Xia Dalang swallowed the bitterness in his heart, forced a smile, and helped his grandparents to "warmly" entertain the neighbors who flocked to his house.
Others saw it, but they couldn't tell the complicated emotions in Xia Dalang's heart. They just thought that the eldest son of the Xia family was worthy of being a scholar. He spoke and acted in a quiet and gentle manner. Even though it was a happy occasion, he couldn't smile freely. He looked more shy than us peasants.
The old couple quickly decided to rebuild the house and yard in accordance with the court's requirements. Xia Daohua was so smart and capable that she earned the title of a county princess. Could her family still be so sloppy about where they lived?
Renovating the house wasn't a big deal, as the imperial court already had ready-made craftsmen. But to accommodate the neighbors, the Xia family also selected some of the best people to help, paying them wages and providing them with two meals. Once Xia Daohua made up her mind and selected the blueprints, construction would begin.
While making the arrangements, he also ordered a banquet from the restaurant to treat the neighbors to a good meal.
The neighbors were in a better mood. Now that there was a well-organized neighborhood, we could all benefit from it. It would be even better if we could get some work; even if we couldn't, we could still have a good meal and cook to our heart's content!
For a moment, almost everyone was satisfied, every family was celebrating, and the street was filled with laughter.
The next day, Xia Daohua met Wang Silang and Li Shisuo among the guests who came to her house to celebrate.
Wang Silang came to discuss the purchase of grain.
I have to stay in the capital for a while. My soldiers need food and drink, so I can't do without food.
However, all the money and valuables on his farm had been looted by Xia Daohua, so he had no choice but to take out the money and valuables hidden in another house and ask Xia Daohua to sell him some food.
It’s not Wang Silang’s fault for being stubborn.
The Northern Barbarian Army was urgently besieging the city. Seeing that the price of grain was about to soar, the grain shops in the city were waiting and watching. They only took out a small amount of grain every day when they opened to meet the demand, and closed the gates after selling out.
People like Wang Silang who are in a hurry to purchase large quantities of food are just like fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered!
But, wouldn’t Xia Daohua kill him?
Xia Daohua will never show mercy when it comes to killing Wang Silang.
But in Wang Silang's opinion, the grain sold by Xia Daohua is of high quality, and buying from her is actually much more cost-effective than buying from other grain merchants.
Besides, now is a special period, so why worry about it being a little expensive? Being able to buy it is the most important thing!
Seeing the pair of huge gold ingots that Wang Silang respectfully presented to her, Xia Daohua did not make things difficult for him and readily agreed to sell the grain.
The two agreed to sell the first batch of grain at twice the current market price.
In the future, we will try our best to follow the market. If the price of grain in the market goes up, the price of summer rice will also go up.
Wang Silang's face was filled with pain, and he deeply regretted that he had offended this little goblin.
Yes, in Wang Silang's mind, he had already identified Xia Daohua as a mountain spirit or tree monster. He thought that she was most likely a demon that had become a spirit. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how she could easily steal things from the house and how she could easily allocate a large amount of food.
It’s a pity that although he has sent many troops to search all over the capital, he still can’t find even one Taoist priest with real ability, otherwise he would have captured this monster long ago!
He has already sent his confidant to deliver a letter to the Wang family in Luojing, asking the family to help find a Taoist priest who has the ability to slay demons and break through evil spirits. Although distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, it is still a hope.
Unexpectedly, the city gate was suddenly closed just after the confidant who delivered the letter left the city. Even if the family really found a Taoist priest this time, he would be useless - they were at war with the northern barbarians, and no matter how much money they were given, they would not be willing to come!
Xia Daohua couldn't read minds, and although she felt that Wang Silang's expression was a little strange, she just thought he was worried about the money, so she didn't take it seriously.
Xia Daohua asked Wang Silang to bring his own caravan to transport the grain, and then waved goodbye to him.
Wang Silang couldn't help gritting his teeth, but he had to maintain a calm expression on his face so as not to let Xia Daohua see his dissatisfaction. It was very difficult to endure it.
Now Xia Daohua asked him to go back and arrange the fleet, which made him feel relieved.
…
The Northern Barbarians didn't say much. After besieging the city for a few days, they probably received information from spies and learned that there was no chaos in the city, so they stopped resting and started attacking the city.
The northern barbarians were a nomadic people and were not good at attacking cities.
But they used all kinds of conspiracies, intimidation and inducement along the way, sent out and bribed many spies, successively captured several cities, and accumulated a lot of siege experience.
Now they even know how to build catapults and ladders.
Of course, the Northern Barbarians' journey was not smooth sailing - they did not get any good results in Qingzhou County.
However, although the Northern Barbarians suffered a major setback in Qingzhou County, they abandoned Jiaxiang Ridge, bypassed Ping'an County, and broke through Jingji Pass, which allowed them to regain their confidence.
Especially the vulnerability of the military households at Thorn Pass gave the Northern Barbarians a boost in confidence.
As the northern barbarians moved south, they not only carried with them the looted property, but also the captured people.
When attacking the city, the northern barbarians let the captured Han people walk in the front, especially the elderly, the weak, women and children, betting that the officers and soldiers defending the city would not show mercy.
If you can't bear it, open the city and surrender!
If one is cruel enough, it is easy to lower the morale of the soldiers and civilians defending the city because of this harshness and rationality!
The commander of the capital city came from the Imperial Guard and had no connection with Thorn Pass, but he couldn't help feeling sad when he saw those ordinary people who were originally from other places, or captives of the military households of Thorn Pass, being forced by the northern barbarians to become their accomplices in the siege.
However, as long as their superiors do not give orders, no matter how sad they are, they will not be soft-hearted.
After all, compared with the nine clans of his own family, the people outside the city are more important.
The Jingzhao Yin has begun to organize strong men and women to go to the city to help the imperial guards defend the city.
Although the Xia family recently had a princess, they still had to provide people and money to help defend the city.
When Mrs. Zhou heard about this, she was so excited that she insisted on going up to the city wall herself to help the army cook! However, she was stopped by Mr. Xia who desperately tried to stop her.
Xia Daohua was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Old Lady Zhou had a strong character and hated the Northern Barbarians to the core. The Northern Barbarians forced her to abandon her home and property and flee thousands of miles in a hurry. They also killed her most beloved eldest son and almost wiped out her first wife. How could she not hate the Northern Barbarians?
Knowing her background, Xia Daohua had no doubt that the old lady was serious about this.
Zhou's sons couldn't sit still any longer. They couldn't let their mother risk her life while they just sat back home, could they?!
So, the Xia family, which had recently produced a princess named Fukuzawa, actually sent several strong laborers like ordinary families to help the imperial guards transport bricks, tiles, wood and stones, move things, run up and down, and help the army defend the city.
Xia Daohua also went to the city wall to take a look.
After witnessing two real and bloody battles, Xia Daohua decided that even if it was not to fulfill Zhou's wish, she had to get involved no matter what.
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