(urth) STL vs FTL

[thalassocrat at nym.hush.com]

On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:14:07 +1100 Jeff Wilson <jwilson at io.com> 
wrote:
>thalassocrat at nym.hush.com wrote:
>> 
>> And also: how could he have been the ruler of many worlds 
>without 
>> some kind of FTL travel? 
>
>The way it was done by rules from Alexander to Victoria: by proxy 
>through stationary vassals, the individual territories garrisoned 
>with 
>loyal forces superior to any the locals are likely to raise.

How does that work with travel times of perhaps hundreds of years?