I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Qin Cang closed the ledger, looked at Lu Yuan's expression, and sighed.

"Your Highness, this matter is not the fault of the Ministry of Revenue."

Lu Yuan frowned. "What's going on?"

Qin Cang pointed outside the tent.

"In the past five years, there have been two years of severe drought in Hedong, three times of dike breaches in Jiangnan, and one locust plague in the Northwest. The Ministry of Revenue's silver has been poured into the disaster areas like water."

"The military pay for the nine border regions is a fixed expense; even a shortfall of one tael can cause trouble."

"Our Fengzi Battalion does not guard the border, does not concern itself with local security, and is even registered under the name of the inner court."

"Every year, the Ministry of Revenue passes the memorials to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which then passes them to the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of War passes them back to the Ministry of Revenue."

"I've been doing this for three years, and I haven't paid a single extra penny."

Lu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this.

"Who paid for this?"

Qin Cang paused for a moment, "Later, His Majesty found out and squeezed out a sum from the imperial treasury."

"Those four thousand six hundred taels are His Majesty's own private savings."

Lu Yuan remained silent.

He remembered.

For the past ten years, he has never lacked anything in terms of food, clothing, or daily necessities.

Spending money when going out is like spilling water.

The expenses of the Ninth Prince's residence are all covered by the Imperial Household Department's accounts, amounting to at least tens of thousands of taels of silver a year.

All that money came from Lu Cangqiong's private treasury.

And what about the old man himself?

Only four thousand six hundred taels could be squeezed out from the imperial treasury.

Three thousand veterans who had followed the late empress in conquering the world survived year after year on these four thousand six hundred taels of silver.

Lu Yuan placed the account book on the table and pressed it down with his hand.

"Do you have a roster?"

Qin Cang pulled a thick booklet out of the cabinet and handed it to him.

The cover had yellowed, and the names inside were densely written on dozens of pages.

Lu Yuan didn't open it; he simply put it in his pocket.

"Three days."

Qin Cang looked at him.

"Within three days, I will make up for the shortfall in military pay, repair the barracks where needed, and replace the armor where needed."

Lu Yuan looked up and met her gaze. "Do you believe me or not?"

Qin Cang crossed his arms, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

Lu Yuan didn't care whether she believed him or not, and he continued.

"Also, name twenty people who will come with me today."

"What are you doing?"

"To protect the Ninth Prince's residence."

Lu Yuan said, "My wife lives over there; she had an accident a few days ago. Send your people to keep an eye on her; they're more reliable than those empty-headed guards."

Qin Cang thought for a moment and nodded.

"The rest of you, stay put and await my instructions."

"Yes."

Lu Yuan turned and walked out of the tent. He stopped at the tent flap and turned his head to the side.

"Commander Qin, the soldiers of the late Empress should not be stuck in this place eating chaff and wild vegetables."

Qin Cang stood still.

"I will take you out of here."

After saying this, Lu Yuan lifted the tent flap and went out.

Dozens of female soldiers were practicing swordsmanship on the drill ground.

Seeing Lu Yuan emerge from the commander's tent, they were a beat slower than usual, their eyes following him.

Lu Yuan ignored them, mounted his horse, and led the twenty newly assembled female soldiers of the Phoenix Battalion into the city.

Qin Cang stood outside the tent, watching them go up the mountain path.

"Commander."

A female soldier in her early twenties approached, clutching a knife in her hand.

"Can this Ninth Prince... be trusted?"

Another older female soldier came along too. "I heard that he used to be a spoiled brat in Beijing, spending his days walking birds and playing with dogs."

Qin Cang did not answer immediately.

She turned around and went back into the tent, putting the ledger on the table back in its original place.

Then he bent down and took the things out of the cabinet, and saw a tattered flag inside.

Phoenix Flag!

The military flag, made by the late empress herself, accompanied them as they passed through eighteen cities.

After closing the cabinet door, Qin Cang walked to the curtain.

Several female soldiers outside were waiting for her reply.

"I'm not sure if it will work!"

After she stepped out of the tent, she said, "But he is the son of the late empress."

Qin Cang glanced at the female soldiers in their worn leather armor on the training ground.

The person who endured five years of hardship with her, the person who ate cold steamed buns for five years.

"Those planted by the late Empress wouldn't be too bad!"

The female soldiers looked at each other and did not press the matter further.

After Qin Cang turned around, he said in a low voice.

"What are you all standing there for? Have you mastered your swordsmanship? Go back to practicing!"

……

The Ministry of Justice prison.

Han Gou sat in a haystack, wearing a dirty and tattered garment with bruises from the beating he received yesterday.

The cell was damp, with water droplets on the corners and moss growing on the floor.

"I'm the son of the Minister of War!"

Han Gou kicked the bowl of dark, murky prison food in front of him, sending it flying. The bowl rolled twice on the ground.

"Is this all you're going to feed me?"

The jailer was sitting outside the bars picking his teeth and glancing at him sideways.

Han Gou, clinging to the cell bars, shouted, "Go find your boss, get me a single room, and bring me two bowls of good food. Also, give my two girls a shoulder massage."

"I'm feeling really wronged right now, you know that?"

The jailer threw a toothpick on the ground and said, "Young Master Han, please keep your voice down. If you were the Minister of War, I might be able to make an exception for you."

"As for your identity..."

Draw out the sound for a long time.

"Not qualified."

Han Gou stomped his feet in anger, "Just you wait! When my dad gets me out of here, you'll be the first one I deal with!"

The jailer smiled, ignored him, and turned to walk to the other end of the cell.

After cursing a few times, Han Gou retreated back into the haystack.

He figured his father must be trying to figure something out, and he'd be released in three more days at most.

We'll settle the score with that bastard Lu Yuan later.

As he was thinking, he heard footsteps outside the cell.

The chains rattled.

Han Gou looked up and saw two jailers leading four prisoners toward him.

These four men were all incredibly strong.

At the front was a shirtless man with prominently bulging muscles on his arms and a scar on his face that ran from his forehead to his chin.

The next three were even more frightening: one had a face full of scars, one had a single eye, and one had a centipede on his hand.

Han Gou's throat moved.

The iron door to the cell was open.

After the four prisoners were brought in, their chains were removed.

The jailer closed the door and left.

Before leaving, he left one last sentence.

"Young Master Han, these guests will be living with you from now on. Please look after each other."

Han Gou stood up and leaned against the wall.

The four prisoners stretched their wrists in their cell.

After looking everyone over, Scarface's gaze settled on Han Gou.

Han Gou's knees also began to tremble.

"My heroes!"

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I am Han Zheng, the Minister of War..."

"hehe……"

Scarface sneered.

He took a big step forward.

The people behind them started moving as well.

Han Gou took a step back, slipped, and sat down on the ground, his head hitting the wall.

"What do you want to do?"

Han Gou's words also changed: "My father is the Minister of War."

"If you lay a finger on me, my father will never let you get away with it!"

Scarface squatted down and sat facing him.

"So, you're Han Gou, aren't you?"

When Han Gou saw the four people surrounding him, he immediately panicked.

"Who are you? Don't come any closer!"