Chapter 358

You Prefecture

The Great King finally experienced the advantage of having a powerful backer at court; before, only the Chancellor and the Grand Tutor had that, and to some degree they couldn't compare to Xie Yuan.

For example, connections.

Now the Great King has invented a new skill: when faced with difficulty, he looks to Xie Yuan.

xx County lacks a magistrate; the Great King looks to Xie Yuan.

xx Commandery lacks an imperial censor; the Great King looks to Xie Yuan.

Bing Prefecture's refugee resettlement village lacks houses; the Great King looks… and finally turns his gaze to Zhang Sinong.

Since Zhang Sinong last calculated the military provisions, his folds have increased two; "Your Highness, Your Highness, the silver for that armor..." is still off by a hundred and eight thousand li!

The Marquis of Eastern Capital has again gathered over two thousand homeless refugees in Bing Prefecture; these people can reclaim land to support themselves, but the Northern Border's weather makes it impossible to survive outdoors.

The Great King sighed, "What should we do? I've already laid out my harsh words; anyone who comes to the Northern Border becomes a Northern Border person. Now that they've come lacking even a tile to shelter themselves, should I go back on my word to the people? First take silver to build the resettlement houses; I'll think of a way for the military provisions."

The three big shots together lifted their heads to look at him—is this still the Great King? So promptly agreeing to shift military funds… what a catnap!

The Great King felt their gazes wrote: "Are you thinking of taking out a high-interest loan!"

"Cough cough! The Northern Border's finances are really tough! After thinking, I have nothing left but Zhang Wuyong's face skin; I plan to first borrow some military provisions from Mr. Zhao, then repay when we have more."

"Oh, Mr. Zhao is the elder brother of the Great King's Commerce Department Chief, Zhu Ti. Northern Border frontier safety comes first, my face… sigh!" The Great King forced a worried expression, puffed out the little bit of baby fat he'd regained these days, immediately felt unimposing, and again forced a sigh, "sigh~!"

The atmosphere had been built to this point; the perceptive officials had already knelt to apologize.

"Your servant, I am incapable!"

"Old servant, I am incapable! Your Highness has suffered!" This is even more perceptive.

Xie Yuan:...

He didn't believe it, yet couldn't refute.

In less than ten days, the Great King produced thirteen thousand sets of new armor.

The answer is that it was borrowed.

The Great King continued to play the mediator, "These ten thousand sets of armor, give five thousand each to the Marquis of Eastern Capital and the Governor of Tang. Zhang Tu, send people to deliver them, and meanwhile check the progress at Luoshui Pass and Shanyang Pass."

Actually the Great King saw it as soon as he opened the map, but this fellow never falls short on face-saving projects.

The remaining three thousand sets of silver-white armor, he hauled them all to the East Main Camp.

The Great King once again skillfully launched into persuasion… the mobilization rally.

Having gathered forty thousand cavalry, the Great King mounted the high platform of the drill field; his personal guards switched into that blinding white armor to serve as props.

Let alone that this armor still dresses one up nicely; with a slightly flat head, upright face, and a better build, wearing this ensemble and standing there, even these rough fellows gain a touch of the graceful bearing of a jade tree in the wind.

"Comrades, does this armor look good?"

"Looks good!"

"It's not only good-looking, it's also easy to wear. My personal guards say wearing it is not only comfortable but also allows free movement. This armor, while not as good as the Owl Cavalry's Owl Armor, is still better than the Black Armor you currently possess."

"When purchasing them, I said this armor isn't practical; wearing it for a night raid would shake awake the enemy from ten li away."

The nearby generals, bold as they are, laughed out loud; the soldiers behind didn't hold back and joined in the laughter.

"Actually, that's just my bargaining excuse. I want to say that as long as your martial skill is strong enough, when you reach a certain level, this minor drawback can be ignored, right?"

"Yes!!!" It echoed through the heavens.

"This set of silver-white armor numbers only three thousand; everyone has already guessed it—I will form a new cavalry unit, and three thousand of you will possess them."

They are lighter than ordinary armor, and I will also equip the matching warhorses with armor of the same color—just thinking about it makes one feel mighty, right?

It is as white as the great snow of the northern borders, and the new cavalry will be called the Snow Riders.

He glanced around, and the cavalry below were all excited; the king felt reassured.

He likes those who are ambitious.

The Snow Riders will become the second-tier cavalry under my command, second only to the Owl Riders.

Only the three thousand of you with the best martial skills will have a chance to join the Snow Riders, with pay doubled! Benefits doubled!

Cheers rose from below, and the king continued: 'Likewise, you now have sturdier armor and better horses, but you will also face tougher trials. Your missions may be more arduous, but I have said before that the Youzhou Black Armor Cavalry is fair—I judge only by performance.'

Moreover, the Snow Riders have a chance to join the Owl Riders. That is, from now on the Owl Riders will be selected only from among the Snow Riders; if you want to join the Owl Riders, the Snow Riders are the first gate. His system must not be disrupted, the pinnacle of the pyramid must not be moved.

'Likewise, if an Owl Rider's performance declines, I will give you one chance to stay in the Snow Riders; if you decline further or make a mistake, you can only return to the ordinary troops.'

Owl Riders, report your current monthly pay to the brothers!

"

His personal guard beside him, with breath sunk to the dantian, shouted loudly: 'Ten taels!'

"Oh~~"

The entire northern great camp was filled with the sound of inhaling.

The king was pleased, indeed—I am just this unpretentious; when I do good deeds, I want to announce them to the world!

Even Changli below gasped; he had never seen soldiers paid more than a hundred wen per month, let alone ten taels. Thinking further, most of those soldiers were conscripted or randomly caught, given just a meal and a knife as standard equipment—nothing compared to this.

Only Zhao Bao, listening behind, grinned with gritted teeth: 'Three thousand Owl Riders wouldn't that be thirty thousand taels a month? What money could this king possibly save! Now he can even lift the pot—that's already considered good management!'

Below had already erupted in an uproar; the natives of Youzhou had never seen such high monthly pay.

'I will give you another month to prepare; after a month, the entire army will hold a grand martial contest, and the top three thousand will be directly enlisted into the Snow Riders!'

'Zhang Tu, you are in charge of organizing; there is only one requirement: fair competition.'

"Yes!"

The king tossed down the bomb and was about to leave; he didn't need to worry about the details, he just had to attend the final.

As he passed Changli, this person followed him up; the king glanced at him and asked, 'What do you want? Do you want this armor?' Seeing that he still wore ordinary black armor, the king asked casually.

Who would have thought he actually nodded, saying, 'Your Highness, I feel… this armor suits my temperament better!'

The king glanced at his still fairly fair face, nodded, and said, 'I can give you a chance to join the Snow Riders; your rival is still Zhao Chuan—you have to take him down.'

Changli rolled up his sleeves and clenched his fists, yet he didn't leave.

Great King halted: "Anything else? This king doesn't accept bribes, oh!"

Changli kept licking his face, "Your Highness, if this armor is paired with a white horse, you'd be invincible under heaven—your white horse still...?"

Great King's face darkened, he stretched out three claws, "Stop your dangerous idea! Do you know how expensive that horse is?!"

Changli saw him extend three claws and guessed, "Three thousand? Surely not thirty thousand?"

Great King was speechless, "You really know nothing about Mengmeng's sickle! Naive!"

"It's three million!"

He recently came across it in the shopping mall, already stunned once. Without surprise, his dream of six white dragons pulling a carriage will have to be postponed a few years.

Changli: "... May I ask if the suffix is 'tael'?"

Great King: "Of course it's three million taels, could it be cash?"

Changli's just fantasized vision of a white-robed, white-horse great general shattered with a boom, and even the Great King heard the sound of his dream breaking.

This guy's eyes shifted; it seems that pursuing good armor and a good horse is an inescapable pursuit for soldiers, even if he is a seasoned veteran.

Great King's words were just seasoned big talk, "... It's not completely impossible; someday we can trade military achievements with me!"