With an extremely heavy heart, Wanyan Sheng dragged his legs, which felt as if they were filled with lead, slowly back to the city.

The entire city was immersed in an eerie silence. Even the hall, which was usually bustling with activity, was now silent, without any sound at all.

The faces of the Jin Dynasty’s civil and military ministers were as pale as paper, with lifeless eyes. It was obvious that they had not yet recovered from the scene they had just witnessed – the powerful force of cannons and heavy machine guns.

Wanyan Sheng pulled himself together, looked around at the ministers present, and finally sighed helplessly: “My dear ministers, facing such a powerful enemy, do you have any strategies or ideas to deal with it?”

However, the only response he got was deathly silence, and no one dared to speak in response.

These ministers witnessed with their own eyes the horrific weapons and equipment that were hundreds of years ahead of this era. Their power was simply astonishing!
The destructive power they demonstrated made everyone tremble with fear. The existing military strength of the Jin Dynasty was simply vulnerable to such opponents.

Before this, everyone might have still been hoping for luck, thinking that they could rely on the tall and solid city walls to resist the enemy’s attack. However, after just a few shells, people were horrified to find that the city walls, which were regarded as indestructible, were like fragile paper in the face of the enemy’s artillery fire and were easily pierced.

The troops that were hoped for to support the king would basically just be sending their heads to waste even if they arrived.

At this moment, those civil officials who were always eloquent did not know how to express their inner fear and helplessness;
The usually brave and fearless generals were silent as a mouse, not even daring to breathe.

Wanyan Zonggan tried to calm his agitated emotions, took a deep breath, and said with a sad face: “Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, we should prepare for the response as soon as possible. Although we can gather what the other party wants, it is really difficult to complete this task within just three days. So we must race against time and hurry up.”

At this point, he paused, and then added: “If we can really use some of our personal belongings to resolve this unprecedented crisis, it would be a blessing for our Great Jin Kingdom.”

There was no mention of continuing to resist, the implication being that since they couldn’t win anyway, the best thing to do was to prepare things quickly and honestly.

“Your Majesty, in addition to these, we must quickly send some people to investigate how those guns and cannons were made!

In my opinion, the future war situation will probably be dominated by weapons such as guns and cannons!

I’m afraid that the swords, knives, bows and crossbows we used to use will gradually be eliminated and slowly withdraw from the stage of history!”

After hearing this, Wanyan Sheng nodded slightly, expressing his agreement, “My dear minister, what you said is absolutely right! We have suffered a great loss this time, so let’s just admit defeat. Immediately pass on my order and let the spies who have infiltrated the Song Dynasty to find out the method of making guns and cannons at any cost!
Otherwise, the Jin Dynasty will never be able to recover and will be forced to let the other side take whatever they want. By then, they may not even be able to save the Jin Dynasty!”

The Jin Kingdom was also well aware that it was no match for the coalition forces of all dynasties.

There was no other choice, Wanyan Sheng had to start preparing the things that Lao Zhao requested.

Back then, Wanyan Sheng extorted a lot of good things from the Song Dynasty, most of which he exchanged for tea, salt and other daily necessities, and the rest were distributed to the ministers and soldiers as rewards and salaries.

The national treasury is really not well-funded now, and it is simply not enough to raise as much money and property as Lao Zhao requested.

When he was at his wit’s end, Wanyan Sheng frowned and pondered for a long time. Finally, he came up with an idea helplessly – let those ministers who had been rewarded generously return what they had received.

However, Wanyan Sheng knew that this would be extremely difficult to implement.

After all, as the saying goes, “You can’t easily spit out the meat you’ve eaten.”

As expected, when he conveyed this idea to a group of ministers, all the ministers present looked embarrassed, hesitant for a long time, and always found various excuses to shirk the matter.

Some ministers claimed that their families had already been unable to make ends meet and were unable to pay the reward;
Some cried that they were old and sick and needed the money to make a living and treat their illnesses;
Some shamelessly stated that the rewards had been spent long ago, and that they could not raise the money even if they sold everything they had.

In short, there is no money, and don’t even think about asking for cloth. The only thing that can be taken away at will is the so-called “loyalty and courage”.

Looking at the ugly faces of these ministers who usually talked about benevolence, morality, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, Wanyan Sheng became so angry that his face turned blue and he cursed in his heart.

I never expected that when the country was in crisis, these people would be so selfish, afraid of death, and completely become a group of cowards!
Wanyan Sheng was so furious that he even had an impulse to start a massacre and wash this magnificent hall with blood to vent his anger.

However, Wanyan Sheng was able to control his emotions in the end.

He knew that if all these ministers were really killed, the city would probably be in chaos before the enemy troops outside could break into the city.

It is very likely that someone will rebel soon.

Thinking of this, Wanyan Sheng suppressed his anger and said again with a gloomy face: “My dear ministers, if you still cannot gather all the things you need in three days, the wolf-like army outside the city will surely break into the city and massacre the whole people. By then, even if you have more gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin, I am afraid you will not be able to enjoy them.”

After saying this, Wanyan Sheng swept his sharp eyes across every minister present, hoping that they would come to their senses and find a solution to the problem as soon as possible.

The ministers present all frowned and stood in the court with solemn expressions.

I was very conflicted. On the one hand, I really didn’t want to spend money out of my own pocket to solve the problem.

On the other hand, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the imminent threat outside the city.

In this tense and oppressive atmosphere, a civil servant’s eyes rolled around, and a sly smile suddenly appeared on his face. He took a step forward, bowed respectfully to Wanyan Sheng, and said:
“Your Majesty, I have something to say but I don’t know whether I should say it or not.

In recent years, thanks to your Majesty’s wisdom, bravery and good governance, our country of Dajin has been prosperous and peaceful.

Nowadays, the living standards of the people in the Jin Dynasty have improved a lot compared with the past, and many families in the city have more or less some spare money.

In my humble opinion, it would be better to borrow some funds from the people for emergency use. What do you think, Your Majesty?”

As soon as these words were spoken, they were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, and immediately aroused heated discussions among the ministers present.

Another minister quickly agreed, “Master Guo is absolutely right! If we can get the generous help of the people in the city, I believe this crisis can be easily resolved.”

Soon after, other ministers followed suit and praised the idea as brilliant.

For them, any solution is feasible as long as it does not require them to pay real money.

Wanyan Sheng, who had been silent all this time, now looked as gloomy as the sky before a storm. He snorted coldly and said sternly: “Stop talking nonsense! Robbing the people’s property, how is this different from those cruel and inhumane tyrants? How can I do such a thing that will lose the support of the people!”

Seeing this, the civil servant who made the suggestion hurriedly explained: “Your Majesty, please calm down and listen to what I have to say in detail.

This is not robbing, but borrowing.

We can rely on the court’s credibility as a guarantee and borrow some money from the people to tide over the current difficulties.

Once the situation stabilizes in the future, we will definitely return every penny of the borrowed money to the people.

Doing so can solve the urgent problem without damaging your image as a wise ruler in the eyes of the people.”

Hearing this, Wanyan Sheng, who had originally had an angry look on his face, frowned slightly, as if he was shaken.

At this time, another minister said: “Your Majesty, this is a great plan! This will not only test the loyalty of the people to our Great Jin Dynasty, but also give them a chance to contribute to the country.”

Wanyan Sheng lowered his head slightly, frowned, and fell into a brief but deep thought. He had already agreed in his heart that as long as he could solve the problem and keep his position, he would not care about other things. At most, he would be nicer to the people in the future.

However, you definitely can’t agree too directly, you have to pretend a little.

His eyes flashed with worry and hesitation, and he slowly said: “Borrowing money from the people? Wouldn’t this make the outside world think that our Great Jin Dynasty is weak and incompetent? After all, such a thing has never been heard of before.”

The minister standing by hurriedly stepped forward and explained respectfully: “Your Majesty, you are worrying too much!

In the past, emperors used to forcibly rob people of their property, but we are different.

We just borrow money from them and can promise to give certain benefits, such as paying some reasonable interest at that time.

In my humble opinion, the people should be able to understand and agree to this.”

After hearing this, Wanyan Sheng remained silent and continued to weigh the pros and cons in his mind.

After a long while, he sighed and said, “Well… Well, it seems that there is no other way at the moment. Let the Ministry of Revenue take full responsibility for this matter, and all other departments must go all out to cooperate.

I don’t want to ask about the specific operation process, I just want to see the results.

After three days, all the necessary materials must be collected.

Otherwise, you are all aware of the tense situation between Song and Jin. If you fail to complete the task on time, the possibility of massacre and extermination of the whole city is not an exaggeration. “

“Your Majesty, please rest assured! I will spare no effort and try every possible way to gather all the items. There will be no delay at all, and I will never dare to delay your majesty’s great cause!”

The ministers immediately knelt down and kowtowed, expressing their sincere pledge.

At this moment, all the ministers present had a clear understanding in their minds.

The implication of Wanyan Sheng’s words “don’t ask about the process” is obvious.

As long as the goal can be achieved, any means are acceptable.

So, with an order given, the gates of the entire city were closed tightly, and a vigorous fundraising campaign began.

Teams of Jin soldiers poured into the streets and alleys of the city like hungry wolves, and began to plunder every inch of land and every household with ferocious eyes.

If anyone dared to disobey or show any sign of disobedience, the Jin soldiers would ruthlessly chop down innocent people with their extremely sharp swords. For a time, the entire city was shrouded in fear and despair.

The city was filled with shrill wails, one after another, never ending.

The women cried in fear, the children hugged their parents tightly and trembled, and the elderly looked at this horrific scene helplessly.

However, those high and mighty ministers turned a blind eye to this and did not care about the lives of the people at all.

It was rare for them to work together so unitedly at this moment, just to complete the task and protect their money.

It has to be said that this kind of crazy behavior did make the search operation progress extremely quickly.

In just two days, all the supplies and treasures that Lao Zhao needed were collected.

Wanyan Sheng in the palace knew exactly how these things were obtained.

There were spies everywhere in the city, and Wanyan Sheng certainly knew what kind of tragic experiences the people in the city were experiencing. He could even imagine that the people were filled with anger and curses towards him.

But as long as the problem at hand could be solved smoothly, Wanyan Sheng chose to turn a deaf ear to everything else and pretend he didn’t hear anything.

In my heart, I held this account against Lao Zhao and Da Song.

Standing outside the door and looking into the distance, Wanyan Sheng clenched his fists and said with a ferocious look on his face: “One day, I will make the Song Dynasty pay back a hundredfold!”

Three days are up.

The city gate opens.

The city walls were vulnerable to cannon fire.

Wanyan Sheng no longer had any concerns.

Open the city gate.

They came to Lao Zhao with cartloads of treasures, cattle, sheep and other supplies.

When he saw Lao Zhao, Wan Yansheng immediately put on a smiling face and said flatteringly: “General, this is what you need. I have already delivered it. Please count it for me.”

There was a flash of surprise in Old Zhao’s eyes. He didn’t expect that the other party could actually gather all the materials within three days.

He said calmly, “Alright, leave the things here, I will send someone to check them, you can go back now.”

Then we returned to the camp.

Wanyan Sheng and others left in embarrassment.

In the tent.

Old Zhao laughed loudly: “I didn’t expect that Wanyan Sheng really got together. Old Zhao can be considered rich.”

Zhu Di chuckled and said, “That’s not quite right. Wanyan Sheng gave it to the Allied Forces of the Ten Thousand Dynasties, not to you. These things naturally belong to the Allied Forces of the Ten Thousand Dynasties.”

“Zhu Laosi, these things were all looted from the Song Dynasty by the Jin people. Now they are returned to their original owners.”

“Haha, calm down, Old Zhao. After all, there are many soldiers from the Song Dynasty in the Ten Thousand Dynasties Coalition Army. If you count them, your Song Dynasty will also get a lot.”

Zhu Ming took a quick look and said, “I guess Wanyan Sheng must have looted the entire city to get these gold, silver and cloth.”

Old Zhao snorted coldly: “Those who are not of our race must have different hearts. This is the lair of the Jin people. It is full of Jin people. When they marched south into the territory of the Song Dynasty and robbed the people of the Song Dynasty, they showed no courtesy at all.”

“what’s next?”

Old Zhao flipped through the tablet and said angrily: “The Jingkang Shame has just begun. Next, we will do to the Jin people what they did in history.” (End of this chapter)