Due to the escalating warfare, the Ecclesiarchy has now completely halted the migration of Pilgrims to the Rostov Sub-Sector.
This decision temporarily deprived the Rostov Sub-Sector of new population input.
Fortunately, a large number of Ecclesiarchy Pilgrims had already been transported to the Rostov region before this.
According to the latest population registration data, the total population of the entire Rostov Sub-Sector is approaching the ten-billion mark.
Most of these people remained in the Rostov System, which accommodates nearly half of the population.
Another two billion people were allocated to the planet Zaporozhye, becoming miners for the local mines; one billion were assigned to the Forge World of Rostov III, working as laborers in the roaring factories; and another two billion were sent to the newly developed colony world Kherson, to build new homes there.
After a short adaptation period, these immigrants have largely settled in their new locations.
They have not only completed the construction of basic residential facilities but also established a complete administrative system, enabling these worlds to truly operate as Imperial standard colonies.
From the perspective of Imperial law, if Alex, as the Star District Governor, were willing to adopt a more stringent ruling strategy, he could now fully begin collecting standard Imperial tithes.
In addition, several hundred million people are scattered throughout the Sub-Sector.
They are distributed among various small mining colonies—these settlements are often established on asteroids or moon surfaces, with populations ranging from a few million to tens of millions.
Although these mining stations are considered legitimate colonies by Imperial standards, they cannot be compared to complete planetary worlds.
This population distribution led to a surge in the population of Rostov II to four billion.
For a planet that has not been developed for long, this is undoubtedly a huge burden.
Fortunately, the hydroponic farms on the Orbital Ring are fully operational, and the forge factories can produce corpse starch while refining promethium, so there have been no issues with food supply on the planet so far.
As for living space, there is no need to worry excessively. Rostov II is slightly smaller than Holy Terra, and before receiving immigrants, the planet's surface only had a population of over a billion.
Although the development time is short, it is not to the extent that the additional two billion people cannot be accommodated.
Although Alex did not order the construction of Hive Cities, there was no problem with expanding the cities and then accommodating two billion people.
The real pressure lies in how to effectively utilize these two billion people, assign them jobs, and make them productive, rather than truly having two billion biomasses just existing there.
On this matter, Alex was genuinely a bit stumped, not knowing what to do.
In fact, for a typical Imperial Planetary Governor, this is not a problem.
Because they simply wouldn't care about these matters! Unemployment rate? What's that? People are starving? What does that have to do with me, the Governor!
For the Imperium, the lowest strata of the populace are not even included in the Imperial population statistics; if a large population cannot be managed, then they are simply left to fend for themselves.
Taking Hive Cities as an example, the Bottom Nest is home to a vast population, most of whom are Hive City gangs, Mutants, and the impoverished lower class, but this huge population is not included in Imperial population statistics because they do not pay taxes to the Imperium at all.
Even from a strict Imperial legal perspective, they cannot even be considered human.
Yes, according to Imperial law, Mutants with severe mutations, such as growing a third limb or other obvious deformities, are no longer considered legal Imperial Mutants and are to be executed upon discovery.
However, if they only have ears or tails, such as beast-eared girls or even furries, while still classified as Mutants in the Imperium, they are considered legal Mutants.
This is why the Líng Guāng family, despite having a pair of upright ears on their heads, remains a noble Imperial aristocratic family, because this level of mutation is truly insignificant.
Also, here's a dark joke: according to the Imperial standards for determining Mutants, Genestealers are not considered severe mutations.
If it weren't for their mental control by the Tyranid Hive Mind, Genestealers would truly be exemplary abhumans in the Imperium.
For Alex, of course, he could not simply leave these two billion people to fend for themselves.
This is a huge source of instability, a tremendous waste, and a severe destruction of the planet.
After all, the pollution generated by two billion people just from eating, drinking, and excreting is enough to completely destroy the ecology of an entire continent on the planet.
Regarding this, one only needs to look at the sanitary conditions of that wretched place, India, during the 3k era, to know how filthy humans can become when left to their own devices.
Therefore, Alex not only built residences for them but also ordered the construction of complete supporting living facilities, which undoubtedly solved the employment problem for some people.
At least jobs like sewer pipe workers need to be done by someone, right?
Even if Alex settled many workers through these supporting facilities, there is still a long way to go to settle two billion people.
After all, the employment opportunities provided by these service facilities alone are very limited, and a city cannot just consume without producing, can it?
Although Rostov II currently does not lack food, and Alex could afford to support this group of people even if they truly just existed, he is not accustomed to supporting a group of useless people who only eat.
While he will ensure their food supply to prevent them from starving, he will not allow them to do nothing but produce waste after eating.
These people must create value through labor, thereby paying Alex for their food, instead of continuing to be a debt on the Governors Office.
Some of these people were relatively clever and quick to seize opportunities; they tried to apply to the Planetary Governor's Office to establish factories to produce all sorts of things that might be needed in daily life.
Alex, of course, approved such applications instantly. This not only met the social needs of Rostov II but also provided employment opportunities to a certain extent, alleviating Alex's political pressure.
After all, in this Imperium, the more you want to get things done, the more you have to learn to withstand pressure.
Because you never know what kind of tricks these people, from the High Lords of Terra down to the Hive City gangs, will pull on you.
So, although he approved the applications instantly, Alex still had people conduct a very strict and serious review of the countless proposals submitted.
Only after ensuring that everything complied with Imperial law and had no suspicion of heresy could a factory truly begin construction.
However, for the enormous number of two billion people, this was just a drop in the bucket. Alex had to come up with better ways to settle, or rather, utilize this labor force.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"