Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Zhao Sheng used the regiment as the organizational unit, mainly on the grounds of standardized management of refugees, and did not enroll these people in the military system.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the law prohibited the private possession and manufacture of armor. However, this armor did not include leather armor and cotton armor, but mainly targeted metal armor.

Therefore, Pingshan in Jing County used plate armor, all of which were molded, and many people in the Zhou Dynasty had never seen them before.

During normal training, they also carried out the exercises secretly with weights, and there were only three opportunities to wear armor per month.

After Ma Biao reported to the new regiment, Zhao Sheng first wanted to understand their basic situation.

“Is the number of people full now?”

"Yes, our regiment is configured to have 3,000 men, and the actual number of combat personnel is 3,000."

Ma Biao sat below Zhao Sheng and answered questions cautiously.

"The new regiment will complete many tasks independently in the future, so the number of personnel can be expanded, and a regiment will need to be equipped with guards, medical guards and other logistics."

"Yes."

"I also said today that the number of personnel will be automatically replenished. Battalion-level units must be equipped with medical guards. You are not in a combat situation now, so these people will be managed uniformly, but the personnel need to be assigned in advance."

As a superior, whatever you say in war is right. The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. When they meet, they smile at each other.

In fact, if the executors were not careful, they would either be defeated and killed by the enemy, or lose the imperial power when they returned to the court.

However, Zhao Sheng still needs to provide them with the necessary military personnel.

"How many war horses does your regiment have?"

"One, one." Ma Biao was probably nervous and spoke incoherently.

It was the first time for him to sit so close to Zhao Sheng. Before, he was just a soldier who had not died in the battle. How could he not be nervous when he was suddenly cared for by his superior?

"The New 1st Regiment will no longer participate in the labor at the two mines. Instead, focus solely on horseback and heavy-loaded marches, following the instructions in this manual."

After Zhao Sheng finished speaking, he took out a manual and handed it to Ma Biao.

Perhaps Zhao Sheng overlooked the need for soldiers to be literate in this dynasty, and looked at Ma Biao, who had a long face and was holding the book upside down.

"Ah..." Zhao Sheng sighed, "I'll hire a teacher for you tomorrow. From now on, you should learn a few characters every day. At least you should recognize your own name and the names of others."

Ma Biao: “…囧!”

One winter, the Cao Gang was in a loss-making state.

Zhao Heng's trick caused the Cao Gang to suffer a lot of losses, but they had no way to stop it.

Tang Ming was born a scholar and later formed the Cao Gang.

Deputy gang leader Zhang Jun seems to be a deputy, but in fact, when it comes to matters on the river, no one will disrespect Zhang Jun as long as he says a word.

"Boss, it seems unwise for you to complete the acquisition of Chuzhou this time!"

Zhang Jun had some opinions about Tang Ming's trip to Chuzhou, and his tone was full of dissatisfaction.

"Brother Zhang Jun, I'm heading south this time to lay out a plan for the imperial court."

After hearing Tang Ming's words, Zhang Jun began to have doubts in his heart. It was Tang Ming's persuasion that allowed him to set up such a large gang, and he was basically the only one in power on the canal.

"Oh? Then let me hear what we can gain from this game, brother?"

Zhang Jun is a smart man. He believes in Tang Ming's wisdom and knows what they want, which is nothing more than an empty title, so he gives him the position of gang leader directly.

Wouldn’t it be nice to do some business privately?

Tang Ming also knew that Zhang Jun trusted him, and he even thought that Zhang Jun had become dependent on him.

"We are currently just profiting from the private boats on the river. If all the royal boats were consolidated and managed by us in the future, wouldn't that be the greatest benefit?"

I have to say that this pie is big enough that even someone like Zhang Jun can't help but be tempted.

"You mean, you have someone above you?"

Zhang Jun pointed to the sky and asked.

"A little bit, not stable enough. The current patriarch Kong Xianren's legitimate son Kong Qingxi has a close relationship with the second prince of the dynasty. The Chuzhou we went to this time is the territory of the fifth prince Zhao Heng."

Tang Ming looked at Zhang Jun with a meaningful look, and only heard Zhang Jun ask: "And then..."

"Then, then..." Tang Ming was a little confused by the question, thinking: Brother, don't you care about the turmoil in the political situation?

"Now the Second Prince is the most likely to become the next monarch. Kong Qingxi meant for us, the Cao Gang, to support him. I thought supporting the Fifth Prince would be the same, but my attitude is that whatever the Fifth Prince can give, I can also give to the Second Prince."

Tang Ming smiled and gave Zhang Jun an affirmative look.

Zhang Jun! ...

After a few days,

Shangjing, Chuigong Hall.

"If anyone wants to speak, please step forward!" the beardless white-faced man shouted in a shrill voice.

After the white-faced man finished speaking, he stepped aside.

Emperor Zhao Hengzhen sat on the dragon throne, looking around, as if someone below wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Does the Ministry of Revenue have something to report?"

Being called out by the emperor, the Minister of Finance Cui Bingzhong had no choice but to step forward and say, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has been empty since the beginning of the year. There is nothing left to spend."

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, transactions were not limited to coins, silver and gold. Silk, salt, iron and grain could also be used as valuable commodities.

When the Ministry of Revenue said this, the emperor looked unhappy!

At this moment, officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites all stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is empty, and it is all Minister Cui's fault. I demand that this matter be dealt with severely."

"I second the proposal."

As soon as he finished speaking, several ministers echoed him.

Cui Bingzhong saw that these court officials, with whom he had a good relationship, some of whom were from big families, so how could they do such a thing?

Before the court meeting today, Right Vice Minister Zheng Xiangyi brought up this matter, provided an emergency solution, and stated that this was the Second Prince's intention.

They are all foxes lurking in the court. Cui Bingzhong will not give this favor to the Zheng family. He plans to find the second prince after today and express his loyalty.

But what he didn't expect was that if he didn't come up with any ideas, so many people would impeach him and force him to join the conspiracy.

"Your Majesty, I received a letter today from the Confucian scholar Kong Xianren, recommending his disciple Tang Ming from Wu. He said he owns over 10,000 grain ships and could serve as the grain transport envoy. This is the letter you submitted."

Cui Bingzhong hurriedly took out the memorial from Zheng Xiangyi and handed it to the guard beside him.

Zhao Hengzhen opened the letter and saw Kong Xianren's private seal on it. He then quickly skipped over the nonsense at the beginning and finally saw it at the end.

"...I recommend Tang Ming, the scholar from Wu. He single-handedly persuaded the grain transport industry to mobilize 18,000 ships. He can establish a grain transport commissioner and increase tax revenue for the Great Zhou!"

Seeing this, the emperor understood that someone was giving him money for free just to get an official position.

But he was not in a hurry to answer this matter. The Grain Transport Commissioner was just an additional agency under the Ministry of Revenue, similar to the Salt Transport Inspectorate, but not limited to salt transport. This would make the entire grain transport industry profitable.

At the same time, the entire canal transportation was handed over to a department, which needed to consider the pros and cons. If someone wants to eat the meat in your hand, they will definitely give you bait.

The emperor knew that the bait was tax, but what was the meat?

……