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墨書 Inktalez
A delegation of two thousand people!
All dead within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
This is bound to cause great chaos!
Moreover, Jiu Gong's fate remains unknown.
Su Qianxue suddenly felt dizzy and murmured, "You must find Jiu Gong's whereabouts as soon as possible!"
At the same time, order the troops at the border to prepare for battle!
Shopkeeper Jiang, I need to gather Wu Quncheng to discuss our strategy!
After bidding farewell, she hurried back to the imperial study.
Jiang Han watched this scene and couldn't help but murmur, "Is this the method of Langya Prince? To incite war between the two nations?"
He shook his head slightly, lamenting that while Langya Prince might have a chance in court intrigues, this tactic of driving a tiger to swallow a wolf could backfire. If mishandled, the Langya Wangfu could be annihilated by the Xia Kingdom's army.
Well, let’s just wait and see!
" Shopkeeper Jiang, are we really going to war?" Cen Ya asked with concern.
"What if Jiu Gong is also dead? Are we truly going to war?" Yan Dong pressed on. The war had dragged on for so many years; they had finally enjoyed a brief respite, only to face another conflict.
Ling Xue sighed softly and said, " Shopkeeper Jiang, even if there is a great war, it shouldn't reach here. The capital should be safe."
The common folk are going to suffer again! Piao Xue pouted and murmured, "It must be Langya Prince's scheme. In our Great Zhou Dynasty, only three people could silently massacre a delegation of two thousand and reveal it days later: Elder Sister, Lingnan King, and Langya Prince! Elder Sister wouldn't do this. Lingnan King has no reason to do this. It must be Langya Prince’s doing, but right now, there’s no evidence."
Piao Xue looked worriedly at Jiang Han and asked, " Shopkeeper Jiang, what if we find evidence? What will Langya Prince do?"
Jiang Han chuckled lightly and replied, "It’s best not to find any evidence; otherwise, it would be like forcing that old man to rebel."
Upon hearing this, Piao Xue grew even more anxious.
If we find evidence! Langya Prince will rebel!
If we don’t find evidence, the Xia Kingdom Army will surely attack.
After all, this was the envoy group of the Slaughtering the Family, not to mention that of the Xia Kingdom. Even the envoy group from the Great Zhou Dynasty, when visiting other Little Kingdoms, would not dare to act in such a manner. If a Little Kingdom were to do so, the Great Zhou Dynasty would certainly dispatch troops.
Despite the enmity between the Great Zhou and Xia Kingdom, it was unthinkable for the envoy group of the Great Zhou Dynasty to encounter such a blatant breach of protocol in Xia Kingdom. Jiu Gong was missing, with no word on his fate! The Xia Kingdom Envoy Group had been nearly wiped out. The Xia Kingdom Army would undoubtedly come to retaliate.
Cen Ya murmured this and then turned to Shopkeeper Jiang, asking, " Shopkeeper Jiang, can we prepare some food in advance to avoid famine brought on by war?" She understood that once war began, it would be the common people who suffered the most.
Jiang Han reassured her, "Don't worry. With me here, even if there are tens of thousands of disaster victims, I can provide for them." Distributing food to the victims was essential, and instant noodles would be ideal. Instant noodles contained fat and salt, along with noodles; fat was what the victims needed most! Salt would help keep their bodies from deteriorating too much, and after eating instant noodles, they could drink the broth!
From a purely nutritional standpoint, using instant noodles for disaster relief was more effective than porridge. Economically speaking, it was also cost-effective. Moreover, with large-scale procurement, each package could cost no more than a dollar; for ten thousand packages, that would be just ten thousand dollars. The treasures given by Jiu Gong could be sold at auction for a net profit of ten times that amount. Just this money alone would be enough to support tens of thousands of disaster victims for quite some time.
"You don't need to worry. We will continue to eat and drink!" Jiang Han declared confidently. "If war truly comes, I'll still be here! With me around, you can rest easy!" He encouraged the four women to keep enjoying themselves without treating it as a serious matter.
Inside the Imperial Study! All officials ranked Third Rank and above had arrived! The Lingnan Prince Heir, Langya Prince, Lin Qingyue, and others were all present.
Upon returning to the study and seeing them gathered, Su Qianxue spoke up: "Now, our top priority is to address Jiu Gong's situation!"
"Your Majesty!" Wei Jiang interjected. "The Xia Kingdom Army is very likely to strike again."
General Pin Zongbing stated directly: "We must prepare for two scenarios; even if Jiu Gong survives! The annihilation of the Xia Kingdom Envoy Group within our Great Zhou Dynasty's territory means that this war is unavoidable!"
"Your Majesty!" Another Pin Zongbing officer, Zhao Jiangjun stepped forward and added: "The Xia Kingdom has always maintained an army of around one hundred thousand against our Dynasty."
Among them, the Maple Forest Iron Cavalry numbers thirty thousand! The elite Heavy Infantry totals one hundred thousand! Additionally, there are around one hundred thousand ordinary troops! Just to deal with these forces, we would need to deploy at least one hundred thousand men.
However! He hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "We do not have enough provisions and military supplies." Continuous warfare has left us in dire straits; how can we possibly support the expenses of one hundred thousand troops? Not only us, but the noble families across various regions are also struggling financially. Only the noble families at the border can rely on trade to earn some money.
Many armies lack the funds to replace their weapons, and even the soldiers' pensions have not been distributed. For instance, Lin Qingyue's one hundred thousand troops have not received any supplies from the court; they are now relying on farming for self-sufficiency.
Minister of War Wang stood up and, after outlining the various situations within the Great Zhou Dynasty, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, we cannot fight anymore! It's not just a matter of whether we can win or lose; we may not have the strength to support a major battle!"
"Your Majesty, let us seek peace!"
As soon as these words were spoken, many officials reprimanded Minister Wang. After listening for a while, he spread his hands and asked, "Colleagues, if we are to go to war, we lack money, food, and military supplies. The Ministry of War has none!"
He then looked directly at Su Qianxue and stated plainly, "We can go to war, but the Ministry of War has no funds." The ministers fell silent.
Minister Wang continued, "How about this: The Langya Prince has many fiefs under his command. Why not allow him to collect taxes in his provinces? Additionally, grant him a mint to temporarily produce some copper coins to alleviate various situations?"
Su Qianxue was taken aback; he never expected the Minister of War to dare propose such a thing. Collecting taxes himself? If I truly allowed that! Then the territories under the Langya Prince would soon become a nation within a nation—practically independent.
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