Zhi Shisi Li couldn't understand why his eldest grandson would leave the perfectly good city of Xiazhou and instead bring all his soldiers to this desolate wilderness.

"Eldest grandson, our camp is too shabby. If you don't like it, you can go back to Xiazhou City. I will lead the men to guard this place!"

Li Jue shook his head helplessly upon hearing this.

"General Zhishi Sili, we've been together for so long, do you still think I'm just here to coast along?"

Upon hearing this, Zhi Shi Sili quickly denied it.

"No, no, no!"

"This humble general has long recognized that the eldest grandson is exceptionally brave and invincible, far surpassing ordinary nobles. However, Wild Wolf Ridge is quite desolate, and there are strong winds at night. This humble general fears that Your Highness may not be comfortable staying here?"

Li Jue sat on the haystack indifferently and said.

"What's there to be uncomfortable about? I spent half a year in the Western Turkic Khaganate back in the day!"

"This place is infinitely better than the Western Turkic Khaganate!"

"this……"

Upon hearing Li Jue's words, Zhi Shisi stopped trying to persuade him. However, he still couldn't understand why his eldest grandson would move the army out of the city.

"Eldest grandson, may I ask a question?"

"You want to ask me why I brought in the army, right?"

"yes!"

Li Jue pointed to the surrounding mountain paths.

"General Zhishi Sili, don't you think this place is more suitable as a defensive stronghold?"

"here?"

Zhi Shisi looked around, somewhat puzzled.

"Your Highness, Xiazhou City is a strategically important military location, so it should be easier to defend, right?"

Li Jue smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Xiazhou City is good, but it is no longer suitable as a place for defense."

After a moment's thought, Zhi Shi Sili suddenly realized what was going on and said.

"You mean merchants?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue sighed inwardly.

"yes!"

"If Xiazhou City is to develop, it will inevitably have to sacrifice some things."

"Defense is what Xiazhou City needs to give up!"

"this……"

Zhi Shi Sili was even more confused upon hearing this, since Xiazhou City's current development was entirely due to the eldest grandson's efforts.

If the eldest grandson does not want Xiazhou City to change, he can simply follow the old rules. Why must he change them?

"If I lose my will to think, are you going to ask me again why I did this?"

Upon hearing this, Zhi Shi Si Li awkwardly scratched his head, looking quite embarrassed.

Li Jue casually crossed his legs, lay on the haystack, and squinted his eyes contentedly.

"Actually, it's for no particular reason. I just want the soldiers in Xiazhou City to earn more money so that there's a few more pounds of meat in their meals..."

"this……"

Zhi Shisi was stunned when he heard this, then his eyes filled with tears, his heart and mind filled with emotion.

He never expected that someone as noble as the eldest grandson would care about the food of ordinary soldiers...

"The eldest grandson, you..."

"Now I finally understand why the 20,000 soldiers of Xiazhou City were willing to die for you..."

"It's a blessing for these kids to have a leader like you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue quickly corrected him.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"You are the commander of Xiazhou City, and I am just a lowly soldier who came to serve under you to atone for my crimes!"

Zhi Shi Si Li curled his lip in disdain upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "Whose soldier has brought more than a thousand personal guards?"

Furthermore, His Majesty sends you three letters a day to inquire about your whereabouts, practically saying he wants to pass the throne to you, and you still dare to call yourself a lowly soldier!

"General Zhishi Sili, the commercial tax revenue from Xiazhou City this month is expected to reach 50,000 strings of cash. Could you have some weapons and armor made so that our soldiers can be given new uniforms?"

Zhi Shi Sili was delighted to hear this.

"That's easy!"

"But armor has always been under the control of the imperial court, and our border troops can't manufacture it on their own, can they?"

Li Jue rolled his eyes dramatically upon hearing this.

"General Zhishi, I beg you, please use your brain!"

"ah?"

Upon hearing this, Zhi Shi Si Li was not angry at all; instead, his eyes were filled with surprise.

"Eldest grandson, do you perhaps have a solution?"

Li Jue replied irritably upon hearing this.

"That's easy!"

"Our border troops certainly don't have the right to manufacture armor on their own, but we do have the right to repair it!"

"You tell the bigwigs in the court that you only want the tattered armor, the more tattered the better, and then we can repair it ourselves!"

"this……"

Upon hearing this, Zhi Shi Si Li's eyes lit up, and he immediately offered his own interpretation.

"This subordinate understands!"

"Normally we can only request two thousand sets of armor per year. If we only request damaged ones, the Ministry of War can probably allocate six thousand sets to us. If we spend some money to bribe them... no, no, no, we'll ask them to make an exception, and six thousand sets can become ten thousand sets!"

"We already have 10,000 men in our army. If we add another 10,000, wouldn't everyone be able to wear armor?"

Li Jue smiled slightly upon hearing this, thinking to himself that Zhi Shi Sili had finally come to his senses.

In fact, that was exactly what Li Jue intended to do.

Because the Tang Dynasty had very strict regulations on armor, but not so strict on damaged armor.

Generally speaking, border troops in various regions only prefer brand-new armor; who would want tattered armor?

But the imperial court only produces tens of thousands of new suits of armor each year. If you want some and I want some, then when it's divided up, no one will have enough to eat.

Perhaps this is the effect the court wanted, and they didn't want the border troops to escape their control?

But for Li Jue at this moment, he needs to quickly improve the combat effectiveness of the Xia Prefecture army. Only by enhancing their combat strength can they help him establish unparalleled achievements!

Do you have connections in the Ministry of War?

“If you don’t have any connections, I can write to the Duke of Wei and the Duke of E and ask them to help me think of a solution.”

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