Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 64: Failure to attract investment

Pavel did not leave the Rostov II. According to him, he would wait until the first batch of "Loyalty" was officially launched, and then return to the capital of Mariupol with the first batch of consecrated wine under the escort of the Imperial Navy patrol fleet.

During this time, he would remain on the Rostov II, although by remaining on the planet he meant remaining aboard his own Ecclesiarchy ship.

Although the first batch of 'Loyalty' has been brewed, the wine needs to be aged, and it does not mean that it can be drunk directly after it is brewed.

Although it is possible to drink it directly, both Chen Xi and Pavel feel that aging it for a year is the best option.

It's not just that the brewing recipe states that the wine needs to be aged in oak barrels for a year, but also that during the aging process, the wine is subjected to continuous hymns from the nuns of the Holy Rosary.

This process accumulates the Emperor's divine power within 'Loyalty', making it more powerful and more able to discern heresy.

As for the difference in taste between new wine and old wine... in the Warhammer world, the sour and unpalatable wine produced in Baal can be sold well in the Empire, so there is no problem with the taste of the Holy Blessed Wine.

Although it is not as exaggerated as Quartis Blanc, it is also an excellent choice among the popular wines in the empire.

Not to mention that the main function of 'Loyalty' now is not to drink, but to identify heresy.

Out of recognition for Chen Xi's brewing of this blessed wine and the importance attached to it by the state religion, when Chen Xi arrived at Pavel's flagship, he gave him a very high-level reception.

Although it is on a battleship, the Imperial Void Ship itself is a mobile palace, and the luxury of its upper deck is comparable to that of the palace on the top of the hive.

Even in space they would waste precious tonnage decorating rooms with marble, gold, and natural wood, devoting valuable living space to lavish statues and religious altars.

Considering that faith is indeed useful in the Warhammer world, and that there are living saints who can expel a great demon by reciting the Emperor's Maxims, it is possible that shrines used to worship the Emperor are indeed practical buildings.

After some pleasantries, Chen Xi and Pavel sat down and began to discuss the main topic.

"Sir Pavel, I'm not one to beat around the bush. I'd like to ask if the state religion can sponsor the cost of building an orbital star ring on Rostov II to deploy a defense system to protect the planet?" Chen Xi looked at Pavel and knew that beating around the bush was useless, so he expressed his needs directly.

After listening to Chen Xi's request and asking about the specific amount in detail, Pavel hesitated. He said hesitantly and entangledly: "Sir Chen Xi, if it is based on my personal opinion, I am very willing to pay this money.

But I think you should know that the state religion is not decided by me alone, and I am only the manager of these assets, not the controller.

How these donations from devout believers should be used requires discussion by the College of Cardinals and decision by the Archbishop of the sector.

If it was just a small amount of money, I could still raise it for you, but the amount you need is so large that it is beyond my ability to decide or guarantee."

Although the small amount Pavel mentioned was more than 10 million throne coins, it was still not enough for a planetary-level megastructure.

Chen Xi had asked Olivia to calculate before. Just building the main structure of an orbital star ring without any additional attachments would cost billions of throne coins.

This is not a small amount of money, and it can even be said that it is not something that an ordinary colonized planet can afford.

Even if the Mechanicus were kind enough to accept installment payments, completing the orbital ring would still require decades, if not centuries, of repayment. And for a planet burdened with hundreds of years of debt, would the creditor still be the Mechanicus? In the Warhammer world, even draining the planet dry wouldn't be enough.

If you are unlucky, the entire population of the planet may even be mortgaged to the Mechanicus by the Governor to repay the debt.

It is for this reason that Chen Xi wants to seek sponsorship from the National Education Institute instead of considering other ways to repay the loan.

Although it is not that he cannot afford such a sum of money if he can develop the entire sub-star zone, developing a sub-star zone itself requires money, and half of the profits from the development of the entire sub-star zone must be reinvested in its development.

The actual profit was to be divided into 10% for the governor of the star region and 10% for the state religion. The remaining 10% was originally reserved for the Mechanicus, but this part was not agreed upon.

This also resulted in Chen Xi losing his biggest financial backer in developing the sub-star zone.

Don’t be surprised. Although the state religion is rich, it is just rich, and at most has people.

To develop a sub-star region, money alone is not enough; a variety of equipment is also needed.

Although Maimai raised funds from the star district capital last time and successfully purchased the equipment needed for planetary development, this was only enough to complete the initial development of the Rostov galaxy and was not even enough to complete the infrastructure construction.

So after Pavel said he could not provide funds, Chen Xi felt a little embarrassed.

Noticing Chen Xi's expression, Pavel felt a little regretful but could only say that he was powerless. The most he could do was to help him lobby the Star Region Cardinals after returning to see if they could provide the funds.

"Although I can't guarantee that my lobbying will be successful, considering the current importance the state religion places on consecrated wine, providing some funding is still negotiable." Pavel didn't say anything final.

Chen Xi was somewhat hopeless about this, but still thanked him for his kindness.

Although he failed to achieve his goal, Chen Xi had no choice but to find another way.

Fortunately, he still has the development rights of an entire sub-star region. If Maimai can reach an agreement with Gria, he can use the mineral mining rights of one or two planets to pay for the construction costs of the orbital star ring.

Although doing so may seem a bit wasteful, and Graya may not necessarily take on this business, there is still a way out.

But this can only be a last resort and not Chen Xi's first choice.

But generally speaking, it is not impossible to exchange planetary mining rights for cooperation with the Mechanicus, but Chen Xi will suffer a greater loss by doing so.

Just when Chen Xi was hesitating, he suddenly received a notification from the starport that a Mechanicus forging ship had sailed out of Mandeville Point.

"Mechanicus? Why are they here?" Chen Xi was immediately confused, and at the same time, he became extremely alert.

(End of this chapter)