Minister of Revenue Luo Yuanji was in a state of utter confusion, and the other officials involved in the embezzlement of the Tiger Warriors' new military pay were also feeling extremely uneasy.
Although, such practices of exploiting soldiers and receiving salaries without working were commonplace among the former "Crown Prince faction" and now the "Prime Minister faction."
From the Prime Minister Qin Ruhui down to the stewards and servants of the Prime Minister's mansion, not a single person had a clean record.
However, these shady dealings can never be brought to the forefront.
Moreover, the failure of the imperial army's northern expedition was due to the misappropriation of military funds. If the loss of Ying and Mo prefectures were to follow, causing the imperial court to completely lose control of the northern regions, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Luo Yuanji—"
Qin Ruhui gave a stern shout and named Luo Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue.
ah--
Startled, Luo Yuanji hurriedly replied, "Prime Minister Qin, is there anything you wish to instruct me to do?"
Qin Ruhui said, "A few days ago, Wu Sanjia wrote a letter, making an exorbitant demand of another five million in military funds from me. After submitting it to Empress Dowager Su, have you received a reply?"
Without hesitation, Luo Yuanji replied, "Prime Minister Qin, not yet!"
"However, according to a letter from an old friend of mine in Guangling County, Empress Dowager Su ordered Cai He, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, to go to the Prince of Zhongshan's residence again to borrow money, but he was refused by Prince Su Muchen."
snort!
Qin Ruhui snorted coldly and said, "This Su Muchen is just like his dead father, Su Wenbin; they're both people who value money over their lives!"
"Last time, we made him pay 12 million taels of military pay, which probably hurt him for a while. It will be difficult to squeeze another 5 million taels of silver out of him in a short period of time."
Then, Qin Ruhui changed the subject and said sternly, "But this matter is not up to him!"
"If Chen Huai'an's rebel army in Longcheng were to capture Ying and Mo prefectures, sweep through Shandong and Henan, cross the Yangtze River, and head straight for the capital, Nanjing, no amount of silver could buy a life!"
"Luo Yuanji!"
"Your humble servant is here!"
Qin Ruhui instructed, "The matter of Wu Sanjia leading the Tiger Warriors to retreat is of great importance, and we must make preparations for both possibilities."
"At the morning court tomorrow, I will petition Empress Dowager Su for a decision. You must also keep the matter of military pay in mind. If Empress Dowager Su really can't get the money, the Ministry of Revenue will have to advance the five million taels for military pay."
After a pause, Qin Ruhui said in a somewhat stern tone, "Luo Yuanji, the victory or defeat of Ying and Mo prefectures directly concerns the safety of all of us."
"There will be plenty of opportunities and time to make money."
"But you only have one life!"
"If Chen Huai'an's Longcheng rebels were to reach the capital, Jinling City, not only would Su Muchen's silver not be enough to buy the life of the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion, but the silver in our hands would not be enough to buy our own lives!"
"Did you understand?"
"Yes, I understand!"
Luo Yuanji was terrified by these words and immediately promised, "Please rest assured, Prime Minister Qin, I will definitely raise the military pay for Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Warriors at the front!"
"Alright, all of you, step back!"
"Yes, Prime Minister Qin!"
......
Mozhou City, General's Mansion.
At this point, seven days had passed since Wu Sanjia led his troops to withdraw from outside Zhuozhou City.
In recent days, Deputy General Zhao Kui has dispatched several elite scout teams to investigate military intelligence along the Zhuozhou-Mozhou line.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, General Zhao requests an audience!"
At that moment, the sound of a messenger reporting came from outside the study of the general's mansion.
Inside the study, Wu Sanjia, who was writing at his desk, immediately said, "Let General Zhao in!"
Soon, Zhao Kui, the deputy general dressed in civilian clothes, hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.
Upon entering, he reported to Wu Sanjia, "General, you are truly a prophet. Chang Yuchun, the chief commander of the Longcheng rebels in Zhuozhou City, is indeed waiting for the arrival of the bandit leader Chen Huai'an and the Longcheng Iron Cavalry."
"This morning, I received a message from the scouts at the front that the bandit leader Chen Huai'an led 3,000 Iron Cavalry of Longcheng into Zhuozhou City the night before last, and joined forces with 350,000 Longcheng rebel troops inside the city!"
"If I'm not mistaken, the bandit leader Chen Huai'an will soon lead 350,000 Longcheng rebel troops and the Longcheng Iron Cavalry south to Mozhou City!"
Um!
Wu Sanjia nodded and said, "These past few days, I've also been pondering when Chen Huai'an will arrive in Zhuozhou City."
"I didn't expect him to arrive so quickly!"
After a pause, Wu Sanjia continued, "Judging from this, Chen Huai'an must have already led his troops to defeat the Tibetans who were invading the Anxi border;"
"The rebellion in the Western Regions, instigated by the Uyghur Khan, Guli Peiluo, must have been quelled by Chen Huai'an!"
"Otherwise, how could Chen Huai'an, whose rear base is unstable, lead his troops thousands of miles to reinforce Zhuozhou City!"
At this point, Wu Sanjia suddenly stood up and muttered to himself, "I once predicted that Chen Huai'an, the useless heir apparent in the eyes of the civil and military officials of the Great Xin Dynasty, was nothing but a good-for-nothing."
"He is by no means as useless as he appears, but unfortunately no one believes him!"
"If Emperor Jian'an had entrusted me with the task of stripping the Longcheng Polu Army of its military power, the current situation would never have arisen."
Eh—
Wu Sanjia sighed and said, "However, on the other hand, Chen Huai'an was able to start an army of eight thousand Longcheng Polu Army, successively destroy the Turks, defeat the Tibetans, and quell the rebellions in the Western Regions. This is enough to prove his unparalleled military ability throughout history!"
"If he personally leads the troops to attack Mozhou City, this battle will be very difficult!"
"Yes, General!"
Zhao Kui couldn't help but chime in, "This Chen Huai'an is indeed a tough guy to deal with. Now that he's returned from the western expedition, his morale is high."
"Compared to our Tiger Legion, the court's failure to pay wages and military rewards has already spread a pessimistic mood among the rank and file soldiers."
"This humble general is worried that if the imperial court does not allocate funds to appease the troops, the Tiger Warriors defending the city will be defeated before the battle even begins when Chen Huai'an leads the Longcheng rebels to the city gates!"
call--
Wu Sanjia let out a long sigh, unsure how to answer the question posed by his deputy, Zhao Kui.
For the past few days, he has been sending an urgent letter almost every day, urging Prime Minister Qin and the court to allocate funds, but it seems to have sunk into the sea without any response.
With a major battle imminent, morale among the troops was low.
Even the newly crowned martial arts champion of the Great Xin Dynasty, Wu Sanjia, didn't know how to fight this battle!
"Report—"
"Reporting to the Great General—"
"The funds allocated by the imperial court have arrived, totaling seven million taels of silver!"
"What did you say?"
Upon hearing the messenger's voice outside, Wu Sanjia and Zhao Kui couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
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