Chapter 1 Are You Planning to Attack Xiling?

"Lord, are you planning to attack Xiling? ... The whole country is preparing to attack Northern Liao right now. Isn't this inappropriate?" After the meeting, Ye Tao arranged for people to lead Sayyid and Assad to visit the factory currently under construction and the projectile firearms that had already shown excellent performance, while Chi Lei asked with some trepidation.

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "There are still a few years left, it doesn't conflict with His Majesty's strategy. But the Samir family sticking their foot in actually solved a big problem for us. I didn't expect Sayyid to carry so many gems and gold with him. Now, a large portion of the equipment for your two armies is settled. How about I draw a sum of money from the road tax of the Road and Bridge Department to fully arm your Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies in one go?"

Chi Lei suppressed his joy and thought carefully before saying, "Lord, it's still not necessary to do that. I'm not sure what exactly I need yet, so let me equip three thousand men first and feel things out. On the other hand, the Yunzhou infantry should really be reorganized. Compared to the Yunzhou cavalry, which has no weak soldiers, the infantry is really nothing to write home about."

Ye Tao patted Chi Lei's shoulder, then grinned, a little embarrassed, and said, "My bad, you're older than me. ... It's good that you can think of the big picture, but I'll only give you three months to explore and integrate your two armies. After that, I'll give you a full refit. The Yunzhou armies do need training now, but your two armies must be able to take on the responsibility of scouts. Only by ensuring that there are no unexpected damages in the four borders of Yunzhou can we relax and focus on developing Yunzhou's military and political affairs."

Chi Lei responded excitedly, "I won't let you down."

Ye Tao nodded and said, "I know you won't let me down. ... So many of your officers came here, weren't you just wanting a definite answer from me? It's not early now, have Suo Zheng arrange for everyone to have dinner with the factory workers. After dinner, convene a military meeting."

Chi Lei nodded and took his leave.

Feng Zi then said to Ye Tao with great interest, "Lord Ye, you really are becoming more and more like a regional governor."

Ye Tao looked at Feng Zi with a wry smile and said, "Even you're laughing at me. It's so tiring to do this. The matter of the Samir family doesn't need to be mentioned for now. Apart from technical cooperation, there's still time to buffer everything else. But the military affairs of Yunzhou are not so simple. I wanted to let these officer corps, who came here so automatically and consciously, discuss a reasonable plan themselves, but now it seems difficult. There's no time, and there's not enough funding to meet everyone's initial needs, so I have to make a decision myself."

Feng Zi shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. Although the Blood Kirin Army system has created a strong army, the consequence of collective wisdom is that the Blood Kirin Army spends a lot of money, and the efficiency of making various decisions is not high. Therefore, the Blood Kirin Army has a war preparation officer system to ensure that orders are issued from above during combat. Yunzhou was not originally aiming to build an army that surpasses the Blood Kirin Army, so it's enough to absorb the various strategies that the Blood Kirin Army has proven to be effective. If the Lord doesn't establish absolute authority, how will you command a large army in the future? You yourself said that the duty of a soldier is to obey orders. I'm talking about the Lord's attitude towards Chi Lei's two armies. Prioritizing the equipment of scout cavalry is a very insightful decision. And telling Chi Lei in advance means that you won't have to worry about no one supporting you when there are disagreements later. However, according to the Lord's idea, although it can't be said that everyone is happy, it can be considered satisfactory in all aspects. I think everyone should be satisfied."

Although Feng Zi doesn't understand military affairs very well, he has put in a lot of effort in helping Ye Tao sort out the personnel framework and system of the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner's Headquarters and its subordinate armies. Feng Zi, who is gradually understanding the benefits of managing with numbers, has also assisted Ye Tao in preparing the budget for the initial re-equipment of the Yunzhou armies. He knows Ye Tao's thoughts very well.

"I didn't mean to have Chi Lei speak for me," Ye Tao curled his lip and said, "Among the current armies, the Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies have the fewest people, but they require a relatively long time to prepare. Even in the Blood Kirin Army, the training and preparation of scout cavalry has gone through several twists and turns. Now, Chi Lei also understands that with the increase in the number of people, the pressure on the battlefield will also increase. However, Yunzhou has such a large territory, so there's no need to worry about not having a place to conduct long-distance raids and patrol training. Unlike in Danyang, you have to run very far to do these subjects."

Realizing that he had inadvertently digressed again, Ye Tao shook his head gently and said, "I don't need Chi Lei to speak for me. This is what Yunzhou is like now. The army building plan must be done step by step. Moreover, I had previously written a letter to Dai Yun to tell her some of my ideas. Those articles will be announced later, also by Dai Yun. Do you think I need Chi Lei to speak for me in such a meeting?"

Looking at Ye Tao's calm expression, Feng Zi smiled. Whether it was the environment forcing him, or whether Ye Tao originally had the temperament of a leader in a high position, it doesn't matter. Just the extremely simple order of handling things is enough to prove that Ye Tao has begun to enter the role of the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner. Ye Tao doesn't need to appear aggressive against his will, as long as he implements his own ideas.

The military meeting was held in a factory that had already been completed. The floor of the factory was paved with cement slabs with non-slip grooves, and the braziers on the beams and pillars and the butter candles with brass spotlights made the factory look bright. In the center of the factory, there was a long table made up of two workbenches, covered with a light green tablecloth - the large cloth was stored here in the workshop, and was generally used to wrap around the outside when moving large equipment to prevent foreign objects from entering. Ye Tao and Dai Yun sat at either end of the long conference table. Formally speaking, this is naturally not very democratic. But on the one hand, Yunzhou is not yet at a time when it can be democratic, and on the other hand, probably because Ye Tao's sense of humor and spoofing spirit have always been relatively restrained, Ye Tao would not rashly create a round table conference before getting the Sword in the Stone.

"Everyone... among those present, some are friends who I've known for a long time, some I've met in the previous Yunzhou campaign, and some, today is our first meeting. I naturally have everyone's resume here, but looking at the resume is obviously not as good as seeing you in person to understand more." Ye Tao said friendly, beginning this military meeting that was not in his plan.

Everyone reacted differently to Ye Tao's words. Those who had known Ye Tao in Danyang, from the beginning of the Blood Kirin Army's establishment, or from the beginning of the creation of the strategy game, had relaxed expressions on their faces; a few officers from the Dongping Forbidden Army were as expressionless as ever, unmoved; while the local Yunzhou officers were either relieved or even more nervous... The official position of Pacification Commissioner, which was established for the first time in Dongping's history, was undoubtedly the actual ruler of Yunzhou. Although everyone had heard about Ye Tao's background and Ye Tao's personality, at least it sounded like Ye Tao was not a difficult person to deal with, but no one dared to take lightly a young man in his early twenties who had already reached the pinnacle of officialdom and had no room for promotion.

"The time since I was appointed as the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner has not been long. As far as I know, all of you present are still firmly implementing General Xu's basic ideas for building the army, and have not slackened off. Today, you have come here because you are concerned about military affairs and want to clarify whether General Xu's many arrangements will change, and what kind of changes there will be. Indeed, as the second Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner, my responsibilities are different from General Xu's. After stabilizing the surrounding areas of Yunzhou, my primary responsibility is to seek a path of vigorous development for Yunzhou. Military affairs, as an extremely important part of it, must naturally be adjusted in many ways. These adjustments include what I, as a Pacification Commissioner, must do to stabilize the four borders of Yunzhou, so that the people can live and work in peace, including my promise to His Majesty to create a strong army for Yunzhou and Dongping, and also including a little determination of my own... I am determined to make Yunzhou's path to a strong army go faster, so that my Dongping's deployment against Northern Liao can be more flexible. If this determination can be completed, then it should give all of you present the opportunity to show your skills on the battlefield and make contributions in a few years." Ye Tao paused, then continued, "I believe that my eagerness is no less than that of all of you present. I understand everyone's concern for military affairs, understand everyone's enthusiasm for the stability and development of Yunzhou, and I also forgive everyone's abruptness for today's sudden military meeting. I hope that there will be no more such hasty military meetings in the future."

Ye Tao's words were very gentle, but they were not light. If similar things happen again in the future, even if Ye Tao has a good temper, I am afraid he will have to take action to rectify the situation and kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.

The venue fell silent. Ye Tao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I have talked about the military deployment of Yunzhou with some people before. Since the situation is coincidental now, we might as well discuss it here with everyone. Today's meeting will still be presided over by the person in charge of the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner's Headquarters, Commander Dai Yun."

Dai Yun stood up and respectfully bowed to Ye Tao and said, "Yes... Lord Ye."

This seriousness made many people present secretly laugh in their hearts. Although the date of Ye Tao and Dai Yun's wedding has not been finalized, it is said that it will be within this year. After Ye Tao was appointed as the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner, this matter slowly spread. Speaking of the uncertainty of the wedding date, it is even related to those aristocratic children in the Blood Kirin Army. Because the Blood Kirin Army's status is becoming more and more important, the Blood Kirin Army system is also vaguely considered a force in the army. Everyone is busy with their affairs, but those senior Blood Kirin Army officers do not want to miss Ye Tao and Dai Yun's wedding. Recently, everyone is trying to make time to organize an officer corps to come to Yunzhou to attend the wedding. With these officers' respect and admiration for Dai Yun, and everyone's affection for Ye Tao as such a good friend, everyone also wants to prepare a very large and respectable gift... Under the connection and persuasion of so many people, the Dai Clan Leader Dai Shuning and Ye Tao's father Ye Lao Geng, who originally wanted to keep a low profile, had no choice but to wait with a wry smile for everyone to make time and finalize a time that everyone can accept. When Ye Tao visited Tianling Fort a while ago, Dai Yun was so ashamed that she ran away from home and intercepted him halfway, and met with Ye Tao. Everyone has also heard about it. Dai Yun's prestige has not declined, but behind that sharp and straightforward temperament, everyone can understand the gentle and delicate side of Dai Yun as a woman. It's just that this somewhat cramped and restrained politeness at this military meeting reminded everyone of this point, making everyone find it very interesting.

Dai Yun also seemed to notice the ambiguous atmosphere on the conference table for a moment. The blush on her face flashed and receded, and she cleared her throat, took a document from the female soldier serving behind her, placed it on the table, and said calmly, "The military meeting today is attended by the main officers of each army. Only the Jingyun Cavalry, because General Tan Weiran went to Benlang Plain to select soldiers, the adjutant Xu Yao is here."

"There are several items on the agenda for today's meeting. The first is to inform you of the relationship and weight between the administration and military reorganization of Yunzhou in the coming period. The second is to inform you of the three-year military reorganization plan for Yunzhou and the steps for implementing the equipment of each army, and some other things will be mentioned along the way. The third is about a series of tasks for the Yunzhou armies." Dai Yun's voice was clear and firm, without any procrastination, and one notification after another clearly showed her firm support for Ye Tao's initial plan. She was not prepared to implement any democracy in military affairs, at most some details would be allowed for everyone to discuss and suggest.

The first item about the overall development of Yunzhou did not cause any waves. Facing a large pile of numbers, many people present were a little drowsy. Only a few people with ulterior motives listened, and felt somewhat incredible when they heard about the first batch of military expenses that could be allocated by the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner's Office and the funds that could be gradually drawn from subordinate departments and local finances... Unknowingly, the Pacification Commissioner's Office was so rich. Only Dai Yun frowned, and when Suo Zheng mentioned the gifts brought by the Samir family this time, and mentioned the two large bags full of gems and many gold notes, she looked at Ye Tao hesitantly. There was no doubt that this part of the funds was an agreement between the Samir family and Ye Tao and Ye's Workshop, and had nothing to do with Yunzhou. And Ye Tao, was he actually going to invest this part of the funds into the Yunzhou army? This did not conform to the officialdom, and it was also an easy place to be attacked, even if Qu Yan was in charge of the Censorate, even if Tan Xiaopei trusted Ye Tao very much, even if Ye Tao's wife was Tan Weixin and there was a Prince Tan Weiran in Yunzhou... even precisely because of these things, Ye Tao's move became even more "suspicious" and easier to be attacked.

Seeing the somewhat worried look in Dai Yun's eyes, Ye Tao shook his head slightly, indicating that everything was fine. There were many ways in his mind to make his move reasonable, but it was not necessary to explain the complicated economic operation methods at the military meeting. Tan Weixin intends to upgrade the Yunzhou Development Fund into a regular bank with modern banking characteristics - Yunzhou Bank. Through the bank, Tan Weixin, who has countless methods and ideas for economics and finance, can have countless tricks to promote the economic development of Yunzhou. And it also makes many financial means possible. At that time, throwing the gold and jewelry left by Sayyid into the bank, and using it as collateral to borrow money from the bank to the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner's Headquarters for building the army, while the bank gradually recovers this part of the loan from the future Yunzhou fiscal revenue, solves the urgent need for army building funds, while only bringing benefits to Ye Tao and not risks.

The second part of the army building plan made everyone whisper below. The army building plan is not very detailed now, just a rough framework, but it is this framework that gives everyone too many ideas.