The wicked man stood up, stretched deeply, and tightened his robes.

He looked at the horizon under the setting sun, a mix of excitement and exhaustion welling up inside him—this was only the beginning. The thought of the boundless prospects of trade between the Great Qin and the surrounding regions, and of the wealth flowing into Xianyang like a river, stirred up a surge of heroic ambition within him.

"Yes, I'll go and inform Wu Shilu right away!" Zhang Erhe nodded, then asked, "Does the Grand Commandant need to rest? What should be done with these valuables... perhaps we can leave them in the mansion for now?"

The wicked man waved his hand: "I'll go to the palace and present the deposits and registration data received today to His Majesty for review, so that old fellow Meng Can won't accuse me of embezzling funds."

At this point, he snorted coldly, "That old Bi Deng, he has no skill in making money, but when it comes to collecting money... no one can compare."

Zhang Erhe grinned, "Then the Grand Commandant should hurry up and go, or the Minister of Agriculture will probably come knocking on our door demanding money soon."

"Alright." The wicked husband nodded, then stood up. "Someone, quickly move the money and valuables in the courtyard onto the carriage and come with me to the palace."

As soon as the wicked husband finished speaking, the guards and servants in the side hall immediately sprang into action, carrying gold, silver, jewels, and bundles of wealth in groups of three or five, and moving them to the carriages outside the mansion.

While directing his men, Zhang Erhe also kept an eye out for unscrupulous individuals who might take advantage of the chaos to steal. Although everyone in the manor was currently his own family, the wealth was piling up like mountains, so he still had to be extremely cautious.

"Grand Commandant, the amount this time is even more than we expected. Are we really going to move it all to the palace?" Zhang Erhe looked at the boxes of gold and silver, his eyes shining, but he also had some worries.

"Take them all." The wicked husband didn't even turn his head, his tone indifferent. "We don't have any major expenses in our household, so keeping them will only take up space."

A hint of heartache and reluctance flashed in Zhang Erhe's eyes. He gritted his teeth and nodded heavily, "Yes, Grand Commandant."

Before long, the sounds of carriage wheels and the neighing of livestock could be heard, announcing that the enormous treasure had been loaded.

Zhang Erhe leaned forward and whispered, "Grand Commandant, all fifteen carriages are already full. If we load any more, we're afraid we'll damage the axles. Should we leave the remaining goods at the manor for now?"

"Don't leave any behind. Quickly go and mobilize the carriages." The wicked man thought for a moment and then simply waved his hand and said, "If all else fails, we'll just bring in the Xianyang garrison to transport them."

"Yes, Grand Commandant." Zhang Erhe bowed in agreement and turned to leave.

After waiting for about an hour, it was finally possible to sort out the mountain of wealth.

The wicked man strode out of the side hall, facing the sunset-lit sky, and strode across the main courtyard of the mansion. Upon reaching the gate, he saw a carriage already prepared to depart in the distance, surrounded by soldiers holding sharp blades, vigilantly patrolling the surroundings.

Behind them were several hundred soldiers from the Xianyang garrison, carrying large wooden boxes in pairs, all watching the wicked husband intently.

"Let's go, let's set off!"

Arrived at Xianyang Street.

The sun was gradually setting in the west, and the hustle and bustle of the day still lingered in the streets.

At this moment, the pedestrians saw the Grand Commandant's large entourage of carriages roar past, and they all stopped and stared in curiosity, wondering what earth-shattering event the Grand Commandant had accomplished with such a grand procession.

The wicked man gazed into the distance from his horse and saw a bustling scene in the city: vendors on both sides were busy packing up their stalls, the aroma of food wafted from teahouses and taverns, children played and laughed in the streets and alleys, and elegantly dressed ladies chatted in hushed tones.

“Living in peace and prosperity is only the beginning,” he thought to himself. “If the Great Qin can truly expand trade with all directions, the people’s lives will become more and more prosperous. As more funds flow in, many things that benefit the people can be put on the agenda.”

As I pondered, the palace gate was now almost within reach. Black tiles and red walls, majestic and solemn, with golden tassels hanging from the tall gate tower swaying gently in the evening breeze.

The guards at the gate were a little flustered when they saw the huge group, but once they realized that the person at the front was the wicked man, they immediately relaxed and opened the gate to let them through.

Inside the palace gates, on the imperial road.

As soon as the carriage entered, a palace attendant stepped forward and respectfully said, "Grand Commandant, His Majesty is in the main hall. These carriages...would you like to stop them in the square in front of Zhangtai Palace?"

The wicked man nodded, turned around and called out, "I'll go see the King first; you all follow the palace attendants."

"We obey!"

The wicked man dismounted, handed the reins to his attendant, and strode quickly through the winding corridors, finally arriving at the gate of Zhangtai Palace.

At this moment, Ying Zheng and Meng Can stood at the palace gate, seemingly to welcome the wicked husband, but in reality, their eyes kept glancing at the carriage full of wealth behind him.

"Grand Commandant, you've finally arrived!" Meng Can exclaimed first, half-jokingly adding, "I thought you wouldn't arrive until midnight, after all, counting so much gold and silver, with that bunch of half-baked people in your household..."

The wicked husband glanced at him and replied nonchalantly, "Knowing that everyone in my household is a half-baked expert, why don't you go and take stock yourself? You're just being a know-it-all!"

Meng Can's eyes flickered slightly, and he revealed a fawning smile, "Without the Grand Commandant's order, how dare I go directly to his door?"

This old guy's gotten too cocky lately; he wants the money but doesn't want to do the work. If it were before, he would have already gone to their door to help with the inventory.

Ying Zheng's gaze swept over the entourage and boxes behind the wicked husband, and he asked eagerly, "Grand Commandant, how was the harvest today?"

The wicked man respectfully bowed and said, "It's too much. I even borrowed carriages from Wang Jian and other neighbors, but it still wasn't enough. I had no choice but to transfer the Xianyang garrison troops to help with the transport."

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped.

Dozens of carriages weren't enough; hundreds of soldiers were needed to help move them. Just how much money did they swindle?

Are these barbarians... really that wealthy?

"Hahaha...We're rich! We're rich again..." Meng Can's suppressed excitement roared, "We have the money to build dikes and manage the river."

"It seems that even the construction of the imperial highway can be put on the agenda..."

"Oh, and the Great Wall construction project that His Majesty proposed a few days ago also has enough funds to support it..."

Meng Can muttered to himself, but his wicked husband clearly caught a few words in his speech and immediately raised an eyebrow, "The Great Wall?"

Ying Zheng nodded and explained, "That's right. I plan to build the Great Wall to prevent the barbarians from harassing the border people... This will ensure that they cannot enter Qin territory and wreak havoc."

"What's the point of building the Great Wall? Even if you have money, you can't spend it like this!" The wicked husband was immediately displeased and directly refuted Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng was somewhat bewildered. He had never seen his wicked husband refute a project that would benefit the people. The construction of the Great Wall was a good thing that would benefit all generations, so why did it provoke such a reaction from him?

"Big brother!!"

The wicked man sighed, "I'm not letting you spend that money on the barbarians. What are those mere barbarians? They're not worth spending huge sums of money and manpower on."

"Remember... the best defense is offense!"