High Martial Arts: First day of dropping out of school, reward: Devouring the Emperor's Body

Even someone as simple-minded as Xu Feng, who was all brawn and no brains, could tell that this matter was not simple; others would be even more so.

In Li Mo's view, although Zhao Zhenyuan was sometimes not very serious, he was generally a good marshal who loved his country and its people, and should not have gone to such an extent.

But he couldn't discern Zhao Zhenyuan's intentions either, so he could only say, "Sigh! Well, let's just deal with whatever comes our way. Given the situation at today's awards ceremony, I have to take over this Missibi Mountain region no matter what! Let's just take it one step at a time!"

Hearing Li Mo say this, Qin Zhengnan suddenly chuckled: "Boss, since that's the case, then I'll say something. My Qin family is short of star crystals. If you need to sell star crystals, you can consider it. My Qin family is not short of money!"

At this moment, Wu Yuqing chimed in, "My Wu family too!"

Li Mo snapped, "Get lost!"

Although the two were joking, it also illustrated the strategic significance of Star Crystal.

This is something even a martial god needs!

Filled with doubt, Li Mo slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Li Mo slowly opened his eyes, only to find a figure standing beside his bed.

This startled him. This person had entered his tent without anyone noticing, and no one had reported it. He himself hadn't even realized it.

This proves that this person is of extremely high level, and if he has malicious intent, Li Mo may be in mortal danger.

"who!"

Li Mo immediately pointed his gun at the figure.

He then saw through the figure and realized it was Zhao Zhenyuan!

Upon seeing Zhao Zhenyuan arrive, Li Mo did not breathe a sigh of relief; instead, he became even more vigilant.

Zhao Zhenyuan's traitorous remarks yesterday were indeed cause for concern, but Zhao Zhenyuan himself had no ill intentions towards Li Mo. On the contrary, he came here to answer Li Mo's questions.

Zhao Zhenyuan first waved his hand to show that he had no intention of killing, then walked to a stool and sat down to start talking to Li Mo.

"Li Mo, I think you're puzzled by my remarks yesterday, aren't you? I'm here to tell you why I did it. Let me give you some data first. Do you know how much our Great Xia army's military expenditure was last year?"

Seeing that Zhao Zhenyuan had no intention of killing, Li Mo relaxed considerably.

In reality, given Zhao Zhenyuan's cultivation level as a martial god, if he truly intended to kill Li Mo, Li Mo would be powerless to resist. So Li Mo slowly replied, "I haven't been in the army for very long and I don't know about this, but I saw on the news that our army's annual military expenditure should be around one trillion."

Zhao Zhenyuan shook his head with a wry smile, then held up five fingers: "No, it's five hundred billion!"

Upon hearing this figure, Li Mo was instantly stunned. He almost instinctively replied, "This... this much greed? One trillion turned into five hundred billion? Where do those people at the top get such a huge appetite!"

Li Mo never dreamed that the original trillion-dollar military budget would be reduced to only half.

But Zhao Zhenyuan told Li Mo that the real situation was much worse than that of corrupt officials.

In fact, since Marshal Chen Han massacred the capital, the phenomenon of corrupt officials has become rare. Moreover, each high-ranking official basically has his own power base and assets, so he doesn't need to cut military spending to make a profit.

Besides, even if there are corrupt officials, none of them would dare to embezzle military funds.

What truly troubled Zhao Zhenyuan was that the higher-ups had begun to distrust the army!

In fact, ever since Marshal Chen Han massacred the capital, the higher-ups have never stopped being suspicious of the army. At first, they only made minor moves, but eventually it developed into disarmament, the division of military power, and so on.

The Great Xia army now has less than a million soldiers left, and the fact that the army is still in power with older members is a result of division at the top.

Zhao Zhenyuan tolerated all of this, but what he couldn't tolerate was that the higher-ups had actually set their sights on the most crucial military expenditure!

The promised military spending was one trillion, but it was reduced to five hundred billion!

It was cut in half!

If this were a long period of peace, it would be fine, but the war between the three kingdoms was almost non-stop. In order to fight for resources for the country, the soldiers on the front line fought bloody battles, but the cut military spending could not even guarantee their reserves!

When Li Mo asked Zhao Zhenyuan for the death compensation, Zhao Zhenyuan didn't lie; he genuinely couldn't afford it.

He is a marshal, and his responsibilities extend beyond just the simple, passionate marches and battles; he oversees all aspects of military affairs. The army is arguably the most expensive thing in the world, and he has already lost count of the costs involved.

At this point, even Zhao Zhenyuan, a marshal, had tears welling up in his eyes.

He couldn't bear to see the soldiers on the front lines bleed and weep, but he had no choice.

"Li Mo, you were angry with me before, saying that since the soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion followed you as their commander, you had to be responsible for them! But what about me? Behind me is the million-strong army of the Great Xia!"

Hearing this, Li Mo seemed to realize Zhao Zhenyuan's helplessness.

He wasn't really planning a rebellion; he was just looking for a way out for the army.

The 500 billion yuan military budget is not the lower limit that the higher authorities can provide, and it will probably be reduced further.

If this continues, even the food budget will have to be reduced.

Chen Han's massacre of the capital city was indeed a great achievement, but it also sowed a seed of suspicion between the government and the army of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Since then, the government has been on high alert regarding the military.

Reducing military spending by half is essentially forcing Zhao Zhenyuan to cut troops.

Only when the number of troops is reduced will the capital feel safe.

But now the war between the three kingdoms is ongoing and the ceasefire agreement is about to expire. Disarmament would be tantamount to suicide. Anyway, the people in the capital will not cause any problems, and they can continue to live a life of luxury and debauchery.

But it's different for ordinary people. If the Great Xia's resource supply is disrupted, the lives of ordinary people will deteriorate.

It's not impossible that we could even return to the dark and turbulent times at the very beginning of the spiritual revival!

Zhao Zhenyuan wanted to protect not only the interests of the army, but also the interests of the people.

The Great Xia cannot become a country like the Black Soil Tribe!

This is the fundamental reason why he wanted Li Mo to personally hold the operating rights of the Missibi Mountain area.

Only then did Li Mo finally understand Zhao Zhenyuan completely.

At least Zhao Zhenyuan hadn't betrayed the country or the people, so Li tacitly approved of his actions and said, "Alright! Now tell me, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Zhao Zhenyuan slowly said, "It's very simple. I'm letting you hold the Mississippi Mountain region so you can manage the army's own assets for unforeseen circumstances. I'm promoting you to major general so you can deal with those old conservatives in the military. Many of them have been promised high-ranking positions after retirement. I need you to make an example of them!"

If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Zhao Zhenyuan's arrangement for Li Mo clearly shows that he is treating him as the successor, but this also increases the risks that Li Mo bears.

Li Mo's wealth is essential to maintaining the army's morale and enabling him to defeat the older generation, thus securing his position.