Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

By daybreak, the city of Jinwang had completely changed.

The flags of the Dragon City Army were replaced on the city walls, and soldiers guarded every street corner.

The people still dared not go out, only peeking out through the cracks in their doors.

The whole city was eerily quiet, like a pot that hadn't been settled yet.

Xiao Fang ordered Lu Zhao to take over the defense and Lin Hui to interrogate the steward of the Prince's Mansion.

He then took Mingrui with him and personally went to check the Prince of Jin's treasury.

The first granary was located in the east of the city.

The steward unlocked the door with trembling fingers, and pushed the two heavy wooden doors inward, releasing a strong smell of grain mixed with the scent of hay.

When the torches shone, Xiao Fang stopped in his tracks.

The granary stretched as far as the eye could see.

The millet and rice stalks were stacked neatly, so high they almost touched the roof beams.

Lu Zhao followed behind, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"How much the hell did they save?"

The steward replied tremblingly.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, there are ten granaries in and around the city, and nine more like this one."

Lu Zhao gasped.

"Ten seats? That's enough to feed so many people!"

Lin Hui stepped forward and dusted off her hands.

Having seen many wealthy and powerful people in the royal palace these days, he wasn't as surprised as Lu Zhao.

"The Prince of Jin is a vassal king, and the taxes from his fiefdom do not need to be handed over to the imperial court."

He's been running this business here for thirty years; it's not surprising he's managed to save this much.

Hearing this, Lu Zhao became even more agitated.

"Isn't that rare?"

If we were to bring them all back to the capital, those old fogies in the Ministry of Revenue would be terrified.

Xiao Fang didn't respond, but only instructed Ming Rui to issue an order to search the entire city, seal off the granaries, and prevent any grain from leaking out.

The second location is underground in the Prince of Jin's residence.

As soon as the torch was extended from the cellar entrance, a golden light appeared before them.

The three cellars were all carved into the mountainside.

One room was used to store gold, another to store silver, and yet another to store jewelry and jade.

Boxes were stacked on top of each other, some of the lids were already open, and the gold ingots and silver coins inside were piled up.

Lu Zhao cursed several times.

"Old man! He's taken all the money from the entire fiefdom and put it in his own pocket."

Xiao Fang glanced at it and asked the person in charge.

"Is that all?"

The steward immediately knelt down.

"There's also the government treasury and the accounting office's silver. This... this is just the private treasury."

Xiao Fang nodded and ordered his men to affix the seal.

Further on, five armories were discovered in the western part of the city.

Lu Zhao led his men to kick open each room one by one, and under the firelight, rows upon rows of weapons gleamed coldly.

Longbows, crossbows, armor, and shields were piled up as high as a person.

Inside, there were bundles of horseshoes and arrowheads, and even the saddles were neatly arranged and categorized.

"These are enough to equip 50,000 cavalry."

Lin Hui did a rough calculation, and his expression turned serious.

"And that doesn't even include the unopened ones in the warehouse."

Lu Zhao has stopped cursing.

He stood in the center of the armory, slowly turned around once, and then spoke.

"I finally understand why the Crown Prince insisted that you take action against Prince Jin first."

This amount of resources is more than enough, not only to defend ourselves, but even to take the capital.

Xiao released the armory and stood in the morning light.

He looked up at the "Xiao" flag on the city wall, then looked north.

"Leave the food, money, and weapons here for now."

Lu Zhao was taken aback.

"Not taking it back to Beijing?"

"No."

Xiao Fang put it simply.

"This place is closest to the Northern Hu. When I lead my troops north, this will be my ready-made rear camp."

If they were all brought back to the capital and then waited for the imperial court to allocate them, it would be difficult.

Lin Hui nodded.

"If His Majesty knew..."

"It's enough that the Crown Prince knows."

Xiao Fang interrupted him.

"I can do that."

He paused, then continued.

"Only 30% of the confiscated goods shall be handed over. The rest shall remain in Jinwang City to be used as supplies for the northern expedition."

Lu Zhao swallowed.

"Thirty percent? The Emperor and those people from the Ministry of Revenue..."

"Let them think what they want."

Xiao Fang mounted his horse, speaking casually.

"I'm only leaving 30% for the court because I'm doing this out of respect for the Crown Prince."

Mingrui asked in a low voice from the side.

"Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Xiao Fang pulled on the reins and headed towards the Prince's Mansion.

"Clean up the tail first; we haven't caught that thing yet."

He was referring to Long Yuanming.

"He can't escape."

A noise came from the sewage ditch outside the city.

Long Yuanming was holding onto the ditch wall, inching his way out step by step.

His head and body were covered in black filth, with swill, excrement, and unidentified rotting matter hanging from his shoulders.

It made it impossible to distinguish the color of the entire face.

He also had a small bundle tied to his back, containing several gold ingots and silver notes. It was soaked in water and heavy, making his shoulders ache.

The deepest part was above his head. He choked several times, gagging and coughing, but he dared not stop.

It was eerily dark all around, with only a faint glimmer of light in front of us.

That was his hope.