Chapter 161: Strained Finances

"Hehe... Your Highness, please have some tea."

"Hehe... Your Highness, this general will massage your legs for you."

"......"

The Prince's Council Hall.

Chang Wei wore a foolish grin, acting so obsequiously that even Feng'er couldn't bear to watch, her expression strange.

Ever since returning from Matishan, Chang Wei and the other generals had turned into this.

Some served him tea, some poured him water, some massaged his legs, and some kneaded his shoulders.

"Speak if you have something to say, and spit it out if you have a fart to release," Zhao Xu finally couldn't take it anymore and roared at the group of sweaty grown men.

Chang Wei scrambled to his feet, stood before Zhao Xu, and asked like a machine gun: "Your Highness, how is the production of this Artillery? When will training begin, and when will it be equipped in the army?"

The generals all pricked up their ears.

The power of this Artillery had completely convinced them.

In the past, the army would brag about personal valor, claiming they could catch a Cannonball from a Firearm with their bare hands.

Now, they absolutely wouldn't dare brag about catching a Cannonball from an Artillery piece with their bare hands.

"The production is quite good; we can manage over a hundred pieces a month. Training can start now; let the former Firearm Soldiers serve as Artillerymen. As for equipping them, that will have to wait until the Artillerymen are proficient," Zhao Xu said slowly.

Hearing this, Chang Wei and the others all laughed; this was a success.

Once he went back, he would make the Artillerymen train until they were half-dead, ensuring the army had the appearance of a hundred Artillery pieces within at least a month.

Mo Yu sighed with emotion: "If this thing were placed on the walls of Yanguan City, why worry about the Northern Di moving south..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the generals staring straight at him one by one.

Chang Wei rubbed his hands together, "Mo Yu, although you come from Yanguan, if word of the Artillery leaks out, don't blame us for being impolite."

The others nodded in agreement.

Mo Yu swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

This Artillery was the Yan Wang's secret Weapon, intended to deal an unexpected blow to the enemy.

If such a powerful Weapon were to spread, it would inevitably attract prying eyes from many sides.

"What do you take me, Mo Yu, for? Since I have pledged my service to His Highness, from now on, there is only His Highness in my heart," Mo Yu said, patting his chest with a loud thud.

Even if his father put a blade to his neck now, he wouldn't leave.

Since entering the Prince's Personal Army, the fine Armor and Weapons of the Yan Wang's soldiers had opened his eyes.

More importantly, there was no backstabbing here; from the generals down to the soldiers, everyone held the same ambition: to defend the fief and resist the enemy invaders.

It was not like the generals in Yanguan, who only had eyes for their own promotion and wealth.

Now, the Yan Wang's army had added such a sharp Weapon.

In his view, only here could he realize his dream of driving out the Northern Di.

"That's good," Chang Wei's expression softened.

Lv Chang, Bai Shang, and other generals patted Mo Yu on the shoulder, signifying that he was one of their own.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

He could not trust someone who was physically in the Cao camp but whose heart was with the Han.

With Zhao Xu's promise, the generals felt at ease.

They bowed and took their leave.

They couldn't wait to return to the barracks to study how to use the Artillery on the battlefield.

Just as the generals left,

A servant reported that Liu Fu had arrived.

"Your Highness, what is wrong with those generals? They look like they've each just had a son." He had run into Chang Wei and the others on his way in.

That bunch of fellows had been winking at him, looking quite smug.

"It's about the same as having a son," Zhao Xu laughed.

He reckoned that for a long time to come, these generals would treat the Artillerymen like their own sons.

Liu Fu didn't understand the meaning, but he had urgent matters at hand, so he skipped over it.

Holding the account book in his hands, Liu Fu was heartbroken, "Your Highness, Silver cannot be spent like flowing water; the treasury is about to be empty."

Zhao Xu glanced at the expenditures and the remaining balance in the account book, and his heart gave a sharp throb.

The continuous expenditures of the Works Department, and after returning, he had allocated another sum of Silver to the Shipbuilding Department.

Before that, there were expenses for the Agency, expenditures for the Personal Army soldiers, soldiers' pay, and the salaries of officials.

Furthermore, to prepare for the upcoming recruitment of new soldiers, the Armory had purchased a massive amount of raw materials.

Now, the manufacturing of Artillery was added to that.

With several items added together, the Silver in the treasury had plummeted like a cliff.

"And there is Shanggu Commandery; now all expenditures are dumped onto the Prince's estate. Those local Rich Clans won't cough up a single tael of Silver. Your Highness, if this continues for long, Shanggu Commandery will only become a burden," Liu Fu said through gritted teeth.

He had just returned from Shanggu Commandery, and the days he spent there felt like years.

The officials there were all insincere to his face while acting differently behind his back.

It was very difficult to implement the issued policies.

The Rich Clans would always find various excuses to delay the implementation of the policies.

Every time he saw the Rich Clan officials of Shanggu Commandery, he wished he could cut them down with a single blade.

Zhao Xu frowned and asked: "Have they handed over the occupied land?"

"They handed it over, but it's as if they didn't," Liu Fu said angrily: "After this subordinate returned the land to the commoners, the local Rich Clans secretly instigated idlers to coerce and lure the commoners into signing sales contracts. I have investigated more than one such case, but in the end, I could only punish individual Rich Clan descendants."

"It really is 'there is a policy above, and a countermeasure below'," Zhao Xu's lips curled into a smile, but the smile was cold.

For him, time was precious; he did not have that much time to play games with the Rich Clans of Shanggu Commandery.

Now he had to think of a way to wipe out this group of Rich Clans and let the Prince's Mansion's decrees be carried out from top to bottom.

So he said, "This Prince has a method to solve it once and for all."

"Please enlighten me, Your Highness." Liu Fu was delighted.

"Investigate corruption!" Zhao Xu spat out the two words.

There was not a single Rich Clan official who was not corrupt while in office.

As long as they investigated corruption, every one of these Rich Clans would have to go to prison.

Liu Fu's expression changed, "Your Highness, you are truly forcing them to rebel; the private armies of the Shanggu Commandery Rich Clans combined are not a small number."

"A few days ago, this Prince was still a bit worried about exhausting our military strength, but now I am not worried at all," Zhao Xu said.

Aren't they overbearing? He wanted to see whether their overbearingness was stronger, or his Artillery was stronger.

"Since Your Highness says so, this subordinate is relieved." Liu Fu suddenly felt the blockage in his chest dissipate instantly.

Since following Yan Wang, his wish had always been to liberate the common people from the land of the Rich Clans.

This point had never changed.

Now Yan Commandery had achieved this, but within the territory of Yan Wang's fief, Shanggu Commandery was still like a piece of porcelain that had not been wiped clean.

Now, he wanted to wipe it clean.

Zhao Xu nodded; after the matter with Zhang Kang, he had realized a great deal.

He could not always wait for these fellows to set traps for him.

This time, he wanted to openly use a transparent strategy, rather than a conspiracy, to get rid of these scourges.

"Your Highness, there is also the matter of Silver." As Liu Fu was about to leave, he reminded him with a resentful expression.

Zhao Xu waved his hand to let him leave in peace, indicating that he had a plan in mind.

After Liu Fu left, Zhao Xu painfully pinched his brow.

This was only the beginning; as the operation expanded, there would only be more and more places requiring Silver in the future.

Currently, he had to broaden his sources of wealth.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered.

Tong San had been gone for quite some time; even if he traveled slowly on the way back, he should have arrived at Jingshi by now.