Munitions Empire

The Camp Captain felt aggrieved as well; he had stuffed 100 Gold Coins into the hands of this official on the road as a bribe, which was a substantial sum, "Sir! Didn't you promise..."

"I did promise! But I had no idea you'd muster such a grand display on my way here! Look at this! How many people are these? Eh?" The official looked at the Camp Captain, feeling like he was being set up and dragged into trouble.

The Camp Captain bowed his head, gesturing politely, "Please calm down, sir, allow me to explain..."

The official glanced again at the dense crowd of commoners gathered in the distance and huffed, "Very well! Give me an explanation! Explain how you dare to be so bold!"

"If you would follow me, sir." The Camp Captain led the way, taking the new official to a barrack door that had been prepared in advance.
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"Hmph..." Looking at the door of the barrack, the official glanced at the Camp Captain and stopped in his tracks.

The Camp Captain gestured again with even more respect in his voice. He opened the door and continued, "Sir, inside here is my... explanation."

"How mysterious..." The official stepped into the room and found that there was only a chest inside.

The Camp Captain, following behind, closed the door and moved in front of the chest, lifting its lid to reveal the Gold Coins inside.

Upon seeing the Gold Coins, the newly arrived official gasped sharply in surprise, "Hiss..."

It was his first time seeing a real 2,000 Gold Coins piled up in front of him. While he might have had that much money, he had indeed never produced such an amount at once.

"Sir! 2,000 Gold Coins, and from now on, every month, there will be 500 Gold Coins... sent directly to your residence... As long as you ensure... my wealth is not cut off," the Camp Captain said, gritting his teeth as he made his offer.

"This..." Upon hearing the amount, the new official felt somewhat dizzy.

"Sir... Me and these many brothers have not been paid our military stipends for several years... hundreds of men, up and down the ranks, are all relying on this source of wealth to get by, to support our families," the Camp Captain pleaded with a distressed look.

In fact, after the initial shock and dizziness dissipated, the new official started to seriously consider the ramifications. Having been a Capital Official, he fully understood the terrifying scale of a business that could channel 2,000 Gold Coins into his hands.

This one route could implicate a whole host of high officials he couldn't even touch and was connected to countless Soldiers and Generals' interests.

If he joined and enjoyed the benefits, that would probably be the end of it, but if he refused, he likely would have been buried there.

Even if he died, it probably wouldn't cause a ripple—nobody would care about an official who died of illness on the frontier, as what mattered much more were the shiny chests overflowing with Gold Coins!

Thus, after a bit of thought, he made what he believed to be the most reasonable choice, and the tone of his words softened considerably, "Your difficulties... I understand... but this... it shakes the foundation of the state."

Upon hearing his tone, the Camp Captain knew the matter was settled and he, too, breathed a sigh of relief: he truly had not intended to kill a court-appointed official there.

After all, bribery was one thing, but actual murder was another; unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to take things to such an extreme...

"Please take that into consideration, sir." Thus, the Camp Captain presented the official with a dignified way out.

Having been given this out, the official, who had just been speaking with righteous indignation, ultimately relented, "Never mind, I can't bear to see the soldiers suffer... I shall pretend that I haven't seen anything today..."

"Thank you, sir!" the Camp Captain said, knowing that he had managed to deal with the supervisor once more.

With a command, he had everything neatly arranged, "Servants! Help the official with this chest of local products, and bring it to his carriage."

The Soldiers who entered armed to the teeth assisted in carrying the Gold Coins onto the official's carriage, and having received his share, the official naturally did not wish to linger and promptly got up to leave.

As he stepped out of the barrack, his gaze inadvertently avoided the crowd in the distance.

He did not see the woman clutching her child and complaining at the edge of the crowd, nor the man with the carrying pole weaving through the group.

However, when his gaze shifted to the other side, he was startled by an ox entering his field of vision, the beast's loud moo giving him a fright.

After composing himself and assuming an authoritative air, the new official cleared his throat pretending to be unfazed and, heart full of hypocrisy, murmured with feigned emotion, "The General's quarters are neat and orderly..."

He caught sight of a group of slovenly dressed Soldiers, sharing an oddly colored ancient item, their firearms nowhere in sight, and he hesitated, then continued to voice his approval, "The troops are valiant and well-trained..."

He ended up closing his eyes, spouting off nonsense, "I am gratified and will certainly report to the Ministry of War, asking for rewards for you General!"

His words took the Camp Captain aback for a moment, witnessing an official's ability to fabricate nonsense while ignoring the chaos around him, the new official truly had some substance.

"My thanks to you, sir." The Camp Captain put on a convincingly excited act, thanking the official who had already climbed into his carriage, "I wish you a smooth journey, sir!"

At that point, he lowered his voice and drew closer to offer a reminder, "As for requesting rewards, there's no need for that trouble on your part, sir..."

At the moment, he had no use for the paltry rewards from the court...

Realizing the situation, the official in the carriage also laughed heartily, assuring him, "Understood! Understood!"

The Camp Captain's smile became even more genuine, "Thank you, thank you!"