When the proposal to reduce the army was raised, the military officers waved their arms and stamped their feet, almost leaping into the air, while the civil officials wagged their tongues, spraying spittle like rain.
They did need to find a way to feed the displaced people, but cutting the army to do so was simply a disastrous move.
You Hun suffered a stroke of terrible luck. Naturally, the ministers would not say to King Zhou's face, "Your Majesty, this is a fucking idiotic move." After all, his intentions were good: he wanted to settle the displaced people. So they merely assumed that King Zhou had been driven into a corner and mistakenly believed a treacherous minister's slanderous counsel.
As for whether You Hun had actually proposed cutting the army to support the people in private, that did not matter at all.
Yang Ren attacked him most fiercely, looking ready to swing a fist at him. He even slapped You Hun with an accusation of accepting bribes from Xiqi.
You Hun blinked his small, darting eyes and revealed a carefree grin, the flesh on his face seeming to bunch up in folds. He had discovered his own worth. If he were not at court, who could share King Zhou's infamy? And who could point at the mulberry while cursing the locust, indirectly bringing King Zhou to his senses?
Zi Shou found it unbelievable. The Civil and Martial officials should not have been this united.
He was cutting the army, but not disbanding all of it. He was merely dismissing the remaining standing troops in Chaoge. Wen Zhong's forces on the Southern Campaign, the local garrisons, and the troops guarding the various passes would all remain untouched. Even Chaoge would still have three forces: the Lady Army, the Slave Army, and