As expected, the first wave of the Northern Barbarians' attack was firmly stopped by the Northern Army. Thirty thousand Northern Barbarians were stopped outside the high border wall.
Of course, this is just the beginning and the war is far from over.
As soon as General Shi came down from the city wall, he heard the news that the granary in the western suburbs camp had been burned. Although the fire was put out in time and half of the food was saved, the other half was still missing and the court needed to transfer food support as soon as possible.
The memorial from Beiguan was sent to the capital at full speed.
At the same time, General Shi also sent messages to nearby states, requesting them to provide food and fodder. However, due to the distance and the difficulties faced by each state, no state responded for a while.
However, in Beiguan City, the grain donation campaign initiated by the women of Beiguan achieved fruitful results.
Two days had passed, and the fighting was still going on at the front line, but the women had already collected nearly two thousand dan of grain. This was only the amount registered by the wealthy families in the city, not including the amount from the common people.
Saving some food and supplies will be enough for the 100,000 troops stationed in the North to last for two more days!
According to the registration book of the City Affairs Office, the Wei family only donated more than 20 stone of grain, which did not stand out among the wealthy families in Beiguan City.
However, the first batch of sweet potatoes urgently delivered from Huangzhou, with a total of 5,000 stones, was sent in the names of two people.
It was not Princess Daning and Huangzhou Commander Xue Lian, but Princess Daning and a girl named Lan from Huangzhou who did not want to reveal her name but did a lot of good deeds.
"This Miss Lan is truly a person of integrity. I heard that she was the first to discover potato seeds, and it was she who suggested to Princess Daning that the refugees plant potatoes. She did so many things, but she was unwilling to leave her name. If Princess Daning did not want to take all the credit, I heard that she would not even want to leave her name behind."
"I've never heard of any wealthy family with the surname Lan in the North. Who exactly is this Miss Lan?"
"Maybe it's some low-key hidden family. For example, there are many aristocratic families in the southwest of Yong. Many of them have been passed down for longer than Yong was founded! The Lan family is not a small matter. They can have a relationship with Princess Daning and Prince Duan's Mansion. In short, their status cannot be low."
"That's true. But if that's the case, it's even more difficult for Miss Lan to leave her name... If the things she did were reported to the court, she would be able to get the title of county lord, right?"
In the City Affairs Office, the clerks who were registering the grain donations were filled with emotion.
On the side, Wei Maolin heard these people praising "Miss Lan" and lowered his head even more, but the corners of his mouth could not help but slightly curl up.
The "Miss Lan" that these people kept praising was none other than his daughter, Yunlan!
"With the 3,000 dan of grain collected in the city and the 5,000 dan of potatoes sent from Huangzhou, we can still hold out for a few more days. I hope we can hold out until the grain and grass transferred from the capital arrives!"
Two memorials were sent from the border to the capital.
The horses galloped so fast that three of the best horses on the border died before the items were finally delivered to Emperor Xiaoming's desk on the third and fourth days.
The memorial sent by General Shi was half a day earlier than that sent by Military Supervisor Qiu.
General Shi was not good at writing, so the content of the memorial was quite straightforward. It had only one main point, which was to request the court to collect food and fodder as soon as possible and send them to the North Gate!
The Northern Barbarians' cavalry are eyeing the area outside the Great Wall covetously, so the Northern Army must defend the Northern Gate. At this time, the food and fodder needed by the Northern Army must not be insufficient. No matter what methods the court uses to raise them, at least 30,000 shi of food must be delivered within half a month, otherwise the Northern Army will face the risk of starvation.
Hungry soldiers cannot win a battle!
“Bang!”
Emperor Xiaoming threw the memorial on the table. His face, which was already somewhat dark, became completely gloomy. "Shi Zhiheng is so bold that he even threatens me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly sat up straight and looked around.
Seeing that there was only his personal eunuch in the imperial study and no one else, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Now is not the time to get involved with that guy named Shi.
He had heard a lot about the fierce reputation of the Northern Barbarian Cavalry since he was a child. Now, only the fierce general Shi Zhiheng could lead the troops to intercept the ferocious Northern Barbarian Cavalry!
"Send Liu Aiqing and Xie Aiqing to the palace."
The Liu Aiqing and Xie Aiqing mentioned by Emperor Xiaoming were none other than the eldest son of Duke Liu and the second master of Duke Yan's mansion.
These two were important officials in the court, and because of their friendship since childhood, they were deeply trusted by Emperor Xiaoming. When he encountered a problem that he could not figure out, Emperor Xiaoming always summoned the two to meet him.
Prince Liu and Master Yan arrived very quickly.
"Please take a look." Emperor Xiao Ming asked the eunuch to send the memorial down.
The news of the war at Beiguan was reported back to the capital yesterday.
This is what was discussed at the court meeting today.
The amount of food and fodder sent to the border has always been fixed. Since there are enemy countries in the north and west eyeing it covetously, the imperial court has never dared to cut off the food and fodder at the border.
But it can only make it not "short".
It is impossible to be as rich as you want.
The food and fodder sent to the border were all in good condition, but suddenly half of the granary was burned down...how could we replenish it so quickly?
Prince Liu worked in the Ministry of Revenue and knew best how much grain and fodder could be mobilized.
He immediately frowned, "If it was half a month earlier, it would be fine, but the court just sent 40,000 dan of disaster relief grain to Jeju not long ago..."
Although that amount of relief grain was all "begged" from court ministers and Concubine Ling, it was enough to "drain" the grain that each family could provide in a short period of time.
It is impossible to repeat the previous actions.
If it were a peaceful time, each state could collect more taxes from the people. However, this year, disasters have occurred one after another, especially in the northern states. Very few states have not been affected by the disasters. Wanting to collect more grain taxes is probably a pipe dream.
"There are still some states that have not been affected." Master Yan thought for a while and said, "For example, the states near the capital, such as Pingzhou and Linzhou... It is harvest time. Your Majesty may as well order an increase of 10% in grain tax. Now there is a war in the north. Only when the front line has sufficient food and grass can the people be stable and healthy. I think the people can understand the difficulties of the court."
"Master Yan is right. The war in the north will not be over in a day or two. Collecting an additional 10% of grain tax will not only solve the urgent problem, but also ensure that the North Pass will not be short of food and fodder during the war."
Listening to the words of the two people below, Emperor Xiaoming nodded secretly.
These states and regions that were not affected by the natural disaster are also part of Dayong's territory. They should do their part and share the joys and sorrows with other disaster-stricken areas of Dayong.
Ultimately, it was Shi Zhiheng's fault for failing to supervise properly, which led to the burning of food supplies.
He had no choice but to make this decision.
The people will surely understand his difficulties.
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