Is there also the imperial edict of the late emperor?
Jiang Li couldn't believe that these four major families still kept the imperial edict of the late emperor. She couldn't help but frown slightly.
The knife slave next to him quickly stepped forward, took the imperial edict and handed it over respectfully.
Jiang Li opened the imperial edict and saw that it was indeed the edict of the previous emperor, and it was written by Yuan Heidi himself. The words between the lines made it very clear that it gave great rights to the local residents here.
These people can be placed outside the jurisdiction of Dagan, and they can just grow food here and supply it to the Great Wall Army.
"Your Majesty, you have seen it too. We have obtained special permission from the late Emperor Dagan."
As Jian Ru spoke, she observed Jiang Li's expression. It was obvious that Jiang Li looked surprised, which proved that there was still room for negotiation.
This empress still cared about the royal family's reputation.
That's easy.
"Your Majesty, I understand the difficulties faced by the Great Wall Army. But we have our own difficulties too. The Great Wall Army has over 200,000 troops, almost 300,000. How can we possibly supply them with so much?"
"If you don't believe me, Your Majesty, feel free to send someone to our house to look for it. We really are out of food. Winter is coming soon, and we're still hoping to get the Dagan Dynasty to allocate some food to us."
"After all, we have supplied food to the Great Wall Army for so many years. Even if we haven't made any contributions, we have worked hard. I hope Your Majesty will not watch the people starve."
When the three people nearby heard this, they were stunned at first, but then they reacted.
They also started to play the victim.
"Our Zhao family, even with so many people to support, still can't get enough to eat or wear warm clothes. For generations, we've been stuck in this borderland, living in fear. We're suffering, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, I heard you brought the Imperial Guards with you this time. Does that mean you can defeat those extraterritorial demons? If this continues, we won't stay here any longer."
"Your Majesty, please give us some food. Once we get through this cold winter, we can reclaim the wasteland and start planting."
As they spoke, the four clan leaders started to cry and throw tantrums, as if asking Jiang Li to make a decision for them.
Dao Nu was the first to lose patience and shouted:
"Bold—"
"You four families have hidden so much grain, you're raising the price, and making dirty money. Do you really think we don't know? How dare you talk nonsense in front of His Majesty! You're really courting death!!"
Originally, with his identity as a knife slave and such shouting, he could definitely intimidate the four of them.
However, Jian Ru relied on her age and seniority, as if she did not feel the royal majesty at all, she knelt down and sobbed:
"Your Majesty, we are worthy of the late emperor. We have done nothing wrong. It is impossible that if we follow the late emperor's orders and fail to grow food, the royal family will kill us, right?"
"Your Majesty, spare my life!!"
Jiang Li was holding the imperial edict, and he was indeed a little cautious.
If they really wanted to forcibly collect grain, or even kill one person to warn the rest, it would definitely lead to a series of consequences.
Moreover, even if she ordered someone to go and find food, she was afraid they wouldn't be able to find any.
The rice grown here was all green rice left over from the Myriad Demons Nation, and after harvesting, there was no need to dry it. All they had to do was put all the grain into the Cangtian Bag and then put it away.
Jiang Li's eyes turned and he said loudly, "Don't cry poor in front of me! I only want food now, not your heads. I'll give you three days. If no food is delivered to the Great Wall of Fortune, then you should prepare to say goodbye to your families!"
"Ah... Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive us. We really can't afford it!"
The four tribesmen still begged for mercy, but were directly carried away by the Shadow Guards.
After a while, silence returned to the entire defensive fortress, with only the whistling sound of the cold wind.
Dao Nu's face was filled with worry. He said, "Your Majesty, are you just going to let them go? They are just being scoundrels. The grain harvest has been abundant these past two years. They are just relying on the late emperor's decree and acting with impunity..."
"I know. If they go back now, they must be hiding the food. You personally select some people to follow them. Find out where they've hidden the food, and then lead the troops to rob them!"
"Yes!" Dao Nu took the order and strode away.
After Jiang Li finished speaking, her beautiful eyes once again looked at the Great Wall of Destiny.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Lin Che and even felt a little envious of her. If it were Lin Che, she wouldn't have so many concerns.
As the Queen of Gan, she had to take these things into consideration.
If the late emperor's edict is not recognized, who will believe Dagan's edict in the future? What will the nearly one million residents here think of Dagan?
Resisting the extraterritorial demons would definitely be a long war. If the people here became resentful or even started a rebellion, the Great Wall Army would be the ones who would suffer in the end.
Maintaining stability is extremely important at this moment!
Although the front line is difficult, there must be no fire in the backyard.
There was another reason, hidden in her heart: she couldn't leave a huge mess for the next emperor.
She decided to sacrifice herself and resurrect Yuan Heidi.
By then, no matter whether Emperor Yuan Hei regains power or the old prince remains as regent and looks for the next successor, the mess here will be unfair to the new emperor.
She doesn't have much time left, so she shouldn't make a big fuss!
…
At this time, the four patriarchs were on their way back.
They looked at each other and said nothing in tacit understanding.
He returned to the meeting hall and then spoke in a pretentious manner:
"Oh, we have no food. What should we do?"
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