Chapter 77 We, Anling, are willing to provide monthly grain and fodder assistance…
Yan Hui Pass.
Beyond this fortified pass lies an endless desert and Gobi, and fierce nomadic tribes.
Although life is tough for the people living on the border, it's not too bad.
Because General Song Gui was stationed there with his troops, the invasions by foreign tribes were repelled several times, and the area inside the pass was relatively peaceful.
In addition, Song Gui enforced strict discipline, so there were fewer instances of soldiers and officials exploiting the people in this area.
"However, this situation won't last long!"
A robust and spirited young woman frowned, her face full of anger. "The imperial court's food supplies have been cut off for almost half a year! That damned Yan Jinxun from Pingzhou promised to send us food but has been dragging his feet for over a month! We have no food, we'll starve to death sooner or later, how can we have the strength to guard the border?"
Another girl helplessly advised, "Calm down."
"How can I stay calm? We're risking our lives here, while those high-ranking officials are spending money like water in the capital, and they're even withholding our supplies!" The young woman's face was contorted with rage. "If you piss me off, I'll take a knife and go to the capital, and chop them all up!"
The female general sitting behind the table in front of them crossed her arms, her brows furrowed. She suddenly said, "Lu Wei wants to force my father to submit."
"Lu Wei? Wasn't General Song always loyal to the imperial court..."
The young female general closed her eyes. "You said it yourself, he is loyal to the court."
Several young women with their hair tied in high ponytails and dressed in armor immediately understood what their boss meant.
Lu Wei wanted Song to be loyal to him.
"What's going on with Yan Jinxun?" A woman with darker skin genuinely couldn't understand. "If our fighting strength declined due to food shortages, allowing the foreign tribes to break through Yan Hui Pass and invade, how could he possibly have a good life in Pingzhou?"
“He’s testing our patience,” the young female general said. “Let’s see if he’ll be afraid of the foreign invasion and send us our supplies first, or if my father will succumb to the pressure and agree to his marriage proposal first.”
The people present were shocked: "A marriage proposal?"
"To whom should we propose marriage???"
The young woman calmly replied, "Me."
"Huh?" Everyone looked surprised.
The young woman explained, "Yan Jinxun mentioned to my father last year that he wanted me to marry his second son, but my father declined."
Everyone: "..." They immediately understood the intricacies of the situation.
The Song family of Guangping has produced many famous generals for generations, guarding the border at Yanhui Pass for over two hundred years.
But in this generation, Song Zhiyun is the only daughter.
However, Song Gui doted on this daughter and raised her as a boy from a young age, teaching her military law and archery.
When Song Zhiyun turned fifteen, for reasons unknown, she decided to recruit strong women to form an all-women's army.
Song Guijing agreed.
When Song Zhiyun turned eighteen, she and the women's army she had trained became Song Gui's capable assistants, and they had a record of repelling enemy attacks on several occasions.
It has a well-known reputation on the border.
She has a formidable female warrior under her command, and as Song Gui's only beloved daughter, suitors have been flocking to her door in recent years.
However, for some reason, Song Gui never agreed, and Song Zhiyun remained unmarried at the tender age of twenty.
"Damn it, that old bastard Yan Jinxun actually tried to force you, Boss, to marry his son by threatening the grain supplies!"
"That little thug of his family is no match for our boss."
"Actually, it's not that you really want to marry the eldest brother, you just want the eldest brother and General Song's military power, right?"
"That's unlikely, he knew Lu Wei wanted military power."
"That……"
"Perhaps they just want General Song's support!"
...
The group angrily cursed Lu Wei and Yan Jinxun for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Song Zhiyun sighed deeply.
With tens of thousands of troops at Yan Hui Pass and only a few thousand women soldiers, if they continue to run out of food...
She said quietly, "If I really can't take it anymore, I'll persuade my father to let me marry him first." At least I can get through this difficult time.
Her subordinates panicked upon hearing this and urged her to be cautious, offering their opinions all at once:
"No way, boss, if you're really forced to marry them, then you won't be..."
How could you marry such an idiot?
"That's right, boss! You're the leader of our women's army, we can't let you slip into the Yan family's backyard with your wings clipped!"
Song Zhiyun smiled helplessly, "If there were any other way, I would never have taken this step."
But if you reach a dead end, there is no other way.
No matter how important her future is, it's still less important than the soldiers at Yan Hui Pass. Besides, if her marriage can be used to obtain food for everyone, then it's still a pretty worthwhile deal.
Song Zhiyun suddenly tightened her grip on her interlaced fingers.
The people present understood what she meant and showed expressions of reluctance and distress.
Song Zhiyun is right. If there were any other way, she would not have taken this path.
But if she was forced into a corner with no other choice, she would have no choice but to sell herself.
Is there really no other way?
"Why not find another official? Doesn't Lu Wei have any enemies in the court?"
"Lu Wei holds absolute power in the court; no other official can defeat him. If he doesn't agree, others probably won't either..."
"If Yan Jinxun refuses, what about other prefectures? Is it possible for the governors of other prefectures to provide grain?"
"Or perhaps wealthy businessmen from other states could do it?"
"Regardless of the reasoning, we are protecting them at the border. Aren't there any smart people willing to support us?"
"I remember the Yun family in Shengzhou..."
"The Yun family was wiped out two years ago."
"What did you say?!"
Song Zhiyun had also heard about the massacre of the Yun family.
It was said that bandits coveted the Yun family's wealth, which led to the surprise attack in the dead of night, killing dozens of members of the Yun family.
Now it seems... could it be that the Yun family's willingness to supply the border army with grain at a low price brought about this calamity?
Her brow twitched.
Just then, a female soldier knocked on the door and came in to report to Song Zhiyun: "Boss, a merchant from the southwest wants to see you."
Merchants?
Upon hearing this word, everyone in the room looked up at the female soldier, their first thought being: Could it be that a kind person has come to save her?
Song Zhiyun said, "Please invite him in."
The female soldiers brought in five or six people, both men and women, and the leader was surprisingly a woman in her early thirties.
She said her name was Song Li and she came from Anling County, Jinzhou.
Having heard about the current predicament of Yan Hui Pass, they came to pay their respects.
Under Song Zhiyun's questioning gaze, Song Li smiled gently, "Anling is willing to provide monthly grain and fodder to resolve the current crisis at Yanhui Pass."
Anling, as Song Li just introduced, is just a prefecture in Jinzhou.
How could it possibly allocate grain and fodder to Yan Hui Pass every month? Yan Hui Pass has tens of thousands of troops there.
The people in the room exchanged puzzled glances.
Song Zhiyun asked directly, "Is Anling really that wealthy?"
Song Li looked respectful and said, "Because we have the protection of a goddess."
Ah... Song Zhiyun was stunned: Goddess?
Everyone looked at Song Li as if she were an idiot.
I thought a real merchant had come to the rescue, but it turned out to be a swindler who was selling religious beliefs!
For a moment, Song Zhiyun's expression turned cold.
Song Li and the others did not mind.
Who would have thought that goddesses really exist in this world?
Who could have imagined that Anling County would be so lucky, receiving the protection of the goddess for two years, with hundreds of thousands of people having three meals a day and never going hungry again?
They generously forgave the ignorant border soldiers and civilians.
Song Li continued, "We just bought a large quantity of salt at a low price from Yan County, and we plan to sell it on the grasslands."
Of course, they sell not only salt, but also tea, porcelain, glassware, and other items.
"Passing by this place, we heard about General Song's predicament. We admire the hard work of the border soldiers and cannot bear to see them without food. So we consulted the goddess and received her instructions to send a batch of grain from Jinzhou every month."
Song Li spoke with a smile on her face, exuding confidence, poise, and ease.
Her reiteration left Song Zhiyun and her men with doubts. What was going on in Anling County? Could it be that a divine being was helping them supply food and provisions to Yan Hui Pass?
Song Zhiyun's expression changed, and she said, "On behalf of my father and tens of thousands of soldiers, I thank you."
Song Li's tone became slightly serious, "We should be thanking the soldiers! If it weren't for your defense of Yan Hui Pass, the foreign tribes would have marched south, and the people of the Central Plains would have suffered. Our Anling's delivery of grain is not only helping you, but also helping ourselves."
Her words resonated with the female warriors present.
Everyone thought Song Li was pretty good.
Afterwards, Song Li presented a batch of salt to Song Zhiyun.
The pure white, unblemished salt completely won over Song Zhiyun and the others, and they no longer doubted Song Li.
This is salt!
It's incredibly expensive refined salt!
What does it matter whether the other party claims to be a goddess or a demon, given that they can provide such fine salt and supplies?
When Song Li and his caravan set off from Yan County, they had already decided to go through Yan Hui Pass to do business on the grasslands.
Incidentally, provide supplies to the soldiers of Yan Hui Pass.
Meanwhile, Song Li, who was unaware that his boss had run off to Sifang County to engage in construction and that he himself had been promoted to Minister of Finance of Anling County, revealed a devilish smile to his colleagues.
"The imperial court is not providing Song Gui with supplies, and Song Gui must be extremely anxious. We are offering help in his time of need, and he and his tens of thousands of troops must be grateful for our kindness."
"If one day in the future, the imperial court orders him to lead troops to besiege our Anling, do you think he'll be able to eat our grain while attacking us?"
"Besides, don't you think his daughter's all-female army is a good fit for our Anling?"
Wan Youyu and the others looked at Vice Minister Song in surprise and said admiringly, "Are you planning to kill three birds with one stone?"
Song Li waved his hand, "If the border is breached and foreign tribes invade, we probably won't be able to do business as well as we do now."
That night, Song Li and his group stayed at Yan Hui Pass.
When Song Gui returned, he heard that merchants from Jinzhou were going to supply them with grain and fodder, so he went to see Song Zhiyun to find out what was going on.
"A goddess?" Song Gui asked in confusion, "That sounds a lot like..."
Song Zhiyun smiled. "Rebellious forces."
Song Gui remained silent upon hearing this, and after a moment he asked, "If that's the case, why..."
Song Zhiyun looked at Song Gui and smiled gently, "Father, are we swearing to protect the people of this world, or those people sitting in the capital talking big?"
Should we refuse Anling's offer in the name of loyalty and righteousness, and then go to the battlefield hungry?
For the sake of so-called loyalty and righteousness, would they fall outside the pass and watch foreign tribes sweep in and slaughter the people?
The young female general looked calmly and said, "Father, I formed the Women's Army to protect the people of this region."
"Now that the imperial court intends to cut off our food supplies and force us to surrender, and that Yan fellow is eyeing us covetously, someone has offered themselves up for me. Why can't I accept it?"
Seeing her daughter's determined expression, Song Gui sighed.
He said, "You decide what to do. In any case, we cannot let our soldiers and civilians starve to death."
-----------------------
Author's Note: The reason why female soldiers weren't formed in Yunhe before was because they were stationed in the border town.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
