Chapter 140.2
Next, Lin Beifan gave orders to the military department to recruit soldiers and purchase horses, aiming to amass an army of 800,000, bringing the total military strength to over 2 million.
Although recruiting more soldiers was a huge burden on the nation,
Great Xia was not only wealthy at the moment but also had abundant food supplies, fully capable of supporting the troops.
After recruiting the soldiers, Lin Beifan planned to train them for two to three months before embarking on territorial expansion.
As for the Grandmaster and Innate, one can only leave it to fate.
Upon receiving Lin Beifans orders, the Ministry of War immediately sprang into action.
Recruiting soldiers went very smoothly.
Because Lin Beifan offered a generous military salary, and there were substantial rewards for distinguished service.
An ordinary soldier could earn seven or eight taels of silver in a year. If they completed enough missions, earning a dozen or more taels of silver was no problem at all.
After two years, one could afford a concrete housewho wouldnt be tempted?
So everyone was motivated to act.
The imperial court is recruiting soldiers again, thats fantastic, its my turn now!
In Great Xia, becoming a soldier is the fastest way to get rich! Look at that fool from next door, hes been a soldier for less than a year, and hes already made enough money to buy a house!
Exactly, and they even get discounts when buying houses as soldiers, Im so envious!
Just serve a few years in the military, and youll have everything, haha!
Enough talk, Im going to sign up, I want to be a soldier!
Everyone was very enthusiastic, and on the first day alone, over 300,000 people signed up.
At the Great Xia Military Academy, the generals in training were quite restless.
This was because the Great Xias recruitment drive was greatly to their benefit.
They were currently studying at the military academy, and as long as they graduated successfully, they would be heavily relied upon by the imperial court to lead troops into battle!
In other words, these 800,000 troops were essentially being prepared for them.
Cao Cao, who was in class, saw this scene and chuckled to himself.
Everyone, you must be aware of the recent developments! His Majesty has ordered the conscription of 800,000 soldiers, which is no small number! However, at present, we are in short supply of commanders! Therefore, the opportunity has come for all of you!
As long as you study diligently here and graduate successfully, you will be able to go out and lead troops into battle! So, you must listen attentively to the lectures that follow and do not fail the trust His Majesty has placed in you!
The generals in training were stirred with excitement, and they spoke in unison: Yes, Vice Dean! We will certainly study hard and not betray your trust and His Majestys!
Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction: Hmm, these children are indeed teachable!
Furthermore, Generals Tiangong, Digong, and Rengong, you possess innate strength and are also systematically studying here, which increases the likelihood of you being put to significant use! Therefore, I hope you will study even more earnestly and seize this rare opportunity!
The three generals from the Yellow Sky Sect were also excited: Yes, Vice Dean!
Great Xia was swept up in a wave of conscription fervor, but the surrounding nations grew tense in response.
What is Great Xia conscripting soldiers for? Its definitely for waging war.
If theyre going to fight, who could they fight against?
Its surely the neighboring countries.
Their national power is feeble; they cant withstand the iron hooves of Great Xia!
Could it be that our previous actions have angered Great Xia?
Very likely! Ive heard that the foolish emperor is one to count every slight, whoever offends him, he retaliates against, and he never lets a grudge wait overnight!
No way, what youre saying is really scaring me!
Could it be false? Look at the countries that have offended Great Xia, how many of them have met with a good fate?
F*ck! Its true! The Mo Kingdom, An Kingdom, Shang Kingdom, Peng Kingdom, and even the Great Yue Kingdom all perished because they offended Great Xia!
Now, our country has just been ravaged by the Yellow Sky Sect, our national power has greatly diminished, we cant withstand Great Xias million-strong army! We must quickly send a generous gift to apologize to Great Xia!
Quick, take out that pair of jade lions and send them to the Great Xia Emperor!
The various countries immediately set out with generous gifts to apologize to Great Xia.
Lin Beifan accepted all the gifts they sent without exception, yet he made no statement, leaving them to guess his intentions.
This left the various nations anxious and restless, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Thus, they had no choice but to follow suit, recruiting soldiers and purchasing horses, readying themselves for a battle with Great Xia at any moment.
Witnessing this scene, Lin Beifan couldnt help but laugh.
He dared to raise troops and buy horses because he had the support of a strong national power.
But these nations had just been ravaged by the Yellow Sky Sect, their national power severely diminished, their strength faltering, and yet they dared to do the same. They were on the path to dragging themselves down!
Lin Beifan relished such situations the most.
Wait until your country is nearly collapsed, then I will send my troops and conquer it in one fell swoop!
At this moment, in the imperial palace of the Great Xue Kingdom.
The Emperor of the Great Xue Kingdom had a very grim expression on his face.
This year, their grain harvest had fallen short.
Due to the Yellow Sky Sect stirring up trouble, bewitching the common people and soldiers, many fields had been left fallow and trampled, resulting in a nearly thirty percent decrease in this years grain harvest.
A thirty percent shortfall in grain was truly a matter of life and death!
You should know that their annual grain production is just enough to feed themselves.
Now, with nearly a third less, it means that almost 7 million common people will go hungry.
When the common people go hungry, it will trigger a series of problems.
Rebellions and revolts are common occurrences that can lead to national instability and widespread misery.
Thus, the Great Xue Emperor, with a headache, asked, My ministers, you are all aware of the current situation, do any of you have a good strategy?
An elderly minister stood up and said earnestly, Your Majesty, at this juncture, there are only two solutions!
What can be done? asked the Great Xue Emperor.
The first method is to buy, to purchase food from the outside world! However, since we are buying so much food, there might be people who will take advantage of the situation and jack up the prices. The cost of grain could be much higher!
The Great Xue Emperor was very displeased with this method.
Spending money to buy grain meant losing his own money!
Even though he had quite a bit of money, who would think they had too much?
Moreover, to him, the common people were just a bunch of ants. Who would spend their own money to save a swarm of ants?
To put it coldly, he would rather have the common people starve than spend money on buying grain.
Whats the second method?
The second method is to plunder!
The minister continued to report. Although our grain harvest is short, the neighboring kingdom still has grain. We can send out troops to seize it and solve our food crisis!
Great Xue Emperor was very pleased with this method.
To him, sending troops to plunder grain meant, at most, the loss of some soldiers and horses. But lost soldiers could always be recruited again; with so many people, if one batch dies, another can be raised.
Thus, Great Xue Emperor clapped his hands and laughed, This idea is good! If we are to plunder, which country should we target?
For us, the easiest targets are the five countries to the southeast! Because their nations are small and their people weak, they absolutely cannot withstand our million-strong army! the old minister said loudly.
Great Xue Emperor slammed his hand on the table and rose: Good! We shall dispatch troops to the five southeastern nations and seize their grain!
***
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