Chapter 133 Xu Nian's plan to go to Huaicheng, Luo Jin'an is worried about food
Mo Jian gritted his teeth and forced himself not to roar out loud.
Xu Nian sighed, calmed himself down, and whispered, "There is no food in the granary. It's full of chaff and grass."
Everyone in the room covered their mouths in shock when they heard this; this was truly too horrifying.
Mo Yu said anxiously: "Is there no grain left in the granary? How is it possible? Who has such courage? This is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of the clan!"
Xu Nian's heart was also full of doubts. Even the most greedy officials would not dare to covet the grain warehouse.
Mo Jian sat on the chair with a sullen face and shivering body. This was one of the three major granaries in Sheng Dynasty, but now there was not a single grain. What about the other granaries? As long as he thought that the other granaries would be the same as Jicheng granary, he broke out in a cold sweat.
In the current situation, if a major war breaks out in Sheng Dynasty, the soldiers on the front line will only face death.
Xu Nian also felt the same way, but she was thinking more about where the food had gone. Unfortunately, she didn't have more time to explore where the food had gone.
"Mo Jian, Mo Yu, we don't have much time to look for food. We don't know how the war in Yangcheng is going, and there is no news from the court. Our top priority now is to get a batch of food and send it to Yangcheng to ease the pressure on food and fodder on the front line."
Mo Jian and Mo Yu also knew this, but they still couldn't help but worry in their hearts. After all, this was a hidden danger.
Xu Nian turned to Yan Fu and Yan Rong and said, "You two will stay in Jicheng for now. I will leave a batch of goods for you, and you can travel outside as merchants. I don't believe that the grain can disappear quietly. Now it's only been more than two months since the grain was stored in the warehouse. The people behind it will definitely transport the grain away through some means."
Yanfu and Yanrong nodded, they understood what the young lady meant. Jicheng had no waterways, so if they wanted to transport food, they could only do so by land, and the best way to disguise their identity by land was to be a food merchant.
"What if the person behind this has no plans to transport the food?"
Xu Nian looked at Mo Yu and smiled. "With so much food, the people behind it won't just leave it to rot, right? Either they sell it to make money, or someone needs it. But who needs so much food?"
"Army? Private army?" Mo Yu murmured in a low voice, and then something suddenly occurred to her. Maybe she knew how to investigate?
"Miss, I'll send a message to Shengdu, maybe I can find out something."
Xu Nian nodded. "Then let's do both. Yan Fu and Yan Rong go to Jicheng to get information. Remember, your safety is the most important. If you find anything wrong, evacuate Jicheng immediately and go south to Huaicheng to find us."
Yanfu and Yanrong felt warm in their hearts and responded with a smile.
Mo Jian was a little puzzled, "Miss, are you planning to go and see the grain warehouse in Huaicheng?"
Xu Nian nodded and shook his head. "Going to the Huaicheng granary is only one option, because I'm not sure if it's the same as Jicheng. But you forgot, isn't there a famous person there, Mr. Qian Sanye?"
Mo Jian's eyes lit up when he heard this. How could he have forgotten about this person?
Xu Nian heard about the name of this Third Master Qian from Luo Jin'an. When Xu Nian and Luo Jin'an were discussing the sugar mill, Luo Jin'an once lamented that if he hadn't known Xu Nian first, Xu Nian might have been recruited by Third Master Qian in Huaicheng.
This Mr. Qian Sanye was also a legendary figure. At the age of 21, he did not take the imperial examination to become an official but instead engaged in business.
The Qian family started out as a cloth shop, but after Third Master Qian took over, he closed the cloth shop and switched to a grain store and a bank. In just thirteen years, the Qian family grain store had become the largest grain supplier in Huaicheng and even the entire Shengdu, and Third Master Qian's greatest hobby was to support "guests", that is, various talented people.
Xu Nian originally wanted to save effort and use space to "steal" the granary in Jicheng. Now that he can't do so, he can only go and meet this famous Master Qian.
The next morning, Xu Nian, Mo Yu, Mo Jian and two carts of medicinal materials rushed to Huaicheng.
On the other hand, Luo Jinan also sent several trusted men to Huaicheng, also for food and fodder.
That day, the border guards won their first victory in a long time with the help of the Black Armored Army, and their morale immediately soared.
In order to boost morale, Luo Jin'an launched another sneak attack and won a great victory. The morale of the border defense troops was high.
But afterwards, Luo Jinan fell silent. When the border guards were still somewhat confused and uneasy, they unexpectedly welcomed the arrival of 30,000 black armored troops. Now the camp was filled with the sounds of "Hey Ha" fighting.
Zheng Yan accompanied the prince on his inspection tour today. At this moment, he had great respect for the young prince. Look at the soldiers now, they are no longer as depressed as before, they are all full of vigor and can't wait to go into the battlefield and kill the enemy.
"Your Highness, you sent people to Huaicheng to buy food, but do you want to fight a protracted war?"
Luo Jinan nodded slightly. If someone else asked him, he would definitely not answer, but he still believed in Lord Zheng in his heart.
"Yangcheng can't stand a third war, so this time we must not only stop the enemy outside Yangcheng, but also take back the cities we lost before. Since we have to fight, we must defeat the enemy and scare them, so that the people at the border can have a stable life."
Zheng Yan deeply agreed, but it was easier said than done. Now that the imperial court was not doing anything, this battle depended on these people, or in other words, it depended on His Royal Highness the Prince alone.
Let alone other things, the issue of food alone was extremely difficult. The people had just recovered from the drought, so how much food could they have to pay taxes?
He also requested grain from several nearby cities, but they all refused on the grounds that they had no imperial warrant.
"Ah—" Zheng Yan sighed deeply, hoping that His Royal Highness the Prince could find a solution.
After inspecting the soldiers' situation, Luo Jin'an returned to his own tent. In fact, what he was most worried about was the subsequent problem of food and fodder.
The distance to the Northern Frontier is far, and it is not suitable for long-distance distribution of food and fodder. Moreover, the Northern Frontier is about to have a major war with Mobei, and the layout of the Northern Frontier cannot be affected at this time.
He looked at the map of officials on the table and frowned in deep thought. Although he had sent people to Huaicheng to requisition food, he was not entirely sure because the current prefect of Huaicheng was a member of the Wen family.
So he made two preparations, which was to buy grain from the grain merchants there, but he didn't know whether the silver could impress the head of Qian's Grain Store.
Luo Jinan then stood up and walked to the sand table in the middle of the tent. At this time, the Mobei army had not yet reached the Yanyang border. It seemed that his father had fought fiercely in this battle.
This is also the reason why Luo Jinan is determined to retake the city. With the Zhenbei Army holding back the Mobei Army, Yanyang and Yunlan will not be a threat. As long as there are enough food and grass, he is confident that he can defeat the Yanyang Army within two months.
Luo Jin'an's eyes narrowed and he planted the flag on a cliff, which was the burial place he had chosen for the enemy.