The Marquis nodded with a smile. In the past few days, he had already arranged for people to investigate Chengdu, which was 200 miles away, where 2,000 barbarians were stationed.
Last year, the barbarians drove away the remaining people, planted thousands of acres of crops, and harvested a lot of grain. They also had several thousand cattle and sheep.
If Xindu doesn't have a good solution, he plans to lead his men to attack Guancheng.
Of course, it is inevitable that a direct assault will result in heavy casualties.
Therefore, he will not give the order unless absolutely necessary.
They were all flesh and blood born of their parents, and he couldn't bear to lose a single one of them. He wanted to bring all the soldiers back to Jiangnan without missing a single one.
"Instruct the scouts not to venture too deep into Chengdu territory. Wait for the main army to slowly advance before discussing a plan," the Marquis ordered. "We could send news of our food shortage to the barbarians to lure them out of the city."
"Yes, that's a good idea!" Li Laosi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he was about to accept the task when he suddenly changed his mind.
"My lord, although the second batch of grain has crossed the river successfully, it will still be more than half a month's journey before it reaches us. There's no guarantee that the person behind it might sabotage us."
"I want to take some men to meet them; it would be even better if we could catch them red-handed."
The Marquis pondered for a moment and replied, "Very well. The news that the second batch of grain is already on its way should be kept secret for now. We'll discuss everything once it arrives safely."
“If you take five hundred men to meet the grain convoy, I will say you’ve gone to find an opportunity to seize the barbarians’ grain.”
"There's no time to lose, I'll muster the troops and set off right now." Li Laosi couldn't contain himself any longer, and seeing that the Marquis didn't object, he turned and left the tent.
Just then, Jiang Cheng came over from a distance and met him. He asked, "What are you doing here? Why are you so happy?"
"Haha, the Marquis has sent me out to take some men and find a way to seize the barbarians' grain!" Li Laosi patted his shoulder and laughed, "Remember to take good care of the Marquis, I'm off to fight the enemy!"
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
Jiang Cheng sighed helplessly, rubbing his numb shoulders. "This guy gets all fired up the moment he's talking about going into battle."
Leaving aside the situation at the Jiangbei camp, let's focus on Xindu. The military rations were successfully transported, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Apart from Li Lao Er, who also had to keep an eye on the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to collect grain from various prefectures to avoid indefinite delays, everyone else took a break.
Even the Emperor held a flower-viewing banquet for the Imperial Concubine, which was very lively.
At the banquet, the Imperial Concubine, holding the Second Prince, stole the show. The ladies of the court and noble families showered her with praise and presented her with numerous gifts.
Previously, Jiayin and the Third Princess had gone to the Imperial Study several times but had not been able to see the Emperor. The Third Princess then got angry and refused to go again.
Jiayin was unhappy because the Ministry of War had not yet found the culprit who destroyed the military rations, and the Emperor had not urged them much. Instead, he was focusing all his attention on women.
So, when pollen was added to the tea, both she and the Third Princess developed rashes on their faces.
There's no need to attend the Imperial Concubine's flower-viewing banquet!
The two of them then stayed in Zhilan Palace, eating fruit and swinging on the swings.
Two days later, after the imperial concubine's flower-viewing banquet, their rashes cleared up.
The imperial physicians were completely baffled, unable to understand why the rash came on so quickly and went away even faster. In the end, they could only attribute it to... the heat of summer!
Jiayin was thinking about home when Mu Xu brought in a message from outside: Baozhu's birthday was coming up, and someone had been sent to the Earl's mansion to deliver an invitation, asking if they could get together.
Jiayin felt a little guilty; she had really neglected this friend lately.
So she searched through her online space for a long time and found a pair of rabbit lanterns.
The rabbit skin was made from the rarest white silk from the south, with bamboo as the frame, gold thread embroidery, and rubies inlaid for the eyes. It was truly exquisite and extremely cute.
She would definitely like it if it were hung outside Baozhu's bed curtains at night.
The Third Princess also felt stifled in the palace, so she asked Caiyun to find a pair of jade ruyi scepters, put them in a box, and prepare to go to the Jia family to play with Jiayin.
People are all materialistic. Although the Jia family dotes on Baozhu, they will definitely choose a good husband for her.
However, if Baozhu had another princess among her friends, it would make her future in-laws think more highly of her.
Therefore, Jiayin sent the message to the Jia family in advance.
The Jia family was naturally delighted and raised the standards of Baozhu's birthday banquet considerably.
On this day, Jiayin and the Third Princess left the palace by carriage, turned into Baiyunjian to get a two-tiered fruit cake, and then went to the Jia family.
Madam Jia and Baozhu were already waiting at the door.
Seeing Jiayin and the Third Princess get off the carriage, Baozhu rushed over with a smile and hugged them one by one, overjoyed.
The Third Princess was used to being alone. Even if she had a few friends before, they weren't sincere; they were just empty flatterers who echoed her.
Otherwise, after she became close to Jiayin, she wouldn't have been so fond of Jiayin and so protective of her. It's just that true friends are so rare.
Baozhu'er, this cheerful chubby girl, was like a younger sister to her.
Sharing good news and snacks together is the most carefree and joyful thing.
So, when Madam Jia was startled and worried that her daughter had offended the Third Princess, the Third Princess had already picked up Baozhu and asked her with a big smile what delicious food she had prepared!
The three sisters arrived happily at the Jia family's garden pavilion, where Xu Xi and Mei Lan were already seated, and even the married Gu Qingqing was there.
Jiayin was overjoyed and stepped forward to shake Gu Qingqing's hand. "Sister Gu, it's been so long since I've seen you! How have you been?"
Gu Qingqing was also very excited and squeezed Jiayin's hand tightly, but her response was somewhat forced, "Okay... I'm fine, I just miss you all."
Jiayin noticed the grievance and sentimentality in her expression and wanted to ask more questions, but felt the occasion was inappropriate.
Fortunately, Xu Xi and Mei Lan also started chatting, and the conversation flowed so much that the conversation didn't get through.
Madam Jia was shrewd; she gave the little girls space to play, leaving only capable old women and maids to serve them.
Delicious snacks and fruits were laid out on the table, and tea and snacks were also provided. The girls enjoyed the summer breeze and quickly laid out their cards, reliving their indispensable sticky note contest at their gatherings.
Mei Lan and Xu Xi had already been engaged and would be getting married in a few months. This was the last free time for them as young women, so they were very relaxed and carefree when they played together.
When they're happy, they laugh heartily; when they're unhappy, they pout and roll up their sleeves.
Inspired by them, the others also threw themselves into the game, turning a hand of cards into a fierce "battle of life and death."
In the end, they all became paper note spirits, and even Jia Yin couldn't escape them.
The group looked at each other, all clutching their stomachs, laughing so hard they were about to roll on the ground.
The maids and old women outside the waterside pavilion had already lowered their heads, their shoulders trembling like leaves.
Baozhu, however, did not forget that she was the mistress. She summoned a maid to fetch warm water and cosmetics, and helped everyone wash their faces and put on makeup again, thus restoring her dignified and beautiful noblewoman appearance.
Soon, the banquet was served again.
The girls huddled together, barely eating any of the food, but they poured half a jar of fruit wine into their mouths.
Gu Qingqing, in particular, kept drinking one cup after another.
At first, everyone raised their glasses along with the others, but gradually they realized something was wrong.
Baozhu was still young and didn't know what to do, so she looked to Jiayin for help.
Jiayin stepped forward, snatched Gu Qingqing's wine glass, and handed her a chicken leg, saying with a smile, "Sister Gu, don't drink so much. I remember you love chicken legs the most, have something to eat first!"
"Baozhu has a sweet tooth. Her cook has been tormented by her for so many years, his skills are superb. Why don't you try it and see how it tastes?"
Gu Qingqing was stunned for a moment, looked up at the puzzled faces on everyone's faces, and suddenly threw down the chicken leg, hugged Jiayin and burst into tears.
Two updates today!
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