The bean sprouts grew in patches, like needles wedged into the grass; if you didn't know better, you'd think they were left over from a previous bean harvest.
Even without pests and diseases, it's a pipe dream to expect a bumper harvest from such a piece of land.
The centurion, surnamed Zhao, had been in charge of grain cultivation in the east of the city for three to five years. His family was all in the border town, so he was considered a half-border town resident.
He followed behind An Yi, trying to minimize his presence, afraid of being questioned.
Looking at the grain scattered on the ground, he felt bad. He had been busy for more than half a year, but when it was time to harvest, it had turned out like this.
Two years ago, the northern region suffered a severe drought, resulting in a complete crop failure, and the grain depot in the eastern city was not spared either.
We finally saw rain in early March this year, but now the grain harvest is so dismal, it's heartbreaking to see.
He tossed and turned for half a month, his eyes now covered in bruises. Knowing that delaying any longer was not a solution, he wrote a report to his superiors.
He never expected that the Crown Prince would be the one to arrive. His heart was in his throat, almost jumping out of his mouth!
"Commander Zhao, I have a question. Could you please answer it?"
Upon hearing a clear and melodious voice, the three of them turned their gazes in the direction of the sound.
Commander Zhao responded, bowed to the young master, and then walked towards the direction of the Lord of Kangle Township.
The two people behind him also moved their feet.
"Lord of the Township".
Commander Zhao walked up to Lu Qiqi, bowed, and stood quietly to the side, waiting for instructions.
Although the Princess of Kangle Township held no official rank, in Zhao Qianhu's view, someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the heir could not be an unknown person.
He had been standing in front of the prince for a long time, his legs were almost numb but he dared not move. Now that he was rescued by the Prince of Kangle, he was very grateful.
Before he could even show a grateful smile, he was struck dumb by the next question, which made his head start buzzing.
Why is there so much weed and so few soybean sprouts in this soybean field?
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qianhu felt quite ashamed, as he kept a detailed record of how many grain and bean seeds were used per mu of land.
In some cases, farmers supplement their crops with grain seeds, but if the situation remains unfavorable and the harvest is negatively impacted, then they will be punished.
But the situation of lush grass and sparse bean sprouts really can't be blamed on him!
Commander Zhao said awkwardly, "Your Excellency, you may not know this, but there are really not many good soldiers available in this grain garrison."
What does this mean?
Lu Qiqi was puzzled. The two people who had been watching the wheat earlier also came over, and the three of them listened quietly as Commander Zhao explained.
"The grain camp has two deputy battalions plus the main battalion, which now number only about four thousand people. Two thousand of them are brothers who have retired from the wounded soldiers' camp, and missing arms and legs are everywhere."
Even a slight wind or rain can cause him so much pain that he can't stand up, let alone work in the fields.
The grain depot cultivates 80,000 mu of land, which is quite a burden to oversee.
Lu Qiqi asked, "Why hasn't this been reported?"
In her view, if such a situation had been reported, Song Yanqing would have made proper arrangements with his subordinates, and things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Seeing a hint of surprise on Zhao Qianhu's face, Lu Qiqi guessed, "Perhaps it wasn't taken seriously after being reported?"
In this agrarian era where everything relies on human labor, even if a person worked day and night, it would be impossible to complete such a task.
Commander Zhao was clearly not expected that the Princess of Kangle would speak like that in front of the heir, and for a moment he did not know how to react.
He glanced at the prince out of the corner of his eye, and seeing nothing amiss, he mustered his courage and said, "Your Highness is wise; most of the letters you report have gone unanswered."
Unlike other places, the grain camp required three centurions to sign off on a report before it could be submitted; there was no room for falsification.
That means the person receiving the report made a mistake.
As far as she knew, wounded soldiers who were unable to go to the battlefield would be given money to return to their hometowns to retire.
Using wounded soldiers to grow grain in the grain camp not only means there's not enough manpower, but it also results in a direct loss of a large amount of grain. Who was the brilliant strategist who arranged this?
After listening to their conversation, Song Yanqing asked, "To whom did Commander Zhao report the current situation of the grain camp? When were the wounded soldiers replaced in the grain camp?"
That's a very good question.
After recalling the events and confirming that it was correct, Commander Zhao said, "All three battalions have reported this news, but there has been no response."
It would only take three months to move the healed wounded soldiers to the supply depot.
There were even messages that couldn't get into the main camp!
Upon hearing this, Song Yanqing's expression visibly darkened.
An Yi then spoke up at the opportune moment, "We sent people to inspect the grain situation before, but we did not find this phenomenon."
Therefore, it means that someone deliberately covered it up.
The grain depot has many sentry posts, so even if someone is sent, they will do so openly.
If the guide only shows them the good side, the vast grain and fodder camp is impossible to patrol completely, and these people probably take advantage of this loophole.
Having said that, Lu Qiqi had guessed most of it; the person who devised this scheme was quite clever.
The wounded soldiers were placed here, and the troops were mobilized by taking advantage of the tense border war in recent months.
This led to lax supervision of supplies in the rear, resulting in unstable supplies and directly impacting troop strength.
Such a complex game cannot be played by one person alone. These people took advantage of their empathy as fellow soldiers, covering up and concealing the truth at the same time.
Even if the Shadow Guards manage to expose them one by one, they might use the excuse of "the law does not punish the masses" to blackmail them.
Who exactly gave these people the misconception that Song Yanqing wouldn't make an example of someone in something that is tantamount to treason?
Just then, Lu Qiqi met Zhao Qianhu's gaze.
Zhao Qianhu paused for a moment, then turned his head away, unwilling to look her in the eye, a clear sign of his guilty conscience.
This inevitably led her to speculate that Commander Zhao was about to reveal everything because he had seen the fate of the wounded soldiers' doctor and had lost his composure, which was why he sent the message to the main camp.
Just as she was about to ask further questions, she heard Song Yanqing's voice. He said, "Commander Zhao, go and summon the other two commanders. I have some questions to ask you."
When Zhao Qianhu saw Song Yanqing's expression soften slightly, his heart, which had been stuck in his throat, was once again suspended in mid-air.
He nodded repeatedly, bowed, and then quickly went to carry out the instructions.
After Commander Zhao and his men left, Lu Qiqi turned to look at Song Yanqing and asked, "Did you figure something out?"
Otherwise, knowing Song Yanqing as she did, she wouldn't have interrupted her at that crucial moment and sent Commander Zhao away.
Song Yanqing met her clear eyes and said, "This matter involves many things and cannot be accomplished by one person alone. However, now is not the time to pursue the culprits."
The important thing now is to arrange manpower to harvest the grain and bring it back to camp, and then make plans for winter provisions.
Lu Qiqi didn't understand, "So we just ignore it?"
An Yi said at the right moment, "Princess, please don't be impatient. The young master doesn't mean to ignore it, but the grain harvest is imminent. If we move the grain camp at this time, it may cause unpredictable consequences."
Only by feigning not to pursue the matter can we make it easier to punish them later and avoid touching the grain camp.
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