Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 69 The emperor's image finally became incredibly clear and concrete.
When the bright yellow dragon flag, representing the emperor's personal presence, appeared outside the camp gate, the entire camp seemed to be instantly gripped by an invisible hand.

All the noise and whispers vanished without a trace in an instant.

"Your Majesty has arrived——!"

As the guards gave a long, drawn-out greeting, Zhu Youjian, dressed in a dark, tight-sleeved military uniform, rode a magnificent Akhal-Teke horse and slowly entered the camp, surrounded by a group of Han generals.

He wore no crown; his black hair was simply tied up with a jade hairpin. His face was stern, and his eyes were like lightning.

That imperial majesty, wielding the power of life and death, blended perfectly with the sharp, ruthless aura that had slowly accumulated over time, creating a powerful presence that made people afraid to look directly at him.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Sun Yingyuan strode forward, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a booming voice.

The three thousand veterans behind him knelt down on one knee in unison with a "whoosh," the clanging of their armor plates ringing out like a giant beast crouching down.

The seven thousand new recruits were a step behind, kneeling sparsely on the ground, their movements clumsy, yet equally filled with heartfelt reverence.

"Everyone get up!"

Zhu Youjian dismounted swiftly and decisively.

Zhu Youjian did not ascend the high platform to receive the homage of his subjects; instead, he walked directly into the dark, dense forest.

The emperor walked slowly, his gaze sweeping over the young and the weathered faces. He saw the wrinkles etched by the wind and sand, the cheekbones that appeared excessively prominent due to malnutrition, and the flames burning fiercely deep in their eyes.

Zhu Youjian stopped in front of an old soldier. The old soldier had a scar on his left cheek that had just scabbed over, resembling a ferocious centipede.

He reached out and gently touched the edge of the scar with his fingertips.

The old soldier trembled all over, his lips shaking with excitement, but he gritted his teeth and dared not make a sound.

"Xuanfu?" Zhu Youjian asked casually.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the old soldier shouted with all his might, his eyes instantly filling with tears.

The Emperor... I remember.

The emperor remembers the blood they shed!

Zhu Youjian nodded, said nothing more, and continued walking forward.

But his simple action and simple question were like a warm current that instantly flowed through the hearts of three thousand veterans.

The seven thousand new recruits watched this scene with an almost greedy look in their eyes!
Zhu Youjian walked to the center of the drill ground, the dividing line between the three thousand veterans and the seven thousand new recruits. He stopped, turned around, and waved to everyone.

A simple action, yet it seemed like a silent command.

More than a dozen heavy, locked wooden crates were carried laboriously by the Imperial Guard soldiers in groups of four to the center of the drill ground, where they were lined up in a row behind him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The wooden crate was placed heavily on the ground with a dull thud.

The entire training ground was completely silent; even the wind seemed to have stopped. Eight thousand pairs of eyes were fixed on the dozen or so mysterious wooden boxes, and their breathing became heavy.

"Open."

Zhu Youjian's orders remained simple and direct, devoid of any emotional coloring.

With a few dull prying sounds and the sickening scraping of wood, the box lids were opened one by one.

In that instant, the whole world seemed to fall silent, and then it was completely filled with an even more dazzling light.

The sunlight is golden.

But at this moment, it paled in comparison to the dozen or so open boxes!
The box in the very center was filled with gold bars stacked neatly like city bricks, reflecting a golden light in the sunlight that was almost blinding.

The remaining dozen or so boxes were occupied by an even larger white light.

Those were dazzling white silver ingots, almost overflowing from the box, shimmering with a cold yet scorching light in the sunlight.

It was a waterfall of wealth, an ocean of desire.

The soldiers' breathing completely stopped.

Most of them had never seen more than ten taels of silver in their entire lives, and the scene before them had completely shattered their understanding and destroyed their wildest imaginations!
That's mythology, a dream, a miracle that would move even gods and Buddhas!
"You are my soldiers!" Zhu Youjian's voice was like a boulder thrown into the still lake, stirring up towering waves.

His voice had a strange penetrating power, clearly penetrating everyone's ears.

“Some people tell you that joining the army is for protecting the country and for loyalty to the emperor. Those words are all true. Those are the kinds of principles that civil officials like to say.”

"But today, I will not preach those grand principles to you."

Zhu Youjian smiled.

"Because I know that grand principles cannot fill your stomachs, cannot buy medicine to save your parents' lives, and certainly cannot allow you to live like human beings before you starve to death!"

These words, crude and blunt, were like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely seared into the hearts of every soldier.

Especially the new recruits, their eyes instantly reddened. What the emperor said was the most authentic part of their lives over the past ten or twenty years!
"I will only tell you the simplest principle."

Zhu Youjian stepped forward and pointed at the three thousand veterans.

"You went to Xuanfu and Zhangjiakou, fought battles and shed blood!"

"You serve me with your lives, and I will repay you with gold and silver!"

He suddenly waved his hand, pointing at the glittering boxes, his voice rising abruptly like a thunderclap.

"For this suppression of the rebellion, every soldier who participated in the battle will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver!"

boom!
The crowd erupted in chaos.

Thirty taels!
Thirty taels of silver!
Their faces first showed extreme shock, which then turned into uncontrollable ecstasy!

They risked their lives, and they knew how hard-earned this money was, which made their joy all the more real and exhilarating!
However, compared to the meager monthly pay of only one or two taels of silver for ordinary soldiers in the Beijing Garrison, which was constantly delayed, one could earn two or three years' worth of pay by simply going on a mission!

From now on, not only will the Shanxi merchants and border troops be slow, but even the Grand Secretaries in the imperial court and the Tartars in Liaodong will be considered slow if they can slash six times per second!

"Long live!!!"

Someone, I don't know who, was the first to shout it out at the top of their lungs.

Then, the second, the third...

Three thousand veterans roared with all their might!

Their roars were unified, loud, and powerful, like a real raging storm.

Behind this turbulent wave, the seven thousand new recruits were caught in an even more complex emotional storm.

Their first reaction was shock.

Immediately following was a burning envy and jealousy in my chest!

Why?
Just because they entered the camp a few months earlier? Just because they went to Xuanfu?
Thirty taels! That's thirty taels!
This intense sense of unwillingness quickly transformed into an even stronger driving force.

Their eyes changed.

Looking at those veterans shouting wildly, their eyes no longer held only awe, but were filled with challenge and longing.

The mountains of gold and silver were like the sight of the fattest lambs for wolves that hadn't eaten for three days and three nights.

Finally, all their gazes fell upon the instigator, the young emperor standing indifferently beside the pile of gold and silver.

At this moment, the vague image of the emperor in their minds finally became incredibly clear and concrete!

The emperor was synonymous with military merit.

Military merit is equivalent to a lot of hard-earned money!
loyalty?

Given the limitations of our time, all lofty words seem pale and powerless in the face of the most primal and fervent allure of money.

In reality, at this stage of fighting for survival, Zhu Youjian didn't need them to understand any grand principles.

All he needs to do is let them know who can feed them and who can make them rich.

This is enough!
(End of this chapter)