When he went to court the next day, Xia Yan looked solemn.
He decided that for the sake of Su Yue, he would try it himself to see how shameless it was.
So at the beginning of the court, he proposed to postpone the return ceremony of two million taels of silver originally scheduled for tomorrow for one month.
The result was also obvious, and he was frantically bombarded by the remaining officials.
Zhu Ming is now the number one person in the court, and when he is the left prime minister, he naturally takes the lead and starts to criticize.
"Integrity is the foundation of being a human being. Your Majesty must not lose the support of the people for the sake of petty gains."
"Yes, the people in the world have the greatest hearts. I bet Your Majesty will not understand these truths, right?"
"..."
Trouble came. Xia Yan could not make a decision when his courtiers disagreed with his decision. Therefore, Xia Yan had to find a way to convince them.
But today is different from the past. In the past, there were only seven uncles at most.
But now that there are more ministers in the court, more people have begun to help the seven people speak.
More than a dozen people talked to each other, each talking about the dangers of losing integrity, so Xia Yan had no way to interrupt.
There were even a few moments when Xia Yan wanted to withdraw the decree at any cost.
But without exception, they all received warnings from the system.
[If you do this, it’s a foul, you know?]
Well, I understand... But for her, I don't know why I have the idea that it doesn't matter even if I don't go back...
[Haha, silly]
[Warm reminder: If there are too many fouls, the penalty will be completely wiped out. 】
After hearing this reminder, Xia Yan's head suddenly calmed down.
The system's meaning is very clear. If you really want to save Su Yue, you will probably make more than one violation.
If you lose yourself, then everything is lost.
There are some things you still need to think clearly about.
Hearing this, Xia Yan also swallowed hard.
I have to admit that this is indeed the case. Who can guarantee that if the first step is wrong, the next step will be correct.
After much thought, Xia Yan finally gave up the idea, and the two million taels of silver were finally delivered to the squire of Nanling City.
It is said that when the household money was pulled out that day, Xia Yan burst into tears.
Everyone knew that Xia Yan was sad about the money, and they all tried to persuade him that they could earn it slowly after the money was gone.
But Xia Yan is too lazy to pay attention to them. The girl I like is gone, how can I break it?
Sometimes even Xia Yan is shocked that he can never forget a woman he has just met once.
It is not clear whether Xia Yan is deeply affectionate or has a trace of unwillingness in his heart.
But Xia Yan didn't give up from that day on.
There are no soldiers in Lake City? Then recruit them!
No money? Then sell goods!
Hire all the women in the city to make huazi at a high salary, and hire craftsmen to make "Tianxia's No. 1" poker at a high price.
Although the daily output was increased to 10,000 pairs by Xia Yan, due to the significant increase in the number of buyers and the number of countries, "Tianxia's No. 1" poker still has unparalleled scarcity.
In addition, he relaxed various trade ports, and pairs of playing cards and tons of Chinese cards were sold abroad.
In about fifteen days, the money in the treasury increased a lot, but it was far less than what I expected.
As for the reason, Xia Yan actually knew it in his heart. It was almost all corrupted by He Shen.
With this Bodhisattva around, wild geese would pluck out a few hairs when they fly by.
If this had happened in the past, Xia Yan would have liked to praise and reward him at the same time.
But it happens to be at this time...
What's even more annoying is that Xia Yan can't do anything to him.
Even though he knew that He Shen was extremely greedy, he still could not face any punishment.
This has been set by the system before. This thing is here to trick you. Don't even think about dealing with it!
Unfortunately, everything is done by myself.
During the fifteen days, Xia Yan was not idle except promoting transactions.
Batteries of military equipment were produced in the hands of craftsmen, and a large number of strong civilians were recruited to join the army.
Because the conditions offered by Xia Yan were very attractive, and the preferential treatment given to the soldiers who died in the former Xi Kingdom had gained a lot of popular support, there were currently 60,000 soldiers in Lake City.
The warships that had been burned were also continuously constructed, including several giant ships and dozens of small warships.
The naval strength has improved slightly, but it is still far from what it was back then.
On the whole, although the 60,000 soldiers are still less than the 100,000 soldiers at the peak of Xi Kingdom, it is much better than half a month ago.
Now that twenty-five days have passed since he first received the mission, Xia Yan looked at the current situation in Lake City and shook his head helplessly.
Much better than before, but still not enough.
Relying on these improvements to improve the dynasty's strength by 800 points is simply a fool's errand.
Xia Yan has experienced several missions, and he has a rough idea of how much resources each upgrade requires.
The improvements I have made now can only increase my strength by three to four hundred at most.
If he wanted to complete this task within the remaining five days, Xia Yan knew there was only one way: to go to war.
Yes, Xia Yan has been frantically doing the same thing in the fifteen days after he determined that he was going to complete this task: improving his strength.
Today's Lake City is much stronger than before, both in terms of economic strength and military strength.
And Xia Yan's target is also his new neighbor: Chang Guo.
The overall strength of the Chang State was very similar to that of the original Xi State, and its army strength was also around 100,000.
It's just that compared to the original Xi State's emphasis on naval forces, Chang State seems to value land battlefields more.
In the past, Chang State and Xi State had always been unable to do anything to each other, but even so, the two sides had been hostile for hundreds of years.
Now that Xi State was occupied by Daxia, although Chang State did not immediately declare war, they did not come to congratulate them either.
Obviously, Chang Guo is also waiting and watching.
But although there was no request for war from above, many soldiers below would lead troops to harass the border of Lake City from time to time.
And this just gave Xia Yan a reason to go to war with Chang Guo.
But even so, Xia Yan also understood that it was a bit impossible to solve Chang Guo in fifteen days, but at this moment, he had no choice.
Among the two northern countries, Sicheng, where Zhuge Liang was located, was located in the northwest, so Zhuge Liang was also asked by Xia Yan to send troops to assist him in attacking the city.
As for the navy, Nanling, where Zhu Di was located, was adjacent to Tai Lake, as was Lake City.
Therefore, Xia Yan also asked Zhu Di to directly send naval forces to help him attack Chang Guo's navy.
A three-pronged attack was the only way Xia Yan could think of at the moment.
But as for whether we can capture Changguo within five days, we have to leave it to fate. The difficulty is obviously not that high.
When it comes to military affairs, Xia Yan is definitely not an expert, and he knows nothing about the battlefield.
But he needs to try, this is the only thing he can do at the moment.
He must get Lingbo Weibu, and he must enter the palace of the Divine Phoenix Kingdom to see her.
Even if this attempt may have no results, I will not hesitate.
Now that I've come, let me be as willful as I want.
The next day, Xia Yan, who had formally declared war on Chang Guo, was on the outskirts of Hucheng, with a mighty 60,000-strong army behind him.
Xia Yan looked at the 60,000-strong army and felt filled with emotion.
Who would have thought that he would dispatch 60,000 soldiers for one person, just for that slim possibility.
Xia Yan asked himself silently in his heart: Is it really just unwillingness?
Obviously, there was no answer. After a while, Xia Yan looked at the army below and his voice was low and determined.