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

When Lu Yuan arrived at the gate of the mansion, two groups of officials were fighting over a wooden box.

On the left is Sun Youcai, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Finance, his official hat askew by his ear, and his sleeves pulled open halfway.

On the right is Du Changhe, a secretary in the Ministry of Works' Construction Department. He only has one shoe, and his white socks have been trampled black.

The wooden box was sandwiched between the two men, and inside was a thick stack of account books.

"You, surnamed Du, your Ministry of Works owes the Ministry of Revenue three years' worth of debts, and you actually dare to come and steal the account books today?"

"Bullshit! This is the account for repairing the Phoenix Battalion, why should it belong to your Ministry of Revenue?"

"The money was allocated by the Ministry of Revenue!"

"Did you dial?"

Sun Youcai was stuck.

Du Changhe took the opportunity to pull the box to his side, and Sun Youcai finally came to his senses, clinging to the wooden box and refusing to let go.

The minor officials following on both sides were not idle either, some pulling at sleeves, others tugging at belts, making it more lively than a vegetable market scrambling for rotten cabbage.

Lu Yuan stood on the steps and watched for a while.

"Let go, all of you."

No one will hear it.

"I, the prince, say, let go of them."

As soon as the voice fell, twenty female soldiers from the Phoenix Battalion appeared inside the door, brandishing knives.

As soon as the armor plate clicked, the area outside the mansion gate immediately became very quiet.

Sun Youcai and Du Changhe let go of each other's hands.

The wooden crate fell to the ground, and the account books inside also fell out and scattered all over the place.

After exchanging a glare, the two men quickly straightened their official robes and stepped forward to pay their respects.

"This humble official, Sun Youcai, is a secretary in the Department of Revenue and Expenditure of the Ministry of Revenue. I have come to pay my respects to Your Highness the Ninth Prince."

"This humble official, Du Changhe, Director of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Works, greets Your Highness the Ninth Prince."

Lu Yuan pointed at the two of them and began to scold them in an annoyed manner.

"You two supplies managers, pulling hair at the gates of this prince's residence—the court pays you salaries every year just so you can put on a monkey show for the people?"

Du Changhe looked down at the tuft of hair in Sun Youcai's hand.

"Your Highness, he started it."

Sun Youcai quickly put his hands behind his back.

"I acted in self-defense."

"Your shoes got stepped on and fell off, so your self-defense was perfectly justified."

Several female soldiers from the Phoenix Battalion at the entrance couldn't help but turn their faces away.

Du Changhe bent down to pick up the shoe, but couldn't stand steadily on one leg, so he helped Sun Youcai up.

Sun Youcai instinctively supported him, and after they had put on their shoes, the two remembered that they had been fighting and stepped back.

Lu Yuan turned and walked inside.

"Pick up the ledgers and come in."

The red silk left over from the wedding is still hanging in the front hall.

Lu Yuan sat down at the head of the table, and Su Yuling and Shen Hanqiu rushed over from the backyard.

The two did not enter the hall, but stood behind the side door listening.

Su Yuling changed into a narrow-sleeved dress, but still held the long sword in her hand.

Shen Hanqiu looked at the knife, then at Lu Yuan in the hall.

"Are you really planning to keep holding onto it?"

"For self-defense."

"There are twenty female soldiers from the Phoenix Battalion in the manor."

Su Yuling looked at Lu Yuan and saw that he was looking in their direction, so she hid the knife behind her back.

"Beware of him."

Lu Yuan's lips twitched, and he looked away.

Sun Youcai placed the account book on the table and spoke first.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to assist you in raising funds. However, Lord Du has come to the Ministry of Revenue with only a list of items, demanding 300,000 taels of silver and 500 craftsmen. This is truly unreasonable."

Du Changhe immediately retorted.

"Your Highness needs to raise the money within a month. The cement workshop needs to be built first, right? Kilns, stones, carts—all of these cost money!"

"If the Ministry of Revenue could come up with 300,000 taels, would the Ninth Prince need to raise the funds?"

"If you don't have money, find a way!"

"I've figured it out."

Sun Youcai pointed at Lu Yuan.

"Find His Highness the Ninth Prince."

Lu Yuan's forehead throbbed as he listened.

No wonder those two started fighting at the door.

The Ministry of Revenue was short of funds, and the Ministry of Works was short of personnel. The emperor gave him the authority to allocate these funds, so his subordinates treated him like a turtle in a wishing well.

"A cement workshop doesn't cost 300,000 taels."

Du Changhe hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I've calculated it. Buying land in the suburbs of the capital will cost 80,000 taels, building a kiln will cost 40,000 taels, and the craftsmen and laborers..."

"Who gave you permission to buy the land?"

Du Changhe was stunned.

"A workshop always needs a place."

"The Fengzi Camp's garrison is located at the foot of Wangyue Mountain, where there is a large area of ​​wasteland. Limestone and clay can be obtained nearby, and the location is readily available."

"But that's a military camp."

"This palace now commands the Phoenix Battalion."

Du Changhe was speechless.

Lu Yuan picked up the list he brought and glanced at it.

"We don't need five hundred craftsmen. The Ministry of Works will send twenty craftsmen familiar with kilns, and recruit one hundred refugees from outside the city. They will be provided with food and lodging, and each person will receive twenty coins per day."

Upon hearing the number, Sun Youcai immediately picked up his abacus.

"Your Highness, two thousand coins a day for one hundred people would amount to sixty taels a month. Including food and lodging, it would be at most two hundred taels."

Du Changhe stared at him.

"You said you couldn't come up with 300,000 taels just now, but now you're calculating 200 taels faster than anyone else."

"Are two hundred taels the same as three hundred thousand taels?"

"Alright."

Lu Yuan threw the list back on the table.

"Keep the first kiln under three thousand taels of silver, just to get the cement fired. You haven't even seen anything, yet you dare to quote three hundred thousand taels? Did you build that kiln with gold bricks?"

Du Changhe's face flushed.

"I am simply making the estimate according to the usual practice. When the imperial court builds workshops, it needs to acquire land, resettle people, and allow for losses in various places."

"loss?"

Lu Yuan smiled.

"The bricks and stones lose 10% of their weight each time they are handled, the timber loses 20% over the three-mile transport, and the silver loses another 30% once it arrives. Before the workshop is even built, you've already lost half of it."

Sun Youcai looked down at the tips of his shoes.

Du Changhe didn't dare to respond.

These are all old rules in government offices. The person handling the project takes a cut, the person in charge takes a cut, and the local clerks skim off a bit more. In the end, if 60% of the money actually ends up on the project, it's considered clean.

"From today onwards, the cement workshop will operate under separate accounts."

Lu Yuan took off the imperial sword and placed it on the table.

"Every penny spent, every cartload of stone from which it came, must be clearly recorded. The accounts must be sent to my residence for verification every three days. Anyone who dares to lay their hand in here, I will chop it off with this sword."

Sun Youcai and Du Changhe immediately bent down.

"Your humble servant understands."

"Don't rush to understand, there's still something else to do."

Lu Yuan looked at Sun Youcai and said, "I know the Ministry of Revenue has no money. But the three thousand taels of start-up capital must be allocated today."

Sun Youcai's face turned very ugly.

"Your Highness, the treasury is currently empty. The day before yesterday, the Ministry of Rites was going to offer sacrifices to the gods, the Ministry of War was urging for the military pay of the nine border regions, and the disaster relief in Hedong still needs funding. The Minister of Revenue almost sold the rats in the treasury for three thousand taels of silver."

"Did you sell the rats?"

"It didn't sell; it's too thin."

A soft laugh came from outside the hall.

Shen Hanqiu immediately shut his mouth.

When Su Yuling glanced at her, her own eyes were also filled with a smile.

When Lu Yuan looked towards the side door, he happened to see Su Yuling's gaze.

Su Yuling dodged behind the door, leaving only half of her scabbard behind.

"I will advance three thousand taels."

Sun Youcai's eyes immediately lit up.

"Your Highness is truly virtuous!"

"No need for that. Just consider it a loan from the Ministry of Revenue."

The smile on Sun Youcai's face also disappeared.

Lu Yuan held up three fingers.

"After one month, the principal plus interest totaled four thousand taels."

"Interest of one thousand taels of silver per month?"

"If you think it's too much, just borrow some from the mice."

Sun Youcai's mouth moved, but in the end he resigned himself to his fate.

"It was borrowed from the Ministry of Revenue!"

Lu Yuan stood up, walked to the table, and took out the old account books of the Phoenix Battalion.

"There's also the Phoenix Battalion's outstanding military pay, which I will advance 30,000 taels of silver. Give me all the details of previous years' allocations; I need to investigate who owes this money."

Sun Youcai's expression was slightly unpleasant.

"Your Highness's account books involve several departments, including the Imperial Household Department, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue. If we trace back to five years ago, it will probably offend many people."

"Those who owe military pay aren't afraid of offending the Phoenix Battalion, so why should I be afraid of offending them?"

Lu Yuan closed the account book. "If the account book is not delivered to me by noon tomorrow, I will take the Imperial Sword and go to the Ministry of Revenue to find you."