Chapter 248 Open Source! Seize the Salt Fields!

Wei Dongzhu asked with concern, "General, Abe Hiroshi wouldn't really call for help, would he?"

Shen Lanxi thought for a moment and said, "It's just a bluff. If he really went to call for help, he wouldn't have come to greet us beforehand!"

Qian Feng: "He just wanted to scare us."

Cheng Zheng wrote: "What is the purpose of scaring us?"

Shen Yuanxu: "Make us afraid!" As long as they are afraid, we will compromise with the Turks and let them take whatever they want.

Liu Yanhui raised a more practical issue: "Many people in the city have no food to eat, and today some people are kneeling at the door."

Shen Lanxi pondered for a moment and said, "We'll handle it the same way we did in Dongchuan, using work relief instead of financial aid!"

Liu Yan replied: "General Sun Zhong came to see me today, trying to subtly inquire about how much grain we have!"

Wei Dongzhu: "Their food supplies are running low. They're eating porridge twice a day, and they can only last another ten days at most!"

Shen Lanxi looked at Liu Yan and said, "Wait, they've been here for almost three years, they must have accumulated some experience."

"Food is also very precious to us. If he can't offer an equivalent amount of sincerity in exchange, our food will only last for ten days or half a month!"

Isn't it just complaining about being poor? It's not like being poor makes you pitiful or justifies it!

Shen Lanxi tapped the table to get her subordinates' attention.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing; we need to find ways to increase our income!"

None of these people understand business.

They all remained silent instead of speaking.

Shen Lanxi: "The three Turkic tribes are arrogant and domineering. They failed to reach a peace agreement with my Zhenbei Army and even tried to seize my Northwest Salt Fields. My Zhenbei Army fought back fiercely, but due to limited manpower, we suffered heavy losses!"

The two rows of subordinates: "..." Such a familiar tone.

"Wei Dongzhu, you are familiar with the local terrain, so you can lead the troops to reinforce the area!"

Wei Dongzhu: "Yes!"

Shen Lanxi: "Salt, tea, sugar, and silk are all highly valued by foreign tribes. We will never lack salt in the future."

Everyone suddenly realized: So that's what it meant.

“Liu Yanhui, after we take back the salt fields, you and Madam Song will be in charge of selling them.”

Liu Yan replied: "Yes!"

Shen Lanxi also thought of something else: "I heard that there is a tomb of a former dynasty prince in Guangping Prefecture?"

Wei Dongzhu looked at her in puzzlement. Yes! He was the one who told her.

Shen Lanxi sighed softly and said, "Now that even the living can't get enough to eat, we can't care about our ancestors. They lived on the people's hard-earned money, and now it's their turn to contribute!"

Everyone was stunned and speechless!

Shen Lanxi: "Amitabha, let's just consider this as accumulating good fortune for their next life!"

Everyone: "..." Only their general could make digging up graves sound so open and aboveboard.

"Let Xiao Fang handle this matter!"

"yes!"

Shen Lanxi: "Find some capable people locally as soon as possible. Leave this to Sang Guo."

"From now on, during drills, let the soldiers train at the city gate!"

Shen Lanxi issued the tasks one by one, and as time passed, ten days went by in the blink of an eye.

On the eleventh day, Balu sent people to ask for help.

"General, two days ago, the three Turkic tribes launched a surprise attack on the Oirat. They looted countless cattle and sheep and captured many Oirat people as slaves. Many Oirat people are now displaced and being hunted down by the three tribes!"

Shen Lanxi thought for a moment and said, "Qian Feng, take more people, disguise them as Oirat and Turkic people, and bring Balu and the others to Huangtu City!"

"yes!"

"If we encounter a large Turkic army, we will abandon the Oirat people."

Qian Feng understood that the general meant for them to protect themselves.

With everyone around her dispatched to carry out their orders, Shen Lanxi finally had some peace and quiet.

Shen Yuanxu and his group went to fight Wei Dongzhu in the salt fields, and they made a point of saying goodbye to Shen Yuanjing before they left.

"Yuanjing, we're leaving now. Take good care of your injuries. When we come back, we'll bring you salt-baked chicken!" Speaking of which, salt-baked chicken is a specialty of Yantian.

Shen Yuanjing tossed and turned all night, and got up the next day with dark circles under his eyes.

He's much better now, and even if he's not fully recovered, he can still listen to his older sister and the others' discussions.

How could he let Zhou Yunyue scare him? He was a dignified man, yet he was frightened out of his wits by Zhou Yunyue.

After figuring this out, Shen Yuanjing, dressed in casual clothes, went to report to Shen Lanxi.

"Big sister~" Shen Yuanjing called out carefully.

Shen Lanxi: "All done?"

"I'm almost done, I can't stay indoors any longer."

Shen Lanxi chuckled: "Have you learned your lesson?"

Shen Yuanjing nodded quickly: "It's grown, it's really grown this time."

The fact that someone can say something like that shows they don't learn much from experience!

"Go and find some agricultural science books for Cheng Zheng!"

Shen Yuanjing was overjoyed when he heard that he had been assigned a task.

"Yes, General!"

Shen Lanxi looked at her younger brother, who seemed to want to jump onto the roof, and smiled slightly.

As the year drew to a close, Sun Zhong was among the last to leave. Looking at the earthen city wall, he felt as if the past three years had been a dream!

"I, Shen Lanxi, am here today to bid farewell to General Sun!" Shen Lanxi announced loudly.

This was the seventh time she had seen off the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty to Dongchuan, where they would no longer have to deal with foreign tribes, which was equivalent to returning home.

Sun Zhong was filled with emotion but didn't know what to say, so he could only bow and clasp his hands in greeting.

"Thank you for seeing me off, General Shen. We have traveled a thousand miles with you, but we must part ways eventually. Please, General Shen, stay a while longer!"

With a creak, the grain and supply wagons departed from the Northwest, where Sun Zhong and his entourage had been stationed for three years!

Shen Lanxi stood there, watching them go until they were no longer in sight.

Turn around

"Let the villagers sign up!"

"yes!"

An hour later, cartloads of people lined up to enter Huangtucheng!

...

Balu thought about it for three days, but remained hesitant. He stayed cooped up in the mansion, which made him feel restless.

He wanted to go out into the street for some fresh air, which would allow him to fantasize about riding horses and whipping them across the training grounds of the Oirat tribes.

"Why are there so many people? What are they doing here?" Balu was somewhat surprised to see so many people appear in Huangtu City.

This reminded him of the time before the war, when foreign merchants could freely enter and leave nearby cities, making the place even more bustling than it is now.

"This is the first time I've seen someone bring their whole family to join the army, and there's even a big black pot tied to their vehicle!"

"Why are you looking at the black pot? Look at those women. Don't tell me you can't tell they're women just because they're dressed as men."

Balu looked at the truckloads of women, old men and children, and the refined-looking scholars.

These people seem more like they've come to settle down than to join the army.

Baru followed them without thinking and soon arrived at the camp.

In the heavily guarded military camp, groups of women patrolled with spears, while elderly people and children helped wash vegetables and start fires. Several grandmothers mingled among the crowd, guiding newcomers to find their tents.

This was nothing like the military camp he had imagined!

Baru didn't dare get too close, so he turned back the way he came.

After cartloads of women, the elderly, and children, came groups of men heading into the city.

These men looked like they had seen blood; they exuded a murderous aura.

"Chief, their cotton-padded coats are so thick!"