He led a massive army of 100,000 imperial warriors on a northern expedition, directly approaching the city of Zhuozhou. He was indeed the newly appointed martial arts champion and a top-ranking martial artist in the imperial court.
At this moment, Wu Sanjia, the commander of the Tiger Warriors on the march, was wearing bright armor and a ring-pommel sword at his waist. His resolute face revealed a firm and courageous gaze.
Wu Sanjia, who had just turned 30, finally ushered in the highlight of his life after sitting on the sidelines of the archives management office of the Daxin Military Department for half a year.
In the Battle of Mozhou, Chang Yuchun, the deputy marshal of the Longcheng army, was defeated, and more than 50,000 Longcheng troops were annihilated or captured. This victory marked the first major victory for the Daxin Dynasty against the "Longcheng rebels" under the command of Prince Chen Huai'an.
When this news reached the capital, the entire court and the people of the Great Xin Dynasty were astonished.
Even Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, who was usually at odds with the corrupt prime minister Qin Ruhui who controlled the court, unusually stood on the same side as Qin Ruhui and did not hesitate to praise Wu Sanjia.
He was praised as a great general of the new dynasty who "saved the crumbling edifice" and was also promoted and ennobled.
Originally, Wu Sanjia was only meant to replace Flying General Li Jingyu as the commander of the Imperial Tiger Army, but he was once again entrusted with an important task by Empress Dowager Su Wan'er of the Great Xin Dynasty and the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui.
He was promoted from Wu Sanjia to the position of Grand General in charge of military affairs, holding the official rank of First-Rank Commander-in-Chief.
In less than a year, Wu Sanjia transformed from a low-ranking sixth-grade official in the Ministry of War into a first-grade general commanding 300,000 troops.
This demonstrates the importance that the Da Xin court and the general public placed on the Wu Sanjia.
Therefore, as soon as the imperial edict conferring his title arrived, Wu Sanjia ordered his army to set off early the next morning, heading straight for Zhuozhou.
Wu Sanjia knew very well that everything he had now was entirely due to his outstanding achievements in the fight against the rebels in Longcheng.
To retain this hard-won high-ranking official position, wealth, and honor, the only option is to continue the northern expedition and severely damage the rebel army in Longcheng.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, scouts at the front report that the vanguard of the army has arrived at the walls of Zhuozhou, but the rebel forces in Longcheng, who are defending Zhuozhou, are refusing to come out. Please give your instructions, General!"
At this moment, a messenger from the army hurriedly rode up to report.
"Very well, I understand!"
Mounted on horseback, Wu Sanjia remained calm and composed as he issued the order: "Pass down the order that the army set up camp outside Zhuozhou City and await an opportunity to attack the city!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
The messenger and his troops, without stopping, obeyed the order and departed.
Wu Sanjia then said, "Men, immediately draft a memorial to the court in my name, stating that the Tiger Army has won its first battle in the Northern Expedition, severely damaging the Longcheng rebels outside Zhuozhou City, and that the capture of Zhuozhou City is just around the corner!"
"In addition, I would like to mention in the memorial that the court will allocate the funds for the Tiger Army's great victory at Mozhou to the Tiger Army. The families and widows of the Tiger Army soldiers who died in the Battle of Mozhou are still waiting for this pension to make a living!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
......
The next day.
Inside the Golden Palace in the Imperial City of Beijing.
Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Daxin Dynasty, led all the civil and military officials to court to discuss matters.
The young Empress Dowager Su Wan'er ruled from behind a screen with the three-year-old Lingwu Emperor.
In the imperial court, after a series of stereotypical greetings to the emperor, the discussion moved on to its main topic.
Prime Minister Qin Ruhui said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager—"
"This morning, the Ministry of War received an urgent memorial from General Wu Sanjia, Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xin Army, delivered from Zhuozhou;"
"The memorial states that after achieving a great victory at Mozhou, our Great Xin Tiger Army pursued the enemy and dealt another heavy blow to the rebels in Longcheng. The Tiger Army's advance is now directly aimed at the walls of Zhuozhou."
"The capture of Zhuozhou City is just around the corner!"
brush!
This news shocked the entire government and the public.
All the civil officials believed this to be an auspicious omen, praising Wu Sanjia as a lucky and valiant general of the new dynasty. They believed that with him leading the army to launch a northern expedition, the suppression of the Prince of Jin's rebellion would be just around the corner.
Of course, these civil officials couldn't help but flatter Prime Minister Qin Ruhui as well.
The article praises Prime Minister Qin for his discerning eye in recognizing talent, boldly promoting Wu Sanjia, and entrusting him with important responsibilities, calling it a stroke of genius from the First Prime Minister of Daxin, who turned the tide and saved the crumbling empire.
Amidst the chorus of praise, there was not a single word of flattery directed at the nominal ruler of the Great Xin Dynasty, Emperor Lingwu Zhao Lingwu, or Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, who was ruling from behind the curtain.
Clearly, all the civil and military officials of the Great Xin Dynasty had long since followed Prime Minister Qin's lead and had no regard for the young Emperor Zhao Lingwu and Empress Dowager Su Wan'er.
On the throne in the Golden Palace, the young Emperor Zhao Lingwu sat alone on the dragon throne, looking blankly at the group of court officials chatting and laughing in the hall.
Subconsciously, he turned his head to look at his mother, Su Wan'er, behind a curtain.
The curtain was semi-transparent, so much so that the court officials inside the hall, dozens of steps away, could not clearly see the expression of Empress Dowager Su Wan'er sitting behind the curtain.
However, on the other hand...
Looking across the grand new imperial court, who would care about a pair of puppet mother and son?
"Everyone, quiet!"
At this moment, Qin Ruhui waved his hand, signaling the court officials to quiet down.
When Prime Minister Qin spoke, the once noisy court fell completely silent.
Qin Ruhui continued, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager—"
"The mighty General and Commander-in-Chief Wu Sanjia is still submitting a memorial to the court, urging the Tiger Warriors to pay their wages!"
"From what I can tell, Wu Sanjia's intention is that if the court does not allocate funds, he will not attack Zhuozhou City. Wu Sanjia will only continue his northern expedition when the court's funds reach the Tiger Army."
With that, Qin Ruhui bowed slightly and said, "This matter is of great importance; I humbly request Your Majesty and Empress Dowager to make the final decision!"
"Prime Minister Qin, since it's the Tiger Legion's pay, just have the Ministry of Revenue allocate the funds directly!"
In the Golden Palace, Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, who was sitting behind a curtain listening to the government, finally spoke up: "The court does not lack hungry soldiers, let alone Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Legion, who are carrying out the task of suppressing the rebellion for the court. Their pay should not be delayed!"
Hearing Empress Su Wan'er's words, Qin Ruhui did not rush to answer.
He turned his head slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Luo Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, who immediately understood and stepped forward.
After bowing to the Emperor and Empress Dowager in the Golden Palace, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, the national treasury under the Ministry of Revenue is already depleted, and we simply cannot afford to pay the soldiers of the Tiger Army at the front!"
Luo Yuanji spread his hands and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager: I have racked my brains to gather enough provisions for the army at the front. I have even made local officials distribute taxes to the grandchildren of the people."
"This is barely enough to feed the soldiers of Ying and Mo provinces. There is really no way to raise enough money for the Tiger Army!"
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, sitting behind the curtain in the Golden Palace, frowned slightly and asked, "Prime Minister Qin, how much exactly is the frontline soldiers' pay that Wu Sanjia is demanding?"
Without hesitation, Qin Ruhui replied, "Twelve million taels of silver!"
In reality, Wu Sanjia only demanded a total of six million taels of silver for the Tiger Warriors' pay and compensation.
The extra portion was what Qin Ruhui planned to use as an opportunity to bleed out Su Wan'er, the emperor's brother-in-law Su Muchen, and the powerful families they represented in Jiangnan.
"Twelve million taels?"
Behind the curtain, Su Wan'er, upon hearing the amount of the pay, was clearly taken aback.
After a moment's hesitation, he sighed and said, "Has the mighty Xin Dynasty really fallen to the point where it can't even produce a mere twelve million taels of silver?"
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