Munitions Empire

Chapter 501 He needs to apologize and make amends

The Dahua Empire, Imperial City, the Grand Court Assembly.

Emperor Zhao Kai sat on his throne, looking down at the Ministers below with an expression neither sad nor joyful, inscrutable as to his thoughts.

As an emperor, he wouldn't easily reveal his stance at such a grand assembly, believing it an effective method of controlling his subordinates.

But an Emperor is, after all, human. Zhao Kai liked to think he was inscrutable, but many Ministers had already figured out his tactics, and were using certain habits of the Emperor to their advantage.

It was a game of wits and courage, with the Ministers guessing at the Emperor's thoughts and the Emperor calculating every Minister's move. It wasn't easy to say who won or lost. Maybe they all won, or maybe... they all lost.

The key issue at this Grand Court Assembly was how the Dahua Empire should handle the subsequent development of Tang Country replacing Zheng Country. In fact, this matter had been discussed twice already, making today the third time.

Everyone knew what His Majesty's intentions were, judging from Emperor Zhao Kai's frequent meetings with Minister of War Shen Chuan and Great General Feng Kezhi.

This was not a secret. Because Zheng Country was a vassal state of the Dahua Empire, if Zheng Country were to be annihilated and the Zheng family met their demise, how would the Dahua Empire then exert authority over its other vassal states?@@@@

Unfortunately, the war between Zheng Country and another nation had spurred the Dahua Empire's military. Great General Feng Kezhi insisted on replacing weapons, while Chief of Staff Shen Chuan supported learning new tactics and training new troops.

This reform made the originally cumbersome and decaying military of the Dahua Empire even more chaotic, and it was almost certain that it was now incapable of further combat.

Meanwhile, Shireck also displayed their secret new type of war vehicles and other heavy weaponry like armored cars to the military officer delegations of the Dahua Empire.

Feng Kezhi's close associates immediately approved the purchase of these new equipment for tactical research and also commenced the construction of new armoured vehicle factories within Dahua.

It was because of these reasons that the military's purchasing costs were so high during this period, and why the Dahua Empire was able to make no response when Zheng Country was annexed.

"Your Majesty, the nation is weak. Mobilizing the army rashly at this time... is not a wise choice," an official stepped forward, bowing as he voiced his opinion.

These minor officials were often the pawns before an assault, almost like sacrificial pieces for the bigwigs to test their political enemies' reactions, as well as to gauge the Emperor's disposition.

It doesn't matter if they're lost; it's no great loss...

Chief of Staff Chu Muzhou squinted his eyes as if asleep. He didn't even need to bother about who the initiator was behind this expendable piece, because he already knew the overall situation was settled, and this Grand Court Assembly was not as tumultuous as it appeared.

The War Department's reluctance to send troops was obvious, and His Majesty's stance had been worn down to ambiguity.

Since the main player, the War Department, was unwilling to move, it had already been determined that the war would not break out. Essentially, His Majesty was beginning to shift his thoughts, using the prospect of deploying troops to ponder over the surplus in the national treasury. Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

In the opinion of the Chief of Staff, as long as the war did not happen, it was worthwhile and necessary for the War Department to spend some money, especially for capable officials like Feng Kezhi and Shen Chuan to spend on revitalizing the military's might.

Therefore, he squinted sleepily, not wishing to get involved in this grand show of force.