You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Jinluan Palace.

Early morning of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Civil and military officials stood in front of the Golden Palace and entered in turn.

After all the civil and military officials had taken their places, Zhou Chen, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, wearing a dragon robe, ascended the imperial road and entered the court.

"Long live your majesty."

After Zhou Chen ascended the dragon throne, all the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted, bowing in unison.

Zhou Chen sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the civil and military officials, and slowly said, "All of you, rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As soon as the civil and military officials stood up, the eunuchs and guards stepped forward and announced loudly, "Speak if you have something to say, otherwise the court is adjourned."

No sooner had the eunuchs and guards finished speaking than the Left Chancellor Xiao He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"Oh!"

"What do you wish to report, my dear minister?"

Zhou Chen looked at Xiao He.

"Your Majesty, following Your Majesty's decree, I have, over the past few months, extended the Martial Arts Academy to various prefectures and counties. Martial Arts Academy has been established in each prefecture and county and has begun enrolling students."

"However, after the establishment of martial arts academies in various prefectures and counties, our court's teaching staff is insufficient. It can only meet the needs of some prefecture and county martial arts academies. There are still some prefecture and county martial arts academies that lack teachers and do not have enough teachers to teach."

Xiao He spoke.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen pondered for a moment.

Zhou Chen established the Royal Academy and set up martial arts academies in various prefectures and counties across the land. His purpose was to enhance the overall national strength of the Great Zhou, give students across the land an opportunity to leap over the dragon gate, and continuously supply the Great Zhou with talents.

Previously, due to the various actions of the aristocratic families, Zhou Chen had very strict requirements for the teachers of the Martial Academy, in order to prevent the Martial Academy from being infiltrated and manipulated.

But things are different now. With outstanding individuals constantly signing in, the Great Zhou Dynasty has gained the strength to suppress everything within its borders.

Therefore, Zhou Chen no longer needs to impose the same restrictions on the teachers of the Martial Academy as before.

"By imperial decree, we are to recruit martial arts instructors from across the land. Anyone who passes the examination can become an instructor at the Great Zhou Martial Arts Academy and enjoy a salary from the imperial court. Even those from outside the Great Zhou are welcome to apply."

Zhou Chen gently tapped the dragon table with his right hand and spoke slowly.

Zhou Chen knew that if he wanted Great Zhou to improve its strength quickly and integrate into this wild world as soon as possible, Great Zhou had to make changes and embrace all rivers.

Therefore, Zhou Chen's recruitment of teachers for the Martial Academy is not limited to people within the Great Zhou Dynasty; people from outside the Great Zhou Dynasty are also welcome to apply.

Most importantly, given the current situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty, even if recruitment were to be relaxed, it is estimated that not many people within the Great Zhou would be able to pass the assessment and meet the requirements of the Martial Academy.

Who can blame them when the Great Zhou Dynasty is weak overall, its national strength is lagging behind, and there are very few experts who can break through the barrier between heaven and man!

This is one of the reasons why Zhou Chen had to be unconventional in recruiting talent and embrace diverse perspectives, seeking teachers for the Martial Academy from all over the world.

"The minister obeys the order."

Xiao He's eyes flashed, and he understood Zhou Chen's meaning, so he returned to the ranks.

After Xiao He returned to the ranks, Li Yuan, the Minister of War, stepped forward. "Your Majesty, this time our Great Zhou resisted the attacks of the Great Yan and Great Yue dynasties, and our army suffered heavy casualties. General Huo and General Zhou reported to the Ministry of War that the amount of compensation for the dead and wounded was enormous, and our Ministry of War's silver was no longer sufficient to pay for the compensation for the dead and wounded."

According to regulations, the Ministry of Revenue would allocate a certain amount of silver to the other five ministries every year as operating expenses between the ministries.

However, the Ministry of War has always been busy with conscription and war relief, and the little money allocated to the Ministry of War by the Ministry of Revenue has long been used up. Even the relief for the casualties of the Zhenbei Army and Xiliang Army after the last attack on the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness was requested by the Ministry of War from the Ministry of Revenue again.

However, this time, the casualties of the Eastern Wilderness and Southern Frontier armies were too heavy, and even the Ministry of Revenue was out of money, which forced Li Yuan, the Minister of War, to submit a memorial to Zhou Chen.

Upon hearing Li Yuan's words, Zhou Chen looked at Xun Yu, the Minister of Revenue.

Before Zhou Chen could speak, Xun Yu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, during this period, the court has been providing disaster relief to the people, establishing military academies, and even the compensation for the casualties of the Zhenbei Army and Xiliang Army was allocated by the Ministry of Revenue."

"The Ministry of Revenue has to maintain the operation of the entire court, and the Ministry of Revenue is already out of funds and does not have enough silver to use."

Xun Yu spoke.

Xun Yu understood the meaning behind Zhou Chen's glance.

However, the Ministry of Revenue didn't have much money left.

Although the imperial court had been continuously confiscating the assets of many aristocratic officials, most of these assets were transferred to the Ministry of Revenue.

But no matter how much revenue the Ministry of Revenue had, it couldn't cover the expenses of providing disaster relief, establishing military academies, and waging large-scale military campaigns!

Upon hearing Xun Yu's words, Zhou Chen, who was about to speak, swallowed his words back.

indeed.

Since Zhou Chen began to purge the powerful families, the Ministry of Revenue has seen considerable revenue, but its expenditures have also been substantial.

Leaving aside the past, just considering the disaster relief efforts for the people, the establishment of the Martial Academy, and the losses incurred by the army in several major battles after the Great Zhou merged with the Great Wilderness, it was a considerable sum.

Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Yuan, the Minister of War, and said, “No matter how much silver is needed, it will all come from my private treasury. I have only one request: none of the soldiers who died for my Great Zhou should be left behind, and the wounded should be properly compensated. We cannot let the hearts of my Great Zhou soldiers be chilled.”

Zhou Chen has always attached great importance to the issue of compensation for the deceased's family.

In Zhou Chen's view, the most important thing to win the hearts of the soldiers and make them serve him wholeheartedly is military pay and compensation.

"The minister obeys the order."

Minister of War Li Yuan bowed and accepted the imperial decree with a joyful expression.

These past few days, Li Yuan has been worrying about the compensation for the soldiers who died fighting for the Great Zhou. The Ministry of War has no money, and the Ministry of Revenue has no money either. How can he, as the Minister of War, provide compensation for the soldiers who died fighting for the Great Zhou?

Now that's good, the money for the relief will come from His Majesty's private treasury.

The Minister of War knows that His Majesty's treasury is very full, even more so than the national treasury of the Ministry of Revenue.

Next, some ministers discussed state affairs, all of which were resolved by Zhou Chen.

A few hours later.

With Zhou Chen's announcement of "Dismiss the court," the morning court session came to an end.

After leaving the Golden Palace, Zhou Chen walked slowly through the palace.

Zhou Chen has been in a bad mood these past few days.

The battle reports from the Eastern Wilderness and the Southern Frontier have been sent over, and Zhou Chen was shocked to see the casualties of the armies on them.

Although Zhou Chen already knew from Chief Steward Yang and the Eastern Depot that the army had suffered heavy casualties, he did not know from their reports that the army had suffered heavy casualties.

But when Zhou Chen actually saw the numbers on the battle report, he still gasped in shock.

Leaving aside the Eastern Wilderness and Southern Garrison armies, they were already decimated in their first encounter with the armies of the Great Yan and Great Yue dynasties.

The casualties suffered by the Xiliang Army, Zhenbei Army, and Shenwu Guard sent to support the Eastern Wilderness and Southern Frontier can no longer be described as heavy.

In the battle alone, the Shenwu Guard, with an army of 600,000, suffered more than 500,000 casualties.

Previously, the Divine Martial Guard had 30,000 men, but later Zhou Chen issued an edict to expand it to 50,000.

It should be noted that the Divine Martial Guard was the most elite army of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but even so, the Divine Martial Guard still suffered such heavy casualties, not to mention the other troops.

It can be said that in this battle, although the Great Zhou annihilated the invading armies of the Great Yan and Great Yue dynasties, the Great Zhou itself suffered heavy losses, killing eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of its own.

However, the only saving grace was that Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci, along with their generals, were unharmed, though severely wounded and barely alive.

Zhou Chen returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Just as Zhou Chen sat on the dragon throne, a palace eunuch came in to report: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Cao Zhengchun has returned and is requesting an audience outside the palace."

"Oh!"

"Has Cao Zhengchun returned?!"

Zhou Chen's expression changed. "Let him in."

"According to the order."

The eunuchs and guards bowed and withdrew.

A moment later, Cao Zhengchun entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Your Majesty, this old servant has returned."

Cao Zhengchun entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation and bowed to Zhou Chen on the dragon throne.

Zhou Chen looked up at Cao Zhengchun and asked, "How was the trip?"

Cao Zhengchun immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the trip went relatively smoothly. This old servant triggered a large-scale beast rebellion in the Great Yan, affecting dozens of prefectures and counties. Among them were three seventh-tier great demons. It will take the Great Yan two or three months to completely quell this beast rebellion..."

Cao Zhengchun recounted the events of his trip.

"Furthermore, this old servant took the opportunity to arrange for a large number of imperial guards to enter the Great Yan. Afterwards, no matter what happened in the Great Yan, it could not be hidden from my Great Zhou."

Cao Zhengchun said.

Cao Zhengchun's trip to the Great Yan was not simply to incite the Great Yan Dynasty to become a beast and cause turmoil. He also shouldered the important task of expanding the Eastern Depot into the Great Yan.

Otherwise, the Great Zhou would have to rely on the Mu Clan Merchant Guild to obtain any news about the Great Yan, which is not a good sign.

It is terrifying for a dynasty to lack its own unique sources of information.

Zhou Chen nodded upon hearing Cao Zhengchun's words; "Very good, you did well this time."

"Three seventh-tier demons are enough to give the Great Yan a hard time. Now the Great Zhou has a little time to catch its breath."

Zhou Chen said slowly.

Such a powerful beast dynasty is enough to tie down the strength of the Great Yan and keep the Great Yan in chaos for a while.

Especially those three seventh-tier demons, they are definitely enough to give the Great Yan a headache.

Zhou Chen knew that a seventh-tier demon was equivalent to a human in the Reincarnation Realm. If such a demon were to cause trouble, destroying cities and armies would be a piece of cake. It wouldn't be easy for Great Yan to suppress these three seventh-tier demons.

"You've just gotten back, you must be tired from the journey. Go and rest!"

Zhou Chen glanced at Cao Zhengchun and said.

Zhou Chen could tell that Cao Zhengchun had come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation as soon as he returned, and he looked travel-worn.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Old slave, please retire."

Cao Zhengchun was indeed quite tired.

The journey was secondary; the most important thing was his situation in the Great Yan these past few days. In order to provoke the Great Yan's Beast Dynasty, Cao Zhengchun had been relentlessly pursued by a seventh-tier demon for several days.

If Cao Zhengchun hadn't escaped into the heart of the Great Yan territory, where a master from Great Yan had intervened to intercept the great demon, he might have been in real danger.

Of course, Cao Zhengchun also had to evade the pursuit of the Great Yan.

Therefore, these days, Cao Zhengchun's situation in the Great Yan can be described as being surrounded by enemies on all sides. He is being cautious and is also physically and mentally exhausted.

After Cao Zhengchun left, Zhou Chen fell into deep thought.

Currently, the Great Yan is busy suppressing the Beast Dynasty. Before the Beast Dynasty is suppressed, the Great Yan will not have the energy to send troops to the Great Zhou.

Therefore, the Great Zhou Dynasty had some breathing room.

The Great Zhou should take advantage of this time to consolidate its strength and prepare for the upcoming great battle.

Zhou Chen did not believe that after annihilating the invading armies of Great Yan and Great Yue, Great Yan and Great Yue would no longer send troops against Great Zhou.

"Ding, a month has passed, you can start a new round of check-ins."

"Would you like to start the check-in process, host?"

Suddenly, a mechanical voice rang in Zhou Chen's mind.

Zhou Chen immediately pulled himself out of his thoughts and immersed himself in the system.

Zhou Chen had been waiting for this day for so long that the flowers had almost withered.

Previously, Pei Yuanqing appeared in the sign-in event, and Zhou Chen hoped that this time he could sign in a top-tier talent worthy of a head coach.

"Start signing in."

Zhou Chen immediately muttered a prayer in his mind.

【bite…】

[Check-in successful.]

[Congratulations, host, for gaining the loyalty of the valiant Han Xin.]

Han Xin?

Han Xin, the military genius?

Zhou Chen's spirits lifted, and a smile spread across his face.

It really is true that whatever you wish for comes true.

Who is Han Xin?

He was one of the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, and was revered by later generations as a military genius and a divine commander.

Han Xin was extremely poor in his early years and even suffered the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs. But later, Han Xin soared to great heights, achieving unparalleled merit and becoming a peerless national hero.

Han Xin initially served under that Hegemon, offering him numerous strategies, but unfortunately, the Hegemon did not adopt them, missing out on this outstanding talent. In the end, Han Xin's efforts were in vain, and he met a tragic end, committing suicide at the Wujiang River.

After Han Xin left Chu and returned to Han, he was appreciated by Xiao He and appointed as a general. From then on, Han Xin pacified the Three Qin, captured Wei, replaced it, defeated Zhao, coerced Yan, attacked Qi, and destroyed Chu, becoming famous throughout the country and awe-inspiring the world.

It can be said that Han Xin was largely responsible for the establishment of the Han Dynasty.

Without Han Xin, it's quite uncertain whether the Han Dynasty could have been established.

If that Hegemon had adopted Han Xin's advice and given him an important position, the outcome of the later Chu-Han Contention would have been truly unpredictable.

Unfortunately, even such a person, whose achievements were unparalleled and whose contributions were unmatched in the nation's history, ultimately met a tragic end, with his family destroyed, his life cut short, and his spirit extinguished.

Zhou Chen never expected that the outstanding person who signed in this time would be the unparalleled military genius 'Han Xin'.

A figure appeared in Zhou Chen's line of sight.

"Han Xin greets Your Majesty."

After Han Xin appeared, he bowed to Zhou Chen on the dragon throne.

"No gift."

Zhou Chen waved his hand and glanced at Han Xin.

It must be said that Han Xin had a very strong presence, which Zhou Yu and Huo Qubing could not match. Han Xin also gave Zhou Chen a very special feeling.

Most importantly, Han Xin's strength was actually that of a Reincarnation Venerable who had entered the seventh reincarnation realm.

By all accounts, Han Xin is currently the strongest person in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even Lu Bu and Pei Yuanqing have only entered three cycles of reincarnation, and one has entered one cycle.

"The military genius Han Xin is strong enough, and his ability to command troops is unparalleled. Now we have a commander to send to recruit and organize troops in the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness."

Zhou Chen thought to himself, looked at Han Xin, and said, "Han Xin, I have a task for you..."

……