"What's the matter?" Prime Minister Liu shouted angrily, "Qianzhou City is backed by our Majesty!"

"Luo Yuexian bullied others and blatantly suppressed the frontier officials of our Mang Sheng Empire. He was simply seeking death. If we support Qianzhou City now, we will definitely be able to make the state leader sincerely surrender. After the state leader defeats Qin Xuan, he will also be able to see through it. Luo Yuexian’s vicious tricks are eager to return to His Majesty’s arms!”

"What if Qin Xuan captures Qianzhou City? Who will maintain His Majesty's majesty?"

"If Qin Xuan commits evil and dares to attack the important town of our empire, General Hou will personally lead the Royal Imperial Army to regain the lost territory and kill Qin Xuan, this traitor!"

"Hmph!" Hou Ruolan replied coldly, "What a stupid pig with a head full of lard!"

Prime Minister Liu suddenly became furious and wanted to confront Hou Ruolan at the top of his lungs.

Hou Ruolan stepped forward directly, grabbed Prime Minister Liu's neck, and scolded sternly: "You are not happy when I say you are a stupid pig, are you? Do the private matters within Luo Yuexian's own territory have anything to do with us? Let them do it themselves. Just kill each other!"

When Prime Minister Liu wanted to say something, he was interrupted again by Hou Ruolan: "If you want to suppress the rebellion, just lead the troops yourself. Don't bite me like a mad dog!"

"You are the general of the Forbidden Army, a military general who can stabilize the country. I am a civil servant, mainly in charge of the internal affairs of the empire. How can I, a civil servant and counselor, be allowed to go into battle to lead troops to fight? What do you, a general, do for a living? !”

"Pah!" Hou Ruolan waved his hand and slapped Prime Minister Liu on the face with a big mouth.

At this time, Mang Kongtian couldn't stand it anymore: "General Hou, what do you mean? How dare you beat Prime Minister Liu in front of the court? How unbecoming is this!"

Hou Ruolan said in a deep voice: "Liu Dayu has been depriving the royal guards of their military pay year after year, and your majesty has turned a deaf ear to this matter!"

"The Forbidden Army troops are starved of food. Their rations are not as good as those of bandits who have fallen grass in the mountains. The equipment of the Forbidden Army is outdated and the personnel are old. Their combat power is declining day by day. They no longer have the ability to conduct expeditionary operations. If your Majesty has the intention to conduct an expedition, you can let Liu Dayu lead the Prime Minister's Mansion. The private soldiers are going!"

"The Royal Imperial Army will do its best to protect the safety of the imperial capital!"

Mang Kongtian shook his head and said with a smile: "I didn't say that I would send the imperial army to go on an expedition. As the general said, this is Luo Yuexian's private matter and we have nothing to do with it!"

Hou Ruolan asked again: "What about the pay for our Forbidden Army..."

"Let's discuss the matter of military pay tomorrow!" Hou Ruolan was interrupted by Mang Kongtian before he finished speaking, "Now that the national treasury is in short supply, let the soldiers wait a few more days!"

"Retreat!" When Hou Ruolan was about to say something, Mang Kongtian had already stood up and left the dragon chair.

Hou Ruolan dared to beat Liu Dayu openly in the court. This was so crazy that Liu Dayu was naturally extremely angry about this incident, but he did not dare to do anything to Hou Ruolan.

Because the Hou family controls the military power of the empire, Hou Ruolan's father Hou Dingbang is the Great General Huwei of the Forbidden Army appointed by Taizu Mang Taihu!

Although Hou Dingbang has now retired from the Forbidden Army and is retiring at home for retirement, his prestige in the army is still extremely high.

According to the convention, after Hou Dingbang "retired", he should pass on his position of general to his eldest son, but Hou Dingbang went against the norm and directly passed his position of general to his youngest daughter Hou Ruolan.

The general is also a noble of the empire, and the title can be inherited hereditary. Hou Dingbang can pass it on to whomever he wants. As long as the person being passed on is indeed his descendant, others have no right to interfere.

Hou Ruolan was not happy to be the general of the bodyguard for a few days, then she realized why her father had given the position to her.

The emperor is ignorant of Wu Neng, Taizu cannot come out of seclusion, treacherous ministers are in power in the court, and the majesty of the imperial army is no longer there!

When the Royal Forbidden Army was first established, it had a strength of 10 million. At that time, Taizu led this team to sweep across the world, sweeping through eight wastelands, and achieving unparalleled achievements.

But now, the remaining Royal Guards are nothing more than an empty shell.

Raising troops requires money. This is an eternal law. The killing world is an extremely chaotic place. In order to ensure the royal authority, the 10 million troops of the Forbidden Army need to be maintained for a long time. We cannot say that we can recruit soldiers from the private sector when there is a war.

, in which case it would be too late.

The Imperial Guards are all the elites among the elites. If you want to make these people loyal, you must provide them with extremely high welfare benefits.

Before Taizu went into seclusion, the treatment standards of the imperial guards were comparable to those of the honorary royal family of the empire. Although they were not of royal blood, they enjoyed the supreme status that only the royal family could have.

The strong men in the killing world are eager for the Royal Forbidden Army, and they all want to join the Royal Forbidden Army and enjoy high-level treatment.

At that time, the Royal Forbidden Army was a place where elites gathered, with extremely strong combat effectiveness!

But after Taizu retreated into seclusion, the situation reversed. Mang Kongtian favored the treacherous ministers and lived in debauchery and extreme extravagance.

During the several hundred years of his reign, more than 70 palaces were built. In addition, there were also a series of actually brilliant entertainment buildings such as the Hope Tower, the Sky Tower, and the Star Pavilion. All of them were major events that wasted people and money.

Recently, Mang Kongtian spent another 5 trillion silver coins to build a sea palace!

Not only was Mang Kongtian himself extravagant and lustful, but the group of sycophants he kept under his command also tried their best to eat, drink and have fun, trying every possible means to make the emperor spend money.

Moreover, the members of the royal family also imitated Mang Kongtian, who did not think about making progress all day long and only cared about eating, drinking, having fun and putting on airs.

The resources that need to be consumed are very large. Where does the money come from? Withholding military pay!

When Taizu was alive, the military expenditure of the Imperial Guards accounted for almost 70% of the total financial expenditure of the empire. The money spent on the Royal Guards was several times more than the money spent by Taizu's own royal family, and

All of them are used on the edge of the sword. It would be strange if the Imperial Army is not strong.

After Taizu went into seclusion, Mang Kongtian listened to the slanderous words of traitorous officials and said that he wanted to "cut" military expenditures to relieve financial pressure.

Mang Kongtian tried to cut military pay by 20%, but Hou Dingbang firmly opposed it.

After the military received the information, "unusual movements" also occurred. Mang Kongtian was worried that the imperial army would mutiny and threaten his imperial power, so he had to withdraw his order and abandon the plan to reduce military pay, and severely reprimanded the minister who made the suggestion.

The plan to reduce military pay will not work. Once military pay is reduced, it will inevitably trigger a mutiny in the imperial army!

But Liu Dayu has a way. If the military pay cannot be reduced, then we will not reduce it. We can just delay them for a while!

At the beginning, Mang Kongtian followed Liu Dayu's suggestion and delayed the payment of military pay by a few days every month.
Chapter completed!