Chapter 459 They won't be traveling with me, will they?
Qin Mo saw Emperor Zhaowu again, and Emperor Zhaowu was furious.
Tongguan Pass is more than a thousand miles away from the capital. It is a necessary passage for people from the central and eastern parts of the Great Xia Dynasty to travel to the Western Regions. In order to enable the private armies of the various noble families of the Great Xia Dynasty to assemble more quickly and conveniently, Emperor Zhaowu set the assembly point for the western expedition at Tongguan Pass.
Even so, one-third of the nobles still failed to assemble at the designated military camp on time.
"Is there no one willing to obey my decrees anymore? Or... do you already want to replace him with another emperor?"
"Your Majesty, in previous years the conscription order would be issued more than six months in advance, but this year the noble families have less than three months to prepare. There are quite a few noble families who cannot gather enough armor, troops, or even travel expenses..."
Faced with the furious Emperor Zhaowu, Prince Changle had no choice but to plead for the nobles who had not arrived on time.
For this western expedition, Emperor Zhaowu did not appoint Qin Mu, the Prince of Yan, who had been through many battles, to lead the troops. Instead, he appointed Qin Jian, the Prince of Changle, who had been quietly cultivating himself, as the general. The implications of this decision are worth pondering.
"How can a nobleman with a title and territory not even be able to gather enough troops and armor for his retainers? What face does he have to call himself a nobleman? Why doesn't he ask to be demoted to a commoner?"
"...Your Majesty, it is now the beginning of summer, and the nobles have not yet received their summer and autumn taxes, so everyone is a bit strapped for cash..."
"Heh! Short of money? Don't think I don't know. Which of you hasn't been doing business all these years? How could a little armor and weaponry be a problem for you? You're probably just using all sorts of excuses to fob me off..."
"Well!……"
Qin Jian remained silent. He was too lazy to deal with the increasingly neurotic Emperor Zhaowu. In any case, he had already done his job pleading for the emperor in front of everyone. If Emperor Zhaowu wanted to use the nobles as scapegoats, so be it!
"This time, I will strip them of their titles and see who dares to disobey me in secret!"
When Emperor Zhaowu spoke of outwardly complying with but inwardly disobeying, his gaze lingered for a long time on Qin Mo, who was sitting in the front row with a nonchalant attitude.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't. Among those nobles who haven't arrived, there may be some who are hoping for a lucky escape, but there are also many who have exhausted their family fortunes through years of war. I beg Your Majesty to consider their years of service to the country and forgive them this time..."
"No need," Emperor Zhaowu said, his gloomy gaze sweeping over the hundreds of nobles present. "The fact that you arrived here on time is enough to show your loyalty. I will give each of you ten taels of silver for military expenses, based on the number of soldiers under your command, so that you can purchase armor and weapons to aid the western expedition."
"...Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty is so generous..."
Qin Mo watched as everyone expressed their gratitude, and he also bowed in a gesture of thanks. Although he didn't care about the money, he had the most men among the noble private armies, and he couldn't just leave without showing any appreciation for the benefits he had received.
"Qin Mo, your Prince Heng's troops are well-equipped with armor and weapons, and have ample supplies of food and horses. Why not share your share of military pay with your comrades?"
"......"
"I bought a watch last year..."
Qin Mo hadn't even lowered her hands from her chest when she heard Emperor Zhaowu kindly advising her.
"Your Majesty, I may or may not accept this money, but may I ask you, Your Majesty, if I were to receive military merits in the future, would you then say that I 'do not lack merits' and force me to relinquish them?"
"Military merit is earned with the blood and lives of soldiers; how can we give it up? Qin Mo, you're overthinking it..."
Emperor Zhaowu's expression remained amiable, and his words were as warm as a spring breeze, but the fleeting ruthlessness in his eyes did not escape Qin Mo's notice.
"Your Majesty is right. I was overthinking it. Trading one's life for military merit is a tradition that has been passed down in Great Xia for thousands of years. Who would dare to break this rule... If the rule were truly broken, those soldiers would be capable of anything if they went berserk..."
"Hehehe! Prince Heng is so witty..."
"What Prince Heng said is interesting... Hahaha!"
"Qin Mo, what are you thinking! Let's not talk about that now. Give your uncle a hundred sets of your size two armor..."
"Uncle Qin Mo, my father is Marquis Chen Ze, could you sell me... a few cannons?"
"Exactly! I saw the cannons from the Marquis of Kaiyang's family yesterday, wow... really impressive! How much are they each? I want ten or eight of them..."
"I..." Qin Mo was speechless. You haven't even received the reward that Emperor Zhaowu promised, and you're already coming to me to spend money. Can't you see that Emperor Zhaowu's face is turning purple with anger?
"Gentlemen, lords, and sons of noble families? Please hear me out..."
A eunuch emerged from behind Emperor Zhaowu; judging from his attire, he was likely a chief eunuch.
"I am Shao Gang. Thanks to His Majesty's favor, I have been given a position in the Royal Workshops. Out of consideration for everyone, His Majesty has specially ordered the Royal Workshops to supply you with top-quality weaponry, armor... and even cannons are not out of the question..."
"Damn, they even came up with this kind of scheme of designating specific projects for loans. This spineless bastard surnamed Shao, could he be one of my cronies...?"
In her past life, Qin Mo knew this tactic. A certain country offered a large amount of interest-free or low-interest loans, but you had to buy the goods they specified. Looking at Emperor Zhaowu's current tactics, it's obviously the same! If you don't buy the goods from the royal workshops, you can forget about the reward of ten taels of silver per person.
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