Chapter 623 Where Did So Many Saint-Level Experts Come From?

In the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Hall of Diligent Governance in the imperial palace is the highest power center in the Great Xia Dynasty. The courtiers who can stand here on weekdays are all exemplary figures who have reached the pinnacle of their lives.

The current emperor is young and often unwell, so apart from the grand court assembly on the first and fifteenth of each month, other court assemblies are often missed. When court officials have difficult-to-determine government affairs, they submit their reports to the regent, Empress Dowager Wang Yushi, for approval.

Today is the first day of the fifth month of the second year of Jinglong's reign. The court sessions, which had been interrupted for more than ten days due to the young emperor catching a cold, have resumed.

The little emperor, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, was still as playful as ever, twisting and turning a delicate iron toy with great enjoyment.

Of course, expecting a two-year-old to sit still for several hours is really asking too much of him. It would be good enough if he could stay there quietly and play with you for most of the morning without making a fuss or needing to urinate.

However, Empress Dowager Wang Yushi had a solemn expression today. After dealing with several important backlogged government affairs, she brought up the matter of preparing to attack the orcs.

Because the elves planned a surprise landing in Oslo, she only mentioned the sea creatures and the temple as allies. Even so, the fact that the three major powers were joining forces to attack the orcs caused an uproar in the entire court.

Most of the military officers were extremely excited. As long as there was a battle, their official ranks would rise rapidly. The young and strong civil officials were also beaming with joy. The territories conquered by the military officers also needed to be governed by the civil officials. In the court, the old and powerful officials had been suppressing the young people from rising in rank, while the old guys could not compete for such a job as a regional governor.

The land beyond the borders is bitterly cold and the journey is long. The elderly folks with poor health could easily lose their lives if they were not careful, so they could only watch helplessly as young and strong officials rose to power through indirect means.

However, there was another force in the court that did not want to launch this war, which seemed to have a very high chance of success. If they won this war, the prestige of the young emperor and Wang Yushi would be soaring to an unbelievable level. A powerful emperor was not what they wanted to see.

Qin Mu and Qin Jian remained silent, but naturally, some people stepped forward to express their opinions on their behalf.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, our Great Xia has been at war for many years, leaving our national treasury empty. Moreover, with the new emperor now enthroned, it is truly unwise to wage a major war. Otherwise... I fear the people's hearts will be unsettled!"

"Oh? The people's hearts are unsettled? Why is that? Haven't we fought enough wars with the orcs? When has war caused unsettlement among the people?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Great Xia is currently waging war in the Western Regions. The Ministry of Revenue allocates funds every year to support the reconstruction of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in the Western Regions. If we were to launch a large-scale war against the Orcs in the Northern Frontier at this time, the Ministry of Revenue would truly be unable to cope."

Whenever Qian Boyi, the Minister of Revenue, heard that the court was going to war, he would always cry poverty, regardless of whether he had money or not. Otherwise, if he couldn't come up with the money when the war actually started, those military officers would curse him and his mother.

But before Qian Boyi could say more than a few words, the Minister of Commerce stepped forward and spoke.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Commerce has done its utmost over the past year and has earned enough wealth to support the expedition of 50,000 men."

"Minister Zhang, thank you for your trouble. There is still some silver in the Imperial Treasury. This expedition is mainly to respond to our allies. The troops we need are of high quality, not many. One hundred thousand men will be enough. Since Minister Qian said that the Ministry of Revenue has no money, then we will not trouble you ministers of the Ministry of Revenue to worry about it."

Wang Yushi first praised Zhang Xiuwen, the Minister of Commerce, with satisfaction, then indifferently stated that the Ministry of Revenue would not provide the funds. Her indifferent tone made Qian Boyi, the Minister of Revenue, feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

What does "No need for the Ministry of Revenue to trouble itself" mean? It means that the Ministry of Revenue has made no contribution in this battle that is sure to be won. Qian Boyi looked at the faces of his colleagues and subordinates in the Ministry of Revenue and knew that he was not far from retiring and returning to his hometown.

The young emperor's ascension to the throne was fraught with twists and turns. Qian Boyi did not stand firmly on Wang Yushi's side at the beginning. Since you are no longer useful, what's the point of keeping you around? Wang Yushi didn't even need to lift a finger. The Ministry of Revenue had plenty of people to deal with Qian Boyi for her. Who wouldn't want to be the boss? After serving as the Minister of Revenue for so many years, how could Qian Boyi's hands be clean?

"Your Majesty, our Great Xia has five Heavenly Realm experts, but Zhou Yuan is elusive and I am required to remain in the capital. The Prince of Chang Le has recently gained new insights and is going into seclusion to cultivate. As a result, only General Zhao is left to command the army at the front. If the Orcs were to mobilize several Great Witches to besiege our Great Xia army, we fear we would be unable to withstand them."

Wang Yushi glanced at the solemn Qin Mu and said without any emotion, "At least ten Saint-level experts will be attacking the Beastmen in the Western Continent. Do you think they will have time to worry about us? Besides, Zhou Yuan has already agreed to go to the north to assist General Zhao. Prince Yan and Prince Chang Le can just stay home and wait for good news."

“............”

Qin Mu and Qin Jian looked at each other in bewilderment. They had only intended to put on airs, but who would have thought that Wang Yushi had no intention of using them at all? They couldn't figure out where they had found eight Saint-level experts.

Has someone in the temple suddenly become a saint again? And three of them at once?

"Let's leave the matter of sending troops here for now. Now let's talk about the post-war situation. I intend to follow the example of the Western Regions and encourage the people of Great Xia to go north to explore. The court will establish several protectorates to govern and manage local peace."

The Great Xia Dynasty implemented a system of enfeoffment of nobles in the Western Regions. This system placed the least burden on the central government and maximized the initiative of the enfeoffed nobles. Now, the situation in the Western Regions is developing in the direction predicted by someone, and the complete pacification of the entire Western Regions is not far away.

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