Chapter 235 Wang Shuo Leads Troops into Battle (…)
In mid-June, the weather grew increasingly hot, and many people had recently been seen soaking in the moat to cool off. However, soldiers had driven away those who frequented the city gates or surrounding areas, as the presence of dignitaries would make them uncomfortable.
After Emperor Hongren sent troops to Fenyang, he finally enjoyed a brief period of peace and tranquility, while outside, various disturbances were taking place.
With the system monitoring temporarily removed, Qi Chengming had to turn his attention elsewhere. Communication with Silver Island Prefecture remained intermittent, but they had largely subdued the island's forces and were preparing to devote all their energy to mining in a few months.
Wen Zhongnan has been stationed there to quell the rebellion, and there has been no news of him for some time now. Fortunately, he has enough to eat and drink for the time being. His cousin sent word that the military pay has been delayed for a long time, and now they have to rely on the Weiyong Marquis's mansion for food supplies. They can only continue fighting like this for now.
The Wu people and the Western Kingdom became complacent again, and began to harass the border, resulting in constant battles of varying sizes.
Qi Chengming keenly realized something and secretly ordered his Jiangnan merchant caravan to investigate.
Soon after, the carrier pigeon brought back a definite answer.
The troops stationed in various places are not refusing to fight, but rather they have no silver or rice left and dare not fight. Several nearby prefectures are opening their granaries to transfer grain.
Qi Chengming's cousin, Wang Shuo, also read the letter with him.
He was puzzled and blurted out with a serious expression, "Cousin, don't you own many shops in the capital?" He gave him a suggestive glance.
His cousin, the Crown Prince, had revealed to him that those shops and factories had earned millions of taels of silver in just a few months, all of which went into the national treasury. The war couldn't be sustained, so where did all that money go? And the grain... His cousin, the Crown Prince, had been back in the capital for almost a year, and the three high-yield grain varieties he presented must have been tested at least twice by now.
Is this not enough to supply?
"Those grains were planted on a trial basis last year, and only this year can they be planted in large quantities," Qi Chengming explained. Just like Liuzhou, it's impossible for things to get running in less than three to five years, so the main force of fighting the war still has to rely on grain requisition.
Qi Chengming narrowed his eyes slightly: "A letter has also come from Liuzhou. More grain has been requisitioned this year. Compared to the past, this year has been relatively favorable in terms of weather."
So here's the question.
What exactly went wrong? That's why things escalated to the point of opening the granaries. It's not like Emperor Hongren didn't want to fight.
Qi Chengming opened the infrastructure map and spent several days studying the glaring red line on the border.
Then suddenly a brilliant idea struck him—
Wait a minute, according to the power map I memorized before, apart from Liuzhou and Lingnan, which are now major grain-producing areas, aren't Longxi, Qinghe, the Central Plains... all those suitable grain-producing areas within the spheres of influence of the Five Clans and Seven Powers?
He quickly flipped through it.
That's right, that's how it is.
So could this be... a counterattack by the Wang family of Taiyuan? In times like these, powerful families always stand together in solidarity.
You dare to send a large army to strangle me? I can also cut off your food supply and sever your lifeline...
"Is it really that crazy?" Qi Chengming thought about it more and more and felt that his guess was outrageous. He couldn't sit still anymore, so he suddenly got up and asked Xiao Chengzi to bring all his subordinates over for a small meeting.
Zhang Ting hasn't returned yet, so she's absent. The other students, however, have all returned; today, the study is much more crowded with four men.
Qi Jiyun, a martial artist who usually only knew how to train, was the first to take the lead in supporting this idea: "It's possible! I've heard it since I was in the camp. In the past, the powerful families were even more powerful in the previous dynasty. They provided money and food, and the soldiers had to listen to them. They also decided who won. Our Dingguo is already in a very good situation."
"...Sending you to study more has definitely had its benefits." Although it was inappropriate, Qi Chengming couldn't help but look at him and praise him.
Look at what Qi Jiyun was like when we first met him. He couldn't read many characters, relied on memorizing his lines before speaking, and had nothing on his mind except for muscles and fighting. Now, after several months of training in Liuzhou, he has visibly improved.
"In fact, the emperors of the Dingguo dynasty have been encouraging land reclamation and the development of arable land." Song Gu had read many books in his spare time while in the palace, so he vaguely knew that "the emperors after Taizong knew that they were not cut out for this and could not carry out reforms, so they could only take food from the mouths of the aristocratic families and cultivate more land."
The war has been going on for a while now, with many setbacks. External conflicts haven't been too bad, and the powerful families don't want to experience another period of chaos. However, the Qi royal family always needs to be cautious, guarding against internal conflicts with the powerful families and the possibility of another such incident.
"Perhaps His Highness the Crown Prince's appearance has given His Majesty a lot of confidence," Qin Liusong said thoughtfully.
It's not that Emperor Hongren doesn't want to fight; he probably wants to wait until the three high-yield grain crops have been widely adopted in the last two years and the threat from the aristocratic families has weakened considerably before launching an attack. Otherwise, he would have already submitted to the aristocratic families long ago.
This is game theory.
"The Wang family of Taiyuan will not allow it." Qi Chengming rubbed his temples. He had been having headaches lately, and there was nothing he could do... No matter how he schemed, it would be the common people who would suffer, and it would bring them more or less hardship.
Qi Chengming's temples would start to throb if he thought about it for too long or looked at the infrastructure map for too long. He could only force himself to endure this pressure.
June 21st.
Multiple regions were in dire straits, beset by internal and external troubles. Emperor Hongren issued several urgent edicts, summoning over thirty high-ranking officials to the palace for tireless discussions day and night, only releasing them to return home the following afternoon. On the same day, several military mobilization orders were issued—
This includes Wen Zhongnan once again donning armor and leading troops to the front lines. Wang Shuo, under the name of the Mighty Young Master, rallied his old troops to form the Mighty New Army in preparation for battle, and withdrew the Fenyang garrison, which was said to be nearing the end of the bandit suppression campaign.
"His Majesty has compromised with the powerful families once again." Qi Chengming understood the current situation, and his feelings were complicated; he didn't know whether to be worried or happy.
When faced with internal and external troubles and the need to protect one, only Emperor Hongren bowed his head.
This is progressing smoothly according to Qi Chengming's plan, and the first three tasks of the "[Counterattack against the Emperor]" mission on the infrastructure system have been completed.
After repelling this wave of external enemies, the fact that the powerful aristocratic families had become so overwhelming became a major problem that Emperor Hongren had to solve. Would his subjects pressure him, or would he regain his power? Emperor Hongren had almost no choice but to hand over this mess to the capable Qi Chengming.
That will be the time when the plan is completed.
Qi Chengming did not regret his plans to preserve the rationing system; the current Dingguo was slightly better than that future. However, the suffering of the people in the process still kept Qi Chengming awake at night.
There's one more thing...
“Cousin, don’t worry about me. Going to the battlefield to kill the enemy has been my ambition since I was a child.” Wang Shuo’s face, which still showed all its youthful immaturity, appeared unusually calm and mature. He no longer laughed wildly, but his eyes held a strange brilliance. “Don’t worry, if I can’t even fight a small battle of this scale, how can I have the nerve to say that I am my elder brother’s younger brother and a descendant of the Marquis of Weiyong?”
This time, Wang Shuo was also transferred to the battlefield. Emperor Hongren no longer cared about the Mighty Army, but rather about Qi Chengming's growing power. He used whatever was available at hand.
"You're already engaged, so don't make your maternal grandparents worry too much."
Qi Chengming was filled with mixed emotions and planned to spend the next few days at the Marquis of Weiyong's residence with his elders. Only they knew that the only two remaining grown-up members of the family were fighting on the battlefield. But judging from Wang Shuo's reaction, he genuinely loved leading troops into battle and had been preparing for this day for many years.
"Don't worry!" Wang Shuo replied nonchalantly. On the day of parting, he only glanced back once.
Qi Chengming, along with the old Earl of Weiyong and his wife, and the Earl of Weiyong's wife and Sister-in-law Yang, who had rushed back from their village in the suburbs, stayed with their two children on the edge of a wasteland far from Luoyang City, watching the army depart. In the distance, crowds of people had come to see them off.
Throughout the entire process, none of them uttered a word, and their expressions remained completely nonchalant. It wasn't until they turned back that Lady Weiyong, whom Qi Chengming hadn't seen since his transmigration, shed tears, her cold expression melting away, and she murmured, "...Again."
"This is our family's fate," the old Mrs. Weiyong said softly, placing her hand comfortingly on her daughter-in-law's hand.
In their Wang family... three generations of men went out to fight, and what about the women and children left behind? They managed the household, cared for the retired soldiers, and looked after the children, and then repeated this cycle again and again, personally sending their loved ones back to the battlefield, enduring the wait with no end in sight.
How many times will they have to endure this kind of suffering?
“…I’m sorry.” Qi Chengming didn’t know what to say, so he just lowered his head and squeezed out this sentence after a moment of silence.
“Ming’er, remember this! Protecting our country is also our aspiration.” The old Lady of the Marquis of Weiyong suddenly said sternly. Her usually kind eyes turned stern as she stared intently at Qi Chengming. “No matter what you have done, as long as you are planning for the stability of the country and as long as you have the people in your heart, you don’t need to apologize to us. Our Wang family supports not only you, but also His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Old Uncle Weiyong remained silent as always, only nodding.
Throughout the year, they had some guesses about what their grandson had been busy doing for his grandchildren. Combined with their understanding of the political situation… they knew to some extent that they were working on something significant.
If you're going to do it, you have to let go of all these concerns!
Qi Chengming was stunned, then gritted his teeth and solemnly agreed.
...
Resisting foreign enemies is always a long process. But it's rare for the Qiang people to invade and for the Western Kingdom to raid the border in June and July. After Wang Shuo's cousin and the army left, the capital seemed to become deserted without those young people.
Qi Chengming's head, which had been throbbing from the overwhelming situation he had been dealing with lately, suddenly calmed down considerably.
He reasonably suspected that... an external enemy had invaded at this opportune moment, and that there was a mastermind behind it all.
"Your Highness, you can just say the name of the noble family." Shen Shuzhi sat elegantly at the flower-viewing banquet, holding a teacup and smiling, making a sarcastic remark hidden behind her sleeve.
This was a flower-viewing banquet hosted by the princess's residence, to appreciate the lotus flowers in July. The Third Princess and her husband invited many young people from all walks of life to the estate.
The first half of this year was filled with a series of events and a tense atmosphere, causing many families in the capital to postpone marriage proposals. Now that the princess is taking the lead, the meaning is self-evident. Many ladies have brought their children to the scene.
Qi Chengming was naturally urged here by Song Gu and Mr. Qin, and even the ministers led by Grand Secretary Mu were concerned about his important affairs every day. Unexpectedly, he ran into Lord Shen Shuzhi, whom he had not seen for a long time.
His wife came today with their children and went to the other side of the stream on the estate—that's where the women's families hang out.
Shen Shuzhi could only sit there bored, and eventually sat down with Qi Chengming and they started discussing things quietly.
"Leave this matter to us for investigation. We'll let Elder Mu know when we have the results," Shen Shuzhi said discreetly.
He was now quite pleased with himself for finally siding with the new emperor and being able to offer his services directly when needed. He had to thank Grand Scholar Mu for his meticulous screening, which had dragged out all these reborn ministers and forced them to express their opinions, thus securing their place in the new emperor's eyes.
"This needs to be done quickly." Qi Chengming exhaled slowly and smiled.
After quelling the external turmoil, once he had the time, he was also going to deal with the powerful families.
"..."
Qi Chengming and Shen Shuzhi stopped talking in tacit agreement and suddenly turned their gazes to the women on the other side of the river, where something seemed to have happened.
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Author's Note: Second Update
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