Chapter 116: Letter from the North

On the tenth day, Jiang Yuyan received a secret letter in Arabic numerals from the northern border.

She compared them one by one with the Thousand Character Classic.

Only then did they realize that the granaries in Yanbei were running out of food, and that the food and fodder in nearby Youzhou and Xuzhou were in short supply, so that now more than 200,000 soldiers in the northern border were fighting on an empty stomach and suffering repeated defeats.

Jiang Ming'an sent several urgent letters to the capital, requesting the court to support food and fodder, but there was no response. He had no choice but to write a secret letter to Jiang Yuyan to convey his message to the emperor.

Jiang Yuyan consulted with Qin Shangyu. Qin Shangyu speculated that the letter from the post station must have been intercepted by someone with ulterior motives. If it was an external enemy, it might be to stir up trouble and profit from it. If it was an internal thief, it might be aimed at the General's Mansion. These people are so ambitious that they dare to use the national military intelligence to make a fuss!

If Jiang Yuyan hadn't secretly given Jiang Mingan the channel to communicate with Li Hentian, the capital would have been kept in the dark!

Jiang Yuyan did not want to expose this method of sending messages, so she ordered Cang Shisan, who was good at tracing handwriting in the Youyun Guard, to rewrite it, and then went into the palace to find Emperor Sheng Yuan.

Emperor Sheng Yuan was furious. The two military intelligence reports he had received before were both reports of victory, which showed that someone had replaced one with another. It was not known whether these people below were unaware of it or were involved in it. It was simply despicable!

Emperor Sheng Yuan didn't know whose interests were involved, but he would not tolerate anyone who dared to touch Dayue's foundation!

He immediately ordered the Minister of War to come for a confrontation.

Li Xian was so frightened that his soul flew away and his face turned pale. He fell to his knees and cried, "Your Majesty! It must be a mistake made by the people below. I will strictly investigate the officials on duty at the post stations in various places..."

Emperor Sheng Yuan threw the military information presented by Jiang Yuyan at his head and said with suppressed anger: "The military situation is urgent. My soldiers in the northern border fought bloody battles for Dayue, but now they are hungry and cold... The princess's family letters were received, but I was kept in the dark. My dear minister, what on earth did you say went wrong?"

Li Xian was so frightened that he dared not raise his head, with cold sweat running down his temples. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I... I know my crime... I know my crime... I will definitely find out the truth of this matter and severely punish the officials who committed the crime..."

This old man was quick to shirk responsibility. Emperor Sheng Yuan shouted angrily, "Of course you are guilty! As the Minister of War, you can't even handle such a small matter. You should step down and let someone more capable do it! Come on, I will punish Lord Li with thirty strokes of the cane and remove him from his position as Minister of War."

Lord Li was taken away and kept asking Your Majesty to forgive him.

Emperor Sheng Yuan frowned and said angrily: "Take that old man away!"

Eunuch Li quickly served tea to Emperor Sheng Yuan, "Your Majesty, calm down. It's not worth it to get yourself hurt by anger. Thanks to the princess..."

Emperor Sheng Yuan's eyebrows relaxed, and he looked at Jiang Yuyan who had been standing aside for a long time without saying a word, "The princess has a good method..."

How this family letter that slipped through the net got into Beijing is not as simple as it sounds...

Jiang Yuyan's heart tightened, and she said modestly: "It's just the help of my friends in the martial arts world."

After the Minister of War resigned, Emperor Sheng Yuan immediately summoned the Vice Minister of War Cen Feng.

"Is there any solution to the problem of food and fodder?"

Cen Feng said, "Your Majesty, the 200,000-strong army needs at least 2,500 dan of grain and fodder every day, which means 75,000 dan a month. The north is very cold, and the harvests in Yanbei, Youzhou, and Xuzhou were not good last year. It is only a matter of time before the grain and fodder run out.

However, last year, Huzhou was hit by a flood, and some counties had no harvest. Only the granary in Jizhou could support them for more than ten days, which was far from enough. If we transfer more from far away, I am afraid that only one or two out of ten will be gone before it reaches Yanbei..."

Emperor Sheng Yuan felt a headache again. "According to what you said, there is no way to solve the food and grass problem?"

Cen Feng is an honest man. "Your Majesty, this battle must be fought and resolved quickly."

Jiang Yuyan lowered her eyes and thought for a long time. The ancients said that transportation was too slow. This minister was right. It would take most of the food and grass to be transported from a distance. They were living a life of luxury in the capital, but her husband couldn't even afford to eat at the border. She couldn't help but feel deeply distressed.

"Your Majesty, why doesn't the court buy grain from the wealthy families in the north?" Jiang Yuyan couldn't help but ask. If one family contributed 5,000 dan, ten families would contribute 50,000 dan, enough for the army to use for more than half a month.

Cen Feng continued, "My princess, you don't know that the rich families in the north are used to hoarding grain. Even if the court buys it at the market price, many people will shirk their responsibilities... Moreover, the court reduced taxes by 20% last year..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Sheng Yuan snorted coldly, "It's all because I'm too kind to the people. At this critical moment for the country, these people have no intention of serving the country..."

Stockpiling grain... Jiang Yuyan didn't know what she was thinking, and frowned, "Your Majesty, do you know why these wealthy families are stockpiling grain?"

Emperor Sheng Yuan asked: "Why?"

"This war has almost mobilized the whole country. Granaries in various places are in urgent need of food, and last year's flood in Huzhou caused the harvest in major grain-producing states to be halved. The price of grain this year is bound to rise. These wealthy families naturally want to wait until the grain is mature and sell it. How can the court be interested in buying from them at last year's price?"

Cen Feng said quickly, "What the princess said makes sense. It is true. The price of grain has been much higher than before! But if we buy at a high price, the national treasury may not be able to support it."

Jiang Yuyan rolled her eyes and said, "As the saying goes, first courtesy and then force. Your Majesty, why don't you use force first and then courtesy?"

Emperor Sheng Yuan asked, "Why?"

Jiang Yuyan said: "The so-called first troops, the rich families in the north, which family does not have some secrets, Your Majesty will catch those big families and investigate them, and confiscate a few of them. Other rich families will naturally be trembling with fear when they hear the news. If the court wants to collect grain, they will definitely spend money to avoid disaster.

In addition, there are 100,000 soldiers stationed in the North all year round. Although the soldiers can be self-sufficient in farming when there is no war, it is far from enough. Your Majesty, why donate a channel for them to supply military food? Anyone who donates a lot of food this time can guarantee his qualification for military food supply for ten years, and the price is not lower than the market price.

If you want to collect the grain as quickly as possible, Your Majesty can spread the word, and the court will make some adjustments to the grain price based on the amount of grain donated. The amount of grain and grass will be privately registered by the government, and after a round, the highest amount will be announced and collected at 20% higher than the market price. The rest will be collected at the same price. (It is equivalent to modern centralized procurement, but in reverse.)

Or maybe Your Majesty can also promise some benefits. As far as I know, there are few academies and teachers in the north, and even fewer people can pass the imperial examination every year. Your Majesty might as well promise benefits to the ten households with the highest grain donations, so that one of the children in the family who meets the requirements can enter the Imperial Academy without taking the exam. (Directly become the emperor's disciple, and be recommended to enter the university.)"

Cen Feng was stunned, what kind of operation was this!

He hurriedly asked, "If those grain merchants collude with each other and donate the same amount, how can the court guarantee that it will collect enough grain and fodder?"

Jiang Yuyan: “…”

"Your Majesty, it is 20% higher than the market price. If more grain is donated, it will be a big profit. The rich families in the north are not a group of iron buckets. Who doesn't have their own selfish desires? It is not necessarily true that they will mix together. If someone makes a big profit in the first round of grain collection, the next few rounds will definitely be eager to do so. In addition, Your Majesty can put a few catfish in..."

Emperor Sheng Yuan: "What fish?"

Jiang Yuyan: "...Your Majesty can order people to bribe a few wealthy families and spread rumors before the grain collection. Even if they are not bribed, they can also spread rumors in wine shops and teahouses, saying how much grain these wealthy families are going to release..."

Cen Feng: "………….."

I don’t quite understand what you say, but it seems to make sense!

"If the war drags on, Your Majesty can also collect grain from ordinary people who still have surplus grain at home, and issue some grain donation orders, and then pay back the grain with 2 cents of interest after the autumn harvest this year. (Issuing small denomination government bonds)"

Emperor Sheng Yuan reacted for a moment and laughed, "My princess, you really have a lot of clever ideas! What's wrong with your brain?"

It's just the flexible application of some small tricks left over from modern times.

Jiang Yuyan said, "Your Majesty, let's just get through this war. I have many talented people under my command, and maybe we can find food with a higher yield per mu. In the future, we in Dayue will no longer have to worry about food for the soldiers."

It's time for someone to go look for high-yield plants such as potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Emperor Sheng Yuan stared at Jiang Yuyan more eagerly, "If that's true, I should make you a female prime minister..."

As expected, she is the woman I have chosen. She is not only beautiful but also so smart! It's just a pity...

Jiang Yuyan was startled and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I really don't deserve my superficial thoughts..."

Forget being a female prime minister, she just wants to sleep in and doesn't want to go to court...

"Just do as the princess says, and you will take over Lord Li's position from now on!"

Emperor Sheng Yuan suddenly gave the minister a big surprise. Minister Cen was so happy that he knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Cen Feng always felt that it was the princess's method that made His Majesty happy that gave him such a benefit, so he quickly said humbly: "The princess is very knowledgeable, if I don't understand something, I hope the princess can give me more guidance..."

Jiang Yuyan waved her hand and said, "I don't deserve it. If you want to put your ideas into practice, you still need to figure it out yourself."

Cen Feng naturally nodded in agreement.

After Minister Cen left, Emperor Sheng Yuan suddenly looked at her with a burning gaze, stood up and held her hand.

Jiang Yuyan frowned slightly.

Emperor Sheng Yuan said softly, "Every time you come, I seem to like you more..."

There was no way to respond to this, so Jiang Yuyan could only lower her eyes and remain silent.

"Do you know that this world belongs to me..."

Jiang Yuyan suppressed her discomfort and nodded.

Emperor Sheng Yuan seemed to sigh, "I really can't bear to let you go, but I can't force you. Do you know how I feel about you..."

"I don't know, and I don't want to know..." Jiang Yuyan closed her eyes and said silently.

She just changed her face, but she was still Jiang Yuyan. If he really loved her, why was he so unfair to her in the first place?

Sorry, she really can't accept it.

The imperial study suddenly fell silent. After a while, the eunuch announced that Zheng Shaoqing wanted to see him.

Emperor Sheng Yuan came back to his senses and said, "Announce!"

Zheng Shaopu came in and saw Jiang Yuyan standing on the side. He was slightly stunned for a moment. Then he bowed and greeted, saying, "Your Majesty!"

Jiang Yuyan felt that his gaze seemed to have moved down to her lips, and she couldn't help feeling puzzled.

Emperor Sheng Yuan did not shy away from Jiang Yuyan. He looked at Zheng Shaopu and said in a deep voice, "Go and investigate privately. Who dared to swap the information from the northern border? What is the intention behind this?"

Zheng Shaopu was startled, lowered his head and agreed: "Yes!"

Jiang Yuyan didn't want to hear any more secrets between the emperor and his minister, so she left first. Eunuch Li personally escorted her out of the palace.

When Jiang Yuyan passed by Zheng Shaopu, she smelled the incense on him and felt a sense of déjà vu...

On the way, Jiang Yuyan recalled some of the conversations she had with Jiang Mingan in the study in the general's mansion.

As nomadic nations, Di Rong and Chi Yan's food and grass cannot sustain a long-term war. As long as they exhaust the enemy's food and grass first...

Jiang Yuyan suddenly had an idea, and when she returned to the Princess's Mansion, she wrote a codeword to Jiang Mingan in Arabic numerals.

"Take away the firewood from under the cauldron, and use war to support war."