It's still a huge problem!
The Ministry of Revenue's grain supplies were divided up long ago, and the autumn harvest would take another two months. Where could they procure 500,000 catties of grain in such a short time?
Taking a deep breath, Grand Secretary An suppressed all his pent-up frustration.
"Teacher, what's the situation? What did His Majesty say?"
“This is terrible,” said Grand Secretary An, closing his eyes. “We’re in deep trouble.”
"What's wrong?" Li Jiran asked nervously, "Is His Majesty blaming the teacher?"
“No,” Elder An explained dejectedly, “I didn’t even have a chance to bring this up.”
"No chance to speak?" A dark glint flashed in Li Jiran's eyes. "Could it be that His Majesty deliberately interrupted the teacher?"
Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary An paused, immediately considering the possibility.
After a long pause, he shook his head. "It shouldn't be. The matter in Shandong is indeed urgent."
"We knew the seriousness of the situation, which is why we forced Qi Yong to go there."
"Is it related to disaster relief in Shandong?"
“Yes,” Grand Secretary An said after taking a breath, “I need to raise 500,000 catties of grain.”
Three hundred thousand was the limit he could manage, and even then, he still had to swallow his pride and make concessions.
"The two million catties of grain for the Northwest Army have not yet been delivered..."
"Shut up, those provisions must not be misappropriated," Elder An warned in a deep voice. "Ji Ran, you are exceptionally talented and have the support of this elder. You will surely achieve great things in the future. You must understand what you can and cannot do."
"Everyone has selfish desires, but they must not go too far. When it comes to matters concerning the country and the people, one must never act recklessly because of selfish desires."
"You must remember, worldly wealth and honor are good, but when a person dies, their light goes out. Only leaving a name in history is what we scholars should pursue!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jiran's lips twitched, and he quickly bowed, "This student is enlightened."
His teacher is good in every way, except that he's a bit naive.
Therefore, even a veteran of three reigns, even a high-ranking official, still cannot... wield absolute power.
"Hmm," Elder An nodded in satisfaction, "I'll go discuss this with Elder Zhong. You may go back now."
"Teacher, what should we do about the rumors?"
"Arrest as many as you can. If the Ministry of Justice's prison isn't enough, put them in the Imperial Prison and deal with them when I have more time."
Grand Secretary An was overwhelmed by the pressure of 500,000 taels of grain and could only think of the simplest and most brutal way to solve the problem.
The idea is good, but things often get out of control.
While he was frantically trying to raise funds and living and eating at the government office, the situation was escalating.
As night fell, Huang Chuan and his group covered their mouths and noses as they traveled.
"Huang Shu," Jiang Chao said through gritted teeth, "why didn't you tell me there was another truckload of chickens and ducks?"
“What does it matter?” Huang Lao Er said innocently, “The outcome won’t change anyway.”
"That's right, brothers should share both good times and bad."
"Is that so?" Jiang Chao glared at the two of them fiercely. "Why didn't you accompany me when I was suffering in the Jiang family?"
He thought he had finally escaped his misery!
"Quiet down," Boss Huang said in a low voice, "These beasts just fell asleep. If we wake them up..."
Instantly, no one dared to utter a sound.
They didn't want to hear either the rough, shrill quacking of ducks or the chilling crowing of roosters.
It was already unbearably hot, and hearing these noises made one even more tempted to slaughter all the poultry.
The group continued forward, but Huang Lao Er couldn't sit still and kept fidgeting.
After a moment, he asked in confusion, "Strange, why is Uncle Liu still sitting in the carriage on such a hot day?"
"He can't ride a horse, that's normal."
"The carriage curtain wasn't even lifted, how is that normal?"
Upon hearing this, the other three also realized that something was wrong.
They exchanged a glance, then simultaneously leaned over, lifted the carriage curtain, and were immediately furious.
"Someone's lying in ambush!" Jiang Chao shouted deliberately.
They rode horses and their clothes were almost worn out, but Liu An was fast asleep in the carriage.
"Hmm? An ambush?" Liu An sat up and immediately ordered, "Quickly, blow the whistle and be on alert. Fight the enemy with all your might."
After hurriedly getting off the bus, I realized I had made a mistake.
Suddenly, it roared, spitting fire, "Jiang Chao, are you itching for a beating?"
After saying that, he looked up and saw four pairs of eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling. "Uncle Liu, give us an explanation!"
“An explanation?” Liu An felt a little guilty thinking about what he had done. “What explanation? I’m not going to say anything. I’m getting old and my legs aren’t good. I’ll go back to the car.”
"Go back to the car and continue sleeping?" Boss Huang asked, his face ashen. "It's cool and comfortable there, isn't it?"
"That's right, confess and you'll be treated leniently. Tell us quickly, how did the ice come about? Why didn't you tell us?"
They didn't have any ice stored at home, and besides, it had been almost a night, so it should have melted long ago.
"This..." Liu An felt increasingly guilty. "It has nothing to do with me. This is your mother's request. It's not that I'm abandoning you to escape the heat."
He really didn't expect these kids to find out so quickly, before they even left southern Henan.
If we can hold out for another two days, we'll be close to the capital. We won't be afraid of being discovered then.
"How could that be? We're family."
"Exactly, even if we don't ride in a carriage, a bite of ice would be nice."
“Really, she wanted the four of you to gain experience, that’s why she didn’t tell you.” After only a short while outside, Liu An felt hot and irritable. “She was afraid you would be too delicate and unable to endure any hardship in the future. Besides, it’s not that hot at night.”
I will repeat your words here:
Liu An said in a high-pitched voice, "If the soldiers in armor can endure it, why can't they? They've only had a few good days, and they're already so delicate. What will happen to them in the future?"
A moment later, Huang Lao Er complained resentfully, "Why don't you need to be trained?"
"Of course it's the old man. I hold a high position and great power. If you could also be appointed as ministers, I would definitely give up my carriage."
After saying this triumphantly, Liu An returned to the carriage.
Only at this moment do I feel that the decades I've spent have not been wasted.
"That's incredibly arrogant."
"Yeah, I really want to punch someone, what about you guys?"
"Let's do it," Jiang Chao said with a wicked grin. "Let's take the ice."
"Can!"
Liu An, who had just closed his eyes, only felt a dark shadow flash by. When he opened them again, the ice basin on the table had been taken away.
He immediately panicked, "These ice cubes have saltpeter added, you can't eat them!"
"Okay," Jiang Chao said, hugging the basin tightly. "Let's cool off by hugging each other."
"Let me try it too."
"Me too!"
"You brat," Liu An couldn't help but shake his head upon hearing the commotion, "you're still too green!"
After saying that, he pulled down a box from under his feet, poured some saltpeter into another basin, and soon, a cool breeze rose up. He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.
The night was long, but not lonely.
The smell of chicken and duck is still so pungent that it's unbearable even if you cover your mouth and nose, but that doesn't seem to matter as much anymore.
The group traveled at a leisurely pace.
Three days later, the three stopped at a post station outside the city.
"Go wash up," Liu An said, covering his nose with his sleeve in disgust. "You all stink and have completely disgraced this government."
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