I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

Xiao Suyue put her hands on her hips, looking sullen.

Meng Da was kicked, leaving a clear gray footprint on her buttocks, but she wasn't angry at all.

Su Yue was Qi Shan's woman, and Qi Shan was his benefactor. He was able to rise to the position of centurion thanks to Qi Shan.

Qi Shan had given him a second chance at life.

If it weren't for Qi Shan, where else would he be wallowing in this swamp?

"Madam Su, I deserve to die. It's all my fault."

"This is unacceptable! Humph!" Su Yue snorted coldly.

"Commander Meng, please rise quickly. Lin Wan is merely a woman and cannot accept such a position."

"I don't mean to blame Commander Meng. Commander Meng also shed blood for the county, just like my husband, both are great heroes. Since Commander Meng thinks I, Lin Wan, am incompetent, then I will show Commander Meng my so-called mathematical skills."

Meng Da glanced at Qi Shan somewhat awkwardly. Seeing Qi Shan nod, he reluctantly placed the two heavy stacks of account books on the stone table, muttering under his breath, "Madam, these accounts are no joke. If they're wrong, the brothers will cause trouble when it's time to pay the soldiers..."

Lin Wan did not respond.

If the other party doesn't believe her, no matter how many words she explains, it won't make a difference.

Her slender, pale fingers untied the hemp rope, and she casually pulled out the thickest grain and fodder register, turning to the first page.

The courtyard fell silent.

Qi Shan sat leisurely on the stone bench, picked up his teacup, and Su Yue also came over, curiously looking at him.

Lin Wan's gaze was calm as she quickly scanned the account pages.

She didn't even use an abacus; she simply tapped the stone table with her right index finger, turning the pages at an astonishing speed, almost every three breaths.

Meng Da frowned as he watched, thinking to himself that this was not an audit, but rather someone flipping through idle books for fun.

However, only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed.

Lin Wan closed the ledger, raised her head, and her clear gaze fell directly on the burly Meng Da.

"Deputy Commander Meng, there are three major errors in this grain and ration book."

Meng Da was taken aback: "Huh?"

Lin Wan’s voice was soft, but every word was clear: “First, on the 23rd of last month, the camp received 300 shi of fine rice from the county government’s granary. The receipt of the rice was recorded as 300 shi, but the subsequent loss calculation deducted the fire loss twice, resulting in a loss of 6 shi of rice out of thin air.”

Meng Da's eyes widened, and cold sweat instantly broke out.

Lin Wan turned to the second page and continued, "Secondly, according to regulations, each warhorse is allotted four liters of black bean fodder per day. The camp currently has 520 warhorses, and their consumption over seven days should be 145.6 shi (a unit of dry measure), but the accounts only show 170 shi. Where did the extra 24.4 shi go?"

"This...this..." Meng Da stammered, his face turning from black to white.

The horse feed was handled by one of his childhood friends, who was known for ripping off and reselling the feed, but he had never been able to find out!

She thought the boy had really changed his ways and was helping her organize military affairs, but she never expected him to be so incorrigible and start reselling fodder again.

"Third." Lin Wan closed the ledger and looked at him calmly. "The blacksmith shop reimbursed 47 taels and 8 mace for the weapon repair silver, but the attached pig iron purchase invoice only had a base of 30 taels. The remaining 17 taels and 8 mace were directly entered into the balance without any voucher."

"Adding the three together, in just ten days, the army's accounts were inflated by nearly forty taels of silver, and thirty shi of grain were lost."

Lin Wan raised her eyes, her gaze calm yet authoritative: "Deputy Commander Meng, are you trying to fool the Commander with this account book, or are you trying to fool the soldiers' appetites?"

boom!

Meng Da's mind went blank, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He fell to his knees with a thud, his back soaked in cold sweat.

But what shocked him even more at that moment was...

Lin Wan actually knows arithmetic!

God!

He's practically a living god!

He and a few soldiers who knew a little about accounting spent the whole night trying to sort out some of the details of this account. This delicate lady, however, only flipped through it for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and not only found out all the loopholes, but also got the exact numbers right!

the most important is,

"This humble general...this humble general has failed in his duty to govern; please punish me, sir!"

Meng Da clasped his hands in a fist salute, then turned to Lin Wan, his eyes no longer showing any contempt, but instead filled with heartfelt awe: "Madam, your calculations are divine! This humble general is convinced! Utterly convinced!"

Qi Shan put down his teacup, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Get up. Go back and find those few corrupt accountants under your command, give them twenty lashes according to military law, and make up for the deficit."

"Remember, this is a one-time exception! Don't let it happen again!"

"Yes! This subordinate will take care of it right away!" Meng Da got up, breathed a sigh of relief, bowed respectfully to Lin Wan, and then slunk away with the account books in his arms.

Watching Meng Da's figure gradually disappear into the distance, he fell into deep thought.

This is only the beginning, and some people have already started embezzling military funds. This is simply outrageous!

He didn't know if Meng Da was involved, but the army had just been established.

The most important thing is to stabilize morale and unite everyone.

At this point, it's best to tap or shake it first; that's the safest approach.

But after this incident, Meng Da estimates that even if he were to actually participate, he would be much more restrained.

That's how it was with ancient armies; without mutual benefits, it was difficult for them to unite.

Even if we try to address it, it's not the right time yet.

Watching from the side, Su Yue's beautiful eyes shone with admiration, and she couldn't help but clap her hands and exclaim, "Sister Wan'er, you're amazing!"

Lin Wan felt a little embarrassed by the praise, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said softly, "It's all just the rudimentary skills my father taught me before, please forgive me, my husband."

Qi Shan held her soft hand, feeling reassured.

With Lin Wan overseeing the finances in the rear, the backbone of the Qingyang garrison was finally established.

However, before Qi Shan could spend more time cuddling, a series of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Immediately afterward, Zhao Bingkun, the magistrate of Qingyang County, rushed into the courtyard in a panic, his official hat not even properly on.

"Brother Qi! Something terrible has happened!"

Zhao Bingkun was out of breath from running, clutching a secret letter sealed with scarlet wax tightly in his hand.

Qi Shan frowned slightly, stood up to greet him, and asked, "Brother Zhao, what's the matter that you're so flustered?"

Zhao Bingkun looked around, lowered his voice, and said with barely concealed terror, "An urgent message from the capital! The Fifth Prince's imperial carriage has already passed Cangzhou and will arrive in the Northern Frontier in three days at most!"

"And..." Zhao Bingkun swallowed hard, his face ashen. "There's been some unusual activity on the border army under General Liu Wei. Scouts report that Liu Wei has secretly mobilized three thousand elite troops from the central army, and they are gathering towards the Yinma River. Moreover... the remaining cavalry of the Yelü tribe are also converging there!"

Qi Shan's eyes suddenly turned cold. He took the secret letter and gently stroked the scarlet sealing wax with his fingertips.

"A prince?"

"This shouldn't be a normal northern tour, right?" Qi Shan asked.