In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

The next day.

Outside Liangzhou Prefecture, carriages and horses were constantly moving.

Li Yuanchang met with many officials, mainly to discuss the handling of Liangzhou's annual revenue for the year. According to regulations, it was time for them to leave.

Looking at his meager annual income, which didn't even reach the passing grade, Li Yuanchang was both amused and exasperated.

"If I had known, I should have come to Liangzhou after the Lantern Festival. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, this hot potato of revenue would not have fallen into my hands."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hongzhi, Cao Wei, and the others all gave wry smiles.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?"

"In the past year, Liangzhou's annual revenue was less than 50,000 strings of cash, which is less than that of the lower-level prefectures. Even the neighboring Fengzhou is probably better off than us."

"If this gets back to the court, even if it's not Your Highness's responsibility, I'm afraid someone will criticize and impeach you."

Li Yuanchang also felt helpless.

"Let's return all the proceeds from the confiscation of the property of officials led by Lü Qi and Lü Ping to Chang'an."

"I have seen it; it should be worth about 20,000 strings of cash."

"The total number is a bit small, but it's still about the same as in the tenth year of the Zhenguan era."

Wang Hongzhi and Cao Wei's expressions changed slightly.

"Your Highness, if we do that, Liangzhou Prefecture will be out of money again. Banditry, tiger attacks, and water conservancy all require a lot of money, and many government offices also need funding."

Li Yuanchang said, "The imperial court won't care about that. If Liangzhou Prefecture keeps the proceeds from the confiscation, then I will be giving others ammunition to impeach me."

"Let's send it back to Chang'an first. As for those things that require money, let's take it one step at a time. As the saying goes, there's always a way out."

"Alright." The two thought it made sense, so they said no more and went to handle it.

As soon as the two left, Li Yuanchang was already planning to return to his palace.

Guo Chao came to report: "Your Highness, Yuan Tong has arrived."

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow.

"Bring it over."

"yes!"

Yuan Tong was the commander of the four hundred new recruits and was a deputy colonel in the inner court of the Han King's palace.

Those laborers rescued from Lu's Stone Village were taken in by Li Yuanchang, but they never actually appeared. Instead, Li Yuanchang sent them to an abandoned training ground outside the city for intensive training.

In a sense, the soldiers in the inner tent were Li Yuanchang's private army, and a legal one at that.

The eight hundred men that Li Shimin brought with him when he stormed Xuanwu Gate were his personal guards.

From the moment they joined, their lives were inextricably linked to the Han Prince's Mansion, making them his most loyal subordinates.

Before long, Yuan Tong arrived.

"This humble servant greets His Highness the Prince of Han."

Li Yuanchang laughed and said, "You've gotten quite tanned. Get up. How's your training going?"

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"The brothers are training very well. The food provided by the Prince's Mansion is good. They can eat meat twice a day, and they have all grown much stronger. In addition, Captain Guo has found many veterans to teach us, and everything is progressing by leaps and bounds."

"But there's a rather tricky problem right now," Yuan Tong said bluntly, his face showing difficulty.

"What difficulties?" Li Yuanchang frowned.

"Without sufficient supplies and armor, let alone protecting His Highness, even holding a ceremonial procession would look shabby," Yuan Tong said awkwardly.

Li Yuanchang nodded. Knives were easy to obtain, but armor was difficult to assemble.

However, he could still come up with a way to deal with three or four hundred people.

Moreover, these are personal guards, and he would sell everything he owned to gather the armor for them.

"I will find a solution immediately."

"Any other questions?"

"Yes, there are horses, but not enough. Lord Wang provided us with a hundred horses before, but they are not enough," Yuan Tong said in detail.

"Alright, I understand. I will get it done as soon as possible. You can go back and continue leading the troops," Li Yuanchang said.

"Yes!" Yuan Tong clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then left.

After the person left, Li Yuanchang took a deep breath.

Both A and Ma are not things that can be obtained immediately simply by having money.

This item, A, is strictly prohibited from being privately manufactured or possessed, and requires a lot of iron and skilled workers.

As for horses, there are plenty on the market, but ordinary horses are definitely not suitable for use; they lack both stamina and speed.

The guards in the inner tent are his personal troops, so they must be equipped with military-grade horses like those of the Turks. Otherwise, if something really happens, who will take their place?

"Prepare the horses and go to the military headquarters."

After much thought, he decided to go to the Ministry of War to see if he could find a solution. The selection of military officers and the management of military registers and supplies in Liangzhou were all handled there.

Moreover, he had wanted to become a sergeant for a long time.

"yes!"

The military office was only about a mile away from the main government office of Liangzhou Prefecture, and they arrived quickly.

When Li Yuanchang arrived, his heart sank. The place was dilapidated and in disarray; even the words on the door plaque had faded.

The officials on duty were mostly not fully organized.

"Arise! Arise!"

Guo Chao kicked the drowsy officer.

The two soldiers then came to their senses, and upon seeing Li Yuanchang, they shuddered and their expressions changed drastically.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Li Yuanchang asked directly, "Where is Wan Jun?"

Wan Jun was a military advisor. He had distinguished himself on the battlefield in his early years, but gradually became less important after becoming a military advisor in Liangzhou. Although he did not participate in any of the previous cases, he was practically invisible to the Liangzhou government.

"Yes, inside the government office!"

"Your Highness, we will go and invite him immediately."

"No need, I'll go in myself."

"Stand guard properly." Li Yuanchang's attitude was surprisingly calm, because he knew that the vicious cycle in Liangzhou was not caused by them.

These ordinary soldiers were just there to support their families. Liangzhou was poor, so their monthly wages were already low. How could they possibly expect every soldier to be a professional soldier?

Putting aside everything else, Liangzhou Prefecture alone couldn't afford the food.

"yes!"

The two soldiers nodded nervously.

Only after Li Yuanchang had gone far away did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was close! I thought His Highness was going to kill us."

"Yeah, they didn't even punish us!"

"..."

Li Yuanchang went straight into the government office. Along the way, many military and civilian officials were on high alert and watched him enter the government office.

As Li Yuanchang stepped across the high threshold, a pungent smell of alcohol hit him, accompanied by thunderous snoring.

Wan Jun lay sprawled on the chair, his face oily, his large belly like a small mountain, fast asleep.

The soldiers at the gate were trembling with fear, wanting to offer a warning but not daring to make a sound.

Li Yuanchang sighed slightly, stepped forward, picked up a wine jar, and then let it fall naturally.

boom! !

The wine jar was broken into pieces.

Wan Jun was startled awake and suddenly opened his eyes.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!"

Li Yuanchang laughed and said, "Wan, during official business, you're enjoying your wine quite a bit."

Wan Jun couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them hard, then glanced at the uneasy looks on his men's faces by the door. Finally, he was certain it wasn't a dream.

boom!

He knelt on one knee, his face filled with fear: "This humble servant greets Your Highness!"

"You deserve to die!"