All troops, heed the order: Take off your equipment and deliver it to Cloudridge City

Ren Tianye really didn't expect that he had actually asked for too little.

One must know that a full set of equipment for an elite soldier is quite expensive.

Take the Chifeng Army, which he knew best, as an example. Just the armor they wore was woven from over a thousand metal scales, requiring two hundred craftsmen half a year to forge.

Add to that the weapons, spare weapons, stirrups, saddles, and so on. A complete set was even more expensive.

After he transmigrated, he once made an estimate using the price of rice as a benchmark—it was roughly equivalent to 120,000 RMB!

Therefore, he was utterly shocked when the Empress massacred the 70,000-strong Chifeng Army. Setting everything else aside, just the equipment on those 70,000 soldiers was an astronomical sum.

The Imperial Guards before him, although slightly weaker in combat power than the Chifeng Army, definitely had equipment no worse than theirs—perhaps even better.

That meant 120,000 per set.

For 70,000 sets, that would be 8.4 billion!

That was 8.4 billion!

What an exaggerated number. That was why he had shouted it out without hesitation, but he truly never expected Lu Qing to agree to it so directly.

Was this domineering boss really this wealthy and arrogant?

He immediately shouted, "This general means including the warhorses!"

"Fine!" Lu Qing's voice echoed from afar.

The people around Lu Qing, however, almost went crazy.

His deputy general urged anxiously, "General, you cannot! If our Imperial Guards lose our weapons and equipment, we will be like tigers without teeth."

"We also have to immediately march south to suppress the rebellion. If we go marching on foot in plain clothes and holding wooden sticks, we'd be practically serving our heads to the rebels on a silver platter."

Lu Qing snorted coldly, "So what if we wear plain clothes? In my hands, even a naked Imperial Guard can beat those rebels until they cry for their parents!"

"My mind is made up. You need not persuade me further!"

After reprimanding the people around him, Lu Qing looked up at Ren Tianye and said coldly, "I will give you everything you asked for. Now, release my nephew."

"I'll release your nephew after you give me everything."

"Insolent! My Duke's estate keeps its promises and means what it says. How dare you presume that I, Lu Qing, would break my word to you? Damn you!"

"Regardless, until I see the equipment, I will not release him."

"Hmph, just you wait."

Lu Qing shouted coldly, "Pass on my orders to the army. Strip off your equipment immediately and send it to Yunji City."

The Imperial Guards outside Yunji City instantly broke into a commotion.

Seeing this, Ren Tianye felt tempted to make a move.

If he took advantage of the Imperial Guards being unarmed and launched a surprise attack, he felt he could win a massive victory!

However, after thinking about it, he gave up the idea. His main goal right now was not to annihilate Great Yu's vital forces, so there was no need for such an action.

It would be better to wait until the world descended into chaos and Great Yu was too busy to fend for itself. Then, he could rise amidst the turmoil and seize the world.

However, at this moment, it was time to go see the young duke, Lu Jun.

Splash!

A basin of cold water was splashed onto the unconscious young duke, Lu Jun, bringing him back to slight consciousness.

"Woman, you dare splash water on me?"

"Very well, you have successfully piqued this marquis's interest."

"In this lifetime, don't even think about escaping the palm of my hand."

Slap!

A heavy slap struck his face.

This time, the young duke woke up completely. After seeing his surroundings clearly, his eyes instantly became clear.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I was really wrong."

"I will never dare to fight you for a woman again, General."

"My lord, please stop hitting me. I beg you, stop hitting me. I really can't take it anymore."

Ren Tianye casually kicked the coward.

He walked over to a chair, sat down, and said coldly, "I have a few questions for you. If you answer honestly, fine, but if you speak any lies..."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I will definitely tell you everything I know."

"Good." Ren Tianye asked, "Aside from the 70,000 Chifeng Army soldiers, how did the Empress deal with the remaining troops?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the several guerrilla generals nearby immediately pricked up their ears.

Not only the guerrilla generals, but even the soldiers of the Eight Hundred Army present also listened closely.

"According to Her Majesty's decree, the soldiers of the Northern Frontier were dealt with differently depending on their circumstances.

"Those who had deep ties with the Chifeng Army were all hanged!"

Before he even finished speaking, many people at the scene gasped, especially those in the Eight Hundred Army.

Although they had long guessed that the Empress might be this ruthless, hearing the news for real still made them shiver uncontrollably.

She actually killed them!

The Empress really did it!

Immediately after, everyone felt incredibly fortunate.

Fortunately, the Great General was decisive. He first killed the military advisor Zhang Wei to seize power, then rebelled and immediately captured Yunji City. Otherwise, they would now be dead souls under the blades of the Imperial Guards!

"As for those who were not very close to the Chifeng Army..." the young duke Lu Jun continued, "Her Majesty was magnanimous and did not pursue them. She just disbanded them and let them return to their fields."

At first glance, this sounded like the Empress was merciful, but Ren Tianye instantly noticed the absurdity of it and said, "A two-hundred-thousand strong army in the Northern Frontier!"

"Excluding the 70,000 Chifeng Army soldiers and those close to them, there are at least 100,000 left, maybe even more."

"And they were all told to take off their armor and return to their fields?"

The young duke quickly said, "Yes, my lord. My second uncle passed on Her Majesty's decree for them to return to civilian life, and they all did."

Ren Tianye: "..."

No, an army of 100,000, and with just one imperial edict, they all disband and return to farming?

Is this how things are handled?

Could an army of 100,000 really disband so cleanly?

Almost subconsciously, the future situation of the Northern Frontier surfaced in Ren Tianye's mind.

Countless bandits and brigands would spring up everywhere, and they would be forces that the local governments could not possibly wipe out.

"The way a female-lead novel disbands an army is so damn straightforward and absurd!"

Sighing in his heart, Ren Tianye noticed another issue. He frowned and asked, "With the Northern Frontier's 200,000-strong army either killed or disbanded, who is going to guard the Northern Frontier?"

"Yamen runners? Local militias?"

"Can these people hold Shanhe City? Can they resist the barbarian invasion?"

"The barbarians will not invade. Besides, they have no need to invade anymore..." the young duke said. "Her Majesty has already arranged a marriage with the Third Prince of the Barbarians, Tuoba Xiangtai. From now on, the barbarians and the people of Yu are one family."

"Furthermore..."

"Her Majesty has given Shanhe City to the Third Prince of the Barbarians, Tuoba Xiangtai, as her dowry. In the future, Shanhe City belongs to the barbarians, so naturally, there's no need to defend the Northern Frontier anymore."

"Her Majesty also said that she wants the barbarians and the people of Yu to be as close as family, and that there will be no distinction between them anymore. From now on, the world will be united in great harmony!"

The young duke continued to speak honestly, not noticing that the surroundings had fallen completely silent, so quiet that even the air seemed to have frozen!

...