and his companion also sighed. Although Rogal Dorn was usually very tactless and his mere presence could instantly make any occasion dull, the Imperial Fists guarding Terra were still very steady. If it weren't for this group of rigid lemon elves, Holy Terra would have fallen long ago.

As soon as these words came out, Hogg sprayed out his Coke. He felt that Horus didn't understand what he said at all:
"No, buddy! Are you really stupid or just pretending to be stupid? Why are you just like that old wall lamp of Old Man Huang? Do you think the Empire can only support a million Space Marines?

No, without the Primarch's restraint, the Empire can only control a million Space Marines at most."

"You are right about the loyalty of the Sons of Dorne, but this large group of loyal Space Marines will also make some high lords uneasy. If you still don't understand, I can give you an example."

"What example? Do you know it, Malcador?" The emperor, whose mind was full of ways to deceive people, was ignorant of current affairs and wanted to ask his external brain like a rebellious son, but before Malcador could answer, Hogg in the picture began to tell the story.

"Although the time has changed slightly, in the year m34.646 our group of brothers gradually disappeared.

Because Wangerich, who ruled the empire, became too cruel, the Imperial Fist commander Thorn could no longer bear it, so he personally took up his sword and went to Luo, and had some heartfelt words with Wangerich! "

"In the same year, the Ultramarines Chapter Master, Asio."

"It's Agnasius!" Horus added.

"Ah yes, the Ultramarines Chapter Master Agnasius. What a difficult name to pronounce. It was this young man who personally led the 50th Chapter Alliance to his loyal Holy Terra and [kindly] guided the reconstruction of the Imperial Senate with the help of bolt bombs."

"Not to mention that 2000 years later, when Gorgor Vandir, who controlled the empire, was equally cruel and incompetent, the Grand Marshal of the Black Templars, together with the commander of the Imperial Fist, led the Four Regiments Alliance to launch the Jingnan Campaign. He was personally as powerful as Vandir, the broken-backed dog."

"And this is not the end. When Guilliman Johnson and I launched the Terran Crusade, the Assassin's Court joined forces with the Imperial Guard and the Third Company of the Imperial Fists to attack the Senate Court and cooperate with us from both inside and outside.

When they were able to completely control a Tauren regiment, it was already a great achievement.

Oh, sorry, I seem to have forgotten that even though the Minotaur Legion betrayed the High Lords Council in the end, they have now become my lackeys, and together with the Weepers, they call me Uncle Eleven, who they love better than anyone else.

Now I ask you, if you were the one in power in the Empire, would you still have complete trust in the loyal Imperial Fists? Yes or No? "

Horus was unable to utter a word, nor was Malcador. Even though they knew what Hogg said was true, they still did not have the courage to promise that they would not change. Only the completely shameless Emperor said:

"Well done! Such loyal and patriotic people should be led by a wise ruler like me!"

After taking the last sip of Coke, the two looked out the window and saw the Space Marine Combined Fleet anchored in Terra's orbit. Horus thought for a long time and muttered:
"The immense power gathered here makes me feel suffocated! Whoever can control this army before me can pluck the stars."

When Horus finished speaking, a bottle of Nuka-Cola, still steaming with a hint of cool air, was stuffed into his hands. Then, the Wolf God heard his short brother laughing:
"Why think so much? With us brothers here, they are the ones who should be suffocated! And once old man Huang dies, all these will be ours."

"Hahaha, you're right, brother!"

(End of this chapter)