The cost of food and clothing for 30,000 people was very high, and the cost of 60,000 war horses was even higher than that of 30,000 soldiers. In order to raise enough money, the King of Chu completely removed the maids from the palace three times in a row to reduce expenses.
Although the Chu State was vast in territory and rich in resources, the king of Chu did not really control much wealth. Most of the wealth was in the hands of feudal lords in various places.
If these feudal lords can be captured, not to mention a mere 30,000, even an army of 100,000 can be supported.
But the King of Chu knew clearly that once he dared to take action, all the princes would unite to resist, and even he, the King of Chu, could not bear the consequences.
All we have to do now is to continue to be patient and accumulate strength.
"How long can the money and food last?" King Chu waved the maid away and took a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat on his cheeks.
"Basically everything that can be sold in the palace has been sold out, and most of the maids have been dismissed. Expenses have been reduced to a minimum. Even so, it can only last for more than half a year. However, if the Qu family does not pay back the money, it can last until next year.
." Huang Xie leaned over and said.
"I heard that the Qu family is also training cavalry?" King Chu said in a deep voice.
Unlike the lords of other countries, the lords of Chu can form an army, which is legal and reasonable, and the King of Chu has no choice.
Moreover, the Chu State was able to obtain so many war horses and farm cattle because the Qu family helped the Chu State advance payment, even though they knew that the Qu family was lining their own pockets, receiving a lot of benefits, and even betraying the interests of the Chu State.
But on the surface, the King of Chu still wanted to praise Qu.
"Qu got 5,000 war horses from Zhao, purchased more than 1,000 from other sources, and trained 3,000 cavalry," Huang Xie said.
"Hmph, then King Zhao is quite generous." King Chu snorted coldly.
If three thousand cavalry are well trained, they can already influence the outcome of a war. Likewise, they can also influence the political situation of Chu State.
Zhao Guo had no good intentions at all.
However, if the Chu State wanted to regain its old capital, it could only side with the Zhao State for the time being.
"We don't need to worry about the Qu family for the time being, but if we want to support these 30,000 cavalry, we must find other ways. Does Chun Shenjun have any suggestions?" King Chu asked.
"It's nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Reducing expenditure is not feasible now. Your Majesty's expenditure has been reduced to a minimum and cannot be reduced any further. Although our Chu State has other armies, it is impossible to disband. So we can only increase revenue."
"I have two ways. One is to gather gangsters to reclaim wasteland in Jiangdong. Jiangdong is the foundation of Wuyue. Although it is not as good as the Central Plains, it is far better than other places in the south of the Yangtze River. It is not as desolate as the legend says. There is fertile soil everywhere along Taihu Lake.
If we can build dams and water conservancy projects, millions of acres of fertile farmland can be turned into within three years."
"The other is to build colored glaze workshops. Our Chu State's colored glazes are comparable to precious jade and are sold well all over the world. In recent years, due to the fall of Yanying by the Qin State, a large number of colored glaze workshops were occupied by the Qin State. At the same time, the country was granted lordships.
In order to ensure the interests of pottery and lacquerware, the nobles jointly suppressed the glaze workshops, resulting in the poor management of many glaze workshops and their closure. Therefore, the construction of glaze workshops will inevitably offend a large number of feudal nobles."
Huang Xie said slowly.
Although Chu State lags behind the Central Plains countries in terms of system, it is not behind in technology, and is even more advanced than the Central Plains countries in many places.
Although the colored glaze of Chu State is far inferior to the glass of later generations, it is already amazing in this era. Moreover, the cost of this thing is frighteningly low and the price is ridiculously high. Chu State only needs to invest a small amount to get a steady stream of products.
money.
"If you offend those nobles, you will be offended. It's not easy for me to attack them now, but if they don't have the foresight and send it up themselves, then don't blame me for being ruthless." King Chu clenched his hands into fists and stared at the hall.
plaque, said sternly.
Before he has accumulated a certain amount of strength, he will not be the first to take action against the feudal nobles, but that does not mean that he will repeatedly give in. If those feudal nobles take action first, even if he takes back the fiefdom, the other nobles will have nothing to say.
"Sir, these two matters are all the responsibility of me. I won't worry if I leave them to others. If you need to mobilize troops, this is the military talisman." The King of Chu directly took out the military talisman and handed it to Huang Xie.
Huang Xie looked at the soldier talisman in his hand in shock. On the front was a soaring phoenix bird, and on the back was a scrawled word "blessing" engraved on it.
The Zhurong Guards Talisman of the Chu State is also the only remaining military soul corps of the Chu State. It has only 1,500 people, but it is the most powerful army of the Chu State. It is personally controlled by the kings of Chu in the past dynasties.
Any army in the Chu Kingdom may be invaded by the nobles, but Zhu Rongwei will not. This army only obeys the orders of the King of Chu.
"I will definitely live up to the king's trust." Huang Xie grabbed the military talisman and said solemnly.
The King of Chu personally sent Huang Xie out of the palace, and then returned to the study to continue handling government affairs. The Chu State had a large territory and many things.
"Your Majesty, you have been doing this for such a long time, please rest for a while." A beautiful woman wearing only a light gauze walked in, put her white and tender catkins on King Chu's shoulders, and slowly touched King Chu.
Her cheeks, the gauze on her body slipped from her legs, revealing her snow-white skin.
After all, the King of Chu was a vigorous adult man. How could he bear this? His expression suddenly changed, and he hit the table with his broad palm, "Didn't I give an order not to allow anyone to disturb you? Come here."
"Here are my subordinates." Two guards came in from outside, lowering their heads and not squinting.
"Who asked you to let her in?" King Chu's face was extremely gloomy.
"Why is your Majesty like this? Did I do something wrong? If Your Majesty doesn't like me, I will leave right now." The beautiful woman said softly, pretending to leave.
"We..." the guard hesitated and was speechless.
"Xiong Li." King Chu roared.
"My subordinate is here." The man who had been following the King of Chu and had not spoken a word the whole time took a step forward and said with cupped fists.
"Pull them all down and kill them." King Chu waved his hand and said, as if he were killing a chicken.
"No." Xiong Li walked up to the two guards, lifted up his collar, and walked out one by one. No matter how they begged for mercy, Xiong Li remained unmoved.
"Wait." Just when Xiong Li was about to cross the threshold, King Chu suddenly stopped him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing your life. Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing your life." The two guards knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
"What I said is everything." King Chu pointed at the beautiful woman and said in a deep voice, "There is also her."
"Your Majesty..." Everyone looked at King Chu in disbelief. Even the guards opened their mouths and froze on the spot.
This is King Chu’s favorite concubine!
"Is my order useless?" King Chu held the sword at his waist and asked in a cold voice.
"No." Xiong Li clasped his fists fiercely, waved his hand, and a row of guards came forward to take Princess Chu and the two guards down.