Returning to the Black Prison

Though Xu Yuan had said it as a joke, there was actually a measure of sincerity in it.

Although he had not left the house these days, his need for silver had not diminished in the slightest. His showdown with his father on New Year's Eve had directly put the matter of laying out plans in the Sword Sect on the agenda.

This matter would cost a great deal of money.

And that was not all. His plan to use Li Yunqing to make arrangements in the Eastern Isles would also require money and provisions.

Back when he had served as Li Qingyan's personal guard at the Northern Border, Xu Yuan had personally seen the Beifeng Army's logistics accounts.

In peacetime, an elite battalion of five thousand men required roughly three to four hundred thousand taels of silver per month just for military pay and spirit food. During wartime, with military merit bonuses, the depletion of Spirit Blades and war equipment, and all the miscellaneous expenses added together, it would cost no less than seven hundred thousand taels to start with.

Due to the unique environment of the Dead Silence Underground Palace, Little White's underground remnants resembled a religious army made up of fanatics more than Great Yan's regular forces. As long as they were fed, a token amount of military pay would suffice. But the problem was that this army currently had only personnel and no equipment. Armor, Spirit Blades, and all manner of military gear would require silver to forge anew.

Xu Yuan had considered asking his father to handle it. At a time when great chaos was about to rise, a batch of troops capable of fighting had appeared out of thin air—there was no reason for the other man to refuse. But the problem was that