Chapter 123: Where did Minister Dong go?
Before leaving, he politely said to Ruan Mian, "Take care, Madam Ruan. Come back tomorrow. I won't see you off."
Ruan Mian laughed, thinking that he was just lazy, not that his legs were injured.
But she didn't care.
Ruan Mian had just left when Minister Dong came back.
The two met in front of the house. Ruan Mian noticed that Minister Dong was walking in a hurry and asked curiously, "Where have you been, Minister Dong? I haven't seen you these past few days."
Thinking about it, she hadn't seen him in the past few days. Ruan Mian immediately guessed something. However, before Minister Dong could answer, Xie Huaian's voice came from the room.
"Come in and tell me. If Madam Ruan is curious, she can come in and listen."
Minister Dong was slightly surprised. He didn't expect that the master would trust Madam Ruan so much.
Ruan Mian guessed that the news was related to the mutiny, so he turned around and went back into the house and waited for Minister Dong to finish his report. Sure enough, his guess was correct.
Now Wuheng has completely become a battlefield. The few remaining civilians are fleeing everywhere. The refugee camp has long been deserted. Some of the prisoners died in the blizzard, while others, like the civilians, are hiding everywhere.
The enemy forces of Lanqiang attacked Wuheng directly. Huo Zong's several armies concentrated all their forces to fight against them, but they only won a narrow victory.
Now they are facing a big problem, that is, the reinforcements are delayed and the original food and grass will soon be exhausted.
With this style of fighting, the Lanqiang Army took the initiative. They were well prepared, and even if they could not win in a head-on battle, they adopted a delaying tactic.
It seemed that they had already anticipated that they would have little food.
Seeing this, Ruan Mian was not surprised. Since Wu Heng had spies, the enemy must know that they had little food and grass. It was also possible that the enemy had colluded with Prince Yan's party long ago with the aim of disrupting the border.
Then he would use this opportunity to let the Black Armor Army, whom he trusted, send out troops in the end to win over the people's hearts.
Or he would stir up public opinion in the court, and his men would take advantage of the situation and slip in.
That’s why the reinforcements haven’t arrived yet. If we wait, we don’t know how long we’ll have to wait.
Xie Huaian frowned and suddenly remembered something.
"If there's a shortage of food and fodder, then we can go to Liaole and buy them in batches."
"But... sir, how can we afford so much silver? We are really... short on cash. Moreover, if we go to Liaoli to make purchases, we will have to take care of even more people. General Huo's pockets are empty, so he can't even afford food, let alone anything else."
Xie Huaian was slightly stunned. It was the first time he was stumped by this silver.
At this moment, Ruan Mian glanced at Minister Dong and said, "Minister, could you please let me have a word with you privately? I have something important to discuss with you."
Minister Dong was slightly startled. After glancing at Meng Yu, he tactfully retreated and left the place first.
After everyone left, Ruan Mian took out the gold nugget he had picked up.
When it was handed to Xie Huaian, Xie Huaian was stunned: "Gold? Where did Madam Ruan get it?"
Ruan Mian took out a piece of ore from the small bag he was carrying and placed it in front of Meng Yu.
She saw the firewood burning in the middle of the room, which first burned the ore, making it crisp and cracking until the gold in the ore melted off, and then quenched it with water from the water bag, causing it to suddenly cool and break into small pieces, which were then pounded into ore powder.
She took a pottery from the house and used water to wash the ore, and finally she washed out some fine raw gold.
Xie Huaian was slightly startled, and placed the raw gold in his palm with his bony hands. Just as he was about to speak, Ruan Mian spoke first.
"Sir, we are currently in a place where there is estimated to be a large vein of gold mine, so your worries are nothing to be afraid of."
"Whether you want food or gunpowder weapons, it's no problem."
Xie Huaian showed a look of joy, but soon shifted his gaze to Ruan Mian's face and asked her back.
"You're so brave to tell me all this. Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you and destroy your body?"
Such a huge gold vein is enough to trigger a struggle between the three countries. This secret is no small matter.
I didn't expect that she would find out, but she told me all this without any hesitation.
Ruan Mian just chuckled, his eyebrows curved: "If you are this kind of person, I will not show mercy. It will be either you die or I die."
Xie Huaian was amused by her words, knowing that she was joking on purpose, so his expression turned serious and he stared at her and spoke.
"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person, and I will protect you."
He smiled with a convincing power and a sincere look in his eyes.
"But this secret is not small, and the turmoil it could cause is even greater, so the location of the vein gold mine should not be revealed to anyone for now."
"I will ask the Minister and Yun Xiu to help with purchasing food and fodder for General Huo. We only need to provide the raw gold for the transaction. This matter is known to you, me, and heaven and earth."
Ruan Mian smiled, turned around and took out a wooden box from her bag, holding it in her palm.
When I opened the lid, I was shocked to find that it was full of gold bars!!
"you……"
When Xie Huaian was puzzled, Ruan Mian said calmly: "I have made preparations long ago. When you were all unaware, I melted the raw gold I found into gold bars. These can temporarily alleviate General Huo's current predicament."
In fact, they were gold bars looted from the prefect's warehouse.
Xie Huaian was shocked. He stared at Ruan Mian for a long time and asked, "Are you really willing to use all these gold bars to help Huo Zong?"
For ordinary people, this is a rare fortune, and she could have made a fortune on her own.
Ruan Mian handed the box to him and said with a smile, "Of course I am willing, sir. Family and country are both indispensable."
“Although war is an inevitable disaster in the tide of history, it can also save many civilians from disasters if it provides temporary stability.
If Wu Heng fails, the Lan Qiang will invade the inner territory, and then the people will truly suffer."
The Prince of Yan will certainly take the opportunity to raise an army. When the capital is faced with internal and external troubles, the innocent people will be the ones who will suffer the most.
"You're just a woman, but you think more clearly than others. Mianmian, I admire you very much."
"Sir, please don't flatter me. You think only virtuous women who never leave the house are good women. But in fact, women are just like you men. We are born as human beings with emotions and thoughts. We also want to defend our country. When we are really facing difficulties, who can distinguish between men and women?"
"Men have their own merits, and women have their own merits."
Just like Xie Huaian, Ruan Mian also thinks he is a good boy.
Although he is in trouble at the moment, in the original book he is devoted to the country and is always at the forefront of petitioning for the people.
He is a kind person, an honest official, and treats himself well. In short, he is a good person and a good official.
Ruan Mian remembered another thing and said it out loud.
"Sir, actually, last time I accidentally looked at the topographic map given by the Minister, I found that the Liao army was very, very close to us."
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