"Alright, is there anything else you need to say? If not, you can go back and rest!"
Seeing Li Bao's hesitant demeanor, Han Mo asked with a smile.
"My Lord, the rebels don't seem to have a navy yet. Why are you reorganizing the Quanzhou Navy at this time..."
As Li Bao spoke, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.
After all, the Quanzhou Navy was just a provincial army. He couldn't understand what Han Mo was planning by putting so much effort into retraining them.
"What if I told you that the Quanzhou Navy is about to fight a major war, would you believe me?"
Han Mo smiled and said directly.
"A major war? How major can it be?"
"A war to destroy a nation!"
"Your subordinate is willing to serve you, my Lord!"
Upon hearing Han Mo's words, Li Bao's heart filled with joy. He didn't care where Han Mo was going to fight!
As a military man, without war, they had no opportunity to achieve great deeds. This was especially true for the navy; without enough meritorious service, they might even struggle to have enough to eat.
Han Mo was allocating 500,000 strings of cash to him this time, but if they couldn't demonstrate their value afterwards, they would likely still be abandoned.
"Alright, you just need to know this in your heart. Just train them according to combat standards, and don't worry about anything else. Oh, and I might be sending a few non-swimmers your way in a few days. You'll need to teach them the essentials of naval warfare in the shortest possible time!"
"My Lord means?"
"One Quanzhou Navy is too few. The sea is vast, and there is so much we need to do. I need more talented people, and you need enough deputies. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Li Bao appeared simple and honest, but Han Mo knew that this fellow was actually quite sharp.
Anyone who truly treated him as a fool would indeed become a fool.
"My Lord, rest assured, I understand!"
"Don't worry, there will be plenty of fighting in the future. You can tell your soldiers that their hard times start today, but their good times are also about to begin. If they want to live luxuriously, they need to show their true skills!"
"Yes!"
Encouraged by Han Mo, Li Bao left Han Mo's study with great enthusiasm.
"Good heavens, with that kind of spirit, let alone training soldiers, he probably wouldn't even flinch if asked to kill someone!"
As soon as Li Bao left, Shao Bowen walked in from outside.
"What kind of general doesn't kill people?"
Han Mo said while rubbing his hands.
"My Lord, how confident are you about this operation?"
Shao Bowen smiled and then very straightforwardly changed the subject.
"Confidence? Naturally, it's ten percent. Unless Zhao Zhen wants to fail and return to being a leisurely prince!"
Although the conditions Han Mo proposed were indeed a bit harsh, as Zong Ying said, Zhao Zhen currently had no other choice.
Now, he could only follow Han Mo's instructions and listen obediently to whatever Han Mo planned to do next.
"But once the war starts, it will cost at least several million strings of cash. Where will Your Lord get so much money and provisions at this time? Money is easier to handle, but the grain, Your Lord can't conjure it out of thin air!"
As Han Mo's strategist, Shao Bowen was starting to worry about Han Mo at this point. After all, so many demands had been made. If Zhao Zhen's demands were actually met, and Han Mo couldn't provide the money, Han Mo would immediately face an enraged Zhao Zhen.
"We don't have grain, but don't we have ships?"
Han Mo smiled and said casually.
"But we can't just go out to sea and rob, can we?"
Hearing him say this, Shao Bowen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
To exchange for a large amount of grain, they needed enough goods. But with the southeast in such a state of disarray, where could they procure so many goods?
Even if Han Mo could find the Spice Islands, spices were not as sought after in the South Seas as they were in the Great Song Dynasty.
"You don't need to worry about that. How are those things I asked you to prepare coming along?"
Han Mo didn't seem concerned about Shao Bowen's worries at all. Instead, he smiled and asked.
"I have prepared everything, but these things are not worth much. Also, my Lord, why do you need so much Artemisia grass? Can this thing turn into food?"
"This thing is a real treasure. Just wait and see. Since you've already prepared everything, tomorrow morning, I'll let you witness what 'turning stone into gold' means!"
Han Mo said with a smile.
"Turning stone into gold?"
Hearing Han Mo's words, Shao Bowen clearly looked disbelieving.
Shao Yong was originally from the Taoist school and had studied some alchemy in his youth. As Shao Yong's son, he naturally understood that talk of turning stone into gold was all nonsense.
"That's right. Go back and sleep. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to see something good. This thing is just average here, but in the South Seas, it will definitely be worth more than gold!"
Han Mo said with a smile.
"No, can't you just tell me tomorrow morning?"
Hearing Han Mo say this, Shao Bowen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He had seen through this kid; he was doing it on purpose.
"If I tell you tomorrow morning, will you be this excited? Alright, I'm going back to sleep. If you have nothing else to do, feel free to sit here for a while longer!"
After letting out a couple of mischievous chuckles, Han Mo happily slipped away.
"I..."
Looking at Han Mo's retreating back, Shao Bowen's body began to tremble. He had seen through him; the guy was clearly doing it on purpose.
As he thought of this, he felt a bit dejected. This guy was good in every aspect, except that he was occasionally too cunning!
It wasn't the first or second time that he, a renowned scholar of the realm, had been outmaneuvered by Han Mo.
Throughout the entire night, Han Mo slept soundly, but Shao Bowen didn't have that luxury.
To figure out what Han Mo was planning, he hadn't slept all night, his mind filled with thoughts of Artemisia grass and those peculiar items.
However, those things were too strange. Even with his vast knowledge, he couldn't figure out what this guy was up to!
Was he trying to refine pills?
But he hadn't heard that this kid knew how to refine pills before!
And in the current situation, even if he knew how to refine pills, he wouldn't be able to refine grain, would he?