We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

The fourth and fifth brothers didn't realize anything was wrong at first.

The Crown Prince is hosting a dinner party; that shows how generous he is.

Xiao Shi didn't tell them that the Crown Prince actually didn't have much money left, and he would probably have to sell his beloved beasts to raise funds...

When Zhou Tiancheng came down from the stage, he saw Lao Si and Lao Wu next to Xiao Shi and his eyes lit up.

"Tenth General, who are these two?"

He knew that Xiao Shi was the youngest, but he really didn't know how the others were ranked.

Xiao Shi gave an introduction.

"This is my fourth brother, and this is my fifth brother."

"My fourth brother is skilled in the forging and improvement of weapons, and my fifth brother specializes in the research of mechanisms. Of course, the two of them are also very good on the battlefield."

Zhou Tiancheng's eyes lit up.

A weapon master plus a mechanical master.

If used properly, this could be equivalent to five battalions!

What are your thoughts?

Zhou Tiancheng was undeniably sincere; he held their hands tightly, as if afraid they would run away.

The fourth brother had no intention of running away; he simply smiled and asked.

"Was that composite bow created by His Highness?"

"I believe I lack the ability, but I wish to learn how to manufacture weapons from Your Highness. What does Your Highness think?"

Zhou Tiancheng smiled, his eyes crinkling.

"Great! That's wonderful! He couldn't be happier!"

"That's great. I'll send you a book tonight. After you read it, you might have more ideas."

"Also, if there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come and ask me. We could work together to improve the weapons of the Great Qian Dynasty sometime, how about that?"

The fourth prince never expected that the crown prince would be so approachable.

He smiled and nodded, also letting out a sigh of relief.

At least you don't have to worry about interpersonal relationships.

What made him even more relaxed was that the Crown Prince did not mention his other brothers.

The Crown Prince neither forced him to win over the others nor asked him any questions that would put him in a difficult position; he was indeed considerate of their feelings.

At this moment, Zhou Tiancheng was already looking at Xiao Shi.

"General Shi, you may take the other two generals down first. You can also explain the rules here to them."

"I'll go back and get the book now, so that you two can get what you want as soon as possible."

Xiao Shi nodded and led Lao Si and Lao Wu towards the camp.

Along the way, soldiers saluted Xiao Shi from time to time, and Xiao Shi nodded in return.

This new way of saluting, which mainly involves raising the hand, surprised the fourth and fifth brothers.

You should know that since Zhou Tianze expressed his idea, they haven't left the camp much, so how would they know about the military regulations of the new-style military camp?

Fortunately, Xiao Shi was there to explain for them.

"Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, there's no need to kneel in His Highness's military camp. You can show respect by raising your hand. Besides that, you need to walk and sit properly in the military camp..."

Xiao Shi explained to them while pointing out the soldiers who were in action.

The fourth and fifth brothers felt something was off more and more as they looked at it.

At first glance, Zhou Tiancheng's military camp seemed neat and clean, and the soldiers were in good spirits and had good execution.

But as they went deeper, they discovered that every soldier there possessed an unyielding spirit.

This kind of temperament is not innate, but forged in the military!

Just as the fourth brother was about to ask a question, the tenth brother leaned over and whispered something.

"My two elder brothers, you may not know this, but His Highness is not very wealthy, yet he is still willing to spend several thousand taels to treat the soldiers to a meal. This shows His Highness's generosity."

"In my eyes, His Highness is a broad-minded and far-sighted person. In short, you can speak your mind directly without hiding anything from him. As long as you are on his side, His Highness will not pursue any minor mistakes you may make."

The fourth brother never expected that the tenth brother would give Zhou Tiancheng such a high evaluation!

On the contrary, the fifth brother looked like he had seen through the truth.

"Tenth Prince, how could Your Highness, as the Crown Prince, be short of money?"

"Could it be that I deliberately lied to you?"

Xiao Shi looked around, then leaned closer, his voice even lower.

"His Highness the Crown Prince's monthly salary, when converted to cash, is only two thousand taels of silver. This may seem like a lot to us, but you probably don't know how much the Eastern Palace spends!"

"I heard from Steward Liu that the Crown Prince's treasury only has a few hundred taels of silver left. They really have no money."

"You know, in the past, His Highness didn't manage the army or make friends with others; he spent all his money on wild beasts like tigers, leopards, and wolves. How could he possibly save any money?"

"Now that Your Highness is getting down to business, money is needed everywhere, so how can you possibly save any money?"

"Putting everything else aside, this army in front of you, five hundred strong, includes their families, who are also supported by His Highness!"

"We eat a big meat meal every three days. You don't think that's a small expense, do you?"

The fifth brother fell silent.

Because he had been to the northern frontier, he knew how much silver it would cost to maintain an army.

It's fair to say that there's no upper limit to the costs involved!

Because if you were to calculate it, it would be an astronomical figure for them!

For example, the cost of maintaining a heavy cavalryman, including armor, horses, weapons, and auxiliary soldiers, would be at least two hundred taels of silver. And that's just for one cavalryman, not even counting food.

If we keep keeping this up, no amount of money will be enough.

The fourth brother, however, frowned.

"If His Highness has no money, why did he make such a boast about treating so many people to a meal? What if he can't keep his promise?"

Xiao Shi sighed.

"You'll understand once you've stayed a while. His Highness is extremely stingy with himself, but incredibly generous with his subordinates."

"Of course, I'm not talking about food and clothing, but rather some personal expenses. For example, Fourth Brother, you like weapons, so you often buy them for your studies, right?"

The fourth brother nodded.

He spends almost all of his money each month on buying weapons.

Xiao Shi continued speaking.

"His Highness prefers ferocious birds and beasts. Years ago, he bought a garden specifically for this purpose and named it 'Classic of Mountains and Seas.' But now, several of the ferocious beasts from 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' have been sold."

"Fourth Brother, will you sell those weapons you like?"

The fourth brother decisively shook his head.

At that moment, he understood what Xiao Shi meant.

His Highness the Crown Prince was very frugal with his own expenses, but extremely generous to his soldiers and subordinates.

Spending several thousand taels of silver to feed a group of soldiers who have nothing is indeed a bit too extravagant!

He turned to look at the fifth brother.

"Fifth brother, before we get to know His Highness properly, you shouldn't speak ill of him. We have no right to comment."

The fifth brother nodded slightly and said nothing more.

What they didn't know was that Zhou Tiancheng was frantically writing at that moment.

What he was going to teach his fourth and fifth sons was classical mechanics!