After the court session ended, Wang Chong immediately summoned officials from the Ministry of War to discuss the matter of re-conscription.
"Gentlemen, the current situation is urgent, and we must replenish our troops as soon as possible."
The officials nodded in agreement. The Left Vice Minister stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Your Excellency, we can issue a notice to recruit new soldiers. At the same time, we can adopt a policy of appeasement towards the soldiers who deserted earlier. Those who do not wish to return will not be forced.”
Wang Chong nodded and sighed, "That's exactly the point. In any case, we cannot indiscriminately kill those soldiers who are unwilling to return."
The officials obeyed the order and began posting notices inside and outside the city to recruit new soldiers. At the same time, they also sent messengers to communicate with the deserters, hoping to persuade them to return.
Half a month later, with the guarantee of military pay, the number of new recruits quickly expanded to 150,000.
Although Wu Yunyin knew that Wang Chong had not acted entirely according to her orders, she did not blame him.
She knew in her heart that if the killing continued, the Ministry of War would have no one left to use.
Just when Wu Yunyin thought all the problems were solved, new problems arose.
Li Yan reported that grain prices near the capital had skyrocketed, to the point that there was no market for it. Although the court had military pay, it could no longer buy grain.
The grain that the imperial court has purchased is only enough to sustain Song Xuan's army for two months. The newly recruited soldiers will soon run out of food.
Li Yan, as the Minister of Revenue, was also completely baffled. The Great Wu had begun to recover internally over the past three years, and its annual grain production was very abundant.
But suddenly, all the grain disappeared. After investigation, no useful clues were found. Grain merchants said that the grain had been bought by people from other places.
Wu Yunyin ordered Li Yan to hurry up and buy grain, but ten days passed and they still hadn't bought even five thousand shi of grain, which was far from enough.
Looking at the overflowing military pay in the national treasury, Wu Yunyin suddenly realized a terrible problem.
"The most painful thing is when a person dies before they've spent all their money."
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