A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

The day after the refugee caravan arrived at the Black Mountain Pass, Qin Lide, after ascertaining the situation at the pass, found Zhao Daxuan.

Qin Lide walked steadily into Zhao Daxuan's tent, and Zhao Daxuan immediately got up to greet him.

"Elder Qin, I heard you were inspecting the pass today. How did it go?"

Qin Lide nodded slightly, "That's right, after a morning of investigation, we've roughly figured it out."

Today, three sections of the Black Mountain Pass city wall have collapsed, the barbican is incomplete, the moat is silted up, the arrow tower and watchtower have been destroyed, and many other defensive works have been completely abandoned, classifying it as moderately dilapidated.

"No wonder the Tartars were unwilling to repair it; it's a huge project, and they don't have the talent for it!"

Zhao Daxuan frowned. "With such severe damage, how long will it take for us to fully repair and reinforce it?"

Qin Lide had already prepared his answer, and upon hearing Zhao Daxuan's question, he spoke directly.

"Although there are now more than 30,000 refugees, after deducting the elderly, women and children, there are actually no more than 8,000 able-bodied men. Fortunately, there are also 3,000 captured Tartars!"

"I've arranged for these Tartar prisoners to be responsible for the heavy manual labor afterwards!"

"The able-bodied young men of the refugees were responsible for the medium-sized labor force, while the remaining elderly, weak, women and children served as light laborers or did logistics."

"According to my plan, repairing the core defenses will take ten days."

"The full renovation will take about another month to complete."

"If you add the time and effort to refine the details, it will take at least ten more days."

"Therefore, as long as it can withstand two months, the Black Mountain Pass can be made strong and durable, as solid as a rock."

Upon hearing this timeline, Zhao Daxuan frowned.

In the past two days, some of my soldiers have come to report that the Tartars still have more than a thousand men clearing the official road, and that another thousand men were sent to reinforce them today.

Based on the current progress of the Tartars in clearing the official road, it is estimated that they will be able to clear the road blocked by the boulder again within a month.

At that time, the Tartar army will be able to reach the foot of Heishan Pass directly. If Heishan Pass cannot be fully repaired and completed before that time, the consequences will be unimaginable.

However, as long as the main project can be completed within a month, there is no need to worry too much about the arrival of the Tartar army, and the situation may even change from offense to defense at that time.

"Old Qin, you're an expert in this area. The next phase of the Black Mountain Pass renovation project will be entrusted to you."

"The Tartars are currently sending people to clear the official roads, which should be completed within about a month. You need to speed up the process here."

Qin Lide nodded solemnly.

Repairing the pass now is like racing against death.

The sooner it is completed, the fewer people will die when the Tartar army attacks.

"Don't worry, Lord Zhao, this old man will do his best. I'll risk everything."

Looking at Qin Lide before him, with his full head of white hair and a resolute and serious expression, Zhao Daxuan couldn't help but feel respect.

Zhao Daxuan stood up and bowed deeply to Qin Lide.

"Thank you, Elder Qin. I thank you on behalf of the people of Great Xia and my soldiers."

Upon seeing this, Qin Lide quickly dodged aside and reached out to pull Zhao Daxuan up.

"Lord Zhao, the old man is merely trying to atone for his mistakes. Please don't be so polite."

Zhao Daxuan raised his head and looked at Qin Lide with a puzzled expression.

"To atone for one's sins with merit? What does Elder Qin mean by this?"

Qin Lide remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. "It's better not to mention those painful memories. Lord Zhao, I'll go out and arrange for people to carry out the repairs as soon as possible."

Zhao Daxuan opened his mouth, but seeing that Qin Lide was unwilling to explain the reason, he did not press the matter further.

"Thank you for your help, Elder Qin!"

After Qin Lide left the tent, Zhao Daxuan was about to sit down when another person entered the tent.

This is Zhao Fubao, who now manages many logistical matters for Wangbei Camp.

Seeing Zhao Fubao's worried expression, Zhao Daxuan felt a pang of unease.

"Fu Bao, what's wrong?"

Zhao Fubao sighed softly, "Sir, we're short of money, and the deficit is huge!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan's eyes widened.

"What happened? Didn't you just get 35,000 taels of silver from Leng Wuye a while ago? It's all gone so quickly?"

Zhao Fubao gave a wry smile. "Sir, 35,000 taels is a lot, but it really doesn't last long."

"We already had over ten thousand taels of compensation, which has already been distributed. As for the fifty thousand taels of resettlement allowance that was owed before, only twenty percent will be paid out for now."

"Fortunately, there are still a thousand soldiers who were transferred from Wei Feng's unit and do not need to receive resettlement allowances, otherwise the shortage would be even greater."

"Most of these new recruits only have the most basic equipment, some even just a leather armor and a scimitar, which they got from the supply depot and spoils of war."

"But sir, you also want everyone to be equipped with a set of fifty-refined weapons and armor, which is an astronomical sum."

"There's also the repair of the Black Mountain Pass, which will cost at least five thousand taels. Old Qin contacted me this morning. Many of the repair materials need to be purchased in Zhenbei City, such as repair tools, lime, ropes, and iron nails."

"Fortunately, we still have a sufficient supply of food and supplies, otherwise this would have been another huge expense."

As Zhao Fubao counted on his fingers, one by one, Zhao Daxuan's brows furrowed more and more as he listened.

He knew his expenses were high, but he didn't expect them to be this high.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Daxuan took out several silver notes from his pocket and handed them to Zhao Fubao. The total amount was two thousand taels, which he had won from Jubao Fang earlier.

"This is all I have left. Take it for now, and I'll figure out how to raise the rest."

Suddenly, Zhao Daxuan's eyes flickered.

"Didn't we say before that if we were short of money, we'd rob the Tartars? Perfect timing! There are two Tartar tribes on this small plain inside the Black Mountain Pass. Let's go rob them first."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fubao's eyes lit up.

"That's great! This will fill a significant gap!"

Zhao Fubao looked excited.

"I've heard that the small tribes of the Tartars have quite a lot of resources, with one or two thousand warhorses and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep. That's all money."

With a smile and a nod, Zhao Daxuan acted immediately, summoning Li Erlong and Li Changming and informing them of the huge funding gap currently facing Wangbei Camp.

"Although we can ask the imperial court for funds to cover the shortfall, given the current financial situation, you should not have too high expectations."

"To solve the funding problem, you should start preparing in the next couple of days and take down the two Tartar tribes on this small plain as soon as possible. Their resources will greatly alleviate the pressure on us."

Hearing that they were only asked to fight, rather than to find a way to raise money, Li Erlong and the others breathed a long sigh of relief.

Li Erlong immediately grinned.

"Don't worry, sir. With their small force, taking them down is a piece of cake."

"Leave it to us, and we guarantee we'll take down those two tribes at minimal cost."

Zhao Daxuan nodded in satisfaction, and then gave some earnest instructions.

"By the way, remember to capture more prisoners. The repair of Black Mountain Pass is in dire need of manpower, and more people can speed up the repair process."

"Otherwise, with the current manpower, it would take two months to complete the repairs."

"But the Tartars can clear the official road in a month, and then we'll have to fight them head-on again. I don't know how many more people will die."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Li Erlong even thumped his chest loudly.