From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 213 The Logically Consistent Three Hundred Thousand Iron Cavalry
Despite having only one son, and despite being very satisfied with his son's current performance.

But when his son called him an old turtle to his face and compared him to Xu Xiao, the King of Beiliang whom he hated the most, he couldn't help but fly into a rage and shouted, "You bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Am I talking nonsense?

Zhao Heng's breath caught in his throat. He gently closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and pondered for a while before his breathing calmed down. He raised his head and said in as calm a tone as possible, "That sounds nice, but have you ever considered whether the Jing'an Prince's Mansion can really block outsiders from spying?"

"No, what are they spying on?" Zhao Xun asked with a strange look. "Over the years, they've seen everything they needed to see. It's just a dilapidated prince's mansion with only three masters. What's there to spy on?"

"There will always be people who are worried!"

“Those who are not at ease will never be at ease. You have competed with that person for the throne. Do you think playing dumb will work? Do you think that by sending some people into the mansion and making sure there are no secrets in the mansion, he will be at ease? As far as the court and the person on the dragon throne are concerned, he will not trust you just because you play dumb. Similarly, he will not target our mansion just because we have eliminated the spies and cannot obtain information about the mansion. The reason why the Jing'an Manor is in this position is because it is useful.”

Zhao Heng stared intently at Zhao Xun. He could clearly sense that his once obedient son had become somewhat unfamiliar. Most importantly, he had become more opinionated, more assertive, and even a bit domineering.

"Even if you don't want to be spied on, you can't let Yu Xuanji gouge out other people's eyes at will. Does that mean people won't be able to see you anymore?"

“Xuanji is naturally gifted; he can sense the malice in someone’s eyes. He won’t be wrong,” Zhao Xun said calmly.

However, this was not because Yu Xuanji was actually gifted. It was simply because she cultivated the most authentic martial arts method in the Great Luo Heaven, reaching the Enlightenment Realm. Her spiritual senses were extremely sharp, and she could easily sense the malice of those around her. Therefore, although her attacks were ruthless, she would never make a mistake.

“Father, if anyone cries out that they are innocent, then they are stubborn and unruly people, and should be killed on the spot. If anyone pleads for them, then there is a problem, and they should be investigated thoroughly. In short, I do not want any irrelevant people to appear in Chengbi Garden in the future.”

After saying that, Zhao Xun stood up and said, “Father, since you are so eager to pass on the Jing’an Prince’s Mansion to me, it is only right that I take charge of the affairs of the mansion. In recent years, you have not paid much attention to the affairs of the mansion because of your acting, and the atmosphere of the mansion has become lax. It’s one thing for the people of the court to be so bad, but the noble families of Qingzhou have also dared to leave spies in the mansion. If we don’t clean it up, even if I can take over smoothly, I’m afraid I won’t be able to last long.”

"Then what do you want to do?!"

"Have someone organize the situation in the manor and send it to my study tomorrow. I need to have a complete understanding of the manor."

"You want to manage the household now?" Zhao Heng looked at his twelve-year-old son, somewhat dazed.

However, being a butler at the age of twelve is not such an extraordinary thing. This world is full of vitality, and there are many precocious people. There are countless examples of butlers in their teens.

"I think you're being too lenient. Besides, since this palace will eventually be handed over to me, it's good for me to take charge of things now, which is a kind of experience. What do you think?"

"Well, since you have this idea, let's do it your way. Indeed, it's time for him to gain some experience."

Zhao Xun smiled and nodded.

Stepping out of the study, Zhao Xun took a deep breath. Although he was someone who hated trouble, the matter of managing the household was not troublesome, and he did not plan to manage it himself. He would review the information about the Prince's Mansion and communicate directly with his second primordial spirit. Both the second primordial spirit and the Red Queen could handle things in an orderly manner, and he only needed to do the things that needed to be implemented.

Yes, the key is implementation.

In his past life, when he read those female-oriented novels, he always had a question.

If you travel back to ancient times, you'll find armies of millions or hundreds of thousands of cavalry, making it seem like armies can be copied and pasted.

The same goes for the world in the snow. When he read the original novel in his previous life, he was very puzzled as to how that godforsaken place, Beiliang, could support 300,000 iron cavalry across four prefectures.

Three hundred thousand iron cavalry!

In his previous life's history, he would have been able to sweep across the world, conquering everything from Asia to Europe, and even plowing through Africa.

But no one can afford to support them.

In his previous life, he had managed logistics for nearly ten years, and he knew all too well the horror of the phrase "people eat horses' food." Let alone 300,000, even a small unit of just over a hundred people had astonishing monthly consumption.

In the original work, there was no obvious business activity between the protagonist and Beiliang, so how could they afford to support each other?

But once he actually arrived here and found himself in a real world, he was astonished to discover that the world could be logically self-consistent.

The world is diverse, and he was too limited by his perspective from his previous life.

The world's resources are different.

This world is probably extremely rich in resources because it was created relatively recently.

Northern Liang is known as a bitterly cold land, but that's only relatively true. The four states of Liangzhou, Lingzhou, Youzhou, and Liuzhou each have their own unique characteristics. Liangzhou alone has a huge salt lake. Their salt doesn't need to be sun-dried or processed; it can be directly pulled from the lake and sold. Moreover, it's of extremely high quality and low cost. This high-quality Liangzhou salt monopolized almost 60% of the salt business in the Liyang Dynasty.

In addition, Lingzhou has a great many mines, most of which are open-pit mines, making them very easy to mine.

The annual income from salt and iron production was enough to support the Liangzhou cavalry.

In addition, Youzhou produces horses and Liuzhou produces grain. This world is rich in vital energy and has a very high grain yield. Liuzhou is not considered a major grain-producing continent in the Liyang Dynasty, but the grain produced by this continent alone each year is enough to barely feed the entire Beiliang.

This is the foundation of the 300,000 iron cavalry. As for the wealth plundered through the war of national annihilation, that is secondary. No matter how much wealth is piled up there, it cannot last more than a few years under the consumption of the 300,000 iron cavalry.

This is not his fault; it is a reflection of the unevenness of the world.

After understanding these points, Qingzhou is actually quite similar.

Qingzhou was a strategic location in the Liyang Dynasty. The eight-hundred-mile-long Chun Shen Lake controlled the north and south, making it a historically contested area. Among the three cities, three passes, and three mountains, Xiangfan was known as the "waist and spine of the world," making it the most important strategic location. Naturally, such a place had a large army. The Qingzhou navy was once a formidable force that roamed the great rivers and lakes, but now...

Qingzhou was able to support such a large army not through military force, but because Chun Shen Lake, which fed the Yangtze River, formed many tributaries. Ships traveling north and south would enter Chun Shen Lake through these tributaries, then enter the Yangtze River or the Yellow River, supplying the north and south. It was the most important transit point for water transport in the world, so its commerce was extremely prosperous. The tax revenue alone was enough to support the Qingzhou navy every year.

However, in Zhao Xun's view, this was not enough, far from enough.

Whether it's Qingzhou or the Jing'an Prince's Mansion, despite occupying this strategic location between the north and south, their operations are still too primitive and haven't brought out Qingzhou's true potential.

(End of this chapter)