The appointment letter had a one-month deadline to assume office. It wasn't about getting the appointment today and taking office tomorrow. Personnel allocation, filling officer vacancies, coordinating logistical supplies, weapons and equipment, recruiting soldiers, and distributing military funds, and so on—leading an army into battle isn't something that can just be started on a whim.
"Thump!"
Tohsaka Rin slammed a densely written material application form onto the Military Department conference table.
"This is what I want, not a single straw less! I'll handle the civilian officials, stamp it."
General Black reached out, took a look, and his thick brows immediately furrowed into a knot. He then silently handed it to the quartermaster officer beside him, who was responsible for coordinating army provisions. The officer's hair stood on end the moment he saw the application form!
"Isn't this preposterous?!"
The tall, thin chief quartermaster slammed the table and roared at Tohsaka Rin. Judging from this middle-aged man's physique, he hadn't embezzled military pay.
"What's with the triple military expenses?! General Rin Tohsaka, are you going to equip the female soldiers with jewelry, accessories, and cosmetics too?!"
"Swish!"
A standard general's saber shot past the quartermaster officer's ear like an arrow from a bowstring, more than half of its blade embedding itself in the wall behind him!
"Quartermaster Officer, please watch your words. If you continue to slander our female soldiers' patriotism with such vile language, don't blame me for executing you for disturbing military morale! Furthermore, my humble rank has been higher than yours since yesterday. You should now address me as General Rin Tohsaka or Legion Commander, otherwise, it will be a crime of insubordination and disrespect to a superior officer."
Tohsaka Rin stood with her right hand, which had thrown the sword, held level, her face frosty. Inside the Imperial Military Department's highest military council room, the air and atmosphere instantly dropped below zero. The sole female and youngest general present exuded an awe-inspiring aura and unprecedented prestige that completely subdued all the men in the room.
"Just promoted from cadet to general yesterday, and today she dares to draw a sword in the Imperial Military Department. The border barbarians…ugh!"
The blade of yatsufusa was pressed against the neck of the person who had just whispered. Tohsaka Rin, standing behind him, looked down at him with the merciless gaze of one observing an ant.
"Deputy General Monash, are you dissatisfied with the reward system established by His Majesty the First Emperor and the Founding General, and prepared to challenge Imperial military law? If so, why not speak up loudly and tell everyone? I will respect you as a man, and then justly execute you with this Imperial Tool, obtained through the tradition you reject. You will also be qualified to become the first member within this yatsufusa, continuing to fight for the Empire with me. How about it?"
In an instant, everyone present broke out in a cold sweat. At this moment, Tohsaka Rin's position and her previous position were almost directly opposite each other across the round conference table. No one had seen how Tohsaka Rin had moved to her current position and put the blade to someone's neck.
Holy cow! With such skill, why be a general? She would be a great asset to the Imperial Assassination Squad!
The person with the blade at his neck was one of the commanders of the Imperial Palace Guard and General Black's deputy. He could guarantee that his casual whisper was almost equivalent to a murmur; even the person sitting next to him hadn't heard it. Yet, Tohsaka Rin, sitting furthest from him, had. He now became the focus of the military officers present. The crime Tohsaka Rin had just mentioned was enough to lead to the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his clan. Now Tohsaka Rin was telling him to speak up, and he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Enough!"
With a solemn, authoritative low shout, the general's saber Tohsaka Rin had just thrown shot back at her with the same speed, accurately falling into the scabbard she had somehow raised to her neck.
"Thank you, General, for returning it. Damaging or losing a saber bestowed by His Majesty is also a grave crime."
General Black returned to his main seat opposite her, his face cold, without saying another word.
"The bickering ends here! Legion Commander Rin Tohsaka, let's get back to the main topic. You are now entrusted with the heavy responsibility of revitalizing the Seventh Legion. I can understand prioritizing resources and military expenses, but triple military pay is perhaps excessive."
General Black clearly intended to gloss over the previous topic, and Tohsaka Rin had no intention of pursuing such trivial matters. Whether she killed these minor provocateurs or not, her objective had already been achieved.
Dare to cross Tohsaka Rin, and she would use Imperial law to destroy you! If Tohsaka Rin wanted to kill, it was only right and proper, and no one could cry injustice for you!
Always binding oneself to righteousness—this was the way of an official.
Tohsaka Rin returned to her seat in the blink of an eye, placing her right hand on the table and speaking with dignity:
"The triple military pay is precisely the bait. Everyone here is an expert; you all understand the significant difference between seasoned veterans with extensive battlefield experience and new recruits who have never seen bloodshed, don't you?"
This goes without saying; on a real battlefield, the survival rate of experienced veterans is more than twenty times that of new recruits, with over seventy percent of new recruits dying in their first battle.
"Currently, the Seventh Legion entrusted to me by the Empire has fewer than 5,000 experienced veterans remaining. Furthermore, according to intelligence, over 2,000 of them are physically disabled and unable to return to the battlefield, requiring retirement. I wonder, among those who have led troops, who is confident that they can lead a legion almost entirely composed of new recruits to the border battlefield within four years and withstand the attacks of the Native?!"
Tohsaka Rin's gaze swept across the room. Except for the unmoving General Black, everyone else involuntarily lowered their heads or averted their eyes… Everyone knew this was a tough, thankless task, now handed to a girl who had just graduated from military academy.
"So, what's your intention?"
General Black went straight to the point.
"The newly formed Seventh Legion must be an elite force to achieve effective combat power within four years! We will no longer accept just anyone who is physically sound. Those who don't meet my standards will either be sent back or reassigned to other legions; my legion will not take them! The tenfold disability and death quotas are also for this. The triple military pay is bait to retain morale. Since the standards are high, soldiers must be rewarded, and my legion will not be fully staffed all at once, so with fewer people, the triple military pay won't be much higher than other legions."
"Then light swords, heavy swords, long spears, shields, firearms, light armor, heavy armor… even warhorses, all at a full complement of 50,000 troops' equipment rate. How exactly do you plan to allocate the troop types?"
"Don't worry, I won't let any Imperial military equipment gather dust in a warehouse. All these armaments will be utilized."
"Triple military rations, and the meat proportion must be over half?"
"If they train so hard, they must eat well!"
"Then what are all the Imperial death row prisoners for?!"
"This is paramount, indispensable for enhancing the legion's combat effectiveness. The purpose will remain confidential for now, and I will be responsible for guarding the prisoners."
"…"
From beginning to end, Black and Tohsaka Rin debated over this incredible list of supplies. The dozen or so high-ranking military officials sitting around them didn't dare to utter a sound, fearing that a single word might upset Tohsaka Rin, and a general's saber would fly their way!
In short, Tohsaka Rin insisted on the point of "If you want me to do the hardest work now, you have to pay enough money, otherwise, whoever wants to come, let them come!" and managed to get General Black to not cut a single straw from the list of supplies.
"...Hiss, Legion Commander Rin Tohsaka, if the Seventh Legion you lead, after consuming so much of the Empire's resources and wealth, cannot perform adequately on the front lines in four years, you should be clear about what crime that would be."
General Black took a deep breath to calm himself, then said to Tohsaka Rin in a serious, low voice.
"General, you jest. Would a general who cannot win battles still return alive from the front lines?!"
Tohsaka Rin smiled knowingly, leaning back in her conference chair, her imposing posture making it seem as if she were the highest-ranking officer in the room.
"You will coordinate the aspects handled by the civilian officials yourself."
"No problem."
General Black reluctantly picked up the Imperial military seal, dipped it in the inkpad, and held it in the air for a long time before finally—
"Dong!!!"
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