Long Street Consultation

The side gate Eunuch Hai had ordered left open swung wide. Under the watchful eyes of several thousand Imperial Guards, Lin Qi and Hu Xinzhu slowly left the imperial city.

A sliver of fish-belly white appeared in the eastern sky. Dawn was near. Lin Qi stood brazenly before the imperial city and vigorously stretched his chest several times, every joint in his body crackling sharply.

Hu Xinzhu shot Lin Qi a sidelong glance, his eyes red with envy. "The freshly minted Eastern Harmony King! Three second-rank provinces! Tsk, tsk, that's a territory even larger than an imperial nation on the Western Continent, with nearly eight hundred million subjects altogether. Can you swallow all that by yourself?"

Lin Qi slapped Hu Xinzhu hard on the shoulder, nearly knocking him flat. With his hands behind his back, he strolled leisurely down the broad avenue before the southern gate of the imperial city, an avenue a mile wide. "I don't have such a big appetite. I'm entrusting all three provinces to you for management. Give me fifty percent of the annual tax revenue—all of it is to be used to raise troops!"

Hu Xinzhu trembled with excitement, his eyes practically spitting fire as he stared at Lin Qi. "All of it used to raise troops? Fifty percent of the annual tax revenue from three second-rank provinces, all used to raise troops? Ha! What kind of army do you want? Light cavalry? Heavy cavalry? Magic cavalry? Or shall I form a flying cavalry force mounted entirely on flying magical birds?"

Grabbing Lin Qi, Hu Xinzhu danced with excitement and laughed. "Tell me, tell me! What kind of army do you want?"

Lin Qi pondered for a while, then slowly raised one finger. "How many troops do you think it would take to crush the