Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

For several days, Xia Mingyuan stayed in the princess's mansion and did not move at all.

Every day, apart from practicing martial arts with Zhao Hongying, he would hide in the study and concentrate on drawing blueprints, not allowing anyone to disturb him.

At present, he has more than 5,000 infantrymen and more than 2,000 cavalrymen.

This power is enough for him to crush all the bandits in Hanyang.

As long as he wanted, he could send troops at any time and wipe out the Poison Dragon Gang in one fell swoop.

However, the increase in population means that food consumption has also become a terrifying number.

Even though Sun Yaozu was currently supporting two thousand soldiers for him, the food reserves he had were only enough to sustain these cavalry and other infantry for three months.

After a month, if the army does not receive food replenishment, the soldiers will be at risk of starvation.

The more than 20,000 acres of land in Xujiazhuang and other villages can indeed provide a lot of food, but the seeds have just been planted not long ago. If we want a good harvest, we have to wait until next autumn. For the time being, I am afraid that distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

"call……"

After working at the desk for more than an hour, Xia Mingyuan finally put down his pen and stretched.

As soon as he walked out of the study, he saw Li Chun waiting for him in the yard.

Seeing Xia Mingyuan coming out, Li Chun hurriedly took two steps at a time and stepped forward to greet him.

"Commander-in-Chief, we just received news that the imperial envoy sent by the court has arrived in Hanyang and will be able to enter the city this afternoon."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Xia Mingyuan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and frowned slightly, "Does the imperial envoy always come so early in previous years?"

Li Chun shook his head and said in a deep voice, "In the past, the earliest they could inspect Hanyang would be by the end of next month. This year, I don't know what happened. According to my subordinates, the imperial envoy's team didn't even stop in the provincial capital, but went straight to Hanyang."

"I feel this matter is suspicious, so I will inform the commander immediately. Perhaps this imperial envoy is coming for you, so we should prepare early."

"Okay, I understand." Xia Mingyuan nodded and glanced at Li Chun. "So, how's the progress on setting up an intelligence organization for you?"

"From the looks of it, you seem to be well-informed. You can even find out the whereabouts of the imperial envoy's guards."

Li Chun smiled and said, "You are too kind, Commander-in-Chief. Wherever these imperial envoys go, local officials greet them with great ceremony. Their whereabouts are not a secret at all."

"Recently, I've used the money you gave me to open restaurants in Hanyang and nearby areas, and have placed the soldiers you gave me there."

"Now, no matter what news comes from anywhere, these people will report it to me immediately. You can stay in Hanyang and know what's happening in the entire southwest."

Hearing this, Xia Mingyuan nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, using the restaurant as a cover-up is a feasible idea. Keep going. If you're short of money or manpower, you can go to Kunlun Security and find Lu Xiucai. He will approve the funds for you."

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!"

Li Chun looked excited and bowed quickly.

Xia Mingyuan waved his hand, signaling him to leave, and turned to look at Zhao Hongying.

"How much practice do I have left today?"

Zhao Hongying said calmly, "I've been standing still for a quarter of an hour this morning, and I'll have to swing my sword at least two hundred times today."

"That's easy. You can practice with me in advance today, and then go out with me in the evening. Let's do some things."

Xia Mingyuan stretched his muscles, picked up the rusty steel knife from the corner, and sweated profusely in the yard.

……

Hanyang City.

County government.

Sun Yaozu looked at the imperial envoy Geng Ruhuai in front of him with a bit of panic in his expression.

"Sir Geng, I was unaware of your sudden arrival in Hanyang and failed to greet you outside the city. This is extremely rude. Please don't blame me.

"County Magistrate Sun, this isn't my first time in Hanyang. You don't have to be so reserved."

Geng Ruhuai picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "I have been ordered by His Majesty to visit the southwestern counties to inspect their administration. Wherever I have been, I have seen peace and prosperity."

"Now that I'm hiding my whereabouts, it's naturally to better investigate the administration of officials."

"Otherwise, the officials along the way will all be putting on a show to fool me, and in the end, the people will suffer, and Your Majesty will be unaware of it. That would be a failure of oversight on my part as the Imperial Envoy."

"Am I right, Master Sun?"

Having said this, Geng Ruhuai raised his head with a smile and gently put down the teacup in his hand.

Sun Yaozu's face turned pale and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He forced a smile and said timidly, "Your Excellency is right. You are so dedicated to your duties. It is truly a blessing for the world and the people that His Majesty has such eyes and ears as you."

As he spoke, he calmly took out a thick stack of silver bills from his arms and handed it to Geng Ruhuai.

"I don't know, Lord Geng, do you think Hanyang can pass this civil service examination?"

Geng Ruhuai weighed the thickness of the banknote and immediately smiled.

"Old Sun, there's no need for us to use these probing words anymore. If we keep saying these things, it'll just create a rift between us brothers."

Hearing this, Sun Yaozu breathed a sigh of relief and stroked his pounding chest. "Oh, my Lord Geng, you're really frightening my old bones."

"He suddenly came into the city in disguise. I thought the court was going to take real action this time."

Geng Ruhuai smiled, calmly put the banknote into his arms, and said calmly: "Old Sun, if I were to say, you deserve to be scared like this."

"I've traveled a lot, but I've never seen a place with such a serious bandit problem. Could it be that Hanyang is really a den of bandits? Why are there more and more bandits?"

Sun Yaozu gave a bitter laugh and nodded quickly, saying, "Sir, our Hanyang is a place with poor mountains and bad waters, and there are always some people who want to become bandits and rule the mountains. I have been suppressing them over the years. Last year we even…"

Before Sun Yaozu could finish his words, Geng Ruhuai interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "Alright, stop saying that."

"Let's stick to the old rules. I'll cover up for you this time, but don't let anyone gossip about it. No matter what, we have to wipe out this gang."

Sun Yaozu nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, sir. I've already sent people to do it. Before you leave, I will have them destroy the Cold Blade Village and appease those peasants to make them happy."

"As for the proceeds from the suppression of the bandits, they will definitely be submitted to the imperial court through your hands!"

"Ah...that's right."

Geng Ruhuai grinned, "If all the officials in this world were as sensible as you, Old Sun, we would save so much trouble."