Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Zhu Qiyu didn't say another word.

He picked up the heavy iron shovel again, aimed it at the gravel at the bottom of the ditch, and smashed it down hard.

"Snap! Bang!"

The rocks shattered, and blood seeped from the tiger's mouth again.

But he didn't even flinch; he just mechanically and desperately dug.

Under the shade of trees not far away.

Zhu Qizhen was slightly taken aback when he saw his younger brother suddenly working with such frenzied enthusiasm.

Gu Yannian walked slowly back to the shade of the tree, picked up the hot tea that the eunuch had replaced, and gently sipped the tea.

"Your Majesty, it seems that His Highness Prince Cheng has swallowed his anger."

Gu Yannian spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he were merely commenting on a short opera excerpt.

Zhu Qizhen gave a cold laugh.

"It's best to swallow it. I've been swallowing this bitterness in this Wenhua Hall for eight years, and he's only suffered for a few days? He'll only understand when he goes to Datong and faces those border generals who have drawn their swords against him."

"The soil he digs out of this wasteland today is all to save his own life."

The autumn wind swept through the West Garden, stirring up clouds of yellow dust.

As the sun set, it cast a long shadow of Zhu Qiyu wielding his iron paddle.

half a month later.

The first day of October.

Outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, the autumn wind was bleak.

A fully armed team of two hundred Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) stood silently in the cold wind.

Several horse-drawn carriages filled with luggage and account books stopped in the middle of the procession.

Prince Zhu Qiyu of Cheng wore a black python robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a traveler's hat.

Although his face was still thin, the frail, scholarly air he once possessed had completely vanished.

Instead, he had a dark complexion from being exposed to the scorching sun for half a month, and a pair of eyes that exuded coldness and depth.

He stood beside the carriage, waiting quietly.

Before long, a procession of honor slowly approached from the direction of Fengtian Gate.

Emperor Zhu Qizhen, the legitimate emperor, personally arrived at the Meridian Gate, surrounded by Wang Zhen.

The officials lined up on both sides, watching Prince Cheng, who was about to represent the emperor in inspecting the nine border military settlements, and they were all secretly amazed.

In just over a month, this idle prince had undergone a complete transformation.

The chilling aura emanating from him, a sense of awe and dread, subtly bore a resemblance to the current emperor.

Zhu Qizhen walked up to Zhu Qiyu and stopped.

The two brothers exchanged glances, without the usual brotherly pleasantries, only a tacit understanding and scrutiny.

"The journey to Datong and Xuanfu is long, and the border generals are arrogant. Are you fully prepared?"

Zhu Qizhen asked in a deep voice.

Zhu Qiyu bowed slightly and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to investigate and manage the military farms. On this mission, I will not consider personal relationships or listen to empty words. I will only recognize the land deeds and account books."

"Anyone who embezzles military farm land, regardless of their official rank, will be investigated thoroughly according to the laws of the Great Ming Dynasty, and will be shown no leniency."

Although his voice was not loud, it conveyed a resolute determination to never return until Loulan was conquered.

The brutal beatings he endured over the past two weeks had completely shattered any illusions he might have had.

"it is good."

Zhu Qizhen nodded, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

He turned his head, took a long, narrow object wrapped in bright yellow silk from Wang Zhen, and personally handed it to Zhu Qiyu.

"This is the first abacus I broke when the Grand Tutor was teaching me the methods of financial management. The Grand Tutor has remade this large one for me out of ironwood."

"Today, I bestow this old abacus upon you."

Zhu Qizhen unveiled the silk.

A medium-sized abacus with a rosewood frame and brass beads is revealed.

The abacus frame was covered with deep and shallow fingernail marks and scratches, traces left by Zhu Qizhen when he collapsed.

"Take it."

Zhu Qizhen stared into Zhu Qiyu's eyes and said, word by word.

"When you arrive at the Nine Garrisons, if those garrison commanders dare to shirk their responsibilities or plead poverty for money, then smash this abacus in their faces! Tell them that the accounts of the Ming Dynasty were calculated by me, penny by penny!"

"Anyone who dares to seize my fertile land, I will use these abacus beads to smash their skulls!"

Zhu Qiyu respectfully accepted the heavy sandalwood abacus with both hands, as if he were receiving not a reward, but the immense power of life and death over the Ming Dynasty's finances and provisions.

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree. I will certainly not fail in the great trust placed in me by Your Majesty!"

Just then, Gu Yannian, the head of all officials, walked forward slowly, fanning himself with a folding fan.

He glanced at the abacus in Zhu Qiyu's hand, then at the short black iron shovel tied to the side of the carriage.

A relaxed smile appeared on his lips.

"Your Highness, Prince Cheng."

Gu Yannian bowed slightly, his tone gentle and calm.

"The borderlands are bitterly cold, and people's hearts are even colder. Your Highness's journey here is to tear away the layers of pretense in this harsh land. Your humble servant awaits Your Highness's report of victory in the capital."

"If Your Highness encounters those fierce generals outside who are unreasonable even with abacuses and iron shovels..."

Gu Yannian gently closed his folding fan, his eyes revealing an arrogant look that seemed to look down on the world.

"Then I will send a message back to the cabinet. I will stop all the rations and pay of the garrison commander until he is so hungry that he has come to his senses. In this world, there is no warrior who can draw his sword after being starving for three days."

Zhu Qiyu was shocked to hear this, and a strong sense of confidence welled up within him.

With this powerful figure who controls the national treasury backing them up, even the most indestructible border generals would be forced to submit to starvation.

"Thank you for your instruction, Grand Tutor. I will remember it."

Zhu Qiyu put the abacus into his sleeve, turned around and stepped onto the carriage.

"Let's go!!"

With a shout from the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the whip cracked.

A procession of two hundred men escorted Prince Zhu Qiyu of Cheng, stepping through the fallen leaves of late autumn, and marched out of the Meridian Gate in a grand procession toward the important northern border town.

Zhu Qizhen stood on the city gate tower, watching the caravan gradually disappear into the distance, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Grand Tutor, what do you think the expressions will be on the faces of those border generals when they see Qi Yu bringing an abacus and iron shovels to check the accounts?"

Gu Yannian stood beside him, gently waving his folding fan in the autumn breeze, his expression serene.

"Those military families, accustomed to swords and spears, suddenly encountered an imperial envoy who demanded to calculate fire losses and measure furrows of grain."

"They would probably find it even more troublesome than encountering the Oirat cavalry."