Chapter 3430 Save us!

Three days later, they set off.

Zhu Feng sat alone in the golden carriage, with no one accompanying him, while Nan Yan sat in the carriage at the back with Xin Ping. The two of them didn't say a word, and they just moved forward along the way accompanied by the monotonous sound of the wheels hitting the road.

The journey from Jinling to Yongzhou is not short to begin with, and the further south you go, the more mountainous the roads become. Nan Yan was originally prepared to be shaken to pieces.

But as I walked, I found that the situation was a little different.

The imperial court actually built a straight road on the way to Yongzhou. The road surface was flat and wide, more than ten feet wide, enough for two carriages to move side by side. Their caravan could travel on it without any hindrance, and they could even see merchants traveling hurriedly from north to south.

Nan Yan couldn't help but feel a little surprised. She lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside and said, "When did the court build this straight road?"

Fang Buyuan was riding beside the carriage. When he heard her question, he smiled and said, "It's been many years."

Nan Yan said: "I don't know anything at all."

Fang Buyuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the court has done so many great things in recent years. Your Majesty lives deep in the harem. You can see the road to the Western Regions, the diplomatic relations with Japan, and the visits of the countries in Southeast Asia and the West. How could these small matters be placed before your eyes?"

Nan Yan smiled.

She suddenly thought of something, looked around, and said, "Are you the only one accompanying the Jinyiwei this time? Where's Fan Yingyi?"

Fang Buyuan said, "He stayed in Jinling."

Nan Yan raised her eyebrows, said nothing, and sat back.

As soon as I sat back, I saw Xinping, who was sitting opposite me, also lifted the curtain and looked outside. There was still a gloomy expression on her little face, but there was a glint in her big eyes that was a little different from when she was in the palace.

Compared to Nan Yan who knew that the road led to the Western Regions, that China had diplomatic relations with Japan, and that countries in Southeast Asia and the West were coming to pay tribute, she might not even know these things clearly, let alone the wide and straight road in front of her that almost led directly to the sky. In her eyes, these things were also quite shocking.

Nan Yan thought for a moment and said softly, "There are too many things happening in this world every day."

Xinping puffed out her cheeks and said nothing.

Seeing her like this, Nan Yan could only shake his head helplessly and smile bitterly.

In the setting sun, their carriage moved slowly along the straight road, casting long shadows.

Thousands of miles away, at the border of Yue State, there was also a gorgeously decorated carriage traveling on the road. This road was just repaired in recent years, but due to frequent use, the road surface had sunken a lot. Fortunately, due to the repeated trampling of people coming and going, the road surface was still flat, and the carriage was not too bumpy when traveling on it.

The road surface can be pressed so deep that ordinary pedestrians or even horse-drawn carriages cannot sit on it.

Only the long-term travel of loaded carriages could produce such a result.

This road, like the straight road within Yan State, was built specifically for transporting grain. Every spring and autumn, the grain they exchanged for raw silk would be transported in large groups along this road to Daluo City, the capital of Yue State.

Because there were so many vehicles transporting food, a lot of food was scattered on the roadside, which attracted a lot of birds, sometimes almost covering the sky.

As soon as the carriage passed by, it startled a group of birds on the roadside. They screamed and flew straight into the sky. From a distance, it looked like someone had cast a net into the sky.

A hand lifted the curtain on the car window and saw this scene, and couldn't help but let out a low sigh.

At this moment, a sturdy young man who was riding beside the carriage leaned over and said to the people in the carriage, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

The person in the carriage was none other than Chen Biri, the powerful prime minister of the State of Yue.

He was over fifty years old and was no longer in his prime. His face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were dark and cloudy, and he was as thin and dark as a monkey. However, he was wearing a brocade robe inlaid with gold and silver. He was wrapped in the robe, which made him look ridiculous like a monkey in a human form.

But this person's face had a serious and worried expression.

The person speaking to him was none other than one of his two capable nephews, Chen Wenxiong. This man was well-versed in military tactics, well-versed in the art of deploying troops, and held some respect within the army. Having lost both his parents at a young age, he had been raised by his uncle and was Chen Biri's most trusted confidant. He was now looking cautiously at his uncle.

Chen Bi Ri sighed again before saying, "I'm afraid that more than 70% of the food shipped from Yan Country has already arrived here, right?"

Chen Wenxiong said: "There should be more than that."

"oh?"

"I heard that in recent years, Yan Country has been doing business with the countries in the Western Regions. Their silk can be worth tens or even hundreds of times more in more distant places, so the demand for raw silk in their country has also increased a lot. We have already tripled the price of raw silk here, but the supply still cannot meet the demand. Since the beginning of spring this year, Yan Country has sent a large amount of grain in exchange for more raw silk."

"Why……"

Chen Biri sighed deeply. "These days, farmers are unwilling to grow crops. They're only focused on cultivating mulberry trees and raising silkworms. When I left Daluo City for an inspection this time, I heard that several hundred acres of landowners had requested the king to allow them to return farmland to mulberry trees. If this continues, sooner or later, our Yue Kingdom will no longer be able to grow a single grain."

Chen Wenxiong laughed and said, "Crops are worthless nowadays, only raw silk is valuable."

Chen Bi Ri said, "What do you know?"

Chen Wenxiong glanced at him and didn't dare to speak. At this time, the carriage had reached the end of the avenue. There was a small road in the fields ahead, and the carriage could not pass through. So Chen Wenxiong immediately dismounted and took a few guards to pick up Chen Biri from the carriage.

His jingling pearls and jade pendants looked particularly out of place in such a remote field.

Therefore, as soon as he appeared, the farmers who were originally farming in the fields gathered around immediately. This area was ordinary farmland. It was only after he wrote to the king of Yue several times that he reluctantly allocated a few pieces of land on the border to allow some farmers to continue to grow ordinary rice. He would come to inspect every year. Now, the land like this in Yue State is still decreasing rapidly.

The peasants knelt at his feet and said, "Sir, please save us."

"Yes, sir, we are almost unable to survive."

"Please, sir, save us!"

Chen Bi Ri said, "What's wrong?"

One of the old farmers, with white hair and muddy legs, pointed to the field behind him with a trembling hand and said, "Sir, look at the crops in this field."