Chapter 146: The New Army Has Received Full Pay, and the War Is Imminent

Minister of Revenue Luo Yuanji was in a state of confusion, and the other officials who participated in the private division of the new Tiger Guard Army's salary were also in a state of anxiety.

Although, this matter of drinking the blood of soldiers and eating empty salaries was common in the former "Prince's Party" and the current "Prime Minister's Party".

From Prime Minister Qin Ruhui to the housekeepers and servants of the Prime Minister's Office, no one's ass was clean.

However, this shady business behind the scenes could not be put on the table.

What's more, it was because of the private division of military pay that the imperial court's Tiger Guard Army failed in the Northern Expedition. If it lost Ying and Mo states because of this, and the imperial court completely lost control of the northern region, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Luo Yuanji——"

Qin Ruhui shouted loudly, calling out the Minister of Revenue Luo Yuanji.

Ah——

Luo Yuanji, who was restless, was startled at first, and then hurriedly replied: "Prime Minister Qin, do you have anything to tell me?"

Qin Ruhui said: "A few days ago, Wu Sanjia wrote a letter to me, asking for 5 million military pay again. After submitting it to Queen Mother Su, have you received a reply?"

Luo Yuanji replied without hesitation: "Prime Minister Qin, not yet!"

"However, according to a letter from my old friend in Guangling County, Queen Mother Su ordered the eunuch Cai He of the Imperial Household Department to go to the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion to borrow money again, but was rejected by Zhongshan Prince Su Muchen."

Humph!

Qin Ruhui snorted coldly and said, "This Su Muchen, like his dead father Su Wenbin, is a man who values ​​money over life!"

"Last time, he was asked to pay 12 million taels of military pay, which probably hurt him for a long time. It will be difficult to force 5 million taels of silver from him in a short period of time."

As he said that, Qin Ruhui changed the subject and said sternly, "But, this matter is not up to him!"

"If Chen Huaian's Longcheng rebels take over Ying and Mo states, sweep across Shandong and Henan, cross the Yangtze River and take the capital Jinling City, no matter how much silver, it may not be able to buy a life!"

"Luo Yuanji!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Qin Ruhui ordered, "Wu Sanjia leading the new Tiger Guards to retreat is of great importance. We must make preparations for both situations."

"Tomorrow morning, I will ask Queen Mother Su to make a decision. You should also keep the military pay in mind. If Queen Mother Su can't force money out, so the Ministry of Revenue must first pay the five million taels of military pay;"

After a pause, Qin Ruhui said in a tone of persuasion: "Luo Yuanji, the victory or defeat of Ying and Mo states is directly related to the safety of you and me;"

"There are plenty of opportunities and time to get silver;"

"But, there is only one life!"

"If Chen Huaian's Longcheng rebels fight in the capital Jinling City, not to mention that Su Muchen's silver can't buy the life of his Zhongshan Palace, the silver in your hands can't buy our own lives!"

"Do you understand?"

"Your subordinate understands!"

Luo Yuanji was frightened by these words, and immediately promised: "Please rest assured, Prime Minister Qin, your subordinate will definitely collect the military pay for Wu Sanjia and the front-line Hu Ben soldiers!"

"Okay, everyone retreat!"

"Yes, Prime Minister Qin!"

......

Mozhou City, General's Mansion.

At this time, seven days had passed since Wu Sanjia led his troops to withdraw from outside Zhuozhou City.

In recent days, Deputy General Zhao Kui has sent several elite scout teams to explore military intelligence along the line from Zhuozhou to Mozhou.

"Report--"

"General, General Zhao wants to see you!"

At this time, the messenger's voice came from outside the study of the general's mansion.

In the study, Wu Sanjia, who was writing at his desk, immediately said: "Let General Zhao in!"

Soon, Deputy General Zhao Kui, dressed in casual clothes, hurriedly pushed the door open.

As soon as he entered the door, he reported to Wu Sanjia: "General, you are really good at predicting things. The leader of the Longcheng rebels in Zhuozhou City, Chang Yuchun, is indeed waiting for the arrival of the bandit leader Chen Huaian and the Longcheng Iron Pagoda."

"Early this morning, I received news from the scouts in front that the bandit leader Chen Huaian had led 3,000 Longcheng Iron Pagodas into Zhuozhou City in the evening of the day before yesterday and joined forces with the 350,000 Longcheng rebels in the city!"

"If I guessed correctly, the bandit leader Chen Huaian will personally lead 350,000 Longcheng rebels and Longcheng Iron Pagodas to the south of Mozhou City in the near future!"

Hmm!

Wu Sanjia nodded and said, "I have been thinking about this for the past few days. When will Chen Huaian arrive in Zhuozhou City?"

"I didn't expect that he would arrive so quickly!"

After a pause, Wu Sanjia continued, "From this point of view, Chen Huaian must have led his troops to defeat the Tibetans who invaded the Anxi border;"

"The chaos in the Western Regions provoked by the Huihe Khanate's Huairen Khan Guli Peiluo must have been quelled by Chen Huaian!"

"Otherwise, the unstable foundation in the rear Chen Huaian, how could he lead his troops to rush to Zhuozhou City for thousands of miles! ”

Speaking of this, Wu Sanjia suddenly stood up and said to himself: "This general has asserted before that the waste prince Chen Huaian in the eyes of the civil and military officials of the Daxin court;"

"is definitely not as useless as he shows, but no one believes it!"

"If Emperor Jian'an had asked this general to deal with the matter of depriving the Longcheng Po Lu Army of its military power, the current situation would never have occurred."

Hey——

Wu Sanjia sighed and said, "But then again, Chen Huaian was able to lead 8,000 Longcheng Po Lu troops to successively destroy the Turks, defeat Tubo, and quell the rebellion of the Western Regions. This is enough to prove his unrivaled military ability!"

"If he personally led the troops to attack Mozhou City, this battle would be difficult to fight!"

"Yes, General!"

Zhao Kui couldn't help but agree, "This Chen Huaian is indeed a difficult guy to deal with. Now that he has returned from the Western Expedition, his morale is high."

"Compared to our Hu Ben New Army, the court has defaulted on salary and military rewards, and pessimism has spread among the grassroots soldiers."

"I am worried that if the court does not allocate salary to appease the army, when Chen Huaian leads the Longcheng rebels to the city, the Hu Ben New Army defending the city may be defeated before the battle!"

Hu——

Wu Sanjia sighed, not knowing how to answer the question raised by Deputy General Zhao Kui.

In the past few days, he has sent an urgent letter almost every day, urging Prime Minister Qin and the court to allocate military pay, but he has received no response.

The war is imminent, and the army is demoralized.

Even Wu Sanjia, the new champion of the Great Xin Dynasty, doesn't know how to fight this war!

"Report--"

"Report to the general--"

"The military pay allocated by the court has arrived, a full 7 million taels of silver!"

"What did you say?"

Hearing the voice of the messenger outside the house, Wu Sanjia and Zhao Kui couldn't help but exclaimed.