Chapter 300 Empire Storm
In recent times, the situation in the empire has calmed down a little, and the empire's three-front external war has entered a stalemate phase.
During the war with the Papal States on the southern front, there were continuous autumn rains in Zezhou and the roads were muddy. Both sides dug deep trenches to avoid fighting. The empire needed time to produce arms.
The Papal States needs time to gather the untouchable cannon fodder.
The empire's strict internal control also played a role. Governors in various places acted cautiously, and the usually arrogant and domineering councils, nobles, and lords all put away their claws.
The Great Elder agreed with Li Longxing's plan of "extraordinary times, extraordinary management" and his principle of "there can only be one voice in the empire, and that is the voice of the Supreme Council."
Under such management, the empire's economy actually saw a slight increase, which surprised the experts who predicted that the empire's economy was about to collapse, and the voices of opposition disappeared without a trace.
Now, there is no big news in the empire, it is as calm as a lake without wind.
Although there are still turbulent undercurrents beneath the lake, most of the trickles have subsided.
Under such circumstances, the secret war between Shizhou and Changshan County became the only big news, attracting the attention of most of the empire's upper echelons.
"This kind of handicap empire has rarely opened in recent years."
Yunzhou Governor Zhao Chaoyang sighed.
"It's detrimental to the authority of the Supreme Council. It's absurd that regions within a country can openly go to war with each other."
Xu Chengfeng, the head of the headquarters, also sighed.
"This shows that the Supreme Court is hesitant and doesn't want to provoke internal conflict at this point, so it's shifting the blame onto them, letting them decide for themselves. They don't realize this will only cause greater harm. It's truly a case of drinking poison to quench thirst."
Old friend Li Changsheng picked up a bowl of green wine and drank it all in one gulp, his sad expression clearly visible.
Zhao Chaoyang suddenly said, "How about we place a bet too?"
Xu Chengfeng was stunned: "Are we going down too?"
Li Changsheng glanced at them drunkenly and asked, "Who should we play next?"
"Of course it's the guy from Changshan County."
"Go to the virtual plate?" Xu Chengfeng asked tentatively, but he knew it was impossible.
A virtual odds refers to a betting position set by a gambling company with an imperial background, where people bet on who will win or lose. The current odds for Shizhou against Changshan County are 15,600 to 1.
With their level, they won’t play virtual games, they will definitely play real games.
The real market is the real market, which is equivalent to the highest bet. The betting method is to directly assist the warring parties in order to gain benefits after the war.
It's like a proxy war.
This is also why they find it ridiculous - how can a proxy war be carried out within the empire?
Zhao Chaoyang smiled and said, "Of course it's a real deal!"
The other two old friends sobered up all of a sudden.
They looked at each other, "But, Lao Zhao, will this cause trouble?"
"Will they think we are involved with Changshan County?"
Zhao Chaoyang slapped his thigh and said, "Have you forgotten how ambitious we were when we wrote The Book of Empire: The Biography of Lin Wen?"
After hearing this, the three of them began to get excited.
The green wine on the stove was already hot. The three of them drank a bowl each. After drinking the hot wine, they felt a surge of heroic spirit.
"If you want to help me, I'll help you. I'm not afraid of anything!"
"Yeah, we're just placing bets, so gamblers aren't allowed to make big bets, right?"
"Right, right, right. We are simply placing bets. We just want to find a new way to make a small profit."
"Then what should we provide assistance to?" Xu Chengfeng, the head of the headquarters, raised the key question.
Yunzhou Governor Zhao Chaoyang thought for a while and said, "Changshan County is going to war, so of course they need reinforcements and supplies. I happen to have a batch of scrapped Owl Eagle-10 helicopters, so I'll give them to him!"
Li Changsheng, commander of the Southern Army, slapped his thigh and said, "Great! I also have a batch of Type 58 tanks that are about to be scrapped. Let's help him too!"
Minister Xu Chengfeng said distressedly: "I don't have any arms aid."
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he laughed heartily, "Hahahaha, although I don't have any munitions, I can provide subsidies. Changshan County has taken in 8 million refugees. According to Article 137 of the Imperial Emergency Management Act, the Empire is obligated to provide humanitarian aid to areas hosting refugees. 8 million people, I can provide 8 billion in aid!"
"Hey, wake up! Your plan won't pass. Even if it does, the Supreme Council will immediately reject it."
Xu Chengfeng sneered and said, "You underestimate me, the Minister of Civil Affairs of the Empire. Money needs to be approved, supplies need to be reviewed, but water does not!"
"I will provide Changshan County with 8 billion tons of pure water!"
With a puff, the two men sprayed out the wine.
They looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Haha, okay, that's it!"
"It follows the rules and procedures, and other people can be greedy, so why can't I?"
"Right, right, right. Betting is legal and reasonable. Let's go now without further delay!"
——
Imperial capital.
Taiming Palace.
The First Princess, Li Linyue, dressed in her finest attire, was about to attend the Imperial Youth Banquet. Before leaving, she instructed, "Increase assistance to Gu Xuanli. Give him ten Yuntai tokens and let him distribute them as he pleases."
Liu You, the core of the Princess Clan, bowed and replied, "Yes!"
Another core member, Xiao Zhizhong, asked, "Does Changshan County need assistance?"
In the past, the Princess Faction always bet on both sides in such matters.
Li Linyue did not answer this question, got into her exclusive luxury car and drove away.
"Forget it." Liu You sneered, "Changshan County is so ungrateful, he deserves it."
——
To the Winter Palace.
Yu Zhongxian issued the latest instructions:
"Take advantage of this opportunity to concentrate our forces and intensify our confrontation, striving to regain the initiative in the struggle against the Qin Group before Changshan County is defeated."
——
Emperor's Tower.
The eight elders gathered together.
Elder Lin Yabo spoke first.
"Your Majesty has exploited this national crisis to brutally persecute the pillars of the empire and leniently treat the worthless and untouchable. This is the greatest catastrophe the empire has suffered in the past forty years. We must stop your Majesty's perverse actions and do everything in our power to prevent the expansion of imperial power. Otherwise, if the Great Emperor returns, the achievements of the Shenwu Reforms over the past 180 years will be completely undone."
Elder Wang Wengong objected: "I think your majesty's reforms are good. The fact that the national economy was able to recover under the strict control of war is proof of this."
Elder Moshili snorted, "This is just a brief flash of life. Without us, the pillars of the empire, the empire's economy will collapse, and the empire will not be able to win the war."
The two sides had different opinions and argued for a long time without any result.
In the end, basic consensus was reached only on the issue of limiting the expansion of imperial power.
The eight elders all agreed to jointly combat the expansion of the imperial faction.
As for the secret battle in Shizhou, there were many opposing opinions. Some disagreed that Changshan County was a pawn of the imperial faction, while others believed that the governor of Shizhou had too many conflicts of interest and was unwilling to participate.
The meeting ended in a bad mood.
Afterwards, Elder Lin Yabo found Elder Mosili.
"Elder Mo, I think we should give Yu Shizhou some assistance."
Elder Moshili shook his fat body and disagreed with the opinion of his close ally:
"However, Shizhou is very close to the Qin Group. Qin Gang is our enemy. His weapons-only approach is very harmful to our biological program. He has also publicly announced methods to counter special operations units."
Elder Lin Yabo sneered, "Qin Gang is deliberately trying to embarrass us."
"Then should we still aid the Governor of Shizhou?"
"Help? Why not? That little bastard from Changshan County is the greater threat. He's a super-individual faction, while we're primarily focused on mass-produced biological weapons with economic value. Heretics like him should be eliminated first."
"What's more, he destroyed my slave trading group and killed my nephew. I must avenge him!"
Elder Mosili squeezed his fat body into the chair, and the pear wood chair groaned under the weight.
"Yu Zhongxian won't agree. He's in the middle of a fight with the Qin Group and won't stop."
Elder Lin Yabo said coldly, "That's why we must aid Governor Shizhou even more. We won't aid anyone else. Our giant factory is now complete, and the mass production technology is mature, so we'll just aid his giant forces. Imagine, seeing Governor Shizhou achieve a resounding victory with our biological weapons. What would Qin Gang, a weapon-centric person, think?"
"Hahaha, what a good plan! You are indeed the cunning and wise Elder Lin."
Elder Mosili laughed so hard that his entire chair was shaking.
Elder Lin Yabo sneered a few times and continued, "However, we can't send too many aids. Shizhou's interests are too involved, otherwise we will be trapped. I can send a special giant team to attack the Changshan army from another direction to help Shizhou win."
"Then you have to be careful." Elder Mosili smiled and said, "His Majesty has been very strict recently. The Imperial Political Supervisory Council has become much more powerful recently. If they catch you, it will be difficult for you."
Elder Lin Yabo snorted coldly, "Let those little bastards run rampant for a while. After the war, there will be plenty of time to settle accounts with them. Then, they will know who the master of the empire is."
"By the way, how's the immortality project at your Leila Institute going? How long will it take for the life-extending drug to be successful?"
Elder Mosili's face darkened as he said gravely, "Nerve cell regeneration is truly an unsolvable problem. We've tried every possible method, but we still haven't overcome this difficulty. Once a nerve cell withers, the process is irreversible."
Elder Lin Yabo asked, "I heard there was a case of apoptosis being stopped in Changshan County?"
"impossible!"
Elder Mosili sneered:
"Research on nerve cells is the most advanced biological research in the Empire, and indeed in the world. All the instruments, equipment, and personnel required must be state-of-the-art. How can such a topic be studied in the barren mountains of Changshan County, where only gorillas can thrive? They're just a few old con men trying to scam people out of money with a fake case."
Elder Lin Yabo hesitated for a moment and said, "I'd better go check it out, just in case."
"Go ahead, but I warn you, don't get your hopes up."
(End of this chapter)
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