How I Pampered the Tyrant Into Devotion With My Space

Chapter 375: Establishing Benefits

Right now, the Gulan Military Camp has been without military pay due to unresolved issues with military funding.

However, the military pay that Tang Zan requested in his previous reports has finally seen some progress.

When General Zhao was on duty, he had repeatedly petitioned for military pay, but it yielded no results.

When it came to Tang Zan, he also petitioned, but unlike General Zhao, he had allies in the imperial court.

Seeing that the state was not disbursing military pay, and yet still extravagantly spending on construction for Consort Yao in the rear palace, excessive to the point of being absurd.

Thus, someone had already petitioned to cut down expenditures in the rear palace.

At this moment, the Third Prince’s mother, Consort Yao, had already limited her expenses and took the initiative to advise the Emperor.

She gained a great deal of favor, and the Emperor considered this Consort Yao to be very sensible, so the construction of the pavilion was halted, and the other women in the rear palace also began to imitate the Imperial Concubine’s frugality.

This time, the Emperor couldn’t keep holding back the funds.

A fortnight ago, the Gulan Military Camp finally received the first batch of military pay in years, along with some provisions.

When faced with the grand sight of the Dayan Soldiers delivering provisions, the soldiers in Gulan Military Camp were stunned.

They could hardly believe their eyes, convinced they must have been hallucinating.

Tang Zan, however, efficiently stored the food in the cellar and the silver in the warehouse.

The military pay also began to be distributed monthly to everyone, starting with giving everyone a little money in their hands, and the previous arrears would be settled once the Emperor released more funds.

But when the Emperor issued the military pay, he also ordered the Gulan Military Camp to continue subduing the Dazi, demanding results as soon as possible.

This statement left everyone at the Gulan Military Camp silent. The funds only covered three months of pay and half a month’s provisions, yet there was talk of pacifying the Dazi within a year.

Tang Zan wasn’t anxious, results could be achieved; as long as there was no military pay, they’d attack the Dazi and then claim credit from the Emperor, hoping that more money would follow.

And the benefits for the army that Tang Zan was drafting now were based on the premise of having this funding.

He had already learned from spies buried among the Dazi that Tang Peizhong had been captured by the Dazi.

What he needed now was to strengthen his own forces so that he wouldn’t be subjected to the Emperor’s control.

Once this matter was exposed, even the Emperor couldn’t do anything about it.

Back then, the reason his father was captured was that the Dog Emperor had lured him to the Capital, bestowed upon him the title of War King, and then gradually stripped him of his military power.

Otherwise, even if his father had no intention of rebellion, the Dog Emperor wouldn’t dare lay a finger on him.

Pei Shu’er lightly tapped the blank space on the paper with her finger.

"I think we could add items for reemploying injured soldiers and tax reduction clauses."

She drew her conclusions from other dynasties’ practices.

This was the first time Tang Zan was writing about welfare, and he discussed it with Pei Shu’er as he wrote.

Pei Shu’er’s head rested on his shoulder, speaking with a lazy yet sparklingly adorable demeanor.

Her speech was soft and gentle, and in their conversation, they perfected some of the clauses.

While Pei Shu’er admired Tang Zan’s wisdom, Tang Zan was also amazed by Pei Shu’er’s intelligence.

He put down his pen and pulled Pei Shu’er onto his lap, a faint smile on his lips.

"Even your parents would be astonished by your wit upon seeing you. There’s not a trace of that once arrogant legitimate daughter of the Minister’s Mansion."

Pei Shu’er’s smile dimmed a bit, and she said, "You can discuss these clauses with the generals, and once it’s all set, they can be included during recruitment."

Tang Zan nodded and then took Pei Shu’er to eat.

As Pei Shu’er passed by the kitchen, she looked at Liu Dafeng and noticed that even with a bruised face, her hands and feet were extraordinarily nimble, much more capable than other women.

Tang Zan asked, "What are you looking at?"

Pei Shu’er shook her head.

Tang Zan said, "Tonight, I’ll take you to the Drunken Immortal Tower in the city for dinner."

Pei Shu’er felt it was like modern couples who grew tired of homemade food and decided to eat out for a change.

She laughed with crescent-shaped eyes.

"Sure, I’ve always wanted to taste what ancient tavern food is like."

The dishes at Drunken Immortal Tower were actually pretty good, but the menu was limited and the flavors somewhat bland.

This was due to the limitations of ancient seasonings and cooking methods.

Tang Zan coldly remarked, "Not as good as the meals prepared by the cooks from the Deserted Mountain."

After all, those cooks were trained by Pei Shu’er herself, with full command of cooking techniques and seasonings.

A great teacher produces outstanding disciples. Even though they weren’t as skilled as Pei Shu’er, their dishes tasted several times better than those at the Drunken Immortal Tower.

Pei Shu’er laughed and said, "After you’re done meeting with the County Magistrate and village chief and I’ve balanced the books at Pei’s, we can buy some New Year’s goods tomorrow morning. Let’s go to the Deserted Mountain and have a proper meal there."

Tang Zan looked at her with a slight hint of dissatisfaction.

Pei Shu’er thought about it and added with a smile.

"I’ll cook myself."

Tang Zan’s lips curved up as he leaned close to Pei Shu’er’s ear, the warmth of his breath caressing her earlobe.

"I’ll be your assistant."

Pei Shu’er smiled with crescent eyes, raised her eyebrow at Tang Zan.

"Won’t that be too much labor for General Tang?"

Tang Zan leaned closer to Pei Shu’er, his magnetic voice booming in her ear.

"As long as you fill me up, that’s enough."

Pei Shu’er sensed a certain eagerness, her scalp tingled, and she jumped back hastily, opening the private room door and running toward Pei’s.

"I need to balance the books now."

In fact, there wasn’t much need to audit Pei’s books, because both Yinxing and Honghua were very reliable and kept meticulous records of every transaction.

Their accounts were recorded separately and secretly from each other.

During her absence, which lasted over two months, they earned 1700 taels of silver in total.

When Yinxing brought up the box locked full of silver coins, it was a large, overflowing chest of silver.

There were denominations of ten, twenty, fifty, and a hundred taels, as well as some small silver pieces and lots of copper coins.

Pei Shu’er was momentarily stunned upon seeing such a substantial sum of money.

This was the most money she had made since she began her business ventures.

But it made sense, considering the revenue from beauty soap, regular soap, and various pastries were all included in this sum.

Sometimes, there were people from other regions coming to purchase, which contributed to the large amount.

However, if this over a thousand taels of silver were invested in Tang Zan’s military camp, it would be like a drop in the ocean.

So she felt that continuing to supply materials would be enough.

After all, the black soil in her spatial realm seemed to be improving with more planting, with richer soil and better crops.

Hence, Pei Shu’er wasn’t afraid of the nutrients in her black soil running out.