No money, no food? Sorry, this king is the treasury himself!

The steel torrent, rolling with wind and snow, vanished at the end of the horizon.

Yet, the unified, earth-shattering roar seemed to still echo in everyone's ears, pounding against their hearts.

Zhu Gaochi stared blankly to the north for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

The breath was so long and deep that it seemed to dispel much of the pent-up frustration in his chest.

He turned his head, looking at the equally stunned Minister of Revenue, Xia Yuanji, and the Minister of War, Fang Bin.

"You both saw it?"

Zhu Gaochi's voice regained some of the Regent Crown Prince's authority.

"Saw... saw it..."

Xia Yuanji swallowed hard. He was in charge of the money bag, and at a glance, he could tell how "money-burning" that army was.

With such equipment, let alone three thousand men, even three hundred could completely empty his Ministry of Revenue's meager coffers.

Fang Bin's face was even paler than dirt, and he couldn't utter a word.

He now understood how ridiculous and ignorant it was for him to have been clamoring about relocating south in front of Prince Zheng earlier.

The other party held such a trump card, and he had thought they only had a pair of threes.

This wasn't about acting on impulse anymore; it was dancing on the edge of the gates of hell!

"Since you've seen it, then all of you, pull yourselves together for me!"

Zhu Gaochi slapped the side of the carriage. "Second Son has already led the troops out to war. We elders can't be a burden behind him! Xia Yuanji!"

"Your... Your servant is here!"

Xia Yuanji jolted and quickly bowed in response.

"The Ministry of Revenue is to immediately inventory all grain, military supplies, and medicine! Give whatever money is needed, provide whatever grain is needed! Spare no expense to ensure the logistics for Prince Zheng's army! If there is even the slightest mishap, I will hold you accountable!"

Zhu Gaochi said sternly.

This was the most resolute statement he had made since becoming Regent.

Because, in his heart, he finally had something to rely on.

However, Xia Yuanji's face instantly crumpled, looking worse than if he were crying.

He fell to his knees in the snow with a thud and said, his voice cracking, "Your Highness, please forgive this humble servant's incompetence! It's not that I'm not trying my best, but... the Treasury... it's... it's already empty!"

"What?"

Zhu Gaochi frowned.

"Your Highness, have you forgotten?"

Xia Yuanji said with a mournful face, "The Emperor's five northern campaigns have nearly emptied all the savings accumulated from the Hongwu and Jianwen eras. To raise funds for this northern expedition, I even prepaid next year's summer tax! Now, besides money, even a mouse entering the Treasury would have to leave with tears in its eyes! Three thousand men in full horse and rider armor... the daily consumption of men and horses is an astronomical figure! Not to mention the wear and tear of military equipment, and the replenishment of medical supplies... this servant, this servant truly cannot conjure it out!"

The more Xia Yuanji spoke, the more wronged he felt. As the Minister of Revenue of the Great Ming, he was being driven to the brink of hanging himself by a lack of funds.

Zhu Gaochi's expression also darkened.

He knew Xia Yuanji wasn't lying; the financial situation of the Great Ming Dynasty was indeed on the verge of collapse.

The hope that had just ignited was doused by a bucket of cold water.

"No money... how can we fight a war without money..."

Zhu Gaochi muttered to himself, his previously straightened back seeming to curve down again.

"Who said there's no money?"

A lazy voice suddenly came from not far away.

Everyone turned back in astonishment. They saw Zhu Zhanjun, who should have already led his army away, had somehow ridden back on his horse.

He was followed by two personal guards, each carrying a heavy wooden chest on their horse.

"Second Son? Why are you back?"

Zhu Gaochi was both surprised and delighted.

"Forgot something."

Zhu Zhanjun dismounted and walked up to Xia Yuanji, saying with a grin, "Minister Xia, I heard you're out of money?"

Xia Yuanji's old face flushed, and he said stubbornly, "Your Highness, it's not that this servant is out of money, it's that the Treasury is out of money! To serve the country, this servant would die without regret, but it's impossible to cook without rice, even for an immortal!"

"Alright, alright, I know you, Old Scrooge Xia, are the world's number one financial expert."

Zhu Zhanjun waved his hand impatiently, then kicked one of the wooden chests on the horse behind him.

"Clang!"

The chest fell open, and a blinding golden light instantly burst forth, making everyone unable to open their eyes.

The entire chest was filled with neatly stacked gold ingots!

In the dim, snowy weather, the golden radiance was even more dazzling than the sun!

"Gulp."

Xia Yuanji's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes wide as bronze bells, fixed on the chest of gold, his mouth agape enough to swallow a fist.

He had managed the nation's finances his entire life, seen countless amounts of gold and silver, but had never witnessed such purity, such a breathtaking sight.

This was not the end.

Zhu Zhanjun walked to another horse and kicked over the second chest.

"Clatter—"

This time, it wasn't gold ingots, but countless silver notes!

They were the latest Baoyuan Bureau Official Notes, each one a large denomination of one thousand taels, stacked in thick wads, piled in the snow, rustling loudly in the cold wind.

"This..."

Xia Yuanji was completely stunned.

He reached out a trembling hand, picked up a silver note, and examined it back and forth, even bringing it to his nose to smell the familiar scent of ink.

They were real!

All real!

"Here, fifty thousand taels of gold, and three million taels in silver notes."