"...." Zong Qingsheng.
After a long silence,
Zong Qingsheng took a deep breath and said:
"Pri Minister, this Yuan Hao is going too far, I request to personally handle this battle..."
"Qingsheng."
Xu Yinhè interrupted Zong Qingsheng’s words, setting the tone: "In this era, indecisiveness is a grave mistake; this battle must be won swiftly, and Di’an needs you to oversee it as well."
Zong Qingsheng wanted to say sothing more but eventually held back, only saying:
"Yes.... But Pri Minister, it is fifty miles high in the sky, how can a Sixth Grade Martial Disciple....."
Thud!
Before he could finish, Jiang He took out a circular iron ring, a few inches in diater resembling a leg ring, from the Suru Ring and placed it heavily on the long table.
Zong Qingsheng’s eyes slightly twitched:
"What is this?"
"After Yuan Hao saw the Cloud Qi Bomb, he entrusted to make this device. It’s mounted on the legs and can expel air streams to help soldiers land safely."
"But I’ve never heard of this being equipped in the Black Scale Army." Zong Qingsheng’s fist slightly clenched.
"Production capacity is limited; it was only equipped among the sixty thousand soldiers following Yuan Hao to the Northern Frontier, so I didn’t inform you, Zong Qingsheng."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Zong Qingsheng imdiately wanted to retaliate.
He oversees the Black Scale Army, and the deceit by Yuan Hao and Jiang He had already crossed the line. But he quickly realized that their proposal must have had the Pri Minister’s approval.
His complexion changed several tis, but he eventually only managed to say:
"This device has probably not been fully tested, and such haste will make it difficult to train properly. Direct combat implentation will result in heavy casualties."
"These are necessary sacrifices."
Xu Yinhè replied calmly: "Qingsheng, in these decades, things have changed; the allies we made back then are no longer reliable, so we must act quickly."
Zong Qingsheng remained silent for a while:
"Understood."
With no further objections to the main direction, only the specifics remained.
Once, everyone present was an elite cultivator, but decades of experience had made them all masters of their respective domains, already familiar with the duties in their command.
Normally, the specifics of such a battle—how to allocate efforts among various entities, how to coordinate, and dividing responsibility—should have been discussed at the eting, but the Pri Minister’s Mansion’s system was distorted.
Because of Xu Yinhè.
The original discussion turned directly into task allocation.
After a quarter of an hour,
Hua Hong threw the last dossier to Lou Ji, instructing:
"When the war breaks out, we will use large amounts of resources to sever all contact with the Tianyuan Mountain Range. The Black Scale Guards must constantly relay any activities from the surrounding Lingn Temple and Baiyun Gate to the Black Scale Army. If high-rank cultivators are sent to break out and seek help, they will be intercepted and killed by the Black Scale Guards and the Inner Minister Departnt.
"Moreover, Yuan Hao has already set out for the Tianyuan Mountain Range half a month ago. The Pri Minister has allowed him to activate the secret assets you planted in the mountain gate there."
"These are the details; review them, and if you have any objections, raise them now."
"..."
Lou Ji casually took it, Origin Qi swirling, cultivation technique in operation, and in a few breaths, she absorbed the entire dossier half an inch thick, nodding lightly, and said:
"Agreed."
Opposite her, Tian Yuxue spoke up:
"The Inner Minister Departnt agrees."
With the responses of the two, Jiang He also turned her gaze towards the others.
Zong Qingsheng paused montarily, sighing:
"The Black Scale Army agrees."
"The Tian’an Comrce Assembly agrees."
"The Military Equipnt Departnt agrees..."
"...."
"...."
After full approval, the room fell silent once again.
The atmosphere was sowhat complex, due to the presence of Pri Minister Xu.
Although accustod to it over the years, such tis nevertheless stirred myriad emotions.
Is it reassuring to have such a leader?
Certainly reassuring.
But there was also a sense of horror and a touch of gratitude.
Horror that if the Pri Minister wished, they could be replaced anyti as components.
Gratitude for their loyalty.
The awkwardness didn’t last long, as the eting needed to continue.
With the arrangents for the Sword Sect battle concluded, next ca the mid and long-term planning, which was no longer about war strategy but adjustnts on the production side. Wars are ever-changing, and those capable of pre-emptively planning are only found in stories.
And after this agenda concluded,
For the first ti, soone voiced an objection during the regular eting.
The Director of the Military Equipnt Departnt set down a dossier about an inch thick, frowning, and said:
"Pri Minister, with only these raw material supplies, the military equipnt outputs can’t match the expectations set beforehand."
The Pri Minister’s Mansion, as a vast economic entity, has trade and benefit interactions with nearly every power within Dayan Territory, including various raw materials and processed products...
In preparing for this war, the Pri Minister’s Mansion internally planned a complete severance of ties with the Sects.
But within this dossier, the Director of the Military Equipnt Departnt found that many raw materials fell far short of the expectations, with the supply of refined iron ore for Spirit Blades reduced by a third, and the Strong Beast Tendons for the precision long strings of Spirit Crossbows halved. Overall, the supply of raw materials for military equipnt was reduced by almost a third, and even the essential Source Crystal was reduced by a quarter.
This is almost deadly!
The Director of the Military Equipnt Departnt hesitated slightly, looked towards Pri Minister Xu, and asked:
"Pri Minister, has there been an issue on the Imperial Family’s side?"
Originally envisioned by Li Yaoxuan and Xu Yinhè, the Imperial Family and the Pri Minister’s Mansion would be highly integrated in the future, with the Imperial Family taking the lead, and then gradually rging and integrating through this war. Therefore, many of the Pri Minister’s Mansion’s industries have been under the control of the Imperial Family for raw materials since their inception.
This was Xu Yinhè’s compromise to Li Yaoxuan and the tacit understanding between the two.
However, unpredictable events occurred. Even after relations with the Imperial Family worsened, Xu Yinhè began adjusting the industries. The problem was that these things couldn’t be done openly.
Tearing apart the mutual understanding, creating suspicion, and escalating conflict were not what Xu Yinhè wanted to see, so all adjustnts were constrained, and until today, many aspects of the Pri Minister’s Mansion’s raw materials were still in the hands of the Imperial Family.
Jiang He sighed and replied:
"The situation at the Geotry Institute is even worse, and this is under the condition that the Imperial Family hasn’t broken with us, rely a gap in expected supply."
Tian Yuxue’s voice carried so coldness:
"It seems that the future new emperor of Dayan plans to hinder us?"
Hua Hong contemplated and said:
"Li Zhaoyuan is of illegitimate birth, promoted to the ninety-fifth position, and won’t have an unstable foundation in the court. Once he ascends the throne, he will likely need so ti to consolidate the Imperial Family’s power, and during this window period... he won’t let us act. Once this period passes, perhaps the supply will restore."
"But what if he exacerbates the situation?"
Lou Ji interjected abruptly, leaning on a stone chair, arms crossed, eyes flickering with a deep light: "We know the character of the Crown Prince and his attitudes in ruling, but we know little about Li Zhaoyuan, this illegitimate prince who erged from the bottom. His goals and thoughts are blank and inscrutable."
Hua Hong, considering the interests, said:
"The Imperial Chancellor can only form alliances to face the Sect Alliance—he should know this."
Tian Yuxue glanced at the wealthy rchant and said:
"But if he intensifies the situation, what can we do—reconcile with the Sect Alliance and defy the Li Imperial House together?"
"Watch your words," Jiang He reminded.
Upon hearing this, Tian Yuxue imdiately bent her head and cupped her hands towards the main seat:
"Yuxue overstepped."
After a brief silence, an elderly woman at the far end on the right spoke:
"Actually, speaking of this is a bit far, better that we worry first about the current ruler. He hasn’t passed away yet,
"Before the end,
"A person of his disposition will surely do sothing to pave the way for the upcoming new emperor."
Reviews
All reviews (0)