The Demonic Crown Prince

"Sir, we really don't have that much money in our treasury—five hundred thousand taels of Chu currency..."

The officer spread his hands and directly used the same excuse he had used to deal with Li Yuan.

"Damn it, our troops have now fallen under the control of the King of Qin. The court is no longer paying us. We're just relying on this 500,000 Chu coins to eat. If we can't get the money, all 1,600 of us will starve."

You'd better pay up today, or you better not force us to take action!

Zhang Chuang, who had a fiery temper, glared and said fiercely.

He already had a fierce appearance, and having spent so many years in the military, he had killed countless people.

With that glare, a bloodthirsty and menacing aura emanated from him, nearly scaring the officer to death.

But he had received orders not to pay, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Sirs, the warehouse really has no money..."

"Fuck you, you're asking for it!"

Zhang Chuang cursed and slapped the officer so hard that his mouth was bleeding and he couldn't recognize anything.

"Be gentle, be gentle, don't kill this principled officer... just do it."

Li Yuan said with a smile from the side.

"Your Highness, you...you actually condoned your subordinate's murder..."

The officer roared at Li Yuan.

"I didn't see anything, I only saw you making things difficult for a group of soldiers who were starving to death because you had no money to feed them."

Li Yuan shrugged.

"Tie them all up and hang them from a tree to beat them!"

Wang Wanquan waved his hand and roared.

In an instant, a large number of soldiers rushed over and hurriedly slammed all the people who had helped to the trees.

The large whip, dipped in cold water, lashed out relentlessly, each strike accompanied by the question, "Do you have any money?"

A group of people were whipped until their skin was torn and bleeding, crying out in pain. Finally, a few supervisors and gatekeepers couldn't bear it any longer and shouted repeatedly, "We have money! We have money! We'll go get it for the soldiers right away!"

Wang Wanquan and the others then put them down and let them lead them to get the money.

"Wan Quan, don't forget to let the surrounding people go to the warehouse to see what's going on. Make sure everyone sees that there's plenty of money in the warehouse so that they can come and withdraw their money with peace of mind."

Of course, we'll use our own money, not a penny more, and everything will proceed according to procedure.

We should learn from that officer; we must adhere to principles.

Li Yuan stood at a distance and reminded him with a hearty laugh.

So Wang Wanquan also had people lead the large number of onlookers to the warehouse.

Before long, the silver bag containing the usual amount of cash was brought out.

Five hundred thousand taels is no small sum. At ten taels per catty, its weight alone is equivalent to more than thirty tons in modern terms.

Li Yuan was initially reluctant to take them because there were too many, and he couldn't move them all by himself.

But now, there are more than 1,600 soldiers here. It's nothing for each person to carry more than 30 kilograms.

The rest was much simpler: verifying the ticket numbers, opening the vault, and withdrawing the cash were all done in front of all the local people, following the proper procedures without any deviation from the rules.

Although a large number of Black-Clad Guards and patrolmen arrived during the process, they were helpless when they saw that everyone was acting in accordance with the rules and that there were so many civilians around to witness the incident. They could only stand by and watch helplessly.

Unwittingly, they also became witnesses.

After collecting the silver, Li Yuan deliberately led a group of soldiers through the city in a ostentatious display, circling the entire city before ordering the purchase of dozens of large carts to transport the silver back.

He then left behind 50,000 taels of silver and led Wang Wanquan and the others on a shopping spree in the city, buying up daily necessities such as grain, vegetables, meat, and salt.

Only after spending all 50,000 taels of silver did he leisurely return to the military camp.

Upon arriving at the military camp, they immediately opened fire, starting with a stew of meat, and then ate as much rice and steamed buns as they wanted.

A group of soldiers were eating so much that tears were almost falling from their eyes.

You should know that they usually only eat mixed flour buns, and as for vegetables, sometimes it's wild vegetables, and sometimes it's just a pot of rotten vegetable leaves.

Salt? Sorry, no, at most the cook would dip a piece of vinegar cloth into the pot, and that would give it some flavor.

But after the King of Qin took over the army, the food was a feast even in the homes of wealthy families!

In a short time, the support for the King of Qin rose steadily.

Although they are not yet at the point where they would die without batting an eye, they no longer have the slightest resistance to following the King of Qin to Yanguan Pass.

"Why haven't we seen any artisan battalions in our army?"

While eating dinner, Li Yuan asked.

"There are too few artisans in the army. Each artisan battalion needs several divisions to assign one, so it's normal that we don't have any."

Wang Wanquan said.

"I see."

Li Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

An army cannot function without a craftsmanship battalion. Putting aside issues like repairing damaged weapons, Li Yuan's immediate priority is to improve the weapons and enhance the combat effectiveness of this unit; that is the key.

Without a crafts camp, who would he rely on to forge new weapons?

It's simply unrealistic to expect one person to knead it by hand.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yuan looked at Wang Wanquan and said, "Starting tomorrow, no matter what method you use, find skilled craftsmen around for me, the kind who can come with us to Yanbei Road. I'll pay whatever it takes."

However, loyalty must be guaranteed first, and the background must be thoroughly investigated.

In addition, I'll give you another list. Go to the Ordnance Bureau and collect everything you can.

Especially weapons like bows and arrows, ballistae, and catapults—take as many as you can.

"Understood, Your Highness." Wang Wanquan nodded emphatically.

……

Meanwhile, Li Yuan is pushing forward the construction of the military at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, Xu Rui and Wu Yuanshan, the Minister of Revenue, went to Duanfu Garden to visit the Second Prince, Li Jun.

However, when Li Jun heard Wu Yuanshan cautiously mention that Li Yuan had actually used the army to "rob" the place and forcibly took away the 500,000 taels of silver, he was shocked.

Li Jun, who had just woken up, was so angry that he spat out another mouthful of blood and fainted again.

For a time, Duanfuyuan was in complete chaos.

……

Funing Garden.

This is the residence of the Third Prince, Li Feng.

At this moment, in the secret chamber of the garden, Li Feng, pale-faced, sat there, occasionally covering his mouth with a handkerchief and coughing lightly.

He was frail and sickly from childhood, so he never attended court and instead spent his time recuperating at Funing Garden.

Among the many princes, he was also the most low-key, never attracting attention.

But a dog that bites never barks!

A man in black was kneeling before him, giving a detailed report on the events that had occurred in the court that day.

"Li Yuan has become a completely different person. He is both brave and resourceful. Although he is no longer the crown prince, he is even more formidable."

After hearing the report from the man in black, Li Feng's expression turned serious.

"Indeed, General Sun did not expect that Li Yuan would not fall for the trick and would even speak up for Jiang Zhanyue."

"That's what the man in black said in a low voice."