The court had only just moved its capital to Youzhou.

Following the court in this migration were millions of commoners and the entire civil and military officialdom, along with their families and clans. Setting aside the fact that the Yan Army had confiscated all the provisions accumulated by the prominent noble families during their forced relocation, purely as a matter of fact, this massive crowd needed to be sustained by the State of Yan in the short term.

To resettle these people, Yao Wenruo had not only ordered the construction of housing across Yan months in advance upon receiving the news, but he also opened the granaries to distribute food once the refugees arrived, uniformly allocating land and various supplies to ensure the people could live and work in peace. As millions of displaced refugees settled down across the various commanderies of Yan, everyone firmly believed that the arrival of these people, along with the wealth and grain they would generate, would become the bedrock for Yan to establish its hegemony.

The future was bright, though the path was a bit winding. Before the summer harvest of the following year, this population could not yet be transformed into productive labor; instead, they would continuously consume the stored grain and supplies of Yan. Now, the court had to dispatch fifty thousand troops to Xuantu Commandery to crush the rebellion, and the provisions and logistics for this army also had to be borne entirely by Yan. One could easily imagine how immense the pressure on Yan truly was.

Fortunately, the Emperor of Yin had already handed the secret formula for making refined salt over to Yao Wenruo. Yao Wenruo could sell this refined salt to the Central Plains and even the various commanderies south of the Yangtze River in exchange for grain, easing Yan’s food supply pressure to a certain degree. Whenever this happened, the officials of Yan, seeing the merchant caravans of prominent noble families arriving with massive amounts of grain just to purchase refined salt, felt a growing fondness for the Emperor who had provided the formula.

If Yin Shuhuai’s game interface were restored, he would likely see the favorability ratings from the Yan officials steadily rising. The most direct manifestation of this was that the Emperor’s imperial decrees were being executed with thorough efficiency. Even Yao Wenruo, who had once been deeply wary of him, had unconsciously become a loyal and capable minister to the Emperor, obeying his imperial decrees without question.

For instance, the Emperor’s move to raise provisions and funds from the civil and military officials and the noble families during an imperial audience received the full support of Yao Wenruo and the officials throughout Yan.

The Emperor called this fundraising action “issuing national bonds.” The civil and military officials and the noble families could not understand what national bonds meant, so they directly interpreted the Emperor’s action as “begging for alms,” colloquially known as demanding money! However, when one is under another’s roof, one must bow one’s head. The noble families had been forcibly relocated to Youzhou by Shentu Yang as a whole clan, and they now relied on selling Youzhou’s refined salt to reap massive profits, so how could they bite the hand that fed them at a time like this? Yet, they were equally unwilling to simply give away their money and grain for free to fund the Yan Army’s war.

To say nothing of others, even the Huo clan, who had always supported the Emperor, had plenty of objections, which were only forcefully suppressed by Huo Quan in his capacity as the head of the family. “I will bring out two hundred thousand dan of grain to purchase these national bonds.” Like everyone else, Huo Quan thought nothing of these “national bonds.” However, he kept the earnest teachings of his late father, Huo Yan, firmly in mind: no matter what he thought, as long as the Emperor wanted to do something, their Huo family just needed to support it, plain and simple.

Just as Huo Yan had said, Huo Quan was a man of mediocre talent, lackluster in both civil and military affairs, and even his political acumen was inferior to that of his eldest brother, Huo Sha. Yet, he possessed a merit that most people lacked: self-awareness.

Huo Quan knew perfectly well that he was inferior to the court strategists in civil matters and inferior to Shentu Yang in military matters, yet he was able to hold the position of Grand Marshal despite his lack of exceptional civil or military talent. Why was that?

It was naturally because the Emperor needed the Huo family, and needed him. Times make the hero, and the Emperor needed a completely loyal person to occupy the post of Grand Marshal, one of the Three Ducal Ministers.

Therefore, when Huo Quan heard that Yin Shuhuai wanted to issue national bonds, he immediately subscribed for two hundred thousand dan of grain to support the Emperor. This two hundred thousand dan of grain was the exact profit the Huo family had made from selling refined salt a while ago—it had to be said, running a monopoly was highly lucrative!

Huo Quan also knew well that even if the Emperor wanted to swindle the noble families, he would not let the Huo family suffer a loss. Just as when the court sent fifty thousand troops to Xuantu Commandery, even though the Emperor knew full well that the Northern Army’s combat capacity was inferior to the Yan Army’s, he still allocated ten thousand sets of cantle saddles and double stirrups to the Northern Army and ordered Shentu Yang to train them.

What was this? This was the most blindingly obvious form of favoritism!

With the Emperor placing such heavy trust in the Huo family, how could Huo Quan not risk his life for the sovereign?

Seeing Grand Marshal Huo Quan bring out two hundred thousand dan of grain to purchase national bonds, the Grand Imperial Censor, Zhao Bushi, thought it over and also brought out two hundred thousand dan of grain to purchase them.

Zhao Bushi’s ancestral home was in Xuzhou. When Shentu Yang led his army to surround the areas within the pass and the various commanderies in Henan to forcibly relocate the noble families, Zhao Bushi’s clansmen escaped the ordeal because they were far away in Guangling. Once Yin Shuhuai opened maritime transport in Youzhou, Zhao Bushi had his clansmen take ships from the sea to Youzhou to buy salt. Since the Zhao clan was originally a powerful local force in Xuzhou, their connections and influence in Xuzhou and the various commanderies south of the river far surpassed those of other noble families, allowing the Zhao family to make more money from selling refined salt than any of the major noble families in court.

However, considering that Huo Quan had only contributed two hundred thousand dan of grain, Zhao Bushi, as one of the Three Ducal Ministers, did not want to steal Huo Quan’s spotlight, so he also contributed two hundred thousand dan.

Since Huo Quan and Zhao Bushi, two of the Three Ducal Ministers, had both subscribed to the national bonds, the rest of the noble families and officials, even if they did not want to contribute, had to weigh whether their necks were tougher than the swords of the Yan Army. After weighing their options, the noble families, clearly realizing that flesh and blood could not hold out against forged iron, had no choice but to bite the bullet and subscribe to the national bonds.

Only they did not offer the same absolute support as the Huo family. Everyone tacitly used official rank as a benchmark, subscribing to amounts ranging from one hundred thousand dan down to ten thousand dan of grain based on their positions from high to low. The noble families merely viewed this move as paying protection money to avert disaster. As for the Emperor’s claim that the grain would be returned with interest once the army achieved victory, no one took it to heart.

Yin Shuhuai, who had single-handedly driven the issuance of the national bonds, likewise noticed the dismissal from the civil and military officials and noble families. However, he did not rush to explain his actions; instead, he told Yao Wenruo to send the gathered two million dan of grain to the front lines as quickly as possible.

Yin Shuhuai’s original intention in issuing national bonds was to help the court sustain its military expenditures. The interest rate for the national bonds issued by the court was thirty percent for a one-year term. This interest rate might sound shockingly high at first, but it was actually not the case. Let us first calculate the costs: if the court were to send people to the Central Plains or the various commanderies south of the river to purchase provisions, they would not only have to guard against local warlords and local tycoons raising prices on the spot, but they would also have to be prepared for the possibility of spending a fortune without successfully gathering sufficient provisions. They would also have to face the difficult problem of how to transport the provisions back once purchased.

If they went by land, would the local warlords and tycoons block the way and rob them? If they went by sea, the round-trip consumption of sending an army to escort the provisions would amount to at least one-third of the purchased grain.

When calculated this way, it was far better to convert that thirty percent grain loss into the interest for subscribing to national bonds and give it to the civil and military officials and noble families. In doing so, Yin Shuhuai could also use heavy profits to bind the noble families, who harbored ulterior motives, to the court’s chariot. More importantly..

At this point, Yin Shuhuai discreetly glanced at Yao Wenruo, who was counting the two million dan of grain and was excited beyond measure.

As the exalted Emperor, he naturally could not sit by and watch the court dump all the pressure of mobilizing troops to suppress rebels onto the local officials of Yan.

As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. If Yin Shuhuai did not seize the opportunity during these turbulent times to stir up some trouble, how else was he going to seize power?

Leaving aside Yin Shuhuai’s frantic power grabs in the rear while Shentu Yang led the troops out to war, Shentu Yang led fifty thousand cavalrymen on a rapid march to reinforce Xuantu Commandery. By the time they reached Liaoyang County, the defending troops of Liaoyang were locked in a fierce battle with the invading Goguryeo soldiers.

The county soldiers responsible for defending the city stood atop the walls, continuously hurling pre-prepared massive boulders, rolling logs, and even boiling oil down upon the heads of the Goguryeo soldiers who were assaulting the walls and climbing up. The shouts of battle and agonizing shrieks were deafening, and the corpses of soldiers piled up like mountains outside the city walls.

The setting sun was as red as blood. Looking at the impenetrable Liaoyang County seat after a day of bitter fighting, the Goguryeo general could not help but sigh softly. Goguryeo had mobilized a massive army of a hundred thousand to launch a surprise attack on Liaoyang County, thinking that catching them off guard would surely ensure a swift victory. Yet they never expected this battle to drag on for over a month, and they still had no way to capture the Liaoyang County seat. Meanwhile, the defending troops of Liaoyang were able to use the strength of their fortifications to wait at their ease for a fatigued enemy, inflicting heavy casualties on the hundred thousand strong Goguryeo army.

By now, the Goguryeo army found itself in a position where it was impossible to back down. Fortunately, after holding out for more than a month, the defending troops inside the city had also suffered heavy casualties. Today, they had even run out of arrows and could only throw massive boulders, rolling logs, and boiling oil to repel the enemy. From this, it was clear that the city’s supplies were nearly exhausted. The Goguryeo general was planning to make a final push and order his soldiers to assault the city through the night. Right at this moment, Shentu Yang arrived at the head of fifty thousand cavalry, plunging like a sharp knife into the battlefield that had turned into a meat grinder.

The soldiers defending the city felt their spirits instantly lift upon seeing the Shentu commander’s banner fluttering in the cold wind.

“It’s reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!”

“It’s the Duke of Yan’s commander’s banner. The Duke of Yan has personally led troops to save us!”

“Our Yan cavalry has already driven the enemy back. All soldiers heed my order: open the city gates immediately and charge out with me!”

At the same time, the Goguryeo soldiers who were assaulting the city felt their hearts sink in terror as they looked at the heavy cavalry that had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, clad in black armor, with even the warhorses beneath them outfitted in barding.

Cavalry fighting against infantry already possessed an absolute, definitive advantage. To say nothing of the fact that the fifty thousand elite troops led by Shentu Yang wore heavy armor on both man and horse, and were equipped with cantle saddles and double stirrups. The momentum of the army’s charge was entirely unstoppable.

The Goguryeo soldiers on the battlefield could not dodge in time and fell one after another beneath the blades, arrows, and hooves of the fifty thousand cavalry, like wheat cut down by a sickle during the autumn harvest. Clad in heavy armor, the Yan cavalry moved completely at will across the massive battlefield. Looking from afar, it was as if a knife were slicing through tofu; they easily cut the Goguryeo infantry on the battlefield into scattered sections. Then, relying on the power of their horses and armor, they ground them down and slaughtered them one by one.

Watching the Yan cavalry ride freely and sweep away everything before them outside the city, the soldiers guarding the walls felt their blood boil, and they immediately threw open the city gates to charge out.

The Goguryeo forces assaulting the city had never expected the Yan cavalry’s mounted archery skills to be so formidable. Furthermore, covered in iron armor, they did not fear blades or arrows, descending suddenly like gods of war.

In contrast, the Goguryeo soldiers, who had been assaulting the city for over a month, were exhausted from the prolonged fighting, and they were not even a match for a single clash against the Yan cavalry. At the very first point of contact, they were hacked off their horses by the elite Yan troops. This battle raged on until nightfall, finally drawing to a close with the crushing defeat and flight of Goguryeo.

Shentu Yang looked coldly at the tens of thousands of fleeing Goguryeo enemy troops and said icily, “Sound the drums to withdraw the troops. Once dawn breaks, we will clean up the battlefield, consolidate the army, and invade Goguryeo.”