The Prodigal Son

After arranging things, Shi Hong led Xi Ya into the main tent and sat down, pouring tea for Xi Ya while inquiring about her recent situation.

Upon learning that Xi Ya had been reinstated and concurrently appointed as the Grand Secretary, Shi Hong finally felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

While drinking tea, Xi Ya told them about the situation in the imperial court.

The 70,000-strong army sent to support the Min Kingdom was completely annihilated, causing the Chu Emperor to vomit blood and fall ill in court.

Now, the Chu emperor has already delegated a great deal of power to Crown Prince Huan Jing.

Several treacherous officials who had previously encouraged the Chu emperor to support Yu Wu's usurpation of the throne were dismissed from their posts and exiled. Meanwhile, almost all the officials who had been demoted for their staunch opposition to the Chu emperor's support for Yu Wu's usurpation, including him, were recalled to the court and given important positions.

In addition, the imperial court also entered a state of war preparedness, with the Ministry of War conscripting 100,000 soldiers at once and planning to add another 200,000 troops over the next four years.

"How much...?"

Shi Hong stared at Xi Ya with his mouth agape in admiration.

For a moment, he even wondered if he had misheard.

Shi Hong's shock was within Xi Ya's expectations. Xi Ya took a deep breath and spoke again: "Within five years, expand the army by 300,000! Expand by 100,000 in the first year, and by 50,000 each year for the next four years!"

"this……"

Confirming he hadn't misheard, Shi Hong frowned. "Although the threat from Ningguo is significant, does our dynasty need so many troops? Adding so many troops all at once, I'm afraid the court can't afford it."

"Yes!" Baili Yunshan nodded in agreement, "Adding 300,000 troops in five years sounds impossible!"

Although the State of Chu was rich in grain, it was not easy to support so many soldiers!

The key issue is that the State of Chu was somewhat lacking in mineral resources.

To arm 300,000 troops within five years is, to put it bluntly, a pipe dream!

Let alone the State of Chu, even the States of Ning and the State of Beiqi would have to fight tooth and nail to expand their armies by 300,000 within five years.

Even if you risk your life, you still can't finish it!

Which bastard came up with such a crazy plan?

"Your Majesty and the Crown Prince both know this is a difficult matter, but in order to counter the threat from Ning Kingdom, our dynasty must massively expand its military!"

Xi Ya shook his head and said seriously, "Moreover, of these 300,000 troops, 100,000 are naval forces..."

After this battle, the Chu emperor and his ministers realized the huge gap between the Chu army and the Da Ning army.

If the State of Chu wanted to confront the State of Ning, it had no choice but to massively expand its military.

Not only should we focus our defense on Gongzhou, but we should also deploy defenses in Bizhou and Yazhou.

If Ningguo attacks Gongzhou, the armies of Bizhou and Yazhou will quickly come to its aid.

If Gongzhou falls, the armies of Bizhou and Yazhou can also stop the Ning army.

When necessary, we will use human lives to pay the price!

The purpose of vigorously developing the navy was to make Ningguo wary.

Ning attacked Chu from the land, and Chu responded by attacking Ning from the sea with its powerful navy!

If the State of Chu is in trouble, the State of Ning will not be able to have an easy time either!

"One hundred thousand... naval troops?"

Shi Hong and Baili Yunshan were once again dumbfounded.

For a fleeting moment, they all just wanted to curse.

To expand the navy by 100,000, how many warships would we need to build!

The imperial court might not even be able to afford the expense of warships alone.

Moreover, the imperial court still has to support so many troops.

The imperial court's frantic expansion of the army may backfire in the end.

Before Ningguo even attacked, their own internal situation had already descended into chaos.

After struggling to regain his composure, Shi Hong's face fell. "Grand Tutor, you once served as Minister of Revenue. Do you think it's possible to expand the navy by 100,000 men?"

"Of course not!"

Xi Ya shook his head without hesitation, chuckling, "Not only do I know it's impossible, but His Majesty and the entire court know it too!"

Shi Hong was somewhat bewildered. "If that's the case, why would the imperial court formulate such an impossible military expansion plan? Isn't this just deceiving themselves?"

Are you truly confused, or are you pretending to be?

Xi Ya glared at the two of them, "Can't you even understand such a simple principle?"

Hearing Xi Ya's words, the two of them were stunned.

Such a simple principle?

What other logic is there in this?

Why are they getting more and more confused?

Seeing that the two were genuinely confused, Xi Ya explained, "This is to put pressure on the people below! The court has ordered the expansion of the navy by 100,000. Even if only half is completed, that's still 50,000! But if the court says it will only expand by 50,000, and the people below are slacking off, in the end we might only be able to produce 30,000 or 40,000..."

Hearing Xi Ya's explanation, the two suddenly realized what was going on and smiled sheepishly.

If that's the case, then they completely understand.

There is still a great chance that we can expand our navy to 50,000 men in five years.

"So, when the imperial court says it will expand the army by 300,000 in five years, is it also putting pressure on those below?"

Shi Hong asked with a smile.

"Not entirely!"

Xi Ya replied, "The imperial court still hopes to complete this plan! It will do its utmost to achieve it."

Is there really such a plan?

Shi Hong frowned again. "Young Master, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."

"Speak!"

Xi Ya remained calm. "This isn't the imperial court; it's a private discussion. There's no need to worry about it."

"In my humble opinion, our dynasty should expand its army, but not in such a reckless manner!"

Shi Hong glanced at Xi Ya's expression and continued, "Trying to get fat in one bite might just choke you!"

He was the commander of the army, and he also hoped that the imperial court could increase military spending and expand the army to prepare for war.

But everything has its limits!

Where does the funding for this massive military expansion come from?

Are they sucking blood from the people of Chu again?

The taxes levied on ordinary people are already quite heavy!

Further increasing taxes on the people could lead to disaster.

If even these military men can understand this, how could those people in the imperial court not understand it?

What exactly are they trying to do?

"I think so too!"

Baili Yunshan nodded in agreement, "Although the threat from Ning is indeed great, we cannot afford to lose our composure! We mustn't let Ning's invasion cause internal chaos before we even launch our own military expansion."

Xi Ya shook her head slightly. "This matter has already been decided, and there's no point in us saying anything! Now, we can only take it one step at a time!"

The ministers in the court had already discussed what Shi Hong and Baili Yunshan were talking about.

Ultimately, however, the imperial court still decided on a plan to expand the army by 300,000 over five years.

It wasn't that the Chu emperor and his ministers, including him, were unaware of the stakes involved; rather, they were forced into it by circumstances!

"this……"

Shi Hong and Baili Yunshan both looked worried.

Are you really not afraid of something going wrong by doing this?

"This was all done out of necessity!"

Xi Ya's gaze swept over the two men, a helpless sigh escaping his lips: "Ningguo and Beiqi will eventually settle their differences. Regardless of who wins or loses, their next target will undoubtedly be Chuguo! We must prepare in advance, just in case!"

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!

The fact that Chu produced abundant grain was its original sin!

Once a winner is decided, neither Ningguo nor Beiqi will give up this piece of fat meat that is Chu!

We still have time to prepare for war. If we drag this out any longer, we may not have enough time to prepare for future wars!

If even the State of Chu cannot be saved, what are we talking about interests and consequences?

To put it bluntly, they would rather eat themselves to death than be beaten to death!

Hearing Xi Ya's words, the two were speechless.

With things already said to this extent, what else can they say?

"Hopefully nothing goes wrong!"

Shi Hong sighed with deep concern...