With the Mid-Autumn Festival over, autumn is in full swing. People need to add layers of clothing to keep warm in the mornings and evenings. In the crisp autumn air, the wounded soldiers in the wounded soldiers' camp are healing their wounds faster.
The discharge of pus and the festering of the wound have also decreased significantly.
Lu Qiqi worked in the wounded soldiers' camp in the morning, and at noon she would go to the commander's tent to eat.
After being informed, she entered the main tent after the guards lifted the tent flap.
Inside the large tent, only Song Yanqing, who was sitting at his desk, and An Yi, who was behind him, were present.
Lu Qiqi sat at the low table, waiting for Shijiu to bring over the food boxes filled with food.
Feeling bored, she sat on a low stool and looked around.
She soon discovered a small rabbit lantern hanging beside her desk, with a beautiful peach blossom perfectly placed on the rabbit's tail.
She curled the corners of her lips into a smile, as if she had glimpsed a side of Song Yanqing that no one else knew.
Little Peach Blossom is quite girly.
As soon as An Yi saw the head of Kang Le Township enter the tent, he fell silent, unable to utter what he was about to say.
Song Yanqing looked at the returned document in his hand, added a couple of strokes casually without changing his expression, and closed it again.
Hearing that there was silence behind him, he clearly understood what An Yi was thinking, and said, "Continue, this is not a military secret, it's nothing to worry about."
With that, An Yi continued, "Today, the cooking camp reported that the grain planted by the army in the east of the city has been damaged by pests and diseases, resulting in a loss of more than half."
The border town is garrisoned by an army of 70,000, and even in a good year, there is not enough food to feed so many soldiers.
Now, most of the grain has been lost directly, and the imperial court has always been slow to distribute grain.
If the 70,000-strong army runs out of food, there's no need for the Tatars to attack. When the food supplies are exhausted, the city gates will naturally open.
Now, a hint of worry appeared on Song Yanqing's brow.
Lu Qiqi didn't want to listen to their conversation, but there were only three people in the huge tent, and apart from their voices, all that could be heard was her own breathing.
It's hard not to hear it.
However, although she heard it, she didn't say anything, but cursed the dog emperor in her heart.
You want the horse to run, but you don't feed it.
No wonder the country almost perished a year ago!
After An Yi finished speaking, there was no sound in the tent until Shi Jiu lifted the tent flap, carrying a food box, and walked into the tent, at which point there was some movement.
The food in the food box was arranged one by one. After Shijiu quietly reminded the prince, he and An Yi left the tent.
Only Song Yanqing and Lu Qiqi remained in the large tent, sitting opposite each other.
Lu Qiqi picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in her bowl, pretending to be casual, and said, "Although the amount of medicine given to the wounded soldiers' camp was much less than the amount distributed by the imperial court, it still solved the immediate problem."
"Is this time, the petition to the imperial court ineffective?"
Song Yanqing chewed on the braised pork, swallowing it as if it were tasteless, then put down his chopsticks and looked up to meet the eyes of the person in front of him.
After a moment, he said, "The medicinal herbs were distributed after General Qin submitted a memorial to the court."
The sudden decrease in grain production by the soldiers on the border will inevitably arouse suspicion among those in power that the army is hoarding grain.
The argument for stockpiling grain is self-evident.
Even though Song Yanqing didn't say it explicitly, Lu Qiqi understood that emperors throughout history had always been wary of generals who held great power.
To prevent the general from harboring rebellious intentions, the distribution of military supplies and provisions would be strictly controlled, thereby eliminating any possibility of rebellion.
But right now, 70,000 troops are stationed at the border city to protect the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty and prevent others from invading it.
The Tatars haven't even returned to their homeland yet, so does the emperor really intend to leave his 70,000-strong army without food and clothing?
Isn't this just letting the Tatars come and fight?
Lu Qiqi asked, "How long can the current food supplies last?"
Song Yanqing recalled An Yi's report and slowly uttered a few words, "Unable to survive the winter."
If the wheat cannot survive the winter, there are only four months left. If winter wheat is planted now, it can only be harvested in March or April of next year.
An army of 70,000 men cannot wait even three days without food, let alone three or four months.
Lu Qiqi didn't know what Song Yanqing's solution was, but judging from his expression, she could tell that it was definitely not a simple matter.
After finishing her meal quietly, Lu Qiqi went to the cooking camp in the afternoon.
The soldiers in the cooking camp, who kneaded dough and made pancakes year after year, all had strong arms with prominent veins, which showed that they had excellent arm strength.
There were 30,000 troops in the main camp, so the cooking camp here was naturally much larger than the two gates. Lu Qiqi searched for a long time before she finally found Zhang Yingtou's figure.
Upon learning of the purpose of the visit of the Kang Le Township Chief, Zhang Yingtou quickly led him to the place where soldiers of official rank received special treatment.
After confirming that no one was around, he whispered, "Where did you hear that, Your Excellency?"
Unstable food supplies inevitably lead to a decline in morale among the troops.
At this critical juncture, we can't afford to have anything go wrong like this.
Lu Qiqi didn't say it explicitly, but asked the soldiers how much rations they needed per day.
And where exactly are the places where the military grows food?
The soldiers' rations were easy to obtain; Zhang Yingtou gave a number without hesitation.
As for where the grain is grown, he doesn't need to say much; he can just ask any civilian after leaving the camp, and they will know the location.
It's just a matter of whether or not they can get into the fields.
When Lu Qiqi heard about the 30,000-strong army and the enormous daily food supply, she knew that this problem was truly too big.
She had previously thought that if the grain grown by the villagers of the four villages in Heshun Prefecture, plus the grain grown by the villagers of the Veteran Village, were purchased at the same price, it might be enough to last for a month. But now it seems that it might only be enough for half a month.
She had previously considered that if the army were to immediately replant crops such as radishes, potatoes, and cabbage as an emergency measure, they could barely survive the winter.
Now we can conduct on-site inspections to determine whether it's suitable for planting.
Even though the officials and those in power in the Great Jin Dynasty were rotten to the core, Lu Qiqi still wanted to protect her homeland. The five villages in Heshun Prefecture had only just been rebuilt, and the manor villas in Veteran Village hadn't even had their foundations laid yet.
Moreover, compared to the Tatars, they are nothing but a small fry.
The Tatars are inherently cruel, and witnessing their atrocities on the road to escape famine, one knows that this ethnic group has become a demon.
Once their iron hooves break through the city walls and reach the heart of the Central Plains, the former subjects of the Great Jin Dynasty will be forced to grovel at their feet.
People called "two-legged sheep" have no say in whether they are eaten raw or skinned alive!
Thinking this way, she felt that the environment of the dynasty she lived in was terrible, and compared with the two, there could be an even worse ethnic group!
For a moment, I was speechless!
After all, such despicable races exist in both past and future lives!
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