After Zang Huatian tallied up the amount of gold and silver treasures, he showed them to Chen Xi for inspection.

After flipping through it, Chenxi frowned. The numbers were too complicated and inconvenient to read.

She picked up a piece of paper, drew a table on it, filled in the numbers for each page one by one, and then showed it to Zang Huatian.

Zang Huatian watched as Chen Xi drew lines and filled in numbers, feeling very puzzled. Why was the leader drawing lines without saying anything?

When Shenxi handed him the form, he was stunned: What do these strange numbers represent?

Shen Xi explained to him one by one: "These are Arabic numerals, which are the simplest to record. This kind of table summary makes the inflows and outflows clear at a glance."

Zang Huatian listened very carefully, and at the end, he slapped his forehead: "The commander's bookkeeping method is really excellent!"

He truly deserves to be called an all-powerful leader!

Shenxi returned the ledger to him and told him, "Just record all the accounts in this way and then show them to me."

But Chenxi changed his mind in an instant: "Just hand this job over to your trusted subordinates. You still have other tasks to do."

Zang Huatian immediately took it seriously: "Please give instructions, sir."

"Use all your connections as quickly as possible to buy as much grain as you can, regardless of the type, but remember to do it discreetly and not let everyone know."

Zang Huatian was somewhat puzzled: "The grain we've captured is more than enough to eat for a long time."

Shenxi showed him the official gazette: "Not to mention the floods in the far south that have submerged many crops, there is also the locust plague that is about to come, and in this chaotic world, food is the most important thing."

Zang Huatian hesitated: "But as for the money, although we collected some, half of it went to the construction of the county town, and the other half was used to buy grain. Given the current grain price, we won't buy too much."

Shenxi waved his hand and said, "It's alright, buy as much as you can."

Then Chen Xi stared at him, making Zang Huatian feel a little uneasy: "Commander, Commander, Commander."

Shenxi suddenly smiled: "I believe that with Huatian's abilities, he can get a lot of grain on credit!"

Zang Huatian breathed a sigh of relief: "Borrowing too much credit is definitely not an option, but 20% credit is still possible."

Shen Xi continued to stare at him, and Zang Huatian's voice trembled slightly: "Commander, don't stare like that, it makes me uneasy."

Chenxi remained silent.

Zang Huatian gritted his teeth and said, "At most 40%, even if it means sacrificing my reputation and credibility!"

This time, Shenxi truly laughed, a genuine laugh from the bottom of her heart.

By buying 40% of the grain on credit and then purchasing the cheapest coarse grains, we can supply the people under our jurisdiction with enough food for at least another six months.

The dikes of Luanjiang in the south have breached, and a locust plague is imminent. There will definitely be a severe food shortage before next autumn.

If we can resolve something in advance, we should do so as soon as possible.

She believed that many large families still had a lot of grain stored up, but no matter how much grain they stored up, it was difficult for it to reach the common people.

She will definitely need to recruit more soldiers and horses later, and she can't afford to run out of food.

Shenxi then summoned Qi Xiuwen, Song Zhen, and others.

"Xiuwen, Song Zhen, how many people do you know in officialdom?"

Song Zhen shook his head: "I come from a humble background and was fortunate enough to be appreciated by the county magistrate, which is why I was appointed as the county assistant. I don't know many officials."

Zhong Ti, the magistrate of Bian'ai County, also came from a poor family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become the magistrate of this inconspicuous little county, despite being a top scholar in the imperial examination.

After Shenxi captured the county town, he ordered his men to find the remains of Zhong and his family and gave them a proper burial.

In times of peace, a magistrate like Zhong Ti would be a blessing to the people, but in times of turmoil, he could also be the beginning of chaos in the county.

He was a good person, but not a good official in this era.

Qi Xiuwen bowed and said, "I do know some of them, such as Ge Congshan, the prefect of Xianghe Prefecture, Mo Ke, the prefect of Zhonggui Prefecture, Li Hui, the prefect of Kangjian Prefecture, and Wen Changhan, the prefect of Shoutian Prefecture, who often have dealings with Marquis Xie."

However, he then changed the subject, saying, "But Wen Changhan, the prefect of Shoutian Prefecture, together with He Chunlai, the prefect of Weijing Prefecture, and Zhu Shu, the prefect of Xin'an Prefecture, raised the banner of righteousness."

"Furthermore, Li Hui, the prefect of Kangjian Prefecture, is related to Marquis Xie by marriage; Marquis Xie's eldest daughter, born out of wedlock, is married to Li Hui."

Shenxi nodded and asked, "I wonder what Li Hui's attitude is towards the sudden changes in Ningnan Prefecture?"

Qi Xiuwen said, "I just heard that Li Hui has gathered 30,000 soldiers and deployed them in Tonghua County, which borders Nanning Prefecture. This may be to prevent Xie Ning from attacking, or it may be to avenge Marquis Xie."

"So, apart from Hejian Prefecture, Jianming Prefecture, Xianghe Prefecture, and Zhonggui Prefecture, the entire north is in chaos?"

Qi Xiuwen had previously mentioned several places that either declared independence or joined forces to revolt.

Or the people may rebel and form a righteous army, occupying the local government and forming a righteous army camp.

With the addition of newly unrested areas, the north is truly in chaos except for four regions.

Qi Xiuwen nodded.

"How can there not be chaos? The further north you go, the more severe the drought becomes. We are at the border between the north and the south, and this is the situation here. In the north, people are simply living in misery."

Qi Xiuwen sorted through the newly acquired information: "Even in Hejian Prefecture, there are disturbances. It is the westernmost part of the region, and in some areas, military pay has been suspended for almost a year, and the number of soldiers mutinies is gradually increasing."

Shenxi had a premonition that Zhang Feng had escaped from Zhengyang City in Hejian Prefecture, and that was when there was a mutiny among the soldiers.

Zhonggui Prefecture is adjacent to Beijiang Prefecture in the far north. Beijiang Prefecture has already been occupied by a large group of rebels, and sooner or later it will affect Zhonggui Prefecture.

It was not uncommon for small shareholders to cause trouble in Jianming Prefecture; the only relatively stable place was Xianghe Prefecture.

Shenxi said to Qi Xiuwen, "Xiuwen, write a letter in your own name to all the high-ranking officials you know in various places, informing them that the locust plague is approaching and to start the harvest early."

Then Chenxi waved his hand: "As for whether you believe it or not, that's none of our business."

Qi Xiuwen nodded in agreement: "Hopefully, those high-ranking officials will take this seriously."

Shenxi smiled bitterly. Her goal wasn't these high-ranking officials; she just wanted a period of peace.

If the chaos comes later, she can accumulate some strength.

When the locust plague strikes, the northern prefectures of Xianghe and Shoutian, which still have some harvest, as well as the more southerly prefectures of Nanning, Kangjian, Yuzhang, Yanqi, and Jingchuan, and the area near the capital, will be left in ruins.

There shouldn't be a locust plague in the far south, but many areas there have been flooded.

These places that haven't completely fallen into chaos will naturally fall into chaos.

Shenxi then issued another order: "Compile the locust plague into songs and spread them out, and also write some leaflets and distribute them."

"Remember, for now, don't let anyone realize that we are the ones spreading it."

As long as things remain relatively peaceful around her, she will have time to grow and expand.

If things fall into chaos, with her current group of people, how can there be any possibility of development?

Qi Xiuwen noted everything down, and Shen Xi nodded in satisfaction. She naturally trusted Qi Xiuwen's abilities; the governance of the county town in the past few days had already demonstrated his competence.

While the plague spread to many people in other areas, Bian'ai County remained a pristine place, with the fewest cases and the highest recovery rate.

In other areas, people are still fleeing the disaster, but things have stabilized in Bian'ai County.

The common people were either repairing roads, building city walls, constructing houses, or tilling the land...

As long as you work, you'll have food to eat and money to earn.