The court convened, and civil and military officials gathered, murmuring amongst themselves.
As soon as the Empress arrived, the discussions ceased, and they all paid their respects.
After the ceremony, the Empress declared, "Yesterday, I received news that the rebellion of Prince Liu has been quelled. The messengers are now outside the hall. Do you wish to meet them?"
"Naturally," replied General Wei Zi, the Protector of the State, stepping forward and cupping his hands.
"If that is the case, then summon them into the hall."
"Yes!"
"Summon the messengers into the hall!"
"Summon~ the messengers into the hall~"
With the repeated announcements, the three soon entered the grand hall. They were still wearing the clothes from the previous day, not even having had them cleaned.
"Your humble servant bows to Your Majesty!"
The three, of humble status, performed the kowtow before the Empress in this solemn setting of the court hall.
"Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"You three, please recount the events of the front lines for all to hear~" said Eunuch Wang in his shrill voice.
"Yes!"
The three exchanged glances, as if rehearsed. One after another, they meticulously narrated the process of quelling the rebellion.
After listening, the civil and military officials were all dumbfounded, and even the Empress, hearing it again, was equally astonished.
Yesterday, when the three reported to the Empress, she had not inquired in detail, only grasping the general outline.
"You mean, Prime Minister Chu used that... hot air balloon, to carry people and fly in the sky, and even deploy troops directly into the city?" a military official could not help but ask.
"Indeed."
"Uh, but did you see it with your own eyes?"
"Replying to the General, I indeed saw it with my own eyes. Your humble servant even held the rope and let it fly from below."
"..."
The military official was utterly speechless. This hot air balloon contraption completely baffled him. Can warfare be conducted like this? Will invasions from the sky be possible in the future? How will city defenses be maintained then? It's not as if every city can be equipped with a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator who can barely fly, right?
Where can one find so many Foundation Establishment realm cultivators in the world today? This is the Foundation Establishment realm! In the past, it was the strongest overt force in the Yun Yue Kingdom. Even now, with five Qi Transformation realm powerhouses in Yun Yue, it's still questionable whether there are a hundred Foundation Establishment realm cultivators.
The military officials, their faces grave, fell silent. The civil officials were also bewildered.
We knew Your Majesty was formidable in warfare, but not this outrageously so! Attacking the city defense forces from the sky, invading and opening the city gates from the air... this... this is simply something one wouldn't dare to dream of, let alone hear about!
"The Eastern Frontier war before, I felt something was amiss. So it turns out there really are things that can carry people to invade from the sky. This is truly, in all my years, the first time I've heard of such a thing. Prime Minister Chu is truly capable of tinkering with these novel contraptions," the Minister of War smacked his lips, his heart filled with complex emotions.
However, the Minister of Revenue, Qian Jieren, said with a smile, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Chu is indeed a genius. In past campaigns against rebels, even those of a thousand-strong scale were costly. Yet, in quelling the rebellion of Prince Liu, it only cost the mobilization allowance and some military expenses. The expenditure on grain, salaries, and supplies was greatly reduced compared to before!"
Not to mention capturing tens of thousands of prisoners! Qian Jieren thought to himself, his heart brimming with joy. These prisoners, after being sold half to the court according to custom to recoup some working capital, the rest are excellent tools that can provide the court with a continuous stream of income. As for whether there are truly so many genuine rebels among these tens of thousands of prisoners, that is not the concern of Qian Jieren, a Minister of Revenue. He wished for the court to have more and more prisoners.
Hearing the words of the Minister of Revenue, the civil and military officials had subtle expressions.
Indeed, the entire campaign only consumed an unavoidable wave of arrows. In all other aspects, weren't they saving? The expenditure on pensions for the fallen did not need to be as much as before; these could be recouped by the prisoners alone, with only a slight delay in recovery. Grain, being domestic warfare, was transported using a relay system from various granaries, greatly reducing consumption. Coupled with the roads built by Prime Minister Chu, which greatly enhanced transportation capacity and reduced transit time, it was another form of saving.
Finally, even the hot air balloons, it is said, were made of only some wood, bamboo, and leather. The only slightly more expensive items were coal and leather; the rest were not worth much.
And at such a low cost, the rebellion was quelled. This is truly... the cost of building siege weapons is several times that of a hot air balloon, not to mention they can be destroyed, let alone the possibility of not being able to capture the city. The application of hot air balloons on the battlefield is a true dimensionality reduction strike, a genuine heaven-sent genius!
The Empress, returning from her astonishment, said with a joyful expression, "Now that Prime Minister Chu has quelled the rebellion, he is inquiring about when to return to the capital. What are your thoughts, my lords?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, since the rebellion has been quelled, I believe it is sufficient to leave a force of ten thousand to continue suppression for a month or two. The rest can return soon," replied General Wei Zi, the Protector of the State. If Prince Liu had not intended to mass-produce troops and squeeze the people's rations like boiling frogs, even ten thousand soldiers would not have needed to be left behind.
"Agreed!" The Empress permitted with a smile.
She then continued, "My esteemed ministers, since Prime Minister Chu has successfully quelled the rebellion, how should he be rewarded?"
"..."
The civil and military officials suddenly fell silent. How to reward him was indeed a difficult problem. This Chu Chen, you see, is too adept at inventing things, and each time he invents something that greatly aids the nation's strength, his official position keeps rising. In the year 3243 of the Qingzhou Continent, Chu Chen, at the age of 24, had already reached the position of Prime Minister, holding the highest office. How could he be rewarded further? One couldn't possibly grant him a princely title, could they?
Seeing the ministers' silent and troubled faces, the Empress's previously cheerful mood immediately soured, and she found herself quite vexed about how to bestow rewards.
"I knew I shouldn't have promoted Chu Chen's official position so quickly. Now it's difficult to reward him. But if his official position were not raised to Prime Minister, the new laws could not be perfectly implemented. Those aristocratic families, even if they reached the position of Prime Minister, would not think of reforming the system, let alone undertaking the responsibility of reform."
After much deliberation, it was the Minister of Rites, Du Ke, who sighed and stepped forward, cupping his hands. "Your Majesty, I believe that with Prime Minister Chu's position as the highest official, there is no further promotion in office that can be bestowed. However, the nation cannot fail to reward those who have made great contributions."
"I believe Your Majesty can bestow a noble title upon Prime Minister Chu."
A noble title? Yes, that fellow Chu Chen only has a fifth-rank marquisate. There are still titles to bestow. But what if in the future there are no more titles to bestow? What then? Chu Chen is only 24 years old. If he takes good care of himself, he might live to sixty or seventy like the rest of you. What will happen then?