Chapter 466

The people of the Northern Border all sensed a different atmosphere; after the autumn harvest, tax payments were all done swiftly. In the old Bing and Yi provinces, when disaster struck and lives were at stake, only military threats could force honest grain payment.

Although the King spoke confidently, whenever he had free time he would still frequently open the full terrain map, zoom in, and examine the situation within the realm; fortunately, he had not yet discovered any major abnormality.

This fellow was enthusiastic about setting up a stall at the Phoenix Market; he was actively liquidating assets for grain, and when no one asked about the price, he would just look at the map.

Previously, during the day, the King only inspected the big cities, where the aristocrats lived; seeing that everyone seemed honest, he was quite satisfied. But he usually set up his stall at night, and tonight, while looking at the map of Bing Province, he discovered that there were lights in the mountains outside Yanmen Commandery's city.

The King couldn't bother with selling his goods; he zoomed in for a closer look—what a find! In a valley three-sided by mountains, far from the city walls, a sizable fort had actually been built!

Just like when he returned from Chang Province back then, what he saw on the road was the same!

The problem is, he considered the Northern Border peaceful and stable, and even he himself had no plans to expand the army—after all, he valued quality over quantity.

Someone inside the realm actually learned this from the southern side, and the King was not pleased. Hiding out here, far from human habitation—have you paid your taxes?!

The King marked this place as a priority, planning to focus his observation when daytime visibility improved. That night he went back and complained to Bai Ze: "Take a look—this location is excellent, the feng shui is top-notch, the valley is big enough to hide twenty thousand people with ease!"

Bai Ze glanced at it and said, "This isn't a small project; it looks like they have some capability?"

"The key is that they actually managed to build this right under the King's nose; they'd better not have raised private troops."

By this point, the King felt his attention couldn't be focused only on the border; internal unrest would also be embarrassing.

The next day, he proposed sending cavalry to conduct routine patrols in the four provinces other than Liaodong Commandery; during critical times, carelessness is unacceptable. This proposal received strong support from Dong Fu, and the King appointed Zhao Chuan to be directly responsible.

In just half an hour in the daytime, the King determined that the fort was massive, and it had far more people than the usual servants of aristocratic households—meaning they definitely had raised private troops. However, he still couldn't determine whether these people were bought by the fort's owner or were locals conscripted in the area.

The King silently made a note against the Yanmen Commandery governor, then immediately summoned Zhao Chuan to arrange the first patrol station—outside Yanmen Commandery in Bing Province—ordering him to quickly take people to investigate.

"As long as we obtain evidence of violating Northern Border law, we'll confiscate everything outright!" In fact, he had already seen the weapons carried by the patrols in the valley; privately hoarding weapons is a capital offense under Northern Border's strict statutes.

At the morning audience the next day, the King lamented: "I never expected my Mysterious Armor Cavalry's deterrent power in the Northern Border to be so ordinary!"

How could anyone still dare to raise special private troops?!

How could there still be aristocrats lying in the old dreams of the Great Jin, refusing to wake up? Do they really think the King won't do anything to them?

Aristocrats in the Northern Border are no different from commoners; there's nothing special about them—they are all Northern Border subjects, and breaking the law carries the same guilt. Their behavior shows they aren't the slightest bit afraid of the Northern Border New Law personally signed by the King!

Below are all the ministers of aristocratic origin: ……

The sole exception, Dong Fu, began frequently winking at the King—need we say this outright?! The King saw it and calmly winked back, "Exactly! I'm just saying this for them to hear; the part about raising private troops isn't…"

Dong Fu: ……

Xie Yuan: ……Let's just pretend we suddenly went blind.

The King barely avoided a backyard fire that died down after two days; with nothing to do, he lounged in the Orchid Terrace Hall looking at his map. Fortunately, no more of this nonsense turned up, and instead he received some good news.

Some honest little states of the Western Regions and the Eastern Xianbei sent their tribute; they were the first batch the King expected without surprise.

The Xiongnu, Tufa Xianbei, and Western Xianbei putting up stubborn resistance was no surprise; the Wusun and Kucha not coming was also no surprise, as they were still waiting for the Xiongnu's move—after all, their numbers are not small.

The Western Regions little states were frightened by those three unlucky fellows annihilated in a flash outside Yumen Pass; the Eastern Xianbei are easier to understand—after the battle at the Royal City they temporarily lacked confidence to face the King, and that Second Prince was still the throne the King personally helped him ascend.

As long as someone obedient comes forward, those who do nothing become even more conspicuous.

Coincidentally, the King was in a bad mood, and the tribute sent by the Western Regions little states was still short of weight.

When the King heard the Grand Minister of Agriculture report that the tribute had only delivered eighty percent, he knew these fellows were testing his bottom line.

Annual tribute isn't something you can just demand; even if we replaced him, he wouldn't pay it all. We've given it this time, but what if it goes up again next time? Appetite only grows the more you feed it.

Understanding is one thing, but now the Great King is the creditor. "Figure out how much they owe, give them a clear note for the amount, calculate interest daily, and if they can, drag it out!"

The Great King's money isn't easy to owe either—who let them catch a good break? The Great King is so poor he wants to scratch the walls.

The Northern Border suffers from poor harvests, and every day refugees flee to Luoshui Pass, their numbers much larger than before. These people, having just arrived in the Northern Border, are about to face winter; in an agrarian society, winter creates no value, yet the Great King must spend money to keep them alive until next spring, and the Great King is under great pressure.

Even the Hall of Receiving Light fell silent—how else could one say the Great King manages things well! The Great King, however, leans on an empty treasury while supporting an army of over 200,000.

"Make it clear to them, I'm not having it easy either. The Northern Border suffers drought, the south is in great turmoil, and my cavalry needs to eat. If some faction in the south wins, morale surges and they march north, what will I rely on to resist? Can the neighbors just stand by and watch?"

Grand Minister of Agriculture: "... I understand, I will make the pros and cons clear to the envoys of all states."

The Great King nodded. "As for the Xiongnu and Xianbei tribes, relay my order: station troops at the borders."

Officials: ……

Being neighbors with the Great King—what ordinary blessing is that!