To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck - Chapter 731 - Chapter 731: Chapter 323: Barbarian Emissary_2

Chapter 731: Chapter 323: Barbarian Emissary_2

Now in this chaotic war, increasing military pay by 50% or even 100% is a normal thing.

So, merely considering the standing army, the military expenditure of Zhou Country is already around 90 million silver tales.

However, besides the standing army, Zhou Country has also conscripted around a million civilian workers.

Even if these civilian workers don’t receive any wages, you still have to provide them with weapons and daily food, right?

To support this million people for a year, it will cost at least 10 million silver tales.

Furthermore, there are the expenses of the Zhou Country court, the expenses of the local government offices, the expenses of the Zhou royal family, and various other extra expenses…

Frankly speaking, the annual fiscal expenditure of Zhou Country is definitely more than 120 million silver tales.

Compared to the annual income of 100 million silver tales for Zhou Country, there is a direct annual deficit of 20 million silver tales.

Of course.

The specific deficit scale cannot be so rigid, and it definitely fluctuates up and down.

Some years the deficit may be more, and some years less.

However, regardless, Zhou Country is now spending more than 10 million silver tales each year to subsidize its annual fiscal losses, which is certain.

So, the problem arises.

How many years has this war between Zhou Country and the Snow Plains Nomads been going on?

If Lu Yuan remembers correctly, the invasion of the Snow Plains Nomads began in the sixth year of Shenwu, during the summer floods.

And now, it is already late autumn of the ninth year of Shenwu, and the war has been going on for more than three years.

For over three years, subsidizing 20 million silver tales each year, Zhou Country’s treasury has, to put it mildly, paid out 60 million silver tales.

With such a huge expenditure, even if Zhou Country had a solid foundation, it couldn’t withstand so much bleeding.

There are so many places to spend money, three battlefields, various local counties, court departments, which one isn’t clamoring for money, all crying out in poverty.

Now, Zhou Country is buying 10 million stones of grain, even if it’s purchased at the price of 6 cents per pound of rice, it needs to be converted according to the current price of silver, amounting to 6.6 million silver tales.

This payment is almost equivalent to one-third of the annual fiscal supplement provided by Zhou Country’s treasury.

After bleeding heavily for more than three years, even with Zhou Country’s foundation, it would be somewhat difficult to come up with such a large sum of money at this time.

At this point, they have no choice but to mobilize funds from various sources within the country, save some from various expenditures, make a donation, and raise funds from the gentry and nobles, all of which involves various intrigues, conspiracies…

Under the entanglement from all sides, Zhou Country is temporarily unable to come up with so much money.

So, just like Chu State, they are squeezing the three-month window to slowly raise the silver tales needed.

As for this matter, Lu Yuan is actually happy about it.

Because according to the original agreement, the date for the grain trade between the two countries should be the third day of October this year.

As mentioned earlier.

Now with climate and weather, each year is colder than the last.

According to the trend of the past two years, by late October, the first snow will fall in Jiangnan.

Hanzhong County is located in the Han River Basin and is the junction of the north and Jiangnan. Due to the separation from the mountains in the north, its climate is actually close to Jiangnan.

So, if the trade is delayed to October, then by the time Lu Yuan launches a surprise attack and the Zhou People react, the north would have already snowed for half a month.

As for Hanzhong County, which has a Jiangnan climate, the first snow would have also arrived.

By that time, with the heavy snow and cold wind, the entire world would be covered in a blanket of white.

In such cold weather, with heavy snow sealing the mountains, even if the Zhou Country wants to dispatch troops to the south to aid Hanzhong County, they won’t be able to do so.

Facing layers of snowstorms, the Zhou People, even with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, could only stand on the north side of the mountain ridge, watch the already-blocked ice and snow, and sigh in vain.

In the end, they’d watch helplessly as Chu State calmly captures Hanzhong County, completely losing this southern territory.

By then, with a whole winter to buffer, Chu State can calmly arrange defenses, station people in various checkpoints, and rely on natural barriers to stop the enemy from invading after conquering Hanzhong County.

Such a stalemate could last for two or three years, or even just half a year or so, and Zhou People would have to submit and acknowledge Chu State’s occupation of Hanzhong County.

Chu State could then achieve a major gain by defeating the hegemon and expanding its territory by one county with minimal cost.

Simply perfect.

So, having such a grand vision, Lu Yuan naturally welcomes the delay in time.

Moreover, delaying the start of the war is actually beneficial for Chu State.

In the domestic court, after consolidating for nearly a month, Sun Siwen did not disappoint Lu Yuan’s expectations.

During his time leading the army to patrol the border, good news came from Baling.

After a series of rewards and punishments, dancing with long sleeves, and with Lu Yuan’s support, Sun Siwen had completely stabilized the court and eliminated the influence of Cui Changqing’s death.

Once the court was stable, the remaining local government offices would naturally follow suit, and it was only a matter of time before they were stabilized.

The Chu State officialdom had now regained its footing.

Sun Siwen, who had now completely taken over all power, began to follow the original plan, mobilizing various resources from the court and local governments to cooperate with Lu Yuan in this Hanzhong campaign.

Among these resources, the most important are grain, arms, and medicine.

Without these, a war would be inherently handicapped by 40%.

As for money, it is not that important for Chu State.

This time, Zhou Country raised 6.6 million silver tales to buy grain, such a huge sum of money is enough to support the costs of a war for Chu State.