Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace

”This General has urgent matters to attend to in the palace. I give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea; speak quickly,” Chen Mo dismissed others around him and said to Xu Dabong.

”Sir, the information was incorrect. The bandits at Haiqing Lake are not just two or three hundred, but over two thousand people, and they are not ordinary rebels. The subordinates I brought have... have already lost nearly half,” Xu Dabong said, trembling.

It should be known that he brought a battalion of the Fire Qilin Army, which numbers one thousand. Losing nearly half means they’ve lost five hundred.

”What?” In a fit of anger, Chen Mo grabbed Xu Dabong by his battle armor and demanded him to elaborate.

Xu Dabong, filled with fear, began to explain in detail.

As it turns out, in front of those bandits’ territory lies Haiqing Lake, nestled against the mountains and along the water, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. Moreover, during the summer, there is a vast field of reeds on Haiqing Lake. If the Song army attacks, the bandits can easily use the water to their advantage and hide in the lake.

Let alone that this group of bandits’ combat power far surpasses the rebel army in Nanyang.

According to Xu Dabong, half of these bandits are martial artists and are adept in water.

Therefore, the battalion of the Fire Qilin Army led by Xu Dabong had barely engaged before losing half.

Chen Mo released Xu Dabong and tightened his clothing, his brows furrowed.

Where outside Bianliang could there be such formidable bandits?

It should be known that ever since the previous dynasty nationalized all cultivation techniques and martial arts, martial artists primarily existed only within the Imperial Court.

Although the Great Song did release some of these techniques and martial artists back into society,

they were all low-tier.

Besides, outside the military, to become a martial artist requires a bit of wealth, eliminating another batch of people.

So how did this group of bandits, half of whom are martial artists, come to be?

Chen Mo was utterly puzzled.

”Here’s what we’ll do. First, you distribute the pension silver to the families of the fallen soldiers. This matter requires further discussion, and we will deliberate once I return,” Chen Mo said after some thought.

”Understood,” Xu Dabong replied respectfully with a bow.

”By the way, this isn’t your fault; the information from above was inaccurate. Don’t let it weigh on you.” Seeing the guilty expression on Xu Dabong’s face, Chen Mo, about to leave, turned back to pat his shoulder.

...

The council at Taihe Palace.

In short, news of Jizhou being out of control and chaos in Jiangnan had reached the Capital, with local military suffering heavy casualties. The Imperial Court was being asked to send reinforcements, along with demands for funds and provisions.

But where does the court have money?

The rebellion in Western Shu, after confiscating the Hong Family’s assets, relieved part of the burden.

But the suppression of the Western Shu rebellion failed.

The court had already dispatched Huangfu Hao to handle it.

Now with Jizhou and Jiangnan both out of control, where can they find the money and manpower?

Thus, the Emperor summoned the ministers to deliberate.

But this was not an easy issue to involve oneself in. The ministers avoided it as much as possible.

Those who could not avoid it even suggested the Emperor deploy the border army to quell the rebellion.

But this was immediately opposed by the ministers.

The border army cannot be easily mobilized. If moved, it might attract other countries’ attention, who could take advantage of an empty border and attack, causing trouble.

Seeing the chaos in the court, Zhao Ji was enraged.

”I called you all here tonight to tell me how to stabilize Jizhou and who will quell the chaos in Jiangnan, not to argue and quarrel,” he said.

At this moment, Cai Si stepped forward and bowed to Zhao Ji, saying, ”Your Majesty, General Chen Hong has successfully suppressed the Nanyang rebellion alongside General Huangfu, achieving significant victories. His subordinates are elite troops. He could take troops to quell the Jiangnan chaos.”

”I second this,” Gao Qiu also voiced his agreement.

Those allied with Cai Si echoed this sentiment at once.

Chen Mo frowned. With great turmoil approaching Bianliang, if he were to leave now, one could not predict what Gao Qiu and his allies might do to his family in the chaos.

Moreover, if he left now, once the turmoil passed and during the transition of power, he would undoubtedly be excluded, which was not what he desired.

Thinking it over, Chen Mo stepped forward and respectfully said, ”I am willing to assist Your Majesty. However, I have received news that there is a band of bandits, strong and well-armed, numbering two to three thousand, residing by Haiqing Lake outside Bianliang City. Half of them are martial artists. In my negligence, the battalion I dispatched to quell them suffered a fifty percent loss.

Therefore, I propose that once I have dealt with this band of bandits in the Haiqing Lake area, I will immediately proceed to Western Shu.”

There are no minor matters outside Bianliang City; this is the heart of the nation. Such a formidable band of bandits must be eradicated promptly to prevent any significant incidents.

After Chen Mo finished speaking, Xiao Yunqi also stepped forward and presented his proposal.

The general idea was that sending a large army to Western Shu would be a considerable expense, and where would this money come from? Thus, Xiao Yunqi suggested that the ministers should donate.

He even dramatically declared that he would donate his retirement funds, then looked pointedly at Cai Si and Gao Qiu: ”The Prime Minister and Grand Commandant are pillars of the state and should share the burden for the country...”

The implication was that if they wanted his Infantry Department to suppress the rebellion in Western Shu, they should at least provide the necessary funds and provisions.

Thus, the court once again descended into arguments.

Zhao Ji had a headache.

But since Cai Si and Gao Qiu proposed this, Zhao Ji himself had no money and could only order Cai Si and Gao Qiu to gather the funds and provisions.

As for the deployment of troops, that matter was postponed for the moment.

Seeing this troublesome task fall on them, Cai Si and Gao Qiu’s expressions changed. Although they both had some wealth, they were unwilling to donate it to the state. So where would the money come from?

Helplessly, Cai Si could only propose collecting taxes for the upcoming years in advance, but they subconsciously ignored that the taxes for the next year and the year after had already been collected, and the populace didn’t have any money. Forced tax collection would only drive the people to rebellion...

Though the ministers all felt this was not a workable solution, no one dared to point it out because to do so would make oneself a target.

Zhao Ji understood, but with the national treasury empty, to suppress the rebellion, they’d have to rob Peter to pay Paul, taking one step at a time.

Only when he achieved First Grade could he possibly save the situation.

So Zhao Ji signaled and instructed the First Grade martial artists in court to join the battle.

When the court session ended, a trace of delight flashed in Xiao Yunqi’s eyes.

Outside Taihe Palace, Gao Qiu exchanged a cold glance with Chen Mo.

But Chen Mo merely smiled slightly.

This infuriated Gao Qiu, who left with a flick of his sleeves.

Xiao Yunqi came over, walking shoulder to shoulder with Chen Mo, and said, ”The excuse of unresolved bandits is a clever tactic. Make sure you don’t leave the Capital in the coming days.”

Indeed, Xiao Yunqi considered what Chen Mo said earlier in the Golden Hall as fabricated.

But Chen Mo replied, ”Grand Commandant, every word I said was true.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yunqi frowned, ”How could mere bandits pose such a significant threat?”

”I too find it extremely suspicious. I suspect it’s highly likely that some Jianghu forces have joined together, seizing the opportunity amidst the turmoil, to move out from the deep mountains, turning into bandits and taking advantage of the chaos...”