Race to the
Throne
Chapter 37: Golden year
Grand Combatant is the commander in chief of the whole army in the whole kingdom
It's him who makes the budget and other things regarding the army and also other officers inside the kingdom.
And this position is the highest position one could get with the path of the military, and the position of Grand Combatant is higher than the 9 ministers
As Grand Combatants in one of the 3 lords of the imperial palace
And this is the position Song Xia is aiming for her son
Present time-
It's been a week since Hao Jiazhi has joined his duty and so far, the situation is ok
One thing Hao Jiazhi has come to know about this province is that it is good keeping eye on borders as it's a flat land
Also, there are few mountains at their side which can give them a big military advantage if there is a war
Overall, this place is really good when it comes to war
But the biggest problem of this place or province is not land but rather its military
Due to less population, the military size is very small and there are very few units. Also, soldiers have no moral of confidence in them
It is as if they are being forcefully pulled into the army
Also, the army budget only around 100,000 ban liang as the army size is not even 500 or even 300, so the cost is very low
But, 100000 ban liang is not a small amount, so if there is some work done with that money then there must be a proof and there is no proof
After talking with Bai Hong and other soldiers, Hao Jiazhi come to know that all the money sent by the central government is being eaten by the governor and other superiors
End results, no development in military
Which is something Hao Jizahi hated the most as, just behind the border wall is his biggest money-generating house, and he has spent more than a 250million ban liang for this very future
No way can he just let anyone come and take his money away
And to make sure that everything is safe, he has to make sure that the military of this state is good
But the worst has yet to come as Hao Jiazhi recently got a letter from his friend abroad, Lu Long
In his letter, Lu Long said that the Liaohua Kingdom was making some moves but it was well handled by him and now he is waiting for him (Hao Jiazhi) to complete his part
Also, Lu Long gave him a warning that Liaohua kingdom won't be silent for a long time and they make some big move
So,
He has a very small amount of time or rather he doesn't know the amount of time he has right now
The current total earning (black and white money, and after spending/investing, the remaining money=) of Hao Jiazhi is around 10million ban liang per month as he had also purchased some good amount of property last year and 5million or more ban liang is used to maintain stuff the whole province of Kuwon
Currently, he still needs a year's time till he starts getting the fruit of his investment. As for saffron, he can already start selling it but he doesn't want to as he wants the price to reach as high as possible
Hao Jiazhi made sure that the amount of land where saffron can be grown is not much as he doesn't want the price of it to below
Thus, he made various big lands fully fertile and full of water
Right now, Hoa Jiazhi only sends some small amount of saffron out as a showpiece or as a sample so that everyone can know what this new thing is, including some other herbs also
The current price he has thought of is, a small packet of saffron will cost 500 ban liang, which has a few grams of saffron and the highest is 2000 ban liang
He had made up a lot of plans for the future of his saffron and various other medical herbs but, he has to wait this one whole year at least
With the passing time, Hao Jiazhi started making some big moves as he stripped off the former captain of the army for a bribe case
And then made his men (a person from his 5 shadows gang) the captain of the army, Name – Dai Feng
With the passing time, Hao Jiazhi also made a visit to the governors home and made sure that the money given by the central government doesn't go anywhere
As for the general and lieutenant general (his superiors), Hao Jiazhi didn't do anything against them yet as they didn't show any hostility towards him and also not trying to go against him or his work
The biggest problem was the military size but it got solved by Hao Jiazhi's few ideas with the corporation of Hao Tai
The idea was simple, those who will join the military- their family will get some discounts on food and medical needs, the best of all their kids will get free education in any field. Not only that, but there were various rewards also
Hao Jiazhi had long planned to make this whole province (kuwon) and it's all 4 districts a place where the rich will hang out
So he had made sure to make the education and medical institute before anything else
And today, it is helping him get people for his military
In the blink, Hao Jiazhi recruited more than 1000 people in the military which is low as compared to other province army but still
It's better than having only a few soldiers around a hundred or so
Hao Jiazhi started spending million per month in the army as he wants to make sure that the army would be able to defend against the enemy and keep his money safe
But, it's not just that
Hao Jiazhi knows that these new people will stay loyal to him as it's him who is giving them new weapons, it is him who is giving their kids food, it is him who is providing them a reason to fight for their land
It is him who is giving a reason to love this kingdom
Thus, it will be him who will control this district from now on as well keep his control over his home province (Jinmen)
In the blink, a year passed, and finally, the next year came
The Golden year
"Now let's see, just how much money I will earn from this investment," Hao Jiazhi said as he looks at the big field of various food items and herbs
. . .
To be continued-