Whale Falls and Becomes a God

Chapter 156: Breaking the Situation with Money
"Your Highness! Are you really going to give half of the spoils to the Demon Sect? Even if it's just wealth and elixirs, it's still a huge fortune, enough to drive anyone and any force crazy!"

After the Demon Sect members left, Madam Ronghua was the first to ask and remind them reluctantly.

The others nodded heavily, some of them even had burning greed in their eyes and were very excited.

"Of course I will! I just want to drive people crazy..."

Xiao Ying responded without hesitation with a half-smile, then shook his head and said, "Those are what the Demon Sect deserves. How can we not reward them for their great contributions? If it weren't for their help, how many soldiers would have been sacrificed by both armies? How much damage would have been caused? How many people would have suffered? It's quite a bargain!"

"It's still too much..." Madam Ronghua still murmured reluctantly, unable to let it go.

Dugu Feng blinked her bright eyes with a straightforward expression and asked curiously, "Does the prince really have so much wealth? Why would he offer rewards to so many people at once? What if someone or some force could actually do it?"

"A promise is worth a thousand words! If someone really does it, of course I'll give it to him!"

Xiao Ying responded without hesitation, then looked around at everyone and continued, "If paying a little fortune can defeat a powerful enemy, then it's certainly worth it and I'd love to! However, those who can do it generally don't seek the money, but rather other motives, which would be even more troublesome!"

After saying this, he smiled bitterly and shook his head, explaining, "The so-called bounty is mostly a gimmick, just a gesture. I simply want to 'break the situation with wealth', to use wealth to compensate for the military disadvantage, to disrupt and delay the powerful enemy as much as possible, and to buy time for our all!"

Madam Ronghua was startled, then nodded in admiration and heartache, saying, "That's right... Since ancient times, people have died for wealth... Now we are surrounded by enemies, and there are too many powerful ones. This method is good. Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness!"

"That's right! Right now, we have the rebels led by the Yuwen clan nearby, and the Jianghuai and Fengming armies that have stopped mid-stride. Far away, we have the King of Daliang, the King of Nanyue, the Wagang army, and even the King of Lingnan. It's really... difficult!"

Dugu Feng suddenly realized, and looked at Xiao Ying with burning eyes, feeling a little amorous, but also a little distressed about Xiao Ying. He paused, frowned, and said doubtfully:

"The Marquis of Nanyang was the Fengming Army's top general, and the Nanyang Iron Cavalry was the Fengming Army's first legion. Now that both have been lost, how dare the Prince of Fengming come? On what basis? Even the Shangliang Army was defeated and surrendered. How can the Fengming Army have the confidence to attack us?"

"What do General Shen and everyone else think?" Xiao Ying smiled and asked Shen Lun and the others without answering.

Shen Lun hesitated for a moment, then replied uncertainly, "This... is it colluding with the Jianghuai Army?"

Empress Chen Hanyu agreed as a matter of course, "Of course! Otherwise, as General Fenghuang said, our military strength has skyrocketed, and the Fengming Army has lost the Nanyang Marquis and the Nanyang Iron Cavalry. Wouldn't it be courting death if we attacked?"

The others nodded slightly, this was indeed the only possible possibility!
"I'm afraid they're not just colluding with the Jianghuai Army, but also with the Nanyang Marquis who defected to the Taihang Mountains, or even the Yuwen rebels, the Daliang Army, the Nanyue Army, and even the Lingnan Song clan and the Wagang Army, among many other forces..."

Shen Manxuan, who had just been released and remained silent, suddenly interrupted and analyzed. After a pause, she looked around at everyone solemnly and reminded:
"This could be... a grand plan to cover up the remnants of the Sui Dynasty! As long as the Sui Dynasty remains, they'll all be traitors, rebels, and bandits, forever illegitimate and powerless. Add to that the rise of Prince Jingwu and the Empress... that's a situation none of them want to see!"

"Uh……"

Madam Ronghua, Dugu Feng, Shen Lun and the others were startled, and then their expressions changed slightly. It was terrifying to think about it!

However, it is hard to refute that there is indeed such a possibility!
Xiao Ying looked at Shen Manxuan in surprise, but he did not hesitate to praise her: "Miss Shen is absolutely right. I will reward you. You can become a military advisor or choose a position of your own!"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Madam Ronghua, Dugu Feng, and the others with a smile, and said, "According to the most popular saying among aristocratic families, as long as the madam is not defeated, the other women can only be concubines forever! Similarly, those rebel kings and rebels also think the same way, and they are very likely to unite!"

"Hmph!" The women present were stunned. Madam Ronghua and Dugu Feng snorted coldly and rolled their eyes at Xiao Ying. What a metaphor...

Incisive!

Dugu Feng's eyes were as gentle as water, and he said with sudden realization, "Is this why the prince is willing to pay a huge fortune and offer a huge reward? I believe that with the Demon Sect's huge reward in front of them, many forces and powerful people will go all out. Your Highness has nothing to worry about!"

Xiao Ying smiled and shook his head, "We've overlooked the Wagang Army and the Lingnan Song Clan! However, they haven't shown any obvious hostility yet, so it's not advisable to actively make enemies!"

"Well! Our only plan now is to guard against the Yuwen rebels threatening Jiangdu, as well as the Fengming Army and Jianghuai Army targeting Hailing City..."

Madam Ronghua nodded and returned to the point, continuing seriously, "We need to rest, train, and equip ourselves as soon as possible. We also need everyone to unite and work together!"

"Yes!" everyone responded solemnly.

Madam Ronghua was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Sui Army, her status and position slightly inferior to that of Prince Jingwu. However, she was still one of the Four Concubines of the Great Sui Dynasty, and was quite detached. Naturally, no one would underestimate her!
"Now that the rest is over, I'll have to trouble Madam to lead the Northern and Southern armies, totaling 300,000 troops, back to defend Jiangdu and deter all enemies!"

Xiao Ying nodded in agreement, repeatedly affirming, and then continued, "Also, keep a close eye on the 'Yun Xi Hai' combination and be wary of them! If we, including the King and Phoenix, fight alone, no one will be able to stop us. We need to prepare early!"

Because there were many members of the Dugu clan in the army, including the great general Dugu Ba. To avoid confusion, more and more people called Dugu Feng "Phoenix" or "General Phoenix" instead of just "General Dugu"!

"So strong?!"

Madam Ronghua, Shen Lun, Xie Yingdeng, Wu Changqing and other people who thought they were stronger were all shocked and surprised, but they nodded seriously!
The Sui army in Hailing City now has:

The Sui army in the south, 20,000 warrior monks, 50,000 elite soldiers each from the east, west, and center armies, supplemented by 100,000 qualified surrendered soldiers from the southern bureau, and 20,000 elite soldiers for escort, returned to Jiangdu. Now this route had a total of 250,000 troops.

The Sui army in the east initially numbered 330,000 men. After two major battles, they selected elite troops to supplement the northern and southern armies, maintaining a strength of 50,000 each.

Now there are 100,000 elite soldiers and 145,000 regular troops, a total of 245,000 troops, with about 85,000 casualties.

Finally, the Hailing army surrendered, leaving only 340,000 regular troops and 390,000 auxiliary troops. After two brutal battles, the casualties reached over 200,000.

After a period of selection and elimination, a total of 160,000 elite soldiers were selected, 300,000 of whom were mainly young and strong. Auxiliary soldiers and the elderly, weak and sick were dismissed. Of the original 730,000 troops, only 460,000 remained, and the rest were dismissed!

In summary...

The remaining troops guarding Hailing City were 20,000 warrior monks, 150,000 elite soldiers from the east, west, and center, 200,000 elite soldiers from the surrendered army, and 195,000 young and strong soldiers. They would be recruited later, totaling 370,000 elite soldiers and 200,000 young and strong soldiers.

If nothing unexpected happens, guarding Hailing City will be enough for the time being!

If time permits, Xiao Ying, who has long envied the Tianmen Guards and Nanyang Iron Cavalry, will form a personal guard as soon as possible!

(End of this chapter)