Realm of Power

In an ancient Central and Asian-style square courtyard, the walls are brown and the roof is vermilion. In the large wooden hall, the fat man looked at Lu Xiaofeng, the head of the Lu family who wanted to salute him respectfully. He raised his eyebrows slightly. The Lu family and the Southwest Long family were both called There are two major military towns in the south. One has been guarding the southwest for decades, guarding the gateway to the Obaro region between China and Biya. The other has gathered heavy troops and is stationed in Luzhou, becoming a powerful weapon for the Zhongbia court to suppress the southern mountains.

The fat man remembered that Lu Yangyu once said that the first generation of the Lu family was also a big pirate who roamed the southeast coast and had strong fighting power. Otherwise, China and Bia would not take it seriously and recruit Zhao An to form an elite war army targeting the southern mountains. But Over the decades and generations, with the rich financial resources of Liucheng Port, the only opponents they faced were the weak Nanfangshan. People, even the original pirates, have almost polished their toughness. Look at the Long family in Southwest China. Although they have always been suppressed by the Central and Eastern courts, they are full of talented people. After Long Yang, there is Long Po. , although they have different personalities, they are all top-notch generals in Central and South-Bia. In comparison, the Lu family in front of them seems too mediocre!

But it’s okay, if the Long family is obviously not willing to submit to foreigners, the empire may not dare to really take it in. The fat man waved his hand to the head of the Lu family. "Lu Yangyu has already reported to me Well, regarding the Lu family’s secret loan of 500,000 yuan from the Imperial Bank and the assistance of the Lu family’s return to Luzhou, the Empire can provide support. But can the Lu family’s head answer my question?

"Your Majesty, just ask. It's already like this. Is there anything else that our Lu family can't say?"

Lu Xiaofeng stood up with his hands raised and quickly replied cautiously. For this foreign emperor with the name of the God of War, Lu Xiaofeng could not help but beat his heart. At the same time, he was shocked that Lu Yangyu was so valued in the empire. It is no wonder that there are rumors that just because of the imperial capital west The merchants on the road were disrespectful to Lu Yangyu, so the imperial army killed more than 20,000 people. In comparison, He said that his Lu family was loyal to the Zhongbia court, but with this result, Lu Xiaofeng felt sour and jealous. For decades, the Lu family had been the dominant family, and the Lu family had even openly The identities of the branches of the Lu family dare not be made public. But now, the Lu family has risen so fast that it can be said that it covers the sky with one hand on Dijing West Road. However, the Lu family has been beaten to the bottom.

"In the battle of Lujiang, the Lu family's military strength suffered heavy losses. The Zhongbia court just ordered Luzhou to be returned to the court. Even if the Lu family has this fund, it will be difficult for him to return to Luzhou, right?"

"And it's only 500,000 gold. Are you so sure that the Lu family can take Luzhou back?" The fat man said solemnly every word, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingers tapped the armrest of the chair rhythmically. As for how much power the Lu family has, There is really not much information in his hands. Even Li Yuehua, who knows the details of the Zhongbia family, cannot tell the reason. It is really because the Lu family is the most closed-minded among the Zhongbia family.

Luzhou is originally a hilly land, backed by mountains in the south, and the environment is closed. There are only two exits to the outside world. Once the exit is closed, it is an independent kingdom. The Lu family has been in Luzhou for decades, and their roots are intertwined. Moreover, the people who moved to Luzhou with them originally They are all subordinates of the Lu family. Over the past few decades, although the Lu family is not as numerous as the Long family, After ten years of war, it has become a situation where one party dominates, but it is also the pinnacle of the restrained rule of another family. The entire Luzhou has more or less relations with the Lu family, and the Lu family has made them monolithic. The Zhongbia court tried to reach deep into the core of the Lu family several times but failed.

After hearing the emperor's words, Lu Xiaofeng looked embarrassed and said with flashing eyes.

"I'm not afraid to tell His Majesty the truth. In the Battle of Lujiang, my Lu family was indeed crippled. The 60,000-strong army lost 40,000, but the foundation of my Lu family is still there. We have worked hard in Luzhou for decades and upheld the principle of soldiers and civilians." The policy of unity, although Luzhou was ravaged by the Aden people this time, there are still more than 300,000 people in Luzhou, including **0,000 young men. As long as they are recruited, they will be a force."

Lu Xiaofeng paused and continued, "It's just that our Lu family's military supplies suffered serious losses. The Lu family's base camp was raided, and the family's financial resources accumulated over decades were wiped out. This time, the Central and Asian courts were even more affected by the failure of our Lu family." On the pretext of obeying military orders, my Lu family’s military expenses were deducted for three years. Now the Lu family is truly at the end of its rope. This time I am here to report to you. Your Majesty is requesting a loan because I know that due to the financial shortage of the Central Military Commission, some military officials will secretly sell some of the old ordnance that they have replaced on the black market. If they can buy it, my Lu family will Then you can regain a little more strength in your hand, and when the time comes, you can cooperate with the inside and the outside, and taking Luzhou back will not be a problem."

"Aren't you afraid of being found out about selling arms?"

The fat man blinked his eyes. The Central and Eastern Military Departments were in chaos. They had reached the current level and were still able to reach out to military equipment. However, the Lu family suffered heavy losses. Not only were they kicked out of Luzhou, but they were also forcibly detained. Three years of military expenditure, and within ten years, the Lu family has no hope of returning to its previous level. There is no longer pressure on the Central and Libyan military, and it is normal for officials to resell military equipment.

“This kind of thing cannot be found out.”

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head and said with a wry smile, "The newly released armaments must not be touched. The military generals are watching eagerly, especially as the Central and African troops have experienced the baptism of several wars and are influenced by the imperial atmosphere. Affected by the epidemic, heavy-armed troops are getting more and more attention. The latest investment is the 30,000 heavy armors that cost a lot of money to build. Naturally, the replacements are also 30,000 light armors. As old replacement equipment, once it is put into the military warehouse , as long as there is no such thing as the grassland people going south again, who will remember it when they go back, even if it flows into the black market, no one will investigate it, and it will be broken down and sold in pieces, and the person who buys it will not be the real seller. Disappear immediately after completion. Even if you really want to investigate, there will be no clue. The Lu family is also an important member of the Central and Libyan military, and the Lu family is often involved in such underground weapons transactions."

"How long does it usually take to sell out 30,000 units?"

The fat man touched the bridge of his nose with his finger. His eyes were bright and charming. This was good information. Why didn't he think of it? The empire's arms trade was usually only targeted at the northern grassland tribes, while in the south, it was the Long family, the Song clan, etc. We have all the big customers, and now it sounds like there is quite a demand from the wealthy people in the southern region.

Lu Xiaofeng didn't know this. He never thought that the most powerful emperor in this land was actually an arms dealer, so he didn't notice the emperor's shining eyes and carefully explained, "Arms and weapons." Things cannot be stored for a long time, because iron will rust. It would be too wasteful to throw it directly back into the furnace to be forged into refined iron. Therefore, the Central and African Military Headquarters sold it as a means of converting it into funds. "If it were in previous years, It will take about two months, but I am afraid that they will be robbed this year. Because the Aden people are marching north, local nobles must do their best to protect themselves. At this moment, whoever has the strongest armaments will naturally There is an extra guarantee. The Central and African Military Department also has this plan. Even the price has been raised by one-third more than in previous years, but the supply is still in short supply. "" Since the supply exceeds demand, why doesn't the Lu family Buy directly at Dijing West Road? "The fat man curled his lips slightly and couldn't help but say that the empire itself is the largest arms trading country. Whether it is price or quality, the fat man believes that the empire can definitely afford high quality and low price, but these rich people in southern China and Biya , it’s really strange that they haven’t purchased the empire’s armaments in the past few years.

There are too many second-hand armaments in the empire, not to mention the weapons and ammunition seized from the Coldlanders in the Battle of the Northern Grassland, as well as a large amount of wealth from the North Royal Court, totaling 200,000 yuan, Yelu Qiyeguang All the smart ones were given to the empire in exchange for the empire's support in conquering Dongbo. Originally, the fat man was planning to dump these second-hand armaments to the ministries in the Northern Grassland. Who knew that the ministries in the Northern Grassland were taken over by the Northern King's Court? It was squeezed too hard and beaten all the way by the cold land people. It was already very poor. I barely swallowed less than half of it. The rest was still pressed in the warehouse on Dijing West Road. Think about it. Fire, winter is coming. Once the cold winter comes, the climate will become more humid. Ironware that has experienced the cold will become much more brittle in toughness. In the eyes of experienced buyers, this is a good reason to lower the price!

"Your Majesty is saying that we can also come to Dijing West Road to buy ordnance? My Lu family had such a plan before, but the business alliance on Dijing West Road directly rejected our Lu family's request! And the goods were shipped in through the business alliance The price of weapons in the south is really too expensive. If we can join the army The Ministry bought 10,000 sets of armors on the black market, but I am afraid there are only 3,000 sets from the business alliance. At three times the price, no matter how excellent the imperial equipment is, it is not something we can afford." To the fat man's surprise, Lu Xiaofeng's face The uncontrollable joy on his face made the fat man vaguely feel that something was wrong with the empire!

Thinking of the four major forces of the Imperial Capital West Road Business Alliance in the past, Fatty's face couldn't help but darken. These guys, under the banner of the Imperial Business Alliance, had no idea how much profit they had put into their own pockets. The one who was in charge of the south at the time was controlling The Xiao and Wei families in the business alliance have a background in the Central and Asian courts. They can easily transport the empire's ordnance to the south and sell it at a high price, which is much better than what they did on Dijing West Road. Selling directly is too cost-effective. It is not difficult to understand why the Long family, after being banned from direct arms sales by the empire, would rather go to the Wu family in Liucheng Port to buy high-priced weapons from the Aden people than buy the empire's high-priced weapons after turnover. Weapons, the reason is probably because the price of imperial weapons is even higher, making it unaffordable for the Long family. It is easy to imagine the local tycoons who are far inferior to the Long family. .

"The arms trade on Dijing West Road is now also open to the entire Central and Southern family. As an apology for rejecting the offer before, just sell it to the Lu family at half the current price of the weapons on Dijing West Road, and give the Lu family a thousand horses." The best prairie war horse is my personal gift." The fat man took a deep breath and stood up from his seat. He was still very satisfied with this meeting.

"The Lu family is here to thank Your Majesty..."

Lu Xiaofeng's whole body lay on the ground, his eyes filled with excitement. This is a big deal by the emperor. At half the price, this means that he who originally only planned to buy 10,000 armaments can now buy 20,000 and 500 horses. The best prairie war horses, war horses are scarce resources for the entire south, even if At that time, the Lu family did not have a horse team of a thousand people. For a force like the Long family that competed with the court, the number of high-quality war horses did not exceed 5,000. The emperor exported only 1,000 horses. If the Lu family wanted to To take back Luzhou, with such power, the possibility of taking back Luzhou is doubled!

Returning to Li Yuehua's Jinghu, Lu Yangyu was already waiting at the door of the office. When he saw the emperor walking up the steps, he immediately greeted him. The fat man handed the cloak to Lu Yangyu, walked to his desk, and said, "What you reported is correct. The bones of the Lu family are much softer and easier to tame than those of the Long family. As long as the interests are Enough. The Lu family will not hesitate to stand on the side of the empire. Unlike when Long Po met with us, he was neither humble nor overbearing even if he wanted to ask for help from the empire. You should let it go immediately. The weapons trade on Dijing West Road will start from now on. It has begun to be fully open to the Southern Family, and the price is definitely lower than that of the Central and Military Department!”

"What does your Majesty mean?" Lu Yangyu was stunned for a moment. The emperor's words sounded quite a bit like he wanted to suppress the Central Asian Military Department.

"The Lu family will soon launch a campaign to retake Luzhou. Once Luzhou is retaken, it will not only cut off the southern tax revenue path, but also slap the central court in the face of the entire Central Asia." The fat man picked up a portion on the table. document, with a cold smile on the corner of his mouth, "The court in China and Belgium will definitely not give up, but to mobilize the army, military expenditures are necessary. Now the entire China and Belgium The Yachaotang is so poor that even the winter ceremony has been stopped. There is still money to pay for the army. The only way is to sell replaced weapons and ammunition. If we lure all the southern families to Dijing West Road, the weapons of the Chaotang will be gone. People buy it, and in the center of the palace, even the army cannot be mobilized. As long as such a situation really occurs, there will naturally be people who can't stand it anymore.

"Your Majesty is talking about the people of Aden!"

Lu Yangyu's body was shaken, and his face was moved. Although the empire believed that the Aden Army was marching north and did not dare to actually confront the empire, it was impossible to guess when the Aden Army would turn. And now the emperor's move will undoubtedly destroy the Aden people. The timing of the turn was extremely precise. They funded the Lu family to once again cut off the finance and taxation of southern China and Biya, attracted the southern aristocratic families to Dijing West Road, and completely bankrupted the finances of the Central and Biya courts. The moment the army mutinied, it was the moment when the Aden army turned!