The Disparity

In the Hall of Government Affairs of Western Jin, the King of Jin sat impassively at the head of the room, gazing at the projection of the northern border. Standing beside the projected map was not the Right Prime Minister, but Prince Ying. Wind-worn and haggard, Prince Ying said, "In the Battle of Lesu Valley, forty thousand New Army troops faced twenty thousand of the Liao Clan. A minor victory: ten thousand enemies slain, ten thousand lost of our own. In the Battle of Tatu River, thirty-five thousand New Army troops faced fifteen thousand Liao cavalry. A great victory: ten thousand enemies slain, seven thousand lost of our own." The Right Prime Minister spoke up, "To counter cavalry with infantry and achieve comparable casualties—the New Army's prowess is already no less than the Nine Armies of Great Tang. They truly stand at the head of our Great Jin's border forces. This old official has heard that the New Army's training is exceedingly swift; no wonder our Great Jin's state fortune has been flourishing by the day." Right then, a mocking voice piped up from the side: "Lately, our Great Jin's state fortune has clearly been tinged with black amidst the red, with foul qi hanging high in the sky—an omen of immense calamity. Having served as an official for so many years, the Right Prime Minister still cannot escape the chronic affliction of reporting only the good news and hiding the bad. Is the Right Prime Minister trying to cost this old man his head?" The Right Prime Minister turned his head and saw an old man with crane-white hair and a youthful complexion sneering at him. This old man was the newly appointed Director of Astronomy. It was said that he was an extraordinary talent whom the King of Jin had sought out from who knew where. His mastery of altering geomancy and reading the heavens to divine destiny was terrifyingly formidable, and the King of Jin followed his counsel almost without question. The man's prestige was at its peak, and the Right Prime Minister did not wish to provoke him, so he said, "This old official was merely discussing the matter at hand." The King of Jin then asked, "Does the New Army have any shortcomings?" Prince Ying sighed. "The New Army is very easy to train and has low requirements for Body Casting. However, equipping the New Army consumes astronomical sums; the full gear for a single New Army soldier costs enough to equip an elite cavalryman. Furthermore, the New Army moves sluggishly and demands strict formation in battle. Once the enemy breaks their lines, it becomes a disaster. In both major battles against the Liao Clan, the majority of our casualties occurred after the enemy cavalry disrupted our formations. But the foremost issue still lies in the equipment. "To reverse the northern war situation, we need to organize and train another hundred thousand New Army soldiers, which will require a military expenditure of a full five million taels of immortal silver." Having spoken, Prince Ying returned to his seat and sat down. The King of Jin said slowly, "Recently, Military Commissioner of Dingxi Wei Yuan reported that the Shamans have launched a massive invasion, raising an army of over a million, and he requested reinforcements. How should this matter be handled?" The officials suddenly fell silent; not a single soul spoke. The King of Jin's brows furrowed slightly. "Has the Military Commissioner of Yunxiang responded?" The Minister of War said, "Lord Lu said that Eastern Jin and Northern Qi have been making frequent moves lately, and the troops previously transferred to the northern border have not yet returned, leaving forces scarce and difficult to reassign. Moreover, the military funds within his territory are exhausted and grain reserves completely consumed. If troops are to be mobilized, the court must first supply military pay and provisions." The King of Jin's expression darkened somewhat. Turning toward Prince Cheng, who sat on the other side, he asked, "What does Prince Cheng propose?" Prince Cheng drawled slowly, "Over the past month, the Liao Clan has attacked en masse. We have retreated all the way, falling back more than four hundred li. Right now, our northern forces are already insufficient; rashly withdrawing border troops would likely cause the entire northern frontier to collapse. If the Western Regions are truly in dire peril, why doesn't this prince make the trip to meet with the Nether Shamans?" The King of Jin's countenance softened slightly. "What are the Xu family and Lu clan doing?" "The Xu family remains inactive, while the Lu clan is still locked in fierce combat in the north; they likely have no strength to spare." The King of Jin gave a heavy snort, his displeasure written plainly on his face. Minister of Revenue Xu Gong merely acted as if he had seen nothing, lowering his head in silence. The King of Jin said, "All of you are dismissed. Prince Ying, come with Us." A moment later, Prince Ying followed the King of Jin into the study. The King of Jin said, "Why is the New Army we trained so inferior to Qingming's?" Prince Ying said, "I have been pondering this matter as well. There are parts that can be explained, and parts that cannot." Prince Ying took a black chest from his storage treasure and opened it before the King of Jin. Inside the chest lay a breastplate, a muzzle-loading fire gun, and several rounds of ammunition. "The explainable part lies in the equipment. These are weapons used by Qingming's elite infantry. The breastplate offers comparable defense, but Qingming's armor is five jin lighter than ours. As for fire guns of the same design, when our artisans copy them, the quality varies wildly. I have examined them: only about one in ten matches the quality of Qingming's. "Finally, the ammunition. Our gunpowder is noticeably weaker than Qingming's, and its potency fluctuates. Coupled with substandard guns, over the course of the two battles, around a thousand fire guns suffered barrel bursts in each fight, and three to four thousand guns could no longer have ammunition shoved into them after a single shot, leaving the men with no choice but to draw blades and fight the Liao cavalry in bloody combat." "Why is there such a huge difference?" The King of Jin was visibly displeased. "Our craftsmen are not yet skilled enough." "Ridiculous! Our craftsmen aren't skilled, yet Wei Yuan has skilled ones?! How long has his Qingming even been established?" Prince Ying said, "I heard that quite a few people from the Hall of Heavenly Craft of the Palace of Grand Beginning went there, and Yu Zhizhuo, who is regarded as the next hall master, went as well. Perhaps that is where the difference lies." The King of Jin snorted. He picked up the fire gun produced by Qingming, examined it closely for a long time, and suddenly said, "Tell me, could it really be that among so many quartermasters throughout Qingming, not a single one embezzles silver? When those craftsmen handle materials, do none of them skim a bit for themselves?" Prince Ying gave a wry smile and said, "I have thought about this question too, but judging solely from the quality of the weapons, I fear the people handling them truly haven't embezzled much. That is the part I cannot explain." The King of Jin remained silent for a long while before speaking: "We do not envy him having so many unbelievable weapons. We only envy him having so many officials who do not embezzle money!" Prince Ying sighed deeply and said, "When our ancestors first established the capital here, the civil officials did not covet money, and the military officers did not fear death. When Minister Liu passed away back then, the family property and farmlands he left behind amounted to less than a thousand taels of immortal silver in total. Now..." "Forget it, let us speak no more of this. Can we still send some troops to the Western Regions?" "We truly cannot spare a single soldier. Our only option is to have the Xu family deploy troops." The King of Jin sneered. "The Xu family wishes nothing more than for Wei Yuan to die. Why would they send troops?" Prince Ying suddenly said, "I heard that Wei Yuan has forbidden the export of grain to prepare for war. Although there is not much immortal silver in the state treasury right now, there is still a surplus from the recent grain harvest. Why not take some and sell it in the Xu family's territory?" The King of Jin pondered for a moment, his eyes flashing. "Let it be as you say!" ... A colossal flying boat cut through the sky. Measuring a full one hundred and fifty zhang, it was luxurious to the extreme. In the flying boat's main cabin, Wei Boyang's eyes snapped open. He called in an attendant and asked, "Where are we?" "In three more days, we will enter Zhao." Wei Boyang calculated the time and ordered, "Activate the concealment formation and increase altitude; do not let anyone below spot us. Once we enter the territory of Zhao, deactivate the concealment formation, lower our altitude to a hundred zhang, slow our speed, play music and beat the drums, and then fly along this route." A flight route map appeared before the attendant. Winding and circuitous, the route passed over nearly all the major cities in Zhao, and naturally crossed over the royal capital as well. The attendant was startled and asked, "The royal capital of Zhao has an airspace ban. Shouldn't we bypass it?" Wei Boyang sneered. "What is there to fear? We are currently aboard the Regent King's personal vessel, bearing the Emperor's emblem! If Li Shenji dares loose a single arrow, history will forever brand him a traitorous minister and perfidious scoundrel! "Fly right over the royal palace! I would like to see if Li Shenji dares shoot down this ship, if he dares kill me!"