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

The phrase "private vault" immediately ignited the entire room.

Indeed, the profit margin of star crystal mines is so large that it can easily reach hundreds of billions a year.

This is a considerable sum of money, and it's hard to guarantee that Li Mo won't have ulterior motives.

However, when faced with Wang Jianbang's questioning, Zhao Zhenyuan directly revealed the reason.

Zhao Zhenyuan first glanced at everyone present, then said, "Everyone, this star crystal mine was originally a reward for Li Mo!"

"In the Battle of the Seven Yuan Mountains, without Li Mo, I wouldn't have had even a one in ten thousand chance of leading my army to victory! Doesn't he deserve such a reward?"

Zhao Zhenyuan made no attempt to hide it. The star crystal mine in the Mississippi Mountains was simply a reward for Li Mo's military achievements. There was no doubt about it, and there was no need to hide it!

Since the beginning of the new calendar, the rewards given to soldiers who have made military achievements in the country have actually been far too few!

For example, Xu Zhou, a well-known combat hero in China, whose deeds have been recorded in textbooks. In a battle against the White European Empire, he not only defeated three experts in the Three Harmony Realm with his Two Elements Realm strength.

Ultimately, during the troop retreat, he risked his life to block the cannons of the White European Empire with his own body! Tragically, he sacrificed his life!

Yet, this great hero received nothing more than a so-called hero title and a paltry 500,000 yuan in compensation.

The tuition fees for martial arts universities are now exorbitant. If it weren't for a fundraising campaign organized by someone in the military, the descendants of such a combat hero might not even be able to attend martial arts university.

While the high cost of martial arts universities certainly plays a role, martial arts training inherently requires funding, and various training resources are included in the tuition fees, so it cannot be solely attributed to martial arts universities.

The more important reason is that the country did not treat this war hero well!

If the people knew that the descendants of the war heroes recorded in textbooks had turned out like this, they would be furious!

It is only right that the military has financial power.

In Zhao Zhenyuan's view, this would also reduce the current financial pressure, which is a win-win situation.

He didn't completely want the army to be independent or to rebel against its superiors.

"reward?"

At this moment, Wang Jianbang sneered.

"What kind of merit deserves such a reward? Marshal Zhao, there are only six star crystal mines in the entire country! This is the lifeline of the nation, how can we entrust this lifeline to a private individual?!"

"Besides, Marshal Zhao! We know exactly what you're planning! What if something really goes wrong, and after we give the army financial power, you rebel and wreak havoc in the capital again?"

"How could the royal guards possibly withstand hundreds of thousands of troops?"

Having said that, Wang Jianbang finally brought the matter to light.

The government's intention was simple: it would never allow Li Mo to have autonomy over the Mississippi Mountains, nor would it give such a large territory to Li Mo as a reward.

A complete Great Xia Dynasty doesn't need warlords!

The atmosphere in the room immediately turned cold. Zhao Zhenyuan clenched his fists, his face filled with anger, and he even exuded the aura of a martial god, which frightened the government officials present into trembling fear.

Zhao Zhenyuan had anticipated the resistance, but he hadn't expected it to be this strong.

Apart from Liu Quan and the forces he led, almost the entire government opposed them.

Even the good-tempered Zhao Zhenyuan felt like silencing them at this moment.

However, he cannot take action. Let alone kill anyone, even injuring any government official would confirm that the army would rebel or even commit treason!

At this moment, the royal guards surrounding the entire parliament hall were also ready. Once Zhao Zhenyuan made a move, the entire parliament hall would immediately become a battlefield!

After a long pause, Zhao Zhenyuan suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, I will not back down! Li Mo must be stationed in the Mississippi Mountain Region and have autonomy over it! Otherwise, you may remove me as marshal!"

Zhao Zhenyuan also played his trump card. He had just led his troops to a great victory, a victory rarely seen in the world. If the government dared to remove him at this critical juncture, he would probably be condemned by everyone.

Moreover, currently, apart from Zhao Zhenyuan, no one else in the entire army is qualified to take this position!

At this moment, Wang Jianbang slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Zhao Zhenyuan, are you really going to do this? Do you really think we wouldn't dare to dismiss you?"

Zhao Zhenyuan didn't take it seriously at all, and instead laughed, "It's good that you're dismissing me! Do you think I wanted to take on this mess? I just wanted to be a leisurely general anyway! I was pushed into this position by you! What's wrong with you dismissing me?"

Seeing that Zhao Zhenyuan truly didn't care about being dismissed, the government officials panicked. The million-strong army of Great Xia couldn't be without a leader for even a day.

The White European Empire and the Black Earth Tribe have long been eyeing Zhao Zhenyuan covetously. It's likely that as soon as the news of Zhao Zhenyuan's withdrawal spreads, those resource-rich areas overseas will be immediately seized by the other two countries!

But the government is unwilling to back down; they will not allow Li Mo to establish a private army!

At this point, Li Mo finally stepped forward.

"Everyone, I, Li Mo, am not a greedy person! You don't need to speculate about me!"

"After I station troops in the Mississippi Mountains, I will have the right to operate the region, but I will make all the finances of the Mississippi Mountains public and transparent. You will all know every income and every expenditure I receive from the Mississippi Mountains! This is something I planned long ago!"

"I am a soldier! Unlike some people, I will not use my power to enrich myself in private!"

It would be a lie to say that one wouldn't be tempted by the enormous wealth generated by a star crystal mine.

But Li Mo also understood that this was military property.

He could not possibly appropriate the property of an entire army for himself.

Moreover, he is not a greedy person at all; his goal is not to become the world's richest man.

The reason he agreed to station troops in the Mississippi Mountains was because Zhao Zhenyuan sincerely expressed the army's predicament and that he did not want to be held hostage by the government any longer.

Moreover, the real benefit of the Star Crystal Mine operating rights was the huge network of connections it brought to Li Mo.

Since even the Martial God Clan needs Star Crystals to maintain its operations, it is foreseeable that all the Martial Gods of Great Xia will have to be on good terms with Li Mo in the future.

In the age of martial arts, the strong are ultimately respected, not the rich.

Li Mo only needs to ensure that the money brought from the Mississippi Mountains can be truly used for military construction or national economic development.

These words were yet another slap in the face to all the government officials present.

Their opposition to Li Mo's garrison stemmed from their own petty suspicions; they stubbornly believed that Li Mo would embezzle funds, and that no one could remain steadfast in the face of such wealth.