Jiang Ling's eyes deepened, and he said quietly, "Really? That's really strange. But, Father, let's put the bandit suppression aside for now. We need to solve the problem of buying food first."

"The army only has enough food to last for less than ten days. Once we start suppressing the bandits, the food will be used up even faster. The soldiers can't wait."

When these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other in confusion.

Yes, suppressing bandits is important, but the problem is that once the bandits are suppressed, the food will be consumed too quickly and we can’t sustain it at all.

Even if the bandits are finally suppressed and the food is transported back, if too many soldiers starve to death, there will be little point in getting the food back.

Jiang Baichuan pondered for a moment and looked at him sideways.

"Ling'er, you have a plan. Why don't you tell me about it? If you can get some food, we can talk about suppressing the bandits later."

Jiang Ling nodded and told his thoughts.

After one stick of incense.

The veterans looked at him in silence. One of them hesitated for a moment and asked, "If the young general's third point comes true, then we'll be no different from bandits."

"Ha, that's different. Bandits robbed the army of its rations and harmed the soldiers. If the soldiers were hungry and couldn't hold on, the grain merchants and civilians would suffer if the Huns came and attacked."

"But if we borrow grain from grain merchants, in the end, isn't it to protect them? We take from the people and use it for the people. How can we be the same as bandits?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, inexplicably feeling that this made sense.

If the grain merchants are sensible, they will be willing to buy grain, and everyone can get what they need. If they are not sensible, then why not borrow the grain?

Seeing their expressions soften and their resistance ease, Jiang Ling continued, "So the first option doesn't work. Now let's go with the second option. I'll go talk to the four major grain merchants."

Jiang Baichuan glanced at everyone and pursed his lips.

"Everyone, what do you think? If there is no problem, we should let Ling'er come to the city to discuss it as soon as possible. This matter cannot be delayed."

Everyone looked at each other and said in unison: "Yes, let's do as the Marshal said."

No one noticed that a general in the corner lowered his head, a murderous look flashed across his eyes, and then returned to normal in an instant.

Jiang Ling opened the curtain and saw the familiar figure. She stepped forward with a slight smile on her lips: "Little boy, why are you here?"

Jiang Sheng scratched his head and whispered, "I saw that the young general hadn't returned yet, so I was a little worried and came to see you. I didn't hear anything you said."

"Major General, are you hungry? Why don't we go back and eat? Your wound needs to be dressed."

"Okay, let's go back."

The next morning

Jiang Ling led his men into the city, and Jiang Sheng was left behind. He felt a little restless and ran to the kitchen and then ran outside the tent. He waited until noon but they still didn't come back.

A sarcastic voice sounded behind him.

"Hey, isn't this Doctor Mo? Why are you so eager to be someone's servant? Why didn't you take me into the city?"

Linchuan walked up to him with a look of contempt.

Jiang Sheng glanced at him and felt that this person was seriously ill. No wonder Mo Xiaotong gritted his teeth and wanted to bite him when he mentioned this person.

"Oh, what does it have to do with you? Now that I'm not by the master's side, you are the master's only disciple. Why don't you learn some skills well?"

"Haha, that depends on the master being willing to teach you. I really don't know what he likes about you. He's willing to teach you everything."

Lin Chuan became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. Seeing that he didn't react, he reached out and pushed him: "Why don't you say anything? Do you look down on me? I'm your senior brother."

"You're just trying to curry favor with the Major General, but why don't you show filial piety to your master? You're such an ungrateful person."

Jiang Sheng was annoyed by him and said angrily: "Brother, are you mentally ill? Who said I was unfilial? The chef who cooked the food must have a share."

"I just didn't give it to you. Can you be quiet? It's so noisy."

"you……"

Linchuan was so angry that his face turned red and he raised his fist to attack.

Jiang Sheng didn't know what he saw, so he ran forward, raised his head and looked at him with bright eyes: "Major General, you're back."

Seeing that he looked unhappy, the smile on her face immediately faded.

"Return to the tent!"

Jiang Ling dismounted and walked into the tent. After arriving in the tent, he took off his cloak and sat on a stool.

"How's Cheng Xia's investigation going?"

Cheng Xia glanced at Jiang Sheng, hesitating whether to speak or not. Although this man saved the eldest son, he was not a confidant after all. What if...

Jiang Ling glanced at the people sitting obediently beside him and said calmly: "It's okay, we are all family, go ahead."

"Yes, sir, I have investigated and indeed found some clues. Here are the details, I have written them down."

He handed over the paper in his arms and stood quietly waiting.

Jiang Ling raised an eyebrow after reading it: "Xiaohe Village, isn't that a small village? How can grain merchants hide grain there?"

Cheng Xia said seriously, "I was also skeptical. After all, it's just a small village. If they really were hiding there, and if they were discovered by the bandits, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

"So after dark, Leng Feng and I went to check it out under the cover of darkness, and we did find something amiss."

"There's a secret passage leading out of the city gate, and after dark, there's a carriage waiting outside. I don't know what's inside, but judging by the teeth marks, it's clearly a heavy object."

Leng Feng nodded with a cold face.

"Yes, we followed them. We saw them go to Xiaohe Village and wanted to go into the village to investigate."

"Who would have thought that there were experts hiding in the shadows near that village? My subordinates were afraid of alerting the enemy, so they didn't enter the village."

Jiang Ling's hands tapped on the table, making a slight sound. This was his habit when thinking about problems.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Ling said in a deep voice, "I'll go with you tomorrow night. If we can confirm that Xiaohe Village has hidden food, we can act sooner."

"I'm afraid the war will come soon, and we won't have time to get food. It's hard to transport so much food."

Jiang Sheng listened from the side and felt uncomfortable.

He can keep it, but he can't expose it with a wave of his hand. It's really frustrating.

"Okay, you guys go down, don't let this get out."

Cheng Xia glanced at him and reminded him, "Doctor Mo, don't go to the city recently, and don't drink alcohol, otherwise you will be careless and ruin the young general's business."

Jiang Sheng: "...I'm quitting drinking now."

What I mean is, don't accuse me wrongly. I'm not a person who doesn't control his words.

After everyone left, Jiang Ling continued to handle official business, thinking in his mind that if there was really food, how could he take the food away without anyone noticing.

Jiang Sheng slowly stood up and walked out, preparing to make some food to bring to his brother later, and at the same time thinking about whether there was any good idea.

The kitchen staff saw him coming and said with a smile, "Doctor Mo is here. We have mushrooms to eat today. What do you think we should cook?"

"Well, I'll take a look first. Thank you."