Chapter 447: Chen Yan: I Have No Money!

Nine large ships gradually sailed away, without stopping, heading toward a fate of leaving home and wandering.

His Majesty Li Shimin, Empress Changsun, Wei King Li Tai, Duke of Wei Chen Yan, and the three eldest sons of the dukes gazed at the receding ship silhouettes, silent for a long while.

From the initial selection, these eight hundred people, once a group of poor and frail individuals, have been cultivated step by step, and after the departure date was postponed repeatedly, they finally set out on the campaign.

Not only Chen Yan and the three eldest dukes' sons, but even His Majesty Li Shimin felt equally complicated.

"I have seen soldiers depart countless times, but never have I felt such emotions that are hard to settle."

"Zi An, do you think I have grown old and become overly sentimental?"

Chen Yan remained silent: "His Majesty, Princess Heng Shan was only recently born; how could you be old?"

Li Shimin: "......"

"Damn it, I don't need to tell you!"

Cheng Chumo and the other two raised their admiration for Chen Yan another level.

Damn, what a ruthless person!

How dare they speak to His Majesty like that.

The three of us standing with His Majesty all get weak in the legs.

Empress Changsun shook her head and smiled, seeing the previously despondent Li Shimin become incensed by Chen Yan's remark, then perk up again, truly hard to restrain.

Saying Chen Yan's words are annoying, indeed they are.

Chen Yan's words may be irritating, but they always lift the people around him out of negativity; the effect is even more useful than her exhausting effort and words.

Li Shimin ignored Chen Yan, looked at Cheng Chumo and the other two: "You three lads… what do you plan to do from now on?"

"Now that the Flagless Cavalry has left, do you still intend to hold an idle post at the Negotiation Office?"

"This…" the three were momentarily at a loss to Li Shimin's words, not understanding the emperor's mind, so they dared not answer immediately.

Qin Huai Dao stepped forward decisively and said: "We are fine wherever, we will follow His Majesty's arrangements."

Li Shimin chuckled lightly, "You are indeed clever; I also know that when you three first came to the Negotiation Office in Weinan County, you simply wanted to leave Chang'an and have fun."

"It was just that Niu Jinda tormented you, and Zi An forced you onto a duck's back."

"I have learned, Qin lad, that you are about to have a grand wedding. How about this: I will grant you a half‑month rest, and after that I will let you recruit a batch of people, and you will lead a new Flagless Cavalry, okay?"

When those words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Recruit a few hundred more to lead?

And form a army identical to the Flagless Cavalry?

Cheng Chumo and the other two were overjoyed; didn't this suit their wishes?

Anyway, they originally had nothing to do, didn't want to return to Chang'an, and had become addicted to being instructors; if another batch stayed in Weinan County, that would be perfect.

The three, thrilled, immediately wanted to agree.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yan objected: "His Majesty, we originally agreed on only eight hundred people; they have already been led out and have already set out, why recruit more?"

"No, no, absolutely not."

"You say that," Li Shimin retorted, "If there are elite troops like the Flagless Cavalry, which emperor would find them insufficient?"

"Since these three lads have the ability to command troops, could they possibly return to Chang'an to continue loitering in brothels?"

"Then why not stay in Weinan County and continue cultivating more elite troops for my Tang Dynasty?"

Chen Yan muttered under his breath.

Elite, elite, you only ever talk about elite.

Cultivating elite costs nothing?

Think of how much money he has poured into cultivating the Flagless Cavalry from the start.

At first these soldiers were weak; he fed them medicinal meals, let them sleep in warm blankets, and arranged for their families to be properly cared for.

Later, selecting horses, forging weapons and armor—where was there no need for money?

Here's a straightforward example.

Just forging a single stranger's sword, even with a superior steel‑making method, costs over fifty strings of cash.

You think a stranger's sword can shatter both rider and horse on its own? It's all money that makes it possible!

Just after sending off the Flagless Cavalry, Li Shimin unexpectedly wanted to form a similar army, and Chen Yan couldn't stand it.

"Then not even in Weinan County; anyway I have no money, I'm a pauper." Chen Yan said firmly.

But his words almost made Li Shimin and Empress Changsun burst out laughing.

"If you call you, Chen Yan, a pauper, then counting all the people under heaven, what truly counts as rich?" Li Shimin scoffed, not believing it.

If he remembered correctly, all the commerce in Chang'an and Weinan County, this kid alone took over more than twenty percent, all ending up in his private pocket.

There is also a Money Shop that keeps growing, gradually turning into a treasure‑gathering basin; who would believe him saying he has no money?

Of course, Li Shimin didn't intend to keep making Chen Yan spend money to train troops; he merely wanted to use the Weinan County territory and these three experienced lads.

It was just that Chen Yan's words were truly hateful—so rich yet claiming to have no money.

Chen Yan could no longer tolerate Li Shimin's stare, and shouted: "Even if I had more money, I couldn't resist spending it. His Majesty, don't you understand how much it costs to cultivate a force like the Flagless Cavalry? Don't you know the forging costs of a stranger's sword and Xuanye Armor?"

"Also, look again at the nine large ships that just left; I have been recruiting craftsmen on a large scale since last year, day and night, spending hundreds of thousands of strings of cash to build them."

"And the Wei King's research institute—do you think that waterwheel, hydraulic loom, and curved‑yoke plow appeared out of thin air? They all cost an incalculable amount of cash."

"Every single case, every item—wasn't it all my own money?"

"Which of them ever gave me even a single coin in return?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin and Empress Changsun's expressions had already changed.

Chen Yan grew angrier as he spoke, tugging at his own sleeves: "Look at my brand‑new official robes, do you know why?"

"It's because I'm reluctant to wear them normally! Afraid they'd get ruined and I'd have no money to replace them—where would the money come from?"

Wei King curled his lip.

What Chen Yan said before, he approved; whether it was the Mediation Office, the Research Institute, or this shipyard, he poured a massive amount of money into them.

But some damn thing got broken and I can't bear to wear it......

It can be heard.

A couple of days ago, Chen Yan was still discussing with him, intending to hire a hunter to go hunt tiger, leopard, and bear heads and bring them back to try fresh.

Even though Chen Yan spent most of the money, the remainder was still enough for daily splurging.

"Zi An, we have misunderstood you......" Empress Changsun suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the child before her.

He really has been putting his words into practice, always thinking of the world.

Now that she thinks about it, she's grown tired of hearing how much money Chen Yan has earned, but she has never heard of Chen Yan squandering it or buying any expensive items.

The life he leads now is not much different from when he was a small county Marquis; it turns out he just spends the money he earns without expecting anything in return.

"It was my words that were improper, I have caused you hardship." Li Shimin sighed, patting Chen Yan's shoulder.

Chen Yan sniffed, "It's okay, I can endure a little grievance; as long as Weinan County can develop well and the Tang Dynasty can prosper, that's all that matters."