The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

The sound grew louder and louder, attracting Chen Nan's attention.

"Mo Bai, look down there, what's all that commotion about?"

Mo Bai rubbed his forehead: "Your Highness, do you still remember the grain that was distributed according to the number of people?"

"After tomorrow, the grain will be almost used up, and this expedition has completely depleted the remaining grain in the national treasury."

"Does that mean that after tomorrow, all the people in Wei capital will have no food?"

Mo Bai nodded, his face pale. He had wanted to bring this up for a long time, but Chen Nan had been too busy to give him a chance.

Chen Nan said coldly, "No wonder the soldiers are generally weary of war."

If it were him, knowing that his family would have no food to eat after tomorrow, he would not want to go to the battlefield, especially a battlefield where he could die at any moment.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he asked, "Do the other powerful families in Weidu know about this? Have they taken any action?"

Mo Bai said awkwardly, "Your Highness, ever since we led our troops to the Liu residence, all the aristocratic families have kept their doors tightly shut, for fear that we will lead our troops to attack them."

"They've really gone too far! With the country in peril, they actually dare to conceal their own grain reserves!" Chen Nan slammed his fist on the city wall.

Mo Bai looked at the excited soldiers below and said helplessly, "Your Highness, don't forget, last time we brought several thousand troops to the Liu residence."

"You know we brought several thousand troops to the Liu residence." Chen Nan looked down and took a deep breath.

"Soldiers, listen to what I have to say!"

With this shout, Chen Nan directly used his internal energy.

Upon hearing this sound, a large portion of the soldiers below experienced temporary tinnitus.

After they realized what was happening, they all looked up at the top of the city wall with curiosity.

They also wanted to know what kind of words Chen Nan, the Prince of Zhennan, would say.

Chen Nan spoke slowly: "Soldiers, I know you all have concerns."

"By order of the King, the army shall set out tomorrow morning. The army shall rest for the day. Those who should go home shall go home, and those who should visit their elders shall visit their elders. Any matters shall be resolved today."

"I guarantee that before sunrise tomorrow, every household will receive the grain they are entitled to."

"What? Your Highness, are you telling the truth?"

In an instant, the army became even more excited.

Most of them were locals from Weidu, so they naturally knew about the current harsh conditions.

However, Chen Nan was still willing to assure them that each household would receive a certain share of grain before sunrise the next day.

This one thing alone was enough to dispel their concerns and make them put everything aside and go to the battlefield.

Chen Nan laughed and said, "Of course, I can sign a military pledge in front of the army!"

Upon hearing Chen Nan's intention to make a pledge, Mo Bai quickly pulled him back.

However, unless Chen Nan is willing to back down, no one has the ability to make him take a step back, and Mo Bai is naturally no exception.

Seeing that he couldn't pull Chen Nan away, Mo Bai wanted to speak up to dissuade him, but Chen Nan only sped up a bit more.

"If you haven't received your food by sunrise tomorrow, you can come to the government office to find me at any time."

"Not only that, from now on, the treatment of Northern Wei soldiers will be comprehensively improved, and you will be the first soldiers to enjoy this system."

"Furthermore, if anyone unfortunately dies on the battlefield, your wife, children, and elderly parents will be cared for by the imperial court!"

"Furthermore, I will also designate a piece of land in Wei capital to build a tomb for these fallen generals and soldiers!"

Chen Nan had brought this up a long time ago, but it hadn't been implemented until now because he had been too busy with other things.

He took this opportunity to publicly recount all the benefits of becoming a soldier of the Northern Wei.

"Your Highness, is what you said true?"

Will the government really support our family members?

"Can our salaries really be increased?"

"Do we peasants even deserve to be buried in the heroes' tomb?"

At this point, Mo Bai stopped trying to pull Chen Nan away. He couldn't understand why just a few words could so greatly stir up the soldiers' emotions.

He had personally witnessed that most of the soldiers below had eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

Chen Nan only said a few words, and the soldiers' dissatisfaction not only disappeared, but they were even filled with excitement and longing.

Yes, it was longing; he saw the desire for battle in the eyes of these soldiers.

You have to understand that people die all the time on the battlefield.

He recalled that before each major battle in the Northern Wei Dynasty, generals would spend a long time persuading and reassuring the soldiers in order to motivate some of them.

Strictly speaking, Mo Bai was not a real soldier; he was merely Chen Nan's subordinate, so he couldn't understand what Chen Nan's promise meant.

When he looked at Hongze and Qingyu, he was surprised to find that not only the soldiers, but even the two generals had eyes full of longing, and even some impatience.

Mo Bai was completely stunned, muttering, "What...what exactly is going on..."

Although the sound was very soft, Chen Nan still heard it.

He smiled and said, "The reason you don't understand is because you haven't experienced the brutal battlefield."

"Once you're on the battlefield, you'll find that a soldier's combat effectiveness isn't the most important thing."

"As long as they unite, have an unwavering belief in victory, and no one backs down."

"That alone is enough to make them a formidable team!"

"When a war comes to an end, and you are the only survivor, you see the corpses of your comrades all around you."

“There are even a few people who are joking and telling you jokes one second, and the next second they become a cold corpse.”

"You might even develop the illusion that it's a sin to live on."

As he listened, Mo Bai suddenly shivered. Just from Chen Nan's description, he could already feel the scene of corpses strewn everywhere. For a second, he even thought about jumping off the city wall.

Seeing Mo Bai's reaction, Chen Nan smiled and said, "What? You sensed it?"

Mo Bai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded quickly: "That was really terrifying. Just now, I actually had an urge to die."

Chen Nan's expression was serious: "This is not impulsiveness, it's a feeling. Once you're on the battlefield, you simply don't have that much time to think."

"All you have to do is move forward and kill the enemy. Only by killing the enemy will you have a chance to survive."

"Alright, I have already given the military order. Go and tell Qingyu and Hongze to each lead a squad of soldiers to collect provisions from the powerful clans."

"Requisitioning provisions?" Mo Bai laughed and cried at the same time: "Those powerful families are not opening their doors at all, so our people can't get in!"

Chen Nan's tone was sinister: "I have made a pledge before the army. I don't care about the process, I only care about the result."

He stared intently at Mo Bai: "Do you know what it means if people don't receive their food before sunrise?"

"What?" Mo Bai asked instinctively.

"This means that the army will rise up in rebellion, and the Northern Wei will be completely thrown into chaos. Now I represent the court. If the court loses the trust of the people, then the country will not be far from destruction."