Chapter 26: CH 26

On the throne, the young emperor’s face was cold and his eyes were dark. Below the steps, the administrator bowed and gave advice, neither humble nor overbearing.

After a long time, Xu Sili’s lips twitched. He looked at Wen Jishan, who was respectful on the surface but was somehow arranging him inwardly and said, “You said the mercenary town isn’t an important place… Administrator, do you really think this?”

Wen Jishan frowned. He easily noticed the change in the little emperor. Previously, this person would never dare to talk to him like this.

However, he never took the little emperor to heart. In Wen Jishan’s opinion, even the oldest prince and second princess weren’t worthy of the throne. In this empire, he only admired Si Sheng.

It was a pity that Si Sheng had a rigid brain.

He didn’t know if it was true loyalty to the emperor, a patriotic heart or other difficulties. Obviously with Si Sheng’s strength, it would only take a matter of minutes if he wanted to overthrow the emperor.

What’s more, Wen Jishan really didn’t see any respect in Lord Si Sheng toward the Roland royal family.

Nevertheless, he never rebelled. He even overturned the beast wave many times. It could be said that if there was no Si Sheng, the Roland Empire would’ve been wiped out in that beast wave three years ago.

Si Sheng was extremely powerful but also a mystery. In many cases, Wen Jishan couldn’t understand his thoughts.

Wen Jishan noticed the change in the little emperor and felt a bit of surprise, but not much shock.

This young man was still a bit too immature. In terms of aura and a cold face, who could compare to Si Sheng, the number one powerhouse of the empire? Yet Wen Jishan had worked with him for so long.

Thinking this way, Wen Jishan continued to bow and answered calmly, “Your Majesty, it is indeed like that.”

The mercenary town truly wasn’t an important place!

“Bullshit! Xu Sili let out coarse words as he watched the other person calmly. It wasn’t until this moment that he noticed the favorability label on top of Wen Jishan’s head.

[Indifferent]

The favorability was even lower than that of Si Sheng! Xu Sili suspected that if his popular support rate went below 50%, this guy would definitely be the first to jump out and rebel.

He narrowed his eyes. Those who could be used by him were talents. Those who couldn’t be used by him weren’t much better than trash. At the very least, trash wasn’t capable of making trouble!

At this moment, Xu Sili’s gaze toward Wen Jishan changed. He was very happy but now he didn’t want to see this person.

Sure enough, Li Zhecheng was good. At the very least, he was loyal!

Wen Jishan heard the words and his expression slightly changed. He endured it and finally maintained etiquette. “Why does Your Majesty say so?”

The little emperor was scolding him! Just now, he felt the young man had a kingly temperament but it seemed he had been blind.

Xu Sili stared at him, showing no signs of weakness.

“The mercenary town is on the road that leads from the outside city defenses to the inner city. It is the node that connects the inside and outside. No matter whether you are going to the front lines or coming back from the front lines, you must pass through the mercenary town. How can you say that it isn’t an important place?”

Xu Sili’s eyes slightly narrowed.

“I’m not just talking about the geographical location. Let’s talk about the population composition of the mercenary town. I would like to ask you, who are the mercenaries?”

He didn’t give Wen Jishan a chance to speak and continued, “They are ordinary people. None of them are elementalists! Yet they are still fighting at the front lines, licking blood from the edge of their knives and fighting with interstellar beasts. They use their experience and their skills while risking their lives! It is true that they are doing it for the high bounty but you can’t deny that they are also guarding the empire. They are an indispensable force for the empire to fight against interstellar beasts! Administrator, you dare say that they aren’t important?”

Wen Jishan looked up at the emperor, his face solemn as he answered in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, the army also consists of ordinary people!”

The elementalists might be basically conscripted by the army but that simply wasn’t enough. Out of the one million front line troops, the elementalists made up only a few thousand.

This was also the accumulation of a long time. It was because the Elementalist Academy could only send hundreds of one star elementalists to the front lines every year and in the beast wave before, many elementalists died in battle. There were only so many left.

Xu Sili sneered.

“Then you mean, let these mercenaries be enlisted again? Let’s not forget the fact that most of them originally retired from the front lines but if they are recalled to the army, can the empire afford it?”

It was an army of one million but they were scattered around the five main cities, so each city had around 200,000 troops.

The Roland Empire had a population of over 90 million and there were 30 million alone in the Imperial City. There was no shortage of manpower if they really wanted to conscript soldiers.

But… they couldn’t afford it!

The army was a state machine but it was also a gold swallowing beast. The army accounted for 50% of Roland’s annual financial expenditure! If there was another enlistment, the nation’s economy would collapse.

Fortunately, today’s frontline war wasn’t so urgent.

After the beast wave three years ago, the roads between the main cities were occupied by various interstellar beasts. These interstellar beasts were basically between one and four stars in strength.

They rarely attacked human cities because the remaining five main cities were protected by large magic circles.

It was only possible for the magic circles to break if there was another beast wave and they were hit by the impact of the herd.

Therefore, the current frontline war mainly focused on clearing out the interstellar beasts and opening up the roads to the major cities as soon as possible.

There would still be danger encountering three or four star beasts but it wasn’t a big deal to retreat to the magic circles and start a guerrilla warfare.

Due to this, the current frontline army of 200,000 was enough to protect the Imperial City. Any more and it would be a burden!

Wen Jishan was the administrator and he naturally knew this truth. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for these veterans to be recalled to the front lines. It was their personal choice to become mercenaries and continue to fight. The empire didn’t need to pay anything extra for them.

He had wanted to say, ‘If we need to allocate funds to improve their welfare because mercenaries are ordinary people who are still fighting, what about the soldiers on the front lines? Aren’t they in more danger? Don’t they need more benefits?’

Now the little emperor’s words blocked him.

It was because he knew that there were some mercenaries who actually weren’t old enough to retire. It was just that the nation couldn’t afford them and could only force some people to discharge.

These people often became the main force of a mercenary group.

If they didn’t have the experience of fighting on the front lines, how could they dare to use the body of an ordinary person to fight against an interstellar beast with at least half a star of fighting power? Still, it wasn’t any fun to put it out in the open like this.

At the same time, he was also secretly frightened. How did this little emperor suddenly know so much? Wasn’t he previously someone who wasn’t diligent and was an incapable ruler who couldn’t distinguish between the five main crops?

Was it all an act before?

Wen Jishan thought about it for a moment before saying, “This servant knows that Your Majesty is kind and sympathetic to these veterans, but this servant thinks the limited resources should be used in places where it is more needed.”

“Oh, where is it more needed?” Xu Sili sneered again. “Do you mean the inner city?”

“Yes, for the past two years, this administrator has managed the inner city very well. The other four main cities might be far away but I think they shouldn’t be too bad under my remote control.”

Wen Jishan might look humble on the surface but he was actually a proud person inside. He couldn’t help feeling a bit complacent.

Yes, he had only been in office for two years but his achievements were real. He was an ordinary person who couldn’t go into battle to kill the enemy but his contribution to Roland was no less than anyone else!

“However, that isn’t enough.”

The young man’s soft voice was heard, making Wen Jishan become startled before he frowned.

“Not enough?”

There was a touch of doubt in the eyes behind the glasses. Where was it not enough? Who could do more and do better than him?

“Yes, not enough.”

Xu Sili stared at him and declared in a resolute and decisive manner, “In terms of the Imperial City alone, there are more than 35 million people of which the inner city accounts for only 3 million! These 3 million people are really rich but what about the other 32 million people? How many of them are still struggling for food and clothing?”

Wen Jishan’s expression was slightly green. He felt that this young emperor was deliberately making things difficult for him.

He had only been in office for two years. It was great that he was able to make the inner city like this. Yet according to the emperor’s meaning, he wanted to make everyone rich?

Was this possible? First of all, those nobles wouldn’t cooperate!

In addition, his words just now didn’t have the meaning the emperor implied. He felt that if he wanted to improve the welfare of the mercenaries, it was better to give them more equipment. How useful could it be to renovate and rebuild a small town?

Most of the people who lived in the small town were family members of the mercenaries. They didn’t necessarily need a good house to live in and the living allowances were basically the same. He never expected that the little emperor would despise him! It was also in front of Si Sheng and Li Zhecheng!

No matter how good Wen Jishan was at acting, he was a bit annoyed right now.

“Your Majesty, this servant only has a bit of talent and I really can’t take care of everyone in just two years!”

He gritted his teeth and especially emphasized the words ‘just two years.’

“Since you know you aren’t capable enough, be humble!”

Xu Sili stared down at him and spoke in a sincere and earnest tone.

“Chief Wen, if you are haughty and don’t show initiative, you won’t go far. The empire still needs you. This emperor hopes you won’t make such mistakes again in the future.”

Wen Jishan’s face was green. The little emperor took advantage of this flaw to step directly on him!

His eyes narrowed and he instinctively glanced at Si Sheng. However, Si Sheng wasn’t looking at him but at the little emperor. There seemed to be a flash of light in his gray-blue eyes.

Didn’t Si Sheng think the little emperor was too much?

The little emperor could step on Wen Jishan like this. Then one day, he would also step on Si Sheng! At that time, would Si Sheng be able to bear it? Would he support the royal family as usual?

Wen Jishan gritted his teeth and glanced back at the little emperor. He endured it, neither angry nor admitting to it.

What a joke! How could his achievements be offset with a few words from the emperor?

“It seems that Chief Wen isn’t convinced.”

Xu Sili’s mouth twitched. “Am I wrong? You think it is unwise to allocate funds to renovate and rebuild the town, but who told you that I want to allocate funds?”

Wen Jishan was startled. How could the town be rebuilt without funding?

Did he want the local residents to do it? Was he fooling around? How could it be rebuilt without money and personnel?

“The Elementalist Academy is solely responsible for the reconstruction of the town,” Xu Sili spoke lightly. “Dean Justin is in charge of this matter. He took the initiative to issue a military order to this emperor. If the reconstruction plan isn’t completed in half a month, he will ask for the financial subsidies of the elementalists to be cut by 50%.”

Wen Jishan sucked in a breath.

My god, this was a direct ‘My god!’

When did the little emperor hook up with the dean of the Elementalist Academy? No, this wasn’t like hooking up!

Decreasing the financial subsidies by 50%, was Justin crazy to mention this?

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Li Zhecheng, who was guarding by Xu Sili’s side, couldn’t help staring.

Was that said yesterday? Did Dean Justin take the initiative to issue a military order? Didn’t you force the old man?

Having personally experienced the scene in the office yesterday, Li Zhecheng was also an elementalist and couldn’t help silently mourning for Dean Justin.

As for the possibility that his monthly subsidy of 30,000 Escher Coins will be cut? A 50% cut was still 15,000. This salary as a guard wasn’t low and he didn’t feel much. He just thought…

His Majesty’s heart is too dark! The old dean is too pitiful.

As for Wen Jishan, he asked with pleasant surprise, “Your Majesty, are your words true?”

He had just been full of complaints but now his eyes were full of excitement.

“If Dean Justin fails to complete the reconstruction plan in half a month, he will ask to cut the subsidies of all elementalists by 50%?”

Xu Sili saw this person’s shining eyes and felt strange. He thought for a moment before reminding in a low voice, “Rebuilding the mercenary town is a very important first step in my next plan. Chief Wen, I don’t want anyone to get in the way!”

Wen Jishan’s mouth twitched and he nodded to show his understanding, but his expression revealed his regret.

Of course he felt regret! He had been eyeing the elementalists for a long time. This bunch of people got paid to do nothing. He would’ve cut their subsidies by 70% if it wasn’t for his lack of strength!

Now there was such a good opportunity and that old guy Justin was willing to take the blame. If he didn’t do something, wouldn’t he feel too sorry for the kindness of the old dean?

Wen Jishan’s eyes shone and it seemed he hadn’t given up on his intention to make trouble.

Xu Sili saw it and inexplicably got a headache while Li Zhecheng shuddered.

Damn, too dark!

He just wondered if the old dean could complete the task on time. He didn’t expect that Wen Jishan even wanted to destroy it? No, he must go back to remind the old dean to be on guard and to not be fooled by Wen Jishan!

Xu Sili opened his mouth and wanted to say something. He hesitated for a moment before finally stopping. If it was destroyed then it was due to Dean Justin’s insufficient ability.

He was the dean of the Elementalist Academy and a two star elementalist. If he was afraid of an ordinary person like Wen Jishan, what else was there to say?

Xu Sili thought of this and continued to talk about the mercenary town. He had some ideas about this experimental base.

“It is like I said. Rebuilding the mercenary town will be the responsibility of the Elementalist Academy.”

Wen Jishan controlled his expression and looked at the little emperor with some confusion. He didn’t know why the emperor had to emphasize it again. Was the emperor really so worried about him engaging in small moves?

Then he heard the little emperor say, “What I mean by being responsible isn’t to let them pay to rebuild it. I mean to let the elementalists rebuild it themselves.”

Wen Jishan was taken aback. The words were a bit roundabout but he soon understood.

Was it what he understood? It wasn’t letting the ElementalIst Academy pay for it but to have the elementalIsts build the town directly? How could that be?

“Your Majesty…” Wen Jishan’s mouth was a bit dry. “Isn’t it a bit overkill to use elementalists to build a small town?”

“What is overkill? What isn’t overkill?” Xu Sili chuckled and the young man gave off the feeling of a strategist in this moment. “Chief Wen, do you know the elementalists?”

Wen Jishan pursed his lips.

He was an ordinary person and had no elemental ability. He might’ve learned some things about elementalists due to his convenient position but it was all superficial. Still, if he remembered correctly, the emperor was also an ordinary person right?

“Oh, I forgot to tell Chief Wen.” Xu Sili adjusted his robe and spoke softly. “This emperor went to the Elementalist Academy yesterday and tested my talent. I didn’t expect that I would have the talent of a spiritual elementalist and it is also the rare sound element.”

Wen Jishan’s expression was filled with momentary confusion. No, wasn’t the emperor 18 years old? How could his talent still be measured?

“Your Majesty means…”

“The Elementalist Academy has made a major mistake not just in terms of education but also in terms of testing methods.”

Xu Sili didn’t hide it. There was nothing difficult about saying this.

“This has led to some children who had tested their talent being assigned to the wrong department. Yesterday, a warrior student participated in the test with me and it turned out that he was also in the spiritual department. In other words, we might add a number of spiritual elementalists.”

Wen Jishan was a smart person. Once Xu Sili made it clear, he understood why Justin made such a military order. If it was true, the mistake was too big!

The next moment, he thought of something else.

“Does this mean… are there some ordinary people who were judged as having no affinity for elements but are actually talented? They were just wrongly judged?”

It was just like His Majesty! It could actually be measured after so many years!

Xu Sili looked at Wen Jishan and wanted to tell him, ‘Don’t think about it. You really don’t have an elemental affinity. You are just an ordinary person.’

But… he saw the hot expectations in this person’s eyes and hesitated. He thought better of it. Today’s shock was already enough. It was best to take it slowly. There was no need to collapse the other person’s mentality all at once.

Xu Sili nodded. “Yes, but for those people, it might not be measured if they don’t persist in practicing the basic training methods and don’t make progress.”

Having said this, he didn’t continue the topic.

“This is a matter for the future. It isn’t the current focus. The focus right now should be: we will add a group of spiritual elementalists who have practiced martial arts. The young students are okay but those who are between 15 and 18 years old are basically wasted.”

Wen Jishan frowned and his expression became a bit heavy.

Yes, only one star elementalists could go to the front line. Obviously, the spiritual elementalists who practiced the wrong method couldn’t reach the one star level in such a short period of time.

They would be assigned to the local guards but in that case, wouldn’t their talent be wasted?

Should graduation be postponed?

Yet even after the postponement, could they become one star elementalists? This was an unknown variable.

In fact, it wasn’t impossible for them to go to the local forces but they are all seedlings of spiritual elementalists! How strong were spiritual elementalists? They could often affect the situation of the war!

Crucially, he felt that this might not be a small number There was probably more than one hundred. Hundreds of spiritual elementalists…

Wen Jishan couldn’t help gulping. At the same time, he hated the Elementalist Academy even more. Sure enough, they were all useless! How many children had been delayed after so many years? How many fighters had been delayed? Cutting their financial subsidies by 50% wasn’t enough!

Xu Sili saw Wen Jishan’s slightly crazy expression and couldn’t help sympathizing with Dean Justin. He coughed and pulled the administrator’s attention back.

“So for those children, I plan to let them participate in the construction. The five main elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth are actually very suitable for infrastructure construction.”

“The warrior path focuses on itself but spiritual elementalists are able to directly manipulate the elements.”

“Metal can make weapons and build fortresses.”

“There is no need to talk much about wood and water. They are very powerful in planting and healing.”

“Fire can work with metal to forge more powerful weapons and equipment. Earth is definitely good for building bridges, roads and houses.”

“They are elementalists and they can do this much faster than ordinary people.”

Xu Sili raised an eyebrow while speaking lazily, “Do you think Dean Justin is stupid? How can he agree to the half a month deadline without any certainty? He is a top two star elementalist of the earth system. It might be a bit hard for him to rebuild a town in half a month but he isn’t the only elementalist at the academy.”

There weren’t just the teachers, there were also the students.

The students of the elementalist department were all gifted students with powerful teachers and he didn’t believe there were no civil engineering talents among them. So in half a month, the Elementalist Academy could do it!

“Rebuilding and renovating a small town in half a month doesn’t require much human, financial and material resources. It might just consume a bit of the magic restoring treasures. Wen Jishan, don’t you think this is a good deal?”

The people in the hall listened to Xu Sili and couldn’t help falling into deep thought.

As Wen Jishan listened to the description, his expression became more serious and his eyes became brighter.

Once he was named, he nodded hurriedly.

Was it a good deal? Didn’t he want to engage in construction? Didn’t he want to use those resources? Didn’t he know the gap between the rich and poor in the inner and outer cities?

However, what could he do when he had no money or strength? Now it was different. There was free labor! It was also very high quality labor!

Let those elementalists who were usually haughty or even spiritual elementalists do construction. Wasn’t it cool to think about? He had been greedy for these people who could control water, earth and wood for a long time!

He had actually thought about it before but he didn’t dare go deep into planning because he was just an ordinary person.

Meanwhile, the position of elementalists in the Roland Empire was very high! Even if he was the chief administrator, he wasn’t able to command them.

Letting these noble and powerful elementalists do civilian work would definitely cause a huge backlash. Now…

On the throne, the young emperor he had looked down on smiled at him and continued, “For these wasted elementalists, I don’t expect them to go to the front lines. Rather than letting them waste resources locally, it is better to use them to build the empire!”

“Yes, Your Majesty is right!”

Wen Jishan nodded in a very excited manner.

All the previous dissatisfaction he felt toward the emperor had been forgotten because the feasibility of this plan was too high! He hadn’t expected the little emperor to think further than him and to have a crueler heart than him.

He listened as the young man’s voice continued to ring through the great hall.

“Once the mercenary town is rebuilt, I plan to gather all the elementalists in the local area and let them form elementalist mercenary groups or join some regular mercenary groups. All the elementalists below one star must become mercenaries!”

Mercenaries also had a mercenary association.

They had to complete one mission every year in order to maintain their status as a mercenary. Upgrading, obtaining resources and receiving the corresponding level task was also done with the mercenary association!

“All elementalist mercenaries must complete a large number of mercenary missions every year. If they fail to complete it, their elementalist subsidy will be cancelled! Of course, there will be rewards for those who over-complete the requirements. They are elementalists and this means they are stronger than ordinary mercenaries. If ordinary mercenaries can do it, they must also be able to do it!”

The young man’s words rang out loudly!

There was a moment of silence in the great hall. After a long time, Wen Jishan pushed up his glasses that were falling down. He raised his head, his green eyes staring deeply at the young emperor on the throne as he replied firmly and feverishly, “Yes, Your Majesty is right! They must be able to do so!”

The author has something to say:

Wen Jishan: Si Sheng, His Majesty will step on your face in the future!

Si Sheng: Huh? Yes, yes! (^O^) /

Wen Jishan: ???

Xu Sili: = =

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